Right as he was leaning in to kiss Emma ,the Huntsman laid mercy at the hands of, Regina. It raised the question of if Her Majesty, prevented Emma from breaking the Curse by kissing him.. The relationship between the two grew as the show progressed especially right before his well timed demise.
It did seem questionable, however, if Regina knew how the curse could be broken. Her initial response to Henry waking up from the Sleeping Curse didn't seem to suggest that she knew right away. Rumpelstiltskin, on the other hand, designed the curse meaning he probably knew all too well.
It was prophesied Emma would break the curse. Perhaps she could of done it even sooner by kissing the Huntsman, Henry, or even Mary Margaret. Love is strength, Emma’s strength is powerful enough to break a wicked curse and keep evil foes at bay. So far, love seems to be Emma's mightiest weapon.. How exactly, she was going to save everyone until the season 1 finale was anyone's guess.
It’s revealed that not only is Emma the Savior but she possesses some form of great inner strength.. Cora couldn't even rip out her heart. The product of True Love. It will be interesting how the new episode airing Jan 6 will show Emma grow in new ways. It seems breaking the curse is not all she’s capable of.
As more of the story comes together most questions will have answers. It could have been the special bond Emma shared with Henry that broke the curse but I speculate, at a minimum, that Rumple has a hidden agenda and he knows much more than anyone else does in Storybrooke. Would everything progressed sooner had Emma and the Huntsman kissed? Did Regina know she had to stop him? Everything happens for a reason and the writers will put all the pieces together and magically introduce more questions.
