Episode 9: Save Henry
The theme of this Episode is Regina’s love for Henry, everyone loves Henry. The Past section deals with Regina adopting Henry and this episode answers a lot of question but muddle it up a bit. For starters, Henry was placed in Boston but the family didn’t work out which is how Rumpelstiltskin was able to set up the adoption for Regina very quickly. Regina does go to Boston to get Henry but she has issue being a mother and has Sydney, find the birth mother. Regina then finds out that the baby is the son of the “savior.” She decides that it’s not working out but then changes her mind and makes a forgetting potion to forget that she knows about the birth mother.
The Neverland part has Emma getting the Lost Boys to tell her where Pan is in exchange for a home back in Storybrooke and they tell her that Pan is at the his Thinking Tree. Emma, Snow and Regina go to Pan’s Thinking Tree. Pan tries them up against the tree which hold them down by their regrets. Regina doesn’t regret anything and frees herself and takes Henry’s heart back and Pandora’s box.
Henry is restored and everyone heads to the Jolly Roger where they trap the shadow in the sail allowing them to head home. Rumpelstiltskin is let out of the box is no worse for wear and reunites with Neal. Regina then puts an enchantment on Henry so no one can take his heart again. Pan appears before Henry and is mad he can’t take his heart. Pan then tries to take Henry’s shadow but Rumpelstiltskin shows up and locks Pan in the box. However Pan pulled the old switcheroo and switch bodies with Henry, so Henry is locked in the box.
It’s a little funny that the show uses prominent streets for Boston and New York. In this episode Regina says the adoption agency is on Dartmouth Street in Boston. Honestly I’m sure most people wouldn’t think twice and it doesn’t matter but I found it funny since when I visit Boston I tend to be on Dartmouth street a lot (it’s where the train station I use is).
Anyway what about the episode? It was pretty good. The Regina’s past part was wonder even if the whole she did know about Emma being Henry’s mother was unnecessary. I suppose it shows that she does care for Henry but we know that. The Neverland part was good at the end with game changer cliffhanger otherwise it was fine but the ending saved this part of the episode.
I did like the part where if Regina had given up Henry, Pan would have gotten him as the Darling Boys were next in line to adopt him.
Episode 10: The New Neverland
In the character’s past section deals with Snow White trying to figure out a way to preemptively break Regina’s curse. Which at this point is a GOOD nine months away. So instead of going on a romantic Honeymoon, Snow decides to slay Medusa to break the curse and Charming helps. After Charming gets stoned, Snow figures out how to beat Medusa via a shiny shield. Snow decides that she and Charming should just live in the present and have a baby.
Things are getting crazy in Storybrooke as Peter Pan a.k.a Henry or not Henry, has a plan to makes Storybrooke New Neverland. He starts off with a bang and lets his shadow go which kills the Blue Fairy. Pan then tries manipulating Regina to get something from her vault to enact the dark curse. Emma sees the shadow and thinks something off and believes Pan is controlling his shadow from the box. Emma, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow, Charming and Belle go to the townline to let Pan/Real Henry out the box over the townline as magic doesn’t work there. Pan/Real Henry calles Emma “Mom” which surprises her but he manages to convince everyone that he is the real Henry by referring to a conversation he had with Emma back in season 1 about how she gave him his best chance by giving him up.
They all go to Regina’s vault and Pan/Not Henry stole the dark curse from Regina which means everyone will lose their memories and Storybrooke will be new Neverland which Pan will reign over with his smugness. Oh and Charming is all better from near death by poison/spring water range.
Wasn’t as into the past portion. It wasn’t exactly tacked as each story plot ties into each other and the shows does that well most of the time but this story seemed more forced. The body switch for Henry proves that the actor playing Henry isn’t bad it’s the role isn’t written very well compared to everyone else. This episode was ok not great, it was satisfactory. How are they going to get out of this curse as it seems hopeless. Will there be a hope speech in the next episode? Maybe the hope speech will bore the curse to death (I do like this show.)
How did Regina manage to leave Storybrooke to go to the Boston agency to adopt Henry? If she left, surely she would have forgotten who she was?
That is the kind of plot-hole that drives me crazy about OUAT. If I had to come up with some kind of justification that made sense, I would say that the amnesia effect of leaving was after the curse broke in season 2 and prior to the curse breaking no one could leave since something happens whenever someone tried to leave town, like Kathryn’s car crashing in season 1 but since it’s Regina’s curse she can leave I guess with no consequences. I mean now in season 4 when someone leaves Storybrooke they don’t forget they just can’t get back in. It’s all over the place.