Nobody is contesting the fact that Henry is a child and that children can’t really be held to the same expectations as adults. But being a child doesn’t make you blameless. Children can and do make mistakes, and Henry has made several- and that isn’t by accident, the writers have chosen for that to happen because it is a part of their story. However, I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of expectation to say that he needs to be called out on his behavior (perhaps by one of the adults who care about him so much, except they’re all wrapped up in their own things) otherwise he’s never going to learn from his mistakes. This isn’t hate, this is just a hope that a character will change and grow, especially in a show that is full of people who are constantly learning and developing. Being a kid isn’t a free pass to do whatever and not learn from it.
Henry isn’t a real kid, obviously. He is a child character the writers have created within their story. So it’s probably about time that they had him learn a few things. We aren’t talking about real people, so when I say something like “I wish that Whale would do ____,” or “I hate that Ruby decided to ____”, it’s not quite the same as if I was talking about real people. What I’m really saying is “If this had been a real person I would have been disappointed if they behaved that way” and “I would have made other choices, there were other options” and even “I don’t agree with the way the writers handled this character, I think this was a missed opportunity”. This is why we are in a “which characters” thread, not a “which people” thread. We all know that these characters (as real and wonderful as they seem to us at times) are tools the creators and writers are using to tell a story, but it’s interesting to discuss how they are being used and whether we think it’s effective.
"Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him."
