What do orphans believe more than anything else in the world? That their parents will come and get them.
Do orphans believe that though, or just hope for it? The Lost Boys of NL cry, so I dunno that there’s much belief in them, but I think the one who’s mindset we really need to figure out is Pan. So far he’s come across as being pretty hardcore and emotionless, but is that a mask for a lost little boy who desperately wants to believe that parents really can love their children? Or has he really decided 100% that there’s no such thing as familial love and he just likes screwing with people’s minds because it’s a fun game and people don’t deserve to be treated any better? What exactly is he trying to prove with these things he’s saying to Emma? Is he just trying to beat her down, or, like we suspect Rumple was doing in 301, is he telling her something negative in order to get her fired up so she can prove him wrong?
As far as how Henry feels, there was that interview where Jared implied that Henry had no one to believe in any more, so perhaps over time, he will start to doubt that his family will find him? Pan’s statement felt like he was speaking from experience, so he thinks it’s a foregone conclusion that Henry’s gonna feel that way too before too long. But if Pan needs the heart of the truest believer, then what does he gain if Henry’s heart starts to doubt? From what we’ve seen in the first two seasons, Henry is a very understanding kid. I honestly think he has been OK with accepting that Emma gave him up so he’d have his best chance. But perhaps being surrounded by all the orphans in NL will test that belief?