Could not stand Henry this episode.

[schmacky]

Exactly! So, while I totally get that Emma continued the lie in Manhattan for selfish reasons, it doesn’t mean that she originated the lie for selfish reasons. And, I’m a little afraid the show is going that way.

And in all honesty, there wasn’t much time for Emma to tell Henry the truth once she ran into Neal. Granted, she could have told Henry the truth any time since the curse broke but it seems their lives never had a moment to breathe and sit him down and do it.

I think this whole lie was truly one of those “the path to hell is paved with good intentions” bit. Because, in a way, I kind of support Emma lying to him at the time she did. We, the audience, knew that Henry wasn’t a crazy little kid but Emma thought he was. Emma thought he was seriously disturbed and had some head problems and she was trying to help him as much as she could.

[obisgirl]

That’s true.

[Myril]

I’m not saying Emma is a terrible person for the mistake she made, I very much can see her motivation to tell the lie, and might have done the same in her shoes, but it’s a mistake. Emma doesn’t try to explain it away, just stands to what she did, and that I like very much about her. Neither am a trying to excuse Henry. I’m just saying, that at this very moment Emma was right not to come down on Henry because of his snarky remark. Sometimes it is better to let something go for the moment, come back later to the actual issue and talk about it when everybody is less emotional and thus ready to listen.

If anyone Neal should have intervened that moment, but, well, think he is overwhelmed right now. And Neal maybe tries to be the good guy for the hour for Henry, so that Henry doesn’t feel like everybody is letting him down and then would withdraw from everyone. No excuse either, just understanding the situation and why everybody reacted the way they did. Sometimes there is no absolutely right or wrong, just a maybe better way to handle things.

@WeWereCursed! wrote:

Also, Emma has to be afraid her son is going to hop on a bus the second he’s not totally pleased with her? Yeah, Regina was a crappy mother, and the reason he wasn’t properly punished for running away to Boston was because who could blame him?

What Gold told Emma was a bucket full of crap. He is the only person in these scenes I could have growled at and now would like to give a strong piece of my mind (if he was a real person). He was not friendly and understanding and on her side, as it might seem to some, he was all selfish and fishing for Emma’s sympathy and pushing her buttons to manipulate her to do what he needs her to do. You’re not doing this for me but for Henry? Pardon? You sound like Regina? Ha, nope, maybe from Henry’s point of view right now but not in fact. And to all thinking Gold supports Swanfire – think twice. Gold couldn’t care less unless it is to his advantage. I am impressed though how sympathetic the character still appears to many, well, he knows how to charm people.
Interesting that by now he seems to not even try a bit anymore though to charm Henry.

@Schmacky wrote:

Exactly! So, while I totally get that Emma continued the lie in Manhattan for selfish reasons, it doesn’t mean that she originated the lie for selfish reasons. And, I’m a little afraid the show is going that way.

I understand your concerns, even more after what Kitsis&Horowitz said in the producers podcast. Despite that I think there are some similarities between Regina and Emma since season one, despite that I even agree that from some point of view it can look like they have been doing nearly the same when lying to Henry, it simply is not exactly the same thing. There was different motivation, different context. Right, Regina’s reaction as mother might be understandable and something Emma now might see from a different perspective, but Regina was as well reacting as Evil Queen, feeling a threat to the world she created, her happy ending.

On a motherly level what Emma and Regina did might be comparable, okay, but that is it. Not sure either if the writers see it that way though. Let’s say, I have the alarming feeling, that some maybe subtle but significant differences in motivation and behavior are brushed aside for the sake of the message that no one is born evil. I agree with the message, but not always with how they sell it.

@slurpeez108 wrote:

As for a hero, I think having Neal be Peter Pan would be pretty epic for Henry. The kid already thinks it’s amazing his dad is also from the Enchanted Forest. Just wait until he realizes his dad can fly!

Oh my goodness, give this kid some normal ground to stand on, not that he would fly way too high himself one day 😉

¯\_(?????? ?)_/¯

[raulybarra]

@RumplesGirl wrote:

I think my problem was more with the line than with Henry. The line was just terrible and while I think Henry is well within his right to be hurt and upset with Emma,

While I don’t disagree with the awkwardness of the line, the thing is after working with enough boys in Scouts and seeing my wife’s work as a teacher, neither of us even batted an eye at the line. It may have been a bad line, but it was the sort of thing we’ve seen from kids when they’ve been hurt or are honked off even when they’re all smiles and doing something fun.

That said, my own son has not gotten away with those kind of cracks when he’s tried them with us. I’ll cut Neal a bit of slack, though. After all, while he may have been a father for 11 years, he’s only been a dad for an hour.

[timespacer]

@RaulYbarra wrote:

@RumplesGirl wrote:

While I don’t disagree with the awkwardness of the line, the thing is after working with enough boys in Scouts and seeing my wife’s work as a teacher, neither of us even batted an eye at the line. It may have been a bad line, but it was the sort of thing we’ve seen from kids when they’ve been hurt or are honked off even when they’re all smiles and doing something fun.

That said, my own son has not gotten away with those kind of cracks when he’s tried them with us. I’ll cut Neal a bit of slack, though. After all, while he may have been a father for 11 years, he’s only been a dad for an hour.

I agree – it seemed like a very authentic line, and that’s the real question, isn’t it? We want the characters to seem real, so is this something a kid might say in such a situation? I think so. After all, Henry is extremely sensitive to the fact that Regina lied to him for his entire life. Then he sees Emma as the “anti-Regina” and expects her to be the perfect mom. He would accept just about anything from Emma (like learning that she gave birth to him in jail) except for her lying to him – because that is what Regina did to him. It was a big shock when she fell off that pedestal, so I think it’s going to take some time for him to get over his disappointment.

It’s a case of terrible timing for Regina that she fell for Cora’s argument now. If she were still trying to reform when Henry got back, he might have turned to Regina for support while he was upset with Emma. But Regina blew that chance!

[Author]

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