Henry’s Father

[hjbau]

I know there have been other threads about who is his father. I was just looking through what we know from the writers of the show. And there was an article that came out in January, 2012 on Season 1 where Adam Horowitz is asked about the father. I will quote.

http://www.assignmentx.com/2012/exclusive-interview-adam-horowitz-chats-about-once-upon-a-time/
“AX: Henry’s mother Emma, who doesn’t realize she’s the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, is obviously a crucial character. Is Henry’s father ever going to become significant?

HOROWITZ: Henry’s father is something we’ve talked about a lot and the fact that he’s not seen in the pilot or talked about – he’s only obliquely referenced once – we purposely put that in there, because that is a story, if given the opportunity, we would love to tell. We would love to get to it this season.”

And then there is the other article that came out in November 2011 where the father was mentioned in passing.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20547453_3,00.html
“EW: Are we going to meet Henry’s father?

HOROWITZ: In the pilot, Emma assures Regina that Henry’s father isn’t in the picture. But that might not be the case for long. ”Henry’s father is a very important part of the puzzle,” says Horowitz, who hints, ”It’s also entirely possible that we may meet him and not know we met him.” Viewers should also keep an eye on handsome Sheriff Graham (Jamie Dornan), who Horowitz says is ”pivotal” to the story.”

This second interview is what makes everyone think that Henry’s father is Bae. The thing is that was three episodes into the season and based on the first interview it seemed like they thought they were going to introduce the father this season, but maybe they just didn’t have time. Maybe they are going to introduce the father next season so we didn’t actually meet him yet.

I go back and forth about this. In some ways i think Bae being Henry’s father is nice and neat and a circle for the story, but then at the same time it seems too nice and neat to the point of feeling contrived. I don’t really know which way i want it to go. Sometimes i hate the idea, sometimes i am alright with it. I don’t know. I am just not so sure that this information proves without a doubt that it is Bae especially because we know that the writers are flying by the seat of their pants in a lot of ways. And the first interview where they say they would love to get to his story this season makes it seem like it is it’s own story in and of itself and not just part of Rumpel’s story. I don’t know. We will see.

[lilred]

I’ve actually tried to convince myself Baelfire isn’t possibly Henry’s father recently, realizing I’m far too fond of the idea in case it doesn’t happen. Also, if a man in his 90’s or a 14 year old pop up out of the wood-work, I’d feel kind of creepy next season. Then again, I keep coming back to it. Even the quote, “a very important part of the puzzle,” makes me think of Baelfire: the curse that connects all of the characters was created to find him. In an interview before* the final episode, Ax and Horowitz were asked if Baelfire would make an appearance in the final and the answer was something along the lines of, ‘his absence will be felt.’ Can’t help but tie that quote with the idea of a missing puzzle piece….even though a lot of puzzle pieces are clearly missing in this story!
I think what interests me most with Baelfire being Henry’s dad would be the impact for all character involved in the family-tree, but mainly Henry. He is clearly very invested in being ‘good’. For someone who’s struggled with where he belongs for his whole life, getting the storybook and learning that he is the next generation’s ‘prince’ after a legacy of ‘good guys’ has given him an identity. Think about when he told Regina that good will win, and she’s going down. He’s still young and has a very limited idea of goodvs.bad. There’s no gray area for this kid yet, and the gray areas are obviously very important in this story. I’d be interested in seeing him have a few episodes of enjoying this goodguy life with his grandparents and mother and then figuring out that his grandfather (and probably father) are a bit more….morally ambiguous.

[thedarkone]

Thanks for the quotes hjbau!

I think a larege chunk of the information that fans have gathered as “evidencce” that Bae is Henry’s father are quotes from the creators themselves. There is no solid evidence that Bae is the father, and yet, I can’t help but think that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Even though my only evidence are a few ambiguous quotes, the whole Baelfire=firefighter thing, and the fact that Bae was sent to a world without magic.

I think a lot of people believe the theory because it’s just too coincidental. Why would the writers send Bae to our world? There were a ton, and I mean A TON of different explanations they could have come up with as to why Rumpel created the curse. And yet, they settled on this one. Once again, I know I’m just pulling theories out of thin air, but there’s just something about theory that feels…true. Out of all the theories about who could possibly be Henry’s father (August, Graham, Dr. Whale, even freaking Jefferson 😆 ) this is the only one that sounds right. But like I just said, the theories prior to this one were so laughably weak that any other theory could come along and smash it to pieces. 😆

But I’m not going to lie, I really like the theory. I like the idea of Henry being the one thing that all the warring on this show factions have in common. He’d be connected to the Charmings, connected to Rumpel’s family, and also to Regina. I think it’s very beautiful. These three different sides can fight and argue all they want, but at the end of the day, they’ll all have to stop for Henry’s sake. I hope the writers revisit that theme in future seasons.

I also like the idea of Emma and Bae being orphans together. For all we know, Bae could have popped out the vortex around the same time Emma was 14. I could easily see them being drawn to each other due to their tragic backgrounds. They were both parentless, from Fairytale land and are directly conencted to the curse. Baelfire being the inspiration and reasoning for the curse and Emma being it’s ender. I like the poetry of it all. 😀

[hjbau]

The thing is Lil’Red that about the “a very important part of the puzzle” quote is that in the same answer they also called Graham a “pivotal” character which he wasn’t really. I think that the Huntsman’s story was interesting. And i liked how they talked about the fact that the Huntsman save Snow’s life sort of created this connection between him and Emma because she would never have been born if he had killed Snow. There was a lot that was interesting there, but i wouldn’t call the character pivotal.

And whomever Henry’s father is he is going to be an “important part of the puzzle” because he is Henry’s father and especially if he is more then that to Emma, like if they are meant to be together somehow. And i do think that there is a symmetry to the situation if Bae is the father because of the connection, but like i said at the same moment it seems too connected. I just think that Henry’s father is an important part of the character’s lives and will be important to the story whomever he is even if he isn’t Bae, but the issue is that if he is Bae it seems contrived and just too neat.

And everyone is going to say of all the people in the whole world that Emma would meet Bae and they would hook up and have a child. I mean what are the chances. And they are going to have to give a satisfactory answer to that question. And it may be that if it is Bae he knew who Emma was somehow, though how he would know that i have no idea, how he would even know to look for someone like Emma, but maybe somehow he could know those things. It is just that making the father Bae just raises so many questions and they have to satisfy some of it.

I am fine with it was meant to be and it was destiny to a point and this might be the point for me. It would be just a bit too much.

[thedarkone]

@hjbau wrote:

I am fine with it was meant to be and it was destiny to a point and this might be the point for me. It would be just a bit too much.

The writers did say that they would focus on Emma’s search for true love in future seasons, and a lot of people seem to think that it will be Bae. So, if Bae is in fact Henry’s father, then it was definitely meant to be.

[hjbau]

I do agree TheDarkOne that there is something about the theory that Bae is the father that just rings true. Because it is so neat and adds the connection. And then makes Henry the one who can sort of bring these characters together, It is like the black and white of it all. Like the good guys daughter and the bad guys son. The Romeo and Juliet of it all. That sort of very normal plot form going on there. I think for me though i would rather Bae know who Emma is somehow, maybe he is in contact with the Blue Fairy, i have no idea, but just have him meeting Emma not be an accident. The falling in love or whatever happened between them could be something that was unexpected, but maybe have them meeting be something that happened on purpose. And maybe if the father is Bae and he doesn’t know Emma, that somehow someone else could know and contrived for them to meet. I think that when it comes down to it i don’t quite like that their meeting would just be completely accidental.

And maybe they could say Emma caused it. Like there was sort of the suggestion that when Emma wished on the blue star candle that she didn’t have to be alone on her birthday that somehow that could have caused Henry to come to her. Maybe the magic of that moment caused the lead up. I would be fine with this. I am not sure the writers are that thoughtful though.

And i do think that it is likely they will imply that Henry’s father is the one who was meant to be just because this show has done so much about their being one love for each person and that’s it. That also seems contrived, but it is a show about fairy tales where that is a very normal storyline.

[thedarkone]

@hjbau wrote:

I do agree TheDarkOne, that there is something about the theory that Bae is the father that just rings true. Because it is so neat and adds the connection. And then makes Henry the one who can sort of bring these characters together, It is like the black and white of it all. Like the good guys daughter and the bad guys son. The Romeo and Juliet of it all. That sort of very normal plot form going on there. I think for me though i would rather Bae know who Emma is somehow, maybe he is in contact with the Blue Fairy, i have no idea, but just have him meeting Emma not be an accident. The falling in love or whatever happened between them could be something that was unexpected, but maybe have them meeting be something that happened on purpose. And maybe if the father is Bae and he doesn’t know Emma, that somehow someone else could know and contrived for them to meet. I think that when it comes down to it i don’t quite like that their meeting would just be completely accidental.

And maybe they could say Emma caused it. Like there was sort of the suggesting that when Emma wished on the blue star candle that she didn’t have to be alone on her birthday that somehow that could have caused Henry to come to her. Maybe the magic of that moment caused the lead up. I would be fine with this. I am not sure the writers are that thoughtful though.

I’d also like for there to a more solid reason for why Bae and Emma met. I’ve always held the theory that the Blue Fairy had been keeping tabs on Baelfire after she sent him to our world. Maybe she felt obligated to take care of him and became his fairy god-mother. Maybe she told him about Emma’s existance. If Baelfire was able to contact Fairytale land, then I wouldn’t be too surprised if Baelfire found out about Emma’s existence. He’s the reason why the curse exists, so I would think that he would want to learn more about the girl who would break that curse.

But once again, I’m just pulling theories out of thin air at this point.

[lilred]

All of us are just pulling theories out of thin air, and the writers clearly enjoy messing with us: return of the Huntsmen and Maleficent being examples.

I see where you guys are going with them having some type of supernatural connection (if Bae is the father/Emma’s true love). Since love cannot be made through magic (both Rumple and the Genie said so), maybe their initial meeting was engineered by Rumple through the curse, with the intent that she would bring Bae to Storybrooke. With this, any ‘romance’ or ‘baby making’ would have been accidental: she was supposed to FIND him, but maybe they found each other too soon. I like the idea that maybe parts could have been planned/organized, but in the end free-will(or fate) played a hand. Maybe even if they were more closely bond by magic, it was a result of some fault in the curse: some Bae DNA touched the True Love drop while scroll was rolled up or something.
I guess I want to see some limitations with Rumple’s planning at some point, so why not a botched plan to have his son brought to him and the creation of a grandson.

[thedarkone]

@Lil’Red wrote:

All of us are just pulling theories out of thin air, and the writers clearly enjoy messing with us: return of the Huntsmen and Maleficent being examples.

I see where you guys are going with them having some type of supernatural connection (if Bae is the father/Emma’s true love). Since love cannot be made through magic (both Rumple and the Genie said so), maybe their initial meeting was engineered by Rumple through the curse, with the intent that she would bring Bae to Storybrooke. With this, any ‘romance’ or ‘baby making’ would have been accidental: she was supposed to FIND him, but maybe they found each other too soon. I like the idea that maybe parts could have been planned/organized, but in the end free-will(or fate) played a hand. Maybe even if they were more closely bond by magic, it was a result of some fault in the curse: some Bae DNA touched the True Love drop while scroll was rolled up or something.
I guess I want to see some limitations with Rumple’s planning at some point, so why not a botched plan to have his son brought to him and the creation of a grandson.

That’s a very interesting theory. Maybe Rumpel accidentally bonded them together. Who knows? I also think the fact that Emma was a bounty hunter before she came to Storybrooke was no coincidence. I know she became a bounty hunter so that she could find her parents, but I find it very poetic that the curse was designed to find someone and the savior’s profession is to find people.

[lilred]

She tells Mary Margaret in maybe the second episode that finding is one of the few things she is good at in life – I think she even makes a comment to Graham and Regina in the first episode that finding people is just what she does. Since she can’t really tell if someone’s lying or not, maybe she will end up with some type of superpower after all.

[Author]

Posts