poll: Regina’s kiss

[darcyfarrow]

We’ve had some lengthy discussions about whether Regina really loves Henry. In this episode, she says plainly that she does. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, what if she had been the one to kiss Henry? In other words, is hers a true love?

[weedith]

I think one of the requirements for True Love’s Kiss to work is that both parties have to love and have to be receptive to love. Remember when Charming kissed Snow when she was still under the influence of Rumpel’s potion, it didn’t work. I understood that was because Snow didn’t really believe it and was not open to Charming’s love at that point.

For this reason, I don’t think Regina’s kiss would have awakened Henry because Henry knew about Regina’s true identity (or at least thought he did), and has already stated clearly that he doesn’t believe Regina loves him, but that she only pretends to love him. The failure would not be an indictment of her feelings, but a sign that the love was not shared, not true and pure.

We saw kind of the same thing when the kiss started to work with Belle and Rumpel, but when he snapped out of the moment and became suspicious and angry with her, the effects of the kiss evaporated.

[arjay369]

I think Regina does really love Henry as though he was her son in every way. This is a touchy subject with some people. Foster/step parents can love the children they take in, just as much as biological parents, more so in some cases. I think that would be one point of contention with me is if Regina is made out to have absolutely no heart/redeeming quality whatsoever. Regina didn’t have a clue who the child was that Mr. Gold found for her so she hasn’t made any “plans” for him. She raised him the best way she knew considering her own upbringing. Emma knows Henry all of a minute when compared to Regina and it’s her kiss that wakes him up?! WTH is that?

[weedith]

❓

[sam993]

Weedith:

Let’s be honest, when has she done anything remotely parental with regard to Henry? When has she told him “no”? When has she sacrificed her own needs for him?

Tons of time she has done extremely parental things, said no to Henry, and has sacrificed her own needs for him. Saving her child’s life in the mine. Telling Henry he shouldn’t be following her when he was looking for Ashley (albeit he did anyways), but she has made sure that Henry was safe, even though that means crushing his desires (telling him to go home before she looked for Mary Margaret), and she has given up her needs as she made a deal with Regina to leave Storybrooke and not to take Henry away. She is not infatuated by Henry, she loves him like a mother should. It’s a trait that you’re born with, it’s an instinct that all mothers have. A need to care for their love ones. It does not necessary have to be learned or you have to have a child for a long period of time in order to get that instinct. It’s true magic, the stuff that is carried everywhere by all women.

No, I am not a mother. I just have a very high respect for women.

And to bring up an interesting point: I do not believe Regina’s kiss would work because yes, Henry really doesn’t connect with her, but I bet, Henry’s kiss would work for Regina if she was in the same situation as he. Regina’s adores Henry. Maybe his touch may have an affect on her.

[sacrlc]

I definately believe Regina deeply loves Henry.

She wanted to be loved which is why she had Mr Gold find a baby so she could adopt him believing he would love her back. She also named him after her beloved father.

But he doesn’t return her love and that is the price she is paying for the curse. As Maleficent said to Reginia, “Enacting it will take a terrible toll. It will leave an emptiness inside you. A void you will never be able to fill.”

The void is love not returned.

Don't grow up. It's a trap.

[Gaultheria]

@sacrlc wrote:

I definately believe Regina deeply loves Henry.

I agree, and I think this is strong evidence that Regina didn’t ask for Henry in particular when she hired Gold to help her adopt a child. Regina hates young Snow, and so hates adult Snow, and so hates Snow’s daughter. I think that chain of hatred would have continued with Snow’s grandson.

So, Regina didn’t know who Henry was. Gold didn’t know, either, because he only got his memory back when Emma came to town.

I think Bae must have arranged the adoption. They pretty much told us he travelled through time, so he arrived in our world in the late 20th century. I can buy that he found out where his dad was and then learned all he could about Storybrooke. Then, if Bae is Henry’s father, he’d have wanted his son to be safe, and the only sure way to protect his son from Regina would have been to make the baby dear to her. It’s a tactic that Bae’s dad also used, hiding something precious close to the heart of an enemy.

I don’t know if Bae is the author of the fairy tale book — he could be, or the book could be how he learned about Storybrooke’s hidden history — but I think he had something to do with Henry receiving it, as a kind of “Everything you need to know to survive in Storybrooke” manual.

Gaultheria's fanvids: http://youtube.com/sagethrasher

[clockwatcher]

We know Regina is, or was, good with kids, and really wanted her own. However, when she made the curse, she created in herself a void that could not be filled. Henry was given to her to fill that void, yes, but it still cannot be filled.
So, although I do think that Regina may love Henry as her child, I don’t think she is even physically or mentally capable of completely loving Henry to the extent of true love because of what she had to give up to create the curse.
BUT will she be able to overcome that? I think there may be a time in the series where Regina has to choose between good (saving Henry) and evil (letting herself live, killing Emma, re-enacting the curse, etc.). But this time, she will be unsure of which way to go, unlike her cruel willingness to kill the thing she loved most in order to get what she wanted.

[iceblade]

Yeah, there was a time…. the season 1 finale. Admittedly, she had less choice in the matter what with Emma knowing about the curse and about to beat her to a pulp if she didn’t help.

[Slurpeez]

The real issue is that Regina was still in effect cursed when Henry died, despite being the one who unleashed the darkness in the first place. She gave up her magic when she came to our world. So, even though Regina loves Henry, her kiss wouldn’t have had the power to bring him back. (Neither would a kiss from Mary Margaret, since she was cursed, too). Regina said as much to Emma in the finale: she didn’t have any magic left. Only Emma, who is True Love Incarnate and who is free of the curse, had the power to break the spell with true love’s kiss. Mr. Gold confirmed this idea when he said he added a drop of the true love potion onto the parchment on which the curse was written. That is why Emma, and Emma alone, was the key to breaking both the sleeping curse and the ultimate curse to end all curses.

"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy

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