Why Does Peter Pan Want Henry's Heart?

[Slurpeez]

Why has Peter Pan (PP) been searching for the “Heart of the Truest Believer” for centuries? What could Henry’s heart offer PP? Magic obviously seems to run on belief in NL. Could Henrys’ belief therefore hold some extra power? My own theory is that Neverland is under a curse and that PP needs Henry’s heart to break that curse, and Henry will survive. Peter Pan was testing Henry to see what level of faith he had. PP is also testing Henry’s family to see whether they always find each other.

[RumplesGirl]

I think Henry’s heart will fuel Neverland forever. I think magic is slowly slipping away and Henry’s heart is the key to Neverland staying alive.

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[Slurpeez]

I think Pan wants a family. That is what this show is all about. That would fit very well with what we know about our characters’ motivations; even the so-called villains really just want a family. Neal said, “Believe it or not, dear old dad was all about family.” That would fit very well with what we know about our characters’ motivations; even the so-called villains really just want a family. PP probably isn’t so very different. Henry said, “My family is different. We always find each other.” Maybe that is what PP wants, a family reunion.

"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

[RumplesGirl]

So does Pan consider himself the patriarch of Neverland? And is all this with Henry and Henry’s heart just a ploy to get a family? If all he wanted was a family reunion why wasn’t he content with Baelfire? Or when Rumple went back to Neverland to get the squid ink–why not try to have a family reunion then?

 

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[Phee]

I do like the idea that Henry’s heart is needed to restore magic. But just judging by the little we’ve seen of NL so far, it looks to be doing alright. The battery in GOAT’s walkie vanished magically. The JR crew fighting whipped up that storm immediately. The mermaids were at full strength with their sparkly tails. Rumple and Regina can both still use their magic just fine.

I’m starting to wonder if PP is looking to defeat whatever dark force it is that controls the Shadow, if it’s not his own shadow. Does he need the massive amount of light that the heart of the truest believer contains, in order to obliterate some dark force?

[PanTheMan]

Thinking of LOST, maybe Peter Pan just wants to leave Neverland and can’t. Maybe he needs Henry’s heart to make the fairy dust work, so he can fly away.

 

Also, maybe Pan has to have a replacement before he can leave. What if Once Upon a Time, PP was the owner of the heart of the truest believer, but it was taken from him, and now he must be the Pan in Neverland until he can take Henry’s heart, which would leave Henry stuck in Neverland (potentially).

just a theory.

[Slurpeez]

So does Pan consider himself the patriarch of Neverland? And is all this with Henry and Henry’s heart just a ploy to get a family? If all he wanted was a family reunion why wasn’t he content with Baelfire? Or when Rumple went back to Neverland to get the squid ink–why not try to have a family reunion then?

I don’t think Henry’s heart is merely a ploy. Peter Pan really wants the Heart of the Turest Believer, who is Henry. I think Henry’s belief is key to reversing some curse that Neverland, and PP himself, might be under.

In 3×1, Peter Pan and Henry had an interesting conversation that got me thinking along these lines:

Henry: I was kidnapped by some people who work for Pan.

Peter Pan: I’m sorry. If he sent for you, he wants you. If Pan wants you, he will get you.

Henry: Why does Pan want you?

Peter Pan: Pixie dust. I stole it from him, because I thought I could use it to fly away and go home. But it doesn’t work. It’s useless.

Henry: Don’t worry. My family is coming to rescue me, and you could come with us.

Peter Pan: You really think you’re the first boy to believe that his family is actually coming for him?

Henry: My family is different. We always find each other.

Peter Pan: You better hope they don’t or else Pan will rip their shadows into oblivion.

Henry: It’s going to be okay. I promise. Don’t lose hope. All we need is time.

Peter Pan, pretending to be a fugitive boy, is obviously testing Henry’s level of belief. Yet, at the same time, I believe Peter Pan is also testing Henry’s family. It’s a challenge.

Also, Eddy and Adam said in an interview that Peter Pan has interesting motivations:

Is Peter Pan beyond redemption? “Our characters are all looking for a happy ending. They’re all looking for love. It’s just what choices you use to get them,” Kitsis said. “Some people are OK playing hard ball, some people want to do it the right way. Peter Pan is an interesting story.” Horowitz reiterated a series mantra: “Evil isn’t born it’s made. That applies to all the villains, including Peter Pan.” For the producers, Peter Pan’s desire to stay a child was fascinating. “Someone who refuses to grow up has to have a lot of problems,” Kitsis said, crediting Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as key inspiration. “It sounds great when you’re 16 but when you hit 25 or older, you start to go, ‘Oh god I would hate to be 16 again. I’m missing out on the things of life.’ You can’t just hit the pause button.” Expect flashbacks to Peter Pan’s origins and how he became this way.

"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

[RumplesGirl]

I think Henry’s belief is key to reversing some curse that Neverland, and PP himself, might be under

Interesting. I’ve been wondering if NL was always like this. Did it change from the happy Disney place to this? And can it change back? Hmmm. I shall ponder.

Maybe family true love is what saves NL.

"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"

[Slurpeez]

I do like the idea that Henry’s heart is needed to restore magic. But just judging by the little we’ve seen of NL so far, it looks to be doing alright. The battery in GOAT’s walkie vanished magically. The JR crew fighting whipped up that storm immediately. The mermaids were at full strength with their sparkly tails. Rumple and Regina can both still use their magic just fine. I’m starting to wonder if PP is looking to defeat whatever dark force it is that controls the Shadow, if it’s not his own shadow. Does he need the massive amount of light that the heart of the truest believer contains, in order to obliterate some dark force?

I like think that Peter wasn’t always so devious, and that he was once just a normal boy who simply didn’t want to grow up. Yet, when he made a wish never to grow up, he somehow became cursed and entrapped in perpetual adolescence. Neverland itself seems to be cursed and time stopped there, just as time was stopped in SB during the Dark Curse. Also, I think this curse means that Pete Pan is controlled by his Shadow, rather than the other way around. As I wrote above, we’ve only ever seen Peter’s shadow in our world, but never Peter himself. We’ve all been assuming that the Shadow is Pan’s messenger, but think the Shadow is really Peter Pan’s master. Maybe PP is being held captive in Neverland such that he can never leave himself. Wendy said that it was the Shadow, not Peter Pan himself, which prevents the Lost Boys from being able to leave, and it was the Shadow which allowed Wendy to return to Earth. While Peter is proving to be a devious, deceptive boy himself, I believe he is cursed, in a similar way that Rumple is cursed. It is the power contained in Rumple’s dagger that curses Rumple to be the Dark One, just as it may be the dark magic of the Shadow which binds Peter Pan.

That is why Henry’s unfaltering belief that family always finds each other enables Henry to perform magic in NL. I think that this belief in family love ultimately will be Peter Pan’s hope for being freed as well. As for Rumplestiltskin, I actually am coming to terms with the theory that he could be Peters’ brother. Pan seems to know all about the prophesy that the boy will be Rumple’s undoing. And yet, as Belle said, the future isn’t always what it seems. That means that maybe both brothers require having their curses “undone” in order for them to be a family again. This is all a very long way of saying that Henry, like Emma, is destined to help save NL.

"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

[nonnie]

Theories I have stated before ( over the summer & recently) and I am going to state them again….

1/ The lost boys are more like the boys in LORD OF THE FLIES then the PETER PAN SERIES.

2/ JUST as Cora could not take EMMA’s heart …. Peter Pan will not be able to take HENRY’S heart from him. LOVE = STRENGTH and Henry is loved by many who are willing to sacrifice for him… EMMA, REGINA, NEAL, SNOW AND CHARMING, even RUMPLE and the entire town of STORYBROOKE.

NONNIE

[Author]

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