Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: B+ | 944 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT Bibbidi Bobbidi Botch
By Cindy McLennan | Season 1 | Episode 4 | Aired on 2011.11.13
So continuing with our assumptions about Henry, the residents of Storybrooke don't notice that this growing, changing, aging boy is odd, because the (then) intact curse prevents them from realizing it. They do things (sleep, eat, work, shop, go to school) day in and day out, but they're essentially living the same day over and over again. Their details may change from day to day, as long as (while the curse is whole) nothing they do or say allows them to have a happy ending. The curse keeps them from seeing how Henry is different from them. As Henry becomes aware of his surroundings, he realizes he is different, and this causes him dissatisfaction and distress, which starts him looking for answers (even in fairy tale books) and eventually prompts him to hunt down his biological mother.
Another Possible Henry Problem: It is possible that what we have heard/learned about Henry is false, too. Yes, Mr. Gold says he got Henry for Regina, and either he or Sidney says Emma gave birth in Phoenix. Yes, Regina says she changed Henry's every diaper and soothed his every fever. But for all we know, the curse created that backstory when it turned Rumpelstiltskin into Mr. Gold. After all, it has been implied on screen that while Henry is Emma's biological son, he may also be the reincarnation of the father Queenie sacrificed to get her new, false life. Of course, his name could just be an homage. I'd be ready to believe that if not for the Phoenix legend. I think I'll save that stuff for another time though, because if I go there, I will create a whole Emma problem, and while Ockham doesn't exactly say, "Keep it simple, stupid," that's what I'm inclined to do for now, when I consider...
The Emma Problem: Here's what we know for sure about Emma Swan's life (because we've seen it happen). Rumpelstiltskin tells Snow and Charming that their baby can be their savior from the Dark Curse. The Blue Fairy tells the Snow and Charming monarchy and roundtable that there's an enchanted tree that can protect only one. Geppetto fashions this tree into a wardrobe (or what have you). The intention is to stash pregnant Snow White in the wardrobe, thus protecting her unborn child and their savior, but Snow gives birth before the curse hits the land. Charming stashes the baby (who is wrapped in a monogrammed blanket) in the wardrobe. When Queenie's dark knights open the wardrobe, the baby is gone. When Emma celebrates what she believes is her 28th birthday, a boy arrives at her door and tells her he is her biological son. She believes she had a son and gave him up for adoption, and allows the boy to convince her to drive him to Storybrooke, Maine.