Episode Report Card Cindy McLennan: A | 193 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT PANjandrum
By Cindy McLennan | Season 3 | Episode 8 | Aired on 11.17.2013
Neal yells, "Yes it is. Pan can't live without you dying. If you give him your heart, it's going to kill you." Pan tells him they're trying to stem his belief. "But don't let them. Remember, every hero gets tested." Henry looks down at his heart. Emma calls out, "Henry, I know what being a hero looks like, and this isn't it." Henry asks Pan why his parents would lie. Pan says, "Because that's what adults do, Henry. You know that better than anyone." Regina pleads with Henry to believe them. Pan says Henry's parents don't care about Neverland. They know if Henry gives his heart, he'll have to stay there. "They're being selfish, because they don't want to lose you." Emma says, "Henry, you have to trust us." Pan scoffs at that and says he's the only one who has ever been honest with Henry. "This is your choice, not theirs." Checking the hourglass, Pan tells Henry they're running out of time. He must choose now.
Neal smiles at his son. "We believe in you, Henry." Emma adds, "Because we love you." Regina finishes, "More than anything." Henry says, "I love you too." Hope washes over Emma's face, until Henry adds, "But I have to save magic." Neal cries, "No, no, no, no." Henry says he's sorry and shoves his heart in Pan's chest. Magic explodes out of Pan. Henry falls lifeless to the floor. It knocks Neal, Emma and Regina off balance, then spreads from Skull Rock over to Neverland, proper, where it rocks Tink, Hook and the waking Lost Boys. Next it hits Snow and Charming. Charming grabs Snow's hand.
Back on Skull Rock, Pan levitates. Emma, Neal and Regina rush to the fallen Henry's side. Pan smiles down at them. We fade to black.
So many viewers are so mad at Henry. I'm not. Here's why: he really is a true believer, and every time he's believed hard enough, and then taken drastic action, it has paid off. He had the faith to believe his fairy tale book was true, and it was. He had the faith to track down Emma, so that she would come to Storybrooke. She did. When Emma couldn't believe in herself, Henry ate an apple tart he believed to be poisoned, and it was, but he did it, because he believed Emma would save him. Emma did save him, with her true love for him. Also? Henry is 11. He's a little kid, raised for 10 years in a weird world where no one changed or grew -- except for him. I'm not mad at Henry.
The only thing that really bothers me about this is, is that Henry wants to save magic at all. Last season, in "Welcome to Storybrooke," Henry set out to blow up the wishing well and destroy magic. In terms of the story, has it even been a month since that happened? It's because of that, that I expect Henry to wonder if magic should be saved. The thing is, I understand why he now thinks it should. He has been deceived not only by Pan, but also by Wendy. He thinks he's going to save a sick young girl's life. That's how Henry got reeled in. Now that he's already in hero mode (which, let's face it, is in his matrilineal DNA), saving Neverland, the Lost Boys and Pan is just a bonus. Henry is doing what seems to be exactly the wrong thing, but I can't fault his reasoning, nor his expectations. And all three of his parents have let him down in one way or another, so he has reason to doubt them too.