Henry's History
Henry is born in a prison in Phoenix, Arizona, and given up for adoption by his birth mother, Emma, because she wishes to give him his best chance in life. ("Tallahassee," "The Heart of the Truest Believer")
After being given up by Emma, he is placed with his first family, but for an unknown reason, it doesn't work out. He is put up for adoption again in Boston, where Regina adopts him, and she names him Henry after her father. Upon bringing him back to Storybrooke with her, Regina finds Henry is very fussy and difficult to calm down. She attempts to tell him a bedtime story, but he suddenly vomits on her shirt. A thorough check by Dr. Whale at the hospital proves Henry is healthy, but he suggests looking into the birth parents' medical records for genetic diseases. While Regina talks with Sidney on the phone about looking up the information, she hands her son to a hospital volunteer, Mary Margaret, who instinctively begins rocking and soothing him. Stunned that Henry has finally quieted down, she takes him back into her own arms, to which he starts to cry again, leading her to believe there is something wrong with her as a mother. When Regina, at last, manages to help Henry relax, she learns from Sidney about her child's birth mother, who was abandoned in the woods eighteen years ago, causing her to suspect this is the grown-up savior of the curse. Since Mr. Gold was the one who procured Henry for her, Regina confronts him about orchestrating everything, but he chalks up her erratic behavior to being a full-time mom. She return Henry to Boston, where he will be given to the next potential family. As Regina says goodbye to him, she realizes that she loves Henry, despite who his birth mother is, and decides to keep him. In fear that the savior will come to reclaim Henry one day, Regina decides to erase her own knowledge of Henry's birth mother. While Henry is resting in a crib, she brings him to her vault. She tells him a story of a queen and her prince as she makes and then drinks a potion to help herself forget about the identity of his birth mother. ("Save Henry")
At ten years old, Henry is given a Tron: Legacy lunchbox by Regina. Overall, he feels unloved by his adoptive mother, and is further saddened by the fact his birth mother gave him up. He relates all of this to his teacher, Ms. Blanchard, during lunchtime. Henry is also frustrated by the sameness in town, and believes he doesn't belong. To cheer Henry up, she gives him a fairy tale storybook, and explains the stories in it are a reminder that his life will get better if he just holds onto hope. He shows interest in the book, and casually flips through it. For a brief moment, Henry sees a mirage of Ms. Blanchard as a princess. ("Wake Up Call," "Going Home")
Henry becomes rebellious towards Regina and begins having therapy sessions with Archie. From reading the storybook, he realizes the stories in the book are real as well as that every person in Storybrooke is a fairy-tale character under the influence of the Dark Curse. Henry also recognizes his mother as the Evil Queen and has knowledge about the savior, also his birth mother, who is prophesied to break the curse in twenty-eight years. Seeing as it's now twenty-eight years, he steals Ms. Blanchard's credit card and uses it on an online website to track down his birth mother, Emma Swan, in Boston. After she opens the apartment door, he introduces himself as the baby she gave up ten years ago. When Emma threatens to call the police, Henry nonchalantly replies that he'll just tell them she kidnapped him. Emma is not convinced and uses her "superpower" to detect his lie. As she begins making the call, Henry pleas for her to come back to Storybrooke with him. On the drive there, he animatedly fills her in on his book and proclaims all the fairy tales in it are real. Upon entering Storybrooke, Henry's refusal to give out his home address prompts Emma to step out of the car, to which Archie approaches them on the street. Henry is dishonest when Archie asks him about why he skipped their session and is advised against being untruthful. Archie gives Emma the address of Henry's mother and leaves. Henry insists that Archie is Jiminy Cricket and everyone is under the Evil Queen's curse. At his house, he steps out of the car but purposely leaves his storybook behind. Henry is greeted by an anxious and worried Regina, but runs past her while remarking Emma is his "real" mom. Later, from his bedroom window, Henry watches Emma leave the house. The next day, Henry is severely disappointed that time still hasn't moved forward since bringing Emma back to town. He runs away to his castle playground where Emma returns his book. He speaks about his own adoption and his belief she gave him up for the best chance in life, which brings tears to Emma's eyes. However, they butt heads over his fairy-tale theory. He even begs Emma not to bring him back to Regina because life with her "sucks" and encourages her to stay in town for at least a week to prove the curse is real. This prompts Emma to disclose how she was abandoned twice; once at birth and then again by her first set of foster parents, though he contends she came through a magic tree as an infant. After going home, he stares at the clock tower from his window until it begins moving forward in time. To this, he realizes Emma decided to stay after all. ("Pilot")
The next morning, Henry sits on his bed happily as he watches the clock move. His mom walks in with his storybook, and asks where the torn out pages are. He claims not to know, though Regina cares quite a bit as Henry seems to think she is some "evil queen," and it hurts her feelings as his mother. Henry retorts that she is not his mother, and as the clock tower chimes, he rushes off to the diner to order a cinnamon hot chocolate for Emma. From another table booth, he reveals himself and invites her to walk him to school. Upon seeing her try to eat one of Regina's apples, he hastily throws it away and engages her in conversation about the curse by adopting the name "Operation Cobra" to keep the Evil Queen off their trail. He pulls out torn out pages from the storybook, and claims the infant in the drawing is her. During an outdoor school lesson, he called out by his mom, who tells him that Emma was arrested. Though Regina warns that Emma is a con woman, he is unfazed by the news and excuses himself back to class. With Mary Margaret, Henry bails Emma out of jail. After school, he arrives home to overhear Emma in discussion with Regina, and is extremely hurt when she refers to him as "crazy." Henry runs off before she can explain. Later, while still upset, he refuses to talk during a session with Archie until Emma bursts in to clear up the misunderstanding. Emma regains Henry's trust by telling him she told Regina what was necessary to throw her off their trail as they work to break the curse. To prove her point, she takes the storybook pictures and burns them in the fireplace so Regina will never find out. With his faith restored, Henry happily runs to hug Emma. ("The Thing You Love Most")
During a hospital volunteer day with his class, Henry curiously wanders into the room of a comatose patient, John Doe, when Mary Margaret enters. She explains the mystery of the man's identity. From this, he begins to believe John Doe is Prince Charming, and later proclaims to Emma that the man is her father. Through much persistence, he begs Emma to have Mary Margaret read the Snow White fairy tale in his book to John Doe. Mary Margaret agrees, and the three plan to meet at the diner for a full report in the morning. Henry waits expectantly with Emma, and is pleased when Mary Margaret blurts out that John Doe grabbed her hand in his sleep. They rush back to the hospital only to discover John Doe disappeared the previous night. Regina drags Henry back home while Sheriff Graham takes care of the investigation, but he sneaks out into the forest as a search party is ongoing. He insists that John Doe is looking for Mary Margaret. While Emma wants to take Henry home, Graham finds John Doe's patient tag. At the shore, Mary Margaret begins resuscitating John Doe using mouth-to-mouth, nearly giving up, when he sputters awake. Back at the hospital, Henry and the others watch from outside the door as John Doe is put into recovery when a blonde woman, Kathryn, rushes in. As it turns out, Kathryn is John Doe's long lost wife, and his real name is David Nolan. Regina calls Henry to leave for home, though he makes an excuse to grab his backpack. To Mary Margaret, he assures that she and David belong together. ("Snow Falls")
Henry obediently follows Regina's rules for staying home and doing his homework, but once she leaves for a council meeting, he bolts out to find Emma at Mary Margaret's apartment. Henry runs into Mr. Gold, who is just leaving the apartment, and expresses confusion to Emma over the identity of his fairy-tale counterpart. Emma informs Henry that a pregnant woman, Ashley, is missing, and she needs to find her. Henry ignores her orders to go home and follows along to the diner, where she proceeds to interrogate Ruby. When Ruby reveals that Ashley has two stepsisters and a stepmother, Henry quickly catches on and starts to mention "Operation Cobra," but Emma shushes him before he can finish. Next, Emma decides to see Ashley's ex-boyfriend, Sean. She is told by his father, Mitchell Herman, that Ashley has agreed to sell her baby to Mr. Gold. Henry warns her that she cannot make Ashley break a deal with Mr. Gold. When the duo questions Ruby again, she admits she let Ashley have her car to drive out of Boston. Emma sends Henry home, but as she is driving away to find Ashley, he pops up in the back seat. He states that no one will be able to leave Storybrooke because of the Dark Curse, and if anyone tries, bad things will happen. On the side of the road, Ashley is going into labor, to which Emma drives her back to the hospital. While in the waiting room, Henry claims to Emma that no one can leave Storybrooke except her. This fact, he argues, reinforced his idea about the Enchanted Forest and that she really was the savior. After Emma saves Ashley's baby from being taken by Mr. Gold, she drives Henry home. He narrowly escapes getting caught by Regina when she gets home. ("The Price of Gold")
The next day, Henry is in another session with Archie. He strongly believes his therapist used to be Jiminy Cricket as Archie humors him. Moments after, the town suffers an earthquake and a large sinkhole appears at the entrance of an abandoned mine. He and Archie go to the site to have a look. Henry notices Regina tuck something into her coat and believes the sinkhole must have evidence of the curse. He relates this idea to both Archie and Emma but is cut off when Regina orders him into her car. At the next therapy session, Marco comes to Archie's office in order to see his long-time friend. Henry excitedly reveals that Marco is actually Geppetto, and outlines his plans to search the mine because he is positive that the sinkhole's sudden appearance has something to do with the curse. Archie cuts him off; telling him that if he continues on with his crazy idea, people will think he is insane and lock him up. Henry is crushed by Archie's demand that his nonsense must end, and leaves visibly upset. In tears, he goes straight to Emma, who comforts him and then drops him back home. Nonetheless, Henry is unable to give up on his idea, and ventures into the mines. Inside, he removes a piece of decorative glass that bears a striking similarity to the one Regina pocketed earlier. Suddenly, the ceiling begins collapsing. Henry finds Archie inside the mines as well, and they become lost. From following the sound of Pongo's bark, they come upon an elevator and start cranking it upward to the surface, but it gets stuck halfway up. Henry apologizes for being reckless as Archie is also remorseful for his own harsh words earlier. In truth, he doesn't really think Henry is crazy, and though Regina is extremely protective, it's perfectly fine to have an imagination. In turn, Henry inspires Archie to change into the person he wants to be rather than listening to other people all the time. They discuss Henry's fairy-tale theory, and his firm belief that there simply has to be more to the world. Suddenly, Emma is lowered down on a harness to bring them up. Archie almost falls with the collapsing elevator but latches on to Emma's foot with the umbrella. All three of them are lifted to safety. ("That Still Small Voice")
After David is released from the hospital, he and Emma attend his welcome home party. Henry theorizes that David doesn't remember his life as Prince Charming due to the curse, and needs to recall them before his false memories set in. Emma tries to convince him that the reason David got lost a few nights back by the Toll Bridge is due to amnesia. Henry thinks if David is asked about his previous sword fighting skills as Prince Charming, it will jog his memory. When he openly inquiries about this later, David laughs at the thought. ("The Shepherd")
Sheriff Graham stops by Regina's house where Henry answers the door. Graham wants to speak with Henry, and asks Henry if he is in his book. After showing him a picture of wolf, Graham recognizes it as the Wolf he has seen around Storybrooke, and tells Henry that he has been flashes of what he believes to be a past life, and they began after he kissed Emma. Henry is surprised Graham kissed Emma, and listens as he continues to describe the flashes; one being the wolf, the other having a knife and getting ready to hurt Mary Margaret. Henry turns the page, and finds out that Graham is the Huntsman because he was raised by wolves, and once spared Snow White's life. Graham asks what happened to him after he spared Snow White's life, and Henry states the Evil Queen ripped out his heart. ("The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter")
At some point, Emma learns the result of Graham's autopsy and tells Henry that he died of natural causes, but the kid does not buy it. Henry becomes increasingly depressed and, two weeks after the sheriff's death, he warns Emma that they should not mess with the curse. He blames himself for Graham's death and wants to give up on "Operation Cobra." However, his faith is renewed when Emma wins the position as the new town sheriff. ("Desperate Souls")
A few days later, Henry is browsing in Mr. Clark's store when two children about his age walk up to him. They introduce themselves as Ava and Nicholas and ask him to hang out. Just as Henry is about to leave, Mr. Clark corners them and accuses them of shoplifting. He calls Regina who, when she arrives, is confident that Henry is framed by the two orphans. Henry arrives at the police station and tells Emma that Ava and Nicholas are really Hansel and Gretel, and asks her about his birth father. Emma tells him that his father was a man training to be a firefighter who liked pumpkin pie and died trying to save a family from a burning apartment building.
Emma succeeds in reuniting Ava and Nicholas with their father, and Henry gets a pumpkin pie to share with Emma. As they leave the diner, he comments she really is changing things in Storybrooke. Suddenly, they hear a rumbling noise, and turn to see a man on a motorcycle riding into town. ("True North")
In the morning, Henry walks out of his house with his backpack when he sees the stranger from last night with his motorcycle and a large box attached to the back of it. He asks the man what he is doing in Storybrooke, and that no one ever comes here. Regina notices Henry conversing with the stranger, and comes out to investigate, but the man drives away quickly on his motorcycle. ("7:15 A.M.")
Regina demolishes Henry's castle playhouse for safety reasons, which upsets him greatly. He also discovers that his storybook of fairy tales has disappeared. Emma tries to expose Regina for wasting Storybrooke's stolen money on a separate house for herself in the woods, however, the house turns out to be a modern playground for all the children of Storybrooke. Regina then warns Emma to stay away from Henry, or else she will take legal action against her. While Henry is playing on the playground with the other children, he asks if they can talk about "Operation Cobra" sometime. Emma declines and says that his mom might keep her away from him if they tried. As she drives away, Henry watches her leave. ("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")
A few days later, during Mr. Gold's imprisonment for physical assault on Moe, Regina arrives at the station with Henry. She bribes Emma to spend some time with him so she can speak to Mr. Gold for thirty minutes. He and Emma go to the parlor to get ice cream. ("Skin Deep")
After that, Regina gives Henry a video game to apologize for her destroying his castle, but Henry still misses his book. A few minutes later, a visibly upset Kathryn comes into Regina's office in order to speak with her, and Henry leaves. Emma later finds his storybook and surprises him by returning it. ("What Happened to Frederick")
Many days later, he helps out in the sheriff's office browsing on the computer through possible jobs for a recently unemployed Ruby. Most of the job listings involve carrying something in a little basket and delivering it, but she does not like the sound of any of them. However, Ruby is very good at directing and answering office telephone calls, which Emma takes note of. Emma hires Ruby as her assistant. When David is reported in a daze in the woods, Emma is ready to go look for him when Henry cuts in. He reveals that Ruby is actually Red Riding Hood, but that she does not know how cool she can be. Emma heeds Henry's advice and takes Ruby with her. Ruby successfully finds David, and later finds a crucial piece of evidence under the Toll Bridge linking Mary Margaret to Kathryn's murder. ("Red-Handed")
Soon after Mary Margaret's arrest, Henry sits a the diner counter trying to think of ways he can help. August comes in and offers him some encouragement. August tells Henry to look inside his book for the answers. He becomes excited at the prospect of someone believing in him and browses through the book. ("Heart of Darkness")
After coming to the sheriff department, he finds Mary Margaret's cell empty. He sits out in the hallway until Emma and Mr. Gold walk up to him, and he tells them they did a good thing by freeing Mary Margaret from her cell. Emma is confused until she goes into the sheriff's office to see what he is talking about. In a panic, she leaves the station to find Mary Margaret, and eventually finds her in a crazed stranger's house, who believes himself to be the Mad Hatter with a daughter named Grace. The next day, Emma talks with Henry before he has go to class. A classmate, Paige, greets Henry on her way into the school building. Puzzled by the girl's appearance, Emma asks Henry for his book, and he happily offers it up. She flips through the book until she sees a picture page with the Mad Hatter and Grace. ("Hat Trick")
With August's assistance, Emma follows up a lead that Mary Margaret has been set up by Regina. She finds proof of a shovel piece, to which Henry helps set them up to enter into the house garage with a key while Regina is busy in the shower. Inside Regina's garage, August and Emma find a shovel is a perfect match for the piece they found earlier. However, when Emma comes back the next day with a search warrant, the shovel is gone. Despite the setback, they do find a disheveled and alive Kathryn in the diner alley. ("The Stable Boy")
One morning, August suffers a severe leg spasm, and phones Henry to "move the plan along faster." On a rainy morning, they have a stakeout across the street from Mr. Gold's pawnshop. Henry does not understand how this is part of "Operation Cobra," but August asks him to do as he says. Henry goes into the store and distracts Mr. Gold by asking to buy a homecoming gift for Mary Margaret, who has since been released from custody following Kathryn's reappearance. Later, at the party, he asks August if he found what he was looking for, and how bad was it when Mr. Gold caught him snooping in the store. August admits he did not find what he wanted, but he believes "it" will find him. Shortly thereafter, Emma escorts Henry out of the party as Regina does not know he is here, and he will have to go home since his mother will be home shortly. Emma opens the door just as David is preparing to come in. To save Mary Margaret the awkwardness of dealing with him, she asks Henry to walk home with David. ("The Return")
Since regaining his book, Henry notices the story of Pinocchio has been added to the pages. One day at school, Emma approaches him and asks to read the book, to which he happily obliges. However, he quickly notices that the new pages are strange and asks Emma for her help over it. She does not take him seriously and leaves. ("The Stranger")
After another bad encounter with Regina, and August's crazy suggestion that she is Storybrooke's "savior," Emma becomes fed up and wants to leave town with Henry. She offers him a ride in the car, and after does he realize what is happening, Henry forces the steering wheel to swerve, and the car comes to a halt in a brush of trees. He tells her that she must stay and break the curse. Emma reluctantly agrees to go back. Worried about Emma's lack of belief in the curse, Henry seeks out August at his bed and breakfast guest room. As August pulls up his pant leg, Henry is able to see the leg is wooden. August explains that it's no longer possible for him to help with "Operation Cobra" with his rapid transformation into wood and it's up to Henry. So, he rushes over to convince Emma that the curse is real, but she urgently tells him she is leaving town so the feud between her and Regina can stop. He hugs her tightly, unable to say goodbye, and then notices an apple turnover sitting on the table. Alarmed, he frantically asks where she got it from. Emma states it is a treat from Regina, but Henry is adamant that she doesn't eat it. Henry refuses to accept that Emma is leaving his life for good and promises her that he has faith in her, and will somehow prove that the curse exists. Henry grabs the apple pastry and before she can stop him, he takes a bite. At first, he seems fine, but then collapses unconscious. ("An Apple Red as Blood")
Emma rushes him to the hospital, but Henry is completely comatose. She shows Dr. Whale the apple turnover he ate, but he is not convinced that is what made Henry collapse. Emma is frustrated Dr. Whale does not believe her, and comes to the sharp conclusion what happened to Henry is like "magic." She dumps out everything in Henry's backpack and reaches for his storybook. With one touch of the book, a flash of the Enchanted Forest events come to her. Now enraged, she angrily confronts Regina about the apple turnover, and the poison she put it in, which was intended for Emma to consume. Mary Margaret reads to Henry in the hopes that he would wake up as David did, but it does not work. In the middle of her explanation for giving the book to him, his heart flat lines. Despite the doctors' best attempts, Henry seemingly passes away. Regina and Emma, who had been working on finding a magical cure, arrive on the scene, and both collapse in tears. Emma kisses Henry's forehead as a last goodbye, but, as a mother's love is unconditional, she unintentionally gives him true love's kiss and breaks the Sleeping Curse he is under as well as the Dark Curse. Henry wakes up, and everyone in Storybrooke regains memories of their former lives in the Enchanted Forest. However, Regina is horrified that the curse is broken, and in a panic, states her love for Henry, who looks at her questionably. Then, she rushes out of the hospital. From the window, Henry and Emma notice a purple cloud of magic, which was created by Mr. Gold, descending over the town.
