Once Upon a Time: Save Henry (3x09)

This week's episode is called "Save Henry," but it might more accurately have been called "Regina is a bad ass who gets shit done." Maybe that's a rather wordy title, and "Save Henry" perhaps has a better ring to it. But seriously, Regina was kicking all sorts of ass in this episode, and I am very happy that we got a chance to shine a spotlight on her character. Before I even talk about the plot, though, I want to make one thing clear.

Regina. Is. A. Villain. Sure, she's a complicated villain. Yes, she has a tragic back story. Yes, I do believe she has the capacity to genuinely care for the people in her life, especially Henry. But guess what? Loving your son does not give you a free pass for all the other horrible things you have done! Including horrible things to Henry himself, of course! While Regina's actions are justifiable from a character standpoint, I in no way think she's one of the good guys. Hell, in this episode she actually explicitly states that she doesn't regret the curse or anything else that she's done! That's pretty messed up. I just wanted to start my review off this way because I'm going to be spending a considerable amount of time gushing about how awesome Regina is in this episode, and I wanted to make it clear that just because she was a bad ass here, that does not excuse her actions as a character in general.

Alright! Now that I've gotten that little rant out of the way, onto the plot! I'll start with the flashback stuff. First of all, we see Regina and Rumple talking just before the curse is enacted. Rumple warns that Regina will always feel a hole in heart, and that revenge will not be enough for her. Regina ignores his warning.

In Storybrooke, Regina finds that Rumple's warning holds true. She does not feel complete. After talking with Archie Hopper, she decides a child is the remedy to her heartbreak. She decides to adopt, but she knows that there's a long waiting list, and she wants to cut through the red tape. Who better to go to for that than Rumple? He is able to procure a child for Regina by finding her a baby whose adoptive family backed out at the last second. This baby is Henry. Regina loves her new child, but she's having a lot of trouble with him. He never stops crying around her. She takes him to Dr. Whale, who says that the baby is fine, but Regina is not convinced. She calls Sidney Glass to help her find out information about Henry's birth parents so that she can know about any medical issues. Regina discovers that Henry only cries around her, while he seems content in the arms of Mary Margaret. Through Glass, Regina discovers that Henry is the son of the savior. She goes to confront Gold, who feigns total ignorance. Regina almost returns Henry, but then decides to keep him after all. We see that another family was lined up to take Henry instead, and that this family was the Darling brothers, attempting to get their hands on baby Henry for Pan.

And then we must move to the plot in Neverland. Henry is at the edge of death, and the group realizes that they need to get Pan in order to save him. Regina tells Emma that she has more to lose, because Emma still has other family members to fall back on, but Regina has nothing but Henry. Although Regina wants to go straight for violence, Emma has the idea of appealing to the Lost Boys' wish for a mother. In doing so, the children cave and tell the group where they can find Pan. The only boy to remain firm in his dedication to Pan is Felix. When the group arrives at Pan's Thinking Tree, they see Pandora's Box. Mary Margaret says they need to open it to save Rumple, because Rumple is David's only way off of the island. Of course, it's a trap. (Seriously, Mary Margaret? You didn't see that coming?) Pan shows up and has them all tied to the tree, which apparently feeds off of people's guilt. Only one thing - Regina doesn't feel guilty about anything she's done. She rushes forward and pulls Henry's heart out of Pan's chest.

Henry's heart is returned to him just in time, and he is pulled into a relieved hug by his two mothers. Rumple is reunited with Neal, and all seems well with the world. Regina goes to tuck Henry into bed, and she does a spell that will protect his heart from being taken again (I'm curious as to why she never tried this before...). Pan shows up and tries to take Henry's heart, but Regina's spell appears to protect him at first. Rumple shows up and traps Pan in Pandora's Box. The group (including Tink, Wendy, and the Lost Boys) heads back home on the Jolly Roger. The End.

But... not really! As "Henry" goes to talk to Felix, he reveals himself to be Pan, having switched places with Henry. Dun dun dunnnnnn.

So, that was a really long plot summary, I apologize. I try not to get so detailed but sometimes these things run off without my permission. Let us discuss some of the awesome and not-so-awesome stuff in here!

Not-So-Awesome:

- How did Pan get aboard the Jolly Roger? How did he change places with Henry? Why are we even doing a body swap plot, guys? Seriously? Now, they could surprise me and pull off something amazing here, but I'm pretty doubtful. As I know I've mentioned before, Jared S. Gilmore isn't the strongest actor in the world. I'm scared about what he'll do with the role of Pan.

- Regina regrets none of it? For real? When I heard this, I was a bit put out. I know they've gone for a serious redemption arc with Rumple's character, but now it seems like they aren't going there for Regina's. It makes me sort of uncomfortable, knowing how morally reprehensible she is, and yet we're supposed to care about her and want her to be with her son. Kind of... ew.

- The Lost Boys caved really quickly because they wanted a mother? Weak. If we had spent a bit more time knowing these characters and showing that they were really only there because Pan made them be, then this would make more sense. But the only Lost Boy we spent any time with at all was Felix, and he's totally Pro Pan. So what's up with the rest of these guys, giving up on their leader so damn easily?

Awesome:

- Regina oh my God. She needs a mic drop or something for how seriously awesome she was in this episode. Cold, calculating, willing to do whatever she has to do to get her son back... ugh all the passion in her performance was seriously impressive. Also, one of the most "aww" worthy moments in the whole episode is when Henry woke up and Regina and Emma both gave him a hug.

- All the family reunion feelings: Yeah, speaking of that hug, it wasn't the only adorable family moment in this episode. I was smiling so hard when Rumple and Neal had their hug. I've been squealing about the two of them ever since they shared the screen together, but they're both just such terrific actors I have to keep bringing it up. That being said, the hug between Emma, Mary Margaret, and David was considerably less adorable by comparison... I think I'm sort of over the David and Mary Margaret thing. It's getting old.

- Rumple playing dumb. During the Storybrooke flashbacks, it gave me so much joy to see Rumple pretending to be oblivious about his true identity. Remember back in Season One when we weren't sure if he knew the truth or not? Gosh, everything feels so much more potent now that we know his full scheme. I have to ask, though... how the hell did he procure Henry? It doesn't actually make any sense.

- The Darling brothers. What a twist! It was just a tiny little moment of them, but I was really happy to see it, because it adds yet another level of sinister intent to everything that Pan has been up to. It goes back so far! Also, just in general, I was happy to see Hopper and Whale in this episode. They've done a good job of giving Storybrooke a timeless sense, and it's almost eerie to see Mary Margaret and the others all so oblivious to Regina's treachery.

- Regina can leave Storybrooke. I don't know why I really liked this detail, but it just makes sense. Correct me if I'm wrong, but we haven't seen that before, yeah? It was a nice touch.

And I could go on, but I shall not. Bottom line, this episode was strong. Although I'm skeptical about the continuing plot with Pan, I'll withhold judgment until I see what's going on.

7.5/10