Gothel is casting her
apocalypse spell and things are looking ominous.
Lucy is quick to fill
in Regina including that Henry and Jacinda kissed and the curse didn’t break
and Henry doesn’t have his memories. Gothel also drops in to basically say how
evil she is and how all humanity will die. Y’know just in case we missed that
this spell was a bad thing
Regina’s not having
this, of course: but Gothel also happily lays out why the curse didn’t break.
It seems Henry’s belief isn’t strong enough because he’s suffered too much
pain: he beliefs his wife and child are dead. He’s an adult now without the
faith he has as a child
This is where we also
have a lot of recaps of young Henry and Regina. There’s a lot of Regina both
trying to hang on to her boy but also accepting she needs to let go and he
needs to be able to live his own life - even if that’s outside of Storybrooke.
Even if that’s in California. While Henry has his own conflicts - he doesn’t
want to stay in Storybrooke not just because he wants to move on and see the
world but because he’s the only person in Storybrooke who didn’t have a cursed
identity. He is of this world more than any of them and he wants to be part of
it
At the same time when
applying for college he realised everything he’s writing is a lie - and he’s
not entirely of this world either. The magic and wonder of Storybrooke is
equally part of him and not something he can ever live or experience in the
outside world - which is also complicated
And I want to know
where Granny learned how to fix cars.
Back in Hyperion
Heights, Regina continues to struggle to find some way to stop Gothel - and
Rumple arrives offering help. Regina is not amused to see him given his
betrayal - but Rumple has a peace offering - a memory potion which may work on
Henry. He has been doing some thinking - he’s beginning to accept he may new
reunite with Belle. In which case he needs to do the best he can with the
family he already has.
Which is nice to have
him back on side, at least for a little while until Rumple has yet another of
his many many changes of hearts.
Unfortunately when
Regina goes to Henry with this potion it doesn’t work. More, despite all this
theorising last episode, Henry has gone back to completely disbelieving in
magic; that he can’t be Lucy’s father, that there is no special magic or
woo-woo at all. Every doubt he has he rationalionises… like an adult.
Everything Regina says, Henry has a reasonable explanation for. Because he’s
not a wide eyed child, not the Truest Believer (which has always struck me as a
bizarre title - like “I’m the man with the least connection to humanity!”),
he’s a man who has suffered losses and faced brutal, bitter reality. And, also,
saying “I’m your mother, here’s the adoption papers” isn’t exactly an easy
sell.
And Regina realises
that his pain is based on solid reality - because those his wife and child
didn’t die, he did lose them and he wasn’t able to protect them. Even the
Storybook which she and Lucy dig up from Victoria’s grave doesn’t break the
curse.
Of course part of why
it’s so unbelievable is not just fairy tales - but time travel. This curse, to
succeed, didn’t just curse them and drop them on Earth, but also moved them
back in time. This was necessary, per the show, to stop people like Snow White
and Emma from intervening once Henry, Regina et al fell off the map. Which
sounds like a decent way to explain where these people went, I guess. All those
flashbacks aren’t actually flashbacks - young Henry debating going to college
with Regina is happening now - but on the other side of America. They’re in
Storybrook (New England) along with Emma, Snow, et al which is why none of them
are riding to the rescue
Yes it’s going to get
confusing
