Henry Mills

"I'm done reading about heroes. I want to be one."

- Henry to David

Henry Mills is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the first episode of the first season. He is portrayed by starring cast member Jared S. Gilmore, and does not have an Enchanted Forest counterpart.

History

 * -|During the Curse=

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. His biological father, Neal, is never told as Emma discovered she was expecting while incarcerated.

After being given up for adoption, 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 becomes his mother. She names him Henry as a namesake for her father. Henry is very fussy as an infant and Regina has repeated troubles calming him down. She attempts to tell him a bedtime story, but he ends up vomiting, to her alarm. A thorough health check by Dr. Whale at the hospital shows there is nothing wrong with Henry, but Regina is suggested into finding her child's birth parents' medical records to look for genetic diseases he may have inherited. While Regina converses on the phone to have her associate, Sidney, look up the information, she hands Henry to a hospital volunteer, Mary Margaret, who instinctively begins rocking and soothing him. Regina is stunned Henry has finally quieted down and takes him back into her own arms, to which he starts to insistently cry again. When Regina, at last, manages to help Henry relax, she receives data from Sidney about her child's birth mother, who was abandoned in the woods eighteen years ago, leading 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 with this knowledge, but he has no idea what she is talking about. Henry is taken back to Boston by Regina to hand him over to the next potential family on the waiting list. Despite knowing who his birth mother is, she cannot deny her love for Henry and changes her mind. Even so, she is constantly afraid the birth mother will come searching for Henry one day. After receiving advice from the town therapist, Archie, Regina brings Henry in a crib to her vault to lull him to sleep with a fairytale story of a queen and her prince while concocting and then drinking a potion to help herself forget about his birth mother.

At ten years old, Henry becomes rebellious towards Regina and begins having therapy sessions with Archie. Out of sympathy, his teacher Ms. Blanchard gives him a special storybook. From reading it, he realizes the stories in the book are real as well as that every person in Storybrooke is a fairytale 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. While skipping out on his scheduled therapy session, Henry leaves to find Emma. 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. She has no choice but to agree and drives him home. On the way there, he animatedly fills her in on his book and proclaims all the fairytales in it are real. Though Emma can tell he is not lying this time, though she herself does not buy his reasoning. 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 fairytale 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.

The next morning, Henry sits on his bed beaming happily as he watches the clock move. His mom walks in with his storybook, and asks where the last few pages of the book are. He claims not to know, though Regina cares quite a bit as Henry seems to think she is some "evil queen", and how much it hurts her feelings as his mother. He retorts back that she is not his mother. As the clock tower unexpectedly chimes, which startles Regina; Henry uses the opportunity to run out of the house. He heads to diner, and orders a cinnamon hot chocolate for Emma. However, she gets the impression it's from Graham, and heads over to his table to coolly reject his advances when Henry pops his head out from the next table over stating the chocolate was from him. He asks her to walk him to school.

They talk about Regina and her "curse" and form a plan called "Operation Cobra," and he gives her the missing pages from the book to show Prince Charming holding his infant baby, who Henry believes is Emma. He warns Regina must never see them, or else she will know Emma is the savior. During an outdoor school lesson, he called out by his mom to tell him Emma was arrested, and she's a "con" woman. He excuses himself back to class and walks off. With Mary Margaret, Henry bails Emma out of jail.

He comes home from school to hear Emma and Regina are talking in her office. Henry hears Emma call him crazy. Offended and hurt, he runs up to his room. He is with Archie in a therapy session, still upset, when Emma walks in and apologizes. She plays along with Henry's fairytale ideas; explaining she said those things to Regina to keep her from figuring out "Operation Cobra", and the only way to throw the "evil queen" off their trail is to make her think otherwise. She burns the pages of the book in the fire to keep them from Regina, and they hug.

Henry's class goes on a trip to the hospital to help out by volunteering. He goes into room of comatose patient, John Doe, to touch his face when Mary Margaret walks in. Henry asks her if she knows the man, and they talk about if he has any family. He inquires further with a smile, "Sure you don't know him?" Emma and Henry meet again at the castle playhouse, and he convinces Emma to get Mary Margaret to read the Snow White fairytale to John Doe.

Some time later, he and Emma wait for Mary Margaret at the diner so they can talk about anything that happened after she read to him. Emma is not expecting much, but Mary Margaret rushes in excitedly and tells them he woke up, and Henry thinks John Doe is remembering and brings up the idea to do it again. Mary Margaret insists they go now to see him. When they get to the hospital, John Doe has disappeared from his room, and no one can find him. Regina hauls Henry home, but he sneaks out to the woods to join in on the search party with Emma, Mary Margaret and Sheriff Graham. Eventually, John Doe is found unconscious in the creek by the toll bridge. While Mary Margaret tries to resuscitate him, Emma tells Henry not to look and hugs him.

Back at the hospital, they watch the doctors hook John Doe to machines to begin treating him, when his wife shows up, shocking them. They find out his real name is David Nolan. Regina calls for Henry to leave for home, but he makes an excuse to go get his backpack. He insists to Mary Margaret that David was indeed looking for her, and they belong together.

Regina has a council meeting to get to and tells Henry to stay put in the house. He obediently listens, but waits until she is gone before going to see Emma. He finds her at Mary Margaret's house talking to Mr. Gold, who he still has trouble figuring out what his fairy tale counterpart.

Emma informs Henry that a pregnant woman, Ashley is missing, and she needs to find out where she has gone. Henry ignores her orders to go home and follows her to the diner, where she proceeds to interrogate Ruby. When Ruby reveals that Ashley had two stepsisters and a stepmother, Henry quickly catches on and starts to mention "Operation Cobra", but Emma shushes him before he can finish.

Emma decides to go see Ashley's ex-boyfriend, Sean, and 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 says that no one will be able to leave Storybrooke because of the Dark Curse, and if anyone tries, bad things will happen. Just then, Emma finds Ruby's car abandoned in a ditch. They pull over and discover Ashley, who is having labor contractions. Henry stands by, helpless, as Emma struggles to drag her to the car and the three drive to the hospital.

At the hospital, 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 next day, Henry is at one of his sessions with Archie Hopper. He explains that Jiminy Cricket was not always a cricket, and Archie humors him. Moments after, the town suffers an earthquake and a large sinkhole appears at the entrance of an abandoned mine. When Archie and Henry arrive, Regina orders Henry to go to her car and tells Archie that she would destroy him if he did not crush her son's delusion.

At their next 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 was positive that the sinkhole's sudden appearance had something to do with the curse. Archie cuts him off; telling him that if he continued on with his crazy idea, people would think he was insane and would lock him up. He tells him that his nonsense must end, and Henry leaves, visibly upset. He shows up at Emma and Mary Margaret's house in tears. She comforts him for a time and then brings him home.

Nonetheless, Henry is unable to give up his idea that there is something in the mines to prove the curse is real, and begins exploring inside. Meanwhile, Henry is exploring inside the mine. He removes a piece of decorative glass; a shard similar to the one that Regina had pocketed earlier, and the ceiling starts to collapse.

Archie hurries in just before the entrance caves in. They find each other and Henry starts running through the tunnels; telling Archie to follow him. Once they become lost inside the mine, they hear Pongo's bark and follow the noise. There, they find an elevator, and start cranking it upward. After the elevator becomes stuck, Henry apologizes to Archie for his behavior, and they have a long discussion about the Enchanted Forest.

Then, they hear a noise, and discover that Emma has come down to save them. Archie lifts Henry up, and the elevator begins to give way. Before Emma can grab him, the elevator plummets, but they find that Archie had grabbed onto some of Emma's gear with his umbrella. All three of them are lifted to safety.

Henry and Emma attend a surprise "Welcome Home" party for the recently released coma patient, David Nolan. Henry tells Emma that the reason he is not remembering his life as Prince Charming is because of the curse, and that he needs to remember that life before his false memories set in. Emma tries to tell him that he is not remembering because he has had amnesia since he was found at the Toll Bridge. Henry thinks that if he asks David if he has ever used a sword, it will jog his memory and make him remember being Prince Charming, but David laughs when asked all this.

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.

After Graham's death, Henry becomes depressed and 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.

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.

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.

Regina demolishes Henry's castle playhouse for safety reasons, which upsets him greatly. He also discovers that his storybook of fairytales 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 warns the embarrassed Emma to stay away from Henry, or else she would 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, however, declines and says that his mom could keep her away from him if they tried. Henry is left watching in the woods as she drives away.

A few days later, during Mr. Gold's imprisonment for physical assault on Moe French, 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.

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. {Ep|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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, and in rageful mode, 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 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 the kiss of true love, and breaks the curse he is under as well as the Dark Curse. Henry wakes up, and everyone in Storybrooke re-obtain memories of their former lives in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry is pleased that she finally believes. However, Regina is horrified the Dark Curse is broken, and in a panic, she tells Henry she does love him no matter what anyone says. Then, she rushes out of the hospital. Tension rises again when something strange surfaces in sight outside the hospital window, which is a purple cloud of magic, created by Mr. Gold, descending over the town.

After the curse is broken, Henry reunites with Mary Margaret, David, the dwarves, Ruby and Granny. While Emma and her parents hug, he calls David, "Grandpa", which David joyfully acknowledges before embracing him as well. He is scared for his adoptive mother when he hears that Dr. Whale is leading a mob to Regina's house, and begs Emma and the others to stop it. After Emma saves Regina's life so she would not break her promise to Henry, she asks her if it is true Henry asked Emma to keep her alive; apparently wondering if Henry loves her after all. When Emma and Mary Margaret vanish into the hat, Henry comes in with Ruby to stop Regina from strangling David. He calls her an evil queen when he hears what happened to his mom and grandmother, and tells her he does not want to see her until they come back. Then he goes to live with David in Mary Margaret's apartment.
 * -|After the Curse=

Outside the town hall, Henry waits with Ruby for David. When he arrives, Henry tries to cheer him up, but fails because Leroy runs in and reveals that if anyone leaves Storybrooke, they lose all their memories of the Enchanted Forest forever. He goes home with David and tries to help him with his speech in boosting the town residents' morale and calming the chaos, but then David runs off to seek out Jefferson to find a way to rescue Emma and Mary Margaret. Henry goes with Ruby to the meeting at the town hall, but David never shows up. Instead, Regina forces the doors open with her newly re-obtained magic and attacks the townspeople. Henry realizes that she wants him to come home with her, so he willingly goes to stop her rampage in frightening everyone.

Once "home", Henry tries to escape through his bedroom window, but Regina catches him with magic. She makes it known she put a barrier spell so he cannot leave. Henry complains she is imprisoning him, and expresses his pain at having known the whole truth about the Enchanted Forest and the people in it, while Regina tried to make him think he was crazy. Regina wants to make amends, and even says he can live in a house with magic. She offers to teach him how to use magic, and says that through magic he can gain so much. Henry refuses. He declares he does not want to become like her, and leaves his room.

A little bit later, David breaks down Regina's door and asks to see Henry. Regina allows him to take Henry home, saying that, she wants him to be with her only if he truly wants it; not because he is forced to. She admits that she does not know how to love very well, but that she will strive to be worthy of Henry's love. Clearly, Henry's words help her comprehend that she cannot keep him against his will, and that she is too much like her own mother, Cora. He leaves to go to the apartment with David. They go to the diner, where Henry tells an anxious Marco where his son is.

David walks Henry to the school bus stop, and suggests the name "Operation Scorpion" for their mission to get Emma and Mary Margaret back. David regretfully informs him that Henry will not be helping him, and talks him into going to school. Henry pretends to get on the bus, but as soon as David walks away, he runs to find Jefferson. Jefferson informs Henry that he had already talked to his granddad and tells Henry that Regina has a vault where she might have some magic. Henry tells Jefferson that he should find his daughter, Paige, who is looking for him and that not knowing is a lot worse than Paige being angry that Jefferson left her to go to Wonderland and never returning. Over the phone, Henry invites Regina to lunch with him. She accepts and leaves her office. In actuality, the meeting was a ploy so Regina is distracted while he sneaks into the office and grabs her keys, and finds his way into her vault. Henry is successful, and explores the vault briefly before unlocking a box that contains poisonous snakes, which rear up at him dangerously.

Henry quickly jumps back, but David arrives in time and shuts the box. He apologizes to David for disobeying him and admits how much he misses Emma and Mary Margaret. David comforts him, and the two leave the vault. Later, David finds Henry in Emma's car. He walks up to him and shows him two wooden swords, and they practice swordplay; unaware that Albert Spencer is watching angrily from his car.

Henry hangs out in the mines watching David and the dwarves mining for fairy dust. The plan is to find fairy dust, and use it on Jefferson's hat with possible transportation to and from the Enchanted Forest. Ruby brings lunch in a basket, and Henry takes a muffin.

David brings Henry to the stables, and shows him his new pony. He tells him that he will need to take care of the pony, and has to earn its trust before he can ride it. Henry starts to groom his pony, and David leaves the stables to tend to other matters. He continues to groom him for sometime until a recently resurrected Daniel arrives and scares Henry's pony; making it rear and bolt out of the stables in fear. Henry asks him to stop because he is scaring the horses. Then, he sees the blood on hands and offers to help him, but this triggers a bad memory in Daniel's mind, and he grabs Henry's neck and lifts him off the ground. David arrives and saves Henry; telling him to run.

Henry wakes up screaming from a nightmare in Storybrooke and is comforted by David. He tells David of seeing a room without windows and doors covered in blood red curtains with flames in the room. He also describes a female figure on the other side of the room, and that it is observing him. David calms Henry by lighting a candle to sooth him. Unbeknownst to either, Henry's nightmare closely mirrors that of another person.

Henry is still having nightmares. David catches him trying to stay up by drinking coffee. He reassures Henry that everything will be fine and that he will watch over him, but when he has his nightmare and wakes screaming, it is Regina who comforts him. Henry wonders why she's there instead of David, and she informs him that David got an emergency call and was forced to leave. Henry discovers a burn on his hand, and in a panic realizes that his nightmares are real. Regina calls Mr. Gold over, who kindly gives Henry a necklace that lets him control his actions in the nightmare. The next time he goes to sleep, he is visited by a depressed David, who fears informing Henry he might never see Emma and Mary Margaret again due to Albert Spencer burning the hat out of revenge. Meanwhile, in his nightmare, Henry is delighted to discover that the necklace works, which allows him to put the fires out. He sees a woman and tells her that his name is Henry, and that she should not be afraid.

When an asleep Henry revisits the Netherworld, the same woman, Aurora, is there and tells Henry she is with his mother and grandmother and that they need his help. Before she can tell him how, he wakes up. Frantically, he tells Regina and David the news. Amidst the good news, he tells Regina that they need help from her mother. Henry agrees to contact Aurora again in the netherworld. Regina and David sit by his bed as Mr. Gold tells Henry that the key to stopping Cora is the squid ink found in the Dark Dungeon. While in this nightmare, Henry tries to tell Aurora about the squid ink, but she cannot hear him and is sucked away. He wakes up and they ask him if he delivered the message. He says that he was not able to tell her. Regina notices a burn on his arm and refuses to send him back as the dreams are physically scorching him. Mr. Gold uses magic to heal Henry's arm. David, too, does not want to send Henry back and instead asks to be put under the sleeping curse.

Later, Henry watches as Regina combines the magical ingredients to form a sleeping curse for David. He asks her if she has stopped using magic. Regina admits to using magic on Daniel, and that she is trying to use it to help. Henry is pleased by this. Regina hands the curse to Mr. Gold who dips it into a needle. David asks Mr. Gold how to find Mary Margaret and he does not know. His finger is pricked, and David falls under the sleeping curse. As David lies asleep, Henry is concerned as to why he does not wake up.

Regina goes to Henry and asks him to watch over David for awhile because she is preparing for Cora's arrival with Mr. Gold. Before she leaves, Regina tells her son that she will do anything in her power to keep Emma and Mary Margaret safe. Later, Henry is awoken by the dwarves because all of the diamonds have disappeared, and they suspect Regina and Mr. Gold to be behind it. This causes Henry to believe that his mother has lied to him.

Henry and Ruby go to the wishing well where Gold and Regina have placed an enchantment over it that will cause anyone passing through the portal to die; for they believe Cora will be the one to come through; not Emma and Mary Margaret. Henry confronts his mother, and she explains that she is protecting Henry from her mother who will destroy everything she loves;, including her son. Henry pleads for his mother to believe that Mary Margaret and Emma will be the ones to arrive in Storybrooke.

Wanting to earn her son's love, Regina lifts the curse from the well. Emma and Mary Margaret emerge and the group immediately travels to Mr. Gold's shop, where Mary Margaret uses true love's kiss to awaken David from the sleeping curse. Henry hugs and thanks his mother, and tells her she truly has changed. Emma asks Henry if he would like lunch and he, along with Emma, Mary Margaret, David, Ruby and the dwarves, goes to Granny's Diner to celebrate.

Henry attends Emma and Mary Margaret's welcome home party. Regina is invited by Emma, and shows up carrying lasagna to share with the party goers. Henry has some lasagna with his mother and tells her how happy he is she came. The next morning, Henry is eating breakfast with Emma at the diner. She prepares to walk him to the bus, but is interrupted by a distraught Pongo. Ruby tells Emma that something is seriously wrong and Emma tells Henry he can walk to the bus stop by himself while she goes to check things out. While Henry is at school, Emma comes to believe that Regina killed Archie. After Henry gets off the school bus, Emma breaks the news and consoles him.

Henry tears up at Archie's funeral, and Emma tries her best to console him. After the funeral, he stays in his room and calls Archie's office just to hear the answering message. He is slightly cheered up after Emma gives him Pongo, who he takes outside to clean up. Mary Margaret and David announce that they are house hunting for another place to stay, so Henry draws a blueprint of what Mary Margaret's room will become. Emma notices that Henry has converted her room into an armory. He tells her it is so that they will be protected against Regina. Emma assures him that they will not need it. Then, Pongo is seen acting strangely around the front door. Emma opens the door to see an alive and well Archie. He explains he was abducted by Cora. Emma tells Henry that they need to contact Regina since they wrongfully blamed her for murder, though they may pay the price.

Later that night, Emma, David, and Mary Margaret find themselves spending the entire night trying to figure out what to do with a mysterious outsider who has crashed into town, and Henry spends the night being taken care of by Granny. The following morning, he asks his family about what has happened. They begin to explain, but he interrupts once they get to the part about Dr. Whale being Frankenstein. He gets out his storybook and explains that the story of Frankenstein is not among the book's stories; Frankenstein's stories take place in a completely different universe altogether.

Henry realizes that if the Dark Curse has gone to other places with other stories, there's no telling who could be in Storybrooke. His discovery is cut short when Mr. Gold arrives at the apartment ready to cash in a favor Emma owes him: she is going with him to help him find his son.

When Mr. Gold arrives for Emma, he finds out that she is taking Henry with her so he will be safe from Cora. As they drive towards the border, Henry asks where they are going and Mr. Gold avoids the question by saying "Logan International Airport". Henry witnesses Mr. Gold's spell work so he can retain his Enchanted Forest memories outside the town border.

At the airport, the trio buy their tickets and go through security, after Henry goes through, Mr. Gold is forced by security to take off a shawl, which is his only remaining item of his son, Baelfire. and he walks unsteadily through the metal detector. As soon as he gets the shawl back on, Mr. Gold becomes more stable. Whilst Mr. Gold is taking to his anger on the restroom paper towel dispenser in the bathroom, Henry tells him that they are about to board the plane. Henry is excited about his adventure, but Mr. Gold is less enthusiastic and Emma has to reassure him that they will find his son.

They arrive in Manhattan by taxi cab, and get out in front of an apartment complex. Through the use of a magic globe, Mr. Gold pinpointed Baelfire's location to this area. Henry is still excited about their upcoming adventure. Henry assists Emma and Mr. Gold in looking at the labels on the call buttons in the apartment building. Emma presses a button with no label on it; claiming to be a UPS delivery. The person on the other line does not respond and the intercom shuts off abruptly. Henry quips that Emma should have said she was from Fed-Ex. Suddenly, they hear noise out of a window from a few stories above. They rush outside and see a man jumping down from the fire escape and fleeing in the opposite direction. Emma chases after him and tells Mr. Gold to watch Henry. During the time Emma is gone, Mr. Gold buys Henry a hot dog, and the two bond a little and talk for a bit. Mr. Gold and Henry wait inside the apartment building when Emma comes back and lies to them; telling Mr. Gold his son got away.

Mr. Gold refuses to give up, and begins pressing all the call buttons on the building to find a way inside the front door gate. One of the residents buzzes them in, and as he hobbles up to apartment room, Emma tries to dissuade him in turning back but to no avail. Mr. Gold pick locks the door open. While Emma protests the reasons why they should leave, Henry looks through some old storage lockers. Emma shows special interest in a dreamcatcher in the apartment, and Mr. Gold comes to the realization she knows something that he does not. He is angry and demands to know what Baelfire told Emma, and grows increasingly threatening in tone. To keep Henry from listening, Emma orders him to stay in the bathroom.

Henry comes back out to see a man standing with Emma and Mr. Gold. He asks Emma if he is Baelfire. Neal looks shocked, and wants to know who the boy is, to which Emma tries to get Henry out of the room. Neal shouts the question at Henry again, and he responds by saying he is eleven, and asks why everyone is shouting. Neal questions if Henry is his son, and Henry tells Neal that's not possible as his father is a dead firefighter; as per what Emma told him. Reluctantly, Emma admits the truth to Henry. In shock and anger, Henry runs out to the fire escape. Emma goes to join him and apologizes for not telling him the truth. Henry bitterly responds that Emma is just like Regina; in that she lied to him. Emma is hurt by this, and Henry says he wants to meet his father. Later, Neal joins him out on the balcony and introduces himself, and Henry does as well. The two share a quiet moment while Mr. Gold looks on; remembering what the Seer told him; that the boy who leads him to his son will also be his undoing.

Henry and Neal are enjoying their reunion while Mr. Gold and Emma follow closely behind. When Neal suggests they get some pizza, Henry is all for it. The two enter a pizza shop and then come out carrying a few slices. Emma asks Henry how it is, and he responds that it is good, cheesy, and does not lie; shocking Emma. Henry asks Mr. Gold if he can call him Grandpa, and Mr. Gold curtly responds by saying he can call him whatever he likes. Neal suggests that they visit the museum, and Henry asks if they can. Emma says yes, and the four return to Neal's apartment to get Henry's camera. After Mr. Gold is stabbed by Hook and poisoned, Henry helps him up the stairs along with Emma and Neal. When Emma and Neal leave the room, Henry asks if he can help Mr. Gold. Mr. Gold grabs Henry and angrily tells him to stay away from him; that Henry brought this upon him. A stunned Henry sits aside and watches as Emma and Neal try to help him.

On the way back to Storybrooke, Henry and Neal steer the Jolly Roger together. When they arrive in town, Mr. Gold states that he needs David, Emma, Neal, and Mary Margaret to come to his shop. Henry asks Emma if this means he will be going with Ruby, to which she replies yes. Before they leave, Henry assures them that they will get Cora.

In Mary Margaret's apartment, Henry watches on as David brings back to the kitchen sink Mary Margaret's untouched breakfast. Henry does not understand what is wrong with her, but Emma just says Mary Margaret is a bit sick. At those words, David and Emma exchange a look, and Henry notices. Disappointed, he can tell they are lying to him. Emma insists no one is lying, but Henry knows she is lying; just like she lied about his father. She tries to get him to listen, and puts a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugs her off. Emma realizes Henry does have the right to know, and explains to him the circumstances in which Mary Margaret was partially responsible for Cora's death. Henry is puzzled, and does not want to believe Mary Margaret could do something like that. The conversation is halted by a knock on the door. While David goes to answer the door, Emma further states Mary Margaret was only trying to protect everyone. This still doesn't sit well with Henry. He firmly believes because Mary Margaret is Snow White that she could not harm anyone.

The visitor at the door is Mr. Gold. He has come to warn them about Regina's plans in getting revenge on Mary Margaret, but David is insistent he also owes them in helping to stop Regina since his life was saved by Mary Margaret. They investigate Regina's vault, and find one of Cora's spells missing called "the curse of the empty-hearted". The curse, when cast on someone, has the ability to make the caster think the person loves him or her. From upstairs, Henry has been eavesdropping, and comes down the stairs asking if Regina is going to use the spell on him. David tries to get him to go back upstairs and let the rest of them handle the situation, but Henry pushes David out of the way and goes to Emma. Meaningfully, he states Emma promised she would be honest with him, so he wants to know why Regina is using this curse. Answering his question, Mr. Gold says matter-of-factually that this is the only way Regina can get everything she wants—and what she wants is Henry. Furthermore, Regina not only wants love from Henry, but also vengeance from Mary Margaret. The twist is, in order to enact the curse, Regina needs the heart of the person she hates the most, which is obviously Mary Margaret. Mr. Gold says warning them fulfills his debt to Mary Margaret, but David disagrees, and Emma reminds him Henry is his grandson. He coldly remarks "wars have costs", and that this is a blood feud that goes back several generations, and the only way to end this is to spill more blood; preferably Regina's. Henry is horrified at the idea, and exclaims ending a feud by killing someone is a dark tactic that turns away from the heroes they used to be. No one knows what to say in response. Upset, Henry dashes out of the apartment while Emma follows behind.

To his annoyance, Emma brings him to the diner. He makes it clear he does not want to talk to her. She navigates Henry to a diner table where Neal is waiting for him. Ruby brings by a large sundae with "extra everything", but the dessert does not cheer Henry up. Henry gloomily states he knows Neal is trying to bribe him, and asks him what he wants to talk about. Neal knows everything that has been going on, and he and Emma agree Storybrooke might not be the safest place for him right now. So, Neal asks Henry to move to New York with him as magic does not work outside of Storybrooke, and Regina cannot cast the curse there. Instead, Henry thinks it is a good idea if there's a way to get rid of magic in Storybrooke so Regina cannot use the curse, and everyone would not want to kill her for it. Neal agrees, but they cannot figure out that solution right away, so for the time being it is better if Henry comes to New York. Henry relents, and asks to be excused to the bathroom.

In actuality, Henry took his backpack with him and runs through the woods. He bumps straight into Greg, and Henry's bag drops to the ground in the process. Greg who asks what he is doing on his own, and Henry makes up an excuse about being a Boys Scout and trying to earn a merit badge. When prompted by Henry, Greg tells him he is on a nature hike and taking photos. Henry points him in the direction of the hiking trail, which Greg thanks him for. Greg picks up the bag, and oddly, just before he hands it back to Henry, he snaps a photo of it, and wishes him luck on the merit badge. Henry resumes his run, and makes it to the wishing well where he takes out of his bag a stack of dynamite.

He lights a match, but Regina shows up and calls to him. Henry states he is getting rid of magic because it is ruining everything. Regina warns the dynamite will only get him killed, but Henry retorts she is only saying that as she needs magic to cast the curse on him. Henry proceeds to light the dynamite, but Regina waves it away in a puff of purple smoke. She approaches, and expresses how much he means to her, and that is why she cannot lose him. Henry says if it is true, then she should not cast the curse. Regina is adamant Mary Margaret pays for what she has done, though Henry reasons the curse will not make him love her for real. But Regina still wants it as it will be something, and with it, they can be happy and have everything together. Henry pleas, "Not like this."

Emma, David and Neal show up to put a stop to Regina. After an exchange of words, Regina conjures a fireball if getting all of them out of her way is what it takes so she can get to Mary Margaret. Henry runs in between to force the fighting to cease, and yells that he needs someone to help him get rid of magic. Regina states there is no way to do it, and Emma replies the problem is Regina, not magic. Henry believes the problem is everyone; as magic is corrupting everyone such as both Mary Margaret and Regina. He pleas for Regina to help him destroy magic, but she cannot do that, however, she burns the spell page. Henry thanks her, and leaves with Emma, David and Neal.

Henry comes down to get ready for school when he overhears David and Emma arguing about Mary Margaret's persistent unwillingness to get out of bed; in which Emma believes she should try to move past what cannot be changed. As he comes down the stairs, he casually asks if everything is okay. Emma replies everything is fine, and they both head out the door for the morning. Later in the day, as Emma, Mary Margaret and Marco are heading back from the woods to the sheriff's office because they believe August is in trouble, they are joined on the way by David and Henry. They reach the front entrance of the building in time to see a completely wooden August stumble out the door, down the steps and collapse on the ground. Henry looks on with Mary Margaret and David as Emma and Marco attempt to help August. Before he dies, August tries to tell Emma something, but is unable to get the words out. Mary Margaret doesn't want it to end this way for August; still having the firm belief he is supposed to get a second chance.

Then, Henry realizes August can have a second chance because for the first time in a long time, he may have proven his actions to be selfless, brave and true. Mother Superior rushes over to the scene, and agrees if August's actions today have been selfless, brave and true, then she can restore him. She tests it out with her wand, and August reverts from wood back into a 7-year-old Pinocchio.

Henry, Emma, Mary Margaret and David go back to the apartment. Emma waits for him at the bottom of the stairs and apologizes for lying to him about Neal, and meaningfully promises to never lie to him again. She asks him not to push her away, and Henry agrees he won't. They make up with a hug and go upstairs together.

On another day, he is celebrating his birthday with his parents and grandparents in Mr. Gold's shop. After Henry blows out the candles of his cake, Mr. Gold asks him to pick anything in the shop as a gift. Henry picks a wand and curiously asks how it works. He watches with awe as Mr. Gold demonstrates how to use the wand. While Henry is transfixed, Mr. Gold uses the wand to turn him into a porcelain statue and smashes him with his cane, which is actually a nightmare Mr. Gold himself was having. Henry is unharmed, and enthusiastically practices wooden sword fighting with Neal in the park. At the end of the day, Neal carries him back home after he falls asleep, and Emma tucks him into bed.

Regina catches Henry off guard one morning while he is tending to his birdhouses, and shows him the magic bean she possesses that will bring them back to the Enchanted Forest. She's upset the townspeople are keeping it a secret from her, though Henry has hopes they just haven't told her yet. Regina fills him in on a special "fail-safe" that has the power to erase Storybrooke from existence. At first, the idea intrigues Henry as he believes she will only be erasing the town and bringing everyone else to safety in the Enchanted Forest, but he is fearful after learning she means to kill everyone by activating the fail-safe. Regina discerns this is the only way they can be together as everyone else is always keeping them from being a family. She implores that he loved her once, and he'll love her again, but Henry justifies he could never love someone who does evil things. With knowledge about Regina's secret plan to obliterate Storybrooke and everyone in it, he plans to warn them, but Regina is quicker and uses her spell book to cast a memory impairment spell. Henry forgets their entire conversation, and after the spell is done, he speaks to her as if seeing her for the first time today. Regina readjusts to the exchange, and instead asks him to show her his birdhouses.

In the apartment, Henry overhears Emma telling Mary Margaret her theory that Tamara is the "her" August was trying to warn them about. During the conversation, Mary Margaret pleas for her to keep her voice down or else Henry will hear her. Emma cannot let go of her suspicion, but Mary Margaret asks her to let it go for Henry's sake. Mary Margaret heeds if Henry realizes a wedge is being driven between Neal and Tamara, he will likely think it means his own parents have a chance of getting back together.

Emma is left to think things over, and is startled when Henry pops up and asks if they are back in business. They have a stakeout in the yellow bug car outside of the bed and breakfast, and are on the lookout for Neal and Tamara leaving their rooms. Henry wants a new name for their secret plan, and decides on "Operation Praying Mantis". He voices the opinion that originally he wanted to experience new things in the Enchanted Forest, but the new operation is exciting too. Emma cautiously asks him would he still want to go back if there was a way. Henry enthusiastically wonders if there is a way, and though Emma swiftly denies it, he realizes there is. As Henry talks about himself, Emma and Neal getting a castle, he notices their targets and shouts for Emma to duck. They hide from sight, and peek over the window to see Neal and Tamara huddled under an umbrella together.

While Emma pick locks Tamara's room, Henry ponders out loud that once Neal sees Tamara is evil, maybe he will be together with Emma again. Emma is exasperated, and states she is suspicious of Tamara for other reasons; not including jealousy. When the door is open, Emma instructs Henry that if someone comes, he must alert her by feigning boredom and kicking the door. She goes in to investigate the room, and Henry is distracted while waiting outside. He does not see Neal approach until it is too late. Neal is surprised and wonders what Henry is doing here. He refuses to respond and instead begins hastily kicking the door. Neal figures out what is going on and bursts into the room. Emma confesses she does not trust Tamara, and feels there is reason to believe his fiancée is the "her" August spoke of. Despite the far-fetchedness of the situation, Neal allows Emma to look under the floorboards to satisfy her own suspicion. There is nothing incriminating under it, and she and Henry abruptly leave to go home. They dine on ice cream while mulling over the failure of "Operation Praying Mantis". Henry firmly believes Emma is right about Tamara even though no one else does.

A day later, Regina has mysteriously disappeared, and Henry, Emma, David and Mary Margaret inspect the mayoral office with the intent of confronting her about the missing magic beans, but she is not there. Henry is horrified at the prospect his adoptive mother might be in real danger, though Emma assures him they will find her. When they discover the beans Regina stole from the fields are also gone, and somebody used an override code to break in to the office, Henry becomes convinced something bad did happen to Regina. Instinctively, Emma knows this must is Tamara's doing, and heads back to the bed and breakfast to look into it.

In the park, Granny watches over Henry playing on a swing while his family is trying to find Regina. At a distance, Mr. Gold schemes to keep the seer's prophecy from coming true by causing the boy's demise. He begins loosening the swing rope little by little with the hopes Henry will fall onto a nearby sharp rock. While this occurs, Henry remains unaware of the danger he is in. Mr. Gold moves to deliver the finishing magic blow to the rope material, but the sound of a car door slamming startles him into stopping. From a parked truck, David, Emma and Mary Margaret make their way on foot to pick up Henry. Surprised to see Mr. Gold, David and Mary Margaret prepare to tell him about Neal while Emma is urged on to speak with Henry. Emma approaches and pulls Henry to a nearby bench to break the terrible news about Neal's death to him.

Heartbroken over his father's passing, Henry returns with the trio to the apartment, where he has a warm reunion with a fully recovered Regina. A sudden quake erupts, and according to Regina, this means the trigger is activated. A verbal battle breaks out between Henry's two mothers, which he douses by telling them the only way to save the town is for them to work together. Henry takes to mean they are all going to die, but is reminded by her that he was born in this world and won't be affected. This gives him an even more dreadful conclusion of being all alone. Emma promises she won't let that happen and orders Regina to make the trigger stop, but there is no way of doing that. Tension fills the air when Emma blames Regina for the current dilemma, to which Henry intervenes. Just then, Hook strolls in; earning himself a punch from David's fist. Despite an undeniable wish for vengeance, Hook has decided to align himself away from Greg and Tamara since realizing revenge is not worthy if he is going to lose his own life in the process. Regina makes it clear there is no terminating the trigger and the best she can do is to slow it down. David suggests the delay will give them more time to steal back the remaining beans from Greg and Tamara, use them to open portals, and traveling to the Enchanted Forest. Emma points out no one knows their current whereabouts, though Hook chimes in he knows. To keep the pirate from betraying them, David goes along with him. A plan assembles for everyone else in the group; Mary Margaret will take Henry to gather up the rest of the townspeople while Emma brings Regina to the mines to stall the trigger's power. Before Henry leaves, Regina makes her last amends by apologizing to him for not being a better person and mother. She reaffirms her love for him, which he reciprocates back.

Having retrieved at least one magic bean, David and Hook return to the diner where some of the townspeople are grouped. Henry questions where his adoptive mother is, and Emma tells him that she is in the mines slowing down the trigger, but will not be able to make it out. This angers Henry; comparing this event to the Wraith attack and how are things different this time around. This gives Mary Margaret an idea—they can send the trigger through a portal just like they did with the Wraith. Emma doesn't believe anyone is willing to go through with such a risky plan, but Archie persuades her it's the right thing to do. He talks about in the past when Mary Margaret was Snow White and David was Prince Charming, who led all of them without fail, and asks who is inclined to allow them to do it again, to which everyone follows suit in agreement. Mary Margaret knows she and David haven't had a lot of time to be parents, but asks for chance to be trusted, though Emma is concerned Henry will be alone and grow up just like herself. Another rumble tremors through town, which pushes Emma to think they'd all be better off making it out now by using the bean, but Mary Margaret's lingering guilt about Cora forces a moral obligation to do otherwise. She pleads to Emma that Cora's death was the easy way out as well as a mistake, and this time around they must take the hard path to building a future not at the cost of Regina's blood. Emma finally agrees, but as David tosses her the bean container, Hook snatches it in mid-air. She makes him give it back, which he pretends to do by handing back the box and makes off with the actual bean.

Down in the mines, Henry and his family meet up with Regina, and he announces it is their turn to be heroes. David, Henry and Mary Margaret stand back as Emma prepares to take out the bean, but discovers Hook tricked them. Regina's frustration in not being able to contain the trigger causes Emma to realize she does not have enough strength on her own, but perhaps together they do. Combining their magic powers, an impact blow in deactivating the trigger causes everyone present to be thrown back onto the ground. After the danger is over, David expresses relief since they listened to Henry about not leaving Regina behind. However, Henry is nowhere to be seen. They find his backpack on the ground with torn straps. Emma deducts he has been kidnapped.

Outside, Greg and Tamara drag Henry towards the harbor. Tamara ensures Henry they will not hurt him, to which he replies they will hurt everyone he loves, and just tried to destroy his hometown. In turn, she counters back it was never their true intention. Greg reveals they wanted to put an end to magic, but found something much more valuable—him. Though Henry's family rush to save to stop them, they are not fast enough. The duo use their last magic bean to open a portal to Neverland; prompting the twosome to force Henry to jump in with them.

Landing on the shores of Neverland's island, Henry attempts to make a hasty escape, but is swiftly caught by a water soaked Greg. Gleefully, Tamara remarks their mission has been accomplished, though Henry threatens that both of his mothers will be coming to save him. Greg dusts off his hopes by pointing out this new world is not anything like Storybrooke, and when Henry insists his family has been to the Enchanted Forest before, Tamara makes it known they are actually in Neverland. While she tries to use a communicator to let their employers, the Home Office, know they are present, Henry badgers Greg about who they work for and how they will get back home after magic is destroyed. To both questions, Greg remains tight-lipped, and stresses they don't need to know much about the Home Office, and believing in their cause alone is enough. Tamara interrupts to bring attention to the communicator's ineffectiveness, to which Greg opens the battery case to discover it's filled with sand. Shocked, she murmurs in disbelief of the current situation. Henry interjects it's good they don't ask any questions, causing Tamara to feel doubtful of the Home Office, but Greg presses on into the jungle where he starts a campfire as a signal. With what occurred earlier still fresh in Tamara's mind, she wonders if the empty communicator wasn't an accident, but Greg just thinks Henry's previous words are simply getting to her head.

Hearing nearby rustling, the brush parts to reveal a group of boys led by Felix. Greg demands to know who they are, and Felix states they are the Home Office. Unnerved, Tamara can't believe they've been working for a bunch of teenagers, but Henry corrects her to say they are Lost Boys. He asks the them why they want to destroy magic, but Felix acknowledges that was never their intention. Stunned, Greg says that was their mission, though Felix deflects the statement by countering that's what he and Tamara were told, and asks for Henry to be handed over. Refusing to comply, Tamara wants answers about the actual plan for magic and getting home, but is told they won't be going anywhere. Upset at being duped, Greg resists giving Henry over to them. With an ease, Felix, the lead Lost Boy, calls upon the Shadow, who rips out Greg's shadow; killing him. Urged by Tamara to run, he makes off deeper into the jungle while the Lost Boys follow him. By chance, Henry is pulled into a hiding spot by an ex-Lost Boy, and together they move to a safer location.

Along the way, the boy and Henry exchange stories. The boy was taken by Pan's Shadow to the island, but upon realizing Neverland for what it really was, he stole pixie dust from Pan, only to discover it does not work. Henry tells him of his abduction by Tamara and Greg and how his family is probably on their way to save him now. His new friend questions this, seeing as he has no proof. Henry assuredly replies his family is different and they always find each other. With the Lost Boys still on their tail, the boy reveals there is one place on the island where they can't be tracked—the Echo Caves, to which they make their way towards.

Hearing voices in the distance, the two are nearing the caves, but the Lost Boys cut off their only path there, so they change directions and end up trapped at a cliff edge. The boy suggests giving up the pixie dust so the Lost Boys might let them live, but Henry thinks there is a way out. He takes the pixie dust and prepares himself and the boy to jump. The boy is skeptical, but Henry promises it will work since he believes, and after leaping off the cliff, he uncaps the vial to let the pixie dust out, which helps the both of them to magically fly off into the sky.

Once they ascend to the ground, the boy changes his demeanor, and surprises Henry by knowing his name. The boy answers the latter's confusion by revealing himself to be Pan and states Henry's importance as he has the heart of the truest believer. Pulling out a blade, Pan brings forth the other Lost Boys to surround and close in on a dumbfounded Henry.

Unconscious under a tree, Henry is awakened by Pan. After being thrown an apple, he states his dislike for apples. Pan reassures him it's not for eating, but for target practice. Gathered together with the other Lost Boys, Henry is given a crossbow to shoot the placed apple on Felix’s head. Pan eggs Henry on as the Lost Boys begin chanting for him to do so. Tentatively, Henry readies his aim at the apple as Pan promises him the act will be “exhilarating”. At the last moment, he changes his target and fires the shaft at Pan, who catches the arrow with ease. Instead of being angry, Pan looks at Henry with satisfaction and says he has something to show him. As they move away, Pan explains the benefits of Neverland as a place no one ever tells anyone what to do. Henry doesn't think he belongs on the island, but Pan states they have all been waiting for him for a very long time. He exemplifies that Neverland runs on the power of belief, but Henry’s world is no longer full of magic because the people there have stopped believing. Pan calls Henry the savior of magic, and believes it was not a coincidence that a child was born from the greatest of light and dark. Then, he takes out a piece of rolled up paper and hands it to Henry. Pan guarantees once it’s opened, Henry will understand why he believes him to be the hero that magic so desperately needs. After accepting the paper, Henry tosses it to the ground and says he doesn't believe him. Smirking, Pan conveys Henry’s resemblance to his father. Reflecting on what Pan told him, Henry picks up the paper scroll and unrolls it. In shock, he sees an exact parchment drawing of himself.

During the night, the Lost Boys rejoice with music and dance, but Henry refuses to participate. He think there is anything to celebrate, though Pan stresses the festivity is everyone welcoming him as the savior of magic. Pan tries to encourage him with a flute song to join in, but Henry doesn't hear anything. Surprised, Pan begins explaining how his flute works to draw in certain people. As Henry inquires what kind of people, Pan responds he'll find out soon enough and leaves abruptly to speak with Felix.

The same evening, Mr. Gold infiltrate Pan’s base to put Henry and everyone there to sleep. Neal, using an arrow shaft coated in squid ink, tricks Pan into catching it in mid-air; thus freezing him in place. Mr. Gold and Neal make off with a slumbering Henry, but not before Pan blurts out the truth about the prophecy. Once away from Pan, Neal learns from his father's past intentions in keeping the prophecy from coming true by killing Henry. Losing trust in him, Neal takes Henry and leaves, but is quickly intercepted by Pan and the Lost Boys. Groggily, Henry begins waking up in the middle of confrontation between Neal and Pan. While Henry is brought away by Felix, Neal is dragged away to an unknown holding place, though he promises to come back for his son.

Waking up back in Pan's camp, Henry's recollection is fuzzy. Pan states he was just asleep, but Henry remembers, while asleep, hearing his father calling him. Henry shrugs it off as only a dream, so Pan asks how he is so sure. Reluctantly, he admits his father is dead. Pan gives condolences; remarking it makes sense for him to dream about the things he lost and hopes for such as his father being alive or his mother coming to rescue him, but eventually, he'll find new things to dream about and when that happens, they will start to come true. Henry wonders how he knows, to which Pan says that's what he once did. Pan reveals Neverland used to be a place where new dreams are born and believes Henry can bring that magic back. He also offers up himself and the Lost Boys as Henry's new family. Then, Pan announces he will be playing a song in honor of Henry. This time, Henry hears the pipe notes and is drawn into the dancing crowd.

Presumably, at a later time, Henry sits down to watch some of the Lost Boys have a rope climbing competition. From behind, one of the boys, Devin, sneaks up and startles him with a poke from a wooden sword. Devin is unimpressed and asks if he's the boy Pan has been searching for so long. Henry begins backing away from Devin's pointed weapon and dodges a hit. Smugly, Devin apprises Henry over is lack of battle skills and asks how will he be ready for what Pan has in store for him. The whole camp stops to watch as Henry is left little choice but to pick up a stick to repeatedly block against Devin's incoming jabs. Pan, who has been observing the fight, beckons Henry to use his power of belief to turn the stick into a real sword. Closing his eyes, Henry follows Pan's instructions and peeks in astonishment to see a sharp, gleaming sword in his hands. Then, a duel begins between himself and Devin, who steadily loses as Henry, driven on by the cheers of the Lost Boys, slashes his opponent's weapon to bits. He takes things up a notch by drawing blood on Devin's cheek, but in regret, drops his sword and apologizes for the blow. While Devin nurses his wound, Pan picks up the fallen sword and puts it back in Henry's hand while attesting Lost Boys never have to apologize. Then, he raises Henry's arm into the air as the Lost Boys roar in praise. Henry, relishing in their approval, leaves his sword arm up in confidence.

Left alone, Henry is once again nudged by Devin. Warily, he expresses disinterest in having another fight, but Devin, manipulated by Regina after having his heart stolen, says he came to deliver a message. Pushing Henry further away so no one overhears their conversation, Devin states his family is in Neverland and coming for him. Henry thinks he is lying to get back at him, so the boy gives one half of a compact mirror with the faces of Emma, Mary Margaret and Regina peering out. Still not convinced, he believes it to be a trick until Emma indicates their plan to save him is "Operation Cobra Rescue". With his faith in them re-instilled, Henry spies Pan approaching, so he hastily says goodbye and hides the compact mirror by throwing it into a bush.

Henry is invited by Pan on a stroll to somewhere special he'd like to show him. He doesn't budge and refuses to go anywhere, so Pan asks why. Henry calls him out for lying since he knows his family is in Neverland. Pan wants to know how he found out, but Henry is tight-lipped on the matter and refuses to say. Switching gears, Pan goes for Henry's weak spot by raising the question of why his family hasn't come for him if they are on the island. Henry thinks he is purposely keeping them away. Pan swears he's done no such thing, yet Henry has his doubts. He's suspicious about Pan's constant disappearances into the jungle; proving there is something to hide. Henry vows to find out exactly what is going on and leaves camp.

Hidden behind a tree, he overhears Pan assigning Felix to deliver supplies to the other side of the island. Curious about what could be there, Henry secretly trails Felix the entire way. At one point, he nearly gives himself away by stepping on a branch, but hides out of sight just in time as Felix turns to look around. Still pacing behind, Henry sees Felix drop a bagful of fruit on the ground, but doesn't stop to pick it up. After Felix continues trekking to his destination, Henry grabs the bag and hears someone coughing in the near distance.

He searches for the source of the sound, entering a small cave and climbing up a ladder, into a room housing a sickly bedridden young girl. She cautions he shouldn't be here, but Henry had a hunch that Pan was keeping his family trapped in the area. He doesn't understand why she is so far from the camp. She clarifies that her illness has forced Pan to keep the everyone away as he is afraid they will get sick too. When questioned, she says her name is Wendy, to which he recognizes her as one of the Darlings. He sits down on the bed to introduce himself and asks what's making her feel unwell. Wendy ominously talks about the island's power fading away and though she's been in Neverland for a long time, it's affecting her more so than the other residents. As Wendy looks at him, she sees Henry's resemblance to his father and discloses they were friends a long time ago. Additionally, she describes how his father, willing to do anything for her family, once saved her brothers from danger. Her cough begins acting up again, causing Henry to worry, but she ushers him to leave. Wishing to help, Henry wonders if there's something he can do. She would rather he stay away and not catch her illness since Pan is already doing everything possible, yet there is not enough magic. He insists there must be a way, though Wendy firmly cuts Henry off and pushes him to go. He sets the bag of fruit on the bed and gets up to depart. Before exiting, Henry vows to come back for her.

Wandering through the wilderness, Henry is paid a visit from Pan. He's extremely upset at Pan for keeping Wendy a secret. Pan acknowledges Wendy is dying because magic on the island is slipping away and specifically didn't tell him so he wouldn't have the burden on his shoulders. Henry decides he wants to help, so Pan brings him to a rocky shore. In the distance, a smaller island sits at sea, which Henry knows as Skull Rock. Pan explicates that the inside of Skull Rock is where their salvation awaits and only the heart of the truest believer--Henry--can bring it out, despite that the task won't be easy, as it will require heroism and sacrifice. The only remaining question is if Henry is up for the task, which he complies with.

Henry watches Pan cover up a sickly Wendy with a blanket. He is told that by becoming the savior, he'll not only save Wendy, but everyone else, too. To this, he becomes more determined to do what must be done. By rowboat, they head out to Skull Rock. Pan draws a line on the ground just below the stairs, which he says is a protection spell. They ascend to the top level containing a large hourglass with a timer in the form of sand flowing from the upper to lower part of the structure. Pan elaborates that it shows how much magic Neverland has before all of it runs out. Henry waits while Pan excuses himself to take care of something else. A short time later, he returns and informs Henry of what must take place by asking for his heart. At first, Henry takes it to mean he must believe for magic to be saved, but in actuality, Pan needs his actual heart. Despite that Pan sugarcoats the legacy Henry will leave behind as the greatest of all heroes, he asks for the truth. Upon learning the price is he must stay on the island forever, Henry has no qualms about resigning himself to that kind of fate. To get started, Pan magically enchants Henry's hand and then urges him to pull out his own heart. He manages to take it out just as Emma, Neal and Regina rush upon the scene. Henry is stunned to see his father is alive and listens as they plead for him not to go through with the sacrifice. He is conflicted when they claim Pan is being dishonest with him. Pan, however, counters by saying his family are the ones who are lying to keep Henry from doing what should be done for the greater good. Henry chooses to stick with the plan and after saying farewell to them, he jams his heart into Pan's chest and collapses.

Aboard the Jolly Roger, Henry is resurrected after Regina steals back his heart from Pan. He apologizes to his family for making them worry, but just wanted to save magic and be a hero. They all welcome Henry back warmly, and then Regina takes him down to a room below deck to tuck him into bed. Before she leaves him to rest, Regina casts a protection spell so no one can ever take out his heart again. Once he is alone, Pan manifests and threatens Henry with a knife. Pan makes another attempt to take his heart, which fails, so he begins ripping out Henry's shadow. Mr. Gold defends his grandson by opening Pandora's Box to absorb Pan into it. Just before this occurs, Pan secretly switches bodies with Henry at the last moment. Stunned, Henry starts to shout just as he, in Pan's body, is sucked into the box.

At the other side of the town line, Henry, stuck in Pan's body, is released out of the box while Emma points a gun at his direction and interrogates him about using the Shadow to kill someone. To prove himself as the real Henry, Emma asks him to tell her the very first time he and she connected together. Henry recalls the incident occurred at his castle playground when he understood why Emma gave him up at birth, which was to let him have the best chance in life. In relief, she and Henry hug in reconciliation. With Belle, David, Emma, Mary Margaret and Mr. Gold, they head to the vault where Regina took "Henry" for protection. Hook, Neal and Tinker Bell are already waiting there, though the vault is locked, so Mr. Gold busts the door open with magic. Inside, Regina is awakened after Pan, in Henry's body, previously knocked her out. She is shocked to learn Pan has been impersonating Henry. Regina is saddened to have fallen for Pan's tricks as she had hoped her son needed her. Henry attests that he still does need her and warmly embraces a tearful Regina. However, more trouble brews, as they discover Pan took the spell for the Dark Curse.

Trivia

 * The name "Henry" is of Germanic origin derived from "Heimirich" that means "home ruler".
 * He is named after Regina's father and is given to her as a baby by Mr. Gold.
 * As a resident of Storybrooke, Henry was affected by the Dark Curse. It clouded his perception until Mary Margaret gave him the story book.
 * A close look at Henry's bedroom reveals he has, in total, 18 clocks.
 * Enjoys hot chocolate with cinnamon, like his birth mother and maternal grandmother.
 * He was the only one who can leave Storybrooke while the curse is in effect due to being born in the land without magic.
 * Henry's necklace has the same symbol as Anita's gravestone; a moon with a dot in the middle.