Henry Mills


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 * This article focuses on Henry Mills. For the Evil Queen's father, see Valet.
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"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 makes his debut in the first episode of the first season. He is portrayed by starring cast member Jared Gilmore, and does not have a counterpart.

During the Curse
Henry was born in a prison in Phoenix, Arizona, and given up for adoption by his mother, Emma Swan, because she wanted to give him his best chance in life. His father is Neal Cassidy, who apparently knows nothing about Henry as Emma has stated in the Pilot episode. He was then found by Mr. Gold and adopted by the Mayor of Storybrooke, Maine, Regina Mills.

Henry hates putting up with Regina and was always distant from her. Regina even went so far as to put him into therapy. He was becoming lonely and depressed, so Mary Margaret Blanchard, his teacher, gives him a storybook.

Henry then realizes that the stories in the book are real and all of the characters are living in his town. He finds out that he is a part of the story through his mother who is the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Henry sets off to find her in Boston and bring her back to Storybrooke.

Henry is first seen on a bus carrying a thick, old-looking book. An older lady asks him if its a good book, and he replies with "It's more than just a book," leaving questions among the audience. In the next scene, he gets a ride from a taxi to Emma Swan's apartment. He rings the doorbell and asks if she gave up a baby ten years ago, and tells her he is her son.

He invites himself in, and she asks him where he lives; he tells her Storybrooke, and she decides to take him home. On the drive home, he pulls out the book and tells her that all of it is true. She doesn't believe him and tells him that she can tell when anyone is lying. She tries it on him, and she can tell he is not, and says, "Just because you believe in something doesn't make it true."

When they enter Storybrooke, they meet Archie Hopper, who Henry claims is Jiminy Cricket. Archie reveals that Henry is the mayor's son. Henry tells Emma that everyone in this town is a fairy tale character under the Evil Queen's curse. Emma takes him back to his house. He is then seen sitting in his castle playhouse, talking about the book and how it is Emma's destiny to be here.

He talks about his adoption, which brings tears to Emma's eyes, as he begs for her not to go back. They hold hands as they make their way for her car. Henry is seen running into his house and up the stairs. For a few moments, he is lying down on his bed when he notices the town clock's hands move for the first time. Henry is enjoyed; realizing that time is beginning to go forward in Storybrooke due to Emma's decision to stay in town. ("Pilot")

Henry is still grinning at the clock and is sitting on his bed in the morning when his mom walks in and asks him where the missing pages of the book are. He leaves for school before Regina can question him any more about the missing pages. He surprises Emma by buying her favorite cinnamon hot chocolate at the diner, asks her if she can walk with him to school.

They talk about Regina and her "curse" and form a plan called "Operation Cobra," and gives her the missing pages from the book. He runs off to school. He is then called out by his mom in the middle of teacher Mary Margaret's lesson to tell him Emma was arrested, and she's a "con" woman. He tells her he has got to get back to class and walks off. He bails Emma out of jail with Mary Margaret.

He is seen standing outside the door when Emma and Regina are talking in her office, and Emma indirectly calls Henry crazy. Offended, he runs away. He is with Archie, still upset, when Emma walks in and apologizes. She burns the pages of the book in the fire to keep them from Regina, and they hug. They continue with their Operation Cobra. ("The Thing You Love Most")

He is first seen reaching out to touch John Doe's face when Mary Margaret walks in. He asks her if she knows him, and they talk about if he has any family, and he asks, "Sure you don't know him?" and smiles. He is talking to Emma in his castle playhouse, and they talk about how they need to get Mary Margaret to read to John Doe and remind him.

He is with Emma at Granny's Diner to meet with Mary Margaret about what happened when she read to him. She tells them he woke up, and Henry thinks John Doe is remembering and brings up the idea to do it again. Mary Margaret gets up right away and insists they go now. When they get to the hospital, they see John Doe is gone. They don't know what happened.

They go over the surveillance video from last night and see him get up and walk out. Emma asks where that door leads to, and the security guard says the forest. Henry runs in the forest to help them search and tells Mary Margaret that John Doe is looking for her. They continue to look and find his hospital bracelet covered in blood. They find him unconscious in the creek by the toll bridge. While Mary tries to resuscitate him, Emma tells Henry not to look and hugs him.

They are all in the hospital watching John Doe getting hooked up to machines, when his wife shows up, shocking them. They find out his real name is David Nolan. His mom calls him to leave and halfway, he makes an excuse to go get his backpack, where he tells Mary Margaret that he was indeed looking for her, and they belong together. ("Snow Falls")

Later, Regina is going to a council meeting and tells Henry to stay put in the house. Of course, Henry waits until she is gone before leaving to find Emma. He finds her at Mary Margaret's house, talking to Mr. Gold, and says that he was still trying to figure out who Mr. Gold was.

Emma then tells Henry that Ashley Boyd was missing, and that she needed to find her. Henry ignores her orders to go home and follows her to Granny's 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.

After Emma goes to Sean Herman's house and is told by Mitchell Herman that Ashley had agreed to sell her baby, Henry warns her that she can't make Ashley break a deal with Mr. Gold. When the duo questions Ruby again, she reveals that Ashley had already left for Boston. Emma sends Henry home, but once 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 tried, bad things would happen. Just then, Emma finds Ruby's car abandoned in a ditch. They pull over and discover Ashley, who claims that her baby was coming. Henry stands by, helpless, as Emma struggles to drag her to the car and the three drive to the hospital.

At the hospital, Henry reveals to Emma that no one could leave Storybrooke but 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 takes Henry home. He narrowly escapes getting caught by Regina when she gets home. ("The Price of Gold")

The next day, Henry is at one of his sessions with Archie Hopper. He explains to Archie how Jiminy Cricket wasn't 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 didn't 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 was 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.

Later, he shows up at Emma and Mary Margaret's house, crying. Emma becomes furious and confronts Archie. In the midst of their argument, Regina calls, demanding to know where Henry is. It is revealed that he had left Mary Margaret's flat and gone to the mine. Archie realizes this and hurries to the mine with Emma.

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 manages to enter the mine just before it caved in.

They find each other, and Henry starts running through the tunnels, telling the therapist 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 the psychiatrist 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. ("That Still Small Voice")

After Graham's death, Henry becomes depressed and warns Emma that they shouldn't mess with the curse. He blames himself for Graham's death and tells Emma that he was giving up on Operation Cobra. However, his faith was renewed when Emma won the position of Sheriff, fair-and-square. ("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 was framed by the two orphans. Henry later arrives at the police station and tells Emma that Ava and Nicholas were really Hansel and Gretel. ("True North")

Regina destroys Henry's castle, which makes him very upset. 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 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. ("Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")

A few days later, during Mr. Gold's imprisonment for the beating of Moe French, Regina arrives at the station with Henry in order to bribe her to leave her alone with Mr. Gold for thirty minutes. He and Emma go to the ice cream parlor to get ice cream. ("Skin Deep")

After that, Regina gives Henry a video game to apologize for her destroying his castle, but Henry doesn't like it. A few minutes later, Kathryn Nolan comes into Regina's office in order to speak with her, and Henry leaves. He is later seen sitting on a parkbench on the sidewalk when Emma approaches him. She gives him his storybook back, which makes him ecstatic. ("What Happened to Frederick")

Many days later, he is browsing through possible jobs for Ruby. Ruby, however, doesn't like the sound of any of them. However, she is very good at answering the telephone, which Emma sees. Emma hires Ruby as her assistant.

When David Nolan 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 doesn't know how cool she could be. Emma heeds Henry's advice and takes Ruby with her. Ruby successfully finds David. ("Red-Handed")

Soon after Mary Margaret Blanchard's arrest for responsibility of Kathryn Nolan's disappearance, Henry is at Granny's diner, thinking of ways to save her.August Booth comes in and offers Henry some encouragement. He tells him to look inside his book for the answers. Henry becomes excited at the prospect of someone believing in him and browses through the book. ("Heart of Darkness")

Henry is the person August calls the morning he appears to suffer some sort of leg spasm to tell him they need to "move the plan along faster". They stake outside of Mr. Gold's pawnshop on a rainy morning. Henry doesn't understand how this is could be 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 gift for Mary Margaret since she didn't kill Ms. Nolan. Later at Mary Margaret's Welcome Home 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 that he believes "it" will find him. Shortly thereafter, Emma escorts Henry out of the party since Regina doesn't know he's here, and he'll have to go home as she is coming home soon. Emma opens the door just as David is about to come in, and to save Mary Margaret the awkwardness of dealing with him, she asks Henry to walk home with David. ("The Return")

After August takes Henry's book and adds Pinocchio's story to it, Henry becomes confused at the new 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. However, Emma doesn't 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 with Storybrooke. She decides to leave it and takes Henry with her. However, Henry realizes what's happening and drives the car into a brush of trees. He tells her that she must stay and break the curse. Emma reluctantly agrees to go back.

August soon reveals to Henry that he is Pinocchio and is no longer able to help him with Operation Cobra, as he is turning into wood. Henry goes to Emma in another attempt to convince her that the curse is real, and finds her about to eat an apple pastry that Regina gave her. Henry refuses to accept that Emma is leaving his life for good and promises her that he has faith in her, and that he will somehow prove that the curse exists.

He grabs the apple pastry and, before she can stop him, takes a bite. At first, he seems fine, but then he collapses, unconscious and unresponsive, which is due to the Sleeping Curse from the pastry's poisoned apple. ("An Apple Red as Blood")

Emma rushes him to the hospital, but he doesn't react to anything. Emma suddenly realizes that the curse is real and confronts Regina, who admits to everything.

Mary Margaret reads to Henry in the hopes that he would wake up as David Nolan did, but it doesn't 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 cure for the Sleeping Curse, arrive on the scene, and both collapse into tears.

Emma kisses Henry's forehead as a last goodbye. But, as a mother's love is unconditional, this is an example of true love, which is something that can break the Sleeping Curse as well as the Dark Curse. Henry wakes up, and everyone in Storybrooke remember their former selves in the Enchanted Forest.

Henry is still at the hospital when a purple cloud of magic descends over the town, brought on by Mr. Gold, who was trying to bring magic to Earth. ("A Land Without Magic")

After the Curse
Henry first appears during the reunion of Mary Margaret, David Nolan, the Dwarves, Ruby and Granny after they remember their lives from the Enchanted Forest. When Emma and her parents are hugging he calls David, "Grandpa" which David joyfully acknowledges before hugging him. He is terrified when he hears that Dr. Whale is leading a mob to Regina, and begs Emma and the others to stop it, because Regina is still his mom. This is the first time he calls her "mom." After Emma saves Regina's life so she wouldn't break her promise to Henry, Regina asks her if it was true Henry asked Emma to keep her alive, apparently wondering if Henry loved her after all. When Emma and Mary Margaret vanish into the hat, Henry comes in with Red before she can kill David. He calls her an evil queen when he hears what happened to his mom and grandmother, and tells her he doesn't want to see her until they come back. Then he goes to live with David in Mary Margaret's apartment. ("Broken")

The next time Henry appears, he is outside the town hall with Ruby. When David Nolan 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, but David runs off to seek out Jefferson. Henry goes with Ruby to the meeting at the town hall, but David never shows up. Regina Mills came instead and attacked the townspeople. Henry realized that she wanted him, so went with her to save his friends. He tried to escape through his bedroom window as soon as he got home, but Regina caught him, using magic. She makes it known she put a barrier spell so he can't 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, when 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 broke down Regina's door and asked to see Henry. Regina lets him take Henry home, saying that, she wanted him to be with her because he wanted to be with her, not because he was forced into it. She admits that she doesn't know how to love very well, but that she will strive to be worthy of Henry's love. Clearly, Henry's words helped her comprehend that she can't keep him against his will, and that she was too much like her own mother, Cora. He leaves with David, wrapping up the episode. ("We Are Both")

The next time Henry appears, he's being walked to the School Bus by David. He 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 returned. Henry invites Regina to lunch with him. She accepts and leaves her office. He sneaks in, takes her keys, and goes to find her Heart Vault. Henry is successful, and explores the vault briefly before unlocking a box that contains the same snakes that killed King Leopold in "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree".

Henry quickly jumps back, but David arrives in time and shuts the box. Henry apologizes for disobeying him and admits how much he misses Mary Margaret and Emma. David comforts him, and the two leave the heart vault. Later, David finds Henry in Emma's car. He walks up to him and reveals two wooden swords, and the two practice swordplay, unaware that Albert Spencer is looking angrily at them from his car. ("Lady of the Lake")

The next time we see Henry, he's hanging out in the mines watching David Nolan and the Dwarves try to find fairy dust. Ruby brings lunch in a basket, and Henry takes a muffin. ("The Crocodile")

David brings Henry to the stables, and shows him his new pony. He tells him that he'll need to take care of the pony, and that he has to earn its trust before he can ride it. Henry starts to groom his pony, and David leaves the stables. He continues to groom him for sometime, until 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's scaring the horses. Then he sees the blood on Daniel's hands and offers to help him, but Daniel grabs his neck and lifts him off the ground. David arrives and saves Henry, and tells him to run. Henry runs away, probably after his pony. ("The Doctor")

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, and that there are flames in the room. He also tells of seeing a female figure on the other side of the room, and that it is observing him. David calms him and lights a candle to sooth him. Unbeknownst to either, Henry's nightmare closely mirrors that of Aurora. (" Tallahassee")

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 then 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. Meanwhile in his nightmare, Henry is delighted to discover that the necklace works, which allows him to put the fires out. He sees Aurora and tells her that his name is Henry, and that she shouldn't be afraid. ("Child of the Moon")

While asleep Henry revisits The Netherworld this time the same woman is there, she tells Henry that 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 this 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 can't hear him and is sucked away. He wakes up and they ask him if he delivered the message. He says that he couldn't tell her. Regina notices a burn on his arm and refuses to send him back. Mr. Gold heals his hand, after this incident David does not want to send him back and asks to be put under the sleeping curse.

Later Henry watches as Regina combines the magical ingredients to form a sleeping curse. 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 for David. David asks Mr. Gold how to find Mary Margaret and he does not know. He then pricks his finger, falling under the sleeping curse. After David is put under the sleeping curse, Henry is concerned as to why he does not wake up. ("Into the Deep")

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 Mary Margaret and Emma. 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 him, 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 to celebrate. ("Queen of Hearts)

Henry attends Mary Margaret and Emma's welcome home party. He eats lasagna with his mother and tells her how happy he is she came. The next morning Henry is seen eating breakfast with Emma at Granny's 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 at school, Emma comes to believe that Regina killed Archie. After Henry gets off the school bus Emma tells him of the events and consoles him. ("The Cricket Game")

Henry tears up at Archie's funeral and is comforted by Emma. After the funeral he is quiet and tries to call Archie's office. He is slightly cheered up after Emma gives him Pongo, due to the recent circumstances. After Mary Margaret and David announce that they are house hunting Henry is seen drawing a blueprint of 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 won't need it. Then Pongo is seen acting strangely around the front door, and soon Archie appears, alive and well. He tells them that Cora abducted him. Emma then tells Henry that they need to tell Regina, thought they may pay the price. ("The Outsider")

Some time after that, 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 he spends the entire night with Ruby's grandmother. 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 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. ("In the Name of the Brother")

Trivia

 * Henry means "House of Rulers", which is fitting, since many of his family members have royal blood in them.
 * Enjoys hot chocolate with cinnamon, like his mother and maternal grandmother.
 * Henry is the only child that knows of the curse and believes in its existence until the Season One finale.
 * He was named after Regina's father and was given to Regina Mills as a baby by Mr. Gold.
 * Henry leaves Storybrooke briefly to find Emma. ("Pilot")
 * A close look at Henry's bedroom reveals he has, in total, 18 clocks.
 * Henry was willing to do anything to prove to Emma that the curse is real, even eating Regina's poison-apple turnover. ("An Apple Red as Blood")
 * Has only been absent from one episode, "Dreamy".
 * Henry lived with his adoptive mother Regina at 108 Mifflin Street until the curse was broken, when he moved in with his biological grandfather David Nolan into Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment.
 * Henry's necklace has the same symbol as Anita's gravestone; a moon with a dot in the middle. ("Child of the Moon")
 * Henry has taken a trait from his grandparents, stating he wants to become a hero. ("Into the Deep")
 * He and Alexandra are the only residents of Storybrooke who have never been to the Enchanted Forest.

Appearances
Henry Mills Henry Mills Henry Mills Henry Mills Henry Mills Henry Mills