"Is This Henry Mills?" is the twentieth episode of Season Seven of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Dana Horgan & Leah Fong, and directed by Ron Underwood. It is the one hundred and fifty-third episode of the series overall, and premiered on May 4, 2018.
Synopsis
Roni enlists Lucy's help to wake Henry and stop Gothel, but things don't go as planned. Meanwhile, Rogers and Weaver go to Margot in hopes of freeing Tilly before her magic can be used to power the spell. In a flashback, Young Henry struggles to decide what path to follow until a mysterious phone call helps put him on track.[2]
Recap
In Storybrooke, Regina has Henry line up to a wall to measure how tall he's grown. As he leaves for school, Regina offers him her car. However, he isn't sure about colleges at this point. Later on, Regina surprises Henry with a bunch of brochures from universities for him to consider. Weeks later, Regina discovers that Henry was accepted to every university but Henry continues to have doubts about his future and isn't sure about what he wants.
On graduation day, as Henry goes upstairs to try on his cap and gown, he gets a surprise phone call from Regina's cellphone. When Henry answers it, it is adult Henry on the other end. The two, despite younger Henry not knowing who he is talking to, have a short conversation. Before ending the call, adult Henry tells young Henry where to find a graduation present that is behind the dresser. When Henry opens it, it reveals a magic bean, the same one that Henry uses when he leaves Storybrooke in "Hyperion Heights."
Later that night, Henry finally tells Regina that as he is ready to make a choice but will let her know the following morning. The final moments have Henry writing his family's story and narrating tale about him and his family.
A dark storm cloud is circulating around Seattle, and as Lucy tells Roni about how Dr. Samdi saved Henry from the curse but it failed to ignite True Love's Kiss between him and Jacinda, the two are startled by Eloise , who offers Roni a chance to join her Coven and save her family as she tells them that Henry has lost his powers in believing. Roni turns her down. Later on, Weaver makes amends with Regina by offering a special potion to help Roni save Henry. He tells Regina he's doing this because of Belle. But the potion she later gives Henry at his apartment doesn't work. Roni and Lucy decides to use another approach, by using the Once Upon a Time book, but that doesn't work either. At this point, Henry still doesn't believe and wants Regina and Lucy to stop this nonsense, after Lucy leaves upset Roni keeps trying to make Henry believe but when he asks where are the heroes in the book such as Snow, Charming, and Emma, Roni tells him that the curse Eloise created sent everyone back in time and that their past selves have yet to leave Storybrooke (thus revealing that the end of Storybrooke story and the Seattle are actually occurring alongside each other). After they return to Henry's apartment, and after Lucy tells him she has given up on him, Henry discovers Regina's adoption papers and sees the phone number, calls the number and speaks to his younger self, which triggers Henry's memories to come back. Lucy is excited that Henry's back and they go to rescue Roni.
At the Coven, Rogers witnessed one of the witches being transformed into a tree as the witches' causes Tilly to fall into a trance and escape. When he reaches the police station, Rogers confronts Weaver about Eloise and the witches, and Weaver tells him that everything he witnessed is true and that it will all make sense soon. The two then recruits Margot to help them. When they return, Margot attempts to talk Tilly out of it but Tilly used her magic to push her away. As the rest of the witches are turning to trees, Tilly shrinks Margot, Rogers, and Weaver down in size.
Earlier that day at Jacinda's, Lucy and Jacinda are packing for Bainbridge Island when Sabine gives Lucy a backpack that Drew used. When Lucy shows the two a tarot card and tell them about Samdi, the ladies decide to pay a visit to Samdi's office. When they do visit, Samdi is ready and show them a tied up Drew, then sticks a pin in a doll that causes Sabine pain and the women comply by joining him in the closet. The curse also wakes up Jacinda and Sabine afterwards, but Samdi escapes before they can stop him. Sabine and Drew are also reunited.
That night at the garden, Roni is ready to stop Eloise, but as Roni doesn't have magic Eloise gets the upper hand and succeeds. As Eloise prepares to destroy humanity, Henry and Lucy show up, and as Henry grabs Regina, he kisses her forehead and breaks the Curse, saving humanity. The curse not only restores everyone and their magic, but also gives Tilly a chance to choose love over evil, and use her magic to transform Eloise into a tree. The ending of the curse reunites Henry with Ella, Regina and Lucy, and Tilly with Hook and Margot.
With Weaver's powers restored, the former Mr. Gold attempts to retrieve his and Belle's travel book, but it is not in his safe. He then visits Samdi's office and finds the book there. When Samdi walks in, Weaver attempts to use his magic to choke Samdi but stops short of killing him. But then, Samdi is killed in front of Weaver... by Wish Rumpelstiltskin, who wants to become better acquainted with Weaver.
Deleted Scenes
Touring the University
A scene where Henry and Regina tour the Ithaca University was deleted from the episode. There, Henry was supposed to meet another boy, played by Patrick Lubczyk, who played Kevin Hughes on an episode of Dead of Summer, another production by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis.[3] In the script for the scene, Henry says to Regina that this place feels good and could be a good fit for him, whereas Regina is relieved that it's just a six-hour drive from Maine. Henry tells her not to get too excited, as he still wants to check out the USC. His mother eagerly steers him toward a group of kids who are Henry's age and says that they look nice and East Coast-y. Henry thinks that they're his tour group and asks his mom if she is going to be okay. Regina replies that she'll be fine, jokingly stating that there is a group session for empty nesters, with wine. At this, Henry rolls his eyes and says that he'll meet her at the hotel.[4] According to Leah Fong, one of the writers of the episode, Henry realizes that he can't tell the boy anything about growing up in Storybrooke, so he tells him that he is from Tallahassee.[5]
According to Adam Horowitz, the scene worked well on its own, but wasn't needed for the narrative of the episode and hindered the emotional impact of the episode because it played as a digression.[6] However, the scene can still be seen in promotional pictures.
Cast[2]
Starring |
Guest Starring
Co-StarringUncredited
|
Note:
*: Only in archive footage
Trivia
Title
- The title card features Regina's car.[9]
- The title of this episode was revealed by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on February 22, 2018.[10]
Production Notes
- This episode has the lowest ratings of the entire series.[1]
- When writing this episode, Dana Horgan and Leah Fong listened to the Titanic soundtrack.[11]
- Jared S. Gilmore had to cut his hair to film this episode, due to his hair having grown too long.[12]
- REUSED FOOTAGE: The opening shot of Seattle[13] is stock footage from "Hyperion Heights,"[14] but with a darker color hue and added storm clouds to match the turbulent weather shown in the opening scene. An unmodified version of the same shot was used in "Beauty."[15]
- REUSED FOOTAGE: The establishing shot of Regina's house in the scene where Henry receives a phone call from his older self[16] is stock footage from the Season Six episode "Page 23."[17] The shot itself is taken from footage from the filming of the opening shot of the scene where Emma brings Henry home at night in the Season One premiere:[18] The identical position of the curtains in the windows and the lighting behind them, the shadows on the walls and the open window on the second floor, are a dead giveaway.
- The establishing shot of Seattle at night[19] is stock footage from "Hyperion Heights."[20]
- CUT CONTENT: During the filming of the scene where Tilly and Margot reunite after the Dark Curse is broken, Rose Reynolds filmed two takes of their reunion; one where she refers to Margot as Robin and another where she calls her "Nobin." According to Rose Reynolds, she "wanted Nobin to make the cut."[21]
- ♫ MUSIC: The background music that plays when Regina starts to throw a fireball to Eloise Gardener has been used for the first time since the scene where Nimue magically chokes Emma's neck in the Season Five episode "Swan Song."
Event Chronology
- The Seattle events take place after "Flower Child" and before "Homecoming." (For more details, see the Land Without Magic timeline)
- The Storybrooke flashbacks take place after "Beauty" and (due to the time travel) before "Homecoming." The story begins on the first day of Henry's senior year in high school and ends on his graduation day.
Episode Connections
- Lucy talks about how Mr. Samdi cured Henry, which took place in "Flower Child.
- The citizens of Hyperion Heights are feeling the effects of Eloise's spell, which was cast in "Flower Child."
- Eloise points out that Regina was once the eighth witch, which took place in "The Eighth Witch." She also says that Henry was unable to break her curse, which was shown in "Flower Child."
- Regina says that Henry has the heart of the truest believer, something that was first established in "The Heart of the Truest Believer."
- The lunchbox which Regina gives to young Henry, which he says he hasn't used since fifth grade, is the same lunchbox he was carrying at school in "The Stranger"[22] and "Going Home."[23] He was also using it as an adult in "Wake Up Call,"[24] where Regina says she bought it for him when he was ten.
- Henry talks about how he kissed Jacinda, which happened in "Flower Child."
- Lucy and Roni talk about how Emma touched Henry's storybook and believed, which took place in "A Land Without Magic."
- Lucy mentions how Victoria showed her the second storybook, which happened in "One Little Tear."
- The real reason that Lucy knows about Mr. Samdi's tarot cards is shown in "The Girl in the Tower."
- Regina mentions the "snow monster incident," referring to the snowman Elsa created in "A Tale of Two Sisters."
- Roni talks about how she adopted Henry, an event which took place in "Save Henry." She also shows him the adoption papers that she found in "Wake Up Call."
- Young Henry talks about how he was kidnapped to Neverland, which took place in "And Straight On 'Til Morning," and met his first girlfriend in Camelot, which happened in "The Price."
- Roni says that the day the curse was cast, Henry was kidnapped and was unable to save his family, referring to events in "The Final Battle Part 1" and "The Eighth Witch."
- When Henry finally remembers, clips from "A Land Without Magic," "We Are Both," "The Final Battle Part 1," "Hyperion Heights," "Pretty in Blue" and "The Eighth Witch" are shown.
- A voice over from "Pilot" can also be heard.
- This is second time that Sabine is hurt by voodoo magic. She was also stabbed by a voodoo doll in "Greenbacks."
- The Wish Realm version of Rumplestiltskin was released by Regina in "Wish You Were Here."
Religious
- Roni snidely says to Eloise, "So you're wiping out humanity with a rainstorm? How biblical." This is a reference to the Genesis flood narrative from the Bible.
Disney
- There is a postcard promoting balloon trips in Belle and Mr. Gold's travel book[25] and the notes inside the book include the text "we haven't don[obscured] as much of South America as I'd hop[image ends]."[26] Belle and Mr. Gold's journey across the realms in "Beauty" is based on Carl and Ellie's dream from Up, where Carl sets out to fulfill their dream to see the wilds of South America by tying thousands of balloons to his house.
- This episode contains a number of other references to Disney works. See the list of Disney references for more.
Lost
- An article on Henry's bulletin board says "Eight involved in Friday night brawl."[27] Eight is the second Lost number.
Fairytales and Folklore
- This episode features Rumplestiltskin from the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairytale.
- When Eloise's human coven transforms in a magic ritual, they are turned into trees. Afterward, Tilly defeats Eloise by turning her into a tree as well. This is fitting, since Eloise is a tree nymph, a species based on the Dryads from Greek mythology; Dryads are known to live in trees.[28]
- Henry says that he "went deep down into the rabbit hole," a reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
- PAUSE AND READ: Mentioned on Henry's billboards are Cinderella and the wicked stepsisters from the "Cinderella" fairytale, the princess from "The Frog Prince," Hansel from "Hansel and Gretel," Humpty Dumpty, and Pongo from One Hundred and One Dalmatians.[29]
- STORYBOOK CONTENT: An excerpt from "The Darning Needle" by Hans Christian Andersen can be seen next to the illustration of Emma in Henry's storybook novel.[30] The show's translation is taken from Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales (link to text), translated by Susannah Mary Paull[31] (credited as "Mrs. H. B. Paull") and published by Frederick Warne and Co in 1872.[32] Off-screen/illegible text is set in fuchsia:
THERE was once a darning-needle who thought herself |
- Tilly shrinks Rogers, Weaver and Margot the same way Alice herself was shrunken in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
- The magic bean that Henry receives is from the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk."
Popular Culture
- PAUSE AND READ: Henry looks at catalogs from the University of Wisconsin–Madison,[33] the Ithaca University[34] and Boston College.[35]
- The colleges Henry applied to and got into are Madison, BU (short for Boston University), the USC (short for University of Southern California), the Wesleyan University and Bard College.
- Margot says she once went to an ayahuasca ceremony in Iquitos. The ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic brew made from caapi vines, traditionally used as a spiritual medicine among the indigenous people of the Amazon basin. An ayahuasca ceremony involves drinking the brew under the guidance of a shaman, for a long night spent in deep connection to a higher intelligence and an understanding of one's true self.[36]
- ARTWORKS: Among the numerous fairytale illustrations pinned to the wall in young Henry's room is the famous painting The Lady of Shalott[37] (1888), by the English Pre-Raphaelite painter John William Waterhouse. It depicts Elaine of Astolat in a scene from Alfred Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shallot" from 1832.
- The Moai, the famous monolithic human statues on Easter Island, appear in a photograph in Belle and Mr. Gold's travel book.[25]
- A map of Paris, which shows the Gare Saint-Lazare train station and the Paris Opera, can also be seen.[38]
Props Notes
- Oliver Z, a reference to production staff member Oliver Zentner.
- G. Venturi, a reference to art director Greg Venturi.
- Trev Purvis, a reference to set dresser Trevor Purvis.
- C. Yusep, a reference to production staff member Yusep Chelsea.
- Note that the list was first seen in "Flower Child,"[39] but only from far away and therefore the names were illegible.
- PAUSE AND READ: Among the handwritten notes in Belle and Mr. Gold's travel book are:
12:00 PM
I've tried
the long
walking route[38]
[image begins]ally go to
PARIS!
[image begins] straight to
[image begins] tower
[image begins] this
[image begins]tiel[38]
[obscured] we loved Paris so much
[obscured] actually went back. I've
[obscured] travelling Europe and decided
[obscured] go to Germany whilst we were
[obscured] [two illegible words] of the pond. I wanted
[obscured] stick the postcard in to remind
myself that
we haven't don[obscured]
as much of South
America as I'd hop[image ends]
so this serves as [image ends]
[obscured]eminder. I love t[image ends]
[obscured]l wants to [illegible word] [image ends]
[obscured]one with me.[40]
7:30 PM
We've
been
traveling
for
some
time.
It's
been
[obscured] while since I've written. Before we left Paris, we got
[obscured] litter [sic] from home. I decided to keep it as a mem[image ends][41]
Dear [illegible name]
We hope you are
having a wonderful
time [three illegible words]
[three illegible words][42]
- PAUSE AND READ: A postcard inside the travel book says "Reserva de la Biosfera,"[38] which is Spanish for "biosphere reserve"; and "le cascate paradiso," which is Italian for "the paradise waterfalls."
Costume Notes
- BRAND INFO: The grey cardigan worn by Regina in the scene where Henry is fixing the car[43] is a Lurex Insert Cardigan by By Malene Birger[44] (no longer available).
- USE IT AGAIN: Regina wore the same cardigan in the Season Three episode "Save Henry."[45]
Filming Locations
- The University of British Columbia doubles as Ithaca College in a deleted scene.[3]
International Titles
International Titles | ||
---|---|---|
Language | Title | Translation |
French | "L'Autre Moi" | "The Other Me" |
German | "Spricht dort Henry Mills?" | "Speaks there Henry Mills?" |
Italian | "Sei Henry Mills?" | "Are You Henry Mills?" |