Lana Parrilla Soars in "Save Henry"

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 3 Episode 9 Save Henry on Seat42F.

The latest installment of ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME, “Save Henry,” is more about a mother than the son named in the title. Through flashback, we see how Regina (Lana Parrilla) comes to adopt Henry (Jared S. Gilmore) and how it ties into the larger story. In the present, Regina, Emma (Jennifer Morrison), and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) attempt to rescue the boy and escape Neverland.

Regina has long been one of the most fascinating characters on the series. While she has done evil things, I do not believe that she is ultimately a true villain because she still has heart. We see this in the hole she feels in her life when she is absent a Henry. And we see how much she loves young Henry and that she will do anything to get him back.

It’s true, Regina kills the first Henry she loves, her father, in order to enact the curse that creates Storybrooke. This is a truly vile thing to do, and as promised to her by Rumple (Robert Carlyle), Regina soon begins to feel the loss, craving something to plug that hole. She finds that something when she gets Rumple to secure her a baby, which just happens to be the son of the savior that can ruin her.

We witness Regina’s early struggles as a mother, unable to stop her child from crying. Does baby Henry sense the darkness in her? And when she finally connects with him, does he sense the love? This is a woman who would go to the ends of the earth for her child, and would not make the same mistake with him that she made in dealing with the elder Henry.

That’s why, when Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) has the three ladies bound to a tree that feeds off their regret, Regina alone is able to break free. It’s not that she doesn’t have remorse for the mistake she’s made; it’s that her focus is on the greater feelings she has for Henry, which makes the rest of it worth it to her. Her love for Henry is true, and she is rewarded by Henry calling her “mom” as she tucks him in, safe back on the Jolly Roger near the conclusion of “Save Henry.”

Will this relationship be what ultimately can redeem Regina? It’s hard to say at this point. There is little doubt she would do bad again if Henry were threatened. But I’m starting to think that she will not do anything too evil without Henry’s survival on the line. She knows that she cannot keep Henry and fall back to her bad habits, so unless she has a driving purpose, or unless Henry dies, she likely won’t truly cross the line again. Not fully.

A sign of this is the way Regina wipes her own memory of whom Henry’s mother is, even though that hurts her chances of stopping Emma. Like Rumple, who has to put Henry’s welfare before his own in order to repair the relationship with his son, Neal (Michael Raymond-James), Regina puts her existence on the line to protect the son she has fallen for from herself. It’s a selfless, noble gesture, done before we even know Regina has such things in her.

Parrilla is a fantastic actress, and she deftly handles the role with a level of skill nearly unmatched in the show. Once more, I am drawn to the way she can find the subtleties and buried qualities in the part, and make us care about someone that we should have written off long ago. I do think both the story arc of the character and her popularity can be majorly attributed to Parrilla’s impressive talent, and wish for more episodes featuring her soon.

The conspiracy and coincidences in “Save Henry” leave a lot of questions unanswered. Does Mr. Gold always know he is Rumple? Is his knowledge triggered by Emma arriving? Is Regina destined to get Henry, or is this something Rumple builds into the curse? Why does Pan send Michael (James Immekus) and John (Matt Kane) to look for Henry eleven years ago, instead of only recently? These answers matter.

It’s fun to get back to Storybrooke and its charming residents. Granny (Beverly Elliott), Archie (Raphael Sbarge), Dr. Whale (David Anders) and even Sidney (Giancarlo Esposito), or Sidney’s voice, play a role in Regina’s flashback. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until they are glimpsed again in the sleepy hamlet. I’m looking forward to getting back there next week.

The only real complaint I have is that Snow, Emma, and Regina set off on their own to face Pan. I understand Neal staying behind to look after the Lost Boys, and can even see why he shouldn’t be left by himself. But the Boys seem to be mostly defeated, happy to help in return for a home, so more than three people can go after Pan. David (Josh Dallas) or Neal, at least, could have gone, too, leaving the other, Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), and Tink (Rose McIver) to watch the ‘captives.’ It’s another case of using half measures against a foe that has proved deserving of more.

It is weird that Henry is quickly dying without his heart when others survive for months or years just fine on the show without one. However, that could have something to do with Henry’s heart specifically, which we know is special, or the way Pan wants to use up the energy from it.

I will not complain about how easy Pan is to defeat in “Save Henry.” It certainly seems too good to be true that he is stopped at the tree, but his sneaky twist at the end, taking over Henry’s body and recruiting Felix (Parker Croft), his one loyal servant, to cause more trouble, is a very satisfying continuation of the arc. He is not defeated; he rises again!

ONCE UPON A TIME still has two full hours left in this fall run, airing Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

"Dark Hollow" Dark Spot for ONCE UPON A TIME

Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 3 Episode 7 Dark Hollow on Seat42F.

ABC’s ONCE UPON A TIME finally returns to Storybrooke this week in “Dark Hollow.” Ariel (Joanna Garcia Swisher) fulfills her mission of getting a message to Belle (Emilie de Ravin), and together they find the object Rumple (Robert Carlyle) needs to defeat Peter Pan, literally Pandora’s Box (how cool is it going to be when that opens!). But getting the box back to Neverland proves not so easy when a couple of guys from the Home Office seek to destroy it.

It’s pretty predictable that the two boys who have broken into Storybrooke are John (Matt Kane, Switched at Birth) and Michael (James Immekus, Boxboarders!), especially once you see one is taller and wears glasses. But that doesn’t stop one from wondering what they are doing there, and what control Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) has over them. He’s evil, and we’ve seen that the Darlings are sweet, or at least they were as children. Plus, Michael and John have grown up, so they clearly didn’t stay in Neverland as Lost Boys all these years, making one assume they aren’t totally loyal to the Big Bad.

Of course, Pan has something to hold over them. It turns out to be Wendy (Freya Tingley), still a child after a century, who Pan then uses to manipulate Henry (Jared Gilmore). One definitely feels sorry for the Darling family, just more pawns in Pan’s twisted games. If anything, the revelation that Pan has abducted Wendy and kept her for so long, controlling her brothers with threats, only makes him seem more evil.

Unfortunately, the plot to stop Pan is growing stale. The parts of “Dark Hollow” that are set in Neverland break down into petty squabbling, losing the focus of the story. It’s a good thing Belle and Ariel’s little adventure is such fun, and the dwarves get some great, humorous lines, or else this installment would have little to no redeeming qualities.

Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) is still upset with Charming (Josh Dallas) at keeping his poisoning and inability to leave Neverland a secret from her. This is understandable, it really is, but three seasons in, tension between Snow and Charming feels so old, not that it was ever any good in the first place. They have had enough issues, and unlike some couple’s bickering, which can be entertaining, theirs just seems whiny and dumb. They’re both noble and heroic, so even when they enact misdeeds, they’re for the right reasons. Just move past it already!

The Emma (Jennifer Morrison) / Neal (Michael Raymond-James) / Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) love triangle is no better. Hook accidentally lets it slip to Neal that he kissed Emma, assuming Emma has already told Neal, and then Neal and Hook argue, leaving them vulnerable to attack by Pan’s shadow and friends. Emma is done with both of them for the present because her focus is her son, not her love life, exactly as it should be. The guys eventually agree, but it’s too little, too late.

Look, there’s a way to do this triangle right that could be really cool. Hook is someone who seems worthy of love, at least right now, and obviously Neal and Emma still have some unresolved feelings from their sordid past. Plus, Neal and Hook have a past relationship that could come into play. However, a boy has been captured by a really, really bad dude. This drama needs to wait, and by not doing so, it drags the episode down.

ONCE UPON A TIME has always been a bit uneven. I guess it’s understandable that, after a string of terrific installments, there’s bound to be a dud. It’s still disappointing, though, because they were doing so well lately that I’d forgotten about many of their flaws, which come barreling back in “Dark Hollow.”

I would never argue that the series should ditch character stuff in favor of action. That’s what should have happened in this hour, but overall, I really love when the players change and wrestle with quandaries. Seeing Regina (Lana Parrilla) keep her bargain with Ariel is a wonderful moment for “Dark Hollow,” something Regina would not have done only a short time ago. But there’s a time and a place for everything, and by giving us the worst of the personal stuff at the worst possible time, “Dark Hollow” is largely a failure.

ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.