Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 8 awards the honor of Hero of the week to someone who is long over due for a storyline.
Once Upon a Time breeds heroes of all shapes and sizes. Family, love, hope, these are the cornerstones of what the heroes fight to protect on a daily basis. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” speaks to the sacrifices one must make in order to keep a family together.
One person rose above all others in Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 8 and gives the performance of his tenure on the show.
You voted and here are the results!
And the winner is…
Henry Mills please take a bow! In fact, he ran away with the honor in the polls and proved once and for all that he can hold up his own storyline.
Henry is a catalyst for most of Once Upon a Time‘s more compelling story arcs, namely that of Regina and Emma’s transformations. Over the course of the last few seasons, Henry’s character started to frustrate us. More often than not he was cast aside for bigger stories that offered him little or no influence on the outcome.
After a promising arc with the Author, Once Upon a Time chose to shelf that story and place Henry behind the scenes. However, “I’ll Be Your Mirror” finally pushes Henry into the spotlight and rewards fans for their patience with a showcase of heroism.
Best Quote
Best Interaction with a Villain
Just as Henry is about to give in to the Evil Queen’s every suggestion, he notices something familiar about the way she addresses his posture. In that moment, Henry composes himself enough to come up with a plan.
It does not exactly pan out the way he hoped it would, but it places Henry on a level playing field with the Evil Queen. Despite not having magic, Henry has love, hope, and his strong moral character to fall back on.
Watching Henry take all of the lessons that his mothers, father, grandparents, and surrogate pirate guardian and act accordingly made us swell with pride.
In this moment he carved out a new path for his character. This path does not lead to darkness, nor does it circle back around to his days as the optimistic young lad clutching an oversized book. Henry sets himself up as a character we need to pay attention to as season 6 moves forward!
Now that we’ve seen how far he’s come, we’re looking forward to seeing how far he can go!
Top Three Heroic Actions
- Smashing the mirror instead of giving into darkness
- Standing up to the Evil Queen after rescuing his mothers
- Turning a traumatic middle school moment into a dance Violet will never forget
Question of the week: Does this mean we will see Henry play a larger role in the series?
There is no denying the fact that we want to see Henry play a larger role in Once Upon a Time. He is so much more than a grumpy teenager acting out against his parents. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” proves that Henry, and by extension Jared Gilmore, are mature enough to handle more complicated story arcs.
In the past we’ve proposed that Henry and Violet need to get away from Storybrooke and live out their own adventure. However, Once Upon a Time reminds us that Henry’s story is a huge part of Emma and Regina’s arc. He plays a vital role in their lives, something that the show often forgets to highlight in a compelling way.
Placing Henry apart from his family is not an effective way to give him agency in season 6. Instead, we would like to see him come alive within the context of the family unit. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” showcases the fact that Henry is not a pawn who can be used to pit people against each other.
Hopefully, the show will continue to offer Henry the agency he deserves.
Honorable Mention:
Tip of the hat to Swan Queen. These moms pull out all the stops to not only save their son, but also contemplate what they could do to save the town. Emma and Regina finally found time to lay all their cards on the table and realize that although their sacrifices are honorable, they are not practical.
If they continue to stand in each other’s corner, there is hope for a solution where both of them survive.
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Let us know what you think of Henry’s heroism and check back each week to vote for your favorite hero!
Be sure to check out our Villain of the Week!
Watch Once Upon a Time season 6, episode 9, “Changelings,” Sunday, November 27 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
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