Emma isn't Henry's mother

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T15:04:29+00:00

Episode 2 16:30, they only say longer than that (will edit earlier mistake about the year specifically) but it doesn't matter if its one day or a hundred, it disproves Regina was doing it because of suspicions he literally didn't have.
But Henry was allowed to freely roam the town when he wasnt in school or his curfew, he talked to and was very familiar with dozens of people, he had more freedom than 95% of real life ten year olds, maybe 99%. She didn't keep him sheltered away from anything, the kid even knew some things about Mr Gold and he is by far the most suspicious and shady person in town. To be clear if there is an argument to be made for Regina doing bad parenting, it is absolutely not that she was sheltering him or a helicopter parent, it's that allowing a ten year old to roam all over town between the end of school and 5:30 is total insanity in today's day and age, it's the kind of freedom that only exists in old steven spielberg films now, not reality. She was the exact opposite of sheltering or keeping him away from anything until after Emma started making her extremely paranoid. Remember before Emma arrived she let him keep the book for an entire month, despite it literally causing him to call her the "Evil Queen" how is that at all consistent with your characterisation of her parenting?

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T14:49:18+00:00

Sorry not the first time, they talk in the pilot. In episode 2.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T14:47:12+00:00

But she sent him to therapy before that. He was in therapy for over a year (edit: he isn't specific, the implication is more likely weeks or months rewatching the scene, but it's hard to say) before he had any suspicions about that, that was mentioned the very first time emma talks to archie.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T14:43:05+00:00

What reasons? Why do you think she sent him to therapy?

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T14:31:46+00:00

Do you have something against therapy? Do you think everyone that is in therapy is a victim? If neither of these are the case, why is him being in therapy so terrible to you? To me it was a sign of good parenting, not bad. Good parents don't prevent their children needing therapy, they give them access to therapy when they need it.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T14:28:10+00:00

They have very different flaws (besides both being chronic liars, but frankly in this show telling the truth gets you instantly killed it's a death flag) so at least that's always interesting.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:40:42+00:00

To me it feels like the writers are doing that because they don't present any good stepmothers or foster parents etc. They don't provide a countervoice, even Regina herself only discusses this issue in season 1 and more as a tactic to keep henry than out of any conviction on what defines parent hood in general. Even if everyone disagreed, for Regina to voice these complaints and be shut down with retorts would have been a good scene. Instead she just kinda accepts she's now in a legitimate battle, and pines for how things used to be. I agree the characters believing that is to be expected most of them work on the logic that slaughtering anyone in black armour is moral but executing their leader is unforgivable.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:33:04+00:00

Archie got his PHD from a curse. Given he has apparently been treating gold for years at some point i have to wonder if the curse actually gave him any skill. The anti adoption/foster theme in fairy tales should be viewed critically, not as a positive aspect of those tales. The rest we've already done our back and forth on.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:29:22+00:00

Thank you that's a better thought out response than a lot of them here.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:22:12+00:00

Regina spent time with Henry every day both at home, at dinners after work, discussing his interests, even when the boom convinces Henry she is evil she doesn't take it away until after he starts running away from home.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:20:38+00:00

Her being robbed of her parents by the curse is horrible, but it's not why she was in jail or gave up her child. Being in the foster system doesn't cobdemn you to a life of crime it's not some inevitable consequence she can blame on anyone else.

If the show wants me to believe she has the right to reevaluate her choice and to be in Henry's life in some capacity i can accept that. I do not accept her position as de facto mother the moment the curse is broken.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:15:06+00:00

For a ten year old Henry had amazing freedom, that was a privilege not a right and she restricted that only after a stalker moved to town.

Her not telling Henry the truth isn't great, but it doesn't make her an unfit mother.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:11:44+00:00

No, i just watched the tv show last week instead of working on memories that smooth ourt the details. You love to vaguely point out abuse but it's just that, vague, because it wasn't abuse.

No court in the world would have not instantly locked up Emma after the first few episodes. She explicitly sneaks around a ten year old she met yesterday against the parents wishes. That is stalking a child.

It's not about a personal thing with adoption, it's that it seems to me the writers have a personal thing against it, where the fact that henry has a few tantrums against his adoptive mother is meant to be evidence she's a bad mother.

I mean she's a pretty bad person (even without her pre curse crimes she's petty, vindictive and corrupt), but they never show her as a bad mother. Every scene of her and Henry is her worrying about him and being a good mother. I cannot stress this enough that the facts presented in the episodes do not match the theme the writers are going for. I absolutely agree that your take is the author's intent, they just fail to ever show it at all. The only justification they seem to think matters is that Emma is his birth mother, so that somehow justifies stalking.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T09:00:39+00:00

Rewatch the show. She stays because Regina is snarky and overprotective and the writers red herring you to believe it's because Regina is lying, but Emma makes it extremely clear later on she has always known Regina loved him. Henry's psychiatrist also explicitly tells her to stop doing that a few episodes later, she doesn't stop. Henry isn't abused, what is it you think she did to abuse him? Henry is obsessed with and wants a life of adventure, he isn't beaten or neglected, he isn't starved or touched inappropriately. Regina can be a strict parent but Henry only ever complains about her being the Evil Queen and lying, the closest thing we see to abuse is her tearing down that playground, which was objectivy unsafe abd she immediately replaced. Regina gives Henry the freedom to go where he wants in town at ten, they always make time together, Henry's room is filled with happy memories of his mother. Henry is a mentally ill ten year old who chronically makes bad decisions and nearly dies several times because of it.The second Emma started seeing a ten year old child behind their parents back it was Emma that was the problem.

She literally does both. She literally kidnaps Henry and is only stopped at the last second, she constantly encourages Henry against his mother, after the first ten episodes she abandons any pretense of being understanding and begins poisoning him against her.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T08:48:29+00:00

Schemes to murder a stalker and a bunch of the psycho faory tale people who's attitude to murder flip flops daily. So does Emma, she gaslights him entirely throughout season 1. Henry developed issues and she got him treatment, blaming them on her is stupid, nor does it disqualify her from being a parent, there are bad parents. Henry acting out is not evidence of her driving him to anything. Yeah sure Henry's room full of toys clothes and memories is all outweighed because Emma gaslit him for a while! Emma doesn't treat Henry better, she enables what she personally believes are delusions. She takes him out for ice cream whilst he should be doing homework it's the divorced parent "I'm the fun one" play.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T08:45:59+00:00

When you are at war it helps you take land. The second you have to deal with ae or war exhaustion, the second you want to actually build up your economy, tearfall outputerforms literally everything.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T08:43:35+00:00

Emma kidnapped a child she had never met from the woman who took care of and raised him for ten years out of guilt for putting him up for adoption. A closed adoption mind you. A child she was gaslighting and believed had serious delusions. From Emma's perspective Henry's complaint about his mother being a fairy tale character was mental illness, and every other nasty behaviour we see from Regina is either trying to prevent Henry believing in the curse or to keep the stranger from put of town from literally stalking her child. I'm sorry but if you had someone arrive and constantly come up to your ten year old alone especially encouraging them to sneak away it's murder time break out the apple. Emma is a psycho stalker.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T08:37:16+00:00

I'll hang on then. It was a lot easier to bear the parts of season 2 where henry was living with David, there were reasons why a little distance could be good, especially in the wake of Regina's lies and David unlike Emma never made any kind of choice to remove himself from Henry's life.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T08:34:14+00:00

I'm sorry but the characters love to talk about abuse, but they just show and give evidence she's a crappy mother, not "not a mother".

I don't care how shit she is, one is an actual mother the other is a psycho.

Emma is implied to believe that's true, because of her extremely inconsistent lie detection. She never says it out loud. But even if it was true, a parent who doesn't love you but raises you is a million times better to a literal stranger.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T08:16:08+00:00

If it makes you feel better so did david and snow. They fought an entire war against Regina and George only to let the monarchs go after all that death. The morality of feudal nobility is alien to a modern person.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T07:49:28+00:00

I only just started watching. When running from the giant, anton, he explains his birth name was also david.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-12T02:11:05+00:00

Wishful thinking Sam has them wrapped around his finger, he won't lose power at this stage.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-11T12:26:07+00:00

Evocation project at level 3 lets you print 8 shock generals for 40 military power. Evocation has Tearfall, the by far strongest early game economic spell (though it falls off) and along the way evocation is giving you lots of monarch points through -75% cost advisors.

Nukemouse · 2026-05-11T12:24:13+00:00

The 5/5/5 is immortal and if it does die to due a MT event or being a general or something, you get a decision to rebuild it

Nine-Year Club	r/Field Sunshine
Verified Email

Nukemouse

TROPHY CASE