Henry Mills

Henry Daniel Mills, currently known as The Author, also known as the Truest Believer, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. He is the biological son of Emma Swan and Neal Cassidy and the adoptive son of Regina Mills, as well as being the current Author. He is the father of Lucy Mills, and the husband of Ella. Henry is portrayed by Andrew J. West in season 7, in the other six seasons, he's played by Jared S. Gilmore.

His gallery is here.

Biography

Background

When Henry was born, he was given away as a baby by Emma Swan, who felt that she could not be his mother and give him the life he needs. Henry was put into adoption, and was nearly adopted by John and Michael Darling, until he was adopted by the mayor of Storybrooke, Regina Mills, who raised Henry as her own son. Fun fact; Henry's first name is named after his adoptive grandfather, Henry Mills Sr, and his middle name, Daniel, is named after his adoptive mother's first love and former fiance, Daniel Colter.

Season 1

Ten years later, Henry runs away to Boston, where he manages to find the apartment of his biological mother Emma. Emma takes him back to his home in Storybrooke, Maine with the intentions of not seeing her son again. However, when she becomes concerned about his well-being when his adoptive mother Regina begins showing ill-tempered traits towards Emma, she decides to stay for a while. Henry knows about the Enchanted Forest and the Dark Curse due to a mysterious storybook in his possession, and tries to get Emma to believe as well. When Regina bakes a poisoned apple turnover - with a Sleeping Curse embedded in it - and gives it to Emma, Henry eats it instead and falls under the curse. He is rushed to the hospital, but is eventually declared dead. Distraught and heartbroken, Emma and Regina rush to his side, and Emma kisses Henry on the forehead which both wakes Henry up and breaks the Dark Curse. With everyone's memories back, Regina tells Henry that despite what people will tell him, she does love him, before fleeing to her house where she laments losing Henry.

Season 2

When the first Dark Curse is broken, Rumplestiltskin cashes in on the favor that Emma owes him, stating that the favor will be Emma helping Rumplestiltskin locate his son, who apparently is in Manhattan. Henry comes along as well, and all three of them go to Manhattan, where they discover that Rumplestiltskin's son Baelfire is also Henry's father, who went under the alias Neal Cassidy while dating Emma. This shocking revelation prompts Rumplestiltskin recalls a prophecy that a seer once told him, that a young boy would lead him to Bae, but that young boy will be his undoing. Suspecting his newfound grandson Henry, Rumplestiltskin contemplates killing him. However, when Henry is kidnapped by Tamara and Greg and taken through a portal to Neverland, Rumplestiltskin goes with Emma, Regina, Snow, David and Hook on his ship and follows them to Neverland.

Season 3

In Neverland, it's revealed that Tamara and Greg have been inadvertently working for the Lost Boys. Realizing they had been tricked, Tamara and Greg refuse to hand over Henry, until Peter Pan's shadow arrives and kills Greg, while the Lost Boys shoot Tamara with arrows. Henry manages to run away, before running into a teenage boy who claims to be a fugitive running from the Lost Boys. However, when the fugitive boy takes Henry back to the Lost Boys, it is revealed that the "fugitive" is actually the leader of the Lost Boys, Peter Pan. Pan tells Henry that magic is dying in Neverland, and shows him a sickly girl named Wendy, claiming that her illness is apart of the aftermath of Neverland losing magic, stating that only the "heart of the truest believer" can save it, with the truest believer being Henry. Henry eventually willingly gives his heart to Pan, apparently killing Henry. It is revealed that the real reason Pan wanted Henry's heart was to become immortal forever. However, Regina manages to take Henry's heart out of Pan's body and return it to Henry. Pan swaps bodies with Henry, before Pan's body - inhabited by Henry - is sucked into Pandora's Box by Rumplestiltskin, who is revealed to be Peter Pan's son. Pan, in Henry's body, plans to re-enact the Dark Curse to make Storybrooke "the new Neverland".

He manages to cast the Dark Curse, before Rumplestiltskin uses the Black Fairy's wand to switch their bodies back. However, since Pan's body is outside Pandora's Box, he manages to defeat Rumplestiltskin. It isn't until Rumplestiltskin realizes that the boy who would be his undoing is Pan, when he then uses the Dark One's dagger to stab himself and Pan at the same time, exploding into light which incinerates Pan. With the second Dark Curse billowing through town, Regina allows Emma and Henry to escape Storybrooke with new memories. One year later, Henry - who doesn't have his memories - returns to Storybrooke with Emma, whose memories had been restored by Hook. Storybrooke had been restored due to a mysterious third Dark Curse, but it isn't until Henry's memories are restored through his old storybook and Regina kisses him on the forehead, which breaks the third Dark Curse. Snow and David also have a new son whom they name Neal, who is Henry's uncle.

Season 4

After Regina distances herself from everyone, Henry becomes upset and goes to Regina's house, where they hug. Henry decides to help Regina discover the author of the storybook, and call their mission "Operation Mongoose". Since Rumplestiltskin has found his happy ending, he presumes that Rumplestiltskin must have made the author change his fate, and decides to go undercover and work at his pawnshop, although he ends up just doing chores. When Geppetto gives Regina some of Pinocchio's belongings, Henry goes through it. He finds a piece of paper with a drawing of a door, with a mentioning of the mysterious Author. Pinocchio says The Author is trapped in the book. Henry finds the key in the Sorcerer's mansion, and they manage to free the Author, who flees the scene. Cruella De Vil uses Pongo to lure Henry into an alleyway, where she abducts him and holds him at ransom, demanding that Emma and Regina kill the Author. Henry's mothers search for him, and Emma finds Cruella holding Henry at gunpoint. Fearing for her son's life, Emma uses her magic to blast Cruella off the cliff, killing her. Henry manages to stop the Author from permanently changing reality, and becomes the next Author himself. However, Henry decides nobody should have that power, breaking the pen.

Season 5

When Emma absorbs the Darkness from Rumplestiltskin and becomes the new Dark One, Henry and the other heroes manage to get to the Enchanted Forest via cyclone, where they find Emma. They are all then greeted by King Arthur, who invites them to Camelot. However, six weeks later, they return to Storybrooke with no memories of their time in Camelot. Henry meets Violet, and develops a crush on her. When the Darkness is taken from both Emma and Hook, who also became the Dark One, the process causes Hook's death. Henry is among those who venture with Emma into the Underworld to retrieve Hook. However, their quest is all for nought and they leave the Underworld, having failed to resurrect him. Zeus resurrects Hook due to his part in Hades' defeat. Henry and Violet briefly try to destroy magic, although they are later convinced to abandon their plans.

Season 6

When Emma starts receiving visions of her own demise, Henry starts blaming himself for bringing her to Storybrooke to become the Savior in the first place. He shares his guilt with Jasmine, who feels guilty for making Aladdin become the Savior of Agrabah, and later apologizes to Emma, who dissuades Henry from blaming himself. Henry starts becoming weary of Hook, until they are both briefly kidnapped by Hook's brother Liam. When Henry starts to fear Violet has lost interest in him, she is quick to quell his doubts. After Gideon, the hooded figure destined to kill Emma, arrives in Storybrooke, Henry's Author powers start taking over him, as they can sense the upcoming final chapter of the story – the final battle. Henry is later asked by Killian to be the best man at his and Emma's upcoming wedding, and Henry is put in charge of the wedding rings. At Emma and Killian's wedding, however, they are all consumed by Fiona's curse. Under the curse, Henry is Fiona's adopted son, although he remembers everything. The curse is broken when Henry gives Emma true love's kiss.

Season 7

While Storybrooke achieves its happy ending after many years of curses and fighting, Henry decides to leave for other realms with stories that haven't concluded, wanting to be part of a story himself. Henry travels to another realm, where he meets Cinderella, who knocks him unconscious and steals his motorcycle. Henry tracks her down to the Prince's royal ball, where Cinderella is headed in order to assassinate the Prince with Henry's dagger. However, Lady Tremaine ends up killing the Prince instead and frames Cinderella for it. Henry helps Cinderella escape the ball, but when goes to find her, all he finds is a glass slipper. Henry is kidnapped by Tremaine, although he is rescued by his family, reuniting with Regina, Killian and Emma. While Emma and Killian return to Storybrooke, Regina stays with Henry to find her happy ending. When Henry finds Cinderella, they eventually fall in love and have a daughter named Lucy, but they are all separated by a curse.

Years later, in Seattle, Henry is confronted by Lucy, who claims to be Henry's daughter. Henry disbelieves her, causing Lucy to steal Henry's laptop in order to lure him to Hyperion Heights, an up-and-coming neighborhood which is the home of the cursed fairy tale characters. Henry's car later goes missing when he arrives there, and he encounters Roni, Tilly, Jacinda, Victoria, and Rogers. Henry tells Lucy that she and Jacinda are not his family, because his wife and daughter died in a fire. However, when Henry goes to the cemetery they are buried at, he is shocked to find that no such cemetery exists. Henry feels bad for causing Jacinda to lose custody of Lucy, since she ran away to find him, and tries to reconcile with Jacinda by helping her see Lucy. However, Victoria sees Henry as a nuisance and wants him far away from her family. She orders Weaver and Rogers to frame Henry, but they refuse. Instead, Rogers teams up with Henry and Roni to investigate Victoria. When Lucy goes missing on Halloween, Henry helps Ivy find her, and later goes for a drink with Ivy at Roni's. Later, Roni accuses Henry of falling for Ivy, and says that he would be better off with Jacinda instead. When Ivy tells Henry to meet him at Belfrey Towers, Roni goes instead and Ivy takes her to Victoria's secret room where Roni finds photos of herself and a young boy she doesn't recognize. When she shows Henry, however, he reveals that the boy is him. They conclude the image is photo shopped. However, Ivy returns Roni's memories as Regina, before warning her of the consequences should Henry and Jacinda break the curse with true love's kiss. Meanwhile, Henry builds up the courage to finally approach Jacinda and ask her out on a date. On Henry and Jacinda's date, however, Lucy discovers that Henry's poisoned heart will kill him if the curse breaks, and stops them from kissing. After Victoria's death, Henry is kissed by a grieving Ivy, but Henry tells her that she is making a mistake and encourages her to reconcile with her own family. Henry is contacted by a business in New York, who wants Henry's skills to produce podcasts, which requires Henry to leave Hyperion Heights. Henry initially decides to take the opportunity, but later becomes hesitant. However, before he can tell Jacinda how he truly feels, Henry is abducted by Nick, but is saved by Rogers and goes to Jacinda's apartment and makes up with his family.

Henry refuses to believe Roni's and Lucy's claims of the curse being real but suddenly regains his memories after giving his younger self a phone call and a piece of advice. He kisses his mother on the forehead, thus breaking the curse.

Extended Family/Relationships

Alive

• Regina Mills (adoptive mother/step-great-granmother)
• Emma Swan-Jones (biological mother)
• Killian Jones (stepfather)
• Hope Jones (half-sister)
• Henry (Wish Realm) ("younger, twin brother")
• Ella "Cinderella" Mills (wife)
• Lucy Mills (daughter)
• Maurice (step great-grandfather)
• Drizella Tremaine (stepsister-in-law)
• Anastasia Tremaine (stepsister-in-law)
• David Nolan (maternal grandfather)
• Snow White (maternal grandmother)
• Neal Nolan (uncle)
• Robin (adoptive cousin/step second cousin)
• Gideon (uncle)
• Zelena Mills (adoptive aunt/step-great-grandaunt)

Deceased

• Cecelia Tremaine (mother-in-law)
• Father-in-law
• Belle (step grandmother)
• Rumplestiltskin (paternal grandfather)
• Marcus Tremaine (stepfather-in-law)
• Rapunzel Tremaine (stepmother-in-law)
• Lauren Mills (wife; cursed memories)
• Abigail Mills (daughter; cursed memories)
• Peter Pan (great-grandfather)
• Fiona (great-grandmother / cursed adoptive mother)
• Cora Mills (adoptive grandmother/step-great-great-grandmother)
• Henry Mills Sr. (adoptive grandfather/step-great-great-grandfather)
• Baelfire (father)
• Colette (step great-grandmother)
• Milah (paternal grandmother)
• Eva White (great-grandmother)
• Leopold White (great-grandfather)
• Ruth Nolan (great-grandmother)
• Robert Nolan (great-grandfather)
• James (great-uncle)
• Xavier ( adoptive great-grandfather/step-great-great-great-grandfather)
• The Miller (adoptive great-grandfather/step-great-great-great-grandfather)

Trivia

• Henry loosely alludes to the prince from Cinderella.
• Like his mother and grandmother, Henry enjoys cinnamon in his hot cocoa.
• He is named after Regina's father, Henry.
• His middle name, Daniel, is named after Daniel Colter, Regina's first love, who was killed by Cora.
• Henry's birthday is on August 15th, which means that he is a Leo.
  • This is shown when Regina types in "815" as her password - she allegedly uses Henry's birthday for all her passwords.

Appearances