'Once Upon a Time' Hero and Villain of the Week: Mommy Dearest

Warning: Spoilers ahead for this week’s episode of Once Upon a Time.

Mother doesn’t always know best. Especially if she’s the Dark One.

Once Upon a Time took a (small) break this week from mythology to focus on personal relationships. So we didn’t learn a whole lot more about Merlin and Camelot and Arthur and the Dark Ones and whatnot, but the relationships between Henry and his two moms were turned upside down and topsy-turvy.

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It’s funny — when the show started, Henry was on the outs with Regina. We rooted for him to bond with Emma. But now, Emma is the Dark One and, well, bad. Regina is the better mom for him. It’s a testament to the writers that they flip these notions from one season to another, and play with our ideas of who’s “good” and who’s “bad.”

This week, that wasn’t even the big question. Nobody was outright good or evil. But there was a battle of two moms, and Regina was the winner. Not necessarily because she’s the hero and Emma is the villain — thought that does play a small part — but because of how they react to Henry’s adolescence.

Perhaps, in a way, the fact that Emma wasn’t part of Henry’s life when he was growing up makes her that much more protective now. Or maybe it’s a function of being the Dark One. Whatever the true reason, it’s pushing Henry away.

And it’s sending him right to Regina.

Hero of the Week: Regina

Raise your hand if you remember the beginning of this series when Regina was the terrible mom who wouldn’t let Henry read the storybook.

And look at her now.

Regina has changed. She’s changed the most of any character in the series. Yes, getting a happy ending with Robin Hood has been part of that, but it’s more. She’s comfortable in herself. She’s confident in herself. She knows she’s loved… and not just by Robin. BY HENRY.

Henry is growing up and becoming a teenager. And Regina could be the kind of mom who tries to pretend her kid is still a kid. Instead, she gives him good advice, and tries to create circumstances in which he’d be safe.

She continues to investigate the whole Merlin situation — and ends up meeting the guy. And she’s probably the only one who can stop the villain of this whole story (we’ll get to that in a second).

All in all, Regina is a hero now. She’d better get used to it, because we are.

Villain of the Week: Emma

If Regina is the cool mom who “gets it,” Emma is… not. First of all, she’s creeping on Henry’s date in Camelot. Second of all, she’s not doing it just to be protective — she wants to steal Violet’s heart for nefarious purposes!

“I need the tear of a lost first love,” she says, a cold gleam in her eye. “I need you to break Henry’s heart.”

Maybe Henry doesn’t need two moms!

We’ve known Emma is the bad guy this season, but to exploit her own son? That’s dipping to Rumplestiltskin-level lows. As Regina tells her, “There’s always a choice.” Emma’s chosen, and she’s chosen wrong.

Even so, we’re still really enjoying this reversal between newly good Regina and newly bad Emma. Henry might be in the throes of teen infatuation, but we’re still hoping he can knock his bio-mom out of this Dark One funk.

Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.