Zelena's Revenge

A Fan Theory by Brooke Summerlin

Poor Henry—the kid just can’t catch a break. Once again all faithful Oncers should be concerned for Henry’s safety. Pan may be out of the picture for now, but there’s a new villain on Once Upon a Time, and she has it out for the truest believer. In fact, I think she’s already made at least one attempt on Henry’s life.

What did poor Henry ever do to her? Nothing, of course. In “NYC Serenade” Zelena, the Wicked Witch, makes it clear that she’s out for revenge against Regina. And as Aurora hints to Philip, if you incur Zelena’s wrath, she doesn’t just go after you—she goes after your children.

Within a day or two of being launched back into the Enchanted Forest by the “reset” curse, Regina was attacked by a flying monkey who wanted to retrieve her blood. Why Zelena needed this blood to exact her revenge upon the queen is unknown. Perhaps she hoped to curse Regina’s son through blood magic. However, Regina and Henry are related through True Love, not blood. Therefore, Zelena’s revenge curse was ineffective, prompting a need to physically enter the world without magic and get the job done.

When we last saw Emma and Henry, they were driving away from Storybrooke into their new lives. Their destination was unknown, but it’s likely that they returned to Emma’s home in Boston. Flash forward one year after the reset curse was cast and Emma and Henry are now living in Manhattan. The reason? A house fire destroyed their home in Boston, so they relocated to New York. A detail like this cannot be ignored. Recall, the Wicked Witch was something of a pyro, constantly tormenting the Scarecrow with fireballs. For this reason, it is possible the fire was real and not a false memory. Although Emma does not give a specific date, it is likely that the fire occurred a few months after the reset curse was cast.

In fact, my guess is that the fire occurred approximately eight months prior to the events of “NYC Serenade.” Why? Because Emma met Walsh eight months ago at his furniture store in NYC. When your home is destroyed in a fire, one of the few things you can replace is furniture. Was it mere happenstance that Emma found the one guy in the Big Apple who happened to be a flying monkey?

Not at all! Look closely and you’ll see Walsh has a linear scar on the left side of his neck. The flying monkey who attacked Regina was grazed by an arrow in the exact same place. Walsh is not a random fairy-tale creature; he’s a monkey on a mission. The fire in Boston was no accident. Who knows what he had planned if Emma continued her relationship with him?

Although Zelena’s first attempt to exact her revenge on Regina proved unsuccessful, I fear she has more wickedness in store for Henry and for Storybrooke. If she’s smart she’ll realize that she cannot rely on blood magic to exact her revenge. On Once Upon a Time, True Love always trumps magic. And Henry’s mother is well-armed. Both of them.

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