ALL CAUGHT UP: Once Upon a Time – Season Four, Episode One (“A Tale of Two Sisters”)

First aired September 28th, 2014.

Things are getting frosty in Storybrooke as Once Upon a Time kicks off its fourth season with the introduction of Disney’s Elsa (played by Georgina Haig). She literally casts a chill over the town as she leaves trails of ice wherever she walks.

After freezing a car that almost ran her over, Elsa is tracked by Emma (played by Jennifer Morrison) and Captain Hook (played by Colin O’Donoghue), who follow her frozen trail. However, before they can reach her, she unleashes a large snow monster (it looked unintentional) that starts rampaging through town. Emma attempts to use her magic to stop it but only succeeds in making it angry until experienced sorceress Regina (played by Lana Parilla) steps in and kills it. Elsa later makes her way to Rumple/Mr. Gold’s (played by Robert Carlyle) shop and retrieves a necklace belonging to her sister, Anna (played by Elizabeth Lail), and vows to find her. Flashbacks show Elsa and Anna living in Arendelle (after the events of the film Frozen), preparing for Anna’s wedding to Kristoff (played by Scott Foster). Elsa learns from their mother’s diary that when their parents died on a boat voyage they were searching for a way to suppress her powers, afraid of what she might do. She feels guilty, but Anna refuses to believe its true and sets out to find the truth in a far off land called Misthaven, aka The Enchanted Forest.

OUAT has always taken classic stories and their characters and rewritten them for the show, but this is the first time the show has written its own sequel. I think it’ll be interesting to see how the series will interpret the fates of these characters, and whether or not that will factor into any sequel later on. Another interesting aspect is that, in the OUAT timeline, the film Frozen hasn’t been released yet, so no one has any previous knowledge of Elsa’s story. The Enchanted Forest must be the nexus of the universe because it seems people from every corner and dimension in the existence end up there. Since the two biggest villains there were Rumple and Regina, it stands to reason that one or both of them could have done something to her. Getting screwed over by those two is another trend for people who live/visit The Enchanted Forest. You’d think that would have made people avoid going there.

Based on this episode, it doesn’t look like Elsa will be the next main villain, however her quest to find her sister might cause her to do bad things as the season goes on.

Meanwhile, Regina is still reeling from the revelation that the woman Emma brought with her from the past was Maid Marion (played by Christie Laing), the previously deceased wife of Robin Hood (played by Sean Maguire). She’s further crushed when Robin Hood tells her that he is staying with Marion despite his feelings for her. Regina doesn’t take this news well and resolves to take out Marion, enlisting the help of Sidney/the Magic Mirror (played by Giancarlo Esposito). Regina forces Sidney back into the mirror in order to see into the past so she knows what point in time she can kill Marion before Emma rescues her. She knows that killing Marion in the present would lead back to her. However, she’s lost her killer instincts and ends up saving Marion from being killed by the snow monster. Later, Regina has an epiphany: the reason she never had a happy ending is because, in spite of her efforts to be a hero, in the storybooks she is a villain and villains never get a happy ending. Because the book of fairy tales is a guide to the fates of the characters, Regina decides to track down the author and make him give villains their happy endings in order to achieve her true happiness.

I was really looking forward to the tension that would come from Regina losing her chance at her true love. I liked how the show acknowledged that, although she has genuinely tried to live the life of a hero, the Evil Queen is still lurking under the surface. Rather than accept that Robin wants to live with his family, she’s decided to briefly convert back to evil to ensure she gets her happy ending. Apparently, Regina’s never heard the expression, “If you love something, set it free.” Whether or not she goes through with it will define how far her character has come in terms of being good.

I like the idea of Regina tracking down the author of the book to make him write new endings. The book has been on the show since season one and it’s about time it was brought back into the storyline more. I did notice that Regina said “villains,” which makes me wonder if she is going to change the endings for all fairy tales so that the bad guys all win. I’d be curious to see what the world looks like with all the happy endings replaced, In fact, this seems like a setup for the second half of the season.

The rest of the episode deals with the relationship issues of several of Storybrooke’s high profile couples. Emma is having trouble letting herself get close to Hook. She blames the constant life-threatening dangers they face, but he says that’s all the more reason to make the most of their relationship. By the end of the episode, they seem closer and decide to spend the night at home watching Netflix. Gold and Belle (played by Emilie de Ravin) are off on their honeymoon, but first they pay respect to his son, Neal/Baelfire’s (played by Michael Raymond) grave. Gold is worried about starting his new life with Belle with a lie. She believes she has the dagger that controls his power, but it’s a fake. Gold manages to sneak the real dagger into Belle’s bag, although he still has to worry about her finding out he murdered Zelena (played by Rebecca Mader) against her wishes. They spend their trip dancing and enjoying each other’s company. However, toward the episode’s end, he summoned a magical hat from a locket for some reason.

These two couples are always going through the same issues and, by this point, it’s exhausting. Hook and Emma have had a “will they or won’t they” thing happening pretty much since they first met. With Neal gone, there’s really no obstacles to keep them apart, so why drag it out any longer? We already know that they will end up together, so it’s time to change up their story to show them dealing with relationship issues. As for Gold and Belle, I’ve lost count of how many times he’s done something evil or betrayed her and Belle is crushed but eventually goes back to him. The whole thing is like a woman trapped in a bad relationship: Belle keeps going back even though Gold continues to disappoint her. When Belle finds out that he lied to her (again), I hope that she either leaves Gold for good or the show makes this the final time he lies to her. I’m really curious about this hat, maybe it’ll be yet another magical object that will tempt Gold with the opportunity for power.

Quotes & Thoughts

“You want to go home and see what’s on Netflix?” “I don’t know what that is but sure.”

A dwarf named Sleepy is the last person who should be a designated driver.

“Regina, you all right?” “What is wrong with you people? Why are you talking to her? Don’t you know who she is? She’s a monster!”

Emma’s stance when she was trying to cast a spell was hilarious. She looked like she was blinded by a bright light.

If you enjoyed Manny’s review, you can find the rest of his work right HERE on Sci-Fi Bloggers. You can also follow him on Twitter @KN_Manny.

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