Once Upon a Time: Season Four, Episode Six

First aired November 2nd, 2014.

For most of this season, Belle (played by Emilie de Ravin) hasn’t had a very large role in the main plot. But the latest episode of OUAT puts Belle front and center and reveals a hidden connection to the sisters from Arendelle.

Belle hits the library with Elsa (played by Georgina Haig) to find information about the disappearance of her sister, Anna (played by Elizabeth Lail). Eventually, she decides to track down the Snow Queen (played by Elizabeth Mitchell) for answers and uses her husband Rumple/Mr. Gold (played by Robert Carlyle) for help. Using the (fake) dagger, Belle has Gold take her to the Snow Queen’s lair to find the magical hat Gold secretly has. In the lair, she finds the Snow Queen’s magical mirror and the reflection begins talking back. Belle’s reflection taunts her about not saving Anna during a past encounter and that the dagger is fake. Gold teleports them both out of the lair and she accidentally cuts him with the fake dagger. This is enough to convince her that it’s real and she apologizes profusely for doubting her husband and Belle later goes to Elsa and apologizes for not saving Anna. Gold later visits the Snow Queen and shows her the magical hat (which could steal her magic) and says that as long as he has it he has leverage over her.

Belle has become the head researcher of the OUAT universe always with her nose in a book, which is a valid skill but I have to wonder why she never fights. Previous episodes showed that Belle was resourceful when fighting against enemies but now she seems to prefer curling up with a good book. It was a welcome change to see her taking action and putting herself on the frontlines of everything.

I can’t believe Belle still hasn’t figured out that dagger is fake. It was made clear several times throughout the episode. Gold is lucky she is so impressionable. He could keep up this lie forever and probably never get caught. Although since she is now getting herself involved in dangerous situations, it might be a good idea for him to say something.

You would think Gold would have just sucked the Snow Queen into the hat, but like everyone in Storybrooke, he must want/need something out of her.

In flashbacks. Belle has a nightmare of her mother being attacked by an ogre and wakes up to find her mother died and has no memory of it. Her father refuses to help get the memory back so Belle goes off to find the rock trolls so she can remember and find closure. It is on her search that she meets Anna, who is on her way to see the trolls because she is suspicious of her newfound aunt the Snow Queen, aka Ingrid. The girls meet with Anna’s future father-in-law, Grand Pabbie (played by John Rhys-Davies), who creates a stone for Belle that will restore her memory. Pabbie then explains to Anna that her mother had two older sisters who tragically vanished and her mother had Pabbie erase their existence from the memories of everyone in Arendelle.

While making their way back, Ingrid (who had been spying on them) creates a storm that causes Anna to nearly fall off a cliff. Belle is torn between saving her and retrieving the memory stone. She goes for the stone but it falls and is then too late to save Anna from falling. Ingrid shows up and teleports away with Anna and the box containing the hat (which Anna stole from Rumpel). She holds Anna prisoner and accuses her of planning to use the hat to steal Elsa’s magic the same way their parents were. Ingrid claims she hoped that Anna would be a family with her and Elsa and that soon she will realize her dream of getting the family she’s always wanted.

I can’t believe Belle went through all of that just to learn that her mother sacrificed herself to save her life, which was obvious right away from her dream. Her father also could have explained that from the start and saved her all of that trouble. The only relevant thing that came out of Belle’s trip is that it explained how she first learned of Rumpel which led to her eventual enslavement/romance with him. Parents hiding painful memories from their kids was a recurring theme, although Anna’s parents went the distance and made their entire kingdom forget her sisters. Ingrid must have done something very evil, which is why nobody remembers her. She wouldn’t have wanted the royal family to suffer through that stigma. I knew there was more to it than what Pabbie told Anna. Nobody would go through the trouble of erasing someone’s existence unless they did something monumentally horrible. That’s the only plausible reason anything else wouldn’t make any sense.

I’m still not completely on board with the Snow Queen’s main objective being to create the perfect loving family for herself. However, with only handful of episodes left until the midseason finale, it should (hopefully) come together nicely. Until then, I’ll try and stay open-minded about it.

Meanwhile, Elsa is working with Emma (played by Jennifer Morrison) to track down the Snow Queen/Ingrid’s roots. They know that she was at one point Emma’s foster mother but have no idea why or how she got to their world. The group discovers files on Emma in the Snow Queen’s ice cream truck and a book that shows a family tree proving Ingrid is Elsa’s aunt, and Emma finds a scroll that says the Savior (Emma) would become Ingrid’s sister. Belle arrives and says the magical mirror is part of a spell called Shattered Sight that will cause the entire town to turn on each other. It appears the Snow Queen’s plan is to use the mirror to make everyone in town kill each other, and use Elsa and Emma as replacements for her lost sisters. When everyone but the three of them are dead, she will finally have the family that she’s always wanted.

It’s amazing how far the Snow Queen will go just to have a family. She’d been trying to groom Emma into being her “sister” since she was a child. My guess is Emma didn’t live up to her standards so the Snow Queen erased her memories until she could make Emma the perfect sister. What still remains to be seen is just how she expects to make Elsa and Emma be a part of her deranged family unit. I’m also unclear on why the Snow Queen is going to cast a spell to make everyone in town kill each other to be alone with Elsa and Emma. They could go anywhere in the world (or even another world altogether) to be alone. There really isn’t any reason to kill everyone, except maybe that she’s just plain evil.

Quotes & Thoughts

“I didn’t even know my mother had any sisters. I’m as surprised as you are.” “Spend a little more time in this town, love. You realize just about everyone is related.”

With everything going on it’s safe to say Marian (played by Christie Laing) will remain a popsicle for a while.

“You have nothing in common with Elsa and me. You are the odd woman out. Now I suppose I have to find someone else to take your place.”

Another reason the Snow Queen seems to want Emma is that she’s blonde and resembles her late sister. She seems to be going for a Power of the Blondes kind of thing.

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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