Once Upon a Time - S4E1 - A Tale of Two Sisters
When we last left our favorite fairytale friends:
- Gold and Belle were wed.
- Mary Margaret and Charming welcomed their son, Neal, into the world.
- Emma returned to Storybrooke with a surprise.
- Regina saw her quest for true love go out the window.
- Elsa T-1000’d inside a barn outside of town.
The Quick and Dirty
Elsa makes her way to the Storybrooke town limits, leaving a snowy trail in her wake.
Freezing dwarves and conjuring Yeti, she is frightened and on the hunt for something or someone.
Regina is still reeling from the return of Marian. Robin chooses his wife over the evil queen, and Marian is completely confused by the situation. Regina is heartbroken and reacquaints herself with Sidney Glass. She will find a way to have a happy ending, even if she has to rewrite the fairytales herself.
We get a taste of Frozen. Elsa and Anna’s parents were lost at sea, but not before leaving a message in a bottle for their daughters. A few visits to Arendelle reveal that Elsa found her mother’s diary and misinterpreted its meaning that she is the cause of their death/disappearance.
Anna is hopeful and believes her parents wouldn’t have left them if they didn’t have a good reason. They meet up with the TrollFather Pabbie to get more information.
After the meeting, Anna decides to set sail to Mist Haven, better known as The Enchanted Forest, to get to the heart of why their parents left on their unfortunate voyage. We also meet Sven and Kristoff for the first time.
Belle and Gold go for a Sunday drive and find themselves at the one unclaimed mansion in Storybrooke. The duo Goldilocks their way through the home.
This room is too big, too small… Just right. For the dance.
During the tour, a small barrel caught Gold’s eye. After an evening of dancing and romancing, Gold retreats to the study and conjures a spell, revealing something that sent Disney geeks squeeing across the land: the Sorcerer’s Hat. I must say, of all the magical items that have appeared on the show, the Sorcerer’s Hat is the most impressive; a twinkling galaxy, the possibilities are endless. And my theory of potential transportation seems to be a VERY real possibility, now that the hat is in play.
Unless you have been living under a rock the past 10 months, the faces of Frozen should be familiar ones. For those of you who need Frozen refresher, say hello to your new fairytale friends:
Elsa, Queen of Arendelle. Portrayed by Georgina Haig; her face may be familiar from the Fox hit series Fringe. So far, her portrayal of Elsa feels genuine to the character from the movie.
Anna, Princess of Arendelle. Portrayed by Elizabeth Lail. Her IMDB is a little lean; this appears to be her first major role. Anna is the bubbly optimist, and Miss Lail has followed suit with her version of Anna. If the premiere is any indication, we won’t see much of this character, as Elsa is searching for her.
Kristoff, Fiance of Anna. Portrayed by Scott Michael Foster. A noticeably more svelte and handsome version of his animated self. I was put off by his lean physique; part of Kristoff’s appeal in the movie is that he isn’t the traditional love interest. He is large, lumbering, and a little oafish. This Kristoff is not a fixer-upper.
Sven, Obligatory furry sidekick, played by expert Disney magic CGI.
Pabbie, Rock Troll and Foster father to Kristoff, Voiced by the legendary John Rhys-Davies
Yeti, Elsa’s conjured protector. Isn’t he snuggly?
The season 3 finale left me with the following questions/predictions. Let’s see how I’ve done:
- I’m hoping they leap forward another year because Henry is going to be shaving and complaining about the price of gas soon. – No such luck. Henry just started contributing to his 401k and is looking to diversify for retirement.
- The whole love triangle with Regina, Robin, and Marian; how can Robin wrap his head around his new woman planning to kill your presumed dead wife? – For the moment, Robin has chosen his wife as he is bound by some moral code. He does have genuine feelings for Regina; he just can’t act on them.
- And where does Elsa fit in the mix? – This is yet to be determined.
- Who is her nemesis? Rumple? –She finds the snowflake necklace belonging to Anna in his shop.
The over/under on how long he will stay married to Belle once she finds out he gave her a fake dagger? – Surprise! He doesn’t reveal that he has the dagger but does swap out the real dagger for the fake one. That is a step in the right direction.- Will Hook move in with Emma and Henry, or is that too fast? – Emma is being a wimpy wimp. They will be one big happy family… Eventually.
The season premiere tried too hard to catch the audience up on all of our fairytale friends, old and new. The show has 22 episodes to tell a story; I think one-and-a-half-to-two episodes of follow-up on our favorites would have been a better start. There was also a significant amount of CGI in this episode, and I hope they didn’t blow the budget on a troll, a yeti, and a snow-covered Elsa.
