Recap / Once Upon a Time S4 E7 "The Snow Queen"

Season 4, Episode 7:

The Snow Queen

Emma captures the Snow Queen and interrogates her at the sheriff’s station. But the Snow Queen uses her prior knowledge of Emma to try to persuade her into thinking that they are more alike than she could possibly imagine. Regina and Robin Hood’s relationship grows increasingly complex as they continue struggling to find a way to save his dying wife. Emma begins to see what she missed out on by not growing up as part of a family with Snow and Charming when she sees how involved Mary Margaret is in baby Neal’s life. Henry continues his after school job in Gold’s shop while trying to help Regina find a clue to the identity of the author of the storybook. Meanwhile, in Arendelle of the past, we learn about the origin of the Snow Queen and her familial connection to Elsa and Anna as we see her discover her spectacular yet deadly ice powers.

Tropes

• Adaptational Villainy: Already a jerk in Frozen, here the Duke of Weselton makes a pass at his betrothed's sister and was possibly going to rape her before the magic kicked in. Come to think of it, his behavior in the episode where he shows up is more like how Hans is portrayed in Frozen, as opposed to the Duke's behavior in that movie.
• Arc Words: "Let It Go" makes an appearance when Regina is talking about getting over Robin Hood. Also, "All magic comes with a price" returns from Season 1.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The Duke of Weselton appears to be a gentleman, but he's anything but.
• The Bus Came Back: Not only has Aurora returned (now in modern clothing!) but Cinderella/Ashley is back. The fact this occurs in the same episode as the Knave being quizzed about his lost love is...intriguing.
• Call-Back: Robin Hood stops Will from leaving Granny's by tossing a dart at the door to get his attention, the same way Graham did to Emma back in Season 1's "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter."
• Chekhov's Gun: The ribbons the sisters wore as children. Traded to Rumpelstiltskin in the past, and Ingrid barters for them in the present to use as part of her spell.
• Couch Gag: The title card features the Arendelle princesses' kite.
• Diplomatic Impunity: The Duke of Weselton tries to invoke this when Helga catches him harassing Ingrid.
• Evil Counterpart: Ingrid is what Elsa would have become if her sister had lost faith in her.
• Expy:
  • As a younger man, the Duke of Weselton is much closer in character to what Hans is like in Frozen and OUAT than his own older self. Especially his motive.
  • Helga can be considered a blonde, older version of Anna. She never loses faith in Ingrid, defends her sister against slander, and is turned into an ice statue. The only difference is that Anna recovers, while Helga didn't.
• Freudian Excuse: The Snow Queen's is painful and realistic enough it just might have one invokedRooting for the Empire if not for her methods (and intentions for the rest of Storybrooke).
• Hannibal Lecture: Ingrid gives Emma one while she is being interrogated at the sheriff station.
• Human Shield: The Duke of Weselton uses Princess Helga to shield himself from Ingrid's magic, causing Helga to die of a frozen heart and Gerda to magically trap Ingrid in a fury.
• Infant Sibling Jealousy: Emma finds she has it, though befitting the fact she's an adult, it's more about her own abandonment issues and jealousy that Neal gets the childhood with their parents she never had.
• Innocently Insensitive: Back to back when Emma goes to pick up the baby from Snow at the Mommy and Me class. Snow runs through all of the equipment she's brought to take care of the baby. Emma remarks "he sure has a lot of stuff" and Snow casually replies "well, we wanted to give him everything," oblivious to Emma's pained expression. A minute later, the group is referred to as one for "first time mothers," which Emma repeats curiously. Snow tries to reassure her she's not, but Emma points out that she kind of is, since she's never raised a baby. When Emma starts listing off all of Neal's "firsts" that Snow will get to experience, it triggers her Power Incontinence.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Gerda asks Grand Pabbie to perform this for everyone in Arendelle to keep anyone from knowing what happened to Helga and Ingrid. He warns her this will have a heavy price and the truth will come out eventually (as the truth always finds a way to reveal itself). Rumpelstiltskin still knows all three sisters, after all.
• Letting Her Hair Down: The other way around. Ingrid's hair is worn down in the past, when she was happy with her sisters.
• Middle Child Syndrome: Subverted. Helga is the middle sister, but she's clearly The Heart and it's her sudden death that kicks off Ingrid's Face–Heel Turn.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • In the past, Ingrid's horrified reaction when she accidentally ice-blasts and kills Helga.
  • In the present, Emma after she loses controls of her powers, blows a hole in the side of the sheriff's station, lets the Snow Queen free, and accidentally hurts David.
  • Snow after she yells at Emma for the above, then she quickly regrets it. She flat out admits that Emma looked to her parents for comfort and they let her down.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Like in Frozen, the Duke of Weselton is referred to as the Duke of "Weaseltown."
  • When Ingrid and her sisters visit Rumple to find a way to control her powers (and Ingrid refuses to believe the love in their ribbons will be enough), he not only gives them the urn but a pair of gloves which look very like the ones Elsa wore in the early half of Frozen. The implication is that it was Anna accidentally pulling one of the gloves off which allowed Elsa's powers to go out of control and expose her in front of the ball guests. (Note Elsa also removed the other glove during "Let It Go", just before fully giving in to her powers to create the ice bridge.)
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Every single thing that Snow does in this episode falls into this category. All of it.
• No Name Given: Unlike some other characters, the Duke of Weselton is still only known by his title.
• Play-Along Prisoner: The Snow Queen sets up base in the clock tower (complete with a fake Magic Mirror) all so she can get captured and get close to Emma so she can work on her insecurities and get her to lose control.
• Power Incontinence: What Ingrid's plan is causing in Emma. While this is most spectacularly shown in the scene at the sheriff's station, it also appears more subtly when Emma is visiting Snow at the local daycare where Ashley and Aurora are taking care of their babies—hearing her mother be called a "first-time mother" of baby Neal (even if, thanks to the first curse, it's sadly true) causes her to start boiling the milk bottle she's holding without realizing it.
• The Promise: Helga and Gerda made one of these to Ingrid when they were children—that they would help her learn to control her powers, that they would keep them secret, and that they would always love her and stand by her despite them. Helga does so right up to the moment of her death. Gerda, not so much.
• Series Continuity Error: Alexandra is portrayed as a baby along with Neal and Philip. While the series is vague on how much time has passed since Season 1 when she was born, she should at least be a toddler by now (an extra nine months passes in Season 3).
• Start X to Stop X: There's an element of this to Ingrid's plan, crossed with Monster Protection Racket—Emma never really had any trouble controlling her powers until the Snow Queen played on her insecurities and got her angry, and based on what she said during the interrogation and afterward, it's clear Ingrid now intends to solve the problem she created by teaching Emma to control her powers, if she will only join her little 'family'.
• Took a Level in Jerkass:
  • As a young man, the Duke of Weselton is far more villainous and nasty than the ineffectual Red Herring 50-something year old we met in Frozen—first trying to cheat on Helga with Ingrid (how far would it have gone, if she hadn't blasted him away?), then blaming her for instigating it and attacking him when he resisted, then threatening to reveal Ingrid's secret to all of Arendelle, and finally shoving Helga in the way of the ice blast to save himself. In fact, the Duke of Weselton's character traits seem more akin to the behaviors Hans exhibits in Frozen and OUAT.
  • Gerda, far from being the kind and loving mother and queen she appeared to be, is here revealed to have jumped to conclusions, turned on Ingrid, and locked her own sister in the urn after swearing she would always be there for her. The fact she seemed to be falling into the same assumptions about Elsa when she sailed for the Enchanted Forest almost makes the sinking a Karmic Death for her. Thankfully it turns out she did realize the extent of her mistakes and revealed the truth about Ingrid and Helga with the message in a bottle she sent before dying.
  • This is a strange case, as it is Gerda of the past who was impulsive and fearful, which combines some of Anna's and Elsa's character traits. Her present self was much more mature and kind. So, it's safe to say she grew out of her jerkassness rather than take a level in it? Or to put it another way, she took a level in jerkishness from what was shown in the movie, but by the time of the movie she had Taken a Level in Kindness.
• The Unfavorite: Ingrid’s Hannibal Lecture is partly designed to convince Emma that she is this to her family, just as she believes she herself was.
• The Unreveal: At the end of the episode, after Emma has fled into the woods thanks to her Power Incontinence rather than turn to her for help, Ingrid goes to Gold's shop and goes back on what she told him last episode—that now she does want to make a deal with him. She asks for she and her sisters' ribbons that she traded to him for the gloves and urn, but the viewer doesn't get to find out what she wants them for...until next episode. In return, she has to give Gold the information he needs to fully make use of the Hat, which she learned while she had it in her possession...but she whispers the information in his ear, so again the viewer does not know what it is (only that it pleases Gold greatly). Again, this gets revealed next episode.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The Duke of Weselton. By trying to seduce his betrothed's sister, he caused Helga to be killed, which causes Gerda to develop a fear of her family's magic, which indirectly caused the events of Frozen to happen and the events of the Frozen/OUAT crossover to happen.
• You Monster!: Gerda says this to Ingrid after blaming her for Helga's accidental death; Ingrid's expression is heartbreaking. Hook also indirectly implies it when he says "that monster" the Snow Queen caused the hole in the sheriff's station, only for Emma to claim she was the monster in question.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Emma loses control over her magic powers, after Ingrid insinuated that Emma's parents favored their secondborn more, because he is not magical. She immediately regrets her anger after the destruction she had caused, while Ingrid is pleased she is in touch with her magic.