Once Upon A Time - Recap: Frozen Heart

Right off the bat, if I have one issue with this episode, it's that we learn information that would have been useful to have far earlier than now. For example, I'm not entirely sure why the show pushed the backstory between Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Ingrid into the background for so many weeks, since I think everything that happened between them tonight would have carried more weight had we known, at an early point, just what the nature of their relationship/falling out had been. Still, I realize that in saying so, I'm getting into nitpick territory, since this still managed to resonate, emotionally. The scenes between Young Emma (Abby Ross, who is tremendously well-cast as a young Jennifer Morrison) and Ingrid touched on the motif of makeshift families, as characters attempt to make up for the family they've either lost or never had in the first place. Ingrid expects Emma to be the magically-inclined sister she's waited for, while Emma, to her surprise and delight, finds that Ingrid just might be the mother she's been waiting for. Naturally, they both end up disappointed in each other: Ingrid finds out that Emma isn't as magically-inclined as she thought, and Emma discovers that Ingrid has magical expectations of her. Basically, Emma dismisses Ingrid as a nutjob, which further damages her own self-worth, as she comes to the conclusion that of course the only person who'd want to adopt her is a loony. It's a sad parting that, inevitably, shapes the direction of both their lives, since Emma essentially continues growing up without a family, while Ingrid grows even more twisted and desperate in her attempt to find a replacement for her sisters, convinced that Emma is still the one. Both are made into more cynical, jaded individuals who are further out of touch with the reality of their situations. Emma will grow to be magical yet not believe it, while Ingrid will continue to believe her sisters stopped loving her. Naturally, both characters will be proven wrong.

Credit: ABC

The climax, in which Anna (Elizabeth Lail) comes forward with the letter from her mother found washed up on shore, is a bit hokey. But it's still effective in bringing Ingrid's journey full-circle, and being pretty poignant in the process. In short, the letter reveals that Gerda regrets locking her sister away and condemning her as a monster, just about as much as she regrets removing the memory of Ingrid and Helga from the citizens of Arendelle. She pleads with Anna and Elsa (Georgina Haig) to undo the damage she's done, and while it does result in Ingrid realizing the error of her ways, Mitchell manages to wring a lot of pathos out of it, as her entire view of herself as an unloved outsider is compromised by the letter. So she does what she can to make things right, offering redemption for a character who was never going to achieve it the way she wanted to. Here, she achieves it through sacrifice, reversing the Spell of Shattered Sight the only way it can be, by destroying herself. As she's devoured by her own magic, Ingrid returns Emma and Elsa's memories from their pasts together, and it results in an unexpectedly touching farewell: on the one hand, no one is crying buckets to see her go, but even Emma believes she still deserves a chance at a happy ending. Granted, this belief isn't enough to dissuade Ingrid from doing what needs to be done to prevent the Spell of Shattered Sight from causing everyone in Storybrooke to destroy each other. I'll miss Mitchell, who brought a lot to a role that could have been fairly flat. Granted, I didn't always love how one-note she was once her motives became clear, but I think Mitchell brought more depth to the role than was necessarily on the page. The strength of each half-season of Once Upon A Time relies largely on the strength of the villain, and my enjoyment of this half-season speaks volumes of what Mitchell brought as an antagonist. Hopefully, the villain(s) they have in store for the second half of the season will be as compelling.

Credit: ABC

The rest of the episode was mostly a fun romp. Seeing the spell cause Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) and David (Josh Dallas) to get smarmy with each other again brought back echoes of their courtship, long before they were the lovey-dovey parents of a newborn. And I actually enjoyed seeing the old Regina (Lana Parrilla) back, complete with Evil Queen dress. The sword fight between Regina and Mary Margaret is also wonderfully absurd, and the show seems to know this, in how it's shot more for laughs than for drama. Hell, there have been few things this season more delightful than Regina and Mary Margaret breaking out into laughter after coming out of the spell and realizing what a gaudy outfit she was wearing. However, it couldn't all be laughs, as Gold (Robert Carlyle) is still forcing Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) to bring him Henry (Jared S. Gilmore). Henry gets away, and now Gold has further cause to have Hook killed before enacting his big plan. I still argue that if the show is going to vilify Gold, then make him the real villain. There doesn't need to be any other villains on a show that has Carlyle on its ensemble, considering just how effective a screen presence he is. Of course, if the show is still trying to sell Gold as this conflicted, tortured character whose motivations we should empathize with, I'm not exactly buying it. But I guess we'll see where the show is headed with Gold's sharp turn back to the Villains column next week.

Credit: ABC

"Shattered Sight" would have worked well as a winter finale, but I'm actually glad we're getting one more episode, since I think the show needs more time to transition out of the Ingrid threat and into the next one. That said, I still believe Once Upon A Time has something bigger in store than the villain who will be looming over the next half season.