Once Upon A Time - Recap: Reflective Today, Aren't We?

And so it is here, as Emma (Jennifer Morrison) seems to realize just how much she's missed in life by being such a solitary person, and trying to reach out to a former enemy in order to fix that. For that reason alone, "Breaking Glass" is a worthwhile episode, even if it isn't the most riveting hour of the season so far. The episode centers on the continued search for the Snow Queen (Elizabeth Mitchell) and the ongoing mystery surrounding just who she is and why she's here. Emma is intent on not only figuring out how the Snow Queen knows her, but why the Snow Queen took any memory of knowing her -- and they clearly did know each other, as evidenced by photos Sidney (Giancarlo Esposito) had taken years earlier, which reveal the two having what looks to be a heated argument. For this, she seeks out the help of Regina (Lana Parrilla), who is trying to track down the Snow Queen herself using Sidney, who is still trapped as her Magic Mirror. This gives us an episode that teams Emma and Regina in a situation that's growing more desperate by the moment: Elsa (Georgina Haig) has gone missing after chasing an Anna apparition into the forest, and it's eventually revealed to be the doing of the Snow Queen, who has tricked Elsa and trapped her in ice chains powered by her own fear.

Credit: ABC

It might be a bit cliche at this point for Emma and Regina to, once again, become reluctant allies, but this felt more insightful than the usual pairing, thanks in large part to the flashback story to Emma's childhood. The tale of her teenage friendship with a runaway named Lily isn't exactly fresh territory, since it's another story that further illustrates how Emma has led a solitary life, but it's well-told. And it actually provides a fairly new twist to the concept, since it's Emma doing the abandoning this time. After forging a friendship rooted in the notion that they were both runaways from the system, Emma rebels against Lily once it's discovered she actually has a family that loves her. Granted, Lily swears that it's only an adopted family, and that she's miserable there, and every bit as lonely as Emma. But the trust between them has been broken. And even though it's a separation Emma later deeply regrets, it's too late for her to undo the mistake of forsaking that relationship.

Credit: ABC

It's a flashback story that has immediate implications in the present, as Emma attempts to rectify her past mistake by offering an olive branch to Regina. In fact, it's actually a bit more than an olive branch: Emma expresses a desire to be friends with Regina. Her rationale is that they're the only two people in Storybrooke who can understand what it's like to be a misunderstood outsider (um...Elsa?), and they can have each other's backs now, even if they haven't before. It's a poignant speech, and it comes after an episode that really brings the women of this show to the fore. When the Snow Queen conjures up a snow Goliath, it's Emma and Regina who join their powers to stop it. And it's Elsa who rescues Emma and Regina once the Snow Queen takes them both by the throat in their Disney-sanctioned "force choke" (one of the lovely benefits of owning Star Wars, I suppose). Ultimately, they're unable to get to the root of the mystery, but we do learn some small tidbits about the Snow Queen: much like young Emma, she's searching for a family that loves her. And she apparently needed a piece of Regina's magic mirror to do this, since she has a magic mirror of her own that needs assembling. In a way, the show is making the puzzle surrounding the Snow Queen a literal one, as the reassembled mirror suggests the mystery suddenly gaining clarity. Hopefully, next week, we get to see what answers the Snow Queen is seeking in her own reflection. Especially since the cliffhanger of the episode deepens the questions at the heart of the story: Emma watches an old video of Lily and herself, only for the tape to reveal a memory Emma doesn't recall, a moment recorded with the video camera long after she and Lily were separated. It's a clip of Emma in a home with other children -- a home run by the Snow Queen herself. There's a certain grim poetry in Emma overcoming her trust issues, only to discover she can't even trust her own memory.

Credit: ABC

It's a sleek twist that opens up the narrative by presenting several plausible directions for the story to take. I like the notion of the Snow Queen potentially having been a mother figure to Emma, since it echoes the connection the Snow Queen apparently shares with Elsa. Maybe the Snow Queen is Elsa's birth mother, maybe she isn't, but she does take an uncommon interest in Elsa reaching her full potential as a sorceress. I'm not sure which direction the story is going to take, but I'm genuinely excited to see where this goes. Unfortunately, the episode's other big storyline isn't nearly as interesting. But it's at least brief and inoffensive, as Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) tracks and captures Will (Michael Socha), but is tricked into pardoning him and letting him go. It's a storyline meant to help Snow White reclaim her confidence and sense of self, but it pales in comparison to everything else in the episode. With all that said, "Breaking Glass" is a compelling episode all the same, in what's been a solid season for Once Upon A Time so far.