Be still my Captain Swan-loving heart. This was delightful. Obviously everyone has been talking about the Emma/Hook stuff of this episode, but in my opinion, there were a lot of other things to love as well. Let's start with the plot - this week, we get something very simple and straightforward, which is a nice change from the occasionally convoluted plot lines this show likes to give us.
Elsa, who has just found Anna's necklace in Gold's shop, decides to put an ice wall around all of Storybrooke, to prevent anyone from leaving until she gets her sister back. Henry is upset because Regina doesn't want to see him right now. She says she's sorting out her own stuff after the breakup. While Emma is comforting Henry about this, the entire town experiences a blackout. Emma and David go to investigate, and Hook tags along. They find the ice wall around the town, along with some toppled over electrical wires.
Emma goes closer to the wall to investigate, and finds Elsa. Elsa seems tense, but Emma is able to partially calm her down. However, when Hook and David rush forward, Elsa gets scared and causes more ice to appear, trapping herself and Emma inside, while David and Hook are on the outside, trying to get to Emma.
Elsa says she needs Anna, in order to control her powers and melt the ice. Hook and David go to Gold's shop, to try and figure out who Anna is. Belle has a picture of the necklace, which went missing in the store. David sees it, and he realizes that he once knew Anna.
We get flashbacks in this episode to David, before he became the prince, and was living as a shepherd. Anna shows up to talk to him, because apparently David knew Kristoff, and Anna therefore knows David can be trusted. Anna goes by the name Joan, eager to protect her identity while on this secret mission. "Joan" learns that David and his mother are under a lot of stress to pay their taxes to a warlord in the area: a powerful sorceress by the name of Bo Peep. "Joan" encourages David to fight against Bo Peep's tyranny. She teaches him to sword fight.
However, "Joan" then gets kidnapped by Bo Peep. David has to fight against Bo Peep in order to get "Joan" back, which he does. "Joan" then leaves the farmhouse, saying a fond farewell to David and Ruth.
Back in Storybrooke, David recognizes "Joan's" necklace from Belle's picture, and figures out who Anna is. He goes to Bo Peep, who is now working as a butcher (ha). He and Hook retrieve Bo Peep's shepherd's staff, which is how she finds people that she's marked as part of her "herd." They bring the staff back to the ice wall, and tell Elsa that they have a way to find Anna, but that she has to use her magic to get Emma out of there.
Emma and Elsa have been bonding, but Emma is freezing to death. Elsa uses her magic to melt the ice, finally gaining some control. Hook and David hurriedly bring Emma back home, to wrap her up in blankets. Mary Margaret, who has been trying to get the town back up and running, finally figures out to raise the fuel levels and gets the town's lights and electronics back up. Elsa can't figure out where Anna is using the staff, but they do hear a heartbeat, and so they know she's alive somewhere.
We next get a lovely little scene with Henry and Regina. Henry is not ready to give up on Regina, and he goes over to Regina's house to tell her so. She opens the door and hugs him. Looks like there's hope for their relationship yet.
Finally, we end with Elsa and Emma. Elsa tries to bring down the wall around Storybrooke, but she finds herself unable. She doesn't understand why she can't melt the ice - after all, nobody else has powers like hers, right? Then we see another person with ice powers, working in an ice cream parlor. Her identity is as yet unknown.
A small nitpick, to start off with my complaints: Rumple and Belle. For the past two episodes, they've been remarkably out of the way as the town falls to pieces. I mean, I know they're on their honeymoon, but you would think someone would call them and tell them about the ice monster from last week, or the ice wall from this week? Even if Rumple chooses to be a jerk about it, you would think Belle would want him to help the town? I guess I was just looking for a better excuse as to why Rumple and Belle aren't more involved.
I'm sort of torn about the back story in this one, to be honest. I love the idea of Anna and David knowing each other, and I think it's super adorable (if slightly unrealistic) that she's the one to teach him how to sword fight. Unrealistic in the sense that it happened awfully quickly... but that's fine. What bothers me about this little back story thing is that it seems a tad odd that David never would have mentioned Bo Peep or "Joan" when discussing his past as a shepherd. It sounds like Bo Peep's tyranny was a serious part of his life. What exactly was her deal, anyway? What sort of power did she really have, and was there any actual authority behind it? For that matter, this tragic story about David's dad seems like the sort of thing that he might have confided to his wife, rather than to some girl he had just randomly met who won't even tell him her real name.
However, there were good things about the back story. I really enjoy the actress who plays Anna. She's really got this innocent, happy, yet still headstrong personality down. Her relationship with Charming was compelling - I'm sure some people are already starting to ship the two of them. I see it much more as a strong friendship, but the chemistry was definitely there.
Also, I just love the idea of making Bo Peep a villain. Why the hell not? Great work from the actress, awesome costume design, and cool idea to have the shepherd's staff, such an iconic part of Bo Peep, be an object of magic. And I absolutely love the fact that she's a butcher in Storybrooke. Too funny.
Other good aspects of this episode:
Mary Margaret as Mama Mayor! I loved it when she had to deal with Grumpy and the others, and she screams at them to stop saying letters! And that Regina was probably evil all along from having to deal with their incessant whining! And yet, even after her freak-out, she's still able to save the day in the end. I like seeing her in this position of power. She's in charge now, after all.
Emma and Elsa's conversations were great. I like seeing the bond form between these two characters. Both of them lost their parents when they were young, both of them have powers that they can't control and don't understand. They're both confused, and afraid of opening up to those they love. I think I can see a great friendship beginning here. I hope they continue to explore it.
David had a lot of good moments here, too. He understood what needed to be done in order to get Emma out of there, and even though he was scared, he approached the whole thing logically, and was able to get through to Elsa where no one else could. I also liked his little "intentions" speech with Hook. He's not being sexist or anything, he's just being protective, because he knows Hook's reputation. But when Hook says that the two of them will decide together where their future lies, David is satisfied with that. After all, it would be impossible for him to miss how Hook feels for Emma, after watching the way he behaves in this episode.
And let's talk about that, shall we? I've saved the Hook/Emma stuff for last, because my heart would have exploded if I'd tried to look at it earlier. First, there's the fact that he calls her "Emma" throughout this whole episode, instead of "Swan." To me, that shows that he's really, really worried about her. So cute.
He's freakin' desperate during this whole episode to get her back. When Emma talks through the walkie-talkie, he all but rips it out of David's hands to try to talk to her. His voice actually cracks when he says her name. Then there's his ice-pick attempts - so ineffectual, so desperate, so adorable. And that hug! And he carries her home! And he snuggles with her! And they hold hands! And he kisses the top of her head! It's too much. I can't even handle it. I think this episode is what's going to turn the tide for the two of them. If Emma had any hope of keeping her distance from Hook, it's gone now. She knows exactly how much she means to him, and she also knows what he means to her. I can't wait to see how their relationship continues from this point. Because this was a lot of adorableness squished into one episode, let me tell ya.
Oh - one more thing. Even if Jared S. Gilmore is not much of an actor, he did a decent job in that final scene with Regina. I'm glad my prediction is continuing to hold true: Regina is not becoming totally evil again. She's maintaining her relationship with her son. She's not blaming Marian for something that's not her fault. I'm glad to see we're not doing another pointless backslide for her character.
I'll leave it there. Next week we get Elizabeth Mitchell as the Snow Queen! (Did anyone else want her to be Jadis? Just me?) I can't wait!
8.5/10
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