A Tale of Two Sisters

Finally, after 4 long months, we are back, and I must say, this episode was definitely worth the wait! Taking place straight after 3x22, we see the aftermath of Elsa coming to Storybrooke thanks to Hook stupidly touching the urn in Rumple's vault, Belle & Rumple getting married & of course, Marian being brought back thanks to Emma & ruining Regina's relationship with Robin. Elsa, understandably frightened by her new surroundings, summons a giant snowman to attack everyone & after coming across a newspaper featuring a photo of Belle & Rumple in the shop, breaks in in the night & it's revealed she recognised the necklace she gave to Anna, which motivates her to find her sister again. With Regina, after Robin tells her he still loves her but stays with Marian since he's a man with a code, she initially plans to get rid of Marian & undo Emma's mistake by freeing Sidney from the asylum for assistance, but ultimately decides to save her from the giant snowman & comes up with a new plan after Emma tells her she'll give her a happy ending she deserves, by wanting to find the writer of Henry's book to change it up so that the villains can have happy endings. And Belle & Rumple go on their honeymoon, but not before Rumple goes to Neal's grave & decides to undo the mistake he made of lying to Belle by switching the daggers back. And they do the classic Beauty and the Beast dance (easily my favourite scene in the episode) after they break into an unclaimed mansion (believe it or not, it was oh-so-adorable Belle's idea) However, he quickly regresses back to his former self by sneaking out after their wedding night (yes, they've finally done it & it's canon) to open a box he had found earlier with the dagger, revealing that it contains Yen Sid's hat from The Sorcerer's Apprentice short in Fantasia. Meanwhile, we see the events 2 years after the Frozen film with Anna planning her wedding to Kristoff, only for Elsa to come across their mother's diary which reveals they were leaving to find a way for Elsa to control her powers permanently. After going to Grand Pabbie (voiced by John Rhys-Davies), they discover their parents were actually on their way to Misthaven, which inspires Anna to go & discover the truth for her sister, also revealing that Misthaven is another name for the Enchanted Forest.
This season premiere blew me away! It was much better than I thought it was going to be in every aspect from the writing, acting, characters, pacing, visual effects & storytelling! With the acting, everyone genuinely surprised me, especially Elizabeth Lail as Anna, capturing the quirky & adorable side to the character like from the film while still giving her a personality & motivation. I even enjoyed Georgina Haig as Elsa, still being as poised as ever, but having a few self esteem issues as she feels it's her fault their parents died. Even the reindeer that played Sven was hilarious with his reaction shots & Scott Michael Foster still kept Kristoff's snarky yet adorable charm! Another part that shocked me was the visual effects! Normally, it's a huge hit or miss with the CGI in OUAT (most of the time, miss), but this time round, I was shocked with how good it was. While it was still obvious it was CGI, it was pretty damn good on Pabbie (still find it a bit silly though considering Olaf isn't in the show & yet Pabbie is but that's nitpicking), the giant snowman that attacks the town & the effects on the hat Rumple finds! The pacing was also pretty good, being fast & full of action while still having time for quiet scenes & for all of the characters to be featured so that the Frozen bits don't overshadow it! The character development from the ones we know & love was also well done, especially with Regina deciding not to kill Marian, Rumple switching back the daggers (not sure it makes things better though since he's still using magic behind her back & still lied to her but I'll admit, I'm interested with what's gonna happen despite all the angst) & Emma wanting to help Regina & make up for her mistake. Speaking of Regina & Rumple, I'm very interested in her new plan as I've always wanted to see the author of the book & how it got into our world & with how the Sorcerer's Apprentice story will be incorporated into the plot of the show. One thing that surprised me though was how little screen time the Charmings had, but they have a new baby after all & Hook bothered me trying to butt in & tell Emma to pretty much focus on dating him rather than on what's much more important in the town...Anyway, obviously the highlight for me was the dance scene between Belle & Rumple. Everything about it, the chemistry between Robert & Emilie, the costumes (Belle's outfit looked gorgeous & Rumple looked handsome in his blue suit!), the choreography, music (which in this case is an instrumental version of the Beauty & the Beast song from the movie. Believe me when I say you'll inadvertently sing along to it), dialogue ('Care to dance, Mrs. Gold?' just made me melt), editing, cinematography, everything...except for it being short, but it was still my favourite scene nonetheless as it was about time they re-enacted the iconic scene & it did not disappoint given Beauty and the Beast remains my favourite Disney romance! Overall, with fun writing, a fast pace, great characters old & new, amazing performances & fantastic special effects, I am so excited for this season & it was a great way to start off a new chapter in Once Upon a Time!
As for White Out next week...I have serious doubts over it as it looks pointless in both the flashbacks (Bo Peep, really?!) & Storybrooke scenes except for the interactions between Emma & Elsa. But then again, the second episode of each season tends to be pretty weak from what I've noticed, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Gotta say, this opening is pretty good! Nice to see what was happening in the shipwreck!

Aww! Love seeing the 2 sisters bonding after so long!

OK...why is Elsa's dress different from 3x22?

'Always the villain. Even when I'm not!' Poor Regina! :(

 SHE IS NOT A MONSTER MARIAN!

 OK, that was pretty badass!

 Nice wedding dress!

Pretty necklace!

HAHA! 'Tell me I don't have to walk down the aisle with Sven?' 'He's not the best man! But he is invited.' 'And now is where you tell me you're joking.' 'He's going to be properly attired-for a reindeer!' God, that's such an Anna thing to say & Elizabeth's delivery is spot on! Major kudos!

Love the detail put into the runic symbols like from the film!

Am I the only one wondering why they're in their wedding outfits despite it being the day after?

N'aww!

I'm not gonna lie, this scene made me well up! It's about time he went to Neal's grave!

 Poor poor Regina! :'(

 OK, I really don't blame her for getting that angry given that Robin said he still loves her!

Nice to see you Sidney after 3 seasons...it's amazing how Belle survived being in there for 28 years!

WOAH! Nice mansion! Whoever lived there must've been loaded!

Interesting honeymoon breaking into an abandoned house for more reasons than one given Rumple's suggestive smirk...!

Uh...what is he doing freezing his wife?!

AH! At least he wants to start things right! Not sure if it makes things better since he still lied to her...

Interesting box...

'Well, I think we've been married almost a full day, & I don't believe we've had our 1st dance.' AWW!

So sweet what he's doing for his wife! Love her dress looks like the Disney one (well, MORE like it)!

'Care to dance, Mrs Gold?' God, that look he gives her makes me melt! Must say, he looks princely!

AWWWWWWW!!! They're so precious! God, the chemistry between Robert & Emilie is incredible!

About time they did the classic Beauty and the Beast dance after 4 seasons! And it's so beautiful!

*Swoons* So romantic...this couldn't be any more perfect!

1) Love seeing them out & about as a family 2) GOD Henry has grown!

 Ugh, it's as if they're saying 'Can't have an episode without Hook flirting with Emma!'

 God, Anna is so adorkable with her sister running around in a wedding dress!

WOW! These graphics are actually pretty damn good! At least by the show's standards! And love John Rhys-Davies' acting!

 Hmm, some more good CGI! Must say, I'm genuinely surprised!

HAHA! 'EVIL SNOWMAN! RUN!!!' Gotta love Leroy!

Come on, admit it's adorable their engagement made front page news! By the way, very sweet photo!

 Oh God...HAHA! 'You don't remember Marian?' 'Can you blame me? She's awfully vanilla.'

Poor Sidney!

Poor Elsa! 

So that's OUAT'S Sven? Well, he's still pretty funny with his hilarious reaction shots!

 Still sad Kristoff had his hair cut! At least he's still adorable when trying to lie!

 Ladies & gentleman, this is what I call character development!

 UGH, don't care! Well, the Netflix line was funny, but that's cos of Emma's delivery of it!

Could this be any sadder?! By the way, nice reference to 'Do You Wanna Build a Snowman'! 

Interesting new plan Regina! I've always wanted to see the author of the book!

OH! MY! F*CKING! GOD!!!! RUMBELLE HAVE HAD (canon) SEX!!! Nice negligee by the way!

1)LOVE Rumple in that outfit 2)Never thought Sorcerer's Apprentice would be featured in the show & 3)Looks like Rumple's going through a secret relapse! Gonna be interesting for his character arc!

Love seeing them interact given they never did in the film! Sweet why Anna left both of them behind!

So Anna & Elsa's parents were heading off to the Enchanted Forest!

'Don't worry, Anna. I will find you.' Interesting role reversal & love her take on Charming's line!