Breaking Glass

In this Halloween-ish themed episode, we get to see some of Emma's past as a teenager (played by Abby Ross) & meets Lily (played Nicole Munoz), another young runaway & they become best friends & partners in crime after they bond over their troubled pasts in the foster system, planning on squatting in an abandoned house together. However, that quickly goes wrong when it turned out Lily was lying to Emma & that she really had an (adopted) family that she hates, leading Emma to go back to the foster system & not taking up her offer to run away again thanks to her betrayal. In Storybrooke, Emma & Elsa decide to go to Regina to try & find out more about the Snow Queen after they come across a photo Sidney took of her & the Snow Queen arguing at the ice cream parlor which she has no recollection of, only for Elsa to walk off after apparently seeing Anna in the shadows, finally revealed to be a fake by the Snow Queen & she keeps Elsa chained up so she can't get to Emma & Regina. And Emma & Regina team up reluctantly on the latter's side to find the Snow Queen & Elsa, also revealing that Sidney had deceived Regina after everything she's done to him so they could die on the ice stairs Elsa had created. After defeating a monster created by the Snow Queen, it all turns out she was after the mirror Regina owned all along, as she needed a shard of it for her magic mirror which will apparently give her what she really wants: a family that will love her. Meanwhile, Mary Margaret & David go on a date together despite being worried about Neal (who's being babysat by Belle) & they end up on a search for Will after it turns out he escaped from jail & is looking for a map & rucksack he buried but can't find them. Mary Margaret quickly finds him & deduces David let him go so she would find him & decides to pardon him over what happened in the last episode, only to find out afterwards that he didn't. And in a shock twist, as Emma & Hook look through her personal belongings & watch the video from the camcorder she used with Lily as a kid, it turns out there's more footage showing her in another foster home, finally revealing that Sarah Fisher AKA the Snow Queen was her foster mother which she doesn't remember at all.
I freaking loved this episode! It felt so refreshing to see an episode focused on Emma & Regina's frenemy-ship & how they finally talk over everything that's happened & how much Emma admires Regina for everything she's done. The scenes between them were a good mix of funny & awesome & it nicely paralleled with the friendship between Young Emma & Lily. Speaking of the flashbacks, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Emma's childhood & her (rather quick) friendship with Lily was pretty believable partly thanks to the great acting from Abby Ross & Nicole Munoz. I even enjoyed seeing David & Mary Margaret with the latter finally getting a bit of her groove back despite being worried about baby Neal thanks to her good tracking skills & I loved her interactions with Will considering she herself was a theif back in her day! Oh yeah, and the Asgard reference was hilarious if you know more on Josh's filmography! Anyway, it was a relief to finally know more about the Snow Queen's plan (if not a bit cliched since every villain's plan has been family related) involving her mirror in some way, but that cliffhanger at the end with the video footage left me jaw dropped! I had a feeling she would be Emma's foster mother at one point, but the fact Emma didn't remember any of it & seeing her face in the footage was what shocked me the most about it! The only issues I really had was not seeing more of Belle babysitting Neal, but still, looked like she had no problem looking after him for an hour! Oh yeah, and Rumple wasn't in it either, so I'm guessing he was still busy with whatever he's planning to do with the hat while his wife was babysitting! And the flashbacks felt like they didn't really connect to the Storybrooke scenes (up until the end anyway) but that's just nitpicking since I still enjoyed them nonetheless! Overall with great pacing, acting (especially from Lana, Jennifer, Elizabeth, Abby & Nicole) & writing, it's nice to see Emma & Regina be in the spotlight this week & honestly, this is probably my favourite season 4 episode so far next to A Tale of Two Sisters!
 As for next week's episode Family Business, I am beyond excited to see Belle get more screen time along with seeing her mother & connection to Anna & Elsa! And I get the feeling that she may find out about the dagger judging her interactions/trust issues with her husband over that bloody dagger, but yeah, she deserves to know sooner than later in my opinion! Still, can't wait for more Rumbelle, Belle FINALLY having a larger role & being more badass & for more on the Snow Queen & the sisters reuniting after Anna's awry adventure in the past!

1) Nice ice palace! 2) What is she making?!

How charming, pretty much leaving Will to starve!

WHAT THE-?!

AWW! Come on, Belle holding a baby is so cute!

1) GOD she looks like Jennifer (like I said in my 3x21 review) & 2) Lily seems pretty cool!

Pretty creepy...

AWW! Poor Regina! :( 

Sidney seems a bit fishy to me with his snarking...

HAHA! 'Now she'll be able to reach us on our drive, our hike, if we fall through a portal to Asgard!' Very funny given Josh's last acting role!

OK, how did he get out?!

Hmm, nice way of knowing she's keeping on track!

Nice to see them finally talking properly!

Nice to see more bonding & Emma's reason for running away!

LOVE Elsa's cape!

 Nice reference to Let It Go!

'Unintentionally or not Miss Swan. You ruined my life & there's no coming back from that!' She's got a point there!

I wonder if this was the reason behind Emma's flower tattoo on her wrist...

Why do I get the feeling the video footage will be seen later...?

I knew that Anna was a fake!

'I'm going to build a snowman.' OOH!

Nice to see Mary Margaret get some of her groove back finding Will!

HAHA! 'Looks like Elsa was here.' Thanks Miss Swan. Please continue to point out the obvious!'

OK, what has Sidney done?!

I knew Lily was lying!

HAHA! 'You lead us here! YOU'RE WORKING FOR THE SNOW QUEEN?! TRAITOR!!!'

Seems they've gone back to the crappy CGI...oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

Can't help but feel sorry for both girls! Sure, Lily lied to her, but it's obvious her feelings for Emma were true!

GO EMMA & REGINA!!!

So all she wanted was the mirror?!

GO ELSA!!! So much badassery in this episode!

Seems Sidney is pretty much useless now!

OOH! I wonder if it's like the mirror from the original Snow Queen story!

Haha! 'I'm an idiot!' 'Finally, something we can agree on!'

Aww! Love Emma's face when Regina says she has no intention of killing her!

Nice to see the romance is still alive for them!

AWW! God, I miss Neal so much!

Oh. My. Fucking. God. I did not expect this twist at all! 

The Apprentice

In this Rumple centric episode, we finally see Anna meet Rumple & she makes a deal with him for her to 'poison' the apprentice from the Sorcerer's Apprentice in exchange for info on why her parents were going away for Elsa. When the Apprentice shows her kindness, she can't bring herself to 'poison' him, only for it to be revealed it was actually an antidote for a potion that's turn him into a mouse. It turns out it was a test for Anna to try & give into the darkness, revealing that he wanted a tear from someone who had been tempted by darkness, but rejected it in order to open the box with his dagger. After he gets what he wants & reveals their parents were trying to find a way to get rid of Elsa's powers & that they feared her, Anna discovers she can control Rumple with the dagger & makes him reveal his intentions with the box (which is to put the dagger inside of it so he isn't controlled by it but still had his powers), send her home to Arendelle along with the box & to not hurt any of her family. Back in Arendelle, reunited with Kristoff, Anna tells him or her adventure & is now conflicted to tell her sister why their parents really left them. Meanwhile in Storybrooke, Emma asks Hook on a date & he goes to Rumple to get his hand back since he would like to embrace Emma with both his hands. Of course, magic always comes with a price so Rumple reveals it's cursed as it belonged to the ruthless pirate he used to be. The date goes well even after Hook is violent towards Will, but paranoid over the hand, he asks Rumple to change it back, only for him to reveal he wants to make a deal for him to help entrap the apprentice in Storybrooke in the hat he had found. Then it's revealed that Hook's hand wasn't cursed at all & it was all Hook's choice to beat Will, with Rumple now switching up the blackmail with altered video footage of entrapping the apprentice for revenge on Hook blackmailing him about Belle & the fake dagger. And it turns out the Snow Queen AKA Sarah Fisher isn't in the Storybrooke records, meaning that she didn't get into the town via curse & has been following Emma & is after her. Oh yeah, and Henry decides to help Regina find a way to save Marian by going undercover & working at his grandpa's shop as his apprentice!
This episode is a big improvement compared to the last couple of episodes & was very enjoyable to watch. Not only is the writing smarter & the tone more serious than before, but also it finally progressed very important plot details, particularly with the hat Rumple found in 4x01! I thoroughly enjoyed the flashbacks thanks to the funny interactions between Anna & Dark One Rumple & the way they've adapted The Sorcerer's Apprentice in the show is also very interesting & had an opportunity to be fun yet dark & serious (especially the opening featuring Zoso from Desperate Souls in season 1). Even the references didn't feel in your face like the Frozen ones have been at the moment like the fact the apprentice is turned into a mouse, the music being very similar to the short itself, the imagery & yes, even the alive broomstick makes an appearance which leads Rumple & Hook to the apprentice in Storybrooke! Even if they've been ruining Rumple's character in Storybrooke by turning him back into a complete jerk, I oddly enjoyed it as Hook did get what he deserved for blackmailing him & trying to screw with his marriage, which was just deliciously satisfying to watch for it all to come to bite him in the ass. Easily Robert's performance is easily what glues it all together in this episode & I adored seeing his Dark One self in the flashbacks with Anna & seeing more of Mr Gold in Storybrooke after being in the backseat for the last 2 episodes. All I wish for by the end of this half is for Rumple to have a deeper reasoning behind his regression other than that he's a selfish power obsessed man given how much he went through in season 3! And I'm glad Hook is getting screwed over for threatening to ruin Rumple's marriage so I had no sympathy for him when it turned out the hand wasn't cursed! Anyway, the CaptainSwan date bothered me even if it thankfully didn't overshadow everything else since, well, it's a bit weird Emma is turned on by Hook acting violent by his own accord right in front of her & the fact Will didn't tell her that it was him who beat & threatened him just bothered me! Oh yeah, and leaving him in jail just cos he interrupted their date...not cool! Anyway, I was kinda sad Regina didn't have nearly as enough screen time as others & I liked seeing Henry & Rumple interacting in the end, but I found it sad he's only doing it to go undercover. Clearly he's inherited his grandpa's cunning streak! And yes, although Rumbelle weren't in it together, I was prepared for that since it is a Rumple centric episode & the little bits were nice like his reactions to Hook's threats over her clearly show he loves her so much & doesn't want their marriage ruined & the fact he got flowers for her on his way home-AWWW!!!! Overall, this episode was very enjoyable to watch with fun writing, great plot progression, some pretty solid acting (especially from Robert, as always!) & is no exception to the long list of good Rumple centric episodes!

Nice to see you again Zoso!

'You know how to chase a snow monster, I know how to plan an evening out.' says the man who'd get women drunk to have sex with him!

I wouldn't make yourself at home in the shop if I were you Hook!

'This hand belonged to the man you used to be. Cunning, selfish pirate. If I reunite this with your body, there's no telling what influence it could have on you.' Rather fitting price if you ask me! 

Not really a fan of the dress & hair...don't get me wrong it's nice, but it's just not Emma if you get what I mean!

Love Mary Margaret acting like a overexcited mother when their teen daughter is going to prom or their first date!

Out of all the flowers he could have chosen he chose a red rose...that's Rumple's romantic gesture, not yours Hook or Killian whatever you're gonna be called now that you have both your hands!

*Sighs* so nice to see Dark One Rumple again!

Haha! 'Is there something wrong with your skin? Not that there's anything wrong with your skin!' 

Nice reference to the segment with the broom!

Yeah, that's definitely an Anna thing not going through with it since he showed her kindness!

Nice Lady & the Tramp reference!

How charming Hook/Killian/Captain Hand! 

Nice seeing Regina & Henry bonding!

 Ugh, it's not fair they get all the kisses while the other couples have had none!

HAHA! Love how they've turned into the cliched embarrassing parents after their teenage daughter has gone on a date (especially David)!

How nice, punching Will out & threatening him!

God, Dark One Rumple is just hilarious in this!

Very subtle reference to the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment!

Love Anna standing up to Rumple in her own adorkable naive way!

I'd be lying if I didn't say she was badass & Rumple constantly saying 'Do it!' had other connotations in my head...

So all he needed was a tear from her...?

Nice to see how he knows about the hat!

N'aww! Sweet he chose a bouquet of blue flowers that goes with his wife's eyes! Too bad we don't see him give them to her, but still, nice to see him still have a romantic side!

OK, you'd think he'd learn after the first time that's not gonna kill him unless he's powerless!

What the hell is the Snow Queen doing?!

Nice to see that Belle still goes to the library!

 Yeah, that looks pretty silly, but still a nice homage to Fantasia nonetheless!

Interesting that the hat stores magic...

Love that even as a mouse, the apprentice can beat Rumple's ass! 

Gotta say Anna is pretty badass using the dagger to make sure he doesn't get the box or hurt her family!

So the mansion the box was in does not belong to the apprentice...now I'm wondering how it got there if Anna had it in the past!

Rather grim price if you ask me!

Still love Kristoff & Sven's interactions!

AWW!!!!

'You were right. Dark One lies, Dark One tricks. This hand is nothing but a lump of flesh. The only thing it did was give you permission. Permission to be the man you really are. Not some puppy dog chasing after the object of his affection, but a ruthless pirate who'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. I did you a favour. I helped you remember the darkness that's underneath.' That's what you get Hook for trying to screw with Rumple's marriage!

 Nice callback to the spin-off show!

Aww, he just wants to be with Anastasia! At least she's not dead! <3

Aww! Nice to see them bonding even though Henry is pretty mean since he's going undercover!