A Tale of Two Sisters

"A Tale of Two Sisters" is the first episode of Season Four of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz and directed by Ralph Hemecker. It is the sixty-seventh episode of the series overall, and premiered on September 28, 2014. This episode is the fourth season premiere.

Synopsis
A scared and confused Elsa finds herself in Storybrooke and, fearful of the intentions of its residents, creates a powerful snow monster for protection. With Robin Hood's wife, Marian, back in the picture, Regina wonders if her “happily ever after” with the former thief has been completely quashed; while on their honeymoon, Mr. Gold finds an intriguing object that makes him question whether or not he should officially give Belle control over the dagger that makes him The Dark One, and Hook is dismayed to discover that Emma seems to be avoiding him while she tries to help comfort Regina after being the one responsible for bringing Marian back from the past and into Storybrooke. Meanwhile, in Arendelle of the past, as Elsa’s sister Anna’s wedding to Kristoff nears, Anna discovers that their parents – who died on-ship during a violent storm – were heading to a mysterious destination in a quest that may have held the secret to containing Elsa’s out of control Ice powers. And against Elsa’s wishes, Anna wants to finish their journey to find out what they were looking for.

Recap
Three years before Elsa is crowned Queen of Arendelle, Elsa and Anna's parents were travelling to a faraway land when their ship is beset by storm. Their desperate mother leaves a warning message in a bottle, one that would save the sisters, and tosses it into the ocean before the ship sinks with all hands lost.

Five years after this event, Elsa and Anna stand before their parents' graves. Elsa tells Anna that she has a surprise for her, to which Anna replies, "Surprises tend to be a hit or miss in this family." Elsa promises Anna that she would like her present for Anna's upcoming wedding to Kristoff.

In present-day Storybrooke, Elsa emerges from the barn, freezing everything in her path. Outside Granny's, Emma apologizes to Regina who dismisses her. Marian confronts Regina. She calls Regina a "monster" to Regina's distress. Robin Hood, David, Mary Margaret, and Emma try to placate the situation but to no avail.

Walter and Leroy are driving home when they encounter Elsa. Unaccustomed to modern technology, a frightened Elsa freezes vehicle before it hits her. The dwarves are then knocked unconscious.

Back in Arendelle of the past, Elsa shows Anna their mother's dress. She creates a necklace with her signature snowflake and gives it to Anna. They debate who would walk Anna down the aisle. While Anna tries out her mother's dress, Elsa discovers their parents' journal, which she reads and discovers a difficult truth. She runs out of the castle while Anna follows her.

Regina, angry and hurt at having been humiliated by Marian, is further incensed when Robin Hood visits and tells her of his intention to stay with Marian, his betrothed wife. Regina revisits the psychiatric ward of the hospital and frees Sidney Glass. She requests his help in removing Marian.

Mr. Gold visits his son Baelfire's grave. Later, he goes on a honeymoon with Belle. Having no more use for the real dagger since getting revenge for his son's death, Mr. Gold freezes Belle and switches it into her purse while removing the fake dagger. On the honeymoon, he turns the library of an old mansion into a dance hall, and dresses Belle and himself in costumes of Belle and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast.

Emma, Henry, and his grandparents David and Mary Margaret discuss Regina's well-being. Hook appears and confronts Emma about her avoiding him, to which she denies. Just as Hook dismisses Emma's claim of crises, Walter and Leroy warn the of a new, icy threat to Storybrooke. Following a trail of frozen ground, Emma and Hook investigate the warehouse where Elsa is hiding. Elsa, frightened by the noise and her pursuers creates an ice monster that terrorizes the town. While they're distracted, a newspaper flies to Elsa, and she recognizes the necklace she gave Anna.

In Arendelle, Anna consoles Elsa about their parents, who Elsa thinks are frightened of her because of her magical powers. Anna convinces Elsa to visit Grand Pabbie to inquire about their parents' destination during their ill-fated voyage. Pabbie does not know about where their parents might have gone to, but tells the sisters about Misthaven. Anna wants Elsa to travel with her to Misthaven, but Elsa refuses and prohibits Anna from leaving.

The snow monster continues to terrorize town, destroying property in the process. Emma, Robin Hood, Hook, and Marian chase the ice monster to the forest, where Emma attempts to defeat the snow monster but to no avail. Regina, who has enlisted Sidney's help in reclaiming her "happiness" realizes that the reason for her ending is because of the book. She traps Sidney inside her Enchanted Mirror, turning him into the Magic Mirror, and asks him to assist her in locating the author of fairy tales. Regina defeats the monster, much to Marian's surprise.

In Arendelle, Elsa confronts Kristoff and Sven about Anna's presence. Kristoff fails to delay Elsa and reveals to her that Anna has left for Misthaven. At the docks, Elsa watches as Anna's ship sails out of Arendelle harbor while Kristoff assures Elsa to trust Anna.

Elsa breaks into Mr. Gold's pawnshop, where she finds the snowflake necklace. She vows to find Anna.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as David Nolan
 * Emilie de Ravin as Belle French
 * Colin O'Donoghue as Hook
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Michael Socha (Credit only)
 * Robert Carlyle as Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Lee Arenberg as Leroy
 * Giancarlo Esposito as Sidney Glass
 * Scott Michael Foster as Kristoff
 * Georgina Haig as Elsa
 * Elizabeth Lail as Anna
 * Sean Maguire as Robin Hood
 * Pascale Hutton as Regal Woman
 * Christie Laing as Marian
 * John Rhys-Davies as Grand Pabbie (Voice)

Co-Starring

 * Raphael Alejandro as Roland
 * Jason Burkart as Little John
 * Faustino Di Bauda as Walter
 * Oliver Rice as Noble Man/King Arendelle

Uncredited

 * Jack as Sven
 * Mark Goldman as Sven (Voice)
 * Unknown as Snowman (Voice)
 * Unknown baby as Neal Nolan

Quotes
Emma: We have a crisis right now.

Hook: There's always a crisis. Perhaps, you should consider living a life during them. Otherwise, you might miss it.

Anna: You'll never be alone, you have a sister. Well, except for when I'm not here, but even then I'll still be here in spirit.

Elsa: Have you forgotten your last dalliance? Hans... He and his twelve angry brothers are out there; waiting to pounce at the first moment of weakness.

Emma: Take that, Frosty.

Emma: Henry brought me to Storybrooke to bring back the happy endings. My job is not done until I do that for everyone, including you.

Production Notes

 * The title card features a snowfall.
 * During filming of this episode, Jack—the reindeer who portrays Sven—spat on Georgina Haig.
 * During a premiere event, the show's cast and crew got together to watch the episode. Of everyone who showed up, fellow Once Upon a Time in Wonderland star Sophie Lowe also attended the screening.
 * Elsa's iconic hairstyle includes most of Georgina Haig's real hair fitted with extensions to create the bottom half of the braid. It takes about two hours to assemble.
 * The text on the King's and the the Queen's gravestones is written in Elder Futhark runes. It says:

Here lies the King and the Queen of Arendelle


 * The text of the Queen's diary is also written with these runes. This text is a translation of an excerpt from Shakespeare's play, The Tempest Act 3 Scene 1. In the play, a storm causes King Alonso's ship to run aground during his journey back from his daughters wedding; an obvious parallel to Elsa's story.The original excerpt says:

There be some sports are painful, and their labour Delight in them sets off: some kinds of baseness Are nobly undergone and most poor matters Point to rich ends. This my mean task Would be as heavy to me as odious, but The mistress which I serve quickens what's dead And makes my labours pleasures: O, she is Ten times more gentle than her father's crabbed, And he's composed of harshness. I must remove Some thousands of these logs and pile them up, Upon a sore injunction: my sweet mistress Weeps when she sees me work, and says, such baseness Had never like executor. I forget: But these sweet thoughts do even refresh my labours, Most busy lest, when I do it.


 * The show's rendering contains several misspellings, and some of the text is omitted entirely. In addition, parts of the excerpt are repeated.


 * The word "civitas" is engraved over the main entrance to the mayor's office. In Ancient Rome, this word referred to the whole body of members of any given state. It was frequently used by the Roman writers to express the condition of a Roman citizen as distinguished from those who were not Roman citizens.
 * In "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree", the word "magister" (Latin for "master" or "teacher") is written above the door frame of the main room of the office. Magister was a title of the Middle Ages, given to a person in authority, or to someone having a license from a university to teach philosophy and the liberal arts. It was also a title given to several positions of authority in Ancient Rome, such as Magister officiorum, which literally means "master of offices".
 * For the role of Kristoff, Scott Michael Foster was originally fitted with a wig because his real hair was too short. However, the wig did not work well, so beginning in July 2014, his hair has been continually grown out and dyed blonde for the role.

Event Chronology

 * The Arendelle events take place before "Rocky Road", and before Anna arrives in the Enchanted Forest in "White Out", and after the events of "The Snow Queen".
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "There's No Place Like Home" and before "White Out".
 * The Enchanted Forest flashback with Gerda and her husband takes place five years before Anna reaches the Enchanted Forest in "White Out".
 * The Enchanted Forest flashback with Marian and the Evil Queen takes place sometime after "Lacey", and immediately before the events of "Snow Drifts".

Episode Connections

 * What happened to the sinking ship and the message in a bottle, is explained in "Fall". Where the ship went down, is also explained.
 * Anna and Elsa get their mother's message in "Shattered Sight", which also reveals the content of the letter.
 * Anna and Kristoff get married in "Heroes and Villains".
 * Neal died in "Quiet Minds", and his grave was first seen in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
 * Sidney has been in the asylum since "A Land Without Magic".
 * Belle and Mr. Gold were married in "There's No Place Like Home".
 * Who owns the mysterious mansion where Belle and Mr. Gold spend their honeymoon, is revealed in "Heroes and Villains".
 * Mr. Gold gave Belle the fake dagger in "Kansas".
 * Belle eventually gets hold of the real dagger in "Heroes and Villains".
 * Belle mentions the second curse, which was cast in "A Curious Thing".
 * Sidney is released from the mirror in "Breaking Glass".
 * Who created the storybook, is revealed in "Heroes and Villains".
 * The reason why Emma's holding back with Hook is revealed in "Rocky Road".
 * How the mysterious hat works, is explained "The Apprentice"
 * Anna reaches the Enchanted Forest in "White Out". She returns to Arendelle in "The Apprentice".
 * The reason why Anna's necklace came into Mr. Gold's possession, is explained in "Smash the Mirror".
 * Elsa vows to find her sister, which she eventually does, in "Fall".

Disney

 * Season 4A is a continuation of the movie Frozen. This episode features the characters Elsa, Anna, their parents, Grand Pabbie, Kristoff and Sven, as well as their homeland Arendelle.
 * The snow monster created by Elsa resembles Marshmallow from the original Frozen film.
 * Belle and Mr. Gold dress in similar clothes as their counterparts in the Beauty and the Beast dance scene. The song playing during the episode's dance scene is an instrumental version of the same song featured in Beauty and the Beast on gramophone.
 * The hat conjured by Mr. Gold is the same one Mickey Mouse wore in Fantasia's The Sorcerer's Apprentice short.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode features Captain Hook from the Peter Pan story, as well as Maid Marian from the ballad of Robin Hood.

Lost

 * The episode's title is similar to the third season premiere of Lost, "A Tale of Two Cities" (named after the Charles Dickens novel of the same name), in which Lost and Once Upon a Time actress Elizabeth Mitchell made her first appearance.
 * A sign by the entrance to the psychiatric ward at the Storybrooke General Hospital says "Critical Care Pharmacology 108". 108 is an important number on Lost, and the sum of the six recurring numbers.

Popular Culture

 * The title is similar to the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities.
 * Elsa presents her engaged sister, Anna, with their mother's old wedding dress for her upcoming marriage ceremony. Then, she gifts Anna a necklace. In doing so, Elsa honors a Victorian wedding custom. The bride-to-be wears an old, a new, a blue and a borrowed item on her wedding day to bring good luck to the married couple.
 * When Emma blasts the ice monster with magic, she says, "Take that, Frosty"; a reference to the popular song "Frosty the Snowman" from 1950, which was subsequently adapted into the 1969 television special of the same name, which has been shown annually ever since.
 * Emma sarcastically asks Hook if he wants to go home and watch Netflix, a reference to the popular Internet streaming media.