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 Maragret, 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, Elsa freezes the dwarves's vehicle before it hits her. The dwarves are 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 but not before he reclaims the Dark Dagger from her. He turns the library of an old mansion into a dance hall, and dresses Belle and himelf in costumes of Belle and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast.

Emma, Henry, and his grandparents David and Mary Magaret 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, "I will find you."

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
 * 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

Co-Starring

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

Uncredited

 * Jack as Sven
 * CGI Snowman
 * Unknown baby as Neal Nolan

Production Notes

 * The title card features a snowfall.
 * During filming of this episode, Jack—the reindeer who portrays Sven—spat on Georgina Haig.
 * The word "civitas" is engraved over a door in the Storybrooke Town Hall. 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.

Event Chronology

 * The Arendelle events take place before Elsa's imprisonment in Rumplestiltskin's vault in "Snow Drifts".
 * The Storybrooke events take place after "There's No Place Like Home".
 * The Enchanted Forest flashback scene takes place after "Lacey", and right before the events of "Snow Drifts".

Episode Connections

 * The hat Mr. Gold finds was in his castle in "Skin Deep".
 * Neal died in "Quiet Minds", and his grave was first seen in "It's Not Easy Being Green".
 * Sidney was in the asylum since "A Land Without Magic".
 * Belle mentions the second curse, which was cast in "A Curious Thing".

Disney

 * 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 similar to the one Mickey Mouse wore in Fantasia's The Sorcerer's Apprentice short.

Lost

 * 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.
 * Giving a necklace to Anna, which her sister shall wear in addition to their mother's dress, that Elsa gave to Anna earlier on her wedding day, Elsa provides Anna with something borrowed and something new. In doing so, Elsa honors a Victorian wedding custom. The bride wearing an old, a new, a blue and a borrowed item on her wedding day is believed to bring good luck to the freshly married couple.
 * Emma sarcastically asks Hook if he wants to go home and watch Netflix, a reference to the popular Internet streaming media.