Guest Review by Panda
So much of this season has felt like a Frozen sequel. While the majority of it has been great so far, The Snow Queen was the first episode that made me feel like Once had finally taken the mythology of that world and made it its own.
The Snow Queen’s backstory was something that stood on its own merit, without the familiarity of Elsa and Anna to hold it up. Ingrid’s history proved to be powerful enough to justify who the Snow Queen is now, despite the predictability of what happened. Gerda’s actions also made sense in light of her desperation to get rid of Elsa’s powers to prevent what happened to Helga from happening to Anna.
I think this episode made the Snow Queen one of the best villains the show has had since Regina was on top, and most of that is down to how sympathetic the events of Ingrid’s past were. As much as I enjoyed the Wicked Witch last season, her history just made her a little harder to take, with her pathetic moaning and selfishness. Ingrid went through real pain and heartbreak after losing one sister, and having the second turn against her. I wonder if knowledge of that will help the Charmings stop Ingrid from taking over Storybrooke.
Watching her trapping Emma was difficult, considering how transparent Ingrid’s plan was, but I like that Emma’s powers have become so important to the series. I think it’s a real possibility that she’ll try to get rid of them at some point to stop her from hurting her family but I hope she doesn’t, mostly because she’s been kicking ass with them up until this point.
It’ll be interesting to see if Emma starts showing some sympathy towards the Snow Queen as her plan to take over the town starts to come together. I doubt she’ll join her willingly, so I imagine there’s some spell up her fabulous white sleeve to bring Emma and Elsa over to her side.
Plus
Regina and Robin finally gave up on staying apart. I wonder how they’ll be able to save Marian. Why don’t they try a kiss from her son? Didn’t that work for Emma and Henry?
Conclusion
Though this episode had a few silly moments and others that felt a little frustrating, like Rumple’s ongoing path back towards the dark side, I think The Snow Queen is one of the better episodes this season has produced. Hopefully it’s the start of an upwards trajectory for the remainder of the Frozen arc.
Panda Rating
B+
Previously posted on PandaTV.
Really good episode and man, for someone who came from the Enchanted Forest, people in Storybrooke are way too prejudiced.