TV REVIEW: Once Upon a Time Leaves Us Shattered & Surprised

By Meredith Loftus

Once’s “Shattered Sight”

After some weeks of darker themes, Once Upon a Time’s “Shattered Sight” provided many lighthearted moments between characters as we see them “act out” under Shattered Sight. From sword fights to entertaining dialogue, the episode acts out the curse and wraps up Ingrid’s story beautifully. As the Frozen arc comes to a close, I’m excited to see how the events of the midseason finale will set the stage for the next part of the season!

Shattered and Surprised

We return to Storybrooke where the curse of Shattered Sight finally starts to take effect. While Ingrid walks around Storybrooke, Snow and Charming begin to reveal their darker sides. Accusations of cowardice and prior infidelity fly between them, while Emma and Elsa come up with a plan to defeat Ingrid once and for all. Anna reveals to them that the only way to defeat Ingrid is by killing her, which does not sit well with Elsa. Emma and Elsa cross paths with Ingrid after she leaves her ice cream shop with memory stones, magical stones that hold the lost memories of both Emma and Elsa. They are dismayed to discover that they cannot use magic against Ingrid because their magic is now linked together. Ingrid leaves, convinced that Emma and Elsa will love her, while they seek to find a way to remove the ribbons from their wrists and break the link between their magic and Ingrid’s. The only thing stronger than Ingrid’s love for Emma and Elsa is Regina’s amplified hate of Emma under Shattered Sight. When they find Regina, she has transformed back into her Evil Queen persona and costume, ready to kill Emma on sight. Emma baits Regina to attack by saying she meant to bring Marian back and wanted to showcase her happiness with Hook when Regina could no longer have that with Robin. It is enough to push Regina over the edge and attack Emma and Elsa with her magic; her magic instead destroys the ribbons and Emma and Elsa run away. However, the two forget to reseal the vault, so the Evil Queen is back and on the move.

Hook arrives at Rumple’s shop, where it is revealed that Hook is unaffected by Shattered Sight because his heart was in the shop with Rumple, who is also unaffected. Rumple then tasks Hook with retrieving Henry so that he, Belle, and Henry can leave Storybrooke in the morning for New York City. Hook leaves for the mayor’s office while the rest of Storybrooke breaks out into mayhem in the streets.

(ABC/Jack Rowand)
GINNIFER GOODWIN

The Past Revealed

We are finally treated to seeing Emma’s prior relationship with Ingrid back in the late 1990s. Emma plans to run away from Ingrid, but Ingrid catches her in the act and convinces her to stay after bonding over similar experiences. The two become so close that Ingrid reveals to Emma that she is planning to adopt her. While at a local fair, Ingrid and Emma try to win a stuffed animal from a claw machine. During this attempt, Ingrid notices Emma’s powers starting to become present, which confirms her belief that she is to become her new sister. Later, Ingrid attempts to test Emma’s powers by placing in her in front of a moving car and challenging her to stop the car. Emma runs out of the way in time, but it is too late to try and save their relationship. Emma runs away after calling her crazy. Ingrid fails to find Emma, and instead, pulls out the scroll that the Apprentice had given her earlier. By opening the scroll, she is taken to Storybrooke while it is under the original curse cast by Regina.

Years later, Emma walks into Ingrid’s ice cream shop and immediately recognizes her. She demands to know how she found her and why she was there. Ingrid tries to explain the prophesy about her new family and tries to convince her that Henry is telling the truth. When Emma makes it clear that she still thinks Ingrid is crazy, Ingrid then takes away Emma’s memories of her. She then proceeds to give Emma free ice cream and patiently waits for the day she can begin her new family.

Mayhem Continues

Hook arrives to the mayor’s office and tries to get Henry to go with him. Henry makes it very clear that he does not want anything to do with Hook, especially now that Hook and Emma are together. When Hook is finally able to open the door, he falls on marbles that were set up by Henry, which allows Henry to escape. Unable to catch a break, Will Scarlett arrives and attempts to settle his score with Hook; however, Will knocks himself out and Hook proceeds to chase after Henry.

At the sheriff’s station, Anna struggles to keep the peace between Snow, Charming, and Kristof. Regina arrives with the intent to attack Emma but is delighted that she can destroy Snow once and for all. Regina removes Anna and Kristoff from the station while she threatens to take Neal away from Snow. Even Shattered Sight can’t stop Snow and Charming from going into protective parent mode. Snow and Regina then engage in an epic sword fight, filled with excellent banter.

Meanwhile, Kristof and Anna are back at the beach where they washed up on shore at Storybrooke. Kristof attempts to return to Arendelle; Anna knocks him out with the bottle that contained the message from her mother that she wrote before she died. After reading the letter and knocking Kristof unconscious, Anna rushes to find Elsa and Emma.

(ABC/Jack Rowand)
LANA PARRILLA, JOSH DALLAS

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Emma and Elsa, now free from the ribbons, confront Ingrid in her ice cave. Ingrid shows them the memory stones containing the good memories that exist between them. Ingrid is so set on gaining Emma and Elsa’s love that she hopes to rekindle it by sharing these memories with them. She also knows that neither one of them is willing to kill her in order to break the curse. Anna runs in the cave and begins to read the letter that Gerta had written many years ago. In the letter, Gerta tells her daughters the story of Ingrid and Helga, requests that they return the memories to the people of Arendelle, and release Ingrid from the urn. Gerta apologizes for her actions against Elsa and Ingrid and wishes for her daughters to know the good memories she had with her sisters. Ingrid reads the letter herself and is touched by the love that her sister had for her, a love that she thought was lost forever. Ingrid, realizing what she has done, proceeds to break the curse by sacrificing herself to it. She gives back the lost memories to Emma and Elsa, and she dies knowing that the prophesy came true. Because of Emma and Elsa, Ingrid knows that she was fully loved by her sisters and has a restored view of them. Ingrid ultimately is redeemed and dies a hero’s death, through selfless sacrifice.

Reunions and a Final Request

Following Ingrid’s sacrifice, the curse is lifted from Storybrooke. As the curse is lifted from Snow, Charming, and Regina, the three begin to laugh about their fighting, showcasing how far they have come in the past four seasons. Reunions continue in the streets of Storybrooke as Emma is reunited with her parents and her son. Even Snow and Charming share a passionate kiss. It looks like another happy ending, but there were a couple of people missing from the celebration…

Hook returns to Rumple’s shop and informs Rumple that he failed him. Although it is a minor setback, Rumple continues with his plan to leave Storybrooke and to finally release himself from the power of the dagger. Hook makes a final request to Rumple: leave Emma and the people of Storybrooke alone. For a man that used to be defined as a selfish villain, Hook’s final request is further evidence of how much he has changed, putting his love, Emma, and the people she cares about above his own survival. Rumple agrees, as long as they stay out of his way. Belle is asleep and Rumple leaves to make the final preparations for his departure.

Even though they were apart in this episode, Emma and Hook’s relationship created its own presence in the midst of Shattered Sight. Their relationship was mentioned in various ways throughout the episode. In each time it is referenced, it further proves how much these two mean to each other. Emma told Regina that Hook makes her happy and Hook is delighted momentarily at the thought that Emma views the two of them as “together.” These reminders of their growth and love for each other will be key for when Emma faces one more battle. I hope she will be ready to fight for Hook’s survival when the time comes!

Worth Mentioning

• Emma won a Dalmatian stuffed animal at the fair she was at with Ingrid, which equals obvious foreshadowing to the introduction of Cruella de Vil and the rest of the Evil Trio next week! I’m so excited to see how they arrive in Storybrooke and fit into the story.
• Thank you writers for including the scene with Ingrid and the psychic, the Harry Potter reference, and another nod to the fallen Sheriff Graham!
• It’s interesting that Rumple has his sights set for New York City. Boston is much closer, and one would think he does not want to return to the city where he found his now dead son, Neal. What would the Dark One want in the Big Apple besides their pizza and cheesecake?
• Someone we did not see under Shattered Sight was Robin Hood. While his presence was missed, one thing is now crystal clear: Ingrid is gone and all of her curses have been broken. This means the frozen Marian is going to thaw and now he has to make a decision between Marian and Regina.
• The promo shows Elsa going through a portal at the manor, similar to the one Ingrid walked through to get to our world. Does that mean that the Apprentice is released from the hat to open it? Or does the Sorcerer make his official debut?