Article first published as ONCE UPON A TIME Review Season 4 Episode 2 White Out on Seat42F.
Tonight’s ONCE UPON A TIME
is called “White Out.” Panicked as she searches for her sister, Elsa
(Georgina Haig) accidentally traps Emma (Jennifer Morrison) in an ice
cave, where she slowly begins to freeze to death. David (Josh Dallas)
and Hook (Colin O’Donoghue) try to figure out a way to free Emma before
it’s too late, and Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) steps into her new
role as mayor. Meanwhile, back in the Enchanted Forest, David is
inspired to become a hero after an encounter with Anna (Elizabeth Lail),
queen of encouragement.
“White Out”
is really good with character development, but poor on plot logic. The
power goes out and the people go to Mary Margaret, who has absolutely no
electrical training, to solve the issue? They don’t just ask her to
have someone fix it; they expect her to get the current running again
herself. And somehow, she is able to, doing things that have nothing to
do with the downed power line that causes the problem in the first
place, and with a baby near dangerous circuits. Emma is too weak to talk
or sit up, but then is able to limp out of the cave. Hook keeps
sticking his hook into the ice, even after David stops him. Elsa thinks
she can’t melt the ice, but does tunnel through on the first try, only
to have that option fail again when she attempts to repeat it. These
things just don’t make a lot of sense.
Luckily,
most of the episode is character-centric. Take Mary Margaret, for
instance. With the townsfolk looking to her as mayor after Regina shuts
herself off, Mary Margaret has to find her strength and step up. She is
their leader, and she needs to start acting like it. It’s not a surprise
that ONCE UPON A TIME goes to this place, only that it hasn’t done so
before now. It makes sense for Mary Margaret to take on this role, and
gives her something to do in the hour other than sit at home.
The
scenes between Elsa and Emma are even better. Here are two women that
have a lot in common. They’ve had to fend for themselves, having lost
loved ones, and have powers they don’t understand or entirely control.
They are expected to save the day, even when they don’t know how, and
they are emotionally stunted. Yet, during their entrapment, they find a
way to connect and become friends, a bond that lasts past when they get
free. It’s because of this connection that the danger Elsa has placed
others in can be overlooked, Emma able to see past the mistakes, which
all the characters have made at one time or another, to the type of
person Elsa really is.
It helps that
David knows Anna, too, from before he meets Snow and becomes king. When
David lacks courage and conviction, Anna helps him find it, much as she
does for her own sister in the film Frozen, which is set prior to the
events depicted in ONCE UPON A TIME. Anna is just the type of person who
can bring out the best in people. Snow and the kingdom have her to
thank for David becoming the man he is, and because of David knowing
Anna, he knows a little about Elsa, too, making him smart enough not to
strike out at her.
Thus, only two
episodes in, ONCE UPON A TIME has avoided painting Elsa as a villain.
This is good because fans of the movie wouldn’t like her being evil, and
it allows the plot to move forward. There are enough misunderstandings
in this show, so no more are needed.
Among
the other great character bits in “White Out” are Emma falling into
Hook’s arms once freed and Henry (Jared Gilmore) refusing to give up on
Regina (Lana Parrilla). It really is a moving, heart-warming episode.
There
are also some new baddies introduced this week. Bo Peep (Robin Weigert,
Sons of Anarchy) is a wicked mob boss / warlord who still lives on in
Storybrooke, and thus may pop up again. The owner of the ice-cream shop
(Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost, Revolution) has some dark, icy powers, too.
Their arrival is none too soon, as Regina is no longer bad enough to
cause real trouble, and ONCE UPON A TIME needs a villain to defeat.
That’s the nature of fairy tales.
Regrettably,
Rumple (Robert Carlyle) also appears to be going down the wrong path.
He clearly has something to do with Anna’s disappearance, which
apparently happened many years ago, making it more tragic, and doesn’t
speak up about what he knows when David comes asking. This, combined
with other recent actions we’ve seen him take, does not bode well. It’s
really sad that he’s being like this, given his heroic sacrifice last
year and recent marriage. It kind of ruins the character to bring him so
far, then have him backslide so much. Hopefully, that will straighten
itself out soon.
In all, “White Out”
is a pretty good installment. The weaknesses tend to be minor things
that are swept quickly past, while drawn out scenes give us meaty
dialogue and pathos that explore the various personalities featured.
There may still be no sign of our Knave (Michael Socha), other than the
actor’s name in the opening credits, but season four is shaping up to be
an intriguing mystery that I look forward to seeing solved. It’s
already far better than last spring’s Oz arc, a sign the show is back on
track.
ONCE UPON A TIME airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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