
It all seems too easy. Anna finds the Dark One, learns what her parents learned, and is returned to Arendelle safely. End of story, right? Not so fast. Let’s review what we know: Anna is missing. Elsa was trapped in the magical urn. Anna’s necklace in Gold’s shop is damaged. The Snow Queen knows more than she’s telling. Anna has the box holding the sorcerer’s hat, and the Dark One knows where both she and it were sent. Her necklace and the box have both appeared in Storybrooke, as has the sorcerer’s apprentice, so she should be there somewhere as well. Clearly, much more has happened in Arendelle than we have yet been told, but what?

Hook has gotten himself into some real trouble with the Dark One. He has been like a rudderless ship for quite some time now, particularly since he lost the Jolly Roger. The incident with the hand brings this to light in true fairytale fashion. Mr. Gold agrees to reattach his severed hand, but does so with a warning – the hand carries the darkness of Hook’s old life as a ruthless pirate. Hook finds this to be true as his anger towards Will Scarlet is expressed almost exclusively through left-handed violence. He is expertly played by Gold when he comes sullenly back asking to have the hand removed. Gold elicits the promise of an open-ended deal, and only after removing the hand does he explain that warning was a lie, the darkness lies within Hook himself. Now Hook finds himself once again without a hand, and indebted to Gold for the foreseeable future. He should have known better than to blackmail the Dark One.
The Snow Queen is not in the Storybrooke census. This is a very telling fact. It means she came to town by her own means and of her own choice, and clearly with an agenda. The number of questions this raises is staggering. How did she know where to come? When did she arrive? Why didn’t anyone notice the change? Clearly Robin Hood is a frequent customer of Any Given Sundae so the shop must have been around for quite a while, yet presumably the Snow Queen came in search of Elsa, who is a recent arrival. The real question is why? With Elsa trapped and Anna missing, it would seem as if there couldn’t be much more to be done. The wild card here seems to be Emma. The incident in the woods revealed that the two have a history that Emma can’t remember, and the puddle and ice under her car indicate that she may be the target, not Elsa. So what did she do to incur such wrath? When (and where) did she do it? This relationship holds a lot of potential to pay off in a spectacular fashion, and promises to be a lot of fun to watch it all unfold.
I’m very interested to see where they take the Fantasia storyline. Gold now has access to the sorcerer’s hat, and needs to “charge†it with stolen magic to free himself from the power of the dagger. If only he could do so without damage, but from what happened to the apprentice we know that charging the hat not only steals magic, it also steals lives. One can’t help but wonder what happened to the original sorcerer who created it. Is he by chance trapped inside? Might it have been the apprentice who is responsible? There are so many directions this storyline could take, and having Gold refer to Henry as his apprentice at the shop does not bode well for the future.
Moment of Goodness: Hook dresses down.

Hook is clearly excited to be going on a real date with Emma. Not only does he arrange to get his hand back just to hold her, but he also decides a change of wardrobe is in order. For the first time we see him out of his leather pirate garb, only to see him choose black leather pants with a leather jacket. I guess some habits are hard to break.
Once Upon a Time airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC.
Related posts
Classics
Dennis Heaton Talks The Imperfects
Longtime readers at TV Goodness will know that Motive is one of my ride-or-die series, and as such, I am fiercely loyal to its creator, Dennis Heaton. He followed up that fantastic reverse procedural with Netflix’s The Order and is back on our streaming screens with The Imperfects, which dropped…
Kelly McCormack Talks Favorite Moments in A League of Their Own
[Warning: Mild spoilers for season 1.] Now that you’ve had a chance to watch A League of Their Own, here’s the rest of my chat with Kelly McCormack about her favorite moments of the season. Seeing the iconic Peaches uniforms for the first time wasn’t just a goosebump moment for…
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From on EPIX Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks EPIX’s From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People [streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
Avery Konrad Talks About Sara’s Struggle in From “Silhouettes”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Over the course of the season so far on From, we’ve witnessed Sara’s battle against the voices telling her to to do terrible things, and tonight we saw her unravel further, threatening the Matthews and lashing out in a moment of terror with horrifying results….
Hannah Cheramy Talks From “Choosing Day”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight, on EPIX’s From, the Matthews participate in the show’s version of the sorting hat, choosing where to call home–the town or Colony House. At the end of the episode, Julie makes the decision to split from her family and instead settle in with Fatima…
Ricky He Talks From “The Way Things Are Now”
[Warning: Spoilers for episode 102 of EPIX’s From.] Epix’s new series From is two episodes in and it’s already laying the groundwork for a seriously spooky season. Tonight’s episode demonstrated the careful balance of relief and horror that the show hits, with our characters’ worst fears realized, just not when…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…