A Tale of Two Sisters

"A Tale of Two Sisters" is the 67th episode of Once Upon a Time, as well as its fourth season's premiere.

Summary
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.

Teaser
A long time ago....

Lightning flashes amidst the night sky as rain thrashes down on the stormy sea below, on top of which a ship is struggling to sail, being tossed about by the enormous waves. Its flag blows wildly as its crewmen try in vein to keep it steady, but still water continues to gather. Below deck, which is beginning to flood, a woman in a crown - the Queen of Arendelle - bursts forth from a doorway and heads over to a stationery set, from which she eventually manages to find a pen to write something down on a sheet of paper. As she writes, her husband - the King of Arendelle - begins descending the stairs in search of her and asks her what she's doing, reluctant to approach due to all the water. His wife exclaims that she has to finish "this", but he speaks out against it, managing to make his way over to her as he tells her that the vessel is going down and they have to abandon ship. She simply continues writing and replies, "They have to know." She then finishes her note and rolls it up in her hands, pointing out that, while they might not may it home, this could. The King is wearisome. With the message now enclosed in a glass bottle, the King and Queen make their way above deck, trying their very hardest, under these conditions, to make a few small steps. The King asks his wife if she's sure they're doing the right thing, and she answers positively, saying that Anna and Elsa must know the truth; it's the only thing that will save them. With that, the King hurls the message in a bottle out at sea and the royal couple look on as their ship is enveloped by water. 5 Years Later Arendelle

In the idyllic kingdom of Arendelle, a couple of gravestones are shown amongst a picturesque scene of grassy hills and meadows; two sisters join hands and approach their parents' final resting place. Anna lays a small bouquet of flowers in front of one, while Elsa lays an identical bouquet in front of the other. They stand there for a while in respectful silence, which Elsa breaks by telling her sister how proud their mother and father of her. Anna assures Arendelle's new Queen that their parents would be proud of both of them, and they exchange gentle smiles. Elsa then tells Anna to come along, for she has a surprise for her, but Anna appears apprehensive, pointing out that surprises tend to be hit-or-miss in their family. "This one you'll like, I promise," Elsa says, the two sisters walking away with their arms linked; she stops to add, "It's for your wedding." Anna gives out an excited smile. Our World Present Day

Zelena's barn is shown, its roof torn from the time portal it once contained, as Elsa, in her blue gown and one glove, continues to make her way out of it, leaving an icy trail behind her with every step she takes. She stops at the exit, looking anxious, but soon makes her way to an empty street near the woods. She slowly approaches a sign that reads Road Maintained by the Storybrooke Beautification Society and utters the most prominent and thus most noticeable word there: "Storybrooke..." As she continues to stare at the sign, her magic causes it to freeze over. ONCE UPON A TIME

Act I
An angry Regina storms out of Granny's Diner, stopping short of the sidewalk to clear her head. As she does so, Emma is seen exiting also and makes her way over to the Mayor, addressing her by name. Regina, who doesn't bother turning around, simply tells her, "Not now, Swan." Emma simply apologizes, saying that she didn't know who Marian was when she brought her back and didn't intend to cause Regina any pain. Regina, finally turning to face the blonde, points out that her intentions really don't matter, because once again she feels to brunt of heroism; she's always the villain... even when she's not. Emma wonders what she's supposed to have done and Regina tells her that she was dumb enough to travel through time so maybe she should have left things well enough alone, however, Emma refuses to apologize for saving someone's life. Regina wonders why it matters since Marian was going to die anyway, and Emma tells her that it matters because she was a person and, whatever she did, she didn't deserve to die. "Well, maybe she did!" Regina exclaims, to which Emma retorts, "Well, you would now, I saved her from you."

The former Queen is slightly taken aback to hear this, but soon makes clear that the woman who did that was the person she was, not the person she is; she worked very hard to build a future and now that future's gone. Emma says that she doesn't know that, but Regina exclaims that it's complicated enough now that her boyfriend's dead wife is back. Emma says that, for that, she is sorry and wonders if there's anything she can do, but Regina makes her stop, calling attention to the fact that her life becomes worse the more the savior tries to help her. Robin soon leaves the diner with Marian and Roland in tow, trying his best to assure his formerly deceased wife that the Evil Queen really isn't what she used to be. He then approaches Regina and says that he wants her to meet Marian, adding that he'd like for the three of them to talk about their situation. Sensing something, Marian asks if the two of them were involved and becomes disgusted once she learns it's true, demanding to know if the Evil Queen has been let near her son, asking Robin if he knows what she's done; the terror that she's inflicted.

David and Mary Margaret then come out, the latter with baby Neal in her arms, and she asks if everything's okay. Charming points out that no one's been incinerated yet, so that's a good sign, and Snow asks the sullen Regina if she's alright. Marian is further shocked, asking what is wrong these people and wanting to know why they're talking to such a vile person; "Don't you know who she is?!" Hook and Henry proceed to join the little gathering and the latter asks his adoptive mother what's going on. Marian exclaims that Regina is a monster and the Mayor clenches her fist, looking as though she's about to perform offensive magic but ultimately deciding against it. Marian picks up her son to make sure he's safe in her arms whilst Regina storms off. Emma tries calling after her, but Hook grabs her arm to stop her from following, pointing out that no good has ever come from pushing that woman and suggesting that they give her some space. David says that it's what she does in that space he's worried about, and Henry asks his biological mother if she thinks Regina will become evil again, saying she can't because she's come to far. Emma hugs her son and tells him, "I hope you're right, kid..." Regina continues to walk away.

Walter is driving a jeep through an empty part of town at night, with Leroy in the passenger seat saying that that party went south fast, referring to Prince Neal's coronation celebration. They hit a bump in the road and Grumpy tells his fellow dwarf to take it easy, saying that his jeep needs to be treated gently, referring to it as "she". Sleepy reminds his brother that he was made designated driver, so he shall drive how he likes; Grumpy is spurred to say that no beer is worth this, and he becomes confused when the radio becomes fuzzy, attempting in vain to fix it. He gets annoyed with the idea that the radio station shuts down after dark now, but his annoyance is subverted when surprise sets in, caused by the fact that the vehicle is beginning to swerve out of control. He looks to the driver's seat and sees that Sleepy has, typically, fallen asleep at the wheel, and goes to steer it himself. Down the road, Elsa is walking the opposite direction to the car, meaning it's soon ahead of her and remains out-of-control. Grumpy repeatedly honks the horn as it appears they're about to run the Ice Queen down, but she quickly moves her hands forward and lets forth a large blast of her magic, meaning the entire jeep jolts and stops - knocking the dwarfs out - as its front half becomes frozen. Scared and looking away, Elsa breathes heavily as she turns back to the vehicle she's immobilized. We see through the ice her face stare curiously inward.

Act II
It's daytime now as we're shown a long trail of ice running through the center of a Storybrooke road with Elsa at its head; it grows longer as she keeps moving forward, going down Main Street. She begins moving with more caution as her surroundings confuse her further, and when a man on a motorcycle drives by in front of her, she stumbles back in fear. She looks down at her un-gloved hand sees that ice is beginning to form on the surface, meaning her magic is coming out. She clenches her fists in an attempt to stop it, trying her best to stay calm, and the ice soon melts - to her relief. As she's about to continue, she notices a pretty white wedding dress displayed in a nearby shop window, and she lingers on it, beginning to approach.

"You have to tell me!" Anna is heard exclaiming in flashback as her sister leads her up an enclosed flight of stairs, refusing. Anna then begins trying to guess what her present is, asking if it's a horse and carriage, to which Elsa replies negatively, leading Anna to realize that this was a silly question because a horse wouldn't have been able to get up the stairs. She then asks if it's a snow palace, or an indoor ice-rink, or if the whole wedding is to be on ice - becoming more and more excited with each guess - but she soon opens the door to the room Elsa's been leading her to and realizes it's nothing but an.... "Attic?" Elsa confirms this, approaching the wardrobe on the other side of the room, and Anna wonders why they're there. Her sister tells her to take a look, opening the wardrobe to reveal a white wedding gown, and a happily stunned Anna realizes that it belonged to their mother, not knowing how Elsa was able to find it.

Elsa encourages her sister to come forward and Anna slowly approaches the beautiful dress, reluctant to touch it in case it gets ripped; Elsa says that she'll just have to put it on slowly, and Anna appears shocked at the prospect of wearing it, soon realizing that of course she'd want her to wear it because she wouldn't be there otherwise. Elsa removes it from its hanger and holds it up in front of her sister, telling her that it's missing something. With that, the Ice Queen produces a silver necklace with a snowflake pendant with her magic and holds it up to Anna, fastening it round her neck and saying that it could be her something new to go with something borrowed. Anna says that it's gorgeous and enchanting, telling Elsa that she loves her and giving her a hug, and Elsa suggests that they see the necklace with the dress. Anna rushes to the privacy partition in order to try the dress on and comments that it's so beautiful and soft and she just knows she's going to end up spilling something on it; she thus suggests only having clear beverages at the wedding. Speaking of the wedding, Elsa wonders if she's to be walking down the aisle with Sven, but Anna assures her that the reindeer isn't the best man - but he is invited. Elsa begs for her sister to say she's joking, but Anna guarantees her that Sven is to be dressed in proper royal attire, prompting Elsa to admit that she's actually more concerned about the groom on that front.

Anna peaks her head out the curtain and reassures Elsa that Kristoff knows what to wear; "It's not like he grew up in a barn... fine, yes, he lived in one for a while, but he grew up with trolls! Wait until you see him, he even cut his hair. He's going to look wonderful." Anna resumes changing as Elsa comments that that would be a most welcome surprise, proceeding to go through some of the possessions in the attic and coming across a diary. She picks it up and opens it to a random page, beginning to read. What she reads deeply unsettles her, and Anna soon emerges, fully kitted-out in her mom's dress. Elsa doesn't notice, however, too entranced in what she's reading, and ice crystals begin to form and float around her head. Seeing this, Anna wonders what's wrong and asks what she's reading, soon realizing it's a diary. Elsa reveals that it belonged to their mother, and she closes it, leading her sister to ask what's written in it. "Our parents... their death... it's all my fault!" she exclaims, tears in her eyes. She storms out of the room and a worried Anna calls out her name, beginning to follow.

Mr. Gold sits sullenly behind the driver's seat of his car as his new wife, Belle, sits beside him and gently assures him that he can do whatever it is he's about to do. Rumple smiles at her, offering a nod, and the two of them share a tender kiss before he exits the car and approaches the grave of Neal Cassidy. He stands before it and begins talking: "My boy... remember when you were small? There was a night, during the Ogres War; there was terrible noise. Some horses' hooves thundering down the dusty path -" he crouches down as he continues talking, "- you crawled into my bed, and I can still hear your little voice... 'Papa, I'm afraid.' And I guess by instinct I just said, 'Don't you worry, son. Everything's gonna be fine.' And you smiled at me... You know, that was the happiest moment of my life, because for the first time ever I felt like a man, that I could truly look after you. Alone. Until I discovered... this." With that, he takes the Dark One's dagger from out of his blazer, saying that it turned him into a monster, obsessed with power, when all he really needed was Bae and his love; and now, through Belle, there's love in his life again... and, once more, he's started it with a lie. He goes on to explain that Belle thinks she has the real dagger and that he only lied to her in order to avenge his son's death, and, now that he's done so, he really needs the strength to give it back and be the man he should be; "The man you died for." He then pledges to Baelfire that he will be that man and says that his heroism has shown him the way. Standing up and concealing the dagger, he promises on his son's grave to spend his life repaying him for what he did. He soon begins to walk away.

Someone knocks on Regina's office door and she is shocked to see Robin on the other side, uttering his name once he's greeted her. He wonders if he could steal a moment of her time, saying that he wants to talk, and Regina clearly agrees to it because they're next seen sitting down on her couch together. After initial hesitation, Robin tells Regina that he's sorry, leading her to wonder why he's the one who's apologizing since everything Marian said was true; she is a monster. However, her true love assures her that the woman he knows is the furthest thing from a monster, which prompts her to say that he perhaps doesn't know her as well as he thinks. He disagrees, assuring the Mayor that he knows her better, because she's like him: he was once, long ago, quite different, but he changed and he left his past in the past where it belongs, as she has. "So, what went on between us..." "Was real," he assures her, much to her delight, and he makes clear that his feeling for her are genuine. She is smiling now... but Robin frowns, forcing himself to tell Regina that Marian is his wife and he loved her, having made a vow to be with her until death do they part (and it did... and then it didn't) and that vow remains. She begrudgingly takes this to mean that his choice has been made and he explains that, despite being a thief, he has a code by which he has to live or else what kind of life would he be living? He hopes that she can look into her heart and understand, but a tearful Regina merely remains silent as her now ex-boyfriend gets up and walks out the door. She gets up too, looking utterly destroyed, but her sadness soon turns to anger which then turns to magic which causes a mirror behind her to smash into multiple tiny shards. She seems confused, turning around to look at what she's done, and approaches the mess, picking up one of the larger shards and staring at her tear-filled reflection in it. This then gives her an idea, and she smiles.

We are shown a close-up of the back of Regina's heels as she makes her way through the halls of Storybrooke General Hospital, then switching to a shot of her hand as she approaches a door that requires a code and punches it in. She walks through it, entering critical care pharmacology, and shuts it behind her, soon walking up to a locked cell. From within, we see Regina open a small hatch, allowing her to view the inside. She looks happy when she sees what she was hoping for, and the cell door is shortly opened. The Mayor stands at the entrance as a hoarse voice asks her, "What are you doing here?" She smiles and tells the cell's resident, "I need my mirror," at which she's revealed to be talking to Sidney Glass; having been in this place a long time, he is unkempt and disheveled, but the situation at hand makes him overjoyed, and he simply wonders aloud, "For what, my Queen?" Regina explains that there's someone standing in the way of her happiness, and she needs his help getting rid of them. His joy reaches new bounds.

Act III
Mr. Gold's car, as directed by Belle, is seen being driven towards a lavish mansion on the outskirts of Storybrooke. Rumple pulls up in front of it, and Belle explains that she found it on a morning hike; it must have come over with the last curse, and no one's claimed it, so she thought there'd be no harm if they borrowed it for their honeymoon. He smiles, which causes her to laugh. The two of them are next seen entering the mansion with a little bit of luggage in tow. Belle looks excited as she steps inside, walking through the extravagant room and wondering who this all belonged to. Gold walks slowly behind her, and she dumps her bag on a nearby chair, encouraging her new husband to take a look around because it is spectacular, mentioning that one can see the ocean from every room. Suddenly, Rumple snaps his fingers and Belle is frozen by his magic, completely oblivious. He then unzips one of the bags and takes out something wrapped in copious amounts of cloth.

Once the cloth is removed, we see that it's the Dark One's dagger - the fake one. He then takes the real one from out of his blazer and wraps it in the cloth, placing it in the bag in the fake one's stead and zipping it up. He finishes by placing the fake one into his inside pocket, all the while saying to himself, "If we're going to do this, we're gonna do it properly." Once all is done, he again snaps his fingers and Belle is unfrozen, totally unaware that she was in the first place. She continues in delighting at the house, turning to Rumple and exclaiming that he hasn't even seen the best part yet. She leaves the room and encourages him to follow, but the Dark One is soon distracted by a strange object resting on a table close by: a strange gold cylinder with a swirling blue center, adorned with jewels and stars. He looks taken aback to see it and Belle, noticing this, asks her husband what's wrong, to which he replies that the people to whom this place belonged (whoever they may be) had interesting taste. As he leaves the room to follow Belle, the shot lingers on this mysterious item.

Belle slides open two large doors, granting her and Rumple access to the library room beyond. It's mostly empty besides for the books in cases around the edges, and Belle leads her husband into the center, beneath the luxuriant crystal chandelier, and we can now see a gramophone resting nearby. Belle wonders what he thinks, and Rumple replies that what he thinks is they've been married for almost a full day and have yet to have their first dance. He snaps his fingers, pointing to the gramophone, and the needle suddenly hits a record. He snaps his fingers again, pointing upwards, and the chandelier lights up. Again, and Belle is dressed in a yellow princess gown. Once more, and he is dressed in robes befitting a handsome prince. As "A Tale As Old As Time" begins emanating from the gramophone, Mr. Gold asks his wife if she'd care to dance, addressing her as Mrs. Gold. She nods, allowing him to take her hands in his, and says that she would love to. With that, beauty and the beast dance all round the room, seething with romance.

As baby Neal sleeps in his stroller, David is heard saying, "I don't know, maybe we should've gone with Baelfire..." We then see that he's walking beside his wife, with Emma and Henry bringing up the rear of this little family stroll. The latter asks his mother if Regina has answered any of her calls, and Emma, checking her cell phone, answers negatively, saying that it seems as though the Mayor doesn't want to be disturbed. She quickly adds that that doesn't mean she's doing anything... "Evil," Henry finishes for her, "I know. I guess... Let me try calling her. Maybe, you know, it's you she doesn't wanna hear from?" Emma considers this, telling her son that he might have a point, and he lags behind to make the call to his adoptive mother. David walks off to join Henry, leaving Mary Margaret with the stroller, and she says to Emma that she hopes - for her grandson's sake - that Regina doesn't give in to what she sometimes gives in to. She then points out that Henry seems to be handling everything well; "I mean, between losing and regaining his memories, seeing both his moms with new men..." This makes Emma feel awkward, and her mother realizes that Henry has yet to find out about her and Hook. However, Emma argues that there is no her and Hook, meaning that she doesn't know what there is, and she certainly can't talk to Henry about it if she doesn't know what she's taking about.

"Swan!" a certain pirate is then heard calling out, and Emma manages to utter, "Speaking of..." before Hook is walking alongside she and Snow. He tells the two women that the mausoleum is all-clear and Regina isn't hiding there, which Emma thanks him for, and he goes on to ask the blonde if she's avoiding him. Emma requests that her mother give them a minute, and Mary Margaret purposefully lags behind with the baby in tow, allowing Hook and Emma to walk alone together. Once they're around the corner, Emma assures the pirate that she's not avoiding him, she's just dealing with stuff, pointing out that they're in crisis right now. Hook points out in turn that there is always a crisis, so perhaps she might consider living her life during them in case she misses it. With that, Leroy is heard yelling from down the road, "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Hook rolls his eyes as Grumpy and Sleepy come running, and Emma asks the former what's wrong. He explains that he and Walter were just driving home when some thing blasted them with magic; the whole van's iced over, to the point where it felt like they were waking up in a meat locker. He proceeds to ask, "Who's got that kind of magic?!" to which Emma replies, "Maybe the person who made that..." We are then shown a long trail of ice left behind by...

Elsa is seen sitting down on a semi-large rock in Arendelle of the past. The diary rests on her lap, and her deep sullenness continues to make sad little ice crystals slowly rotate around her head. Anna, still wearing her mother's wedding dress, soon approaches and calls out her sister's name, running towards her in relief at having found her. Elsa requests that Anna leave, wanting to be left alone, but Anna argues that she has a sister so she's never going to be left alone... other than when she's not around, but even then she'll be there in spirit, but that doesn't matter because she's there now and Elsa's not alone and it's a nice thing. She sits on the floor beside the Ice Queen and asks her what was in the diary, assuring her that she can tell her anything, and - after much hesitation - Elsa responds that it turns out their parents didn't go off on some diplomatic mission like everyone thought; that was just a cover. "For what?" Anna wonders, and Elsa gives her sister the diary to read, open to a specific page. Anna does so, reading aloud: "'I wish I didn't have to hide the truth from our children, but the truth would be too painful. What we've seen from Elsa is terrifying, and it has to be stopped.'"

Elsa then deduces that their parents left because they were afraid of her and thought she was a monster, but Anna refuses to believe such a thing. Elsa points out that it's all right there, but Anna questions this, pointing out in turn that it doesn't say where they were going or what they were doing; it could be a misunderstanding. Elsa says that, because of her, they left, and because of her they can't walk Anna down the aisle tomorrow. She apologizes, tearing up, but Anna tells her that she doesn't have to because it's not her fault. She stands up, pulling Elsa to her feet, and assures her that she isn't a monster; she doesn't think so, this whole kingdom doesn't think so and their parents didn't think so either. She vows to prove it, saying that the diary is only part of the story, and Elsa wonders how she can know that. "Because," says Anna, "...instinct?" Elsa looks disbelieving and Anna realizes that that's not enough, but she knows that there must be more answers out there about what happened to them. She then gasps and exclaims, "And I know who can help us find them!" "Who?" Elsa asks, to which her sister replies, "My future in-laws."

A small troll statue is seen resting in a flower pot in the present day as Emma and Hook continue following Elsa's trail of frozen ground. It leads through a doorway in a fence, the door to which suddenly closes, and they begin running towards it. Elsa, on the other side, begins running but doesn't know where to go. Looking back, she sees her chasers opening the door to the back lot she's in, and so she quickly hides behind large metal cupboard nearby. Emma is pointing her gun out in front of her, unable to see the Ice Queen, and ice crystals begin to form around Elsa's head and fall to the ground as she becomes ever so scared. These ice crystals soon begin swirling around in the open space and, before long, a giant snow monster is formed. Emma and Hook look up at it, shocked and confused, and the pirate points out, "That's a new one..."

Trivia

 * The title card of this episode features the main logo amidst a blizzard.
 * Although credited, Michael Socha (Will Scarlet) is absent from this episode.
 * This episode's title is most likely derived from the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, which also inspired the title for the third season premiere of Lost (a show for which Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz were previously writers).
 * Elsa's dress contains many noticeable differences from its last appearance, which takes place mere moments before the present-day portion of this episode begins.

Production

 * The title of this episode was revealed by executive producer/co-creator Adam Horowitz, via his Twitter account, on July 8, 2014.

Gallery
Gallery of photographic stills used to promote the episode.