Once Upon a Time S04E02: White Out (Full Reaction)

White Out- Thank you so much for your reaction for another great episode from season four's Frozen arc, Reds!! I really love this episode overall! Mostly for the present day storyline between Killian and David working together to save Emma from being trapped in the ice wall with Elsa, as well as for Emma and David helping Elsa to find it in herself to save them and to regain control over her magic. First... One of my absolute favorite moments within this episode is between Emma and Killian, as Killian jokes with her about their non dates, and attempts to convince her to go out on a real one with him. They're so adorable together and I just adore his humor, smugness, and of course... his smolder. Lovely. And then... I love the moment right after between Killian and David too, as they have a talk about Killian's intentions with Emma. I love, love, love how Killian assures David that his intentions with Emma are pure and good, and I love hearing him share with David that he wants Emma to have as much a say in their relationship moving forward as he has too. Such a beautiful sentiment. :) Second... I absolutely love Killian's soft side, when he shows his true emotions such as fear and sadness, without hiding them behind the mask he often hides behind. And most of all... I love how he shows how much he truly loves Emma, as he shows all throughout this entire episode. And especially in the end when he's finally able to help Emma climb out from within the wall and immediately embraces her firmly with relief, then lovingly picks her up into his arms to carry her off so he can help make her warm again. So beautiful. And another of my favorite moments within this episode... I really love the moment in the past storyline, when David is telling Anna about his father and how he died, and why David is so adamant about not fighting back against Bo Peep and her small army. It's a very emotional scene, and Josh Dallas acts so beautifully in this scene. You can really feel the emotion coming from him. Such a sad tale. Also... I really love how this show touches on the subject of alcoholism too. It's definitely a tough subject to address, and I think it is beautifully done within this episode. Now, speaking of Bo Peep... I have to admit that when it was first revealed that Bo Peep, of all characters, taken from the nursery rhymes, was made into a villain for Once Upon a Time, I was shocked and honestly, not too impressed with her. I mean... Bo Peep is known from a Mother Goose nursery rhyme, as well as from the Toy Story movies. I suppose this might be the creators' and writers' way of bringing a little of Toy Story into Once Upon a Time, without actually bringing in talking toys. And of course, without Bo Peep being the innocent toy she is in the movies. Most people from what I've heard since this episode first aired, don't like Bo Peep's character at all. For them, she's not great. However, to me, she isn't terrible. She has her moments. And by the end of this episode, I realized I kind of like her somewhat, despite how others feel about her. She isn't great by any means, and definitely worth being in only one episode. And yet Bo Peep is a little fiery and funny at times. I never would have thought a nursery rhyme character like Bo Peep could have ever been made a villain, but once again... Once Upon a Time has succeeded in not only creating an interesting character, but also in casting the right actress to play her as well. Bo Peep is not at all the kind of character you would picture to be a villain, but for me... She strangely works a little bit. With all of this being said... Bo Peep's storyline within this episode for me is definitely the weakest storyline throughout the episode, but I still really enjoy it. And I actually like her a bit better in her brief scene in Storybrooke between her, David, and Hook inside her chop shop. Now... I really love the overall past storyline between David and Anna, and boy is it different to see Charming, before he becomes Charming of course. And with such long hair. I like his long hair too. :) And I have to say that I was a bit surprised that it was Anna of all people, who was the person who not only taught David how to fight with a sword, but who also had helped to make him the man we love him as today. The strength and courage has always been inside of David, just like Anna tells Ruth about her son. But even the strongest of heroes need the reminder of who they really are. And I love Anna's friendship with David. So much. This whole storyline between them is really beautiful to me, and Anna is pretty amazing in this episode. I really love how she is the one who not necessarily teaches David just about how to swordfight, but that her lessons are more about how he must fight for what he loves in order to survive if he has any hope of living. And I really love this lesson throughout this episode. It could be said about every one of us as people. We must fight for what we believe in and love in order to live. Quite a powerful sentiment. Like I've said in my comments before... I love how perfect Elizabeth Lail is in the role of Anna especially, just as I love Georgina Haig as Elsa and Scott Michael Foster as Kristoff, who was sadly not in this episode. However, I love that David straight away knew Anna, or Joan rather, is Kristoff's fiancée and I love that Kristoff and David are friends before this storyline too. I really would love to see their friendship established and brought more into another episode. Oh... And I love how Anna taking on her fake name of Joan, comes from a moment in the Disney movie, Frozen, when Anna talks to the painting of Joan of Arc on the wall of their palace during her song she sings in the beginning of the movie... For the First Time and Forever. Another fun reference to the Disney movie. I also love Joan of Arc. For me... She's the historical figure I admire more than any other. Fabulous!! :) And then... David at last stands up to Peep and her men, and wins after a brief, yet exciting sword battle in which even Bo Peep herself fights too. Saving himself, his mother, their farm, and Anna from the warlord too. It may seem strange and could feel off that David would be able to beat Peep and her two soldiers after only a single day of lessons. And yet... This shows that David already has the talent to fight with a sword inside of him. He just needed to be shown so. Which I really appreciate about this story arc for David and Anna in this episode! As for the present day storylines... I really love each of the scenes between Emma and Elsa while they're trapped together inside the ice wall. These two fantastic actresses really act well off of one another very well, and I like how Emma soon comes to see that Elsa had created the ice wall out of fear, and that she can't actually control her powers despite Elsa trying to be threatening merely out of fear of the unknown upon her arrival here in Storybrooke. I also love seeing Hook and David work together throughout the episode to find those who can help them save Emma, as well as Elsa once David realizes who Elsa and Anna are. I enjoy the brief scene between them in Gold's shop with Gold and Belle, as well as I love the scene between David, Hook, and Bo Peep in the present day, inside her Chop Shop. Next... I also really love Henry's drive to help make Regina feel better, and while he's depressed for most of the episode because Regina isn't able to face him for a while after what happened between her and Robin, I love the brief scene between them in the end too, as Henry refuses to let her push him away any longer. I also enjoy the silly side storyline with Mary Margaret as she takes up the role of Mayor for now, as she works to try to get the power back up. And I think it's hilarious how she finally breaks down and yells at Grumpy, Happy, and Granny for all their bickering. Very funny. Oh... And baby Neal is so cute!!!! :) As for David's encouragement towards Elsa to help give her the courage and strength she needs to break a whole through the ice wall to save herself and Emma, just like he knew Anna would do if she were there... I love it!! Another strong and powerful moment, as well as touching. I love the scene with Killian, Emma, Henry, David, Elsa, and Mary Margaret in the end. I love that Killian helps Emma to get warm by wrapping her up in blankets and turns the heater on her once the power comes back on. I love how comforting and loving he is towards her. And Henry too when he offers to make his mom hot cocoa and states he refuses to go down a second mother, like he fears he's done with Regina. I also really like how David helps Elsa by showing her Peep's shepherd's crook so they can try to find Anna, and yet that they only discover she's simply alive upon hearing her heart beating through the crook's power. I also love how David tells her that the Charming family doesn't ever like to give up trying to help people. And lastly... A new mysterious character has been introduced in the very last scene of the episode, as Grumpy buys himself some ice cream from the town's ice cream shop and the woman who owns it. And surprise, surprise... She has icy magic too, just like Elsa. Interesting! :) Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays this mysterious new character, is best known for her role in the TV series... Lost. Again... I haven't ever watched Lost before aside from two episodes, which I did not enjoy, but I know this actress became more famous from Lost. I happen to know this phenomenal actress from a number of other shows and movies too, Including one of my all time favorite movies... Frequency, which I requested from you to watch for me way, way back. And now... Elizabeth Mitchell has come to Storybrooke. Sometimes she's really good, and other times, her characters can annoy me too. However, she's really phenomenal as this new apparent villain. I'm so excited for you to get to know her, Reds!! :) Thank you again, so much, my dear friend! Your reaction for this episode was so much fun to watch! I really love the overall themes throughout this episode, teaching us to fight to live and not simply to survive. It's beautiful and powerful too. :) Thank you! Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum