The deuteragonist of Frozen make an appearance. Once gets self referential. And Will Scarlet hands out relationship advice.

Michael’s “Always… no, no… never… forget to check your references.”

Frozen

There were, like, three qualifying “Let it Go”‘s. But only Regina’s, “I need to let it go,” was word for word.

Ingrid’s, “You’re going to let me go,” was close enough, but nothing compared to her all out recuperation of Elsa’s story. From hiding herself away to injuring (okay, more than injuring) her sister, the Snow Queen even borrowed some lines. Her, “What have I done?”was pitch perfect.

In her first scene, her ice shard appears to graze Emma as it passes. Will that be significant later?

And we got to see the gloves provided by Rumplestiltskin with some ambivalent dithering about whether they were magic or not. It was a nice touch. He also delivered sn homage to Anna’s tenacity with, “Twu wuv comes in many forms, but the sisterly bond is worth its weight in magic.”

King Harald apparently passed his awkwardness on to his granddaughter, Anna.

However, it looks like she got some of her best qualities from her aunt Helga: the aforementioned sisterly love, determination, and sacrifice. Unfortunately, she seems to have picked up her poor taste in suitors as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Duke of Weselton!

The moment we saw him, we begged him to dance for us. He obliged.

He was true to scheming dissembling character and managed to accuse Ingrid of sorcery. He inverted the scene Frozen, saying, “Stay away from me,” a line Elsa will say to him years later. Perhaps his best line echoed the movie directly. “…Did I just say that out loud?”

Emma’s lack of control over her emotions and, consequently, her powers parallels Elsa’s both in the film and at the beginning of the season. She even get’s a, “Stay back!” similar to Arendelle’s queen.

For all that, I missed the “Wait… What?” this week.

“The Snow Queen”

The folks in Storybrooke spent most of the episode trying to figure out what the big deal about the apparently fake mirror was, which was all according to plan. But we learned that Pabbie and the rock trolls have the power to alter the memories of entire kingdoms and he even said, “All magic comes wit a price.” Depending on the translation of “The Snow Queen” the original mirror was created by the devil, a sprite, goblins, or, yup, trolls. If you were wondering why they kept coming back to him, I think we just got a hint.

Disney Princesses

this is almost too adorable. Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White are all together at mommy and me class.

The Magic Kingdom

On top of that, the infant to Aurora’s right is dresses head to toe in Mickey Mouse pajamas.

“Fantasia”

Henry’s got the broom again and he’s itching for some magic from the master, but all Gold’s offering is an opportunity to polish wood.

Paradise Lost

See our posts on “White Out,” “Breaking Glass,” and “Family Business” for more on this. These images of two of our queens are somewhat illustrative, though. The villain’s in white and the striving hero’s in black.

Ingrid tells Rumple,”What you want, is what all villains want… Everything.” Remember near the beginning where Mary Margaret says, “Well, I want him to have everything”? The villain isn’t dressed in snow white for nothing. And Snow’s been empathizing with evil Regina and being a terrible mom to Emma. She was dressed in medium greys this week.

The Lord of the Rings

Elsa: “Can you read this?”

Emma: “Elvish? No. I didn’t even see Lord of the Rings.”

Thor

We caught another glimpse of Mjolnir.

Once Upon a Time

Gepetto’s parents, or what’s left of them at the end of “That Still Small Voice” are hanging behind Rumple as he greets and deals with the three sisters.

There are a couple of reasons for mentioning this one, since arguably every episode is referencing those that came before in multiple ways.

First, they tend to prop these unfortunates up when they want to remind sympathetic viewers that Rumplestiltskin is a monster. That the Dark One isn’t a pet name. They denote schemes within schemes and ultimately disastrous deals. Demanding the symbolic sisterly bond in exchange for his magical assistance guaranteed its failure and we’ll eventually see how it furthered his agenda.

Second, Jiminy called on the blue fairy for help after assisting with this atrocity. We haven’t seen her for while, but she features prominently in the other episode overtly referenced in “The Snow Queen.”

Regina’s looking at her near execution, stopped just in time by Reul Ghorm in “The Cricket Game.” Oddly enough, Jiminy might have been the deciding voice in planning that execution. Are we going to see more of both of them later?

Saturday Night Live

I wish I had an embedded video, but I encourage you to check out “Sentimental Value Pawn Shop.” It’s pretty self-explanatory. The premise of the sketch is that the more emotional impact an object has, the more value it has in trade. For example, a plastic ring used in a proposal is worth more than the 2 karat diamond bought later. After the more subtle Hans and Franz reference in “Rocky Road,” this one jumped out before Rumple claimed the ribbons as his price. And of course, there they were in the pawn shop at the end.

Bonus: questionable meta-references

The Walking Dead

Young Ingrid is the same actress who played Lizzie. Lizzie’s relationship with her sister is complex, too.

Star Wars

The Duke of Weselton is on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan Arendelle.

Batman

“You’re the queen Arendelle deserves.”

Erin’s Happy Shipper Moments

Outlaw Queen

This was the Outlaw Queen’s episode. In the first of the two tense, romantic scenes between Robin and Regina, we had him expressing his inability to forget her to save Marian. She again attempts to push him away, but it doesn’t work. Though Regina was absent from the scene, she’s, of course, in Robin’s mind as he has this exchange with old frenemy Will Scarlet. Sure, it starts as a reminiscence about Marian, but it clearly turns into a flashing red arrow pointing straight to Regina. And it leads to the wonderful scene embedded below.

Robin: Did I ever tell you about how I met Marian?…

Will: She said, “There’s good in him, Will. And when you see the good in someone, you don’t give up on them. Especially if they don’t see it themselves. And if you’re ever lucky enough to find true love, you fight for it. Every day…If you find someone you love enough to ruin your entire life for, it’s always worth it.”

Captain Swan

When Emma is overwhelmed by her magic powers, Hook is the one who approaches her to comfort/help her. Unfortunately, his movement towards her sets off the electrical feedback that sends the light post toppling on David. But perhaps that is just an indication of the power of Emma’s feelings for Hook.

Captain Charming

When Hook and David (with Elsa and Belle) are checking out the mirror Ingrid has installed in the clock tower, Hook boasts: “It must be broken. I’ve been staring at it all day and I think I’m even more devilishly handsome and charming than usual.” He then shares a brief look with David.

Swan Queen

Man, if there’s anyone that Emma needs during this episode, it is Regina.

Rumpbelle

Well, there was that line where Gold condescendingly states that he’ll help since his beautiful wife is asking. No, I’m kidding. Ever since these two got married and had their ballroom dance, this relationship has been as flat as Australian crepes. (Get it? Cuz Disney’s Belle is French, but Once’s Belle is, like, Australian?)

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