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Such a simple fix. That whole "who are you" thing was weird regardless of this issue. I don't think it's intentional because this show isn't subtle. If something was meant to be intentional, we would know it and it would be expressed at five different levels. The root is the writing. I don't remember any recent lines that Goodwin could have delivered in a motherly way, especially when a lot of them are basically providing exposition. In 3B, Snow wasn't even in many of the scenes with Emma's most vulnerable moments, so what was there to react to? The writing guides the direction. The scene at the end of "White Out" was meant for Charming's speech to move Henry to talk to Regina. So that was where the director focused. Especially if they film scenes out of order, the director might not even remember that Snow had no idea Emma was trapped in ice. Since the root is the writing, it's only the writing that can fix it. I think it's unfair to say Josh Dallas is way better at conveying being a parent than Ginnifer Goodwin when we have seen she can do emotional scenes with Emma to powerful effect. I must say I too was really disappointed with that line delivery. Though the line itself also sucked. Since they couldn't/wouldn't devote an episode to Snow and Charming dealing with the grief of losing Emma because we needed to see another Zelena or Cora flashback. At this point, I think it's still fixable, if they actually care enough to. It's not hard to believe Snow would be out of it in 3B when she woke up a week from giving birth and not remembering when she became pregnant. Ditto now when she's sleep deprived with a newborn, as Shanna Marie said. But the final scene in "White Out" suggests the whole Emma/Snow thing is actually completely off their radar. We saw some awesome Emma/Charming stuff in "White Out", but how does it mesh with the whole "out of sight out of mind stuff" with Emma in the Missing Year? It doesn't and the only conclusion I can draw is they don't care about the character dynamics between Emma and her parents all that much. It goes back to 3A where Snow's revelation and Charming's revelation in the Echo Cave failed to result in an episode or even a subplot devoted to Emma responding to those and working through them together as a unit of three. Instead, it was allotted to the love triangle.

So did the Ice Cream Lady follow Elsa around and saw her make the Ice Wall, and then placed a spell to keep it permanent? Did this happen when Charming and Hook left to go to Rumple's shop, and if not, when? Why is she using her ice powers now and not when Zelena was around? I wonder if this will all make sense at the end of 4A... or not. Why did Elsa conclude someone else in town has ice powers? She was so lacking in confidence that she could burrow a hole in it that the most plausible explanation would be her powers aren't working properly.

I'm assuming testing/researching how different types of processing, preservation, etc. can affect food quality and chemical content in foods?

I was reading this review of the latest episode: http://io9.com/once-upon-a-time-returns-to-its-throne-of-bad-decision-1643192080 Apparently, "if there's one thing OUAT loves to do, it's dump on Regina." Suuuuuuuure, riiiiiiiiiiiight. I can't roll my eyes any further.

I liked this episode, and I thought the dialogue was more natural. I appreciate that they were including character scenes between the action. The tone was lighter, and Bollock had some funny lines. I didn't mind the balloon plot... it was Gotham-like, relevant to the theme of corruption and at least gave a twist from crimes in seen in normal police procedurals. The exception with the improved dialogue was the clunky stuff between Barbara and Renee. I agree with the poster above that it would have been preferable to show Jim meeting Barbara, though I suppose that might have distracted Jim from his job. As it is, I don't feel like I know Barbara at all so it's hard to care. Renee and her partner seem out to get Jim without really getting to know him, so they feel like pests. I tend not to like/watch shows where innocent bystanders are murdered for no reason, so I don't enjoy that aspect of the show with Oswald murdering people left right and center, nor the "humor" of the lady being killed by the falling body. I do agree Oswald is a very intriguing character despite being basically a serial killer. I'm not sure how great an idea it is to give him such a big pie of the screentime. He seems to have second billing behind Gordon. The kid plays Bruce very effectively. You could literally see the wheels churning in his head. It seemed weird they jumped right into him fencing with Alfred, seemingly recovered from his depression. What was up with the no-eating thing anyway.

I found the David and Anna banter to be so badly written and trying way too hard to be funny that I actually felt zero chemistry between them. Not even friendship chemistry, much less anything romantic. Such a shame since I really like the acting style of Dallas and I thoroughly enjoyed Anna in the season premiere. Now imagine if the writers went all adult, and had Anna and David have an affair, and Charming dumps Snow for Anna once she resurfaces later this season, to please all the newly spawned Charming Anna's.

But she would miss watching that masterpiece which is "Kansas" (just joking). In some ways, I like a show like this one that isn't afraid to be completely serialized. Though my friend who marathons with me whenever she visits (we usually watch 8-9 episodes in a row since she only visits two or three times a year)... she doesn't remember what happened in the previous season sometimes. We watched 2A in one sitting, and the first half of 2B half a year later, and she couldn't remember who Neal was in "Manhattan" even though he was in "Tallahassee". When we watched 3B, she couldn't remember any details of what happened to Aurora and Philip. I suppose not remembering stuff doesn't really matter in the grand scheme, since a casual viewer can usually just clue in to the plot, which is usually - don't be killed or don't let someone steal your heart/baby/son/magic bean/sword hilt, so that keeps it simple enough.

Plus what I think Aliasscape said earlier about the weird progression of hypothermia. I thought she did a wonderful job, since I otherwise would have laughed since she laid down and seemed to pass out and then later got back up and started talking again completely lucidly. I mean, they could have done a variation of the Boy Who Cried Wolf in this episode too if they had Emma pretending to have hypothermia so she could sock Elsa in the head with an icicle. I actually thought it was going there for a moment in the episode.

There were other legitimate gripes about 3A beyond "it was too slow". I'm not sure the writers sped up 3B because of people's complaints about 3A's pace. In 3B, Zelena basically spent a couple of episodes doing nothing, and it was hella boring. In their style of writing, the freight train has always come towards the end of an arc. Everything in Neverland was rapidly resolved in 'Saving Henry". Then, it was a rush to another apocalypse in "Going Home". And then Zelena met her downfall in every possible way, all in a single episode "Kansas". Even the Season 1 finale squeezed up to ten payoffs into one episode. I have the feeling that the writers also had those same opinions and maybe that's why they listened to those vocal voices because it matches with what they thought and what they wanted to write, which were the villain stories. They were likely bored with writing serialized Storybrooke stories. The writers have quite a high opinion of their writing and are genuinely excited about the stuff they wrote these last two seasons, including 3B. So what we are seeing is what they essentially like and want, which is Regina all the time and plot plot plot. The online voices probably ensured that they slotted in some Rumbelle, for example, or threw in a requisite Charming episode once in a while, but I think what we are seeing ultimately comes from their own preferences.

Wow, that quote made him sound so good. Are there any good writers out there?

I didn't like the episode as much as you did, but the reason was encapsulated in your post. I really enjoyed Emma/Elsa, and as usual, the actors gave it their all. I agree the writing in Season 1 was much more subtle and skilled. I think that the "fitting a round peg into a square hole" was much worse in this episode than usual. One problem was the message alone was already very clunky, plus there were three separate parts to it - the impossible fights are worth fighting, surviving isn't living and don't give up on the ones you love. Usually, the message is much more simple, like have hope, or enjoy the little moments in life, and the plotline can fit that type of message much more naturally. The Bo Peep situation as they laid it out didn't fit that message. Fighting an impossible fight with no strategy and little realistic possibility of winning (which is what would have happened if Bo Peep actually had an army) is not going to improve anyone's life. It's just stupid and impulsive. How does refusing to fight Bo Peep have anything to do with "giving up on the ones you love"? That element was supposed to be "covered" by the backstory of the alcoholic father. What does Charming having an alcoholic father have to do with the Bo Peep situation and his lack of courage? Charming didn't even give up on his father... he hoped he would pull through. Was Charming "surviving but not living"? If so, what was Charming's idea of living? None of that was actually explored and this flashback was supposed to shed light on Charming's personality and character origins and journey. Basically, they wanted Charming to "learn" the lesson, and then recite it to Elsa, who also supposedly learned the lesson in the animated movie from Anna. Thus, the double/triple repetition. Plus I'm not even convinced that those were the lessons that Anna imparted to Elsa in the "Frozen" movie to begin with, aside from the "don't give up on the ones you love". There were some episodes with this level of simplification of messaging in Season 3, but sometimes, I don't mind it and I can even be moved by it, if the parallels make sense, at the very least. Unfortunately, that just wasn't the case for me in this episode, so I personally thought it was much clunkier than usual, maybe because they were also trying to fit a Frozen round peg into the Once square peg which could have been done if the parallels were better thought out.

Savi, April and Karen are so idiotic. I had to laugh when Joss was staring at them in disbelief after their "intervention". Each is more delusional than the next. I really can't believe Joss is actually the mentally sane one. Savi and Karen should be locked up in a mental institute and April maybe in an idiot asylum. I must say Karen gave some funny facial expressions in this episode, all bright-eyed looking at her evening wear. And then eating an entire bag of chips on that sad night she was alone. As if! I thought the "poor lighting at Starbucks" line was hilarious. So overall, I actually did like this episode more than the last one. I'm starting to feel badly for Dom. Savi's becoming outright unlikeable.

I'm curious how the writer of this episode would respond if someone asked her about that.

Imagine how many overlapping Venn diagrams we can draw with this season and Frozen. Regina is Elsa and Henry is Anna, and Emma is also Anna, except when Emma is more like Elsa, and when Anna's Anna, Charming's Elsa, but Snow is just the Electrician.

I thought he was just saying whatever to get Regina to open the door. Since it's not nice to be sent crows by mommy.

So let's see what could happen in the next few episodes in the flashbacks. Episode 3 - Anna continues on her journey to Rumple, but finds a wimpering crying helpless Snow White in the forest immediately after the Huntsman incident. We find out it was Anna who taught Snow how to be a strong person, how to use bows and arrows, and how to live in a tree. Episode 4 - Anna meets Rumple. He says, "Magic comes with a price!" But before he helps Anna, she must do something for him. Go to Regina's castle and fetch him something important. Anna goes to the palace as a visiting dignitary, and she manages to win Regina over immediately. Regina becomes soft and nostalgic because Anna has that effect on people. Rumple sees that and engineers a situation where Anna must steal away in the night, and Regina turns evil again. Episode 5 - Anna meets Granny and Red, who are bitterly fighting after Red's boyfriend died. Anna helps them make peace and teaches Red how to make proper sandwiches. Episode 6 - Anna meets the Blue Fairy who has lost all hope and her magic powers. Anna teaches her how to properly access magic in fairy dust. Episode 7 - Anna meets Gepetto and teaches him how to do carpentry. So well that all his wooden objects come alive. And that's how Pinocchio was born. Episode 8 - Anna goes back to Rumple and accidentally knocks over some ingredients which coincidentally created the Dark Curse.

I sort of felt badly for the parents too. They had no idea how to deal with it, and they knew Elsa couldn't control it. The crazy trolls' advice wasn't exactly clear or helpful. I think shutting her in a room was overkill, especially since she seemed to be fine with her gloves on. I agree that Elsa herself was fearful that she could hurt Anna by accident, so she also isolated herself. I do find it smart that they came up with the idea of having the parents try to get help with Elsa's magic by travelling to the Enchanted Forest. I don't think the animated movie did all that great a job of fleshing out what was actually happening in that castle. Didn't Anna have a governess? Why did they have to shut the entire palace up? Was Elsa training to be the Queen? Who were the other people in the palace? What about the children of the nobility? Who was the regent who ruled in place of Elsa until she came of age? Even the whole gloves thing was ill-defined. I find it kind of ironic, that I can't think of much Frozen-related stuff to say or discuss even though that's the main arc/mystery this season. Is it because we know too much about the Frozen story, and we know the writers can't really change it too much? I felt the Episode 2 flashback was the first time this season where they actually twisted an original character out of shape (in this case Charming in his flashback) to fit in a Frozen character (Anna). The other Frozen stuff they've done have worked fine with the characters on "Once". The current time Elsa storyline, for example, is consistent with the personalities of all involved.

Why was Charming huffing and puffing after the sword fighting practice as if he needed to go to the gym? I could see him having problems with sword fighting for the first time, but why so out of breath? He works on a farm and herds sheep all day, so he should be in shape. Thanks for describing the deleted scene, since the video wasn't watchable from my region. Why are they going out of their way to write scenes for Snow and Regina, while avoiding scenes for Snow and Emma? Imroney raised a good point about lack of awareness from the writers. So they had Snow walk in at the very end after having no communication with any of her family members in the entire episode. So the writer should have thought about what Snow would see/ask/notice when she walked into the room. I usually like Henry more than most, but the acting was off in this episode (especially the scene at Regina's door... maybe the lines were just too awkward to say naturally). There were a few nice scenes with Henry in 3B even, one with Emma in the park, one with Hook on the ship, etc, so I feel he can deliver in some situations. Hopefully, he's just getting used to acting with his new voice. Aside from Charming's flashback hair, Ruth's flashback hair also looked weird. It looked almost modern and took me a little out of the scene. I'm wary of their megavillains, so they better have a convincing reason why the Snow Queen is in Storybrooke selling ice cream.

This was one of the cautionary tales where actually getting a centric episode may not be a good thing and can get your character knocked down a peg. In three seasons, I have NEVER seen Charming as a coward. Isn't that supposed to be Rumple's thing? Yet they had Anna call Charming out on his "cowardice" in this episode, and apparently it was such a huge transformation in his personality that Ruth even told Anna that she changed Charming and he's "different" now. Give me a break! The situation they created was reminiscent of the Rumple one in "Desperate Souls". Rumple/Charming was being bullied and they were soooo weak they couldn't fight back/stand up to the bullies, until someone encouraged them to, with varying results. If they wanted to do the same thing as Rumple, they could have had Charming transform into The Evil Peep after holding Bo Beep's staff. In some ways, the cowardice thing started in 3B with the writers deciding Charming could be the Cowardly Lion equivalent and have his courage stolen. But at least in "The Tower", it was a specific fear, of not being a good father. As I mentioned in the episode thread, why didn't they at least qualify Charming's emotional slump if they had to make Anna the cheerleader. Maybe have Charming's dad die the month before and Charming was feeling down and lacking in confidence since his father had managed the finances or whatever. And also give Bo Peep more than two guards and have Charming use his intelligence to bring her down, not just going up and fighting two men at once with a sword he picked up for the first time the day before.

That is an issue that certain Asian parents have with their children, the wish for them to date people from their own specific culture. So it is a legitimate concern for some people in the world.

The writers have always kept in vague. I think Regina said something similar but I could only find King George's line from Season 2: "This town is bigger than you think. I start telling people that you're putting their lives in danger to protect your own interests? You'll have a mutiny on your hands." With so many kingdoms, the town must actually be huge. Making it all the more unlikely that there is so little rivalry in terms of leadership or villains taking advantage of situations like Zelena terrorizing everyone.

The only problem I had with that was, if Tom figured it out, then so would everyone else. I did like their conversation, though.

Did Snow even know about Emma almost being frozen? She was in the power plant the entire time, and I'm pretty sure she didn't have any communication with anyone there, or else should would have been at the town line, stat. She even asked, "Who's that?" about Elsa, so I don't think she was getting any updates. Another weird thing I forgot to mention was that Emma was in the diner when the electricity went out, and 2 seconds later, David radios that he's getting calls from everyone about the electricity being down. Did they forget the lag time there? I liked her as Juliet on "Lost" too, but not when she was a villain. I found her so smug and annoying in villain mode, so that's what I'm afraid of. She was so much better in a layered well-written role as was Juliet in the later seasons. "Revolution" was just horribly written (I hated that show so much), so she never got anything to play. I didn't mind "V" but that wasn't very deep.

I guess it is hard to pinpoint the length of time between this episode ("White Out") and the events of "The Shepherd". Was Snow White already on the run at the time of "The Shepherd"?

I wouldn't have minded it if he was feeling low because his father had just recently died or something, and that caused him to lose his confidence or something. But why did it have to be so heavy-handed... Ruth saying to Anna, "You've changed him" was just much, much too much. I did like the idea of Snow figuring it out and having a light-bulb moment. But all the breast-feeding jokes in the episode went overboard. It was interesting that no one asked Snow where she went (unless I missed it?), and no one seemed to question how the electricity came back on.