Rocky Road (Once Upon a Time)
Elsa meets her aunt, the Snow Queen.
The fourth season of Once Upon a Time reached its third episode, "Rocky Road," on October 12, 2014. The plot involves Elsa being set up as a culprit, with flashbacks depicting her first encounter with her aunt, the Snow Queen. This installment also brought Michael Socha into the main cast as Will Scarlet, a character he had previously played in the spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Once Upon a Time
- Season
- 4
- Production
- 403
- Episode
- 3
- Air date
- 12 October 2014
- Writer
- David H. Goodman & Jerome Schwartz
- Director
- Morgan Beggs
Facts from the source article.
Plot
After Anna departs for Misthaven, Elsa grows increasingly anxious about her sister's quest, despite Kristoff's reassurance that Arendelle needs her more at the moment. News arrives that Prince Hans is marching an army toward the kingdom, forcing Elsa to remain and defend against another takeover attempt. While observing Hans and his twelve brothers, Kristoff spots a sketch of an urn designed to trap people. Worried that Hans plans to use it on Elsa, Kristoff warns her, and she agrees to follow him as he volunteers to intercept Hans before the plot unfolds. Hours later, they reach a cave where the urn is hidden. Elsa finds an unfamiliar language inscribed on it, sparking a debate with Kristoff about whether to destroy it. Hans and his brothers ambush them, holding a sword to Kristoff and demanding the urn. Elsa surrenders it, then urges Kristoff to find Anna. Hans sneers that a monster like Elsa should not rule Arendelle and uncaps the relic, only to release a person already inside: the Snow Queen, who emerges from a white liquid. She freezes Hans, and his brothers flee. Back at the castle, Elsa and the Snow Queen discuss their ice powers. Spotting a portrait of Elsa's parents, the Snow Queen reveals that Elsa's mother, Gerda, was her sister. Still worried about Anna, Elsa shares her fears with her newfound aunt, who promises to help and mentions seeking others like them who might have shared her fate. Meanwhile, Robin Hood, Marian, and Roland visit Any Given Sundae, where the Snow Queen serves them ice cream, secretly casting a spell on Marian's cone. Elsewhere, Elsa, Emma, and Hook visit Gold's pawn shop, hoping the necklace Elsa found there might lead to Anna. Belle uses the fake dagger to command Gold to tell the truth, but it fails; Gold claims to know nothing about Elsa or Anna and wishes them luck finding her.
Reception
This outing posted a 2.7/7 among 18-49s with 7.92 million viewers tuning in, an 18% drop from the previous episode. In Canada, it delivered 1.963 million viewers, making it the night's second most-watched program. The episode was met with good reviews, most of it directed towards the performances from Elizebeth Mitchell and Jennifer Morrison. In a review from Entertainment Weekly, Hilary Busis mentioned several good points about this episode, including this one: And so Once continues to play its favorite game: Families Are Complicated, Y'all! A new baddie who's secretly related to one of our heroes is hardly uncharted territory, but at least Mitchell's presence is livening up the Frozen arc. And while I'm still not sure that Once has done enough to justify devoting this much time to characters from a movie that was released less than a year ago, season 4's third episode did at least have a little more time to spare for the folks who have been around since the pre-Let It Go days. (Though we still don't know what the deal is with that damn Fantasia hat.) Amy Ratcliffe of IGN rated the episode 7.5 out of 10, saying Tonight's Once had entertaining points and featured an intriguing entrance for the Snow Queen. She's a quieter sort of villain, and that's a nice change. We inched closer to finding out how Elsa got trapped in the urn and where Anna is, but the episode fell flat in a few places because characters didn't act like themselves. TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.6 out of 5 stars.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who directed Rocky Road (Once Upon a Time)?
Rocky Road was directed by Morgan Beggs.
Who wrote Rocky Road (Once Upon a Time)?
Rocky Road was written by David H. Goodman & Jerome Schwartz.
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