Loved it? Hated it? What did you think of Shattered Sight?

[superhippie2000]

What did you think?

[dekabreak1000]

gave it an 8 because i expected more out of the spell and ingrid putting up more of a fight

[Aries83]

I gave it a 10, which is rare for me – especially considering how critical I've been lately. I thought this episode was EXCELLENT. THIS is the OUaT that I've been missing for the past few episodes.

It finally explained almost everything that happened once Ingrid came to our world (and how Emma forgot who she was).

It was nearly perfect.

My only complaint was how some were referring to what the Snow Queen did as a spell while others called it a Curse. I think they're very different things.

I will agree with dekabreak1000 that Ingrid seemed to change her tune very quick, but I thought there was enough depth and emotion in the narrative of the episode to make such a change work.

Hopefully, the momentum they've gained will carry over into the Winter Finale next week.

[stovers]

Another 10 this week. I'm glad Ingrid redeemed herself and got her happy ending. It was great seeing the Evil Queen again. I liked how Snow and Regina laughed it off when the curse broke. Will Scarlet's attempt at fighting Hook was comical.

[DigificWriter]

My review (cross-posted):
In the future, creative writing students should be given two series as 'study material': this show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because there's a ton that can be learned about how to write just by watching both series, particularly when it comes to balancing humor with drama and when it comes to wrapping up serialized stories.

Depending on how you choose to view this episode's placement in the season, A&E and the other writers either wrapped up the Frozen story arc exactly on or ahead of schedule, but either way, they pulled another page from the "Book of Joss" in doing so.

As with Smash the Mirror Parts 1 and 2 three weeks ago, there was so much going on in this episode that it's hard to know quite where to start in talking about it all, so if some of this comes off disjointed, I apologize.

I would've loved to have been on set during the filming of this episode, because the way the characters behaved as their 'worst selves' was seriously some of the best material I've seen in this show to date, and had to have been a joy to both write and act. I do kind of wish we'd seen a bit more 'in-depth coverage', as it were, of characters beyond just Snow, Charming, Kristoff, and Regina, but when you have as much to get through as this episode did, sacrifices have to be made, and what we got from 3 of those 4 was more than enough to make up for not seeing more craziness from some of the supporting characters. I especially loved the writers finally acknowledging their massive motivational screw-up vis a vis Regina's past, and have to give kudos to both Lana and Ginny for the way they handled the whole thing. I also enjoyed the big swordfight between Snow and Regina.


As if the stuff involving Ingrid's spell wasn't enough, the writers also filled in about 3 seasons' worth of blanks in the course of about 40 minutes (not counting commercials), and, in the process, tossed out a whole bunch of theories/implied assumptions about Emma's backstory pre-Storybrooke, especially with regards to her time in the foster care system. They also made her character a whole lot more complex, emotionally, than she already was.

For starters, it had been previously assumed/implied that Emma 'aged out' of the foster care system before we saw her in Portland, but, after tonight, it's clear that, after Ingrid freaked her out, she just never stopped running. The fact that her relationship with Ingrid - the one good thing in her life before Neal - ended the way it did, BTW, actually makes the fact that she 'took a chance' on letting Neal in all the more remarkable than it had been before given what we knew about her past at the time the writers showed us her relationship with Neal and what happened between them.

While we're on the subject of the flashbacks, did anybody catch the particulars of where Ingrid's house was location-wise (I didn't quite see the caption) and when, exactly, she arrived in Storybrooke (also, what was up with her Nun-esque outfit)?

After "Family Business" aired, there was a little bit of discussion here about when Emma's Season 1 run-in with Ingrid would've happened given that she only wore her blue jacket in a handful of episodes, and we finally had that question answered tonight. With the first season's events happening relatively in real time, Emma had to have visited Any Given Sundae between the end of "The Price of Gold" and the beginning of "That Still Small Voice" (since TPoG is the only episode that aired in November 2011 in which she wore her blue jacket).

It was a pretty fair bet that this storyline was going to end with Ingrid's death, but I was kind of surprised that they didn't just go the predictable route of having Emma and Elsa take her down using magic, regardless of how sympathetic they'd made her character. I did like the symmetry and symbolism inherent in Ingrid sacrificing herself to stop her own spell after realizing that she'd made some seriously terrible mistakes, and all four of the actresses involved in that scene really sold the raw emotion of the moment, so kudos to them.

As I close out my review, I have to ask three questions (all of which stem from the fact that I missed last week's episode):
* Why was Anna immune to the Shattered Sight spell?
* What was up with Henry's attitude?
* Why was Rumple making preparations to leave town?

[stovers]

"As I close out my review, I have to ask three questions (all of which stem from the fact that I missed last week's episode):
* Why was Anna immune to the Shattered Sight spell?
* What was up with Henry's attitude?
* Why was Rumple making preparations to leave town?"

Anna was immuned because she was already under the spell at one point.
Henry's attitude was just his reaction to the curse.
Rumple wants to use the hat to leave town, his plans haven't been revealed yet.

[DigificWriter]

^ Thanks for the answers.

[SteelyGal]

I gave this episode a ‘10’.

The Snow Queen became what everyone accused her of being; a monster. Her obsession of wanting to get rid of her powers, then accidently killing her sister just to have her other sister entrap her led her down a dark path she never wanted to go on. All she wanted was to love and be loved. Her time with young Emma was so touching and showed she wasn’t evil but damaged.

Her obsession of wanting a family’s love drove her over the edge and it took Anna’s faith in family and determination that you never give up of family to jolt the Snow Queen out of her insanity just in time to stop the curse. Elizabeth Mitchell is such a wonderful actress and her scenes made me really care about her which made her death so sad. But, she finally got what she wanted; her family’s love. This is why I watch Storybrooke; love once again conquered all.

[Aries83]

Elizabeth Mitchell is such a wonderful actress and her scenes made me really care about her which made her death so sad. But, she finally got what she wanted; her family’s love.

I agree. That shot of the three girls running in that field got me. It takes a really great actress to achieve what Mitchell did with the limited screen time her character had (with all the other arcs going on).

I was sad to see her go, actually, but: This is OUaT, so maybe – somehow – she's still out there...

[spotteddog]

We saw Rumple pretty conclusively die, only to return. I believe in no dead body, no sure death. Long winded way of saying, if OUAT wants EM back on the show, it can happen.