‘Once Upon a Time’ “Smash the Mirror” Recap and Review

Once Upon a Time Season 4 Episode 8 Recap and Review
Elizabeth Lail and Georgina Haig in ‘Once Upon a Time’ (Photo by Jack Rowand / ABC)

ABC aired a two-hour Once Upon a Time on November 16, 2014 and with all that was revealed, it did in fact warrant a special two-hour block. Titled “Smash the Mirror,” season four’s eighth episode continued to examine the Snow Queen’s obsession with finding replacement sisters to fill the void left by her now long-gone sisters Helga and Gerda. “Smash the Mirror” also found Emma (Jennifer Morrison) attempting to keep her family at a distance because she’s unable to control her powers.

Meanwhile, romance continued to blossom again for Regina (Lana Parrilla) and Robin (Sean Maguire), both of whom continue to feel guilty about Marion yet are unable to put their relationship behind them and move on.

For those who need a refresher course on what happened to who and why, here’s a detailed recap of “Smash the Mirror:”

The deck’s stacked in Ingrid’s favor: Ingrid (Elizabeth Mitchell) freezes the gold box containing the Sorcerer’s hat and then hides it in a cave. Following that, she pays a visit to the Sorcerer’s Apprentice who refuses to help her. She demands an audience with the Sorcerer but is told no. However, Ingrid has an ace up her sleeve and tells the apprentice to make a deal with her or never see the hat again. In exchange for turning over the hat, Ingrid wants true happiness in the form of two new sisters born with magic, like her. She’s told by the apprentice that it could take time and she says she’s fine with waiting as long as it takes.

Emma issues a warning: Henry (Jared Gilmore) finds Emma hidden in the woods but she warns him away because she can’t control her powers. He won’t listen and a jolt from Emma’s hands results in a wound on his neck. Emma’s completely freaked out and sends him away with another jolt of her power. The Snow Queen then shows up (her timing is always perfect) and tells Emma she knows exactly how she feels. Emma races away in her car and refuses to accept Ingrid’s offer of help.

Two little love birds sitting in a tree: Robin and Regina are in a disheveled state following a night spent together! They’re obviously in love and both look incredibly happy, and Regina reminisces about how she should have listened to Tinker Bell when the “stupid fairy” told her decades ago she was destined to be with Robin. Regina whips out the storybook and shows it to Robin for the first time, and he says it’s all about the past.

“You’re not the evil queen anymore,” says Robin, but Regina says the author believes she’s not meant to have a happy ending. She tells him about her search for the author and, thankfully, he wants to help. She says no, and that they can not let another wild night of happiness happen between them. He decides the way to fix that is by never leaving the room!

The search continues: Hook (Colin O’Donoghue), Elsa (Georgina Haig), David (Josh Dallas), and Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) are frustrated because they can’t find Emma. They’re also exhausted and need to regroup, and David suggests they get some rest. Henry arrives and explains what happened, leaving everyone with the impression that anyone close to Emma will just set her off. Hook suggests they send one of the dwarves she despises, but Elsa says she will ultimately realize she needs the people she loves close by.

Back in Arendelle…: Elsa’s setting up a feast for Anna (Elizabeth Lail) and Ingrid arrives and informs her that Anna’s withholding secrets and that she thinks both Ingrid and Elsa are monsters. Ingrid confesses that it was Elsa’s mom who put her in the urn and she was hoping Anna would be different but it didn’t turn out that way. Ingrid’s locked Anna away in the dungeon to be dealt with however Elsa sees fit.

Emma turns to an unlikely ally: At Rumple’s shop, all the appliances and toys are acting on their own and it’s because Emma’s there. Rumple (Robert Carlyle) knows everyone is searching for her, but Emma tells him she needs help and thinks he’s her best option. She hurt Henry and needs to have her powers stopped. Rumple shows her an ancient spell that would take away all of her magic forever and she, without even stopping to think, tells him to do it. He’s fine with her decision but says that it would destroy everything within a city block because magic doesn’t go away quietly. He arranges to meet her at sundown in an abandoned building, and they both promise not to tell anyone.

And the Oscar goes to…: Elsa marches down to the dungeon and Anna looks happy and relieved to see her. Anna says Ingrid’s lying about everything, but now Elsa is siding with Ingrid because Anna did in fact keep the hat which could strip her of all of her magic powers. She tells the guards to leave which they immediately do. Once they’re gone she reveals that it’s all a ruse. She does believe Anna and is not on Ingrid’s side. She gives Anna back her snowflake necklace and Anna assures Elsa she’ll never take it off again. Elsa says she has a plan to get rid of Ingrid that involves trapping her in the urn, and Anna says she’ll help search the castle for where it could be hidden.

Never smile at a crocodile: Elsa comforts Henry and says Emma hurt him only because she was trying so hard not to hurt him. Regina barges in and wants to see Henry, and Mary Margaret tells her first she might want to finish buttoning up her shirt. Regina’s brought with her the locator spell they’re going to use, but Emma calls Mary Margaret and tells her it will all be over soon and that she has a way to fix everything.

Emma tells her mom that she’s getting rid of her magic forever, which immediately sends up warning flags to Hook. He’s worried and wants to know how it will happen. Pretending he left his phone in David’s truck, Hook leaves the room and dials up Emma. He leaves her a voice mail to call him ASAP or else it’s possible she’ll never make it out of this magic removal thing alive. After hanging up, he whispers he hopes she didn’t trust the crocodile.

The urn is found: Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff (Scott Michael Foster) go looking for the urn in the East Wing where Anna was forbidden as a child to explore. Elsa wonders what turned the sisters against Ingrid, and a frozen man leads Elsa and Anna to the discovery of the urn.

You just know they’re up to no good: Ingrid and Rumple meet and Ingrid wants to know why he’s there. They exchange barbs and Rumple tells her he’s about to take away Emma’s powers. Ingrid gets upset about that but soon turns furious when she discovers Rumple’s trapped her. He has the remnants of the urn and he’s used them to draw a circle around her made up of its dust. It’ll last long enough to get him whatever he wants, without having to betray everyone in Storybrooke. The only people he has to betray are Ingrid and Emma.

Tick-tock finally went the clock: Will Scarlet’s adding liquor to his coffee at the diner when Robin sits down opposite him. Robin tells Will (Michael Socha) that Regina needs to know who wrote the book. Will says he’s been in the town longer than Robin and knows a thing or two about its magical history. For 28 years the hands on the clock tower didn’t move; time stood still and then one day they did move. The clock tower’s where the magic first appeared. “Do you know what’s under that magical clock tower? A library,” says Will.

We love you just the way you are: Elsa and Anna are sneaking through the palace trying to keep away from Ingrid when all of a sudden Elsa stops and stares at the portrait of her parents. She wants to know if it’s true her parents wanted to take away her powers. Anna says they were only human and they made mistakes, and if they could see her today they would never ask her to give up a part of themselves. Anna doesn’t want her any other way.

Elsa’s a tad bit sneaky: Elsa secretly grabs the bottle with the locator potion along with Emma’s scarf. While David and Mary Margaret are reminiscing about everything they love about Emma and hoping she’s happy if she chooses not to keep her powers, Elsa sets out to find Emma using Regina’s magic potion.

A rare moment to bond: Regina and Henry sit on his bed, and Henry doesn’t want to talk about what happened with Emma. Regina magically takes away his injury. “It must be nice to have magic and be useful,” says Henry. He thinks he couldn’t help Emma because he’s ordinary. Regina tells him never to think he’s ordinary. Emma’s a hero and she’ll end up winning, says Regina.

Hook’s on the hunt: Hook goes looking for the Crocodile and sees Emma’s handprint burnt into a book at Rumple’s shop. Hook calls Emma again and leaves a message telling her that Rumple only wants to help her remove her powers so that he can have them, and that once he does he’ll pull her into the Sorcerer’s hat. Hook also tells Emma that Rumple’s been lying to everyone and that the dagger he gave Belle is a fake. Hook admits he knows this and that Rumple’s blackmailing him into helping him because he loves Emma so much and that he needed to be a better man for her. After leaving the message, Hook sees a map with ‘Manor’ circled.

It’s a hologram! From her prison, Ingrid watches Emma drive through the forest and smiles. Emma’s car is screwing up and suddenly the Snow Queen is standing in the middle of the road. Emma swerves, crashes, and knocks herself out.

Ingrid’s one step ahead…again: Elsa and Anna sneak around, with Anna set to hide out in the dungeon again with the urn. The plan is to send Ingrid down to the dungeon where Anna will act scared and then suddenly pull out the urn to capture Ingrid. After Elsa locks her in, the smoke turns into shackles, and then Ingrid shows up.

Back at the car crash: Emma comes to and Ingrid tells her to stay away from Rumple. Ingrid says not to trust him and that he’d kill her to get whatever it is he desires. Emma says she’s going anyway, and then discovers Ingrid’s not really there and it’s all an illusion. She’s even more determined to get to Rumple after that discovery.

Regina’s got a point: Mary Margaret and Regina discuss Henry, and Regina thanks her for warning her to button up before she went in to see him. Mary Margaret says she shouldn’t be ashamed to be with Robin, but then David shows up and Regina is furious neither is out looking for Emma and that both are fine with Emma losing her powers. Regina says her biggest regret is that she didn’t support Henry when he realized he was special. Mary Margaret and David agree with Regina and are ready to set out looking for her when they realize Elsa took the locator potion and is gone.

The magic of the mirror: Anna and Ingrid argue over whether Anna will turn on her sister. Ingrid describes the story of how the enchanted mirror came to be and then whips out a small portion of the mirror, which alarms Anna who’s worried Ingrid will cast the spell of Shattered Sight over the kingdom. But Ingrid has other plans…she only wants to cast it over Anna.

Mary Margaret and Regina have a heart-to-heart: Regina, Mary Margaret, David, and Henry search for Emma, find her car, and take off on foot. Regina and Mary Margaret have a little time to talk and Regina says she and Robin won’t work out. Regina says it’s easy for Mary Margaret to work things out because she’s a hero while Regina’s wishes are all crushed. Mary Margaret says Regina should have a chance to be redeemed and that it’s not all black and white. No one is either all good or all evil. “Free will be damned…it’s all in the book,” says Regina. But Mary Margaret says it’s all about choices and that if she stays the course, Regina can find happiness.

The Merry Men hit the books: Will tries to break into the library, but it’s actually unlocked and open. Once inside, Will and Robin search for clues about the book. Robin wants Regina to be happy, even if she thinks that’s impossible. Robin sees a note in his bag that wasn’t there before, and he thinks Regina needs to see it immediately. He calls her up and she leaves the search party to head to the library with Mary Margaret’s blessing.

The hat is primed and ready: Unfortunately, Emma arrives at the meeting place without listening to her voicemails. Rumple has the spell all prepared before she arrives, activating the hat and pointing it toward the door which Emma will stride through when she’s ready to get rid of her powers forever.

Rumple says he’s already cast the spell and all she has to do is step through the door. She tells him the Snow Queen said she shouldn’t do this because Rumple’s trying to hurt her. She asks if it’s safe and if she’ll be okay, and he says no magic is without risks. She just wants to stop hurting people and asks him what he would do if he were in her shoes. Without hesitation Rumple says he wouldn’t go in there for anything, but adds that he always makes the wrong decision.

Belle thinks he can change and Rumple thinks she’s wrong. He tells Emma she always does the right thing and she turns toward the door. She turns around and thanks him, and he walks away. She faces the door again. Inside the hat is ready to suck her in.

Hook and Rumple square off: Outside, Hook and Rumple tangle, with Hook yelling for Emma. “I’ll die fighting before I let you use that bloody hat on Emma!” Rumple gets the best of him physically and ties him to the fence, joking that he’s treating him to a front-row seat where they can both watch Emma use that hat on herself. Rumple also shows Hook Emma’s phone, so Hook’s well aware that Emma knows nothing about what’s going on. Rumple tells him he’ll get over Emma and that Hook will once again have a taste for vengeance after this is done. Rumple says he wishes he didn’t have to do it but he needs her powers. Hook begs him not to do it since she’s the mother to his grandson, but Rumple won’t listen. Meanwhile, Elsa arrives after following the locator spell.

Anna turns into a mean girl: Anna is free from the dungeon and totally changed. She sees Elsa’s banquet and isn’t impressed. She’s angry at Elsa and the sister bond has been shattered. She throws the snowflake pendant into the fire, breaking the bond. Ingrid shows up and Elsa knows Anna’s had a spell placed on her. Anna is furious with Elsa, but Ingrid says she won’t listen to her and Ingrid screams at Elsa to use her powers on her. Anna puts Elsa in the urn and Ingrid is about to strangle her when Kristoff bursts in. She freezes both Anna and Kristoff as well as the entire palace. Taking the urn with her, she looks over her frozen kingdom. She tells Anna inside the urn that they will find their third sister no matter how long it takes.

Elsa saves the day: Elsa bursts into the room and tells Emma she won’t let her do it. Elsa won’t give up on her and she knows everything she’s going through, but Emma’s convinced she needs to give up her powers. Elsa says she was wrong, it wasn’t just Anna’s love that saved her. She thought she was doomed because she landed in a strange town without Anna but she was able to get control of her powers without her. She didn’t know how she did it until today when it happened to Elsa.

It’s not only the love of their family that can save them, it’s inside themselves. “You have to love yourself, Emma, the good and the bad,” says Elsa. She tells her the magic is who she is and extends her hand. “It’s time to stop being afraid,” explains Elsa. Emma’s frightened of touching her but does so anyway, which places her powers under her own control!

Hearts are now in play: Outside, Rumple and Hook see that Emma didn’t go through with it. Rumple needs to fill the hat with power but there’s a secret ingredient he also needs. He needs the heart of someone who knew him before he was the Dark One and only one person fits that bill. Rumple grabs Hook’s heart and tells him he will do everything he says because he’s now his puppet. He’ll find someone with the magic he needs and then Rumple will kill Hook.

Once more to Arendelle: In Arendelle, Ingrid clutches the urn while Rumpelstiltskin inspects her frozen handiwork. Rumpelstiltskin wants the hat but Ingrid won’t give it up. The deal: an urn for a hat. Once she finds the hat, all she needs to do is say his three times and Rumpelstiltskin will come to her once she has the hat in her possession.

Hook’s starting down a dark path: Hook rushes in and hugs Emma and tells her they’ll find another way to defeat the Snow Queen together. He’s relieved she’s fine and still has her powers and tells her to go outside to the worried people who will be glad to see her. He then goes into the room and picks up the gold box and hides it under his jacket.

Regina’s future is yet to be determined: At the library, Robin thumbs through the book. Regina wants to know what’s up and Robin tells her he’s been looking for clues. He actually found something…pages ripped from the book showing them kissing. It’s page 23 and yet there’s a page 23 intact in the book. Robin thinks that it means her future isn’t set and that it’s a sign there are other possibilities and other possible endings to her story. Her fate isn’t sealed.

This is about to get very, very scary: Ingrid’s entrapment ends and she waves her hand over the three yellow ribbons. She pulls up her sleeve and she’s now wearing one of them.

The deal closes In Arendelle in the past, Ingrid digs up the box and says Rumpelstiltskin twice before the Sorcerer’s Apprentice stops her before she says it a third time. The Sorcerer located a third magical sister who hasn’t been born yet, and Ingrid will need to be patient. If she delivers that hat to the Dark One, she’ll never have a happy ending. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice shows her a door that will lead her to her happy ending in a new land. He gives her a scroll and says when the time comes it will lead her to her third sister. Ingrid steps through the door and ends up in our world in 1982. She doesn’t seem confused, but it’s definitely a brave new world for her to explore.

Those yellow ribbons are bad news: Mary Margaret and David tell Emma not to change and they love her the way she is. She hugs Henry and tells them she can control her magic again. She’s even able to shoot off fireworks into the sky from her hands in celebration. Henry points out the yellow ribbon now circling her wrist and Elsa sees she has one too. Both women feel something inside is being harnessed and Emma has a pretty good idea of where it’s coming from.

A devastating turn of events: Rumple visits Ingrid and asks her if she had a hand in Emma deciding not to go through with the removal of her powers. She says she didn’t and that it was Elsa who saved her. Ingrid says all three have embraced their powers and they’re now all bonded. She’s able to harness the power of her sisters and says at this point she’s strong enough to even defeat Rumple. She warns Rumple not to underestimate her. She looks into the mirror, shatters it, and explodes it into the Shattered Sight spell.

The Bottom Line:

Well, that was sure one jam-packed episode, wasn’t it? There’s no better way to leave the audience on the edge of their seats than to put Hook in jeopardy, and “Smash the Mirror” definitely finds our favorite sexy pirate in peril. On the lighter side, how great was it to see Regina and Robin get back together and to hear Robin tell Regina she isn’t an evil person anymore? Emma also learned to accept herself, magic and all, with only Hook getting the short end of this stick in this episode.

“Smash the Mirror” was well-paced and didn’t include any ‘filler’ scenes. One of the season’s best, “Smash the Mirror” took the story in an unexpected direction that could shift the focus off of Arendelle and Anna for a while and onto Hook and Rumple. And as anyone who’s been reading my recaps knows, I’m all for any storyline that serves up more of Hook.

GRADE: B+