Once Upon a Time: "A Tale of Two Sisters" Review User_image Amy Ratcliffe Storybrooke's on ice.

  September 28, 2014 Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Storybrooke can't stay normal for long. Maid Marian's back and Regina's ticked, Rumplestiltskin has found what looks like Yen Sid's hat from the Sorcerer's Apprentice, and oh yeah, Elsa has swept into Storybrooke and already created a giant snowman. In short, it's another day in the life of the characters on Once Upon a Time.
There's been a lot of buzz about the addition of the Frozen characters to the series, and their introduction met expectations. We saw their parents' death, spent time with them in Arendelle, and learned Elsa had a very good reason to be in the Enchanted Forest. Since Frozen is still on everyone's mind, the actors portraying Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff probably feel pressure to channel the tone and voice from the characters in the film which no one else on the series really has to do.
Elizabeth Lail nailed it as Anna; she delivered her lines in a similar way to Kristen Bell and channeled Anna's lovable quirks and awkwardness. Georgina Haig definitely possessed some of the same traits Elsa had in Frozen, but the Queen of Arendelle has matured and changed since she reined in her powers. Scott Michael Foster was nothing short of adorable as Kristoff, and I particularly liked the scene between him and Elsa where they discussed Anna. It's clear that her and Kristoff aren't the best of friends, but they respect each other and their love for Anna keeps them getting along.
The sisters were incredibly sweet together, and if you liked the film, seeing them in live action likely melted your heart. Lail and Haig have good chemistry, and I'm intrigued by the idea of Anna going off to investigate what their parents were doing on their fateful voyage

 Introducing Elsa and Anna means some CGI and that's not usually a good thing on this series. We briefly saw Pabbie the troll, and while that scene felt unnecessary, the troll looked more than decent. Elsa's ice powers translated well, the Marshmallow-esque snow monster was okay for a television budget, and as usual, the most jarring effect was the digital backgrounds - this time they were used in Arendelle.
Beyond Frozen, two big questions were left at the end of last season and happily, both of them were addressed in the premiere. Rumplestiltskin had a touching moment at his son's grave (Robert Carlyle continues to be delightful as the character), and he handed over the real dagger to Belle. It would have been better for him to be honest about the deception, but it's a start and not something I expected.
The appearance of the Sorcerer's hat was interesting and brings in several story possibilities. Rumple could try to use it to bring back Bae, they could be setting up Yen Sid and the Sorcerer's Apprentice for the back half of the season, or maybe Yen Sid is the author of the fairy tale book Regina wants to change. Whatever the outcome, it's smart to have a plot besides Elsa's quest to find for her sister in the works.