Ingrid the Snow Queen

"All I wanted was to have my sisters' love. Now I have it. Now I get to join them."

- Ingrid's last words to Emma, Elsa and Anna before her death

Ingrid the Snow Queen (also known as Sarah Fisher) is the main antagonist turned anti-hero in the first half of the fourth season of ABC's series Once Upon a Time and the maternal aunt of Elsa and Anna. She debuts in the second episode of the fourth season.

The Snow Queen is based on the main title character of the same name from the fairy tale "".

Personality
Ingrid was a conflicted woman, filled with bitterness and paranoia, but with the ardent desire for a loving family.

As a child, Ingrid had loved both her sisters, Helga and Gerda dearly and the three were very close, however, after her powers emerged she became fearful, this was strongly instigated by the stigma her powers caused and her being labelled a monster.

As an adult, Ingrid was fearful and tried to avoid going out in public because of her lack of control over her own powers, much like her niece, Elsa. She even considered leaving the kingdom and passing the crown to her sister Helga feeling that her powers didn't make her a ruler. However, she would fall back on her powers, as when the Duke incessantly insulted her by calling her a monster and a freak.

Losing her sister, Helga, and being trapped by her other sister Gerda left Ingrid scarred emotionally and bitter and hateful towards "ordinary people". She believed that not even friends and family could understand her because of her magic and they'd eventually turn against her. She also felt a strong dislike for Gerda, as a result of her actions, something that she projected onto her youngest niece, Anna. As a result, Ingrid was very suspicious of Anna from their first meeting and did not want her as part of her new family since she was "the odd one out" not having any magic like herself and Elsa. She even lied to Elsa in an attempt to drive Anna and Elsa apart.

However, in spite of her bitterness, the one thing she desired most was a loving family. She grew fond of Emma, adopting her as a child and was greatly hurt when she ran off. Upon meeting her niece, Elsa, she was happy to have a family member that could understand her. However, she was less accepting of Anna as she was not only devoid of powers, but greatly resembled Gerda. This distrust only became worse when Anna went to ask the Rock Trolls about her and finding an hat capable of absorbing magic in her niece's bag. Ingrid's dislike for Anna was made obvious when she encouraged Elsa to freeze her while she was under a spell, and came close to killing her twice.

Even though Anna was under a spell cast by herself when she put Elsa in the urn, Ingrid held Anna in contempt for that. Firmly believing that she was just like her mother and contributed this to her belief that no one could accept people like her. Embracing herself for the monstrosity she believed herself to be - she froze all of Arendelle for 30 years while telling Elsa that she would one day embrace herself too. Her hatred was shown to full extent when she froze an innocent "Marian" and tried to kill Hook in order to teach Elsa that people see them as monsters and was even willing to unleash a curse that would kill everyone in Storybrooke save herself, Emma and Elsa just to have her "perfect family". Ingrid was manipulative and was somewhat mentally unstable. When angered (either called a monster or when one tries to harm Elsa or Emma), she would lose her quiet demeanor and go into rage that could reach murderous.

However, after Anna reads a letter from her mother saying that she truly loved Ingrid and was sorry for trapping her away, begging her daughters to restore everyone's memories of their aunts and free her, Ingrid forgives her sister and realizes her sisters always loved her. She also realizes that her actions, not her powers, made her a monster and sacrificed herself to undo the curse and repent her actions. While dying, she said "you three are so special", revealing that she finally accepts Anna as part of her family.

Powers and abilities

 * Ice Magic: Ingrid's magic manifested at a young age, when her sisters Helga and Gerda were in danger of being kidnapped by a scoundrel who was intending to sell her for money. Ingrid's magic was identical to her niece Elsa's powers, having complete and total control over cold temperatures and the elements of ice and snow (also known as cryogenesis/cryokinesis and frigogenesis/frigokinesis); however, they were at a much higher level, due to her being more skilled, experienced and powerful in her ice and snow magic. She was one of the most, if not the most powerful sorceress in the Once Upon a Time universe, even the current Dark One, Rumplestiltskin avoided getting into a direct confrontation with Ingrid (however, it should be noted that at the time he did not possesses the combined powers of every Dark One who ever lived).
 * Cryogenesis/Frigogenesis: Ingrid can create the elements of ice and snow. Even creating living ice golems.
 * Cryokinesis/Frigokinesis: Ingrid can manipulate the elements of ice and snow.
 * Teleportation: Ingrid can move from one place to another at will, disappearing into what looks like a white winter storm formation, however, she can also appear without creating the snowstorm effect.
 * Telekinesis: Ingrid was capable of manipulating objects or people without physically touching them. She mainly used this power to harm others and when she used this power, the individual did it with a hand movement that mimics the action she wants to perform, she even managed to strangle both Emma Swan and Regina Mills, despite the fact that the latter two are the Savior and the Evil Queen.
 * Conjuration: Ingrid is able to summon objects or beings through magic, often materializing it in the form of snow. She once used this power to conjure some shackles on Anna's hands, or when she conjured her Trolden Glass mirror from nothing.

Weaknesses

 * Laws of Magic: Like any witch or sorceress, Ingrid was subject to the laws of magic, as a result she is unable to raise the dead, create love and time travel.
 * Leaving a Magical Realm: Like other magical beings, if Ingrid enters into a land without magic, she will lose all of her powers.
 * Leaving Storybrooke: If Ingrid leaves Storybrooke, she will lose all of her powers.
 * Anti-magic Enchanted objects: Like all magical beings her powers can be blocked by objects designed to conceal magic, this has noticeably been seen with the magic concealing gloves given to her by Rumplestiltskin or how she was trapped in a magic urn designed for the same purpose. It can also be assumed that a magic blocking cuff or enchanted cell would also have the same effect.
 * Squid Ink: Though it has never been seen on-screen, it can be assumed that, like all magic users, squid ink can immobilize her.

Before the First Curse
Ingrid is the first child born to Queen Sonja and King Harald of Arendelle, and she has two younger sisters, Helga and Gerda. As children, the three have a close bond. One afternoon, they spot a punctured kite, and Gerda and Helga take a fancy to the kite's ribbons. The kite's owner arrives, but the man proves to be a scoundrel as he grabs Gerda, intending to sell her for money. With Helga also restrained in his grip, Ingrid rushes to stop him, but he kicks her away. As she falls backwards, a stream of ice comes out of her hands, which breaks a large tree branch and knocks him unconscious. Ingrid fears hurting her sisters with her new-found powers, but Gerda and Helga are thankful for what she did. Her sisters promise to help conceal her powers, and each take a ribbon to solidify their sisterhood and to always be there for each other.

Years later, on the night of their father's 70th birthday celebration, Ingrid opts out, despite her sisters' insistence. At the party, she secretly and sadly watches as her sisters dance with their suitors. However, when snowflakes manifest around herself, Ingrid realizes her powers' presence. Packing her things, Ingrid later explains to her sisters that, if she leaves, they can have normal lives. She also passes the throne to Helga, who has leadership qualities befitting a queen. To rid Ingrid's distress over her powers, they go to a Mist Haven and seek out Rumplestiltskin. In exchange for their ribbons, he gives Ingrid a pair of gloves to cancel out her powers as well as a urn to entrap her if she becomes too dangerous. In the royal garden, Ingrid is approached by Helga's suitor, the Duke of Weselton, who makes romantic advances on her. Horrified when he doesn't back off, she blasts him away. When Helga arrives, the Duke tries to claim Ingrid harmed him after he rejected her feelings. Instead, Helga spurns him due to knowing his true nature, to which he threatens to reveal Ingrid's magic to all of Arendelle so everyone will know their future queen is a monster. Angered, Ingrid fires ice magic at him, but the Duke uses Helga as a shield and she takes the hit; turning into an ice statue and crumbling to pieces, much to Ingrid's grief. Ingrid cries over her sister's broken body when Gerda discovers them. Despite the fact that Ingrid did not mean to kill Helga, Gerda cannot cope with what she had done and fearfully entraps her sobbing sister in the urn. Soon after, Grand Pabbie, on Gerda's request, erases everyone's memories of Ingrid and Helga.

As a result of this betrayal, Ingrid comes to believe that no non-magical person could ever understand or love her, becoming distrustful and bitter towards the rest of the world.

Many years later, Gerda's eldest daughter, Elsa, inherits ice powers similar to Ingrid's. When Elsa herself rules as Queen, she learns Prince Hans of the Southern Isles intends to trap her in an urn so he can seize Arendelle. After finding the urn in a cave within the North Valley, Elsa is forced to hand it over to Hans when her sister's fiancé, Kristoff is almost killed by the prince. In a smug tone, Hans remarks that a monster shouldn't rule Arendelle, and he proceeds to uncap the relic. A white liquid pours out, but while all three believe the substance will trap Elsa, Ingrid arises from it instead. Having taken insult to Hans' previous comment about being a monster, she turns him into an ice statue while the prince's brothers flee. The remaining trio then return home. Arriving at Arendelle's castle, she and Elsa walk in while chatting animatedly about their ice magic. Noticing a painting of Elsa's parents, Ingrid reveals herself as her mother's sister. Ingrid longingly asks to see her sister, but Elsa regrettably states that her parents died in a sea voyage. Elsa expresses worry for her sister, Anna, who has gone missing, though Ingrid promises to help find her.

Ingrid begins teaching Elsa to hone control on the link between her emotions and powers. When Anna returns home, Ingrid meets her for the first time; remarking that she resembles Gerda. While Elsa accepts Ingrid as their aunt, Anna remains skeptical. Later, Ingrid overhears Anna voicing these doubts to Kristoff and her plans to ask the rock troll, Grand Pabbie, for answers. During this conversation, Ingrid learns Anna discovered that her parents went to Mist Haven intending to get rid of Elsa's magic with something, but she hasn't told her sister yet. After learning about Helga, her other aunt, from Grand Pabbie, Anna realizes Ingrid might be up to something. She and her companion, Belle, make their way down the mountain only to be stopped by Ingrid's storm. A fierce wind knocks Anna to the cliff ledge, where she desperately clings to keep from falling, as Belle tries to pull her up. Anna plunges to the ground and falls unconscious. Ingrid approaches her and collects the Sorcerer's Hat from her niece's satchel. Belle yells at Ingrid to leave Anna alone, but the Snow Queen remarks that she'll have to excuse them since "this is family business". She then materializes away, taking Anna with her, as a helpless Belle watches. Imprisoning Anna in a castle cell, she accuses her of intending to use the Sorcerer's Hat on Elsa. Anna rejects the notion; arguing that she wasn't going to use it on anyone until Ingrid attacked her. Ingrid explains she wants a family and thought her nieces could be that for her, but now that Anna has proven to be the "odd woman out" with nothing in common with herself and Elsa, she vows to find someone else to replace her.

Burying the hat in a cave in Arendelle, Ingrid then goes to the Enchanted Forest where she asks the Sorcerer's Apprentice to find a third sister to complete her perfect family. The Apprentice believes finding such a person is rare, but she insists on waiting as long as necessary. Returning to Arendelle, Ingrid tells Elsa what Anna learned in Mist Haven. She claims that Anna, intending to use the item on Elsa, attempted it on her first. As Elsa is in doubt, Ingrid reveals Gerda trapped her in the urn and that Anna, like her mother, will never understand family members with magic. Instead of turning them against each other, the girls conspire to entrap their crafty aunt back in the urn, but Ingrid, one step ahead, shackles Anna first. Under duress, Anna tells the Norse legend of The Trolden Glass, in which a king made a mirror for his daughter to see her own beauty, however, she died before receiving it. Thus, the mirror reflected the king's misery. Since Anna cannot remember anything else in the tale, Ingrid explains the grief-stricken king learned dark magic to make the kingdom share his pain, which caused the subjects to see the bad in others and turn on each other. Like the story, Ingrid wants to cast the spell, but she needs much power and many mirror pieces. With a shard, she places Anna under the spell. Elsa is bewildered at her sister's anger while Ingrid admits she did it to show Anna's inner darkness. She pushes Elsa into freezing Anna, but the latter refuses. Anna seals her sister in the urn, which horrifies Ingrid. She threatens to choke Anna, but intervene from Kristoff causes her wrath to worsen. Embracing herself as a monster, she freezes them and all of Arendelle and erases Elsa's memories of her. Rumplestiltskin shows up asking for the hat, but she claims to not know where it is. As a result, he takes the urn and promises to return it if she hands over the hat. When the Apprentice locates the third sister, Ingrid gives him the hat instead and gains passage to another realm as well as a scroll to find the third sister and reunite with Elsa in due time.

From the Sorcerer's Apprentice's portal door, Ingrid arrives to the Land Without Magic, in Boston during the year 1982.

While walking on the streets of this new world, Ingrid visits a "psychic", Madame Faustina, to find out information about the third sister, who will arrive in a town called Storybrooke in twenty-eight years. She then pays for the seer's service by giving up her necklace. Through crystal gazing, Madame Faustina proves herself to be a fraud after proclaiming the girl's name will be Susan, though Ingrid knows from the Apprentice's scroll that her name is to be Emma Swan. Storming out of the shop, Ingrid angrily berates the woman's trickery and tries punishing her with magic, but finds her own powers do not work in this land. She shrugs it off, vowing to get what she deserves.

During the First Curse
During 1999, Ingrid is now working in the childcare system for boys and girls and runs a group home in Richfield, Minnesota. Thirteen to fourteen years after Emma is born, she is placed under Ingrid's care. One day, she spots one of the boys, Kevin, toying with Emma's camera. Ingrid asks him to give it back because property is respected in the house. She approaches to turn it off and returns the device to Emma. Ingrid reassures Emma that she'll fit in. After Ingrid walks off to announce bedtime, Kevin threatens Emma into turning over her camera to him by tomorrow or he'll make her life miserable. That night, Ingrid catches Emma running away. She doesn't stop her, but casually lets it slip that Kevin happens to be afraid of spiders; including the rubber ones hidden in her own drawer. Realizing Ingrid is helping her, the girl agrees to stay. Soon, Ingrid secretly makes plans to adopt her. Spending time together, they have fun at the amusement park where Emma plays the claw machine and accidentally causes sparks of magic. Emma wins a dog plushie and a ring, to which Ingrid beams with excessive and genuine praise while shedding tears of happiness. Seeing papers in Ingrid's bag, Emma assumes she is being transferred to another home. However, Ingrid admits she is adopting her, which Emma happily accepts. As they wait for the bus, Emma suggests it'd be great to have magic to instantly return home. Ingrid, knowing the girl's potential, pulls her in front of an incoming car and pushes her to use magic. But this only severs her bond with Emma who, freaked out at Ingrid's insistence that she has hidden powers, runs away.

In the year 2001, Ingrid packs her belongings and travels to Maine. Upon opening the scroll, she magically materializes in Storybrooke. Going by the name Sarah Fisher, Ingrid establishes an ice cream business, Any Given Sundae (in a deleted scene, captures and erases the true owner Dopey's memories to avoid suspicion from Regina), and patiently awaits Emma, who walks into the shop ten years later in November to buy frozen treats for her son, Henry. Ingrid desperately reiterates what she tried to tell Emma years ago. Without either noticing, Sidney, who is spying on Emma for Regina, takes a picture of them from outside the store. Emma believes her former foster mother is crazy and prepares to call Sheriff Graham, until Ingrid absorbs her memories into a stone. Ingrid then pretends as if Emma, with no recollection of their prior exchange, was on the verge of fainting and helps to steady her. After giving Emma some pints of cherry vanilla, she offers her a spoonful of rocky road. Emma finds the ice cream delicious as Ingrid says she made it with a lot of patience and love. After Emma leaves, Ingrid sadly watches her go.

After the Second Curse
After returning to Storybrooke, Ingrid resumes her job at Any Given Sundae. During a power outage, she uses her freezing powers to keep her frozen goods from expiring. Meanwhile, Elsa returns from captivity and creates an ice barrier at the town line in order to keep everyone from leaving until she finds Anna. Having gained an ally in Emma, Elsa returns to the town line with her and agrees to remove the barrier after the town blackout ends. However, to her surprise, it fails. Elsa, believing she herself is the only one capable of harnessing ice powers, cannot understand why the barrier remains. Later, at Any Given Sundae, Ingrid scoops an ice cream cone for Leroy. He asks her if the power outage was a problem for her business. Smiling mysteriously, she says it wasn't. After he is gone, she uses magic to refreeze a melted carton of ice cream. As she leans against the freezer, it becomes frozen as well, revealing she's keeping the barrier up with her influence.

One day, Ingrid serves Robin Hood and his son, Roland, some rocky road ice cream. Not familiar with Robin Hood's wife, she is introduced to the woman, Marian, and offers to give her a cone of ice cream as a town welcome. As she is preparing the frozen treat, Ingrid casts a freezing spell on it and then hands it to an unsuspecting Marian. Soon after, Marian falls unconscious due to the freezing spell, which the townspeople suspect is Elsa's doing. While fixing a menu chalkboard outside of the ice cream shop, Ingrid overhears Archie state they cannot blame Elsa without proof, but Leroy loudly proclaims that Elsa, being the only one with ice powers, is enough evidence. Satisfied with the way things are going, she secretly smiles. Later, for unknown reasons, Ingrid wonders the woods where she apprehends Hook, who spying on her with Elsa, by freezing his feet, but leaves Elsa untouched. Ingrid confirms that Elsa once knew her and no longer does because the rock trolls erased her memories. She also claims Anna put Elsa in the urn, but the latter fiercely denies. Elsa angrily confronts her for making the townspeople believe she caused Marian's affliction, but Ingrid coolly suggests she was trying to show her that everyone, even friends and family, will fear powers like theirs once reason arises. To prove her point, she creates hovering icicles over Hook and neutralizes Elsa's magic so she will look responsible for it. As she begins lowering the spikes on the pirate, David and Emma arrive. In genuine surprise, she calls Emma by name; seemingly recognizing her. However, Ingrid quickly shrugs this off, stating that Emma's reputation precedes her, and challenges the blonde to a magic match. Emma blasts her away, though Ingrid manages to collapse the icicles. As Emma uses magic to push both David and Hook to safety, her opponent mysteriously disappears. After the battle, Ingrid wanders the forest and bumps into Mr. Gold. He questions if Emma remembered her, to which she confirms it didn't happen. When he asks if she requires his help, Ingrid makes it clear when she will be ready for a deal. Once he leaves her, she stares off into the distance.

Far off, she watches Emma throughout the day. When Emma suspiciously notices a puddle at her car and, later on, an ice trail that her vehicle skids onto, she discovers the Snow Queen nearby. Toying with Emma, Ingrid walks away, as the latter follows, though she manages to lose her pursuer.

Creating a replica of Anna out of ice, Ingrid uses her as a false illusion to lure Elsa out into the woods. After Elsa rushes to her sister as intended, she turns the fake into ice and withers it into mist before binding her niece with chains. As Ingrid tells her, the more fearful she becomes, the tighter the cuffs will become. Before she departs, Elsa questions her on what she intends to do. With a demented smile, Ingrid states she is going to build a snowman. Mounding a vicious snow orc into life, she sends her creation to attack an approaching Emma and Regina, who soon figure out that Sidney has been working for her. With combined powers, the two magic wielders defeat the orc. Ingrid then surprises them, taking away Regina's pocket mirror where Sidney is entrapped, and begins choking the women. An escaped Elsa blasts Ingrid away and then confronts her; commanding that, should she want a fight, to do so with her. In a tone of amazement, Ingrid congratulates Elsa for overcoming her fears. Before the trio can finish her off, she materializes away. Later, in her lair, Ingrid frees Sidney from the mirror as promised. Though Sidney assumes he is now her underling, she allows him to go. Ingrid explains the mirror is more important than him as it contains an essence of his soul and is also infused with Regina's dark magic, which will give her what she desires most. He inquires what it is, but she remains secretive. After he leaves, she walks over to a wall mirror with broken fitted pieces and one empty slot. Shattering Sidney's old mirror, Ingrid takes a piece and levitates it into the remaining hole. The mirror's reflection then dissolves its cracks as she looks in; stating it'll give her her deepest wish—a family that loves her.

Planting her ice cream truck in the woods near the Merry Men's campsite, Ingrid puts a file, containing drawings that a young Emma once made, inside the vehicle. Of all the items within the folder, Ingrid also left a scroll written in ancient text foretelling of a prophecy that the savior, Emma, will become her sister. As Emma and her companions approach the truck, Ingrid walks off. When called out by Mr. Gold, she confronts him over wanting to know her secrets. Mr. Gold offers to strike a deal, but Ingrid quickly recognizes he wants something in her possession—the Sorcerer's Hat. Though Ingrid does not actually have it, she pretends otherwise and warns him to stay out of her way. Later, Gold's wife, Belle, storms the Snow Queen's lair while she's away looking for the Sorcerer's Hat to right her mistake years ago. With her mirror toys with Belle's insecurities until she falls into a trance and injuries Mr. Gold. Angered, Mr. Gold warns the Snow Queen that he won't let her use the mirror for the Spell of Shattered Sight and hurt his loved ones. Ingrid refuses to exempt anyone for his sake, but he reveals the Sorcerer's Hat in his possession, threatening to absorb her into it, if not.

Ingrid plants a false mirror within the top level of the clock tower and allows herself to be apprehended by Emma and her allies. Taken to the sheriff station, she is interrogated by Elsa about Anna. Coolly, Ingrid continues to insinuate Anna is not worth it since she put Elsa in the urn. A furious Elsa then leaves to cool off while Emma resumes questioning. When asked about the erasure of Emma's memories of her, she implies that all families are not perfect. Emma affirms they're not family, but Ingrid insists she and Elsa have similar powers as her and thus belong together. Ingrid insists Emma's biological family may love her, but they also fear her powers. Later, Ingrid freezes the station door entrance to prevent Emma's allies from coming in after they realize the mirror is fake. Having cracked some of the latter's confidence, Ingrid recalls Emma, as a young girl, was angry her parents for giving her up and despite that they had no choice due to the curse, they are still selfishly using their only daughter and her magic to constantly save them. She argues that they'll start to fear Emma if her powers become dangerous, and how her parents must be very thankful their second-born was without magic. As Emma, out of anger, unknowingly uses magic to heat up a glass of water, Ingrid proclaims her parents can't love her if they don't understand her, so they will soon see her as a monster. Having enough, Emma's emotions reach a boiling point and shouts in Ingrid's face to shut up as she explodes a wall. Pleased, a smug Ingrid unbinds herself and escapes. From nearby, she watches Emma lose control and accidentally injure David; causing brief resentment from Mary Margaret. Feeling ostracized, Emma flees. Afterwards, Ingrid asks for the three ribbons in exchange for telling Mr. Gold the last thing he needs to be free of the dagger's influence since she once owned the weapon herself. She whispers the secret into his ear, receives the ribbons and leaves to enact her plan of taking over Storybrooke.

Shortly after Emma unintentionally injuries Henry and fearfully forces him to leave, Ingrid appears and advises her that the only solution is to embrace her own magic. Driving off, Emma rejects the idea as she doesn't want to hurt her loved ones. At her lair, Mr. Gold implies he has his own plans for Emma that will override hers. Out of anger that he's trying to take another "sister", Ingrid tries attacking him only to realize he has trapped her in a circle of the urn's powder dust. Though the effect is temporary, it buys him enough time to keep Ingrid from interfering. Scouring for Emma through the mirror, Ingrid finds her driving on the road. Using projection, she manifests on the road to force Emma to swerve the car. Ingrid warns that Mr. Gold is using her, but Emma doesn't trust her word and leaves after realizing she's not there. Intending to be rid of her own magic, Emma almost falls for Mr. Gold's trap of absorbing her into the Sorcerer's Hat, however, Elsa persuades her into accepting the good and bad that comes with magic. Due to this, the true power of the ribbons is unlocked because both Elsa and Emma accept their magic. Later, the two ribbons appear on their wrists, and begin harnessing their magic into Ingrid's ribbon. In another confrontation in her lair, Ingrid taunts Mr. Gold over his failure to gain Emma's power while warning of possible repayment for that and trapping her. After revealing Elsa had saved Emma, she explains the ribbons' functions and threatens its power will be enough to kill even him, but he cautions her not to overestimate her own strength. As he leaves, Ingrid more fiercely counters that he should underestimate her magic, and she then shatters the mirror using the ribbon's power. With that, the Spell of Shattered Sight is cast.

As the spell slowly spreads throughout Storybrooke, Ingrid studies the sky from within the woods. Though she wants the spell to wipe out everyone except herself, Elsa and Emma, Mr. Gold points out he himself is immortal. He agrees to leave her be if Ingrid allows him, Belle and Henry to leave Storybrooke forever, which she coldly consents to. When her curse begins affecting the townspeople, Ingrid prowls the streets before heading into Any Given Sundae. Hidden in the carrot sherbet ice cream scoop bucket, she takes two purple stones, which contain Elsa and Emma's memories with her. Outside, she is stopped by the two blondes, who fail at attacking with magic. As Ingrid explains, her sisterly love is channeled into the ribbons; preventing them from hurting her. Elsa and Emma later counter Ingrid's love with Regina's hatred in order to get rid of the ribbons. Regina, provoked by Emma, burns the ribbons off. At the Snow Lair, Emma continues to deny that she and Elsa will ever love her. Thus, a confident Ingrid shows them the stones containing lost memories from both. She believes by returning the memories and letting them remember the good moments each of them had with her, they will love her. Ingrid knows Elsa and Emma must kill her to end the curse, but she is sure they cannot do it. Holding out the stones, she urges them to become her sisters.

Suddenly, Anna rushes in with a scroll written by her and Elsa's late mother Gerda, and she reads it out loud. Gerda was remorseful about stealing people's memories of her elder sisters and asked Anna and Elsa to use a crystal to restore the kingdom's memories of Ingrid and Helga. Additionally, Gerda wants Ingrid released from the urn, realizing she truly loved her sister and should have appreciated her for who she was instead of letting her hide. In denial, Ingrid throws Elsa and Emma backwards and telekinetically chokes a sympathetic Anna, who talks her out of it by reasoning they're still family regardless of magic. After releasing Anna, she touches the scroll crystal and receives Gerda's happy memories with her and Helga. Ingrid is brought to bittersweet happiness at this revelation. Remorseful for her actions, she destroys herself to ensure the curse is lifted. As her body dissolves into mirror shards, she returns Elsa and Emma's lost memories. Before disappearing completely, Ingrid reveals a prophecy once told her Emma would lead her to her sisters, and now knowing that Helga and Gerda had always loved her, she can happily join them in death. With her demise, the spell of Shattered Sight comes to an end as the Snow Queen is reunited with her younger sisters in the great beyond.

Gerda
In youth, Ingrid and Gerda loved each other very much and they made a promise to help Ingrid conceal her powers. Growing up Gerda and Helga enjoyed their lives while trying, with no avail, to convince Ingrid to come out. However, after the incident where Helga died by Ingrid's magic, despite the fact that Ingrid did not mean to, Gerda became fearful of what Ingrid could do. Letting this fear cloud her judgement, she called her a monster and entrapped her in the magic urn. Filled with sadness, Gerda then went to the Rock Trolls to have all memory of Ingrid and Helga erased, believing the kingdom needed to forget them to get through this tragedy. This act of betrayal would then create a hatred for non-magical people inside Ingrid, driving her to want to recreate a magical family of sisters. It also drove to cast the Spell of Shattered Sight. Into her later years, Gerda felt very guilty for not being there for Ingrid when she needed her most and should have accepted her for who she was. Her last wish to her daughters was to restore the memories of her sisters and to free Ingrid, saying she loved her and would give anything to take back what she did to hold hands again like her oldest sister wanted. When Ingrid first heard this, she was unable to accept it, but upon seeing it was the truth, a touched Ingrid was quick to forgive and was happy to die if it meant joining her loving sisters in death.

Helga
Ingrid was very close to Helga growing up as she was with Gerda and made a promise to help Ingrid conceal her powers. Growing up Gerda and Helga enjoyed their lives while trying, with no avail, to convince Ingrid to come out. Unlike Gerda who was always somewhat apprehensive of Ingrid's magic, Helga loved and accepted Ingrid for who she was and stood up for her when the Duke of Weselton found out about her magic (presumably showing little to no fear). Ingrid was devastated for causing her loyal sister's death, which wasn't helped by Gerda's fearful betrayal. She didn't show much negativity to Helga as she did Gerda, but in her self-reserved memory she doubted Helga accepted her. She also may have wanted magical sisters so they wouldn't perish easily from her magic. But whatever feelings were dissolved after reading their younger sister's will. Remembering their love, Ingrid destroys herself to be with her true sisters.

Elsa
Upon being released by the urn and meeting her oldest niece, Ingrid and Elsa initially became friendly with each other. Ingrid was happy to have a new magical member of her family and Elsa was glad to have somebody with the same powers as her. Although when Elsa realized that Ingrid was trying to get rid of Anna, she sided with her sister and attempted to retrap Ingrid in the urn. Though Ingrid was insistent to make Elsa come to her side and tried to convince her to turn against Anna when she was under the spell of shattered sight, which only ended in Elsa being entrapped in the urn herself to Ingrid's anger. Ingrid then erased her memories to get a fresh start. When they met again, Ingrid was still determined to make Elsa believe that people feared them and framed her for crimes she committed, though in her mind she was teaching Elsa a valuable lesson. She also tried to convince the amnesic Elsa that Anna trapped her in the urn under fear rather than the influence of a spell. Elsa was hesitant to harm Ingrid when she knew it was the only way to stop the curse, especially when Ingrid tried convincing her and Emma to join her. In the end when Ingrid realized her wrongs and sacrificed herself, Elsa begged her not to kill herself and Ingrid restored hers and Emma's memories, telling her, Emma and Anna that they are special and to never forget that.

Anna
Anna and Ingrid's relationship was rocky until the end. Ingrid deemed Anna the odd one out for not having any magic and Anna did not believe she was really her aunt because there was no mention of her in the records. Even when Anna found out Ingrid was her aunt she was mistrusting of her because Ingrid was hiding the fact that she and her mother had another sister and knew she was up to something bad. Ingrid responded by attacking her and putting her in a dungeon. Because Anna had no magic Ingrid believed that she was just like her mother and she would eventually disown Elsa like Gerda did to her and wanted to get rid of her. She fist attempted to get rid of Anna by telling Elsa she tried to take away her magic, and another time by placing a spell on her to turn her against Elsa so Elsa would have to use her magic on her. When this didn't work and Elsa was trapped in the urn, Anna was horrified by what her aunt made her do and Ingrid was furious at Anna for what she did, attempting to choke her. Ingrid loathed Anna so much and came close to killing her twice. However, after Anna revealed to Ingrid that her mother regretted her actions with them and Elsa and asked her daughters to free Ingrid, Anna became more sympathetic to her aunt, understanding her actions were because of a painful past. Even after everything, she told her that while they're nothing alike, she could still love her as family does not give up on each other. These two things caused Ingrid's perception of Anna to change completely and lead to her redemption. She expressed gratefulness that her nieces, who were saddened to see her die, had each other and said that she was special along with Emma and Elsa. With that, Ingrid and Anna now had a loving respect, finally seeing each other as family. Finding a lovely portrait of her mother and aunts, Anna displays in deference to them.

Emma
When Ingrid was Emma's foster mother, the two became very close and soon she adopted Emma. Their relationship was a loving one, however, when Ingrid jumped to conclusions and placed Emma in front of an oncoming car to get her to release her powers and Ingrid talked about magic, a hurt Emma believed Ingrid to be insane and ran away. They did not meet again until Emma came to Storybrooke where Emma angrily accused her of following her and attempted to call the sheriff on Ingrid forcing Ingrid to remove Emma's memories. When Emma met Ingrid again, Emma, having no recollection of their previous meetings only saw Ingrid as an enemy. Even after discovering that they shared history together where they were close, Emma still saw her as only an enemy and concluded that Ingrid must have done something terrible to her to make her forget. Ingrid, however, still loved Emma (angered when Gold tried to use her desperation to his advantage) and tried to make Emma join her, though her means of doing so (making her powers go out of control and hurting her family) only made Emma despise her more. Emma once confined to Elsa that she wanted to punch Ingrid in the face. When Ingrid needed to die to remove the curse, Emma was willing to kill Ingrid, but Ingrid still urged her and Elsa to be her sisters. However, she possibly gained sympathy for the Snow Queen after hearing her sister's apologies. When Ingrid repents for her actions, expresses gratefulness that Emma found her family, and returned Emma's memories of the times they had together, Emma cared about Ingrid again, trying to convince her to find another way, believing she deserves her happy ending too. But Ingrid assures that her happy ending was joining her sisters in death.

Trivia

 * Ingrid is Disney's true adaptation of the Snow Queen character. Elsa is an entirely separate character.
 * Her ice magic abilities are far much stronger and more effective than her elder niece's, far more experienced and powerful; capable of using them more freely without negative feelings of fright, hopelessness, or anxiety hampering her (helping Elsa hone better control). She also holds nothing back when using them.
 * She seems to be one of the most, if not the most powerful being in the entire show, taking on challengers such as Regina and Emma easily, also she is the only villain to have not died by another's hands.
 * According to herself, she has hundreds of magic mirrors. Some of them can be seen decorating the walls in her ice cream shop.
 * The name "Ingrid" is from the name "Ingríðr", which means "Ing is beautiful". Ing is the name of an obscure old Germanic fertility god, and could possibly mean "ancestor".
 * The origins of Ingrid's powers are unknown. Rumplestiltskin says it is a rare gift.
 * While she claims she was "born with magic" like Emma and Elsa, unlike Emma she has never been shown to have any power outside of Storybrooke while Emma, though at very small and unnoticeable levels, had magic still.
 * Her actress states she was conscious and aware while trapped inside the urn.
 * Her relationship with Anna is a complete opposite from Anna's relationship with Hans. Where Anna liked Hans in the beginning but hated him at the end for doing bad things. While Ingrid and Anna had a mutual dislike for each other but eventually came to accept each other as family before Ingrid's death.
 * Ingrid's relationship with her sisters parallels Anna and Elsa in different ways.
 * Ingrid and Helga's relationship is similar to their nieces: supportive, younger sisters who give a positive outlook and unwavering support for their conflicted siblings. Despite the lethal magic and their malevolent suitors, they never turned their backs on their older sisters. But they had different fates after accidentally being struck by their magic.
 * Ingrid and Gerda show what would happen if Anna and Elsa let their differences get in the way of their sisterhood: Anna would manifest the same regrets as their mother if she made the same choices while Elsa would mold herself into a monster like their aunt did if she kept believing she was such. Anna, like their mother, imprisoned their older sister in anger. But it was against her free will while Elsa stated that she loved her no matter what.
 * She has similarities to other Once Upon a Time villains.
 * To Anita.
 * Both were members of a rare race (Anita being a werewolf and Ingrid having ice magic) who just wanted to be around their own kind, wanted relatives of theirs to embrace their dark urges (Anita to her daughter, Red and Ingrid to her niece Elsa) and hated ordinary humans (noted by their interactions with Snow White and Anna, respectively).
 * They also mentored their relatives on how to better control their abilities.
 * Their deaths saddened their family who paid respect for their passing.
 * Although Ingrid learned the error of her ways in the end, Anita died a villain.
 * She is also similar to Zelena.
 * Both had very powerful magic, were feared and called horrible things by their relatives, fearing their powers; Ingrid's younger sister called her a monster and Zelena's adoptive father called her wicked. But Gerda truly loved Ingrid as her sister while the Woodcutter had an undisguised hatred towards Zelena, callously stating she wasn't his daughter.
 * They took these names personally; Ingrid believes everyone will see her as a monster and decides to embrace it while Zelena calls herself the Wicked Witch and her actions wicked.
 * They both hated their younger sisters at one point; Ingrid disliked Gerda for betraying her trust and placing her in the magic urn while Zelena despised her half-sister Regina out of jealousy for getting many things when their mother kept the latter.
 * But eventually they let this go with the help of another relative; Anna reads her mother's apology message to her aunt and Cora returned Zelena and Regina's memories from when they were friends.
 * To Rapunzel/Lady Tremaine/Victoria.
 * They valued certain family members (sisters and daughters, respectively).
 * One relative loved them despite circumstances, while the younger one shunned them.
 * Both hated the family member that shunned her, as well as another one.
 * Both opposed the heroes with a spell.
 * Both had powerful rivals/associates.
 * Both sacrificed themselves upon realizing the love of the family member that shunned them, which marked the end of their spell.
 * Also to Mother Gothel.
 * They both thought they could trust others like her, only to be betrayed (although Gerda, along with Helga, truly loved Ingrid). They then became hateful towards the world except people born like them.
 * They both sought out sisters composed of outcasts like them.
 * As an act of revenge, they planned to cleanse the land of the type of people who wronged them with a spell.
 * They tried to indoctrinate a family member while threatening Hook in their attempts; Ingrid tries to murder him to show her elder niece everyone will soon turn on her out of fear while Gothel uses his Wish Realm counterpart as leverage to make their daughter join her.
 * They left that relative although for different motives Gothel abandoned Alice to escape the tower when she was born (and left her completely alone after poisoning her father) while Ingrid only left Elsa for years after being told they'd reunite one day.
 * However, while Ingrid sacrificed herself to stop her curse, Gothel's spell was stopped when she was turned into a tree by her daughter. In spite of this difference, Alice sympathized with her mother like how Emma and Ingrid's nieces sympathized with her.