Ingrid the Snow Queen

Ingrid, better known as the Snow Queen and also known as Sara Fisher, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the second episode of the fourth season. She is portrayed by guest star Elizabeth Mitchell.

The Snow Queen is based on the character of the same name from the fairytale, "The Snow Queen".

Before First Curse
Feared for her ice powers, Ingrid is imprisoned in an urn in the North Valley. Her only sibling, a sister, shows no sign of having magic, and marries a king of Arendelle, but this couple's eldest daughter, Elsa, inherits the same ice powers. 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 fiance, 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, 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, but Ingrid promises to help find her.

After Second Curse
As a local resident of Storybrooke, Ingrid, going by the name Sara Fisher, works at an ice cream shop called Any Given Sundae. During a power outage, she uses her freezing powers to keep her frozen goods from expiring. Meanwhile, the Ice Queen, Elsa, recently created an ice barrier at the town line in order to keep everyone from leaving until she finds her missing sister. 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.

During 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, Ingrid enters the woods where she apprehends Hook 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 is in disbelief. 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. To prove a 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, 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 as savior 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 that she will when ready. Once he leaves her be, she stares off into the distance.

From a distance, she watches Emma throughout the day. Emma suspiciously notices an ice trail that her car skids onto, and she discovers the Snow Queen nearby. Refusing to answer Emma's questions, 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 smug 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. 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 tight-lipped. 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.

Trivia

 * According to herself, she has hundreds of mirrors. Some of them can be seen decorating the walls in her ice cream shop.
 * The name "Ingrid" is from the Old Norse name "Ingríðr", which means "Ing is beautiful". Ing is the name of an obscure old Germanic fertility god, and could possibly mean "ancestor".