"White Out" is the second episode in the fourth season of Once Upon a Time and the sixty-eighth episode overall. It premiered on October 5, 2014. The backstory was that of Prince Charming.
Plot[]
Opening sequence[]
A giant ice wall in the back of the forest.
In the Enchanted Forest[]
Back in the Enchanted Forest prior to the first curse, Anna helps David − future Prince Charming − fight off a warlord called Bo Peep (Robin Weigert), who is threatening to take the land and their flock of sheep from his mother Ruth (Gabrielle Rose).
While training him through sword fighting, Anna encourages David to resist becoming Bo Peep's slave and a coward. David then explains to Anna childhood memories of his father's alcoholism and constant disappearing until he overdosed. The next day, David finds Anna missing; Bo Peep has branded her with her shepherd's crook. Bo Peep intimidates David after the deadline for his dues are up; then, using the fighting skills he learned from Anna, David defeats Bo and her guards. David grabs her crook and finds Anna in a barn. He then thanks Anna for helping him fight and encouraging him to live his own life.
Afterwards, Anna asks Ruth about the magic in the land. Ruth tells her of a dangerous wizard who might be able to help her in her quest for magic, and that she will write down the name for her. David then gives Anna his prized horse as a token of his appreciation. Riding away, Anna reads the name aloud, which is revealed to be Rumplestiltskin. After Anna says his name, it is revealed that Rumplestiltskin is watching her.
In Storybrooke[]
While trying to find her sister, Anna (Elizabeth Lail), Elsa (Georgina Haig) traps the exit from Storybrooke by a giant ice wall which cuts power to the town. Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison), David Nolan (Josh Dallas), and Killian "Hook" Jones (Colin O'Donoghue) go to investigate the wall, while the townspeople rely on Mary Margaret (Ginnifer Goodwin) to lead them, since Regina (Lana Parrilla) has isolated herself from everyone — which worries her son Henry Mills (Jared S. Gilmore). Emma meets Elsa and tries talking to her; but Elsa is soon startled by David and Hook, and she blocks them off by forming a thick ice wall between them, trapping her and Emma.
Elsa then gives Emma an ultimatum: either give her Anna or stay in the ice cave and risk having Storybrooke frozen over. Emma then realizes that Elsa is not in control of her powers; she begins to relate to her by telling her that she has magic as well. While trying to present her powers (after explaining her history), Emma begins to freeze. Elsa apologizes for trapping her; Emma then falls unconscious.
David and Hook ask Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle) for assistance in saving Emma; it is at Gold's shop that David finds out who Anna is. David and Hook then interrogate Bo Peep, now a butcher and owner of a meat shop called "The Chop Shop." As Bo Peep is about to use her cleaver to chop off David as revenge for defeating her back in their previous lives, Hook clutches on to her hand she was using the cleaver with. Hook finds her crook, and hopes to use it to find Anna. Hook then gets a message from the walkie-talkie that Emma is freezing to death. David then tells Elsa that they have a way of finding Anna. David tells Elsa that despite her being able to survive the cold, she has to live more than she already is: alone. Elsa then finds the strength to control her powers and breach the ice wall. Afterwards, David promises Elsa that they will find Anna, using Bo's crook. Through the crook, they can hear a heartbeat, indicating that although they do not know where Anna is, she is in fact alive.
Elsewhere, Grumpy (Lee Arenberg), Happy (Michael Coleman), and Granny (Beverley Elliott) constantly nag Mary to help restart the power, to which she finally tells them to leave her alone, as she is already struggling as a new mother. Despite her anger and stress, she continues to try and fix the power by herself. She manages to restart it by starting up a backup fuel supply line.
Later, Henry knocks on Regina's door, screaming that he will not give up on his mother. She answers the door and embraces her son.
Elsa tries to bring down the ice wall, but to no avail. It is then revealed that another woman (Elizabeth Mitchell) with similar powers is in Storybrooke, working at an ice-cream shop.
Trivia[]
- Anna is revealed to have inspired David to be the courageous man he is.
- The interior of the ice wall is reused in a different shade for the Ice Queen's lair.
- The title is a pun on the phrase Wipe Out.
- Elsa says the cold never bothered her, referencing her song "Let It Go".
Gallery[]
Production Images[]
Screenshots[]
External links[]
