Once Upon a Time season 4 episode 6 Family Business took us back to Arendelle and revealed the secrets of Belle and the Frozen sisters’ family! Find out more in our full recap.
The ogre wars stole Belle’s only memory of her mother’s final moments, but they also led her on a journey to Arendelle that intertwines the two worlds even more.
Even as ogre’s storm the kingdom, Colette refuses to let her books go without a fight. But her and Belle’s eagerness to hold onto the bound volumes of other lands, led to their capture and her mother’s death. Maurice refuses to let Belle search for any answers, but her determination takes her to a land where rock trolls hold the power of restoring memory.
Anna returns to Elsa in Arendelle, but keeps the knowledge of their parents mission to herself. Their reunion is interrupted by a relative who, yet again, throws the Once Upon a Time family tree into the fire to be rewritten. Anna takes her skepticism of their relation to Ingrid to Kristoff. He is not ready to jump on her crazy idea train without first reminding her that she agreed to marry a man after only ten minutes and then met him the next day. Still he lets her head off to seek the wisdom of Grand Pabbie.
The Emma files: Not written in any book are the answers to Elsa’s past. Arendelle does not exist in the volumes on the shelves of the Storybrooke library, but some knowledge exists in an unlikely place within the building. Rumpelstiltskin insists he has no idea how the Snow Queen infiltrated their world and goes off in search of her himself.
Henry points out that the ice cream truck is the answer to Ingrid’s location. Regina and Robin attempt to make it past their issues, but with “Captain Eyeliner” and Emma around, talking is not exactly an option. Robin is curious why Regina is upset about him loving her over Marian, but it is the lack of options to bring back Marian that bothers her more. With nothing good enough, the only option left is for Robin to forget about Regina and fall in love with his wife again.
Rumpelstiltskin is not the only person in Storybrooke figuring out their leverage over those from Arendelle. Needing to fix a grave mistake she made in her past, Belle asks Rumpel for his help to find the Snow Queen. He rightfully refuses, but this forces Belle to betray her end of the trust bargain that, against her knowledge, Rumpel has already betrayed. Once at the Snow Queen’s cave, Belle tells Rumpel that she needs to find a magical hat that has the power to strip Ingrid of her powers. Needing to pretend to be under the control of the dagger, Rumpel is forced to let her go into the cave.
Back in the forest, Emma finds a large collection of paintings, essays, and cards written to Ingrid during the six months she spent in her foster care. Hook makes a point to tell her that stirring up wounds from the past typically hurt the worst in the present. In a card to Ingrid, Emma writes, “Thanks for being the family I never had.” There is a scroll that is written in a language unknown to anyone in the search party.
Grand Pabbie knows: Belle and Anna meet in Oaken’s Trading Post where they find their missions are leading them to the same destination. Once they arrive at Gran Pabbie’s residence, Belle’s memories are returned to her in the form of a stone that when steeped in tea shall restore all that was lost. The truths that Grand Pabbie has for Anna are much harder to bear.
He reveals that Anna’s mother Gerda was the youngest of three. The two older sisters, Helga and Ingrid vanished. Not wanting the kingdom to mourn, the rock trolls wiped the memory of the girls from the kingdom’s memory. Anna takes a tumble down the mountain side forcing Belle lose grip on stone and choose between saving Anna or saving her memories. When the stone shatters, it is also too late to grab Anna’s hand. The Snow Queen greets the unconscious girl at the bottom of the cliff and takes her and the hat into the mist.
The Snow Queen’s mirror from last week, casts its terrible reflection on Belle. She sees a version of herself that distorts her sight and freezes her heart to all the good that she has learned of the world. The mirror reminds her of the poor choices she made in Arendelle and taunts her about her marriage to Rumpelstiltskin. Belle begins to truly believe the mirror, as the dark magic intends them to, but deep down you know what kind of beast you are.
Back at the shop, Belle begins to misplace her trust in Rumpel and reveals that she knew of Anna all along. Belle’s guilt over Anna’s disappearance turned her mute until she was sure that she could make it right again. Following their affirmations of love, in an otherwise toxic relationship, Rumpel heads off to find Ingrid, this time with the leverage of the hat. Guards saw that the ogres and stood in the path so the guards could save you. Dare not speak his name, I know he can reveal the secrets, hero sacrifice everything to save the people they love, go to save land from ogres.
The remaining secrets: Anna awakens in a cell where Ingrid makes sure that not a single person will lose their magic to hat. Belle’s father fills her mind with tales of Colette’s bravery in the face of the ogres. That inspires an interesting reaction in Belle to go and seek the help of a man named Rumpelstiltskin who has the power to stop the army before anymore lives are taken.
Inside the Sheriff’s station, Elsa is able to present a book containing the lineage of her family. However, we are not entirely sure how such a record exists since the rock trolls removed all traces of their history. In the portraits, the other missing sister Helga looks just like Emma. Elsa is able to decode the scroll to reveal that the Savior named Emma will be her sister. This may explain why Ingrid is set on getting close to Emma. With Anna the spitting image of her mother and Emma the near identical of Helga, Ingrid’s family portrait will be restored as close to the original as possible.
Belle reveals the secrets of the mirror to the remaining members of the search party, sans Regina and Robin, and Hook suggests smashing it to bits. While that may seem like a logical plan, the mirror is cursed with a terrible magic that will cast the spell of shattered sight across the entire town, turning them against one another until no one is left.
