'Once Upon a Time' Season 4, Episode 1: 'A Tale of Two Sisters' Recap

A long time ago - as a ship goes down in the ocean, a queen stops to write a letter. With the help of her husband they fling it overboard for Anna and Elsa, hoping that the truth will reach them.

Years later, Anna and Elsa visit their memorial. Elsa brings Anna away to show her a surprise she has for her wedding. It's their mother's wedding dress, and a snowflake necklace from Elsa as a gift. As Anna tries on the dress, Elsa finds a diary and reads it, horrified. She realizes she is the reason her parents are dead.

Meanwhile, in current time, Elsa is in Storybrooke, lost and confused. Grumpy and Sleepy, driving, almost hit her, and she freezes their van.

Regina is heartbroken over the return of Marian. Everyone worries she may become evil again.

Elsa walks into Storybrooke, terrified by all the modern things she sees and struggling to control her cold.

Gold visits Neal's grave, and tells him about switching Belle's dagger. He promises to be a good man, the man Neal would want him to be. He and Belle go on their honeymoon to a house no one has claimed, and Gold switches back the daggers. However, he sees a small round box on the table. While Belle sleeps later, he uses the dagger to open it, and it transforms into a wizard's hat.

Robin goes to speak with Regina. What was between them was real, he tells her, and he knows she can remain good... but he has to honor his vows to his wife. When he leaves, her anger shatters the mirror. She looks into a shard with an evil smile. She goes to find Sydney, her mirror man, locked up in a prison where she has been hiding him, and recruits him to help her. She wants to go back and undo what Emma did, and have Marian killed as she was supposed to be. Sydney shows her the moment she caught Marian - she was captured and sentenced to die for refusing to say where Snow White was hiding.

Emma talks with Snow about her and Hook, and how she isn't sure what's happening. They are interrupted by Grumpy who tells them about seeing the magical woman, and they follow the ice trail to Elsa. However before she can be uncovered, she conjures up a snow monster, which terrorizes the town. No one can kill it and they get knocked out. Marian tries to fight it, but it nearly kills her. Regina saves her. Marian takes back what she said about Regina being evil.

In the past - Anna finds Elsa and comforts her, asking what was in the diary. Elsa shows her - her parents thought she was terrifying and her power needed to be stopped. Elsa thinks they were trying to escape her. Anna is certain there is more to the story. She wants to go speak to the trolls to find out the truth.

They go to see the trolls, but they do not know anything about the voyage. However, Pabbie knows they were going to Misthaven, but it was a secret. Anna wants them to go to Misthaven to find out, but Elsa refuses. Later she goes to find her sister, and Kristoff reluctantly informs her that she is on a ship on passage to Misthaven - or, as the locals call it, the Enchanted Forest.

While hiding in Storybrooke, Elsa sees a picture of Anna's necklace in the background of Gold's wedding announcement. She breaks into the pawn shop to reclaim it, promising it that she will find her sister.

Regina has a new plan - she wants to find the writer of the book, which seems to control everyone's destiny, and have him re-write it so that villains can have a happy ending too.