Elsa

"The only way to ever truly be in control of your powers is to embrace them."

- Elsa to Emma

Queen Elsa, also known as the Ice Queen, is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the twenty-second episode of the third season. She is portrayed by guest star Georgina Haig, and does not have a Storybrooke counterpart.

Elsa is based on the character of the same name from the Disney film, Frozen.

Before First Curse
Elsa is born to Queen Gerda and an unnamed King of Arendelle, and her younger sister is Anna. Upon their parents' demise during an ill-fated sea voyage, Elsa becomes Queen. After visiting their parents' graves, she surprises Anna, who is set to marry Kristoff, with their mother's old wedding dress. To add a touch of "something new", she also gifts Anna a snowflake pendant, which was their mother's. As Anna tries on the gown, Elsa discovers their mother's diary. Though it has always been believed their parents had perished on a diplomatic journey, the book ambiguously alludes their reason for leaving was due to Elsa's powers. Believing she herself caused their deaths, Elsa flees into the forest where Anna comforts her. Believing this is all just a misunderstanding, Anna takes Elsa to the rock troll, Grand Pabbie, hoping that he has answers. He can only tell them that their parents had gone to a place called Misthaven. When Anna suggests going there together to unlock the mystery, Elsa refuses the idea. Later, after being unable to find her sister, Elsa turns to Kristoff for answers. After bluffing badly, he admits Anna booked a trip to Misthaven, and though Elsa rushes to the harbor, the ship has already left. Kristoff reassures her that Anna will be all right, but Elsa argues that her sister doesn't know how dangerous Misthaven is, even though she herself hasn't heard of such a place. He then explains that she might know it as what the inhabitants call it, which is the Enchanted Forest.

After Anna leaves for the Enchanted Forest, Elsa worries about her sister's well-being and sends scouts to look for her. She even thinks about going after Anna, but Kristoff convinces her that Arendelle needs their Queen. To her distress, she finds out Prince Hans and his twelve brothers are amassing an army in the Southern Mountains to attack Arendelle. Kristoff offers to sneak up there and eavesdrop on the princes' plans, but Elsa wants to handle the situation herself. Wishing to avoid war, she begins brainstorming plans when Kristoff returns, after disobeying her prior orders, and informs them of Hans' scheme to use an urn, capable of trapping magic users, to imprison Elsa. Kristoff suggests he, accompanied by a few soldiers, will destroy the urn. Elsa decides she should come with him, and together they venture into the North Valley where the urn is in a cave. While Kristoff hastens her to destroy it, Elsa refuses out of curiosity about ancient words written on the urn, which may have information about others like her. He insists, but she, trusting her own judgement, declines. Just then, Hans and his three brothers surround them. Elsa counters with ice magic, but Hans threatens her with Kristoff's life. Desperate, she promises the urn to Hans, and then apologizes to Kristoff for not listening earlier. Putting her trust in him, Elsa tells Kristoff that after she is gone, he must find Anna and save Arendelle. Smugly, Hans remarks that a monster like Elsa shouldn't rule Arendelle, and he uncaps the relic. A white liquid pours out, but while it's expected the substance will trap Elsa, the Snow Queen materializes from it instead. Having taken insult to Hans' previous comment, the Snow Queen turns him into an ice statue while the prince's brothers flee. The remaining trio then return home. Arriving at the castle, she and the Snow Queen chat about their ice powers. Seeing a portrait of Elsa's parents, the Snow Queen reveals the latter's mother was her sister. Still concerned about Anna, Elsa relates these fears to her newly discovered aunt, who promises to assist her.

While learning to control her powers with the help of Ingrid, Elsa is joyously reunited with Anna. She queries her sister for information about their parents in the Enchanted Forest, but Anna states she hasn't learned anything new. Soon, Anna becomes acquainted with Ingrid. While Elsa has wholeheartedly accepted their aunt, Anna grows suspicious of the woman. Conducting her own investigation, Anna questions Grand Pabbie. He reveals Ingrid is indeed her mother's sister, and aside from Ingrid, there is another sister named Helga. Due to the two sisters mysteriously disappearing, both Ingrid and Helga were wiped out of records and everyone's memories. Anna desperately tries to return home to inform Elsa, but she becomes imprisoned by Ingrid.

As Elsa is preparing a feast for her sister, she learns from Ingrid that Anna, while in Misthaven, discovered their parents were trying to find a way to strip her of her ice powers. Ingrid claims Anna found a magical hat and tried to test it on her first before she could use it on Elsa. Shocked, Elsa wavers in doubt as Ingrid reveals Gerda trapped her because she didn't understand magic, and Anna is the same way. Learning from Ingrid that Anna is locked in the dungeons, Elsa angrily confronts her about about wanting to take her powers away, but after the guards leave, she reveals it is just a ruse. Finally realizing their aunt is up to no good, Elsa goes with her sister look for the urn in Ingrid's old room and find it in a wardrobe. Anna agrees to go back to the dungeon so she can surprise Ingrid with the urn. However, it all goes awry, as Anna is put under the Spell of Shattered Sight, which causes her to see only the bad in her sister. Spitefully, she brings up the past when Elsa, still hiding her powers, kept pushing her away. As a result, an angry Anna vents that this made her believe she herself was the reason for Elsa's unhappiness. Elsa recognizes Ingrid put a spell on her sister, and her aunt admits she did not to show Anna's true feelings. Ingrid urges her to embrace who she truly was by freezing Anna, but Elsa refuses. Anna unseals the urn, to which Elsa is slowly absorbed in as she proclaims love for her despite the circumstances. Ingrid, not anticipating this outcome, is horrified and reacts with outrage towards Anna. After freezing Anna, Kristoff and all of Arendelle, Ingrid takes the urn and erases Elsa's most recent memories so she won't remember anything that transpired. Rumplestiltskin appears, requesting the hat, but Ingrid claims she doesn't know where it is. As a result, he steals the urn and only vows to give it back when she hands over the hat. However, Ingrid later backs out of the deal and instead gives the hat to the sorcerer's apprentice in exchange for finding another sister besides Elsa to complete her family. The urn, in Rumplestiltskin's possession, is stored in his vault, which contains magic beyond his control. While trapped in the past, Hook, Emma and Maid Marian are sealed in the same vault as Elsa. The urn in a cabinet catches Hook's eye, and he casually pulls it out. When Emma regains her magic and re-opens the time portal to return to present time, the urn is also pulled through.
 * -|Alternate Timeline=

After Second Curse
Travelling through a portal from the past Enchanted Forest, Emma, Hook and Maid Marian arrive into present-day Storybrooke. They land in Zelena's barn and depart. After they are gone, Elsa breaks free of the urn, destroying the source of her imprisonment, and then she walks out of the barn while creating a walkway of frost.

Strolling on the road, Elsa abruptly stops when she sees a sign for the town of Storybrooke. A passing car spirals almost right into her, after the driver falls asleep at the wheel, but she freezes the vehicle just before it collides into her. The morning after, Elsa is startled by a motorcycle as she wanders the town streets. At one storefront window, she sees a wedding dress, which reminds her of her sister, Anna. Later, when pursued by two of the town's residents, Emma and Hook, a frightened Elsa seeks cover in a warehouse. Before they can close in on her, she conjures a snow monster to chase them away. While still in hiding, a newspaper is blown in by the wind. In the written article, she learns of a nearby pawnshop and sneaks in by nightfall. After breaking in, Elsa retrieves the snowflake necklace she once gave Anna, and she tearfully swears to find her.

Exiting out of the pawnshop, Elsa decides the residents should not be allowed to leave until she is reunited with Anna. Thus, she forms an ice wall at the town line, which also knocks down a power line and causes a blackout. Inside the frozen barrier, Elsa feels threatened by Emma's sudden entrance. A passive Emma tries to find out what is going on as Elsa, still distrustful, responds curtly. David and Hook advance towards Elsa, despite Emma's insistence that they stay back. Frightened by David's gun, she erects icicles and causes an avalanche that walls herself and Emma on the other side. When David radios Emma on a walkie-talkie, Elsa orders her to tell him to find Anna. As Emma explains the situation to him, Elsa warns that she will freeze everyone in town unless her sister is found. While they wait for David and Hook to figure things out, Emma notices Elsa dropped the pendant, which has fallen into the ground below. Emma, realizing Elsa cannot control her powers, relates her own troubles with using magic. Elsa admits that Anna helps calm her ice powers, and she agrees to undo everything, but only if her sister is present. However, the chill is freezing Emma, who talks in order to stay awake. They bond over having powers they can't control and figuring out who they are beyond their titles; Elsa as Queen and Emma as the Savior. David communicates with Elsa via the walkie-talkie; persuading her that survival is not enough, and that she must live. Elsa recalls these words as something Anna once said as he reveals her sister once saved his life, so now she must save Emma. With his persuasion, she melts the ice. Returning to a loft with her new allies, Elsa assists as everyone helps warm up a weakened Emma. To find Anna, David gives Elsa a shepherd's crook, which someone once branded her sister with. Seeing nothing within the crook, she then hears Anna's heartbeat. When Mary Margaret arrives home, David introduces them. He promises to find Anna, proclaiming that their family never likes to abandon hope, which strengthens Elsa's resolve. Later, she goes to the town line with Emma where she tries to remove the ice wall, but nothing happens. Believing she is the only one in existence with ice powers, Elsa cannot understand why it didn't work.

Accompanied by Emma and Hook, Elsa confronts Mr. Gold. As Emma recalls, he once possessed the urn, which Elsa was trapped within, in the past. As proof of innocence, Mr. Gold allows his wife, Belle, to wield the Dark One's Dagger and command him into telling the truth. Seemingly bent to the dagger's will, Mr. Gold professes that he knows nothing about Elsa or Anna, and had no idea there was someone in the urn. The trio then head to the mayoral office where Robin Hood's wife, Maid Marian, is afflicted with a freezing spell. Elsa confirms it wasn't her magic, and that true love can break the spell. Robin Hood attempts, and fails, to cure Marian with true love's kiss. Emma tasks Hook with bringing Elsa to the sheriff's office while she looks for the spell caster. At some point, Elsa notices a strand of Marian's hair has turned white and takes it. Rather than the sheriff's office, Hook brings Elsa to Mr. Gold. After the pirate strikes a deal, Mr. Gold reverts the hair strand into a magical form. When released, the snowflake patterned magic flies off to its owner. While following it, Elsa advises Hook on Emma's nature; as she and the blonde both know what it's like to have the weight of the world upon them and be distrustful even when other people mean well. When they spot the magic wielder, Hook leaves Emma a voice message, but she doesn't show up. As they search for her, the Snow Queen stops them. The woman states they once knew each other, but Elsa's memories were erased by the rock trolls. She also claims Anna put Elsa in the urn. To prove people eventually fear magic users like them, the Snow Queen neutralizes the latter's magic and creates icicles above Hook so everyone will believe Elsa is guilty. At Emma's arrival, the Snow Queen lowers the icicles, but the Savior magically shoves David and Hook to safety. After the battle, Elsa relates her disbelief to Emma concerning the Snow Queen's claims. Emma believes she and Anna are pawns in something bigger, and that the past will be unveiled soon.

One evening, David and Mary Margaret haul out records of town residents to help Elsa search for any sign of Anna in Storybrooke. In the midst of this, Emma asks for their opinions on her clothes for an evening date with Hook, to which all three agree she looks great. Hook arrives, with his real hand reattached due to Mr. Gold's help, and after David warily assesses the pirate, Emma and her date depart. Once the couple are gone, David wonders if he was too harsh with Hook as Elsa humorously recalls the times she made her sister's boyfriend, Kristoff, sweat out of nervousness while the two were dating. The next morning, Elsa looks through the town censuses with David at the sheriff station. Later, David announces that the Snow Queen, under the residential name Sarah Fisher, is not listed in any of the town records, which means she did not come to Storybrooke due to a curse.

Continuing to pile through records, Elsa becomes frustrated with dealing with paperwork while Anna could be out there somewhere. When David brings files from the mayor's office, she finds a packet of photos, which Sidney took when he was still spying on Emma for Regina. In one picture, Emma is floored by an snapshot of herself having an argument with the Snow Queen, but she has no recollection of the event. As Emma drives, Elsa travels with her to ask Regina for information. Before stepping out of the car, Emma tells Elsa about her worsening relationship with Regina. Deciding to stay behind, Elsa encourages Emma into talking to Regina as she believes if their relationship was once getting better, it could be good again. By nightfall, Elsa begins hearing and seeing Anna. Running into the woods, she creates a whole ice bridge to close the gap between her and her trapped sister. After finally reaching Anna, an elated Elsa hugs her, to which her sister seemingly has no reaction. Suddenly, the Snow Queen appears and turns Anna into ice and withers her away into mist; revealing she is an illusion. Binding Elsa with ice chains, the Snow Queen explains that the more fearful she is, the tighter the cuffs will become. Once her enemy walks away, Elsa questions what she intends to do. Smugly, the Snow Queen states she is going to build a snowman. As the shackles restrict her, Elsa concentrates, willing herself to be unafraid, and shatters the chains. Later, she fires a blast at the Snow Queen after seeing her choke Emma and Regina. Approaching the fallen Snow Queen, Elsa commands, should she wants a fight, to do so with her. In an amazed tone, the Snow Queen congratulates Elsa for conquering her fears. Before the trio finish her off, the Snow Queen materializes away. When Emma and Regina argue, Elsa asks them to mend fences for Storybrooke's sake. Before teleporting out, Regina states it'll never happen because she doesn't want to. As the remaining two exit the woods, Elsa counsels Emma into not giving up on Regina.

Elsa gathers with Belle, David, Henry, Hook, Mary Margaret, Mr. Gold and Regina where they watch a camera recording of a young Emma and her prior foster mother, who is none other than the Snow Queen herself. While everyone else searches for the Snow Queen's ice cream truck, Belle decides to research at the library, so Elsa joins her. Unbeknownst to the Ice Queen, Belle once met Anna in the past and feels responsible for letting the Snow Queen capture her. Having no luck with books, Elsa hopelessly wonders if Anna did put her in the urn and that her sister doesn't want to be found. A remorseful Belle urges her to continue researching and then leaves. Later, Elsa uncovers a pictorial family tree proving the Snow Queen, Ingrid, is her maternal aunt. Surprisingly, she discovers her mother also had another sister, Helga, who closely resembles Emma. During the day's search, Emma retrieved a folder of relics from her childhood that the Snow Queen apparently kept. Out of all of them, Elsa's curiosity is piqued by a scroll proclaiming the Savior, Emma, will become Ingrid's sister. From this, she pieces together that Ingrid wants a family of sisters, including her and Emma, to replace the ones she lost. Suddenly, Belle rushes in to confess she once failed to save Anna, who was then kidnapped by the Snow Queen. While a shocked Elsa takes this in, Belle also relates knowledge about Ingrid's mirror, which is key for casting a spell of shattered sight that will make everyone turn on each other. Ominously, Elsa and Emma recognize Ingrid will spare the two of them so they can be a "perfect family" with her.

From a spell Belle deciphered, Elsa acts as the test subject in place of the Snow Queen when Emma attempts to light and blow a candle to create magical binds. Before succeeding, Emma leaves to babysit Neal, but she, Elsa and the others storm the clock tower once the Snow Queen is discovered putting up a mirror. Trapping Ingrid with the candle spell, Emma takes her in for questioning. Elsa, present for the interrogation, demands to know where Anna is. Ingrid reiterates that Anna put Elsa in the urn, and therefore, isn't worth finding. Furious, Elsa lashes out, to which Emma leads her out to cool off. While Emma continues talking to Ingrid, Elsa rejoins David and Hook as they examine the mirror. On arrival, Belle warns against looking into the reflection since it will brainwash them, but on closer examination, she notices it's not the same one in the Snow Queen's lair. Realizing they've fallen into a trap, everyone rushes to Emma at the station, but the door is frozen shut by the Snow Queen. They storm the pawnshop for Mr. Gold's assistance, but he only agrees after much imploring from Belle. Joined by Henry and Mary Margaret, the group return to the station as an explosion blows a hole in the building. Emma explains that the Snow Queen got away, and it was she herself who caused the combustion. With her powers out of control, Emma asks them to stay back, though David and Hook approach to help. Panicked, she collapses a streetlight and David takes the hit. In the heat of the moment, Mary Margaret reacts with resentment towards Emma. Only upon seeing Emma's hurt expression, Mary Margaret retracts her anger, but the latter flees via car despite that her loved ones attempt to call her back. That night, Elsa, David and Hook are unable to find Emma. At the apartment, she recalls how her loved ones reacted badly to her magic as they did to Emma's; causing much regret from Mary Margaret.

Despite an all-night hunt, Elsa, David, Hook and Mary Margaret return home without finding Emma. Henry, having sneaked out to look for his mother, returns with an injury Emma caused. He explains finding her in the woods with her powers still out of control. After Mary Margaret dresses his wound, Elsa comforts him about Emma's magic being linked to her emotions, which influences her powers to be destructive. Arriving at the apartment, Regina gives them a potion they want for tracking Emma and she then goes to check on Henry. Mary Margaret receives a call from Emma, who insists on getting rid of her powers. Hook, lying about leaving his phone in David's truck, goes to fetch it, though he actually goes to chase down Emma. Elsa overhears David and Mary Margaret talk about letting Emma choose to be rid of magic because being ordinary is crucial to their daughter's happiness. Believing otherwise, Elsa takes the potion and uses it on Emma's scarf. The item then leads her to a manor where she stops Emma doing away with her magic. Drawing from her own experience, Elsa argues that having the support of loved ones is not enough, and for Emma to truly be happy, she must embrace the good and bad that comes with her own magic. In a risky move, she calm Emma's magic by linking hands with her. Symbolically, in this moment, both Elsa and Emma learn to accept their magic. In a happy reunion with David, Henry, Hook and Mary Margaret, Emma creates a fireworks display for them. Trouble brews again, however, when Elsa and Emma notice ribbons on their left wrists, which begin absorbing their magic into Ingrid's ribbon; allowing the Snow Queen to cast the spell of shattered sight.

In the clock tower, Elsa and her allies witness the cloud formation of Ingrid's spell, which will take effect by sundown. At first, they try scaling the ice wall as a way to escape town before the spell hits, but the barricade is too powerful. A fissure in the ice reveals Anna's lost necklace, which Elsa retrieves. Under Belle's directive, they learn a hair sample from someone who has been under Ingrid's spell can create a counter spell. Recalling Ingrid's claim that Anna put her in the urn, Elsa suspects her sister had done this while under the spell of shattered sight, which Belle proves after finding mirror dust in the pendant. Thus, Elsa and Emma use a locator spell on the necklace to track Anna's whereabouts, but it leads them to a blocked cave-in in the mines. Gathering with Emma's parents, Leroy and Regina, they determine it'll take hours to uncover the passage. This plan is halted when Belle discovers it's possible to make a counter spell with the necklace. Left with a difficult choice, Elsa fills a pouch of pebbles and hands it to Emma while she herself returns to the mines with the real pendant to continue searching for her sister. She blasts open the blocked entrance just as Emma joins her and they walk onto a beach. Elsa follows the glow of the necklace, indicating Anna's location, until it stops shining. Lamenting for her sister, she clutches the jewel and makes a desperate wish to see Anna. This triggers magic in the pendant and whisks Anna and Kristoff to the shoreline. The nuns, currently creating the counter spell, are mysteriously gone, so everyone regroups at the sheriff station. With Emma's parents locked in separate cells and Kristoff cuffed, Elsa and Anna brace for impact as the spell's mirror shards spread into the building.

When Anna recalls the epilogue of The Trolden Glass, in which the king's spell of shattered sight only ended when he was killed, they realize the same must be done to Ingrid. Elsa and Emma try to take down Ingrid, but their magic fails. As Ingrid explains, her love for them flows through the ribbons and prevents them from harming her. The pair devise a plan to counter Ingrid's love with Regina's hatred in order to remove the ribbons. Goading Regina into attacking with fire, their ribbons are burned away as planned. The two flee and enter the snow lair where Ingrid shows them their memory stones. Each contain happy memories both women have shared with Ingrid, who believes by returning them, they will love her. Suddenly, Anna rushes in with a scroll written by Gerda and reads it out loud. They learn Gerda wiped everyone's memories of her two sisters and wishes for her daughters to restore them using a crystal. Additionally, Gerda requests that Ingrid be freed from the urn and states she truly loved her sister and regretted trapping her away. Convinced those words are lies, Ingrid throws Elsa and Emma backwards and chokes Anna, who desperately talks her out of it. After Anna is released, Ingrid touches the scroll crystal and receives Gerda's happy memories with her and Helga. Realizing she always had her sisters' love, Ingrid destroys herself to ensure the curse is lifted. As her body dissolves into mirror shards, she returns Elsa and Emma's lost memories. With her demise, the spell of shattered sight comes to an end. Fittingly, Elsa and Anna decide they must restore the memory of Ingrid and Helga to the people of Arendelle.

At the town line, Elsa tears down the ice wall, but remnants of Ingrid's magic still remain; making it impossible for anyone to re-enter Storybrooke after leaving. Having lost track of time, Anna and Kristoff suddenly recall they forgot to tell Elsa about Hans conquering Arendelle. Once they reveal this, Elsa, too, becomes just as urgent as Anna to return home. Emma is tasked with locating a portal, but she has no leads until Hook, seemingly with Mr. Gold's help, discovers a door to Arendelle hidden in an abandoned mansion. Giving a warm farewell to Emma, Elsa then goes into portal as Kristoff and Anna follow suit. Arriving in Arendelle, the two sisters regain the kingdom from Hans. While Elsa studies a portrait of Ingrid, Helga and Gerda, Anna walks in to explain she found it in the castle's east wing. Upon seeing Anna in wedding attire, Elsa cannot help but wonder what made her postpone her own wedding to go to Misthaven. Anna cheerfully reasons that she couldn't be happy if her sister wasn't as well. Catching a whiff of their favorite sweet treat, chocolate, in the air, the two giggle and then head out of the room together.

At an unknown point in time, Elsa captures Blackbeard as he attacks Arendelle. As a punishment for his actions against Anna and Kristoff, she imprisons the pirate and his crew, and transforms the Jolly Roger into a ship in a bottle, unknowingly trapping Ariel inside as well.

Production Notes

 * The casting call describes her as, "The Queen of Arendelle, this late-20s/early-30s beauty long struggled to control her “chilling” powers and even unleashed upon her town an eternal winter during her coronation. Ultimately, she realized that the key to controlling her powers is love — namely, her bond with sister Anna — and now she is aware of the threat she poses if she were to lose control of her magic again".
 * Elsa's iconic hairstyle includes most of Georgina Haig's real hair fitted with extensions to create the bottom half of the braid. It takes about two hours to assemble.

Costume Notes

 * The magical gloves given to Ingrid by Rumplestiltskin in "The Snow Queen", is the same pair of gloves worn by Elsa in "There's No Place Like Home", "A Tale of Two Sisters" and "Smash the Mirror".
 * Elsa's dress was redesigned for Season Four. The new dress is a different shade of blue and has a completely different design, even though the scene where she emerges from the barn in "A Tale of Two Sisters" takes place mere seconds after she emerged from the urn in Season Three.
 * Elsa's purple cape, used during the episode "Breaking Glass", was for technical reasons because her scenes were filmed on a green background screen, and because she wore a blue dress, which is too similar of a color to the background screen, that would have made her body completely invisible on the special-effects camera.