As they walk down the streets of Storybrooke, Robin shows Marian around Storybrooke and explains the new world she is now in, Roland asks his mother for ice cream and they go to Any Given Sundae to get some. Ingrid serves Robin and Roland some ice cream, and while making one for Marian, she uses her magic to secretly cast a spell on the ice cream and then gives it to her, she smiles as she watches the trio leave the shop.
Meanwhile, Emma, Hook, and Elsa are in Gold's shop, with Gold and Belle standing in front of them, hoping that Gold might have an answer to why Elsa was in the urn in his vault. Gold says that if Emma wants to know how Elsa ended up there, then ask her herself, "She did," Elsa interrupts, "but I don't remember. Something happened to my memories." Belle asks them if they have checked Henry's book since everyone in that book also lives in town. "That was the first thing we did, but everything that happened after my sister left for Misthaven was gone." Emma points out that it was ripped, and she asks Henry about the ripped pages. he tells them that it has been there ever since he got it. Hook believes that it could be the Snow Queen's doing so that whatever she planned wouldn't fail.
"So, we came to you. Whatever you know about that urn, that necklace, what you know about Arendelle. Tell us."
Gold points out that many objects fall into his position and that he doesn't know the history behind all of them. "Did that necklace... Was it broken when it was given to you?" Gold is silent and tells her that the necklace was broken when he found it before the curse, which was given to him by a trader who got it from a kingdom not far from the Enchanted Forest. Gold suggests that Belle use the dagger on him to prove that he is telling the truth.
"The truth is just as I said. I had no idea there was someone inside there. I know nothing about Elsa or her sister, but I wish you the best of luck finding her. She seems like a wonderful person." He replies to them.
Over at the mayor's office, Mary Margaret is holding a town meeting while taking care of Neal. The town is upset over Elsa's mayhem while Mary Margaret, David, and the Hood family defend her. As they speak, a strand of white begins to frost into Marian's hair and she collapses, however, Robin catches her. Ruby goes over and notices the white strand of Marian's hair.
At Granny's Diner, Henry is sipping on a mug of hot chocolate when Regina comes in and puts down some comic books for him. He is happy over her gift, to which Regina remarks that she wasn't sure which kind he liked anymore, so she got a bunch. As Henry begins flipping through one, Regina questions him about the writer of his storybook. Henry then begins to wonder why she is asking. she wants to ask the author to rewrite a happy ending for her. Henry agrees to help her find him, and the two decide on the name of the mission to be "Operation Mongoose". Robin bursts into the diner and requests that Regina help Marian.
Regina and Robin rush to the mayor's office, where Regina studies what is going on with Marian. Emma, Hook, and Elsa come to the mayor's office later, where Mary Margaret and Ruby are taking care of her.
Visual Imagery: Ruby is sitting next to the cold and freezing Marian, holding her hand. Ruby's eyes are closed, but she lets go of it when Emma, Hook, and Elsa come into the room, standing up so that they can inspect Marian.
Regina assumes Elsa had something to do with it but Elsa tells the other queen that is not her magic, Emma believes Elsa, who tells them that the only way to break a freezing spell is an act of true love. Robin kisses Marian, but nothing happens.
Emma decides to go and find the one truly responsible for the spell on Marian, Regina then asks her to take backup because it seems like the town was more busy saving the savior than the other way around. Emma asks Regina not to lash out at her and tells Killian that she can manage it on her own. She asks Ruby and David to come with her and she tells Hook to stay out of it and take Elsa to the sheriff's station.
Outside Granny's Diner, Leroy has his meeting with Granny, Archie, and other people; he tells them that Elsa is the problem and they need to stop them. As Leroy and Granny start walking away, Archie stops them, stating that they cannot just condemn her without all the facts. Leroy tells the therapist to look around, "Who else can turn people into popsicles?" he asks. "It's Elsa, and we all know it. She has got to be stopped before she hurts someone else."
The group continues to walk down Main Street, passing "Any Given Sundae" and the Snow Queen, who watches them pass with a smile on her face.
Hook and Elsa hide in a narrow alley; the pirate checks to see if the coast is clear, it is, and he prepares to lead Elsa, who has a different idea. Elsa tells him that there is someone out there with powers like her, and she needs to find out who she hides out in a sheriff's station. Hook tells Elsa that she's lucky because they're not going to the sheriff's station, and Elsa asks what direction they're going. "With any luck, danger." Hook begins walking with Elsa following behind him, now intrigued.
Meanwhile, in the woods, Emma, David, and Ruby approach the Merry Men's campsite, where Ruby uses her senses to find any lead, which leads her away from the duo. Emma replies that whoever cursed Marian has the same powers as Elsa, so maybe they left a trail. David suggests they split up and look for anything cold. Emma discovers an intruder in Robin and Marian's tent, who almost escapes, but is captured thanks to David and Ruby.
He tells them his name is Will Scarlet and he tells them that during the blackout, he went and broke into the ice cream shop and saw the ice cream was still frozen after there was no electricity for hours. They break into the ice cream shop to check if he is right. However, when they realize he was telling the truth, Will escapes as well as the money from the cash register, Ruby runs after him, and Emma tries to follow suit, but David stops her.
Regina tells Robin that the ice is making its way to her heart at the mayor's office and that once it touches her, she's dead. Robin asked if there is anything she can do. Regina reveals that there might be something, but Robin would have to trust her completely, and he does "Then I'll send Henry to my vault to get what I need," Regina replies. Robin asks Regina what she is going to do, to which she replies, "Something drastic."
Meanwhile, Hook and Elsa visit Gold's shop, who denies helping them unless he has something to offer, Hook informs him he has one thing to offer, his silence. He knows that Belle never had the real dagger as Gold would never let anyone have power over him, including Belle. Mr. Gold accepts and performs magic on the strand of hair turning it into snowflakes.
"Magic similar to yours, dearie, though not quite the same. Much like a snowflake, each person's magic is unique," Gold then explains to them that it will return to its source. He blows the snowflakes into the air and flies out of the shop. Killian and Elsa follow the snowflakes. They follow them to the forest when they notice ice on the trees and ground, letting them know they're on the right track. They see a figure walking through the woods. Hook pulls Elsa down to the ground with him, hiding from the Snow Queen. Elsa is amazed by her as she uses her powers. Hook pulls out his phone and leaves a message for Emma that they found who cursed Marian and they are in the forest.
After watching the woman for some time, Hook decides to go find Emma, but he is unable to move. He looks down and sees his feet frozen to the ground. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let you leave," the Snow Queen says, standing behind them, her back against them. She demands the Snow Queen let go of Hook, but she refuses. "Not when you and I have so much caught up to do, my sweet Elsa." She tells Elsa.
"Catching up? You know her?" Hook asks, Elsa tells Hook that she has never seen her before, but the Snow Queen corrects that she has simply forgotten. Elsa doesn't believe she could have possibly forgotten someone like her. The Snow Queen explains to Elsa that her memory has been wiped out by the Rock Trolls, making Elsa wonder why they would do that to her. The Snow Queen tells her is the same reason they did it to Anna, leading Elsa to realize she knew Anna, and she asks what happened to her.
"The same things that happen to every ordinary person. Eventually... they grow to fear us. Your sister was afraid of you and your magic. So she trapped you in that urn. I know... I was there that day and I punished her by freezing her heart." She explains, but Elsa doesn't believe her, "Am I? Look at the people in this town. They're ready to burn you with a steak." Elsa points out that the reason is that she was the one who did it to Marian. The Snow Queen tells Elsa that what happened to Marian was an accident, which Elsa sees as another lie, and asks her why the Snow Queen wanted them to blame Elsa. The Snow Queen tells Elsa there's a reason why she is telling her this. She explains that she wants Elsa to learn the lesson that ordinary folk will always see them as monsters, which is why she cursed Marian and directed the blame at Elsa.
"You and I are more powerful than you think. Join me, I'll teach you how to truly control your magic without your fear controlling you. With our magic combined, we can show this world we are the most powerful people of them all."
"But, they will be scared of us," Elsa tells her.
"Just like your parents were to you. Now come with me; it's the only way." Elsa then suddenly asks how the Snow Queen knows her parents, who tell her the people she loves will always be scared of them and will one day turn on them.
The Snow Queen uses her magic to form ice shards to form over Hook, aiming toward him. Elsa asks what she's doing as she tries to use her magic to stop this. "Don't worry, I've neutralized your magic. When your friend is found, they'll think you're responsible, and they'll turn on you. They'll treat you as the monster they truly see you as, and you'll know that I'm right, and hopefully, you will join me,"
Emma and David come to their aid, and the Snow Queen becomes surprised to see Emma; uttering her name, Emma asks if they know each other, which the Snow Queen denies as her response, "Your reputation proceeds you. You think your magic is a match for mine?" she asks. "There's only one way to find out," Emma exclaims before using her magic to knock the Snow Queen to the ground. David rushes over to Hook and tries to help him.
The ice spikes above them begin to lower just as David uses his sword to try to free Hook from his trap. The Snow Queen looks up and uses her magic to make them drop, but Emma uses her magic to try to throw David and Hook to safety, but this knocks the Snow Queen back. However, Hook is still stuck on the ice. Then, a running statue made of ice runs to Hook and David, where they are both turned into snow flurries, which helps Hook be saved from the spikes above, and the two reform back into their normal forms. The humanoid ice statue lands just a few inches away from Elsa, who senses something familiar about it.
Visual Imagery: The alive ice statue has pure white pixie-cut hair, is wearing a dark denim jacket and dark jeans, and is completely barefoot. It looks slightly back at Elsa and vanishes in flurries.
David looks around the forest and notices that the Snow Queen is gone. Later, Emma returns, and David sees that something is wrong with her. He tells her they will find the Snow Queen and encourages her not to let Regina make her doubt herself. Emma replies, "It's not that, it's this Snow Queen. She didn't just know Elsa; she knew me too." Emma continues, "There's something more. When she said my name, it sounded familiar." David reassures her that they will figure it out but tells her she did well today. She stopped the Snow Queen. Hook suggests they find the Snow Queen's lair, but Emma stops him. She warns him that he could get himself killed again and explains that is why she wanted him to go to the sheriff's station.
Emma walks over to Elsa, asking how she's doing, "That woman was lying about my sister. She would never trap me in that urn, she was lying about the past. I just wish I knew the truth." Emma explains that she's learned the past has a way of revealing itself, so she assures Elsa to just give it time, "We're gonna find her, Elsa. Your sister, Anna, and this Snow Queen. My gut tells me you two are just pawns and this is about something more."
Elsa wonders what makes Emma say that. "I brought you to this world, but it was an accident. The Snow Queen - she was already here. I'm starting to think it wasn't just some curse that brought her and the thing that saved David and Hook to Storybrooke... "
Elsa thinks of the creature, "That creature, whatever that creature was... it was helping us, protecting us from her. When it looked at me, I felt something familiar about it, like it was part of me, a little of me is in that creature."
"Whatever that creature was, if it was created by the Snow Queen or you, possibly before your memories of how you got into that urn, it knows what the Snow Queen wants, what her plan is, how she knows us. We may need its help. And we will find your sister."
"I know... I know she's lying about freezing her heart. It's impossible; we heard her heartbeat. That means she's alive, and she's here and I know she's here... I know she's alive, she's close. I can feel it. I just don't know why."
Regina and Robin are still in the mayor's office with a now completely frozen Marian. Henry enters the room, with a box in hand, Regina asks if Robin is still sure he wants her to do this, Robin nods and Regina then plunges her hand into Marian's chest and rips out her heart. Regina notes the ice hasn't touched Marian's heart yet, so they can keep her alive. Henry holds out a box for Regina to put the heart in, and Robin asks if his wife will remain in this state, alive, but frozen. Regina nods, "Until we find a cure. And I will find one."
Later, outside at Granny's, Hook tries to convince Emma to have a drink with him, but she says no. He follows her and tells her that he understands how heavy her burdens are and why she finds it hard to trust him. He learned this from Elsa. However, Emma explains that it's not just about trust; it's about her fears. She is scared that anyone she loves will die, just like the people she loved before him.
"Well, love, you don't have to worry about me. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's surviving." He then pulls Emma in close, kissing her in the middle of the street.
In the woods of Storybrooke, the Snow Queen is walking alone when she hears a noise. She turns around and sees Gold waiting for her. "Don't worry, dearie," Gold says. "It's just me. Let's talk." He apologizes for things not going the way she wanted.
"They will," the Snow Queen says. "We shall see." He then asks Emma if she knows the Snow Queen, but she replies she does not. The Dark One comments that this is good for her because it could be dangerous. He adds, "Something or someone saved her pirate and father. We both know who exactly who it was, dearie." The Snow Queen agrees. Gold then asks why the Snow Queen hasn't come to him for help with her plan and to trap this threat. "I have a way to draw her out," the Snow Queen says. She tells him that she will come to him when she's ready to make a deal.
"A moment I eagerly await. Now, you should find some shelter. It's getting quite frosty." He walks away and leaves the Snow Queen all alone in the woods.