'Once Upon A Time' Recap Season 4 Episode 4 "The Apprentice": Emma & Hook's First Date, Plus Anna Finds Out Why Her Parents Went To Rumpelstilskin

The air is getting colder, which means it must be time for another Frozen themed episode of Once Upon a Time. The story this week centers on our favorite Fantasia story of the sorcerer and his apprentice. While this one doesn't have any cartoon mice or walls of water, there are still some fun nods at the classic tale.

The episode starts with a flashback to the days before Rumpelstiltskin became the Dark One. However, the Dark One prior to him tried to gain control of the magic box, which houses the mystical blue hat. The apprentice serves as the keeper of the box and witnessed many Dark Ones try and fail to open the box, but it looks like Rumpel might have a plan up his sleeve.

Emma and Hooks first date also takes place this episode with Swan asking out the captain, she's not a very traditional girl after all, and felt she shouldn't have to wait for him to ask her out. She gives Hook all the creative license he needs when it comes to planning the evening. We are guessing that license included having Mr. Gold aka Rumpel, reattach his hand before the big night.

However, his reason for wanting his hand back is truly adorable. He says that he needs both hands so that he can hold Emma with them.

However, Rumpel gives him a warning before reattaching it, telling him that the hand belonged to the man he used to be, and that he has changed since then.

Emma and Hook get all dolled up for their date, looking like something straight out of the 1950's. We couldn't be happier about Hook finally taking off that awful leather cape.

In flashbacks, Anna finds Rumpel to confront him about why her parents went to seek him out. However, before he reveals any information on why her parents came to see him, Rumpelstiltskin forces her to make a deal with him. To get the details she is looking for she has to agree to put something in the sorcerer's apprentice's tea.

After trekking out into the woods, Anna finds the apprentice and realizes that he isn't what he seems to be. She can't agree to put what she thinks is poison in his tea. Being pure of heart, Anna instead pours the potion out on the coals of the fire.

However, when she returns back to Rumpel's house she learns that the potion was actually an antidote to stop him from turning into a mouse. Rumpel now knows that Anna didn't do what she agreed to do, so he's not going to give her any information about her parent's whereabouts.

He tells her that the only way to right her wrong and to get out of the contract she made with him is to kill him. She tries but can't, and bursts out into tears. That's what Rumpel was hoping for, and now with her tear he can open the magical box housing the blue hat.

Back in Storybrook, Hook's hand is betraying him causing trouble on his date with Emma. When he goes back to Rumple to switch his hand back to a hook, it seems that the Dark One now has a deal to make with him in order to get it back.

Hook agrees to pay the price to get his hook back, but after following an animated broom to the apprentice's house in Storybrooke it seems like he probably shouldn't have. Rumpel uses the blue hat to suck in the apprentice. We aren't really sure what his master plan is yet.

In the flashback, Anna gets a hold of Rumpel's dagger, which she realizes has control over him. With the power over him she asks him to tell her what her parents were doing in the Enchanted Forest and also tells him to bring her back to Arendelle but the catch is she gets to keep the hatbox.  Rumpel reveals that Elsa and Anna's parents came to him to have him take Elsa's ice powers away. However, he was unable to do so. He does explain that the hat is the only thing able to drain magical powers.

With the information she came seeking, Anna is ready to go back to Arendelle and with the help of Rumpel she's able to. We are treated to a happy reunion between Anna and Kristoff when she shows back up at home.

It wouldn't be Once if the episode didn't leave us on a cliffhanger, and this week viewers learn that The Snow Queen, who has been tormenting the town, actually doesn't appear to be on any of the town's records, meaning she wasn't brought to Storybrooke by a curse, but rather came on her own accord.

So what is she after? Tune in next week to find out.

[Image courtesy of Once Upon A Time's Facebook]