Get ready for a heavy dose of “Dark Snow” on Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 10, “Shattered Sight.” See what Ginnifer Goodwin has to say about this week’s episode!
What happens when you take a happily married couple, in real life and on screen, and force them to pick each other apart? According to Once Upon a Time‘s Ginnifer Goodwin, a lot of laughs and unusable footage. Goodwin’s Snow White is no stranger to dishing out the harsh truth in the Enchanted Forest, but when it comes to staring down husband Josh Dallas in a cell, she says speaking to TV Line, “There were takes where I just looked at, frankly, a tape mark that we put on a stand instead of him. And then there were times that I did look at him, but I would crack up after just a couple of seconds.”
If the Spell of Shattered Sight were to make its way into the real world, Goodwin and Dallas would certainly be the couple to survive.
There has been a bit of curiosity this season in regards to the quieter moments of the season being cut in favor of the action. Goodwin understands why those narratives have hit the cutting room floor, but goes on to say, “I cherish these scenes, because as an actor of course it is magical to sword fight and horseback ride and fight ‘curse clouds,’ but you really feel like you get in touch with a different creative side of yourself when you have these heart-to-heart scenes, especially when the history between these characters is so complicated.” Luckily, Regina and Snow’s stroll to save Emma made the cut!
The Evil Queen battles Dark Snow, this week as the two Enchanted Forest identities meet for the first time in Storybrooke. “Those two energies together is kind of hilarious. I mean, I kept saying, ‘I could film this episode every day forever,’ because also the dialogue was so meaty,” Goodwin says. “These characters have so much history, and yet so much has changed between them. For her to come back in her Evil Queen regalia is hilarious, because she’s so not that person anymore. And there’s something about being Dark Snow in Storybrooke that we also found very funny, because it’s so not the woman that she has become.”
Related: Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 10 stills: The Evil Queen returns
Mary Margaret earned a quieter first half of the season as Goodwin transitions back to set as a full-time working mom. Earlier in the season it was clear that Mary Margaret had some issues leaving Neal. Those concerns paralleled, Goodwin’s own experience leaving Oliver in the more than capable hands of his grandparents while she was off on set. Goodwin says, “I’m just at the point where I’m like, ‘OK, I’m not losing my mind when I have to leave Oliver with one of his grandparents and go to set for 16 hours.’ I would get really emotional and upset, it was just too much for me. But now I understand that he’s going to be fine.”
Mary Margaret will step up to tackle a heavier storyline when Once Upon a Time returns in March. Goodwin teases that her story line, “is really good. I’m really excited about it. I know that I’m not allowed to say what I’m doing, but I can say that it’s worth the wait, for sure!”
And as for the troupe of villains making their way to Storybrooke, Goodwin comments that Cruella de Vil’s entrance may not be as far fetched as viewers are thinking. Goodwin says, “It, like everything else on Once Upon a Time, will make sense — to the extent that you’re like, “How was this not incorporated in the animated feature?” She’s a perfect Once family member, absolutely.”
The creators certainly have their work cut out for them in season 4 bringing to life a compelling Frozen story arc followed by a mysterious season 4B story with a villainous twist.
Tune in to Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 10, “Shattered Sight,” Sunday, December 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.