When 'Once Upon a Time' first started it was highly addictive and made the most of a truly great and creative premise. Really loved the idea of turning familiar fairy tales on their heads and putting own interpretations on them and the show early on clearly had clearly had a ball. Watched it without fail every time it came on and it was often a highlight of the week. Which was why it was sad when it ran out of ideas and lost its magic in the later seasons.

Season 4 had a lot to live up after Season 3 being as impressive as it was. At this early stage of the season, one can see a lot of promise, some may argue that it is capitalising on 'Frozen's' success but there is much more to the season than that. This promise was apparent from the get go, with a great season opener in "A Tale of Two Sisters". "White Out" and "Rocky Road" were good if not as good.

"The Apprentice" continues the very good if not quite great standard. That it focuses less on the 'Frozen' arc is appreciated, as well as making Anna more interesting.

Sure a few of the characters behave idiotically at times, especially Emma. Which is something of a disappointment after previous episodes developing her well.

However, there is so much to like about "The Apprentice". It has great character and plot advancement, good emotion, the interesting explanation to the sorcerer's hat storyline, some of the most frequently funny and funniest moments of the season and show, nice character moments that mean a lot (like with Anna and Rumplestiltskin) and a lot of heart.

All the performances are delightful, particularly from Robert Carlyle. Hook and Emma's relationship continues to charm and entertain. A lot happens but it doesn't feel over-stuffed or underdone.

Furthermore, "The Apprentice" is a very handsomely mounted episode visually, the settings and costumes are both colourful and atmospheric, not too dark or garish and never cookie cutter. It is photographed beautifully too. The music is haunting, ethereal and cleverly used with a memorable theme tune.

Writing has the right balance of humour, pathos, mystery and intrigue, or corn or cheesiness here. This aspect has come on such a long way since when 'Once Upon a Time' first started, much more complexity and nuance.

All in all, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox