Once Upon a Time Recap: “That Still Small Voice”

by Tracy Ladd:

Once Upon a Time Recap: “That Still Small Voice”
Original Air Date (ABC): Sunday November 27, 2011
Season 1 Episode 5

After settling in last night to watch this latest episode it occurred to me just how much I missed it last week when it wasn’t on.  I guess I’ll have to get used to it since that pesky winter break will be coming up in a couple of weeks.  Way back in the pilot episode, we were introduced to Archie and his fairy tale alter ego, Jiminy Cricket.  This week we get a peek into his back story.

The episode starts out in Fairy Tale Land where a  crowd of people are gathered to watch a puppet show while, unbeknownst to them, a little boy is running around picking their pockets and everything else he can get his mitts on.  He’s part of a scam put on by his parents, who are distracting the crowd with their creepy puppet theater.  After the show the parents are admiring their booty but Jiminy doesn’t want to steal anymore.  In an example of model parenting, his mother blows off his moral objections and simply tells him that “Good is another word for weak.”  The only comfort Jiminy could find came with the chirping of the crickets in the fields.

Back in Storybrooke, Archie has another session with Henry.  Henry tells Archie that he’s Jiminy Cricket because he’s a conscience.  He’s the one who helps people discern right from wrong.  Archie tries to get an answer out of Henry on why he thinks this curse is so important to him.  Henry doesn’t really have an answer but does point out the fact that there are no crickets in Storybrooke.

Emma, meanwhile, is at the Sheriff’s department butting heads with Graham over the standard uniform he expects her to wear.  She refuses and he makes a crack about looking official and how a red jacket isn’t.  This coming from a guy who sports skinny jeans and sweater vests and looks like an Old Navy ad.  Graham tells her to at least sport the badge, which she takes.  The second she attached it, the ground shook.  Seems that Emma is having an effect on the town.

Apparently underneath Storybrooke is a system of old mine shafts.  An explosion exposed one of them and of course, this brings out the whole town.  When Graham and Emma arrive, Regina is already there waxing poetic about her plan for the area and her concern for everyone’s safety and hiding an unearthed piece of glass in her pocket.  Henry, being the curious sort that he is, wants to know what’s down there.  He also tells Emma that it’s because of her and asked if she did anything different that day.  Well yeah….she committed to a job.  Of course Regina is none too pleased with she finds out that her little man toy hired her arch nemesis.   She of course has to take her anger out on someone so she unleashes her wrath on Archie (whose last name is Hopper by the way).  She tells him that she will pretty much destroy him if he doesn’t squash this little delusion Henry has regarding the curse.

Back in Fairy Tale Land, a now grown up Jiminy is still doing his parents bidding.  As he’s setting up their stage, in the rain, when a little boy approaches him excited about the puppet show.  Jiminy expresses his discontent to the boy, who simply asks him why he doesn’t do something else.  The little boy then gives Jiminy his umbrella and trots off into the rain to head home.  Jiminy is clearly affected by the kindness this kid showed him, but goes back to work on his task.

The conscience that Jiminy has, has clearly left Archie because he does exactly what Regina told him to do.  At his next session with Henry, he tells Henry to let this thing with the curse go or else he’s going to have to lock him up.  Henry is devastated and head to see Emma.  Next we see Emma tearing into Archie when her cell phone rings.  Oh, it’s Regina.  She asks if Henry is with Emma and Emma tells her that she dropped him off at her office an hour ago.  Henry is now missing, but Archie knows where he is.  Henry is bound and determined to find out what’s in that mine.  Archie and Emma show up not long after and once they find an Apollo Bar wrapper (nice nod to Lost there) Archie bolts in after him.  Since the shaft is unstable, the opening collapses, trapping both Archie and Henry inside.

Back in Fairy Tale Land, Rumpelstiltskin is spinning straw into gold when Jiminy comes in bearing more stolen goods.  Rumpelstiltskin knows that Jiminy is troubled, and offers him a small vial of potion to give to his parents so that he can break free of them.  All Rumps asks is that Jiminy leave them where ever they end up so that Rumps can collect them.  Ummmmm ok.  So Jiminy takes the vial.  Later on, he and the parents prey on a young unsuspecting couple.  The couple invites them in, and gives them food and Jiminy’s parents go into their con.  Once Jiminy’s parents succeed in getting what they want, Jiminy throws the contents of the vial on them, but nothing happens.  Turns out that his father switched the vials and gave the one Jiminy had to the couple.  Jiminy rushes in to find that they’ve been turned into really creepy wooden dolls.  Just then, the little boy from before enters and Jiminy realizes that the couple were the boy’s parents.  Now he feels really really guilty.

At the sinkhole scene, Emma and Regina set aside their differences for a spell so that they can work together to get Henry and Archie out of the shaft.  Inside the mine, Henry finds a broken piece of glass much like the one that Regina found earlier.  He stashes it in his back pack and find that Archie is trapped down there with him.  They find an old elevator that they try to use to get to the surface, but once they start making progress, another explosion halts their efforts.  Now they’re just stuck in a rickety old elevator.  While they wait for help, Archie apologizes to Henry for what he said and tells Henry he didn’t mean it.  He asks Henry again why this curse is so important, and Henry just tells him that “this can’t be all there is.”

In Fairey Tale Land, Jiminy is wishing for the boy’s parents to be alive again.  The Blue Fairy arrives and tells him that she heard him, but unfortunately his wish can’t be granted.  He then makes another wish, one that the fairy can grant.  To be something better.  A flick of her wand and Jiminy Cricket is born.  His only job now is to be there for the young boy for as long as he needs him.  In an a-ha moment, we find out that the young boy is Gepetto.

On the surface, Archie’s dog, a dalmatian named Pongo, sniffs out the top of the elevator shaft.  Emma gets lowered in and is able to get them both to safety.  The minute Regina has Henry back in her clutches, she turns bitchy toward Emma again.  Archie finally grows a set and tells Regina that he’ll continue to treat Henry how he sees fit and there isn’t anything she can do about it.  He throws down a threat and I’m pretty sure it will have some consequences later on.  Hopefully it won’t result in an untimely ending for Archie.  After all was said and done, Henry and Archie are safe and the crickets came back to Storybrooke.  Yet another change that happened.

There was a side story taking place in this episode as well regarding Mary Margaret and John Doe.  His condition is improving, but he still has no memory of who he is.  After playing a game of hang man with MM, his “wife” Catherine shows up and shows him a picture of their dog.  He says he remembers, but confides to MM later on that he doesn’t.  He also tells her that the only thing that feels right is her.  Awwwwww!  But MM won’t go there because he’s apparently married.  So instead she resigns from the hospital.

So it seems that Regina does in fact know who she actually is and knows all about the curse.  Rumps seems to as well and he still has Gepetto’s parents in his shop.  I’m sorry, but those wooden dolls are just creepy.

The piece of glass that Regina found, then the other piece that Henry found are definitely remnants of FTL.  At first I though they were maybe parts of EQ’s mirror, but after Regina dropped her piece down the shaft it looked like it could be part of Snow White’s glass coffin.  I’ll have to watch it again to be sure but that’s my thought.

I really liked this episode and how they expanded on morality.  I know there is a death coming, but still can’t figure out who it is.  I really hope it’s not Archie, but since he threw down the gauntlet, I wouldn’t be surprised.

DarkMedia contributor Tracy Ladd has been writing about film since her days on the her high school newspaper. Even though she took a decade or two off to explore other things, she’s back to doing what she loves. She also bakes, can knit a pretty nifty scarf and makes lightsaber sounds with her knitting needles. Or chopsticks. Especially with the lightsaber chopsticks.

You can find her on Facebook, on Twitter @ReelGoddess, and on her website The Reel Goddess.