Once Upon a Time (episode 5)

Week five for ABC's Once Upon a Time. This week's episode was entitled "That Still Small Voice", where we get a more focused look at Dr. Hopper/Jiminy Cricket.

Let's get to the episode breakdown, shall we?


Once more, I'll do the split between the fairy tale past and Storybrook present.

In the fairy tale time, we start out with a young Jiminy who picks pockets of patrons who are watching a puppet show. Turns out his parents, the puppeteers, make the boy do this as a way to provide for their living. The parents remind me a lot of those that lead Pinocchio astray (in the Disney film the Fox and the Cat). Years later, we see the reluctant Jiminy tired of the scams but unclear how to change things The kindness of a small boy gives him a glimmer of hope. Jiminy visits Rumpelstiltskin to exchange items and names for some gold thread. The evil imp offers the man some magic to deal with his parents and earn his freedom. Jiminy takes the vial. When his parents scam a couple out of everything they own in exchange for "elf tonic" to protect them from a "plague", Jiminy acts. But his parents, tricky as they are, swapped the vials. Jiminy returns to the couple only to find them turned into puppets. And, horrors, it turns out the couple were the parents of the boy who showed Jiminy kindness earlier. Completely destroyed, Jiminy wishes upon a star and the Blue Fairy arrives. She cannot restore the puppet-couple but she can give Jiminy a way out of his current life if he'll help the boy (Geppetto). Jiminy agrees and is turned into a cricket.

In the present, Emma is made a deputy and immediately there is an earthquake. Everyone goes to investigate. Mayor Regina is angry to see that Emma now has another reason to stay. Henry wants to nose around the cave in but his mother forbids him. She also threatens Dr. Hopper and tells him he must get the boy to forget this curse stuff. Hopper complies and angers Henry. The boy runs off to the mine shaft. Hopper goes down to find him, and both get caught in a cave-in. Hopper apologizes to Henry for what he had said before; Henry convinces him to listen to that small voice inside to find his happiness. Emma and Regina clash but in the end come together to help save Henry. But as soon as the boy and Hopper are free, Regina is back to her protective ways of the boy. Hopper stands up to Regina, telling her that he will continue to treat Henry the way his conscious tells him to - and will not do what Regina wants.

In a side story present day, Mary Margaret spends time with David Nolan at the hospital. David pretends to recognize a picture of the dog he and Katherine have. Later he admits to Mary Margaret on a walk that none of that seems real to him. The only thing that does is any thing between he and Mary Margaret. Before they can kiss, Katherine arrives. Mary Margaret later resigns her volunteer post at the hospital.

For me, the Fairy Tale story won out this time. I found it to be very interesting and different. I like the subtle touch that the puppet-couple is in present day Mr. Gold's shop. Perhaps some day Jiminy will be able to free them?

On the present day stuff, the most interesting thing is the mine and what might be at the bottom. It appears perhaps this may have been the site of one of the castles back in the day. Are there secrets to be revealed there as the show progresses? Is this a way back to land of happily ever afters? Perhaps.