S01.E05: That Still Small Voice

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

As Sheriff Graham deputizes Emma, the ground shakes and a giant sinkhole mysteriously appears at the edge of town. But a curious Henry’s life is placed in danger when he decides to explore the innards of the sinkhole to see if its contents can link the inhabitants of Storybrooke to the fairytale world. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world, Jiminy Cricket yearns to leave the family business and transform into the person he wants to be.

[daxx]

This truly was a filler episode. The people dolls are creepy. 

Emma getting the badge was an earthshaking event but other than that not a great episode for me.

Emma saving them was awesome but nothing important was revealed by the flashback or crucial in the present. I did enjoy the talk Archie had with Henry while in the mine about finding your true self. 

Spoiler

Although occasionally is nice but Henry being the “all wise one” gets old as the series ages.

[Camera One]

I had a bad impression of this episode from when I first saw it, so I actually ended up liking it slightly more than the first time around.

I've never liked episodes of shows where a bratty kid does something dangerous, but I had forgotten that Henry did have a good reason.  I had also forgotten that Henry had a few very good conversations with Archie in this one.  It's sad when Henry said "This can't be all there is." about his life.  

I liked how there was momentum that things were changing.  Emma put on the badge and the earth shakes, revealing the "secret" beneath.  I remember when I first watched the show, I wondered if Storybrooke was somehow on top of the Enchanted Forest.  I was sad that it might have been destroyed forever.  Archie clearly found himself.  The threat at the end using a real-world reason why Regina wouldn't want to mess with the therapist was excellent.

I have no problem with "filler" episodes when the journey is worthwhile.  I don't mind when shows meander and "nothing happens".  There were other reasons why I didn't like this episode too much the first time around.  The first was I hated seeing Rumple again manipulating someone else.  After last episode, I was beginning to tire of The Rumple Screws With Someone Else Show.  I hated the idea that people trying to be kind (Gepetto's parents inviting the strangers in for broth) was punished eternally.  Having the actor play himself in the flashback was a bit of a stretch since that storyline with controlling parents might have worked better for a teenager, not a middle-aged adult.  Or at least explain why Archie couldn't get away from them more convincingly.  

I really liked the subplot with Mary Margaret and David.  

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I wish they kept doing this instead of having David remember a fake life and then sullying everything with adultery.

There were some great fairytale Easter eggs that I remember loving.  Like Rumple saying "curds and whey".  

I remember looking forward to seeing more of the friendship between Archie and Gepetto.  It was weird how Young Gepetto didn't have an accent, though.  It's a case of trying to surprise the audience with a trick.

Spoiler

We never found out why Rumple wanted 2 puppets.  This has absolutely nothing to do with his quest to get Bae back.  It just makes him seem even more depraved.

Blue saying Gepetto "will grow up to face many challenges" suggested they were going to expand on the supporting cast more, but they never did.  After this, Archie became a glorified extra.

Why did Regina bring the coffin over in the Curse?  

This episode also reminded me why the attempted copy of Lucy going underground to look for Cinderella's glass slippers just didn't work.  There was no depth to it in Season 7.  

Edited June 16, 2018 by Camera One

[andromeda331]

I do like Henry's This Can't be all there is line. I liked David and Mary Margaret's walk together although it seems really weird to me that Mary Margaret wasn't with everyone else trying to get Henry out. Why wouldn't she be there for Henry and for Emma? I liked Emma going down to get Henry.  

I didn't like the flashback and hated that Archie's parents get away with what they did. Also why didn't Archie do something sooner? Maybe if he was younger it would make more sense. But he was a grown adult. Can't he stop them? Turn them into the authorities? The Blue Fairy can turn him into a cricket but can't turn puppets back into humans again? Why again were villains having such a hard time? They always get what they want and get away with their crimes. How exactly does that suck for them? If anything you'd think the Heroes would be trying to find ways out of the Enchanted Forest given how much their lives suck.  

Spoiler

 

That would have been fun to explore in season three when Emma points that out to her parents. How much their lives have sucked since they got their memories back. It would be interesting if when Snow and Charming were talking going home (which I know is season two not three) talking about how great home is and Emma points out how much their lives sucked. And that's why it doesn't really appeal to her as home. They really could have explored that with all the characters. How many really wanted to go back to the Enchanted Forest? How many wanted to stay? How many wanted to change things back home?

 

[superloislane]

2 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

it seems really weird to me that Mary Margaret wasn't with everyone else trying to get Henry out. Why wouldn't she be there for Henry and for Emma? I liked Emma going down to get Henry.  

I thought that was weird when I watched it then and now rewatching it - it's still weird! She's Emma's friend and Henry's teacher and yet when he's in danger, she decides to go for a walk with David? It's not the biggest deal in the world but this is the start of the compartmentalization of the plots in the show where some characters do things which make no sense in the overall story. And oddly it happens to Snow a lot. 

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When Snow kept having deep personal conversations with Regina about Regina's issues with Robin whenever Emma was in danger and it really wasn't the time for that. Or Snowing walking down the beach after their apartment was protected against Zelena which made no sense. Or Henry drinking a milkshake and reading a book when Emma disappeared as the Dark One.

[Shanna Marie]

I don't really hate this one, but for the most part, it's pointless. This seems to have set the pattern for the character centric episode with flashbacks that are thematic rather than relating to the plot. It's not a puzzle piece in the history that builds to the casting of the curse, like most of the season one flashbacks, and the flashback doesn't set up any story that's continued in the present, like with the Cinderella one, where Rumple made the deal in the flashback and Emma's dealing with the aftermath of that in the present. It's just that general "find your conscience" theme.

Spoiler

I don't recall that really being an issue with Archie moving forward. I also don't think that the buried glass coffin matters at all going forward, so that "oooh!" reveal and Regina's efforts to keep everything buried really come to nothing.

It's rather weird that anyone would wish to be a cricket. I'd forgotten the detail that there were no crickets until the curse started breaking. That's a creepy little touch, and I think we needed more hints like that.

What happened with Gepetto's accent? He sounded totally American here. He's surrounded by people with American accents. Why does he have an Italian accent as an adult?

After Regina acting in the previous episode like she can barely be bothered with Henry other than to ensure his compliance, she did seem genuinely concerned about him here, but how much of that is losing a possession or losing control, and maybe some of it fear of what he'd find?

It is interesting that when season 7 tried to mirror an early episode, they chose this one, which is one of the weakest of season one

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and then they made an even weaker episode because there was never really any tension or danger about Lucy going into the tunnels.

[KingOfHearts]

This one is always a slog to get through whenever I rewatch the series. I really don't care for Archie's backstory because it's just a lot of setup with no payoff. 

Spoiler

Like others have said, Archie's relationship with Geppetto is never explored again. (Though Geppetto does snap at Archie for what he did to his parents in 1x20 in an effort to coerce him into keeping the lie.) Geppetto's parents, who even appeared in Weaver's stash in S7, are never resurrected or brought up beyond what I already mentioned. The writers never did a whole lot with the glass coffin reveal either. It does service the plot in S1 because it shows that fairy tale objects are in Storybrooke, but there's never a real reason why Regina brought the coffin over. It's pretty random that she kept the failsafe in there.

15 hours ago, daxx said:

This truly was a filler episode. The people dolls are creepy. 

I hate fillers, to be honest. This episode isn't a total waste, but the previous four episodes had a lot more meat to them. (Even the Cinderella one.) 

[companionenvy]

I don't mind the filler, but I think Archie's age was a fatal flaw in this one. Rafael Sbarge was 46 at the time of this episode, and IMO doesn't pass for much younger. At that point, being unable to separate yourself from your vile parents isn't a compelling conflict; it is pathetic. 

I also can't suspend disbelief enough to go along with the "What I REALLY want is to be a cricket" resolution. Like...really? Rather than a clever twist on a fairy tale, that just seemed like a case where the show was reaching to make the backstory work - they want the therapist to be Jiminy Cricket (which was clever), and wanted to give Archie a flashback, but were then stuck with writing around the fact that he was supposed to be an insect in the EF. 

[Camera One]

7 minutes ago, companionenvy said:

I also can't suspend disbelief enough to go along with the "What I REALLY want is to be a cricket" resolution. Like...really? Rather than a clever twist on a fairy tale, that just seemed like a case where the show was reaching to make the backstory work - they want the therapist to be Jiminy Cricket (which was clever), and wanted to give Archie a flashback, but were then stuck with writing around the fact that he was supposed to be an insect in the EF. 

The whole "there were no crickets in Storybrooke" thing was also neither here nor there.  So The Curse intentionally ensured Storybrooke had no crickets because Jiminy Cricket was a cricket?  Huh?  

[Rumsy4]

This episode had the first actual proof of the Curse with the shot of the glass coffin at the end. 

The excess of LOST callouts in this episode had me rolling my eyes--the apollo candy bars, the collapse of the mine trapping people inside, and the shot down the mine shaft like down the Hatch at the end of LOST S1.

This episode marks the official start of Henry the little shit.

Spoiler

who needs to prove his point and is too arrogant to listen to reason, and puts other people in danger with his recklessness. It was fine in this episode, especially as he apologized to Archie, but season 2 on it started to grate, and then became unbearable.

Archie is not very sympathetic in the flashback. As others have said, I think using a younger actor might have helped. The Blue Fairy is useless as usual. Why did Rumple want to turn random people into puppets anyway?

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Was it ever addressed? Poor Geppetto's parents are still puppets, and are now part of the Hyperion Heights police department. :-p

I definitely got some SQ vibes in the scene where Regina tells Emma to "bring him back to me". At least from her end. And then...she pushes Emma away once she gets Henry back safely, proving that her making nice was just a ploy. But two minutes later, she lets him hang with Emma again. It was confusing.

Mary Margaret is definitely playing with fire. Good thing she decided to remove herself from temptation and resigned from her volunteer position.

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Too bad that doesn't last. Ugh I'm dreading the adultery plot. I felt bad for Kathryn too.

Storybrooke felt like a real town with all the people cheering when Henry and Archie were rescued and then staying on to celebrate. 

Spoiler

And Ruby and Gus were flirting, which was a nice touch. Poor Gus. He never got justice either. 

Edited June 16, 2018 by Rumsy4

[Camera One]

I thought this episode seemed to be attempting to show that Regina did love Henry.  She was willing to risk her safety to go down into the mine.  

I agree Henry actually apologizing in this episode made his reckless behavior a bit more palatable.  But again, I could understand his desperation in this particular episode.

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unlike in later seasons, where his rationale is ridiculously weak.

So the Blue Fairy can turn a wooden boy puppet into a real boy, and a wooden man puppet into a real boy, and a man into a cricket that could live long past its lifespan.  But she can't turn the Cursed parent puppets back into life.  I guess it's because that was done with black magic. 

The fact that we never found out why Rumple even wanted to "collect" those puppets showed how little care the Writers put into the standalone episodes.  Yet A&E kept writing the puppets into the script as a background prop because...?  How does Gepetto feel knowing that they're inside Gold's pawnshop?

Edited June 16, 2018 by Camera One

[profdanglais]

This episode is still as meh as I remember it being. The rescue was pretty great, but everything else, meh. 

 

1 hour ago, Rumsy4 said:

I definitely got some SQ vibes in the scene where Regina tells Emma to "bring him back to me".

Yep, I could see it there. Not if I hadn't been looking for it, mind you, but ...

Agree with everyone saying that the EF was never great for heroes, and the whole "villains don't get happy endings" BS was and always will be BS. I like this more nuanced version of good and evil and really wish 

Spoiler

that they had stuck with it instead of trying to shoehorn everyone into such a rigid hero/villain trope, whilst at the same time making sure that their actions didn't bear it out, eg with eggnapping. It just all ended up being so dumb.

[Camera One]

I too noticed that Regina and Emma got weirdly close in the delivery of that one exchange in this episode.  It didn't really fit the situation and the director should have caught it and they should have chosen a different take.

[Camera One]

I'm watching Pinocchio for the first time since I was a kid, and Archie's parents remind me of the Fox and the Cat.  I got bored halfway through so I've stopped watching, LOL.  I'll continue later, I guess.  I got to the part where Pinocchio and Jiminy escapes from the puppet master's caravan.  Seriously, does The Blue Fairy have nothing better to do?

Getting back to this episode, I had to laugh when Blue said, "You don't have to wish so loudly!"  She should have added, "It makes it harder to ignore the wish, which is what I do 99.999999999999999999999999% of the time."

Edited June 17, 2018 by Camera One

[tennisgurl]

I remember liking this episode a lot the first time around, but watching it now, it really does feel like filler. And, I dont necessarily think that filler episodes have to be bad just by virtue of being filler episodes, and this at first this seemed like a good character episode and a decent set up for things that would happen later. Unfortunately, its definitely a good filler episode in retrospect, as 

Spoiler

none of this goes onto affect anything at all. It kinda plays into Gepetto putting Pinochio into the wardrobe, but really, Gepetto and Jimminy/Archie and Marco are basically glorified extras who exist for group shots and to occationaly serve as plot devices. It really sucks, because they establish this character conflict for Archie, and this long friendship he and Gepetto had/have will never amount to anything. 

I really think they should have used a younger actor for Archie's flashbacks, as it would have sold his desperation to get away from his parents more, as opposed to a clearly grown ass man still following around his parents, who are basically the medieval Thenardiers. And for all the talk about how the EF is a place where villains never win and good always triumphs, you sure as hell dont see it here. The poor nice couple are turned into puppets, where they're either basically dead or trapped in a living hell, for being kind, while the awful medieval Thenardiers get away with all their stuff, scot free. Its almost like Regina was whining about nothing! 

Spoiler

And to make it worse, they NEVER get set free! How does that even happen!? Its insane enough that Blue had the power to turn a person into a cricket, but not to turn people who turned into puppets back into people, but that no one tried to save them later? No one noticed them in Golds store? Gold didnt say anything the many times he supposedly turned good? And now the poor things are stuck in the Hyperion Heights locker room at the police station, all because the heroes dont care about them, and A&E find the deaths of innocents to be nothing but a hilarious shout out. 

I do like some things about this episode. I like seeing Rumple spinning straw into gold, and how the mine collapsed when Emma became the official deputy, Pongo being cute, Archie telling Regina to take a long walk off a short pier, and the town coming together to save Henry and Archie, and hanging out afterwards, including Ruby flirting with Gus. I also liked seeing how much control Regina had over the town, and how Emma showing up inspired the townsfolk to start standing up to her, making changes beyond just the spell falling apart. 

I really do feel awful for David here. He doesn't have all his memories, and it makes sense that he would latch onto the woman his mind is telling him he loves. It makes sense, and its such a bad situation for everything. 

So, I like this episode just fine in a vacuum, but in the context of the whole show, it feels like a real waste of time and potential.