That Still Small Voice

"Now it's harder for you, because of the curse, to care for the voice inside of you. To be who you wanna be."

- Henry to Archie

"That Still Small Voice" is the fifth episode of Season One of ABC's Once Upon a Time. It was written by Jane Espenson and directed by Paul Edwards. It is the fifth episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 27, 2011.

Synopsis
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.

Recap
In the Enchanted Forest of the past, Martin and Myrna put on a puppet show. Their young son Jiminy moves unobtrusively through the crowd, stealing from various members of the audience. He slips into the family caravan, unnoticed by the audience.

Later, Jiminy and his parents pour over the items Jiminy acquired. Jiminy pulls a cricket cage out of a bag, exclaiming that he loves crickets. Myrna calls them trouble, and Jiminy replies that crickets can "do whatever they want", and that they're "free". His parents respond that Jiminy is also free, to do what they want. Jiminy suggests that he might want to be different, be "good" and not steal. His father tells him that good is "another word for weak", and his mother tells him to let them think for him. His father tells Jiminy that he is who he is, and there's no changing. Jiminy reluctantly agrees, and Martin declares the problem solved.

In present-day Storybrooke, Archie Hopper is having an office session with Henry Mills. Henry declares that Archie wasn't always a cricket, and Archie asks the boy why he thinks Archie is Jiminy Cricket. Henry replies that Archie is a conscious, helping people see right from wrong. Archie asks if all the crickets in Storybrooke were once people, and Henry gets up, going to the window, telling Archie there are no crickets in town. Archie suggests that it may not be late enough to hear crickets, and Henry replies that the town has never had crickets, but Archie has never noticed. Archie asks him if he thinks that's proof there is a curse, and Henry replies in the affirmative, but explains that he knows it isn't enough, and he is looking for more. Archie asks the boy why it is so important that his theories are real. Henry replies, "It just is", and Archie tells him to keep thinking about it.

At the Storybrooke Sheriff's Department, Emma Swan indignantly holds up a deputy's uniform, questioning the tie, telling Sheriff Graham that she won't wear it. The Sheriff gives her a badge, urging her to wear it. As Emma clips it to her belt, a tremor rocks the office. Alarms are heard going off outside, and phones begin ringing in the station.

Later, Mayor Regina Mills arrives at the entrance to Storybrooke's mining tunnels, which has experienced a collapse and a crowd has gathered. Marco explains the situation to Ruby. Emma and Graham arrive on the scene, and Regina tells Graham to create a police perimeter, and asks Marco to help the fire department. She tells Emma to leave, as the situation is "official town business". Emma replies that she now works for the town, and Graham explains that Emma is a new deputy. Regina expresses her displeasure at not being informed, and tells Emma to help with crowd control. Graham gives her a nod, and Regina addresses the crowd as Archie and Henry arrive. Regina tells the townspeople that she plans to make the dangerous mining tunnels safe by collapsing them and paving the area. Henry confronts her, asking what's in the tunnels. Regina replies, "nothing", telling her son, and the crowd, to step back. She picks up and pockets a piece of glass from the ground, an action that Henry sees. He ask Emma what it was, and Regina tells him to wait in the car, then tells Emma and Graham to close off the area.

Nearby, seeing that his mother is busy talking, Henry gets out of her car and beckons to Archie and Emma, who join him at Graham's squad car. He tells them that the situation calls for all of Operation Cobra, which includes Archie, and that they can't let Regina pave over the tunnels, as something might be "down there". Emma claims they're just "old tunnels", and Henry points out that they collapsed "just after" Emma arrived, that Emma is changing things, and weakening the Curse. He asks her if she did anything different, claiming that something made the tunnel collapse. Regina approaches, telling Henry to wait in the car, and Emma to do her job. Emma walks away, and Regina confronts Archie. She tells him they need a "new treatment plan", that Henry thinks her every move is "some part of a horrible plot". She points out that Henry thinks she's hiding something in the old mine, and asks the doctor how that could be logical to her son. Archie tells her that Henry has a great imagination, and Regina claims Archie has let it "run wild". Archie tells her that it wouldn't be right to rip away the world Henry has created, Regina chastises him, reminding him that he works for her, and she can "fire" him. She tells him he will lose his office, his house, and she will "cut him down" until his umbrella is the only roof over his head. Archie quietly asks her what she would have him do, and Regina tells to take the delusion out of Henry's head and "crush it".

In the former Enchanted Forest, Martin, Myrna, and an adult Jiminy arrive with their wagon at the site of a small market. Myrna comments that it's been a good year, her husband agrees, and she suggests running the "elf tonic scam". Jiminy protests, saying they make enough money from their puppet show and they don't have to steal. Martin claims that they steal from the crowd, and the crowd steals from someone else, which his wife calls an "economy". Jiminy tells his parents that he wants to quit, and both of them claim they're old, and Jiminy needs to stay with them until they die. They leave their son, telling him to set up as it begins to rain. A short while later, rain is falling heavily as Jiminy sets up for their puppet show. A young boy approaches him, exclaiming that he has a wonderful job. When Jiminy makes no reply, the boy asks if he doesn't like his job. Jiminy replies that he doesn't, and the boy asks him why he doesn't do something else. Jiminy replies that it's just who he is, and ask the boy if he came out just to watch him set up. The boy replies that he came out to listen to the crickets. Jiminy tells him that he hasn't listened to the crickets in a long time, and tells the boy to hurry home or he'll catch a cold. The boy tells him that he will too, and gives him his umbrella. Jiminy takes it, visibly moved as the boy hurries away.

In modern Storybrooke, Marco enters Archie's office. Archie asks him what he's doing there, and Marco makes an eating gesture. Archie realizes they were supposed to lunch, and tells Marco that he has another patient, suggesting they do lunch another time. With a smile, Marco tells him that's fine. Henry enters the office, and Marco tells him to have a good session as he leaves. Henry asks if he's recruiting Geppetto for Operation Cobra, and Archie asks if he thinks Marco is Geppetto. Henry replies that Geppetto is Jiminy Cricket's best friend, and Marco is Archie's best friend. Pacing, Archie tells Henry that they need to talk about his theories, and Henry interrupts, telling him that he knows where to get proof. He unzips his backpack, showing Archie the contents: a flashlight and candy bars among them, and Archie deduces that he plans to go down into the mines. Archie tells the boy that it isn't a good idea, but Henry replies that since Emma arrived, things are happening, and he "has to look at it". Frustrated, Archie tells him that there is no "proof", and all of his theories are a delusion. He tells Henry that a delusion is not real or healthy, and that he thought Henry would outgrow his ideas, but they've become a psychosis. He tells him that a psychosis means he doesn't know what's real and what isn't, and that if it continues, he'll have to lock Henry away. He tells him it has to stop, for his own good, that the "nonsense must end". Without a word, Henry gets up and leaves the office, with Archie visibly upset.

At Storybrooke General Hospital, Mary Margaret Blanchard plays a game of hangman with David Nolan. Mary Margaret asks if he played hangman a lot "before", and David responds that he doesn't know, looking perplexed. Mary Margaret assures him that his memories will come back, pointing out that he'll be going home in a week, so he must be progressing. David replies that he's progressing physically, and Mary Margaret points out that he's making new memories just fine. She asks if he wants to play again as Kathryn Nolan arrives, asking if she can play too. Awkwardly, Mary Margaret gets up to leave, and Kathryn jovially wishes her a good day. She sits down a box of pictures in front of her husband, saying she hopes they'll help him remember. As Mary Margaret looks on nearby, Kathryn shows David a picture of their old dog, Ajax. David takes the picture, reacting as if he remembers the dog.

Some time later, at her loft, Mary Margaret makes s'mores with Emma, telling her she's the "worst person in the world". Emma objects, saying, "Really? The whole world?" Mary Margaret responds that it would be easier if Kathryn wasn't so nice. Emma asks what would be easier, and Mary Margaret hurriedly replies "nothing". Emma tells her that getting involved with a married man is not worth the heartache, as if she has experience. There is a knock on the door, and Emma opens it to find a tearful Henry.

Later, Emma bangs on the door of Archie's office. Getting no response, she enters, and confronts a despondent Archie, reminding him that he told her that destroying Henry's fantasy would "devastate" him. Archie replies that when a therapy is not working, one must "adjust it". Not satisfied, Emma asks if Regina put him up to it, asking what could be strong enough to drown out his own conscious. Standing, Archie tells her that he doesn't need to defend his "professional decisions". Emma's phone rings, and she answers, telling Regina "nice work". Regina asks if Emma is with "him", and Emma replies that she is with Dr, Hopper, starting a rant that Regina interrupts, telling Emma that she meant Henry. Emma replies that she dropped him off at Regina's office, and Regina replies that he isn't there. Emma tells her that she doesn't know where he is, and a perplexed Archie tells her that he knows where the boy is.

At the site of the collapse, a determined-looking Henry enters the mining tunnel.

In the past, alone in his Dark Castle, Rumplestiltskin spins straw into gold. Jiminy arrives, giving the wizard a sack of stolen goods and a list of the names of their owners. Rumplestiltskin pays him in gold thread, dismissing him. Jiminy hesitates, and Rumplestiltskin deduces that he "wants something else" as he places a bit of gold thread into a tray, adding liquid from a small bottle. The sound makes Jiminy jump, and he desperately confesses that he wants to leave his life, but something is holding him back: his parents. Rumplestiltskin transforms his concoction into a small bottle of liquid, telling Jiminy that it's what he needs. He gives it to Jiminy, telling him to "leave them where they are" after the potion has been used, and he will "collect them". Jiminy asks what it will do, and the wizard claims his parents will be "in safe hands", and Jiminy will be free.

At the site of the mine collapse, Emma, Archie, and Pongo search for Henry. Pongo finds a candy bar, evidence that Henry has gone into the old mine. Inside the tunnels, Henry walks along a track, and discovers another strange piece of glass. As he examines it, another collapse begins. As the ground shakes, Archie enters the tunnel, but falling rock seals him inside before Emma can follow. Archies moves slowly forward, calling out to Henry, who arrives, assuming Archie is there to help him in his quest. Archie implores the boy that they need to get out, but Henry runs off, telling Archie that he'll "see". Archie follows.

In the past, at night, Jiminy, Myrna, and Martin approach a small cabin. Jiminy attempts to persuade his parents to "not do this tonight", that they don't need the money. His parents remind him that it's not about the money, but the principle of the theft. Martin gives Jiminy a small bottle of "elf tonic" and knocks on the cabin door. The trio are greeted by a young couple, Stephen and Donna. Jiminy half-heartedly asks if the couple has a place for the three of them, and the couple offers their hospitality.

Inside the cabin, Jiminy and his parents enjoy a meal provided by Donna and Stephen. As the two couples sit at the table, Myrna and Martin begin their con. Myrna mentions that she "can't get it out of my mind, that family", and Martin agrees, catching the young couple's attention. The older couple claims that plague is affecting the next town over. Stephen, alarmed, asks if the plague is coming their way, and if the older couple are "okay". Martin and Myrna explain that they are immune, because they have elf tonic. They ask if the younger couple have any, and Donna responds that they've never even heard of it. The older couple expresses their shock, and Jiminy chimes in again, half-heartedly exclaiming that they need elf tonic or they'll die. Myrna laments that they don't have extra, and Jiminy adds that there is no "extra". Donna quickly suggests that she and her husband could pay for the elf tonic. Martin and Myrna make a little show of claiming they need the bottle for themselves, but the young couple insists they must have something the older couple would want.

A short time later, the con is complete. Martin and Myrna leave the cabin carrying sacks filled with whatever valuables Donn and Stephen had. A conflicted-looking Jiminy gives the couple the "elf tonic", and leaves. Jiminy confronts his parents at their wagon, expressing his outrage at scamming good people. Myrna and Martin respond with their usual lines regarding being the ones to take, rather than be taken from. Jiminy takes out the bottle Rumplestiltskin gave him, listening to the crickets for a moment. With anguish on his face, he apologizes to his parents, telling them they have given him "no other choice". He splashes the liquid on them.

Myrna and Martin look shocked for a moment, but their expressions change to smirks. Horror dawns on Jiminy's face as his father reminds him that he's good at sleight of hand. Jiminy realizes that whatever was in the bottle from Rumplestiltskin has been given to Donna and Stephen. Jiminy hurries back into the cabin as his parents laugh.

Back inside the cabin, Jiminy finds the empty bottle on the floor just inside the doorway. Gazing around the room, he discovers two wooden puppets sitting on the bed. Rumplestiltskin's potion has transformed the young couple. Shocked, Jiminy stumbles into a nearby chair. Myrna and Martin enter the cabin, and, laughing, exclaim that they have new puppets for their act. At that moment, the same young boy Jiminy encountered in the market, the same boy who showed him kindness and gave him his umbrella, appears in the doorway carrying a bucket of water, calling out for his parents. When the boy discovers what has become of his parents, he demands answers from Jiminy. Jiminy does not respond, but the horror and anguish at his own actions is clear on his face.

Deleted Scene
This scene is included on the Season One DVD.

"Blood is Thick" (Scene 37-38)
While walking alongside his parents, Jiminy protests what is going on and wants to leave them. He feels bad for the boy whose parents he turned into puppets. He tells his parents to just leave him, but they threaten to have him arrested, for what he did to the boy's parents and what he tried to do to them. They tell him to get in the back of the carriage, because he is just like them.

Starring

 * Ginnifer Goodwin as Mary Margaret Blanchard
 * Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan
 * Lana Parrilla as Regina Mills
 * Josh Dallas as David Nolan
 * Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills
 * Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper
 * Jamie Dornan as Sheriff Graham
 * Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold

Guest Starring

 * Tony Amendola as Marco
 * Anastasia Griffith as Kathryn Nolan
 * Harry Groener as Martin
 * Carolyn Hennesy as Myrna
 * Meghan Ory as Ruby
 * Keegan Connor Tracy as Blue Fairy

Co-Starring

 * Laura Bertram as Donna
 * Luke Camilleri as Stephen
 * Jarod Joseph as Billy
 * Michael Strusievici as Little Fairy Tale Boy
 * Adam Young as Pickpocket Boy/Child Jiminy
 * Morgan Roff as Teenage Jiminy

Uncredited

 * Cinder as Pongo

Trivia
Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * The opening title card features Rumplestiltskin's spinning wheel.
 * Morgan Roff was cast as Teenage Jiminy, but his scenes were deleted during post-production. However, he can still be seen in behind the scenes photos for the episode.
 * Emma asks Henry if Marco is Archie's father; even though Marco told her in "Pilot" that he doesn't have any children.
 * The scene where the crickets are heard in Storybrooke for the first time, was originally slated to be a visual effect with crickets hopping at ground level, but the production crew decided to go for a sound effect instead.


 * -|Episode Connections=

Event Chronology

 * The Enchanted Forest flashback with a young Jiminy Cricket takes place while Jiminy is still a child. The flashbacks with an adult Jiminy, take place many years later, while Geppetto is just a child, several decades before the events of "Snow Drifts", where Geppetto has grown into an old man.
 * The Storybrooke events of this episode occur after the events of "The Price of Gold" and before the events of "The Shepherd".
 * The episode also takes place after Emma's reunion with Ingrid in "Shattered Sight".

Episode Connections

 * The title card is used again in the episodes "Skin Deep" and "The Miller's Daughter".
 * Sheriff Graham makes a reference to Emma's iconic red leather jacket, which first appeared in "Pilot".
 * The event in which Jiminy accidentally kills Geppetto's parents is mentioned in "The Stranger".
 * Donna and Stephen's marionette forms reappear in other episodes, including "The Price of Gold", "The Shepherd", "The Stranger", "An Apple Red as Blood" and "A Land Without Magic", in Mr. Gold's pawnshop; and "Skin Deep", "Heroes and Villains" in the Dark Castle.
 * The hidden purpose of Snow White's glass coffin is revealed in "The Evil Queen".


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * Alludes to Disney's 1961 film One Hundred and One Dalmatians with Archie's dog also named Pongo.

Lost

 * Henry has Apollo candy bars in his bag.

Fairytales and Folklore

 * This episode is a rendition of the Pinocchio story, focusing on Geppetto's voice of consciousness, the Talking Cricket as well as the role of the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair.
 * This episode also features Rumplestiltskin from the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale.

Popular Culture

 * David and Mary Margaret play hangman at the hospital.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * The puppeteer show Myrna and Martin run is called "Martin's and Myrna's Marvelous Marionettes".
 * The white table lamps on either side of the sofa in the Mayor's office are Bronte Table Lamps from Robert Abbey. In the Season Six episode "Page 23", Regina and her serum counterpart knock over one of the lamps while they're dueling in Regina's office.
 * In the scene where Mary Margaret exits David's hospital room and stands at the counter, she is holding a pear. In addition, when Mary Margaret was teaching in "Pilot", she received a pear from her student, which is fitting as she was poisoned by an apple.

Costume Notes

 * Mary Margaret is wearing a Girls from Savoy Colorblocked Sweater Skirt from Anthropologie (no longer available).


 * -|Other Notes=

Filming Locations

 * The scene where Mary Margaret escorts David on a walk, was filmed in Burnaby's Deer Lake Park.
 * Donna and Stephen's cottage doubles as Ruth's farmhouse for the next episode, "The Shepherd". The architecture, the door, the wooden shutters, the brick pattern, the enclosure on the right side of the building, even the ladder propped up against the roof, are exactly the same. However, Donna and Stephen's thatched roof was replaced by roof tiles for the episode.