Jiminy Cricket

"Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything."

- Jiminy Cricket

Jiminy Cricket is a recurring character on Once Upon a Time. He is the fairytale alter ego of Archie Hopper.

Jiminy is based on a character from the story Pinocchio.

Season One
Jiminy Cricket was not always a cricket. Born as the child of traveling puppeteers and con artists, Jiminy was used by his unscrupulous parents to cheat and steal from people for most of his life, which they refered to as "helping". He felt guilty for his actions, and always begged his parents to stop their thievery, but they never listened to their son and told him that he had no say in the matter.

When Jiminy finally decided he had had enough, the young man visited Rumpelstiltskin. In return for freedom, the swindler would take his parents, and he gave Jiminy a potion that would do the trick. Later the same evening, the puppeteers and Jiminy asked a young couple to stay the night, where they lied that a plague was approaching and they were in possession of a cure. In return for many of their valuables, the couple bought the cure.

Jiminy was furious about the deception of the kind people, and threatened his parents with Rumpelstiltskin's potion, only to see it was switched with the fake cure - rainwater. He ran back to the couple's house, and saw the effect of the potion in horror: they had been transformed into wooden puppets. As the puppeteers laughed and joked at this find, the young son of the couple arrived home, and upon seeing his parents, demanded to know what had happened.

Devastated for the boy whose life he had ruined, Jiminy desperately wished for his mistake to be undone. The Blue Fairy appeared before him, but told him she could not reverse Rumpelstiltskin's magic. Jiminy then asked her to free him from his parents so that he may help the child himself.

When she inquired as to what Jiminy wanted to be instead, he chose a cricket. The Fairy vanished after sending him after the boy, whom she said was named Geppetto.

Many years later, the seven dwarves ask him for help because of Snow White's destructive turn in her life, as she had become angry, easily annoyed and frustrated, and rude. Snow tries to swat him at first. Then, Jiminy indirectly gives her the idea to kill the Evil Queen, and aids Prince James after Snow ties him to a tree by eating his bonds. Then James goes and saves Snow White from becoming as dark as the Evil Queen herself.

He was seen in Pilot, advising Snow White, Prince James, and their allies on battling the Evil Queen and the curse.

Trivia

 * His parent's names, Myrna and Martin, are the complete name of well-known psychiatrist, Myrna Martin, who specializes in child/adolescent and family therapy. Jiminy's Storybrooke counterpart, Archie, is also a psychiatrist and treating young Henry.