Stars: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parrilla, Jared Gilmore, Josh Dallas, Raphael Sbarge
Writer: Jane Espenson
Director: Paul Edwards
Network: ABC, Sunday nights, 8 p.m.
Original Telecast: November 27, 2011

As usual in ONCE UPON A TIME, we have two related stories happening in different worlds. In the fairy tale world, we have the story of how Jiminy Cricket (Raphael Sbarge) became a cricket – and it’s all about the conscience and him going against his, “That Still Small Voice” of the episode title. In Storybrooke, where all the fairy tale characters now live thanks to the curse by The Evil Queen – known in Storybrooke as Mayor Regina Mills (Lana Parilla), Jiminy’s counterpart, Dr. Artie Hopper, goes against his conscience in treating Henry (Jared Gillmore), Regina’s adopted son.

Seems Henry is the only person in Storybrooke who’s hip to the curse and what’s going on (although the narration keeps saying that Regina does, too, but that doesn’t seem right). And Henry is trying to get Emma (Jennifer Morrison) on board, since as the daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), she’s the only one who can break the curse. Emma, who was cast into the present day world outside of Storybrooke and is also Henry’s birth mother, knows nothing of the fairy tale side of things and is barely able to admit that she’s Henry’s mom. Henry’s also trying to get Artie to go along with his alter ego, but is having less success.

Things really get rumbling literally when Sheriff Graham (Jamie Dornan) hands Emma her badge as the town’s new deputy, pointing out that by accepting it, Emma becomes a part of Storybrooke. So you think it’s a coincidence that at that moment, a local mine shaft caves in? We didn’t, either. But things really get hopping, when Artie plays into Regina’s demands that Henry abandon his supposed “fantasies” and upsets Henry, who promptly goes exploring in the mine shaft. And Artie ends up getting trapped there with Henry and decides to listen to his conscience, at last. Up top, Emma finally admits that Henry is her son, too, which leads to her actually working with Regina to get Henry and Artie out of the mine.

Also, Snow and Charming’s counterparts, Mary Margaret and the newly named David Nolan (who started out as a John Doe in a coma, but woke up with amnesia recently) are finding they have a major connection. The problem is, David is married to someone else.

In the fairy tale world, we see Jiminy as a young boy, then adult, traveling with his parents’ marionette show and con artist/theft operation, and struggling because he doesn’t want to steal anymore, which leads him to make a bargain with our old pal Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle). Methinks we’re seeing a pattern here – almost everyone in Storybrooke seems to have made a deal or two with the old schemer.

This show being a descendent of LOST, one has to be on top of the details, and the Disney references d0 remain blatant – Artie’s Dalmation is named Pongo – which means they may distractions from the real clues in the show. Such as the Sheriff’s badge? This is arcane as all get out and probably just a coincidence, but the Storybrooke seal on the badge (what we could see of it) bears an odd resemblance to the City of South Pasadena town shield. It’s probably nothing and may end up among the show’s ongoing general arcana and mythos. After all, how many people are going to recognize an obscure prop and connect it with the emblem of a relatively small Los Angeles area suburb? But what if it was deliberate? So, inside joke or clue or just a coincidence? Only time will tell.

AGREE? DISAGREE? LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD – COMMENT BELOW

Related Link: Exclusive Interview with ONCE UPON A TIME star Raphael Sbarge
Related Link: Exclusive Photos from the PaleyFest 2012 event for ONCE UPON A TIME

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Article: TV Review – ONCE UPON A TIME – Season 1 – “That Still Small Voice”

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