That Still Small Voice
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"That Still Small Voice" is the fifth episode of the American
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
/
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
television series ''
Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 (according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'') in storytelling in the ...
''. The series takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, in which the residents are actually characters from various fairy tales that were transported to the "real world" town by a powerful curse. In this episode, Henry (
Jared S. Gilmore Jared Scott Gilmore (born May 30, 2000) is an American actor, voice actor and Twitch streamer. He is best known for his role in the series ''Once Upon a Time'' as Henry Mills. Early life Jared Scott Gilmore was born on May 30, 2000, in San Dieg ...
) becomes upset when told by Archie (
Raphael Sbarge Raphael Sbarge (born February 12, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on ''The Guardian'' (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on ''Once Upon a Time'' (2011–18) and Insp ...
) that his fairy tale theories are delusions; Henry places himself in danger when he investigates a mysterious sinkhole, forcing a regretful Archie to save him. Meanwhile, the backstory of
Jiminy Cricket Jiminy Cricket is the Disney version of the "Talking Cricket" (Italian: ''Il Grillo Parlante''), a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'', which Walt Disney adapt ...
(Sbarge) is revealed – he yearns to leave his
con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...
parents and become a good person, but accidentally hurts an innocent couple along the way. It was the first ''Once Upon a Time'' episode to be written by consulting producer
Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared ...
, while being directed by Paul Edwards. Espenson was "thrilled" to be assigned the episode; Jiminy Cricket was typically a character that appeared in other people's stories, so she was eager to explore him in his own narrative. Espenson especially wanted to depict how some, like Jiminy in this episode, "have their adolescence well after adolescence. It took Jiminy a long time to figure out how to get away from the life he was living, and I think a lot of people feel like that." In addition, the episode contained several cultural references to the television series ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' and the Disney film ''
One Hundred and One Dalmatians ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (also simply known as ''101 Dalmatians'') is a 1961 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the 1956 novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' by Dodie Smith. The ...
''. "That Still Small Voice" first aired in the United States on November 27, 2011, with the network
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. An estimated 10.7 million viewers watched the episode, helping it finish in third place for its timeslot. "That Still Small Voice" finished in fourteenth place for the week among the major networks. Since then, it has garnered generally positive critical reviews. Many praised Espenson's screenwriting, as well as Jiminy's characterization and the performances of Sbarge and
Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
.


Plot


Opening sequence

A straw spinning wheel is shown in the forest.


In the characters' past

In the Enchanted Forest, a young pickpocket named Jiminy desires the chance to be a good person, but is forced by his father (
Harry Groener Harry Groener (born September 10, 1951) is a German-born American actor and dancer, perhaps best known for playing Mayor Wilkins in '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (seasons 3, 4 and 7). Early life Groener was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, West German ...
) and mother (
Carolyn Hennesy Carolyn Lee Hennesy (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress, author and animal advocate. Hennesy's early work consisted of guest appearances and roles in shows and television movies, including '' Dark Justice'' and in '' Deadly Invasion: Th ...
) to participate in their cons. After he finishes collecting some stolen goods, Jiminy tells them that he desires to leave the family business. Unfortunately, as years go by, the now-adult Jiminy (
Raphael Sbarge Raphael Sbarge (born February 12, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on ''The Guardian'' (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on ''Once Upon a Time'' (2011–18) and Insp ...
) is still aiding his parents, who come up with excuses to keep him from leaving. He runs into a young boy who tells him to follow his conscience. One night, Jiminy pays a visit to see Rumpelstiltskin (
Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
) and is given a tonic that will set him free from his parents and is told to either have them drink it or throw it over them. Later that evening, Jiminy and his parents convince a couple to give up some goods in exchange for a tonic that will supposedly make them immune to a plague. He soon discovers that his father switched Rumpelstiltskin's tonic with the one they sold, and finds that the couple have been turned into dolls. Even worse, he then discovers that the couple were the parents of the young boy he spoke to earlier. Having realized what he has done, Jiminy makes a wish and receives an answer from The Blue Fairy, who shows up to give him his one true wish: becoming a cricket. Jiminy is also told that he has a chance to help someone in the future, starting with the young boy, who would grow up to be Gepetto. As for the cursed dolls, they end up as a collection at Mr. Gold's (Carlyle) pawn shop.


In Storybrooke

In the present day, Dr. Archie Hopper (Sbarge) continues to evaluate Henry (
Jared S. Gilmore Jared Scott Gilmore (born May 30, 2000) is an American actor, voice actor and Twitch streamer. He is best known for his role in the series ''Once Upon a Time'' as Henry Mills. Early life Jared Scott Gilmore was born on May 30, 2000, in San Dieg ...
), who is still trying to convince him that he is Jiminy. Meanwhile, Sheriff Graham (
Jamie Dornan James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model and musician from Northern Ireland. Formerly a character actor, he often portrays solemn, steady characters. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been n ...
) officially makes
Emma Swan Emma Swan is a fictional character in ABC's television series ''Once Upon a Time'' and the protagonist of seasons 1-6. She is portrayed by Jennifer Morrison as an adult, by Abby Ross as a teenager, and by Mckenna Grace as a child. Emma appears ...
(
Jennifer Morrison Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, director, producer, and former child model. She is mainly known for her roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical-drama series ''House'' (2004–2012) and Emma Swan in the ABC adventure-fantasy s ...
) his new deputy. An explosion soon after causes the town to shake, followed by a sinkhole that emerges at an abandoned mine shaft. As Emma, Henry, Archie, and the sheriff show up to see the damaged area, Regina (
Lana Parrilla Lana Parrilla (born July 15, 1977) is an American actress. She was a regular cast member in the fifth season of the ABC sitcom ''Spin City'' (2000–2001) and in the fourth season of '' 24'' (2005), and starred in ''Boomtown'' (2002–2003), '' ...
) arrives to try to keep everyone from going any further, then comes across a certain object which looks like an ornate piece of glass and puts it in her pocket. She is also not pleased with the sheriff hiring Emma, and also reminds Archie that she can have him fired and out on the streets if he fails to succeed in dissuading Henry of the veracity of the fairy tale stories. The next day, Archie follows through on Regina's warning by convincing Henry that the fairy tale stories are not real, upsetting Henry. This prompts Emma to pay a visit to Archie as she figures out that Regina was responsible for threatening him. Emma accuses Regina of threatening Archie, but Regina says that Henry is missing again. Archie conjectures that Henry may have gone back to the mine shaft. There, Henry begins to investigate the area and comes across a glass item similar to the one Regina found earlier that he puts into his backpack. Archie goes in to search for Henry and finds the boy, but as they try to escape, an aftershock blocks off the main entrance, leaving an injured Archie and Henry trapped. They find an elevator shaft, not knowing that above ground Emma and Regina have taken the suggestion of blasting the main entrance from Marco (
Tony Amendola Tony Amendola (born August 24, 1951) is an American actor. He played the Jaffa master Bra'tac in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Pinocchio's creator/father, Geppetto on ABC's ''Once Upon a Time''. He also had a recurring role as revolutionary leader Edou ...
), which results in the elevator carrying Henry and Archie being lowered even further after the blast takes place. Inside the elevator, Henry asks Archie why he refuses to believe that he is Jiminy Cricket. Archie acknowledges that he might share Jiminy's personality and in a similar fashion to his alternative past, yearn to be free from being told what to do. Meanwhile, above ground, Emma finds the opening of the elevator shaft and volunteers to go down the shaft, where she succeeds in rescuing Henry and Archie. Archie tells Regina that he will continue to see Henry and that if she attempts to interfere he will take action against Regina and have her declared an unfit mother. Regina backs down after Archie's threat, she looks at the object she had in her pocket and throws it down the shaft, where it is revealed that it is a small shard of the infamous glass coffin of Snow White's (
Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fanta ...
). Concurrent with these events, Mary Margaret (Goodwin) continues to visit the amnesiac David (
Joshua Dallas Joshua Paul Dallas (born December 18, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Prince Charming/David Nolan in the ABC television series ''Once Upon a Time'' and as Ben Stone in the NBC/Netflix sci-fi drama series ''Manifest'' ...
) at the hospital. At the same time, Kathryn (
Anastasia Griffith Anastasia Griffith (born 23 March 1978) is a British actress known for her roles on the FX legal drama ''Damages'' and the NBC medical series ''Trauma''. She has also acted in films and a video game. Early life and education Born in Paris, Fra ...
) also continues to visit David, showing him pictures to jog his memory but later admits to Mary Margaret that he doesn't remember anything that he saw in the pictures, although he claimed otherwise when talking with Kathryn. As Mary Margaret notices David becoming more attracted to her, she still feels threatened by Kathryn's presence. This prompts Mary Margaret to submit her letter of resignation as a volunteer at the hospital.


Production and cultural references

"That Still Small Voice" was the first ''Once Upon a Time'' episode written by consulting producer
Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared ...
. She was drawn to join the series because she believed a curse involving fairy tale characters was a "fantastic concept". She explained, "What's the modern take on Jiminy Cricket and Rumpelstiltskin? What would their issues be in the real world? The beauty of the production, the care and the effort and, honestly, the expense that was put into it just made clear that was a project done with a lot of attention and love." The episode was directed by ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' veteran Paul Edwards. "That Still Small Voice", featuring Jiminy Cricket, was assigned to Espenson, and she was "thrilled to get it," as she wanted to explore the character in his own story. She elaborated that Jiminy is Actor
Raphael Sbarge Raphael Sbarge (born February 12, 1964) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Jake Straka on ''The Guardian'' (2001–04), Jiminy Cricket / Dr. Archibald Hopper on ''Once Upon a Time'' (2011–18) and Insp ...
became attracted to join the series because he would effectively be helping tell two stories, one in a fantasy world and the other in a modern setting. In an interview with ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', Sbarge compared ''Once Upon a Time'' to the television series ''Lost'' "in that they have a large ensemble and what they do is that they take a few characters and they kind of take them, effectively on a deep dive." When Sbarge read the script for "That Still Small Voice", he was worried about "treading into people's imaginations," but ultimately decided that "they cast me for a reason because there are some qualities in me that they obviously recognize for the story they want to tell." Believing that his character was "sort of a surrogate father figure" to Henry, Sbarge admitted that the script "made me weep because what they came up with is so lovely and magical and delightful." Referring to his character's storyline as a
hero's journey In narratology and comparative mythology, the hero's journey, or the monomyth, is the common template of stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis, and comes home changed or transformed. Earlie ...
, Sbarge said the intention was to show that Jiminy Cricket did not just begin as a noble guy – "what you get to see on this trip are the fire rings he had to walk through to get to a place where he could evolve to develop a sense of doing the right thing." The episode featured guest stars
Harry Groener Harry Groener (born September 10, 1951) is a German-born American actor and dancer, perhaps best known for playing Mayor Wilkins in '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (seasons 3, 4 and 7). Early life Groener was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, West German ...
and
Carolyn Hennesy Carolyn Lee Hennesy (born June 10, 1962) is an American actress, author and animal advocate. Hennesy's early work consisted of guest appearances and roles in shows and television movies, including '' Dark Justice'' and in '' Deadly Invasion: Th ...
as Jiminy's parents Martin and Myrna. Groener had previously worked with Espenson in the third season of the fantasy television series ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
''. It is their only appearances in the series. The episode contains several cultural references and allusions. The scenes in which Henry was carrying a couple of Apollo Chocolate Candy Bars in his back pack was also the same brand of candy bars made by the DHARMA Initiative on ''Lost'', while Archie's pet Pongo is also the name of one of the dogs in the Disney film ''
One Hundred and One Dalmatians ''One Hundred and One Dalmatians'' (also simply known as ''101 Dalmatians'') is a 1961 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the 1956 novel ''The Hundred and One Dalmatians'' by Dodie Smith. The ...
''. The episode's title, "That Still Small Voice", is an apparent allusion, or reference to a
Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
passage in the ''
Books of Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...
'': "''but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice''."


Reception


Ratings

The episode first aired on November 27, 2011. It earned a ratings share of 3.4/8 among 18- to 49-year-olds and scored a 5.9/8 ratings share overall. An estimated 10.7 million watched the episode, and it ranked third in its timeslot behind ''
Football Night In America ''Football Night in America'' (''FNIA''), branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Football Night in America served by Applebee's'', is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason Nation ...
'' on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
and ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
but ahead of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' on the
Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
. The episode ultimately finished in fourteenth place for the week among the major networks. In Canada, the episode finished in twenty-second place for the week, garnering an estimated 1.43 million viewers, a decrease from the 1.59 million of the previous episode.


Reviews

The episode was met with generally positive reviews. Writing for
AOL TV AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display (rather than a monitor), and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV. The product and service were develop ...
, Laura Prudom noted that the episode "proved to be an undeniably satisfying hour of television, deepening our understanding of Archie/Jiminy's character and giving us some welcome development in Mary Margaret and David's tragic romance. I don't know about you, but I really could watch a whole hour of those two playing hangman and innocently flirting and need nothing else from the show." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' columnist Shaunna Murphy wrote that while she "ragged on Robert Carlyle initially, his campy Rumpel is quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of this show."
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
's Teresa Jusino called Espenson's script "so engaging" because it deviated from the series' typical two-story format and "incorporated a third, separate modern storyline" that featured other characters in addition to Jiminy Cricket, in which "each storyline got just enough attention." She added that the episode's best parts were its "intimate character moments, particularly the scenes between Archie/Jiminy and the boys in his life," and attributed this to Espenson's strength as a writer. Jusino felt another highlight was Sbarge's performance, as he "navigated both Archie and Jiminy’s journeys from being pawns to being their own men with precision and warmth." Oliver Sava of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' graded the episode with a C. He criticized Gilmore's performance in "That Still Small Voice" and earlier episodes, writing that "Gilmore struggles to make a connection with his character, so it always looks like he’s reading lines," which might have a negative effect on the Henry's character development. Sava felt that Espenson, based on her previous work, was good at balancing large casts and wrote "this episode juggles the expansive character roster of this series better than its predecessors." Conversely,
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Amy Ratcliffe said she has "never liked Henry as much as I did in this episode," especially his explanation to Archie on why he is Jiminy Cricket. Ratcliffe added that Jiminy had the "most touching backstory" of the season up to that point, opining that "the transformation of Dr. Hopper was moving, and this episode maybe felt the most like a fairytale of the stories we've seen so far." She graded "That Still Small Voice" with 8 out of 10, an indication of a "great" episode.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Once Upon a Time episodes 2011 American television episodes Once Upon a Time (season 1) episodes Television episodes written by Jane Espenson