Episode Report Card Tippi Blevins: B- | 1 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Hole Lotta Trouble
By Tippi Blevins | Season 1 | Episode 5 | Aired on 11.27.2011
Henry is currently facing down the old mine entrance, screwing up his courage to go inside. Ominous music plays. Finally, Henry ignores the yellow tape and forges ahead into darkness.
In the fairytale world, Rumpelstiltskin is in a dank, dark room somewhere, spinning some wool into gold. (He must have been all out of straw.) The walls are all shelves, crammed floor to ceiling with books. Jiminy walks in and places a burlap bag of goodies on a small table. "And the names?" Rumpy asks. "To whom did these treasures belong?" He asks this with a hilarious little flourish. Jiminy takes out a sheet of paper and lays it on top of the bag. Rumpy pays Jiminy for his "thievery" with a length of gold thread. With that, Rumpy dismisses him. Jiminy takes a few steps, but dawdles a bit and Rumpy surmises he wants something magical. He coils more thread into a small dish and adds a few drops of liquid, causing it to flash and melt. "Every year stuck in that damn wagon," Jiminy says. "I wanna be free, I wanna be someone else, but something keeps holding me back." At Rumpy's urging, Jiminy admits it's his parents. Rumpy waves his hands over the dish of molten gold and produces a small vial. "Then I have exactly what you need!" Rumpy tells him it will set him free if he uses it on his parents. But how will Jiminy pay for this magic potion? Rumpy is ever so generous: "After the potion has 'done its work,' leave them where they are, and I'll come collect them." That's his payment. Jiminy asks what will happen to his parents, but Rumpy tells him not to worry, that his parents will be in safe hands and Jiminy will be free. Who wouldn't take a slithery little imp at his word? With a look of awe, Jiminy accepts the vial.
In the real world, Archie and Emma are at the mine, calling out for Henry. The Dalmatian has come along, too, and sniffs out something at the mine entrance. "What do you got there, Pongo?" Archie asks. He goes over to look and picks up one of Henry's candy bars. Pongo's like, "Finders keepers, fool! Give it back!"
In the mine, Henry follows the old tracks, aiming his flashlight at the walls. So far, everything looks like just a regular old mine, but he's undaunted. A little more wandering around and he finds a tunnel entrance shut of by rocks, either by design or by cave-in. In a crevice between two rocks, he finds a piece of glass and metal like Regina found earlier. As he studies it, the earth around him begins to rumble. Support beams shake and sway. Dirt starts raining down. Henry bolts.