Now, we're back with "Tiny" which brings Jorge Garcia back as the Giant that threw Emma and Hook for a loop earlier this season. This time, however, he's wreaking havoc in Storybrooke while Emma, Henry and Mr. Gold are off on their quest in New York City. But with a divided story on multiple fronts, does the fairy tale drama continue its streak after finally winding back on the tracks or is it headed off the rails once more.
Though it may not be as surprising or fast-paced, "Tiny" still brings us another solid-enough edition to a season that has been rather slippery up to this point. Though there are some times where you question the stories themselves, each has their significant developments, a depth in their writing and a few notable performances. Out of the past trio of installments, the episode isn't as weak as "In the Name of the Brother". But certainly the three are still great editions to a series that needed some renewed strength.
Let's start off with perhaps the shortest of the three plots tonight: the airport. Knowing that next week's episode is titled "Manhattan", it wasn't too hard to assume this week's plot would simply be a precursor to the events that would easily unfold next week. For the most part, it's just a dull activity and doesn't supply too much. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'd be writing off the entire tale had it not been for Robert Carlyle.
Without saying too much, Carlyle's performance adds much deeper meaning to a rather straight-forward plot. Though the audience is on pins and needles delicately watching from the edge of their seats to see whether or not this memory retainment would actually work, there are various shots within the airport sequence that Carlyle takes control of and really expands on once you realize just what the hell he's doing.
In two different scenes, we get to see Gold actually find himself normal once more. He's no longer in power and to not have that vice to hold on to, it's almost destroying him. Like a junkie without his addiction, simply put. Instead of calling the shots, he's the one who most conform to the outside rule and obey an unspoken set of rules that he's simply not used to.
Though abandoning the shawl for a moment is a tense one, perhaps it's the bathroom scene that speaks most of all. As he's angry for a minute, confusing some viewers, it's when his magic doesn't work seconds later and Henry asking if he's ready to board that finally the meaning is conveyed: it's the eternal struggle once more. His power or his son. Though he's made the choice before, here he is all these years later and he can feel himself powerless, killing him inside. That's why he seems so uncomfortable. a combination of not only his need for power but the desire to finally do the right thing after nearly three decades.
Moving to Storybrooke, it's always been somewhat clear that Anton (Jorge Garcia) has always had a heart underneath. Here with his flashback tale in tow, it's only amplified even more as we are actually given a significant twist to the classic Jack and the Beanstalk tale. In a genius move, the writers actually pulled something out of their sleeves and brought the Charming twin actually to good use. Though thought of as a bit of a farfetched stretch early in Season 1, here we actually get to see the corrupt James before his brother David took over and we finally get to see Josh Dallas portray a villain for a night. It was a refreshing change of pace and I actually commend the creative staff on a job well done in taking a previously established concept and making some pretty worthwhile use out of it.
As we get to see Anton is the protagonist on both sides of the fence, even as he's attacking our band of fairy tale heroes, both stories really seem a bit unstable in spots. Starting with the flashback, I just wasn't a big fan of Cassidy Freeman's portrayal of the series' take on Jack. Though she was very much supposed to be the antagonist and she plays her part well, her role in ultimately faking their goodwill towards Anton feels very forced on her end and it just ultimately never panned out. And dare I say it: the character ultimately came off as one-dimensional. Thankfully, the writers didn't go with the typical "they're each other's true love" twist but they easily could have done much more.
While it's likely she won't be popping up in Storybrooke anytime soon, it seems there could be a much larger tale to tell through flashback going forward, however. Jack mentions that she came into possession of a magical item that allows Anton to shrink by slaying a Jabberwocky, which is a spot-on recollection of what Alice did in "Alice in Wonderland". Could she be the series' take on Alice, just as Rumplestiltskin was the Beast of "Beauty and the Beast"? With Wonderland certainly having a prime focus, it's something to definitely look out for.
On the Storybrooke front, there was certainly a part in the middle in which I just simply didn't care for. It walked that fine line of the characters running for their lives from a villain we all knew was simply misunderstood. Still, the bookends of the plot were great as it kept very grounded in discovering where Cora was while in the end Anton brought a major piece to the table that really points the characters forward for an overarching development in the future.
As the Charming/Snow "which world" debate came up again, I think of all the little quirks in the present day story I have to really commend Lana Parrilla's performance. Yes I know, she was only in one scene. But there was something about her in her appearance tonight that I really have to point out. For the first time in 12 episodes, we have Regina finally being Evil Regina once more in Storybrooke. As she's really become human in her attempts to change for Henry, her reunion with her mother may have certainly influenced her back towards power.
But one of the most notable things is that for a second I believed Anton was talking to Cora masked as Regina once more. Why? If you notice, there are little ticks in Parrilla's portrayal that is absolutely spot-on to the performances that Barbara Hershey has been delivering as Cora. It's almost as if Parrilla was mirroring exactly how her on-screen mother has been delivering her lines and used this to enhance her role. It may just speak to what subtle power Parrilla may bring to her role, but I actually sat back in amazement at this very sharp tweak.
Of course, the episode isn't without it's downfalls. Sure I've pointed out a few above already, but again the special effects seem to be yet another massive issue on this show. Though this time the Giants kingdom is a little more refined, it's when "Once Upon a Time" massively leans on its special effects that it ultimately fails. Though some shots pulled it off effectively enough, there were various scenes such as when Jack hands giant Anton the magical item that look absolutely absurd. If the series could learn to really hone it in such as with the Yaoguai last month, it could really make major visual improvements.
Overall, "Tiny" holds things in tact without taking any more steps back; we have great performances, some big moves in development. But it isn't without some boring pieces, bad CGI and shortcomings. Still, it seemed like in some ways the airport scenes were nothing more than a prologue for what's to come while Anton was clearly the focus and for good reason as he really provided an emotional underbelly in addition to being a clear solution to a problem that has been tossed around for a few hours now.
What did you think of the episode? Let us know either in the comments below or tweet us @FilmThrasher on Twitter!
Source: i-love-witchcraft.blogspot.com
