"Tiny" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American ABC fantasy/drama television series Once Upon a Time, and the show's thirty-fifth episode overall. It premiered on February 10, 2013.
It was co-written by Kalinda Vazquez and Christine Boylan, while being directed by Guy Ferland.
Plot[]
Opening sequence[]
Anton the Giant is featured uprooting a tree in the forest.
In the Characters' Pasts[]
A group of giant brothers gather for dinner in their castle in the sky to celebrate the once-a-century harvest of magic beans. Anton, the shortest among them, is nicknamed "Tiny" and is mocked for his interest in humans. The leader of the giants, Arlo, explains that humans used the beans for conquest instead of exploration, so the giants now conceal themselves and the beans. Anton asks why they still grow the beans, as the giants also don't use them, and Arlo says the labor itself is worthwhile. Another brother, Abraham, then breaks a human harp that interested Anton, and an angry Anton climbs down the beanstalk to the human world.
King George interrupts the original Prince James's dalliance with Jacqueline to inform him of the presence of a giant in the kingdom, which he hopes to use to their advantage. James and Jacqueline find Anton. Jacqueline introduces herself by her nickname, "Jack", and gives Anton a magic mushroom that will temporarily make him human-sized. They show him hospitality and then allow him to learn that the kingdom is destitute. Anton offers to bring treasure to help his new friends and the kingdom where he now hopes to live, but claims the giants have no magic beans.
Anton later returns to his home to gather treasure. Arlo tries to warn him that the humans won't accept him, but Anton doesn't believe him until James and Jack appear, intent on taking the beans. With poisoned swords, their army is able to effectively fight the giants. Abraham is killed and Arlo orders Anton to burn and salt the fields. Jack stabs Arlo but he also wounds her with the poisoned sword. James flees with a sack of treasure, leaving Jack to die. All the giants but Anton are killed. A dying Arlo gives Anton a beanstalk cutting in the hopes that he will someday find somewhere to plant it.
In Storybrooke[]
Mr. Gold arrives at Mary Margaret's apartment to bring Emma on his quest to search for Baelfire. Gold reluctantly agrees to Emma's new demand that Henry accompany them. David asks Gold to take care of Emma and Henry, and Gold promises no harm will come to them. The three drive out of Storybrooke and Gold retains his memories and identity as Rumplestiltskin. Later, Regina comes to the apartment to protest her innocence in the murder of Archie. David and Mary Margaret tell her that she was framed by Cora, and Regina pretends not to have been aware of her mother's presence. Regina is aggravated to learn that Emma has taken Henry from Storybrooke. David, Mary Margaret, and Leroy then force Hook to take them aboard his ship. Hook reveals that Cora's plans involve the contents of a tarp-covered cage that proves to contain a sleeping, human-sized Anton. Mary Margaret wakes Anton to ask him about Cora's plans. Anton is dismayed to discover that Cora has shrunk him, then attacks David after apparently recognizing him. Mary Margaret drives him away with arrows. Mary Margaret surmises that Anton's real enemy was David's twin.
Regina, in Cora's stead, meets with Hook, who informs her about Anton. She brings Anton a mushroom that temporarily restores his size. Anton then rampages through the town. David confronts him and explains that the real Prince James is dead. Mary Margaret tells Anton that Emma is their daughter, and Anton asks to have Emma vouch for them. Told that she is out of town, an enraged Anton concludes that all humans are liars and resumes his attacks. David offers to surrender himself if Anton will spare everyone else. When Anton leaps towards David, he crashes through the ground into a sinkhole just as the mushroom wears off, leaving him human-sized and clinging to a pipe. David leads the townspeople in rescuing a despondent Anton from the pit, restoring his faith in humans.
Anton is welcomed by the townspeople. He reveals the beanstalk stems and is brought to fertile farmland where he could grow beans, making it possible to return to the Enchanted Forest. He warns that Cora planned for him to grow the beans, so Mary Margaret says they won't let her get them. The dwarves arrive and pledge themselves to cultivating and protecting the beans. They give Anton a pickaxe to use for tillage, and it names him "Tiny". The dwarves accept him as a brother. That night, David wonders what kind of person he would be if King George had raised him, but Mary Margaret reassures him that he has a good heart. She admits that she had been craving excitement, and they agree that they enjoyed the day's adventure. But when David talks about returning to the Enchanted Forest, Mary Margaret declares she will not go back if it means being separated from Emma.
Meanwhile Ruby visits the still-amnesiac Belle at the hospital and brings her a book. Belle asks Ruby about Mr. Gold's inexplicable powers, and Ruby suggests Belle simply had a nightmare due to her medication. Belle becomes agitated and a nurse sedates her, which Greg Mendell observes. Later, he tells Belle that he also saw Gold holding a ball of fire.
Outside Storybrooke[]
At Boston's Logan International Airport, Mr. Gold is required to place his scarf, the talisman that protects his memories, in a bin at the security checkpoint. He becomes weak and disoriented until Emma puts it back on him after they are screened. Later, Gold angrily hits a bathroom fixture and bloodies his knuckles, then finds that he is unable to magically heal the injury. Gold, Emma, and Henry board the plane and its destination is announced: New York City.
Production[]
"Tiny" was co-written by producers Christine Boylan and Kalinda Vazquez. Homeland vet Guy Ferland served as the installment's director. This marks the second time that Jorge Garcia and Jennifer Morrison have worked together. The other was on How I Met Your Mother season 6 episode 10 Blitzgiving.
Gallery[]
Cultural references[]
- In the hospital, Belle watches an episode of Exposé, a fictional show-within-a-show that existed on Lost as well.
- The airline that Mr. Gold, Emma, and Henry are flying is "Ajira Airways", one of the airline companies from Lost.
- When they begin to farm, the dwarves whistle "Heigh Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
- In the hospital, Red gives Belle the book The Mysterious Island, a reference to Jules Verne and the Island on Lost. It is the same book Quorra shows Sam in Tron: Legacy, which was also written by Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis.
- Another Disney film, The Little Mermaid, can be evidenced in Anton's desire to see what the humans look like and in his brother's mannerisms by being concerned and warning him about the humans and what they would do if they discovered their world. Additionally, all the giants have names that begin with A, just like Princess Ariel and her sisters.
- One of the Giants is named "Andre", a reference to the wrestler/actor André the Giant.
Trivia[]
- This episode features the flashback of Jac who climbed the beanstork with Prince James. Her skeleton was shown in the episode "Tallahassee", and this episode shows the backstory of how the battle went down between Anton, Jac and James, which resulted in her death.
- Anton the giant makes his first and only, proper appearance in the series. He made a cameo appearance when Hook and Emma climbed the beanstork in the sixth episode of the season.
See Also[]
External links[]
