The Order season 2 included a huge Easter egg from Big, a popular 1980s movie starring Tom Hanks. The Order is a Netflix original series about two secret societies based on the campus of a prestigious university. One is the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, a secret organization of sorcerers, while the other is the Knights of Saint Christopher, a small band of werewolves dedicated to defeating the Order.
The second season of The Order has been rather heavy on fun pop culture references. Several jokes from The Princess Bride were included, including the scene between Alyssa Drake (Sarah Grey) and Salvador (Diane Bang). Late in the season, an episode featured surprising cameos from Beverly Hills 90210 actors Jason Priestley and Ian Ziering playing themselves and mocking each other’s acting careers. During their quarrel, a jab was made at Ziering’s role in the Sharknado franchise.
A major Easter egg made an appearance in The Order season 2, episode 2, entitled “Free Radicals, Part 2.” In the episode, Alyssa shows Jack (Jake Manley) their vault of magical artifacts, which is described by Alyssa as “the beating heart of the Order.” This place has everything from Excalibur to the Arc of the Covenant. While there, a Zoltar fortune telling machine from Big catches Jack’s eye. Alyssa explains that it’s an “enchanted” Zoltar machine that makes wishes come true. After Jack says he wishes to know his major, Alyssa quickly warns him that Zoltar is a “bit of a trickster” who “grants your wishes ironically.” The machine, which is among the artifacts stolen by the demon summoned by the Knights of the Saint Christopher, can be spotted in multiple episodes.
In Big, a 12-year-old boy named Josh is at a carnival when he sees the Zoltar fortune telling machine. After putting a coin into the machine, Josh simply wishes to be “big.” The Zoltar, despite being unplugged, gives him a card explaining that his wish has been granted. When Josh wakes up the next morning, he discovers that he’s a full-grown adult (played by Tom Hanks). All sorts of shenanigans ensue as Josh spends weeks living as an adult with a real job, a girlfriend, and responsibilities. At the end of the movie, Josh makes another wish to the Zoltar machine in order to regain his youth.
Due to the film’s popularity, the machine has been referenced numerous times in other shows and movies, with The Order being the latest series to make use of it. Alyssa’s comments about the Zoltar in The Order season 2 are a reflection of what it does to Josh in Big, because its reputation as a “trickster” with a tendency to grant wishes “ironically” feels like an apt description of its nature. Also, the idea that the machine is enchanted feels like a good explanation for its mysterious power in Big.