| No. |
Title |
Directed by |
Written by |
Original air date |
U.S. viewers
(million) |
| 1 |
"Pilot" |
Mark Mylod |
Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz |
October 23, 2011 (2011-10-23) |
12.93[2] |
| For bail bonds collector Emma Swan, life has been anything but a happy ending. And she knows how to take care of herself since she was abandoned as a newborn and has been through the foster system for most of her childhood. But when Henry - the son she gave up for adoption ten years ago - finds his biological mother in Boston on the night of her 28th birthday, everything changes. The 10-year-old Henry is in desperate need of Emma's help because he believes from reading a large book of fairy tales that she's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming - who was sent away from the Enchanted Forest to be protected from a curse that was enacted by the Evil Queen. Emma initially refuses to believe a word of Henry's story but soon finds that his hometown of Storybrooke, Maine is more than it seems. Because it is in Storybrooke that all of the classic fairytale characters we know are frozen in time with no memories of their former selves - except for the Evil Queen, who is Storybrooke's mayor and Henry's adoptive mother Regina Mills. Now, as the epic battle for the future of both worlds approaches, Emma will have to accept her destiny...and fight like hell. At the conclusion of the episode, Emma's decision to stay in Storybrooke causes the hands of the clock tower - which have been frozen at 8:15 - to move for the first time in years. |
| 2 |
"The Thing You Love Most" |
Greg Beeman |
Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz |
October 30, 2011 (2011-10-30) |
11.74[3] |
| As the people of Storybrooke notice the hands of the clock tower begin to move, Regina sees Emma as a possible threat to her relationship with Henry and does everything in her power to force Emma into permanently leaving Storybrooke while the chilling circumstances of how the Evil Queen released her curse upon the Enchanted Forest - and the price she paid in order to do so - are revealed. |
| 3 |
"Snow Falls" |
Dean White |
Liz Tigelaar |
November 6, 2011 (2011-11-06) |
11.45[4] |
| At Henry's urging, Emma convinces his school teacher Mary Margaret Blanchard to visit a comatose John Doe at Storybrooke General Hospital and read to him from the book of fairy tales—unaware that Mary Margaret will be stunned at the outcome and that a now awake John Doe will escape—while the unexpected first meeting between Snow White and Prince Charming is revealed. At the conclusion of the episode, John Doe is rescued and taken back to the Hospital where Regina arrives with a woman named Kathryn Nolan, who claims that John Doe is her estranged husband David Nolan. Emma becomes suspicious as Regina has been John Doe's emergency contact and that his wife has just now reunited with him, but leaves the thought aside as she moves in with Mary Margaret. |
| 4 |
"The Price of Gold" |
David Solomon |
David H. Goodman |
November 13, 2011 (2011-11-13) |
11.36[5] |
| Emma is hired by Storybrooke's wealthiest citizen Mr. Gold to find pregnant teenager Ashley Boyd—only to help the expectant mother after learning that Ashley is in the center of a dangerous bargain—while a regrettable deal made between Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin is revealed. At the conclusion of the episode, Ashley gives birth to a healthy baby girl and Emma makes a deal with Mr. Gold: Ashley keeps her child on the condition that Emma promises to do a favor for Mr. Gold in the future. Ashley reunites with her ex-boyfriend Sean and Emma takes a deputy job from Storybrooke's handsome yet authoritative Sheriff Graham—who is engaged in a secret affair with Regina. |
| 5 |
"That Still Small Voice" |
Paul Edwards |
Jane Espenson |
November 27, 2011 (2011-11-27) |
10.69[6] |
| Emma is deputized by Sheriff Graham, Mary Margaret begins to question if she has feelings for David and an earthquake causes a giant sinkhole to mysteriously appear near the town's edge—placing a curious Henry in danger when he decides to see if the sinkhole's contents link Storybrooke's citizens to the Enchanted Forest—while the backstory of Pinocchio's conscience Jiminy Cricket (Raphael Sbarge) is revealed along with his yearning to transform into the person he wants to be. At the conclusion of the episode, Emma rescues Henry and Storybrooke's resident psychiatrist Archie Hopper from the mine, Mary Margaret resigns from Storybrooke General Hospital and Regina throws a shard of glass she found down the mine shaft, where it is revealed the remnants of Snow White's glass coffin are laying. |
| 6 |
"The Shepherd" |
Victor Nelli |
Andrew Chambliss & Ian Goldberg |
December 4, 2011 (2011-12-04) |
9.66[7] |
| Emma learns about Sheriff Graham's affair with Regina, and David is forced to choose between staying with Kathryn and starting a relationship with Mary Margaret—with whom he has fallen deeply, and inexplicably, in love—while Prince Charming's backstory is revealed along with a life-changing event that forever altered his destiny…and a secret deal made between his father King George and Rumpelstiltskin. At the conclusion of the episode, David remembers his "life" with Kathryn after seeing a windmill in Mr. Gold's pawnshop and returns home while Mary Margaret resumes her relationship with physician Dr. Whale. |
| 7 |
"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" |
David M. Barrett |
Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz |
December 11, 2011 (2011-12-11) |
8.92[8] |
| Sheriff Graham begins to remember his past life in the Enchanted Forest and Emma begins to consider that she may be falling for Graham while the backstory of the Evil Queen's faithful Huntsman is revealed. At the conclusion of the episode, Emma and Graham see a wolf from Graham's dreams – a wolf with one red eye and one black – and follow it to the Mills crypt in the cemetery, which has the symbol Graham saw in the book of fairytales during his visit with Henry. Regina confronts them and Graham ends his relationship with Regina, prompting Emma and Regina to get into a scuffle. As Graham later tends to the cut on Emma's eye, Regina returns to the crypt and heads down a secret passage underneath her father's coffin into the Evil Queen's hidden vault. The vault contains the Huntsman's heart which the Queen earlier ripped out of his chest after learning that he failed to kill Snow White. Regina takes the heart and squeezes it, causing Graham to die just after kissing Emma and regaining his memories. |
| 8 |
"Desperate Souls"[9] |
Michael Waxman |
Jane Espenson |
January 8, 2012 (2012-01-08)[9] |
|
| Regina and Mr. Gold play dirty politics and take opposite sides when Emma runs for a coveted Storybrooke public office against Sidney. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale world that was, Rumplestiltskin tries to track down the ultimate power source in order to help his son avert the horrors of a meaningless war.[9] |
| 9 |
"True North"[11] |
Dean White |
David H. Goodman & Liz Tigelaar |
January 15, 2012 (2012-01-15)[11] |
|
| Emma is enlisted by young sibling runaways Ava and Josef to find their birth father—and avoid being sent into the foster system—while Hansel and Gretel's backstory is revealed along with a secret mission authorized by the Evil Queen to steal a prized artifact from the cannibalistic Blind Witch (Emma Caulfield).[10] |
| 10 |
"7:15 A.M."[12] |
Ralph Hemecker |
Story by: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz
Teleplay by: Daniel T. Thomsen |
January 22, 2012 (2012-01-22)[12] |
|
| Regina and Emma become suspicious when a stranger arrives in Storybrooke. David and Mary Margaret continue struggling with their emotions, and the wedding of Prince Charming draws nearer.[12] |
| 11 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| 12 |
"Skin Deep"[14] |
|
|
February 12, 2012 (2012-02-12)[14] |
|
| A connection between Belle (Emilie de Ravin) and Rumpelstiltskin is revealed.[13] |
| No. |
Title |
Air date |
18–49 rating |
Viewers
(millions) |
Weekly rank |
| 1 |
"Pilot" |
October 23, 2011 (2011-10-23) |
4.0 |
12.93 |
#13[15] |
| 2 |
"The Thing You Love Most" |
October 30, 2011 (2011-10-30) |
3.9 |
11.74 |
#18[16] |
| 3 |
"Snow Falls" |
November 6, 2011 (2011-11-06) |
3.8 |
11.45 |
#24[17] |
| 4 |
"The Price of Gold" |
November 13, 2011 (2011-11-13) |
3.8 |
11.36 |
#18[18] |
| 5 |
"That Still Small Voice" |
November 27, 2011 (2011-11-27) |
3.4 |
10.69 |
#14[19] |
| 6 |
"The Shepherd" |
December 4, 2011 (2011-12-04) |
3.2 |
9.66 |
#21[20] |
| 7 |
"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" |
December 11, 2011 (2011-12-11) |
2.9 |
8.91 |
— |
| 8 |
"Desperate Souls" |
January 8, 2012 (2012-01-08) |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| 9 |
"True North" |
January 15, 2012 (2012-01-15) |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| 10 |
"7:15 A.M." |
January 22, 2012 (2012-01-22) |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| 11 |
|
January 29, 2012 (2012-01-29) |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| 12 |
"Skin Deep" |
February 12, 2012 (2012-02-12) |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
| 13 |
|
|
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |