Hook just getting into more and more trouble!

A little tough love in this week's episode.

FEARFUL THAT CORA MAY BE CLOSE TO LOCATING THE PORTAL INTOSTORYBROOKE, REGINA AND MR. GOLD PUT A PLAN INTO ACTION THATWOULD KILL ANYONE ENTERING IT -- WHICH WOULD ALSO PLACEMARY MARGARET AND EMMA'S LIVES IN DANGER --ON ABC'S "ONCE UPON A TIME"

"Queen of Hearts" - Cora and Hook face off with Mary Margaret and Emma in a race to secure the compass, which will point its holder to the portal into Storybrooke. But back on the other side, Regina and Mr. Gold, desperate to keep Cora out, put a plan into action that would kill anyone entering the portal - placing Mary Margaret's and Emma's lives in danger as well. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land that was, Captain Hook travels to Wonderland and meets up with a vengeful Queen of Hearts, on "Once Upon a Time," SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. "Once Upon a Time" stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret, Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan, Lana Parrilla as Evil Queen/Regina, Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David, Emilie de Ravin as Belle, Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills, Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby, and Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold.  Guest starring are Lee Arenberg as Leroy/Grumpy, Barbara Hershey as Cora, Colin O'Donoghue as Hook, Sarah Bolger as Aurora, Jamie Chung as Mulan, David-Paul Grove as Doc, Faustino Di Bauda as Sleepy, Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey, Michael Coleman as Happy, Mig Macario as Bashful, Paul McGillion as Knave of Hearts and Paul Lazenby as Black Knight No. 1. "Queen of Hearts" was written by Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz and directed by Ralph Hemecker.  "Once Upon a Time" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format with a 5.1 channel surround sound. A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to the airdate. For more information on "Once Upon a Time," visit ABC.com/Once Photography and video available at www.abcmedianet.com. Photography request line (818) 460-6611. Follow us on:Facebook www.facebook.com/OnceABC Twitter @OnceABC, #OnceUponATime @ABC_Publicity Source: abcmedianet.com

ABC Media Relations: Jeff Fordis (818) 460-6676 jeffrey.a.fordis@abc.com Tra-Mi Callahan (818) 460-7967 tra-mi.callahan@abc.com

An extended clip from "Into the Deep" of the confrontation in the woods, as Cora manipulates Aurora.

The photos, ranging from $19.95 to $69.95, are numbered — for instance, there are 815 copies of the Once Upon a Time cast — and each comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Check out the gallery and more details here.

According to ABC:


Up against big NFL competition from Sunday Night Football (Green Bay Packers-NY Giants) and a high-rated NFL primetime overrun on Fox, ABC was up over the year-ago Sunday by 11% in Adults 18-49.

Despite being preempted the prior Sunday for the AMAs, ABC’s Once Upon A Time surged by double digits from its most recent telecast two weeks ago in Adults 18-49 (+11%). Shooting up from its lead-in 8pm (+88%) against sports-driven competition on Fox and NBC, ABC’s Once Upon A Time stood as the top-rated non-sports show in its hour in Adults 18-49, beating out Fox’s NFL-fueled animated comedies (The Simpsons/Bob’s Burgers) by 11% and CBS’ The Amazing Race XXI by 20%. In addition, the ABC drama finished #1 straight out in its time period with key Women (W18-34/W18-49). ABC’s Once Upon A Time sees big increases via time-shifted playback, spiking over its preliminary Live + Same Day numbers by 3.0 million viewers and by 1.4 Adult 18-49 rating points (+41%) in the final L+7 Day ratings.

In addition to increasing 11% in Adults 18-49 from its last broadcast, Once Upon A Time also posted strong gains from two weeks ago with Adults 18-34 (+13%) and key Women: W18-34 +20% and W18-49 +11%.

The original press release can be found here.

Cora and Aurora.

Snow, Emma Swan and Mulan discuss their situation.

Cora and Hook.

This is a nice, long peek. Lots of drama in this one!

Looks like an exciting episode!

Josh talks about his marriage proposals and the future of his character.

Josh Dallas (Prince Charming) talks about his romance with Ginnifer (Snow White). I'm actually kind of surprised he is talking about it at all.

Dr. Whale - the one who has serious Frankensteinian tendencies - has a younger brother. He will be played by Chad Michael Collins of "Last Resort," "Major Crimes," "2 Broke Girls" and "Ringer."  He will make his appearance in 2x12, and is described as "a family man," "good natured" and "filled with idealism."

We shall see.  Nothing else is out yet about his character.

ABC has released some new high quality behind-the-scenes photos from the 2x08 episode "Into the Deep."  That episode, after the series takes a week off, airs November 25, 2012.

Most fans don't need to know about ratings as that is a business detail that has nothing to do with the story.  Ignorance is bliss, and as long as ratings stay high, all is well.

We, however, keep a close eye on ratings.  They indicate where shows are headed.  Ratings for "Once Upon a Time" have been stellar overall, and that trend continues.  Among scripted dramas, it is consistently at the top of the pack  "Once Upon a Time" is a true champion.

The episode 2x07 "Child of the Moon," which aired on November 11, 2012, however, did not do so well.  It was up against tough competition from football, which is a perennial ratings grabber.  One of the hidden secrets of "Once Upon a Time," of course, and something which nobody outside the business really talks much about, is that it is ideal counter-programming to football.  Who tends to watch sporting events?  Men.  Who tends to watch fairy-tale based drama?  Women and children.

Football, then, shouldn't make much of a difference.  However, for this episode, apparently it did.  Or, it may just have been an aberration in the measuring of viewers by Nielsen.  Perhaps viewers just decided to take a night off.  Maybe they just weren't intrigued by the storyline.  Even just the fact that it was a three-day weekend due to the Veterans Day Federal holiday may have played a role.  Lots of possibilities.  These blips happen, and all shows experience them.  Nothing to worry about unless a downward trend develops.

Anyway, viewership dropped in all categories to a season low.  Total viewers were 8.69 million viewers.  The rating in the key 18-49 demographic was 2.7.  The show came in a distant third in its timeslot, but did beat CBS' "The Amazing Race."  All numbers are subject to change.

Ratings were 23% lower than the previous week, the "Tallahassee" episode, and hit a series low.  All other shows' ratings were down as well, though, so it may have been simply a slow viewing night for everyone.

As noted, this is not of interest to casual fans. Those close to the show, however, are scrambling to see what can be learned from this.

2x08 Into the Deep - ABC Promo video.

2x07 Child of the Moon - Sneak Peek #4

2x07 Child of The Moon - Sneak Peek #3

Another sneak peek!

From ABC:

"In Once Upon a Time, 2×07, ‘Child of the Moon,’ Ruby’s fear about turning into a wolf is confirmed when she becomes the prime suspect for a vicious murder; Leroy finds treasure in a Storybrooke mine that could help Emma and Mary Margaret."

Below are some promotional stills released by ABC.

Ben Hollingsworth as Quinn