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The following contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the "Bedtime Stories" episode of the CW show, "Supernatural."

Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?

The episode begins with Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) in the car, arguing about what to do about Dean’s crossroads deal.

Sam wants to use the Colt as leverage to bargain Dean’s way out, but Dean thinks it’s too dangerous and could get Sam killed.

Taking their father’s lead, Dean takes an authoritative stance and kills the conversation.

They proceed with their new case ... three husky brothers are attacked at a building site, and only one survives. The Winchesters suspect a werewolf, but the attacker was merely human. The only canine presence was in the form of the Wile E. Coyote tattoo on the attacker’s arm.

Then, a couple is lost in the woods and stumbles upon a picturesque house occupied by an old woman. She seems harmless. What could go wrong?

One poisoned pie and one slash fest later, we know the answer to that. The young woman survives by pushing the old woman, who hits her head on the stove.

According to the survivor, what was really odd was the young girl who witnessed the event through the window.

Sam has a theory that they are dealing with fairy tales come to life -- not the gussied up Disney versions, but the raw, gritty, urban legends of yore. Their tales have murder, sex, cannibalism -- all the makings of a great bedtime story. The theory is solidified when the brothers save a girl after she is beaten and shackled by her wicked stepmother. Dean follows the young girl who appears there, as well. She disappears, leaving behind a shiny red apple. Translation: Snow White.

They look for a comatose girl at the hospital and find out one of the physicians, Dr. Garrison (Christopher Cousins), has been treating all the victims has a teenage daughter who has been in a coma since she was eight.

He never could figure out how or why she drank the bleach that put her in her current condition, but the brothers know it was his late wife, the girl’s stepmother.

And to top it all off, he has been reading his daughter Grimm’s fairy tales.

Sam stays behind to convince Dr. Garrison that he needs to stop the disembodied spirit of his daughter from killing more people while Dean leaves to stop the big bad wolf from hurting the Little Red Riding Hood granddaughter of the most recent victim.

Dean slugs it out with the demented coyote/roadrunner fan while Sam helps the grieving father say goodbye to his daughter.

Sam and Dean say their farewells to the doctor, who tells them he should have let his daughter go years ago. Sam is angry when Dean tells him that he should do the same with him.

Later that night, while Dean is sleeping, Sam sneaks out of the motel and summons the crossroad demon (Sandra McCoy). Even under threat of death, the demon won’t yield.

Apparently, she can’t. She’s just the saleswoman, the realtor for timeshares in hell.

She taunts him, saying he secretly is relieved that he will soon be free of his older brother. He responds by shooting her in the head.

What Worked

I love the ongoing tension regarding Dean’s demon deal. We know he’s scared, he knows he’s scared, Sam knows he’s scared, but they don’t break character by having him actually say it. It’s a tight spot for him to be in, but I’d be disappointed if Dean wasn’t still Dean.

Sam’s continuing spiral into the dark side is also fascinating to watch. He wasted the demon and her unwilling human host without a moment’s hesitation. Yet, he isn’t heartless, as evidenced by his desperation to save his brother. He’s still Sam, just a little darker.

And besides all that -- wow! Fairy tales.

Honestly, I’ve always believed those stories to be creepy as hell, but I’m frankly scared by the degree to which I enjoyed watching them unfold onscreen. Kripke and company managed to make me grin like an idiot while cringing with my hands over my eyes as the suckers of the week bit it one by one. Awesome. The amount of terror and gore the CW has allowed this season is impressive and a lot of fun.

The music at the crossroads was very good, almost "Battlestar Galactica" in nature, but it still managed to keep the feel of the show. Also, it was interesting to see Padalecki acting opposite his longtime girlfriend, McCoy.

What Didn’t Work

Not much. I’m still not a fan of the lighter look the show has adopted this season, but it didn’t seem as distracting this episode because of the fairy tale element. However, many fans have expressed a desire to return to the darker, more shadowy appearance of the first two seasons.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

"Bedtime Stories" was written by Cathryn Humphris and directed by Mike Rohl ("Andromeda"). "Supernatural" airs Thursday nights at 9/8c on CW.