Supernatural's third season had a couple of outstanding episodes and one of those was "Bedtime Stories." The season's fifth episode aired on Halloween, back in 2007. In it, Sam and Dean Winchester investigated a couple of murders in a small town that were all similar to popular fairy tales.
According to Nielsen Ratings, "Bedtime Stories" was the most watched episode of the third season. It garnered 3.24 million viewers. Season 3's finale titled "No Rest for the Wicked" was also the most watched finale of the entire series. The following are a couple of details about the episode that viewers might have missed.
Sam And Dean's Fake Names
In the opening stages of the episode, Dean and Sam go to talk to the surviving brother after the construction site attack. When they meet him, Dean introduces himself "Detective Plant." He also introduces Sam as "Detective Page."
On the ID that Dean shows, it actually reads "Detective Robert Plant." Well, Robert Plant just happens to be the lead singer of the English rock band Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page is the band's guitarist. The band was highly successful in the '60s and '70s with each of their nine albums topping the Billboard album charts.
Love Connection
The Crossroad Demon is portrayed by actress Sandra McCoy, who happened to be Jared Padalecki's girlfriend at the time the episode aired. Jared is the actor who plays Sam Winchester.
Interestingly, in the late stages of the episode, the demon says "Ruby is such a pain in the a**." Well. she was a pain in real life actually because after Jared broke up with Sandra, Jared went on to date Genevieve, the actress who portrayed Ruby. The two later got married.
The Big Bad Wolf's Tattoo
The man who is revealed to be the "Big Bad Wolf" is seen with a tattoo of Wile E. Coyote. Well, Wile is the nemesis of Road Runner in the popular Warner Brothers cartoon Road Runner.
Coyotes are part of the wolf family. They are sometimes referred to as the prairie wolves or the brush wolves. In connection to the episode, this makes sense. During the fight with Dean, the Big Bad Wolf is also heard making roaring and growling sounds that Coyotes are known to make.
The Construction Sign
At the beginning of the episode, there is a real estate development sign that reads "Once Upon a Time." This is a phrase that has been used for centuries to start fairy tales or folk tales.
The sign is fitting to the theme of the episode. Most of "Bedtime Stories" revolves around Sam and Dean investigating murders in a small town that are similar to fairy tales such as Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel. The only character that isn't connected to the fairy tales in the episode is the Crossroad Demon.
The Fairy Tale References
The three construction workers who are attacked at the beginning of the episode are a reference to the tale "The Three Little Pigs." Just like the pigs, one was a wood specialist, one was a brick specialist. The workers are also heard saying that the wood's quality is too poor that strong winds can knock it down. This statement was also said in the original story. And when they get attacked, they are seen hiding near the same material that the pigs were hiding under in the story.
The hikers being attacked by the old woman is a reference to "Hansel And Gretel" while Dean being offered an apple by Callie is a reference to "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs." The Big Bad Wolf also shows up later to attack an elderly woman. This is a reference to "Little Red Riding Hood."
Connection To Another Show
Michael Coleman plays Jack, one of the construction workers at the beginning of the episode. He is seen shortly after the construction sign reading "Once Upon A Time" is shown.
Interestingly, Michael also starred in the series Once Upon A Time. In it he played another fairy tale character, namely Happy. Wonder who that is? It was one of the seven dwarfs who were friends of Snow White. Coleman, who is Canadian, also doubles as a stand-up comedian.
A Different Cinderella
In the episode, Dean and Sam find a young woman whose step-mother was mistreating her, just like in Cinderella. There is a pumpkin and a rat too, which are all references to the fairy tale.
However, while other fairy tales are from the Grimm versions, the Cinderella one is from the French version by Charles Perrault. In 1697, the French author wrote and improved version of Cinderella that grew to be more popular than the original. This version included many new elements such as glass slippers and the fairy tale godmother.
The Sixth Sense And The O.C. Reference
What did Dean mean when he says: "Could be like Mischa Barton... Sixth Sense not The OC?" He says this in reference to Callie and there is a good reason for that.
In the film The Sixth Sense, Mischa Barton portrayed the ghost of a girl who was poisoned and killed by her mother. And in the TV show The O.C. Mischa Barton portrayed Marissa Cooper. Also, Christopher Cousins, who portrayed Dr. Garrison in the episode also starred in The O.C. with Mischa Barton.
References To Future Plot Points
At the tail end of the episode, the Crossroads Demon tells Sam that there is a male demon that's in possession of Dean's contract. She also mentions that the demon is her boss. That demon is none other than Crowley.
Crowley, the King Of The Crossroads, doesn't show up until Season 5. However, in the Season 3 episode "Time Is On My Side," it is revealed that Lilith is in possession of all contracts, including Dean's. Since Lilith is female, the earlier statement of the Crossroads Demon seems false.
Sam's Ruthless Streak
When Sam kills the Crossroad Demon and her vessel by shooting her in the head with a colt, it counts as the fourth ruthless murder he commits after his resurrection. The first murder he commits is that of Jake Talley.
Sam shoots Jake multiple times despite Jake's pleas for mercy. In Sam's defense, Jake had become too dark for Sam to spare. Sam also kills Father Gil by shooting him with a colt when he attempts to kill Dean. There was the killing of Casey too, which Dean was against.