By Kate , Admin MV
My essay about Ruby 2.0 has stirred up a lot of discussion read it here.
I would like to address some of the key comments and make some things clear:
1) I am not a JEALOUS fangirl- I am old enough to most likely be your mother, and Jensen and Jared’s older sister- I could care less about what the boys do in their personal lives though I suggest they skip the donkey shows on any trips to TJ as they are just disgusting- and you will note my article contains no personal attacks on anyone and their personal lives- just notes about performances. I don’t call GC ugly or anything like that- I don’t think she is a hopelessly terrible actress just that she did not prepare for this role and do a very job of setting the tone with the character so that there was continuity.
2) Continuity does not mean I expected her to copy Katie Cassidy but I expected there to be some carryover so that the demon inside the meat suit was recognizable- that is why I spend most of my entire article talking about the GOOD demon portrayals we have seen on the show. Actors who study their craft will take on some of the mannerisms of the person who defined the role they are stepping into when they are a replacement player. This happens on soaps all of the time. That is even harder than trying to be a body hopping demon and it is why to this date nobody has tried to cast anyone as Eric Brady on Days of Our Lives ( yeah I’m a fan) because it would be a lot to try to live up to the shadow that Jensen cast when he defined Eric Brady .
That said- parts have been recast successfully over and over in soaps and other TV roles- including demons here on Supernatural. How well it goes over is a result of the actor and – I will concede this point- the director and producers. The writing is moot- a good actor will overcome poor material and rise above it. A good director will coax the best out of a person and a careful producer will make sure that there is continuity and flow in the final performance that is in the cut that goes to air.
I have watched every episode of Supernatural since the show premiered and consider myself a fan big time. I don’t obsess over the show- I don’t spend hours on forums but I watch faithfully and am proud to say I have brought a lot of new fans to the show by suggesting it on every other fandom site I go to recommending it especially to guys who like action and horror.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion. I have given the show a full 14 episodes into the season before commenting – I have given GC plenty of time to wow me and so far she has not. That said- I could see her doing better with other material. I felt Kaley Cuoco was terrible on Charmed- admit it- who cheered when her sister died in the finale? but find her comedic turn on The Big Bang Theory to be fun and it is obvious she prefers the light fun stuff to the crap story she was given on Charmed. Could this be GC’s problem? I don’t know and I don’t care which is the real problem. Other than helping Sammy get his rocks off and being that little voice of hell sitting on his shoulder urging him to do bad things- things that the God he says he believes in and worships has TOLD him not to- she serves no big purpose on the show.
SPOILERS from this point on!
I do know that I am over the moon about the show getting a season 5 and the promise from Eric Kripke to make sure Castiel sticks around. The new trailers are amazing. I am very excited to see the venerable character actor and king of all things sci-fi Chris Heyerdahl land on Supernatural. The return of a certain psychic has me looking forward to the mid-year episodes as well. That was a case of a character who was supposed to be a one shot role getting more air time because Tracie Dinwiddie is so darn fun in the part of Pamela. Who do you think the big promised death in the next few episodes will be? I am hoping my Bobby is safe! Did everyone catch the interview with JDM talking about making a return to Supernatural and wanting to see more about John’s years on the road?
I have read all of the Supernatural comics and have been waiting all season for Lilith and her story to come back to the forefront. I want to see more with the guys on her trail and it looks like we will. Always a step behind…..Any of you who haven’t read the Supernatural RISING SON comics ( pre-order the full length graphic novel now to ship May 5)- Lilith and her long history with the guys is detailed. She initially shows up in the guise of a nice teacher who gives little motherless Sam attention and tells him how smart he is. She nurtures him and tells him he is better than his situation. She seduces John and not once does Dean believe her. As a kid he is as suspicious and surly toward Lilith in disguise as he has been with Ruby from season 3 to now. It is Dean who has to break the demon’s thrall over his father- he seems to be immune to it- so they can save Sam. It gets bloody and Lilith is eventually sent back to hell with her tail between her legs having to tell her boss- whoever that is- that she has failed.
It is in the last comic in the series which was written by Kripke himself that John goes to a seer who prophecizes that Sam is evil and tells John about the demon blood and pact hanging over Sam’s head. John knew from the time Sam was a boy that he might have to kill his own son. When he passed the torch to Dean to look over Sammy and take on the role of keeper and possible executioner it was a massive burden. Dean and John together in the comics end up having to kill a bunch of hunters who come after Sam- like Gordon did- to protect Sam.
On the show we have had Dean showing signs he is really getting worried about what his brother is becoming and how his time with Ruby is giving him permission to do things Sam knows is wrong. My sister was asking me why they showed the big Road so Far bit in front of the Wishing Well episode with the angels and demons and what is to come. This was done so that when Dean asks Sam about what he would wish for- and Sam says he has changed we feel it. We know this change is not a good one. Dean knows it too and doesn’t know how to deal with it because he is still reeling from his time in hell and guilt over his actions. He is going to have to put that guilt behind him and tap into the inner badass survivor to do what God needs him to do.
Dean has been taunted by others for being Daddy’s little soldier, the hammer, the instrument, the muscle without a brain. He may not like it – but he is what is needed to fight for the side of good. The loner with few attachments and an ability to compartmentalize is what is needed to be an effective operative. It is only when he allows messy things like emotions to get in the way that James Bond falters- but he does. On my other fave Thursday night series Burn Notice ex-spy Michael Westen is dealing with the turmoil of wanting to keep things at arm’s length but knowing he really can’t forever though he has needed distance to do his job and protect himself over the years from pain. This is a good part of Dean’s problem. He has trouble connecting to anyone but his brother and the change in their relationship has him off balance.
Sam has always known his brother and father protected him yet at the same time he bucked every bit of training his dad gave him to be strong enough to take care of himself- but he did it anyway. Sam embracing the life of a hunter was a big part of the first two seasons. He has been embracing his powers this season and I am interested in seeing how things go down with Uriel and the angels who find him to be soiled with demon smut. Anyone here read Kim Harrison and her demon books? She talks about how dealing with demons leaves a smut on ones soul- a smut that others who can divine the ever after ( like psychics) can see. I see Sam doing what he is doing and wonder how much smut he can take on his soul before it is as black as the demons he exorcises back to hell.
Where are things going? What will happen in the weeks to come? I can’t wait to see! I do know that if Lucifer does get free and they need to cast a person to play him- I recommend snatching up Robert Knepper from Prison Break ( T-Bag) . He is an excellent character actor who can ooze charm in one breath and menace in the next.
Final Note:
Box Office figures to date for the guys horror flicks:
My Bloody Valentine: US $51 Million, International $14 Million- total $65 Million to date in limited release
Profit on MBV: $50 Million- over three times the cost of production in profits so far
Friday the 13th: US $57 Million, International $15 Million- total $72 Million to date in wide release
Profit on FTT: $52 Million- about 2.5 times the cost of production in profits so far.
Opening weekend for Friday the 13th beat the last Jason film several years ago and has managed to make the franchise fans happy. I am very impressed with the numbers fo MBV- it was not the huge franchise that FTT is and has a much smaller cast and didn’t have the entire Warner marketing effort behind it. It think the sucess of both films show that Supernatural fans will go to the movies and watch their guys, and that the horror genre is truly alive and well. Escapism scares are always good entertainment.
The final Winchester will be hitting the big screen next weekend- check out all of my news on the new Watchmen movie and check our gallery for tons of gorgeous HQ photos and lots of pics from the press junkets. I have been capping the HD trailers and have plenty of JDM good stuff to go around!
Countdown to new Winchesters on Thursday: 13 days!
Box office figures to date from Box Office Mojo
girl, you rocks! Thank you!!!
Great review here. For what it’s worth, I avoided getting caught up in the Ruby fiasco of your last posting, but DO agree with the way you outlined it. Actors need to take the nuances of established characters and build upon them so that there is continuity and consistency. My disdain for Ruby started long before GC started dating Jared. What the boys do in their personal lives is their own business. What I see on the screen is my business and my right to complain about it. And so far GC’s performance is very lacking. Which is really too bad because I was ready to welcome this more mature version of Ruby. Now I’m very curious to see where this season takes us, especially since they have been given early word on Season 5. At least it appears they followed their canon to have Alastair return in a new meatsuit since his last one was obliterated. Although it saddens me that Anna’s meatsuit somehow managed to stay intact. And yes, I can’t stand Anna… and it has nothing to do with her being female or sexing up Dean. She started as an interesting character who could hear angels, and turned into a ridiculous expression of an angel looking for grace-in-a-tree. And I’m sorry I haven’t warmed up to Julie’s portrayal either. Hopefully this next episode is the last we see of Anna. And hopefully this rumored death involves Ruby. I would hate for TPTB to do something stupid and kill off Pamela, the first interesting female recurring character they’ve had in a long time whom the fans like and who has a decent actress attached. And if this death is Bobby, then no doubt there will be some deal to bring him back — unless they really want to piss off all their fans for Season 5. It will be a fun ride!
Thanks so much posting this insightful, thoughtful and, IMO, accurate accessment of the problems with Ruby 2.0 this season. It’s sad that Kripke’s knee jerk response whenever there’s disatisfaction with a female character is to just blame those crazy, obsessed, jealous fans. I have no doubt there are some of those: this is a fandom that spans a wide age range and very different life experiences. But Kripke’s preconceived stance then ignores some very legitimate points, such as the ones you raise. I wasn’t a big fan of KC’s either but at least she brought a certain snarkiness and individuality to the role. This season, it seems as if both the character and the role have become merely a plot device, nothing more. As you mentioned, GC might be terrific in another role but the nuances of Ruby seem to be beyond her. I wish Kripke et al would be open minded enough to look at why fans DO accept many of the female characters and try to understand what about the others could have been done differently. Again, thanks for posting this!