The Women of Supernatural- Part I

I didn't become a fan of Supernatural until I'd watched an episode of Season 3. I actually watched two episodes then the finale. I was so hooked (thanks to LisiBee) that I bought the Season 1 and 2 DVD's. I began to notice something as I watched. If an episode had a female character I liked, she might never appear in another episode.

What most upset me was when Bela (Lauren Cohan) left the show. She and Jensen Ackles had such chemistry. Oh I know a lot of fans hated her but I thought she was a wonderful actress with lots of room to develop her character.


"I love Supernatural. I do. This is no secret. It's kind of dumb sometimes, but at least it's really, really fun dumb. Also really hot dumb, but never mind that.
These last two episodes have done things that strayed well out of "fun dumb" territory and into the land of just plain "dumb," and even as much as I love this show, I just kind of have to shake my head and ask... well, this slightly doctored picture of Bela pretty much covers it for me."

The blogger discusses the death of Bela, what happened to Ruby, and the cliffhanger.


I decided to ask three fans, who have been watching longer than I have, for their opinions.

"For whatever reason, I don't think they handle the female characters on SPN as well as the male characters", says LisiBee. "They either kill them off or they inexplicably phase them out. Some of them I have really enjoyed: Ellen and Jo were my favorites, and I liked Ava a lot. I didn't even dislike Bela and Ruby as much as most of the fans seemed to. I realize that the primary focus of the show is on the Winchester brothers, as it should be. But by continually introducing these female characters, then writing them out, you run the risk of communicating to your female viewers that women are just not important in the "Supernatural" universe. And that's a real shame, considering the following this show maintains among women.

"As for Bela and Ruby, I didn't hate them. I enjoyed Bela more than Ruby, mostly because she seemed like a good intellectual sparring partner for the boys. I don't like how her death was handled on the show; IMO, they waited far too long to make her sympathetic to the viewers. Had the reveal about the childhood molestation been made sooner, I think fan response to Bela would have been much more sympathetic. As for Ruby, I do hope she's not dead, since I would have liked to hear more about her backstory. But I've been a viewer of this show for three seasons, and I know by now not to get too attached to any female character--that way leads to frustration and disappointment."

Part II tomorrow.