There’s that old aphorism in show business that there is no such thing as bad publicity, and that has certainly held true for the CW’s Supernatural. The furor caused over the addition of new female characters, a move regarded by many fans and journalists alike as an attempt to sex up the show, certainly was a boon for the franchise. Now that the first character, Ruby, has redeemed her presence by revealing herself as a demon, an unexpected twist, the second character, Bella, appears to have established herself as a bit of a snarky foil.
Adding good looking characters to TV shows is nothing new by a long shot, but in the land of genre TV it is tantamount to sacrilege. Science Fiction, Fantasy, and even Horror fan consider themselves too high maintenance for such sensory baubles. They demand, and often receive, sophisticated character pieces with sprawling mythologies and obtuse exposition. These audiences are most pleased when they are fed an eerie non sequitur, not a buff new chunk of eye candy.
None the less, underestimating the story telling skills of a crew like Supernatural is a sure way to be caught off guard, which is exactly what happened with Katie Cassidy’s Ruby. Fans were so obsessed with hoping that – at best – she would fit in with the Winchester brothers, that they never considered Eric Kripke and crew would pull a stunning swerve with that character that would leave fans salivating for more.
Bella, meanwhile, still has fans indecisive. Will she be Supernatural’s next big surprise, or is she more fitting to the mold of what fans originally expected from both characters? Last weeks episode seemed to establish her as more of a threat to the brothers, but if the timing is standard this week could have Ruby reveal herself to be just as integral to the newly developing mythology as Ruby. What do you think?
– Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image from the CW)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
