(The dunce caps they fitted the leads with whenever she appeared didn't exactly endear Bela to me either.)

I agree on that one, but that just frustrated me with the writers, rather than with Bela. (Which is totally a YMMV thing, obviously!)

I'm still fond of the theory that Ruby is either Meg, or someone in the same kind of role and position as Meg, working Azazel's gameplan for him - it's just too damn similar, Azazel feeding Sammy the blood in the crib and Ruby showing up to worm her way into his trust and get him drinking the blood. I think she's Azazel's wetnurse. So - yeah, being all doe-eyed and pouty and unthreatening is a good call for getting Sammy naked to trust her.

Cassie I liked as an idea, but I was sorry the performance wasn't stronger. If she'd been a stronger actress, that could have been AWESOME. As it was, it was nice.

Okay, my reason for disliking Jo was not the little sister vibe that I saw between her and Dean but the way it felt like the producers were completely ignoring that and pushing a Jo/Dean thing that just didn't feel right.

I thought that both Ruby and Bela could separately be very interesting but I felt like they kept putting Bela into stories where she didn't really work and that they didn't really figure out her story until the very end.

Katie's Ruby annoyed me until I saw Gen's - Gen makes Katie seem like a Master. Thespian. comparitively. Oh, how I wish we could have Meg back.

And then they make Ellen disappear, they kill off Pamela and we never get to see either the St. Louis cop, the Baltimore cop or the woman from Provenance ever again. It's like they don't know when they've got a good thing when it's a female character. Maybe we'll get to see teen Mary again. . . that would rock.

If I could have only one woman back on the show on a semi-regular basis (like Bobby), it would be Missouri, hands down.

I felt like they kept putting Bela into stories where she didn't really work and that they didn't really figure out her story until the very end.

I think they started off with a vague idea and then had to scramble to tie it all up once they decided not to keep her. I actually liked the idea of Bela, though.

I also loved the idea of Dean's doomed relationship with Cassie, and the actress didn't bug me as much as she did others, but I felt like that was a pretty meaty piece of backstory for Dean that got short shrift.

I agree. I didn't think the actress was bad, and I did love that they'd cast an actress of colour, but I wish they'd cast someone who could bring the kind of A game Ackles brings. Because it could have been heartbreaking.

The last scene still does it for me, with the look on his face as Sam drives them away, with "Can't Find My Way Home" playing. GUH. That song.

Oh yeah - Ackles knocks it out the ballpark, bless him. But in the scenes with the two of them, a stronger actor could have raised the level considerably. Mostly on SPN I'm not distracted by people's crappy delivery (whereas on SGA I almost always found myself flinching at Tori's choices, and repeating the line out loud in a more believable fashion). She's adequate, but she's not awesome, and that's a real shame, given what a substantial bit of backstory it is. If she's the one girl special enough to have got under Dean's skin to such an extent, then it would have been nice to really see why - rather than having to assume that any sweet and pretty girl would have done, and that it was more about the place HE was in emotionally/what he was looking for/Dean attempting to find a bit of normality for himself.

Exactly. She was so ... perky. And sort of perfect(ish). I think I saw Dean with someone a little realer looking, and with a little more edge. More like Sarah after she cottoned on, to be honest.

98% of the time, Jensen's subtle expressions do most of his acting for him. And his voice, too, actually, the different tones, rough or smooth or sarcastic or raw.

Well, I think THAT actress needs a particular type of directing or something because I hated her in SPN AND in the 4400 but she was perfectly fine in Veronica Mars. What is up with that?

my reason for disliking Jo ... pushing a Jo/Dean thing that just didn't feel right

ITA. It was far too contrived from the git-go. Second episode for Jo, and she's punching in "I Can't Fight This Feeling" in the jukebox. The only thing more in-your-face would have been if they'd tattooed "Dean" on her bicep.

I'm still fond of the theory that Ruby is either Meg, or someone in the same kind of role and position as Meg, working Azazel's gameplan for him - it's just too damn similar,

I'm totally there, Fay. I've had some shaky theories in the past, but I feel very strongly about this one.

The only thing more in-your-face would have been if they'd tattooed "Dean" on her bicep.

Oh, see, I loved that. Dean is totally the kind of bad boy a lot of girls fall for at least once, especially when they've got a mama bear like Ellen breathing down their necks. What I loved watching was Dean's reaction, because Jo is adorable and hot and totally his type, and yeah, SO NOT GOING THERE. See: Mama Bear Ellen, who scares the shit out of him.

The whole thing delighted me.