I agree – they could have explained Sam’s absence by writing something IN for that character, rather than writing him OUT and putting dopey Jo in there. Like, he could have had a bad cold or something, and what fun it would have been to have Dean check up on him every hour on the hour bringing him orange juice. Sweet, right? But no. Show took the easy way out, alas.

Best Regards,

Sylvia

I tend to look at the show within the context of the story and not go outside of it for explanation, but this certainly helps my understanding of what the heckfire was going on. And whether it was the broken arm or the root canal that caused Padalecki to need some rest, my heart goes out to him. It’s no fun recovering from either, plus he wasn’t able to join as much in the SPN games that week.

As for female characters, you might have something there. Show should get a clue and stop introducing characters that spring from nowhere and who, through inorganic development, throw the marvelous duo of Sam and Dean way off kilter! I’m all for female characters that make sense or are interesting, like Ellen or Meg.

Thanks for posting and letting me know!

Best Regards,

Sylvia

That explains SO much! It was rather off-putting to have Jo in the forefront like she was this time around; I don’t read anything about the ep till after I’ve written the review so I can get a clean fannish reading – but knowing this tidbit would have helped a lot! Poor Jo. She was doomed from the start.

Best Regards,

Sylvia

I’m right there with you! Honestly, he was hardly there this time around. And I missed him – VERY MUCH. (But, according to Robin and Linda, there were reasons for this.)

Best Regards,

Sylvia

Meg was my favorite too. She was sassy and smart and didn’t make our boys look stupid or ineffectual whilst doing her evil business. Somehow, even though she was a demon (and a GREAT baddy), it was easy to understand why she was doing what she was doing. Plus she was fun to watch (and listen to!) because the writers never dumbed her down, or made her one of those sex bombs whose only job is to stand there looking tarty.

No, this ep wasn’t the best of the season, but it did have Dean looking freckleishious and Sam (although not there a whole lot) had this marvelous pit-bull glare in Jo’s direction. Those are the moments worth watching for!

Best Regards,

Sylvia

Sometimes I think fate really wants Supernatural to have no recurring female characters. Jo was seen as pushing out Sam in No Exit and incurred a lot of resentment. Bela was brought in at the last minute and then the Writers’ strike kept the show from producing enough episodes to explain her part in the story or make her someone we could have been interested in. Female characters have been cursed by outside influences on this show.

Honestly, Jo never grew on me. I could only take her in small doses. Meg totally spoiled me. In my eyes, Meg was the only female character I really liked. Bela got on my nerves because she made our boys look stupid one too many times. I did like Ruby sometimes, though. Ellen wasn’t bad, But Meg was it for me. To me, she was the epitome of cool. Her character was evil, but she had a purpose. She made sense. She had a storyline which was integrated and entwined with the Season One story arc.

Sorry, about my ranting. I do remember this episode.

And, you are so right, an entire episode devoted to Jo is a travesty because that means we get less of our boys. As you know, the Winchester brothers are the main reason I watch the series and this episode definitely wasn’t up to the quality of Season 2.