Ugh. My computer is acting like a real b-tch. I NEED high speed internet, I can't function without it--and for some awful reason the internet is being slow and my computer is acting up! I can't have this!!!!!

I don't know what I'm going to do! This is brutal. Ridiculous. Unacceptable....And also the reason why my posting has become so infrequent since the episode aired

Anyways. I also loved the episode this past week. Malleus Maleficarum was pretty fantastic. The development to the overarching plot was AWESOME! Also the gore was delicious. The teeth and the maggots....ugh. I'm shuddering right now. That was disgusting!!!!! Awesome. Also, did anyone else notice the constant twitch the Tammi demon had when talking to Sam? Hahaha. I get the evil thing, she played evil pretty well, but I have to admit--it was kinda funny. Way to steal the scene twitchy-eye HAHAHA!

The scene between Dean and Ruby has been getting a lot of mixed reactions, from what I've read. I personally enjoyed that interaction more than any other the boys have had with either of the girls, which is why I think it came off 'better' -- for me at least.

KC definitely still needs some fine tuning, but at this point she is head and shoulders above Bela in the character department. She has a fascinating story now. I'm more compelled to see her interactions with and about the boys than I am about Bela. Ruby just seems more organic, ya know? She's a low on the totem pole demon, who's looking to fulfill the prophecy for Sam, so she benefits--or as she claims, humanity benefits.

There's also the idea that she's pulling a divide and conquor that is really interesting too. When she interacts with the boys it's almost always seperately. She tells Sam he can save his brother if he listens to her, follows her instructions, etc. She tells Dean that there's no way out, and that he has to help her push Sammy to be tougher--get him closer to that proverbial edge that will keep him alive after Dean has gone--but also closer to that killing edge that Azaezel wanted him to get to--which was not a good thing last season, if I recall correctly. I'm wondering if either is telling about their Ruby encounters.

If she is faking, the walking oxymoron act is quite convincing and effective--especially now that she's got Dean speculating. I think that what is really going to drive him to trust Ruby--if he ever does--is the idea that even though he'll be in hell, even if he turns into a demon, he can still remember and be like Ruby and subvert the evils of other demons. If that happens, I think Dean could get majorly screwed if she turns out to be faking.

I think that's the difference this season. While I don't particularly enjoy the standalones this season, I am loving the overarching plot lines. The Gordon storyline was fantastic; I can't wait to see what's going on with Henrikson in Jus in Belo; the 'will-Dean-go-to-hell' deal is really compelling too, moreso than the other times Dean almost died. The difference is, I know Jensen will be back--there's no show if one of the boys is gone--and all of those other times he nearly died he didn't have an escape plan. There is one this time. He's going to hell, but that doesn't mean he'll stay there the whole time. It's a question of how he might come back if he does go--that's really interesting. Also, Sam's storyline is much more interesting as well. Last season, I never really bought that Sam was going to go dark-side because he always had Dean there to look out for him. But now, he's got the burden of guilt, the pending solitary existance, and Ruby, and possibly Dean now too, pushing him to be tougher, less hesitant--closer to embracing that killer--or I think as Dean sees it, survivalist--instinct.

The only thing is, and I'm going back to Ruby, well, KC more but see, I feel like if I had read the parts of Ruby, I think I would've liked her character better. But yeah, I totally called that she was a witch who sold her soul to the devil/demon or w/e. I think the character is interesting, but the acting is up to scratch. However, I did enjoy her exchange with Dean at the end--I really liked that. I was less comfortable, however, with the first meeting when she stopped the car. Maybe it was her posture. She had her arms crossed and her body language seemed off for a foreboding demon--then again, she might have just been insecure about the demon in town... I guess, though, that it makes a little sense why she's not as badass as Meg or Casey--they were kick ass demons--but Ruby is a little 'soft' in her delivery. But I'm not sure if it's for the role, or because Cassidy can't quite nail the role. Either way, I enjoy the Ruby character much more than the Bela character and would prefer an episode like this over a Bela epi any day.


It's clever, it's tricky and the distinction between black and white is getting ever grayer. So yeah, I'm interested. This episode packed a real punch for me storywise. I can't wait to see what's next.

Also, I'm standing by my theory that Rubywas a crazy, old-school, European-hardcore witch. Though I dunno why she has so much contempt for them...Unless she was unknowingly tricked into becoming a witch and selling her soul by another witch who wanted something--hence the wh-re bit. But yeah, I posted this elsewhere and decided to share:

"So history isn't exactly my forte here, but with all the historical witch references...Ruby mentioned that she was a witch back when the plague was popular. I'm assuming she meant the bubonic plague, which had three major pandemics: Justinian, 14th cent (it only struck sporadically after that until the 17th cent.), and then the Asian plague--which is the most recent, coming in at 19th-20th cent.

Why does everyone assume Ruby is an "American" demon, associated with "American" witches? She likely came out of the second pandemic, making it much more likely that she is of European origin, especially since that was exactly the time the European witch-hunts were popular"