“ | You don't even know how hard this was! All the demons out for my head, no one knew. I was the best of those sons of bitches! The most loyal! Not even Alastair knew! Only Lilith! Yeah, I'm sure you're little angry right now, but, I mean, come on, Sam! Even you have to admit -- I'm -- I'm awesome! | ” |
Ruby was a demon devoted to Lucifer's return. After Azazel's death, she conspired with Lilith as to how they would free Lucifer from his cage: while Lilith broke the seals, Ruby protected the remaining "special child" Sam Winchester and prepared him to break the final seal and become the host to Lucifer. This plan was known only to herself and Lilith, causing Ruby to be regarded as a traitor by Hell.
At first, Ruby formed an alliance with an uneasy Sam by promising to help him get his brother out of his crossroads deal, but once this was revealed to be false, offered to train Sam to be able to kill Lilith in revenge for Dean being sent to Hell.
During Dean's sojourn in Hell, Ruby tightened her hold by being useful and 'helping' Sam, saying what he wanted to hear, addicting him to demon blood, and being there through his grief to the point that the relationship between the two gradually deepened and became sexual. She molded him into the perfect vessel for Lucifer and manipulated him into breaking the final seal by killing Lilith, but once her deceit was realized by the brothers, she was killed with her own knife.
After learning that Ruby had the Occultum before her death, Castiel visits the demon in The Empty, awakening her in the process. In exchange for the location, Ruby requests that Castiel get her out of the Empty which would resurrect her. Castiel agrees to her request to at least try to free Ruby.
History[]
Early History[]
“ | She was one of mine. I turned her out a long, long time ago. Ruby here was a witch. Of course, that's when you were human. | ” |
Ruby began life as a human who was alive during the peak of the Black Death, which took place from 1346 to 1353 in Europe that killed nearly 200 million people. She might have lost loved ones during the plague, as she comforted Sam in a flashback in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" by saying that she knew how it felt to lose someone, though this may have just been manipulation.
Ruby became a witch by selling her soul to Astaroth. Their interaction in Malleus Maleficarum hints that they were in a sexual relationship with one another. As a result of her deal, Ruby's soul went to Hell after she died, where she was tortured to the point that she became a demon herself. During this time, Ruby worked with Anael on occasion who was one of the few aware of her true allegiance.
Season 2[]
In All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2, Ruby was among the demons who escaped Hell when Jake Talley opened the devil's gate in Wyoming.
Season 3[]
“ | I'm here because I want to help you.[...] I have my reasons. Not all demons are the same, Sam. Not all of us want the same thing. Me? I want help you from time to time. That's all. And if you let me, there might be something in it for you. [...] I could help you save your brother. | ” |
— Ruby's proposition to Sam
in The Kids Are Alright |
In the episode The Magnificent Seven, while possessing an unnamed blonde woman, Ruby began following Sam, meeting him face-to-face when she defended him and killed demons Pride, Gluttony, and Greed with a knife. When Sam asked who she was, she quipped "I'm the girl who just saved your ass" and departed. During the episode The Kids Are Alright, when she met up with Sam again, she claimed that she was a hunter, revealed that she knows about Azazel's "special children", and encouraged Sam so he'd learn that his mother's friends and relatives were all killed by Azazel. Sam later confronted her about how she knew so much and she was forced to reveal to him her identity as a demon. He immediately prepared to fight with her but she managed to talk him down by promising to help him break Dean's deal.
In Sin City, When Bobby Singer was trying to restore the Colt's power after Dean used its last bullet on Azazel, Ruby arrived and baited him into shooting her with the defective gun; she was irritated when the gunshot "smarted a little" and ruined her shirt. She helped him fix the Colt and he later brought it to Sam, who killed two demons with it to protect Dean. While Ruby was pleased by this display of Sam's new ruthlessness in his mission to save his brother, she became irritated when he questioned her motives in helping them, and threatened to take the Colt from him and help someone else. Sam pointed the gun at her but did not shoot when she reminded him that she could help him save Dean. She told him that they were in a war and that it wouldn't be easy - there would be "collateral damage" and he would have to resist his gentle nature - but that she'd be there for him.
In Malleus Maleficarum Ruby tried to warn the Winchesters off when they investigated a witch coven that was being empowered and controlled by Astaroth. Ruby feared that Sam would be killed, but he and Dean ignored her warnings. Dean sensed that Ruby was evil and tried to kill her with the Colt, but Sam interfered and she fled. She later saved Dean when she force-fed him a potion that broke the spell Astaroth had cast to kill him. She tried to earn Astaroth's trust by claiming that she'd led Sam and Dean to her and that she wanted to serve her again, but Astaroth realized her treachery when Ruby tried to kill her: she beat Ruby down while revealing her origins as a human to the shocked brothers, then tried to exorcise her. However, Elizabeth Higgins distracted Astaroth, who was then killed by Dean. Later on, Ruby and Dean had a heart-to-heart in which she confirmed that he too would eventually become a demon (which became one of his deepest fears). She admitted to him that she had lied to Sam so that he'd listen to her; she could not save Dean from Hell, but she wanted his help in preparing Sam for fighting Lilith once Dean died. She claimed that the reason why she was helping them was because, unlike other demons, she remembered how it felt to be human.
During Jus In Bello Ruby's newfound truce with Dean broke when, after learning that the Colt had been stolen (by Bela Talbot) she suggested that they kill the virginal Nancy Fitzgerald to use her heart in a spell that would kill the demons laying siege to the police station Sam, Dean, and other people were hiding in; this spell would also have killed Ruby. Despite her and Nancy's willingness to sacrifice themselves, Dean vehemently refused her offer. After he gained the support of Sam, who was more open to the idea, Ruby gave up in disgust and left. The brothers escaped by using a mass-exorcism, but Lilith had killed everyone in the station after they left. Ruby angrily lectured them on not going with her plan, gave them hex bags to hide them from Lilith, and left.
In No Rest for the Wicked against Dean's wishes, Sam summoned Ruby for her help in saving Dean from Hell as his brother's deadline grew close. She told him that he could save his brother by developing the demonic abilities Azazel had given him, which had gone dormant upon the demon's death. However, Dean had predicted his brother's actions and drawn up a devil's trap, which he used to capture her and steal her knife after a brief but vicious fight. She was enraged and screamed that she wished she could see him getting tortured in Hell. She managed to escape the trap and showed up to apprehend him, demanding her knife back, but was forced to flee with the brothers when a horde of demons attacked. While the group was separated, Lilith exorcised Ruby and sent her back to Hell while she temporarily possessed Ruby's host body.
Interim[]
Ruby was released from Hell, claiming that Lilith had ordered her to kill Sam to prove her loyalty. She was accompanied by another demon, whom she killed in front of Sam to show him that she remained his ally. However, he rejected her help once she admitted that she couldn't rescue Dean from Hell, and demanded she dis-inhabit the secretary whose body she had taken over. She satisfied him by possessing the body of "Jane Doe", a woman who had recently died in a coma and whose soul had already passed on.
With Sam now more open to her advice due to his grief and her apparent trustworthiness, Ruby suggested that he avenge Dean's death by killing Lilith with his psychic powers. Although he wanted to go after Lilith immediately, she persuaded him to train with his abilities first, then saved his life when he walked into a trap. During this time, Ruby apparently stopped him from drinking alcohol heavily, started a sexual relationship with him at his lowest point, and became his hunting partner in Dean's stead. She also began feeding him her blood to enhance his powers.
Season 4[]
In the episode Lazarus Rising Dean, resurrected by an angel, tracked Sam down to the motel room his brother shared with Ruby. To keep her identity and relationship with Sam hidden, she pretended that she didn't know Dean and even teased Sam by asking if the brothers were lovers when they embraced. When Sam went to a diner alone and exorcised a demon with his mind, she came to him, complimenting him on how rapidly his powers were advancing. She admitted that she didn't know why demons were so panicked or how Dean could have been resurrected. She asked Sam if he was going to tell Dean about her and decided to tone down her involvement with Sam so that he wouldn't have to lie to his brother.
In Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester Ruby discovered that Dean was saved by angels. She demanded confirmation from Sam; once she got it, she hides her influence on Sam from the angels by laying low and telling Sam that it's because she feared that angels would smite her even if she was being helpful to him.
During the episode In The Beginning, Sam leaves a sleeping Dean to secretly rendezvous with Ruby.
In Metamorphosis, Dean learned about Ruby and the development of Sam's powers, when he spied on them interrogating a demon about Lilith's whereabouts; when he confronted them, Ruby greeted him with a smirk. He tried to kill her once he realized who she was; she fought back but let him go on Sam's orders, despite her rage at Dean. She took the exorcised demon's host to the hospital while the brothers confronted each other. However, she continued to meet up with Sam in private without Dean's knowledge.
In the episode I Know What You Did Last Summer, Ruby learned that demons were pursuing an escaped mental patient, Anna Milton, with orders to capture her alive, and passed word onto the Winchesters; Sam agreed to look into it and they eventually tracked Anna down. Ruby hastily arrived to warn the group that "heavy-hitter" Alastair was part of the hunt for Anna and he was following the Winchesters, but he arrived before they could leave. While Sam and Dean distracted him in a fight, Ruby snuck Anna out, hiding with her in a cabin. Meanwhile, at a motel as the Winchesters patched up their wounds from having escaped from Alastair, Sam explained to Dean that Ruby saved his life while Dean was in Hell, which was why he trusted her. Despite being disgusted at learning that Sam had also had sex with Ruby, learning what she did for Sam caused Dean to be slightly less wary of her.
Leaving her current host at the cabin with Anna, Ruby went to Sam and Dean's motel; she possessed a maid in order to covertly pass on the cabin's location and warn them that they were being watched by demons, then returned to Anna and repossessed Jane Doe. When the Winchesters joined them, Dean awkwardly thanked an unimpressed Ruby for taking care of Sam in his absence. She learned that the brothers had lost her knife to Alastair when she and the brothers prepared to defend Anna from an oncoming threat: angels Castiel and Uriel, who demanded that Anna be given to them to be killed. Uriel was disgusted by Ruby's presence and incapacitated her.
In Heaven and Hell, Ruby was saved from destruction when Anna banished the angels with a sigil she drew in her own blood. Dean helped Ruby stand up and checked on Anna while Ruby checked on Sam. She and the Winchesters placed Anna inside the demon-proofed panic room at Bobby's house for safe-keeping. For added security, Ruby gave them hex-bags that hid them from both demons and angels. When Anna remembered that she was an angel, Ruby figured out that demons were after Anna because they wanted to interrogate her for information on what the angels were planning.
Ruby believed that their situation was hopeless and that they would all be killed by either the angels or demons. Despite her efforts to convince him otherwise, Sam refused to start drinking her blood again to "tone up" his abilities. She went with Sam, Dean, and Anna to retrieve Anna's grace, only to find it missing.
Ruby's words to Sam about getting between Heaven and Hell gave him the idea of bringing both sides together to fight each other. To fulfill her part in his plan, she went to a crossroads and burnt her hex-bag, exposing her location to Alastair, who denounced her for protecting an angel. Though she offered to give him Anna in exchange for the safety of herself and the Winchesters, he tortured her with her own knife instead. She refused to tell him but instead led him to Anna, where he and his underlings fought Castiel and Uriel, who had been lured there by Dean. After Anna reclaimed her grace from Uriel, Alastair's body was destroyed and the other demons were killed, leaving Ruby's knife behind. Castiel and Uriel also left.
During Criss Angel Is A Douchebag, while Sam was alone in his and Dean's motel room, Ruby confronted him and accused him of wasting time with minor hunts, as Lilith has already broken over half of the seals. In response to his pointing out that he doesn't know where the seals are or how to stop them from being broken, Ruby told him that he needed to go after Lilith herself to protect the rest of the seals. She again tried to convince him to continue drinking her blood in order to kill Lilith, but he refused, prompting her to leave in anger. After the Winchesters solve the case, a conversation Sam has with his brother (in which Dean says that he doesn't foresee a happy future for either of them), Sam agreed to rejoin Ruby in the hunt for Lilith, stating that he doesn't want to still be hunting when he is old.
During Sex and Violence, When Dean was alone in the hotel room, he dialed the last number on Sam's phone out of suspicion of Sam's secrets—Ruby answered, and he immediately hung up.
In On The Head Of A Pin, Ruby arranged for a meeting between herself and the Winchesters in order to pursue a lead on Lilith; however, Castiel and Uriel abducted Dean to participate in a captured Alastair's torture and interrogation. Although Ruby was reluctant to get involved with angelic matters again and believed that Dean interrogating Alastair was a good thing, Sam urged her to help him find his brother, saying that Dean was not who he used to be and wouldn't be able to get answers out of Alastair. She located Dean using a spell and finally succeeded in getting Sam to feed on her blood again after weeks, reassuring him that it was "okay" to ease his doubts.
In the episode The Rapture, Ruby had stopped contacting Sam for three weeks, likely in an attempt to tie him even more tightly to her by withholding the blood he is now addicted to. Eventually Sam became desperate enough to drink from another demon in front of his shocked brother, accidentally exposing the secret to him.
During When the Levee Breaks, Sam was locked in Bobby's panic room to undergo a long and painful detox by Dean and Bobby, but was secretly released by Castiel. Ruby and Sam met up at the honeymoon suite of a motel. When asked, she said that she didn't know how he escaped the panic room but was happy that he had. She also expressed sympathy for his pain and surprise at Dean's actions, saying that the deterioration of Sam and Dean's relationship was "sad". She explained that she had not contacted Sam because she had been investigating Lilith. He fed on Ruby's blood and it was implied they had sex.
Afterwards, she commented that his "appetite" had grown and reassured him that it meant he was now strong enough to kill Lilith, informing him that there were only about two seals left to be broken. Ruby explained that only Lilith could break the final seal as the first demon Lucifer made; however, she did not tell him that Lilith's death was the final seal. Not knowing this, Sam's desire to kill Lilith to stop her from breaking the last seal was renewed. Ruby and Sam prepared to capture Lilith's "chef", but Dean arrived and tried to kill Ruby. She fought him off long enough for Sam to intervene and help her to escape. Ruby fled the room while the brothers started to argue, resulting in a brutal fight in which Sam almost killed Dean, who then cut his ties with his brother as Sam had chosen Ruby, a demon, over him.
In Lucifer Rising, Ruby tried to comfort Sam by saying that the brothers could fix their relationship after killing Lilith, but he regretfully disagreed. They kidnapped a nurse named Cindy McKellan who was possessed by Lilith's "chef", and interrogated her, learning that Lilith would be at a convent, built on the ground over Lucifer's cage, to break the final seal. Ruby stopped Sam from killing "Cindy" because she wanted him to drink the possessed nurse's blood in order to be more powerful; Lilith's chef, incensed, relinquishes her control over Cindy's body, causing the nurse to wake up and panic. Ruby was irritated by Sam's reluctance to bleed and kill Cindy. When he listened to the fake voice message "Dean" (probably Zachariah) left him, Ruby was watching from behind him with a smug, calculating smirk which changed to comforting and supportive as soon as Sam turned back towards her, resigned and giving her permission to kill Cindy. She was pleased with his capitulation and rushed to ensure the deed was done.
Ruby watched as Sam confronted and killed Lilith; when Dean arrived to stop him, having been told about the final seal and sent to stop Sam by Castiel, Ruby noticed his presence and telekinetically shut and locked the doors. After Lilith's death, an exultant Ruby finally confessed the truth of her own allegiance to a horrified Sam, revealing how she had been manipulating him, had been a key part of Lilith's plan and no one knew but Lilith that she was following her orders; Dean had been right all along. With condescension in her voice, she made it clear that Sam never needed to consume demon blood, and it was just a placebo effect. All Sam needed to kill Lilith and free Lucifer was the blood that Azazel gave him as a child. The blood that Ruby gave him was just to strengthen his vessel, so Lucifer could possess him after he set him free from his cage. Finally, she promised him that Lucifer would reward her and Sam for their service. and she expressed the hope that they would continue working together.
While Ruby was still trying to convince Sam to say yes to Lucifer, Dean burst in and stabbed her with her own knife while Sam held her in place, despite her telling Dean that it was too late. She dropped to the floor dead, but with her mission accomplished: Lucifer was freed from his cage.
“ | I was the best of those sons of bitches! The most loyal! Not even Alastair knew! Only Lilith! Yeah, I'm sure you're a little angry right now, but, I mean, come on, Sam, even you have to admit -- I'm -- I'm awesome! | ” |
— Ruby to Sam
in Lucifer Rising |
Season 5[]
In Sympathy for the Devil, Ruby's corpse could be seen when Sam and Dean were trying to escape the convent before God teleported them to a plane to protect them from the convent's destruction. Later, upon being confronted by Meg, Dean mistook her for Ruby until he was told otherwise.
In Changing Channels, when the Archangel Gabriel puts Sam and Dean into a TV show, one of the programs they enter is a Japanese quiz show where Sam gets asked 'Which demon did you choose over your own brother?'. The answer, being Ruby, was revealed by the game show host when Sam failed to answer, due to his lack of understanding of Japanese.
In The Real Ghostbusters, during a convention based on Supernatural, one of the fans asked Chuck Shurley why Sam or Dean didn't notice Ruby was evil from the start. This garnered a moment of silence from Chuck while the Winchesters were annoyed because of their past with her.
Season 6[]
See: Genevieve Padalecki (character)
After being transported into an alternate universe where Supernatural is a TV show, Sam and Dean mistake Jared Padalecki's wife Genevieve, who played Ruby on TV in that world, for their Ruby. Dean is excited after realizing that Sam got married to "fake Ruby" in the alternate universe, but they confuse Genevieve with their continued strange behavior.
Season 8[]
In Southern Comfort, while under the influence of the specter Vance Collins, Dean lists Sam "being in cahoots with Ruby" as one of his many mistakes.
In As Time Goes By, after Henry Winchester is surprised that Sam and Dean own a Demon-Killing Knife of the Kurds, Dean states that he got it from a demon, referring to Ruby.
Season 12[]
In Mamma Mia, when interrogating Sam, Lady Toni Bevell brings up Ruby as one of the things she wants to question him on. Sam is left stunned by Ruby being brought up.
Season 15[]
In Destiny's Child, Sam and Dean seek out the Occultum in order to help Jack become powerful enough to kill God. The Winchesters track the Occultum to Anael who reveals that she gave it to Ruby to their surprise. Anael explains that she and Ruby would sometimes "pool our talents" and run a job together if the opportunity presented itself, but were not friends.
In a flashback, Ruby visits Anael who compliments Ruby's brunette vessel, feeling that it suits Ruby more than her old vessel. Ruby accuses Anael of holding out on her, but Anael insists that she respects their arrangement and doesn't butt in when Ruby agrees to return "some sap's" soul for a tidy fee while Ruby is good with Anael's "bleeding heart sideshow." Ruby has learned that Anael has the Occultum and promises to get Anael a buyer for a taste of the Occultum's power. Ruby states that the Occultum is worth millions and points out that it greatly appeals to Anael.
In the present, Anael states that she gave Ruby the Occultum and Ruby hid it until she could contact the buyer. However, this never happened as Ruby was killed by Dean first. Anael claims that the Occultum was hidden by Ruby somewhere in Hell before her death, causing Sam and Dean to travel into Hell to find it. However, they are ambushed by demons working for Anael and discover that she lied and it was a trap.
Having realized that there are too many holes in Anael's story about Ruby, Castiel decides to travel into the Empty to ask the demon herself about the Occultum. By having Jack remove most of his lifeforce, Castiel is able to enter the Empty where he calls out for Ruby. The Shadow, taking on the form of Meg, interrupts Castiel, but reluctantly directs him to a pulsating mass which morphs into Ruby, taking on the form of her brunette vessel to communicate. Ruby is surprised to see the Seraphim, but remembers that she is dead and Castiel explains that he is almost dead. Castiel explains that he woke the demon up to find the Occultum and Anael told him that she had hidden it in Hell. Ruby is annoyed, pointing out that it is a little obvious for a demon to hide something in Hell. Castiel states that Sam and Dean are searching Hell now, causing Ruby to ask how Sam is doing, stating that she liked Sam and they had a good thing before her death.
Ruby reveals that Anael approached her rather than the other way around. In a flashback, Ruby visits Anael, initially suspecting a trap and threatening Anael if it is. Anael explains that Lucifer and Michael are currently circling each other and there will be a showdown. Anael knows that Ruby thinks she's "in solid" with Lucifer, but warns that nothing will be left standing if Lucifer and Michael go at it. Anael points out that thing's could go Ruby's way or Heaven's at which point everyone will need a Plan B. Anael points out that they work well together when they have to with Ruby being a powerful demon and Anael a good businesswoman. Anael suggests that they can make the new world order that will arise work for them and suggests that they ride it out in the safest place that exists: the Occultum.
In the present, Castiel is shocked to learn that the Occultum is actually a place and Ruby explains that she and Anael cut a deal and she stashed the Occultum. Ruby states that she can give Castiel the location which is not in Hell after all. Castiel questions if Anael knows where it is, worried that the angel will seek out the Occultum, but Ruby reassures him that Anael doesn't know as Ruby knew that she couldn't be trusted. Ruby insists that Castiel can trust her to tell the truth, but requests that in return he gets her out of the Empty. Ruby points out that the Empty is full of sorrow and despair playing over and over in the inhabitants minds, angels and demons dreaming about their regrets forever. Having experienced it himself, Castiel knows what she means and Ruby requests that Castiel, who clearly has connections, at least try to get her out. Castiel promises to at least try and Ruby whispers the location in his ear. Afterwards, Ruby backs away and vanishes.
After being brought back by Jack, Castiel reveals that he succeeded in getting the location of the Occultum from Ruby. Ruby is revealed to have hidden it in an abandoned church. However, Ruby failed to tell Castiel about the hellhounds she left to guard the church. Following the clues Ruby gave Castiel, the Winchesters, Castiel and Jack are able to find the Occultum which transports Jack to the Garden of Eden and restores his soul.
In Inherit the Earth, Ruby appears in the flashback sequence at the end.
Personality[]
“ | On the bright side, I'll be there with you... that little fallen angel on your shoulder. | ” |
Ruby was aggressive, manipulative, and deceitful. She had a rather black sense of humor; for example, when Sam told her of how Azazel slaughtered eight nuns at St. Mary's Convent in 1972, she quipped, "What's black and white and red all over?" and smirked when Sam chastised her.
Ruby had strong religious faith in Lucifer, to the point that she spent two years on an undercover mission dedicated to freeing him which she eventually died on; because of this, she considered herself the best and most loyal of all his followers. She believed that he would "save" all demons. Once she freed him, she was visibly awed and ecstatic.
Ruby insisted that she was different from other demons in the sense that she remembered being human although she wished she didn't, and that these feelings compelled her to want to defend humanity; Lucifer Rising revealed that at least part of this was a lie but whether or not she did remember some part of her life as a human is unknown. Notably, she did not tell the Winchesters that she had once been human right away. Astaroth implied that Ruby did not want the brothers to know because she was "embarrassed," and Ruby did seem upset afterwards, though she quickly recovered. Once her origins were exposed, she began using her former humanity in her favor to paint herself as a demon who remembered and embraced her past.
Although Ruby sought to earn the Winchesters' trust by helping them and saving their lives if necessary, she did not always present herself as an accommodating ally. She frequently insulted or belittled the brothers, particularly Dean (requiring Sam to mediate between them). This came to a head in No Rest for the Wicked: when Dean tricked her into a devil's trap and stole her knife, she finally lost her temper and screamed that she wished she could see him being tortured in Hell. Ruby confessed that she lived "back when the Plague was big" and that after being in Hell was not able to remember who you used to be. She was also impatient and ill-tempered when her suggestions were not used, as seen when she simply left the brothers to fend for themselves against an onslaught of demons when they refused her plan.
After returning from Hell in Season 4, and reappearing in a different body, Ruby's personality seemed to change. Less sassy and overtly bad-ass, she seemed more to work in the background behind Sam and actively manipulate him from there. She also appeared to grow fond of Sam, seducing him and eventually having sex with him to distract him from the grief he felt for Dean's first death, showing that Ruby has a sexual side to her and much like other female demons, enjoys having sex. Even to the point that Sam cutting her to drink her blood turns her on. When the depths of her betrayal was revealed in "Lucifer Rising", she tried to comfort and reassure him with promises that he had done the right thing, even when she no longer needed to pretend she was on his side (though this may have been to ensure that he said 'yes' as Sam would cease to exist if he were to be possessed by Lucifer). She was so certain of her control over Sam that she is shown to be shocked when he held her in place so Dean could kill her.
Ruby feared angels because she believed that they would smite her in an instant; upon learning that an angel had saved Dean from Hell, she spent less time around Sam because she didn't want to risk encountering Castiel. She was also unsettled by Castiel and Uriel's presence in I Know What You Did Last Summer and the revelation that Anna Milton was an angel in Heaven and Hell. However, Ruby was even more frightened of Alastair, who called her "a devious, cowardly little slut". Regardless, she proved herself to be quite committed to her cause; she risked (and eventually lost) her life by allying with hunters who doubted her motives and were often willing to kill her, she made herself an outcast to be hunted by her own kind, and confronted both angels and Alastair multiple times despite her fears of them, even allowing herself to be captured and tortured by Alastair in Heaven and Hell for Sam's plan.
As revealed in Destiny's Child, Ruby wasn't as sure of Lucifer's plan as she claimed and plotted with Anael to hide in the Occultum until the Apocalypse was over. She was also willing to work with the angel when their interests coincided despite Ruby's claimed fear of angels. In one flashback, Anael claimed that Ruby was willing to save the soul of "some poor sap" for a price, though as this flashback was later revealed to be a fabrication it is unknown if this was true. Ruby later states that she knows better than to trust Anael with the location of the Occultum and that a demon hiding something in Hell is kind of obvious.
Following her death, Ruby is shown to retain much of the same personality and displays what appears to be a genuine fondness for Sam though this may also have been an attempt at manipulation. Stuck in the Empty where she, along with all demons and angels, relives their regrets over and over for eternity, Ruby is desperate to get out, but also somewhat more agreeable than she was in life. In return for the location of the Occultum, Ruby simply requests that Castiel promise to try to get her out rather than force him to do so and then give up the location once she is alive again. Ruby insists that he can trust her to keep her word if he does the same, though she fails to tell Castiel that she left hellhounds to guard the abandoned church.
Physical Appearance[]
Ruby's soul was apparently quite disfigured from centuries of torture in Hell. Dean and Anna both reacted with horror and disgust when they saw her true face, with Dean describing her as "one ugly broad". Ruby manifested as a cloud of thick black smoke without a human host. She preferred to possess young women. She wore a red or black leather jacket with a thin top, along with black pants and leather boots.
In Destiny's Child, Ruby takes the form of her last vessel while in the Empty. She also wears a more business-like attire, including a blue jacket. In the flashbacks to her meetings with Anael, Ruby is wearing the same outfit rather than her usual attire from when she was working with Sam.
Powers and Abilities[]
Despite being a demon, Ruby more often relied upon on a combination of trickery, ambushing opponents, martial arts, and usage of the Demon-Killing Knife than on her powers. She had black eyes and was noted by Alastair to be "young" by demonic standards, marking Ruby as most likely an average, low-ranking demon. She was far outmatched by both high ranking demons and low-ranking angels, and was extremely wary of both groups. Nevertheless, she demonstrated herself to be capable in evading and fending off the vengeful forces of Hell for two years, often on her own. When confronted by over thirty demons in Jus In Bello, she held up her knife and challenged them by asking, "Who wants to stop me?"; they all let her pass unharmed. Despite her apparent lack of major powers, Anael calls Ruby a powerful demon in a flashback in Destiny's Child, suggesting that she recognizes Ruby’s mastery of manipulation.
- Teleportation - Ruby often disappeared from or suddenly appeared at one location. In Sin City, Ruby was following Sam from behind, and when he turned around to look, she instantly vanished. By No Rest For The Wicked, Sam had learned a ritual with which he could summon her. After they started working together, she began driving an orange 1970 Mach-1 Mustang instead.
- Invulnerability - Ruby was immune to death from conventional means, such as massive blood loss from being tortured by Alastair in Heaven and Hell, though she was barely able to walk afterwards due to her injuries. Being shot in the chest by Bobby with the defective Colt in Sin City merely irritated her, not even notably hurting her or slowing her down.
- Spell Casting - Ruby had immense knowledge of witchcraft and the supernatural, due to being a witch taught by Astaroth in her human life. Astaroth noted that Ruby had been "one of [her] best," indicating that Ruby had become a powerful witch under her tutelage. She manufactured hexbags to conceal her, and the Winchesters', presence from angels as well as other demons and taught Bobby how to make more "magic" bullets for the Colt. She could also track Dean after Castiel and Uriel abducted him. She may have also escaped from a devil's trap using a spell, similar to Meg in Born Under A Bad Sign.
- Potioncraft - She saved Dean from Astaroth's hex spell with a counter-potion.
- Electrokinesis - Ruby made the Impala slow down and then completely stop in front of her when she wanted to warn Sam in Malleus Maleficarum. She also made the motel lights to flicker in the same episode to announce her presence to Dean.
- Demonic Possession - Ruby manifested on Earth by possessing humans. I Know What You Did Last Summer revealed that, unlike most demons, she possessed humans without visually or audibly manifesting herself on the physical plane. It also revealed that she could possess a soulless, brain-dead vessel over an extended period of time without trouble.
- Immortality - Ruby could potentially live indefinitely; she was over seven hundred years old when she was killed.
- Super Strength - When Ruby fought Sam and Dean in No Rest For The Wicked, she punched Sam hard enough to knock him against a post and make him fall to the ground, stunned, and kicked Dean to land a short distance away and roll across the floor. She also grabbed Dean and pinned him against a wall in No Rest For The Wicked and Metamorphosis, with him unable to get free until she let him go. However, Ruby was usually overpowered by even her fellow black-eyed demons in direct combat and she did not overpower Dean in Metamorphosis and When The Levee Breaks, indicating that she was weaker than most demons and possibly only on par with Dean in terms of physical strength.
- Immunity - Ruby was immune to hallowed ground . In I Know What You Did Last Summer and Lucifer Rising, Ruby entered churches without any difficulty, showing that she was not affected by hallowed ground. Ruby was still susceptible to other standard defenses against demons, including devil's traps, salt, iron and her own knife.
- Regeneration - When in another vessel, Ruby commented that her brain-dead vessel was "rotting" without her possessing it, indicating that she was keeping the body from decomposing. She also cut her arms, and let Sam cut her, numerous times to let Sam feed off of her blood, yet her vessel remained unscarred, which may mean that Ruby was healing her vessel's wounds. She was also able to heal the wounds that Alastair inflicted on her with torture although she wasn't able to do it quickly.
- Super Stamina - Ruby appeared to not need to sleep, or at least needed less sleep than humans do. Although she did not require food to survive, she enjoyed eating French fries and the like.
- Telekinesis - Ruby had the ability to move and otherwise influence objects with her mind. She used a hand gesture to shut and lock the doors of St. Mary's Convent on Dean in Lucifer Rising.
- Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant - Ruby is a talented martial artist, and her fighting style combined technical superhuman physical attributes, along with punches and kicks and knife fighting, so she defeated countless enemies, including powerful demons, and the Winchester brothers, although powerful beings greater they can overcome it.
Weaknesses[]
Being a low-level black-eyed demon, Ruby had most of the common weaknesses of a demon.
Harming, Misleading, and Trapping[]
- Iron - Astaroth could harm her with a fireplace poker.
- Exorcism - Like most demons, Ruby is vulnerable to an exorcism, as seen in her fight with Astaroth.
- Devil's Trap - Like all demons, Ruby is vulnerable to a devil's trap, though she has managed to escape one through an unknown method.
- White-eyed Demons - Alastair and Lilith were able to easily overpower Ruby.
Banishing or Destroying[]
- Angels - Even a regular angel is more powerful than Ruby, as shown when Uriel was able to toss her and would have smote her if Dean didn’t interfere.
- Demon-Killing Knife - Ruby was killed by her own demon-killing knife.
- The Colt - Properly made bullets could kill her though improperly made ones caused her to barely flinch.
Death[]
Killed By[]
After Ruby's true allegiance was revealed to Sam, Dean entered the St. Mary's Convent chapel and drew the demon-killing knife on Ruby. Despite Ruby's taunts that Dean was too late, Dean advanced on her and Sam restrained Ruby from behind. As Ruby was held by Sam, Dean drove the demon-killing knife into her stomach, twisted it and removed it, killing Ruby.
Relationships[]
- Ruby and Sam - Allies, lovers, enemies.
- Dean and Ruby - Reluctant allies and enemies.
Appearances[]
- Season 2
- All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2 (smoke form)
- Season 3
- The Magnificent Seven
- The Kids Are Alright
- Bad Day at Black Rock (mentioned only)
- Sin City
- Bedtime Stories (mentioned only)
- Malleus Maleficarum
- Jus In Bello
- No Rest for the Wicked
- Supernatural: Bone Key (mentioned only)
- Season 4
- Lazarus Rising
- Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
- In The Beginning
- Metamorphosis
- I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Heaven and Hell
- Criss Angel Is A Douchebag
- Sex and Violence (voice only)
- Death Takes A Holiday (referenced only)
- On The Head Of A Pin
- The Rapture (mentioned only)
- When the Levee Breaks
- Lucifer Rising
- Season 5
- Sympathy for the Devil (corpse and mentioned)
- Fallen Idols (mentioned only)
- Changing Channels (mentioned only)
- The Real Ghostbusters (mentioned only)
- Abandon All Hope... (referenced only)
- Sam, Interrupted (mentioned only)
- Point of No Return (referenced only)
- The Devil You Know (mentioned only)
- Season 6
- The French Mistake (mentioned only)
- Season 8
- Southern Comfort (mentioned only)
- Sacrifice (mentioned only)
- Season 12
- Mamma Mia (mentioned only)
- Season 13
- The Scorpion and The Frog (mentioned only in a deleted scene)
- Season 15
- A Very Special Supernatural Special (archive footage)
Trivia[]
- Series creator Eric Kripke had intended from the beginning that Ruby would be evil.
- Ruby was described incorrectly in press releases in order to preserve plot twists and/or tease the fans: before her third season introduction and the revelation of her demonic nature, she was described as a hunter more skilled than Sam or Dean, and described as a waitress named Kristy who was a love interest for Sam for Season 4.
- Ruby's third season actress, Katie Cassidy, originally auditioned for the role of Bela Talbot. Coincidentally, Lauren Cohan, Bela's actress, had originally auditioned for the role of Ruby.
- Cassidy was let go in Season 3 because of budgetary reasons. At first, the writers planned for Ruby to take on a new host every few episodes for Season 4. Genevieve Cortese played the first of what was supposed to be many incarnations.
- One of the actresses who auditioned for the role of Ruby in Season 4 was Shoshannah Stern, who was happy Genevieve got the role while she herself went on to portray Eileen Leahy.
- Cortese married Sam's actor, Jared Padalecki.
- Jared has stated in interviews his belief that Sam was in love with Ruby.
- Ruby is the secondary antagonist of season 4.
- Ruby ranks as the second most recurring demon with twenty episodes, only losing out to Crowley; she appeared more than Azazel (14 episodes), Meg (12 episodes), Lilith (6 episodes), Alastair (5 episodes), and Dean's Crossroad Demon (3 episodes).
- Ruby was alive during the fourteenth century, technically making her older than Crowley, who was born in 1661. However, even before Crowley became King of Hell, Ruby was much weaker than him.
- Ruby demonstrated a fondness for French fries (with lots of ketchup) in The Kids Are Alright and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
- Ruby shared many similarities with Meg: they were both black-eyed demons who served a season's main antagonist (Ruby for Lilith, Meg for Azazel) and Lucifer, both originally appeared to Sam in the guise of a normal human, they had similar personalities, dressed similarly, had sexual tension with Sam, possessed intimate knowledge of witchcraft, helped the Winchesters (Ruby in Seasons 3 and 4 and Meg in Seasons 6, 7 and 8), both were captured and tortured during said alliance (Ruby by Alastair, Meg by the demon possessing Christian Campbell and later Crowley), and even shared a similar preference in host bodies (first appeared possessing a blonde, later possessing a brunette). Moreover, Meg started out as a foe of the Winchesters, but she died as their ally, sacrificing herself for them and their cause, while Ruby first appears as an ally, only to be revealed as an enemy.
- Ruby and Meg have only appeared in one episode together. Ruby's corpse is seen at the beginning of Sympathy for the Devil, and Meg later appears as antagonist in the same episode. Though they have never shared any scenes together, nor have they ever played a major part in the same season. Meg played a role in Seasons 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and Ruby in Seasons 3 and 4. Season 9 is the first season where neither demon appears.
- The third known body Ruby possessed was of a woman called "Jane Doe", which is a placeholder name used for unidentified persons.
- Ruby was rarely seen to use her demonic powers beyond her super strength. While she had telekinesis, she only displayed that power once, just minutes before she died.
- Interestingly, Ruby calls herself "that little fallen angel on your shoulder" in Sin City, despite demons not being fallen angels but corrupted human souls in the show's universe.