Hannah Boyens 
One Supernatural Episode Turned Its Worst Female Character Into Its Best
Supernatural’s female characters have often been criticized for dying before they could fully develop as characters, but one character introduced in Supernatural season 2 proved Supernatural could turn its worst female characters into strong allies for Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles). Jo Harvelle (Alona Tall) proved that women on Supernatural could be more than just tragic victims or romantic love interests for Sam and Dean Winchester. One episode was able to turn Jo Harvelle from an unremarkable side character to one of the strongest people the Winchesters ever met in Supernatural.
Jo Harvelle is introduced in Supernatural season 2, episode 2, “Everybody Loves A Clown.” She is the daughter of Ellen (Samantha Ferris) and William Harvelle, the latter of whom was a hunter who worked with John Winchester. William has long since died and left Ellen and Jo to run The Roadhouse, a bar for hunters. In Supernatural season 2, episode 6, “No Exit,” Jo Harvelle instigated a hunt for a supernatural spirit, revealed to be H.H. Holmes. Determined to be a hunter, Jo ran away from Ellen to capture a spirit that had been killing young blonde women in a Philadelphia apartment building. Jo, Sam, and Dean eventually find and defeat the spirit, but then Jo abandons Sam, Dean, and Ellen after discovering John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was on the hunt that got her father killed.
Supernatural season 2, episode 6, “No Exit,” was a turning point for Jo’s character that diverted her from a potential love interest “girl-next-door” archetype into an independent fighter. The book Supernatural: The Official Companion: Season 3 by Nicholas Knight confirmed that the series creator, and showrunner at the time, Eric Kripke originally conceived Jo as an innocent girl who wanted to be a hunter. Jo would enthusiastically leap before she looked, and she and Dean would share in a great deal of romantic tension. Kripke eventually felt this character was too stereotypical for the show and used Supernatural season 2, episode 6, “No Exit” to demonstrate Jo’s independence, maturity, strength, and complexity, which made her a stronger character by completely changing Supernatural’s original plan.
Within “No Exit,” Jo actively gathers information on the spirits haunting the apartment complex and fights those spirits directly. The audience has only seen Jo talk about hunting until this moment, but then they saw her in action. It was satisfying to see Jo was resourceful both in lying to the apartment complex owner and in escaping the clutches of the spirit of H.H. Holmes. The episode also showed Jo challenging Sam and Dean’s assumptions about her qualifications as a hunter.
Jo became one of the best Supernatural characters when she decided to forge her own path by the end of “No Exit.” She left Ellen, Sam, and Dean behind to learn to hunt and survive on her own. From that moment onward, every time Sam and Dean came across Jo, she was an even more fearless, resourceful, and knowledgeable hunter, which is quite impressive in a world where most hunters become monsters. By Supernatural season 5, Jo has practically become an expert on the spiritual and demonic world, who Sam and Dean occasionally called on for help. The show also refrained from writing Jo off as a simple love interest for Dean. Jo’s romantic feelings were acknowledged but never acted upon because neither character felt it was the right moment until it was too late. This made Dean’s relationship with Jo one of the more complex relationships he has ever had on Supernatural.
Sadly, like most other female characters on Supernatural, Jo died tragically. However, her character went out in an emotional blaze of glory that served her character instead of an off-screen death whose only purpose was to devastate Sam and Dean (as seen in the death of Charlie). Jo entered the series as a throwaway side character but after Supernatural season 2, episode 6, “No Exit” she became an incredibly competent hunter. Jo Harvelle greatly aided Sam and Dean Winchester throughout her time on Supernatural but also had a rich character life completely independent from them.
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