Kickass Fictional Ladies: Ruby and Kelly from Ash Vs Evil Dead

I'm perfectly fine admitting that I never thought that I would be writing this post. I was never a huge fan of the Evil Dead films and as a person who has seen many of her favorite intellectual properties canceled or rebooted with less than stellar results, the absolutely perfect Ash Vs Evil Dead series kinda annoyed me.  The tone is spot on, the horror elements are both unique and hilarious, and Ash is the same kind of person he's always been. This series is proof that reboots can be done, and done well... And almost as if to add insult to injury, Ash Vs Evil Dead accomplishes the very thing that the previous films lacked - interesting and capable female characters. What? An article arguing that Ash Vs Evil Dead is feminist and contains not one but two notably kickass female characters? Indeed. So here we go.

For those of you not as familiar with the show, when we first meet Ruby Knowby (played by the suspiciously ageless Lucy Lawless) she claims to the be the daughter of Raymond Knowby - the professor in the Evil Dead films who discovers the Necromonicon and Kandarian dagger. I don't think I would be spoiling too much to say that Ruby's history is much more, um historical? complicated? spooky? than that.

What makes Ruby a great character is that she's smart. Smart enough to connect herself to Ash's past and insert herself into this life. She's also smart enough to adjust her plans to the circumstances around her. You almost feel shocked when an idiot like Ash gets the better of her, but I think that's the point. It's engaging because Ruby is formidable and interesting in her own way. She gets annoyed at Ash but always manages to keep her goal in sight. A well-written villain (and acted - Lucy Lawless is GREAT!) is one that you're excited to see, love to hate, but also find appealing on some level...even when you know you shouldn't. Ruby is one of those villains. Oh, and she's a woman. Well done, TV show.

The other awesome female character in this show is Ash Williams' friend/teammate Kelly Maxwell. In many ways, Kelly starts off as a basic "strong female character." She puts Ash in his place when he tries to flirt with her and is basically angry all the time and bitterly sarcastic. In a lot of shows, this would have ticked off all the boxes for their required strong female elements, but over the seasons of the show, Kelly has proven to be more than that. Her attitude is linked to her life and past rather than just it just being a personality trait. Better yet, she even becomes more comfortable showing other parts of her personality including extreme loyalty to her friends and loved ones.

Kelly becomes even more interesting as a character when you compare her with her counterpart on Ash's team, Pablo Simon Bolivar. Rather than just having Kelly fill in what may be considered the more feminine role on the team, most of that role sits comfortably with Pablo. Kelly is the one who takes to fighting more naturally and it's Kelly who formulates a lot of strategy and planning. Additionally, when it comes for the group to take a break, Kelly is the one who grows restless with no demons to battle while Pablo is perfectly content to stay in town with Ash to both support him and set up a food cart. Pablo is the one serving as the emotional heart and team cheerleader. Best of all, it isn't a bad thing and he still is a force to be reckoned with on his own.

I personally find it very exciting to find awesome ladies in surprising places. Ash Vs Evil Dead proves that you can not only reboot an older male-focused property but also update the story to include more women characters who serve as much more than plot devices. There are rumors that the third season of this show could very well be the last, so if you're a fan of kickass ladies and inventive horror action sequences, you should be getting your hands on this in hopes that the series might continue a bit longer. You might be surprised by how much you enjoy it. I certainly was.