Supernatural season 15 became a very meta family affair by bringing together the real life wives of Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. In Supernatural's latest episode, "Destiny's Child," Billie charged Jack with retrieving a mysterious divine artifact called the Occultum which would supposedly harden his spirituality ahead of the final clash against God. This mission was ultimately designed to transport Jack to Eden, where he could restore his missing soul. Finding the Occultum, however, proved typically tricky for Team Winchester, and the quest allowed for the return of several familiar Supernatural faces.
As many fans expected, Supernatural's final season has brought back a host of popular characters before the series bids farewell, and "Destiny's Child" reintroduced the demon Meg (albeit only as a manifestation of The Empty), her hellish colleague Ruby, and Sister Jo, otherwise known as the angel Anael. The Winchesters and Castiel embarked on a twisting treasure trail between women in an attempt to track down the Occultum, but the most interesting aspects of this story were behind-the-scenes. Ruby is portrayed by Genevieve Padalecki, the wife of Sam Winchester actor Jared, and Jo is played by Danneel Harris-Ackles, who is married to Dean actor, Jensen.
Both actresses have appeared on Supernatural previously, with Ruby featuring heavily in earlier seasons and Jo debuting in season 13, but the search for the Occultum was clearly crafted to bring the two characters together for the first time and all 4 actors obviously had a blast. "Destiny's Child" was packed with in-jokes and references that take on a new meaning when considering everyone's real life relationships. Castiel describes Sister Jo as "attractive," and when the Winchesters pay the angelic faith healer a visit, Dean points out how much better-looking the brothers are compared to God. Later, Ruby and Jo get catty, as the former takes exception to being referred to as "girlfriend" in a faux-friendly tone. Jared and Genevieve don't get off lightly either. Castiel describes Ruby as the demon Sam was "sexually intimate" with, and when Cass finally makes contact with the deceased demon in The Empty, she makes a point of asking after the younger Winchester, reminiscing about her time with the "big lug."
The focus on romantic attraction and relationships between the Winchesters, Ruby and Jo doesn't fully make sense without real-world context. Ruby has been missing since season 4 and Sister Jo hasn't shown any real interest in either Winchester previously, while the two women have no prior connection to each other within the world of Supernatural. Instead, it's the allusions to these characters being played by Jensen and Jared's real wives that provide the real entertainment. Supernatural season 15 hasn't just been wrapping up vital plot points, but also ticking off a bucket list of dream scenarios before the final episode rolls. This has previously included a Dean Winchester musical number in a bar and a comedy episode where Supernatural hilariously mocked itself, and now Jensen and Jared have been able to cut loose on-screen with characters played by their respective spouses, having fun with the unique dynamic.
Intriguingly, Supernatural's latest episode may not mark the final appearances of Ruby and Jo. In exchange for information on the Occultum, Castiel promised he'd try and have Ruby revived from The Empty, while Jo's wavering morality could lead to her assisting Sam and Dean in their final battle against God.
Supernatural season 15 continues with "Last Holiday" March 30th on The CW.