You sound exactly like me - my problem with Ruby was the acting abilities of the two women who portrayed her. I hated Ruby 1.0... until I met Ruby 2.0. I don't like S3 Ruby by any stretch of the imagination in terms of acting, but she was definitely way better than S4 Ruby.
But poor acting aside, Ruby as a CHARACTER... damn. She was awesome. And hardcore. She was actually phenomenal in her manipulation and getting her claws into Sam, playing into Sam's character flaws - his desperation, his despair.... and then toying with his concepts and perceptions of Post-Hell Dean. On paper and conceptually speaking, I kind of have a love-affair with Ruby. It's just a shame she didn't transcribe well visually.
no subject
But poor acting aside, Ruby as a CHARACTER... damn. She was awesome. And hardcore. She was actually phenomenal in her manipulation and getting her claws into Sam, playing into Sam's character flaws - his desperation, his despair.... and then toying with his concepts and perceptions of Post-Hell Dean. On paper and conceptually speaking, I kind of have a love-affair with Ruby. It's just a shame she didn't transcribe well visually.