In the hit show Supernatural [1], Rowena MacLeod, played by Scottish actress Ruth Connell, is the biological mother of Crowley (or Fergus, as she so fondly calls him), but she's not merely the mother to the king of Hell. Besides being the owner of some awesome witchy eyeshadows and dresses, Rowena has pulled off some of biggest stunts in the show, including deciphering the Book of the Damned and summoning Lucifer. Her craftiness and independent nature constantly keeps Crowley and the Winchesters on their feet. Rowena emerges as a refreshing feminist antihero in a show that centers around the adventures of two burly bros who drip with machismo. That's why we dedicated this post to explore 10 reasons why Rowena is one of the most badass characters.

She Reclaims Misogynistic Terms.

Rowena has no patience for misogyny. When Dean encounters Rowena at a bar in season 10, he asks her, "What's a nice girl like you doing at a place like this? I'm sorry, did I say nice girl? I mean evil skank." To which our favorite spunky ginger replies, "You say that like it's an insult. Nice girls, they're pathetic. Here's to 'evil skanks.'" Not only does she retort his insult with a clever comeback, she also uses her magical powers to attack him with rabid college boys. Take that, patriarchy!

She Knows Herself.

When Crowley asks Rowena why she hates him so much, she gives him the raw and painful truth, no chasers. In a poignant moment, she replies, "I hate you, because when I look into your eyes I see the woman I used to be, before magic, before the coven. When I was nothing but Rowena, the tanner's daughter. A pale, scared little girl, who smelled of filth and death." She tells him that if she didn't hate him, she would love him, and that love, to her, is weakness. In this poignant moment, we learn how Rowena's complicated and tragic past fuels her thirst for power and prestige.

She's Real.

Rowena has a knack for keeping things real, even to the face of God's sister, who is literally and terrifyingly known as "The Darkness." After healing, Amara tells Rowena that she doesn't see in the witch a capacity for kindness or concern. Rowena responds, "Kindness gives you hugs, not a seat at the big boys' table." Here, we suspect that this all-powerful being might be selling our beloved witch a little short. We suspect that she has a heart in there somewhere.

She Knows That She's Good at What She Does.

This ginger is one confident lady. As Sam becomes desperate to remove the Mark of Cain from Dean's arm in season 10, he snaps at Rowena to quickly decipher the Book of the Damned. Rowena puts Sam in his place, reminding him that she's the only person he knows who will be able to undo Dean's curse, seeing as she's already mastered "the intricacies of high witchcraft." Oh, and after spieling about how awesome she is, she hilariously reminds Sam to go grocery shopping.

She Asserts Her Authority.

Rowena doesn't have the patience for inferior men, so she asserts her authority when need be. Crowley says to her, "Not a thing, you evil b*tch," and she forces him to practice basic manners by addressing her as his mother and saying, "Not a thing, you evil b*tch, mother." While Crowley thinks that Rowena is just sucking up, it's Rowena who has the upper hand. She, after all, is the one who placed a hex bag under his throne. What is it that they say? Mama knows best.

She Knows Her Worth.

As the men in her life constantly undermine and reject her power, Rowena knows how her abilities will ultimately fit into the big picture. Desperately trying to decode the Book of the Damned, Sam minimally consults Rowena, who knows that she is his last resort. Attempting to retrieve the Werther Box on his own, Sam finds himself seeing visions of a dead woman . Rowena pops up and ends up helping him, and they form an unlikely alliance.

She's Passionate About What She Does.

There's no denying that Rowena's a leader. After decoding the Book of the Damned, she learns some new tricks of her own and attempts to create the Mega Coven, a rejuiced version of the obsolete Grand Coven. When the witch recruits insult Rowena and tell her that her son is still alive, she casts a spell that incinerates them. Eh, we didn't say that she was perfect.

She Claps Back at the Rude and Bigoted.

There's no room in Rowena's world for rudeness, and you best be careful of what you say to her. Remember the time when Rowena single-handedly shuts down a demon brothel? Before she kills Raul, the head-honcho demon, he rudely tells her that Raul's Girls wasn't hiring at the moment and that she was "a little old" — to which Rowena replies that she'd sooner die than do business with filth like him, throwing a hex bag to kill him. Wicked.

She's an Independent Woman.

Despite her different alliances, Rowena is ultimately an independent woman who isn't afraid of getting what she wants. After removing the mark of Cain from Dean and unleashing the Darkness, Rowena goes her own way. Her own son claims that she isn't powerful enough, to which she snarkily replies, "To what? Control the likes of a bored king and a wayward angel?" She then casts an attack-dog spell on Castiel to have him finish off Crowley, impatient with Sam for not keeping his end of their deal and killing Crowley in exchange for her cracking the Book of the Damned. You do you, Rowena.

She's Not Afraid of a Challenge.

No challenge is too big for this witch. When Winchester and Co. were clueless as of how to defeat Amara, Sam suggests that they get help from Rowena. Okay, so technically Rowena unleashes the Darkness upon Earth. But when push comes to shove, she isn't afraid of a challenge, even if it means facing an almighty deity. While not powerful enough to defeat God's sister, Rowena still briefly brings Amara to her knees with some extra mojo from her witch friends. Not even scrappy Dean Winchester or calculating Crowley could put a dent in Amara.