Critical reception to Ellen has been positive. In their initial appearance, Bryan Enk of "UGO" felt that the new hunters of the Roadhouse had potential to be the "Supernatural" equivalent of "Buffy the Vampire Slayers"'s Scooby Gang, comparing Ellen to "Buffy"'s Giles, as she is "the elder who can help guide the boys from a home base and serve as an emotional link to their father, a parental figure without all the melodramatic baggage of the actual father from the first season." Maureen Ryan of "Chicago Tribune" was "annoyed" at the destruction of the Roadhouse in the second season finale, as she "really loved Ellen." Diana Steenbergen of "IGN" also favored Ellen from the beginning, believing her to be "a great addition to the show." She deemed Ellen "tough and direct, and also female, something the boys don't have a lot of in their lives right now."