The ep seemed shorter to me than usual, although it was very cool to see the demon pull himself out of Kelly.
I was just thinking, the vibe for this episode is different. IIRC, this may be actually the first episode that doesn't end in a cliffhanger, probably because the second half is about to start.
As for the heroes constantly messing up, I think that's part of the charm. It's not just humans vs. the forces of evil, but regular humans thrust into it. So mistakes will be made, like trusting the wrong people, or letting their baser instincts get in the way, or even just stepping in the wrong place. That's one of the charms of Ash in the original trilogy, after all -- in the movies, he's the novice that's trying to comprehend the incomprehensible, and trying to improvise his way out of there. All that quickly turned him into a highly capable man. Now it's happening to Pablo, Kelly, and the cop (the whole point to Ruby's speech).
Going back to Ash, his apology to Pablo and Kelly in the end really humanized him. He took a backseat this episode since he was tied up and Pablo was dealing with Kelly, but even then, even as a supporting character, the last few scenes reflected a huge amount of maturity and growth since the first episode. He's still a bit of an ass, but he's an ass with a heart, and contrary to all his macho bravado, he's sincerely trying to do what's right. That's some pretty strong writing there.
