TRUE BLOOD: Nothing But the Blood
June 15, 2009 by Kath Skerry
This past Saturday night I finished watching Season 1 of TRUE BLOOD. Upon commencement I sent out a Twitter update that said “Finally finished S1 of TRUE BLOOD. I’ll be watching S2 although I’m not hooked like others are.” And that’s true. TRUE BLOOD has a very passionate fanbase, and I’m not yet the die hard that many are, but was I lying to myself? If I’m not “hooked”, then why was I excited all day yesterday in anticipation of last night’s premiere? Why was I scouring the web reading back stories, behind the scenes info and basically anything I could get my hands on about the series? Perhaps I’m a little more “hooked” than I cared to admit.
Oh, and the second half of the aforementioned Twitter update, it said: “I just find Sookie so very irritating.” – that part I’m still holding on to. But more on that in a bit.
As does every new episode of TRUE BLOOD, last night’s episode picked up at the moment the previous episode ended. Sookie and Tara were still screaming bloody murder – literally. They saw the black leg with the pretty polished toes hanging out of Andy’s car, and they knew what they were going to find inside wasn’t going to be good. Cue to me sitting at home on my couch rocking back and forth saying over and over again, “Don’t be Lafayette. Don’t be Lafayette.” (Good thing I’m not hooked on this show) To the delight of many, the dearly departed inside the car wasn’t Lafayette but rather Miss Jeanette, Bon Temps own Voodoo mistress pharmacy clerk. Whew!
Whomever or whatever killed Miss Jeanette really wanted to see this woman suffer. Her heart had been cut right out of her chest.
But if that wasn’t Lafayette in the car, then just where has he disappeared to? Seems these days, Lafayette is doing time on the chain gang. Eric has assembled a few “pets” – men and women who have somehow disrespected, if you will, vampires. Although it wasn’t stated last night, one might assume that Eric held Lafayette responsible for the death of Eddie, Lafayette’s V supplier that was kidnapped by Amy & Jason and later killed (or I guess you could say killed again).
Although we don’t know much about the other human prisoners that Lafayette is with, one familiar face showed up for a quick visit. The redneck that Lafayette fought in Merlotte’s last year after the guy refused the ‘AIDS burger’, not only has a thing against homosexuals, but he also has a thing for burning vampires. The guy tries to talk to Lafayette about escaping the dungeon. Little did he know that he wouldn’t be spending much time there at all. After a few words with Eric, the guy is bitten (in a manner that I’m sure made most guys queasy) and ripped apart, limb by limb. That will teach him tolerance!
Oh and Eric’s in-process highlights? Hilarious! I guess vampires need a little touch up from time to time too.
Speaking of the dead, Bill had his hands full with the recently departed Jessica. He’s got a few house rules for her to follow.
- Bedtime at 4am
- Recycling is a must.
- No hunting humans.
I think Jessica is going to need a few more rules as time goes by. Her attitude and rebelliousness has Bill about two seconds away form picking up the phone and inviting Buffy Summers over for some tea (and staking).
But Jessica isn’t the only little lady this Southern (dead) gent has to worry about. Bill kept Jessica’s existence, and his role in her making, a secret from Sookie.
Bill: “I’m gonna have a guest coming over shortly.”
Jessica: “Can we eat her?”
Bill: “You may not.”
Sookie isn’t pleased and she accuses Bill of lying to her. When asked, he promises that there are no more lies. He’ll tell her everything. Perhaps that would have been the right moment to fess up and let Sookie know that he killed her former molester, Uncle Bartlett. Sookie figured it out on her own, and she tried to be angry, but Bill swayed her with his sweet words and the two of them got over their issues with some crazy sex. (I’d say it was hot, but the whole biting and the blood dripping everywhere really made my stomach turn – to each their own).
Speaking of sex, Jason Stackhouse went a full episode without having any. Boo! Now that Jason has found Jesus, don’t expect him to be bedding too many women in the near future. Ugh, thanks for nothing Jesus.
After being approached while in prison, Jason has been reading up on the work of the Fellowship of the Sun. First of, please raise your hand if you were surprised Jason could read. The leaders of the anti-vampire movement have swayed young Jason into thinking that he could be a strong leader in the organization. Of course, it’s going to cost him $1,200 just to learn to become a leader in the church. A small price to pay, right? Jason doesn’t have the money, but when Sookie gives him Uncle Bartlett’s inheritance, Jason sees it as a sign from God. Desperate to turn his life around, Jason is easily led, and Reverend Steve Newlan sees easy prey in Mr. Stackhouse.
If Jason really wanted to turn things around, why doesn’t he just go hang with Tara at Maryann’s house? That’s not costing Tara a thing…yet. Tara continues to live the life of leisure, munching on fresh fruit and hanging poolside with the handsome, Eggs. Just as Maryann has planned. It seems that it’s in Mare’s master plan for these two to hookup. When her manservant, Carl, interrupts an almost smoochage, Maryann has a violent reaction. Later when the two finally do kiss while at Merlotte’s, she looks along like a proud mother. And after the verbal bitchslap that Maryann gave Tara’s mother, it seems that taking on the role of mother figure is just what Maryann is hoping for.
We don’t know who or what Maryann is. We learned from flashbacks that she and Sam once had an affair (or more like a one night stand) when he was 17. We know that she has supernatural powers, but we don’t know yet what they are. Is she a demon? Another shape shifter? I guess we’ll know soon enough. But what I really want to know is what is in her master plans for Tara.
The dramatic, the creepy and the hilarious – all present and accounted for in the Season 3 premiere of TRUE BLOOD. Well done. They have me anxiously awaiting next week’s episode.
Now back to my previous Twitter update. I have to be honest here, Sookie – and by extension the Sookie and Bill storyline – is by far my least favorite aspect of this show. I’m irritated by Anna Paquin’s portrayal. The accent, her matter of fact approach to everything – it just grates on me. I’m enthralled by the other characters and storylines, but I just can’t seem to get on board with Bill and Sookie. What am I missing? I can’t be the only one bothered by her, am I? Is she an acquired taste (or perhaps I should ask Bill Compton – ha!)
Thoughts on last night’s TRUE BLOOD? Were you expecting Lafayette to be in the car? Will he be staying with Eric for the near future? Will Jason become a messenger of the Fellowship? If so, what does that mean for his relationship with his Fangbanger sister? And what’s the deal with Maryann? What does she have in store for Tara? Oh and why did it take me a full season to realize that Terry Bellefleur was the same guy that played Zack on GILMORE GIRLS?!
For this post I’m a guest blogger on my own site. Philboy will be covering TRUE BLOOD for us this season, but he’s traveling this week so I decided to take it on.
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Any chance that the Southern accent is as grating to Bostonian ears as the Boston accent can be to those of us down here? Or is it just Ms. Paquin’s New Zealand/Canada/Los Angeles tinged version of a Louisiana accent?
I have no doubt the Boston accent can be irritating. (Although I’ve luckily escaped that fate despite growing up a few miles from the city). And it’s not the Southern accent I have a problem with. It’s Anna Paquin’s unique version of the accent.
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I don’t have a problem with Anna Paquin or the Bill and Sookie storyline. However, my perspective may be different because I have read all of the books. I don’t mind the variations from those storylines though because I don’t want to see exactly what I read. I like the changes so far. My only concern is how they are going to handle Eric, since he is a significant part of the books and probably my favorite character.
I laughed out loud at your “thanks for nothing Jesus” comment. I am also looking forward to more nudity from Jason. They can’t keep us waiting too long, can they?
Yeah, the accents are bad all around on this show (for me, Tara’s is the worst offender). Well, except for Sam. He pretty much has it down. But, I’ve lived in the deep South all my life and we don’t talk like that. Yes, of course most everyone has a very pronounced “Southern drawl” but they’re not typically ever the same as they are portrayed on TV shows (The Closer is another example of what I consider pretty bad accent). I always dread shows or movies set in the South because I know the accents will be way over the top and make everyone sound like they’re not quite as intelligent as people who don’t have a Southern accent.
GMMR, do you think the fact that Anna and Stephen are dating in real life might be taking away from their on-screen chemistry? I personally do like their relationship though. I love Bill. Although, I gotta admit that Sam had me at Hello, too. Or maybe it’s having them get together so fast, the tension didn’t have a real chance to build. Plus, as vampires go, Bill is pretty tame to this point. Sometimes the potential danger is part of the allure I suppose and, apart from the biting, I don’t believe Bill would hurt Sookie for anything in the world. At least that’s how they’ve portrayed him on the show. I have not read the books but I do know some of what happens in them.
Also, I’ve been wondering…does the fact that they’re really dating make the love scenes easier or more uncomfortable? I’d vote for the latter myself.
Anna Paquin doesn’t bother me nearly as much as Bill’s pronunciation of “Sookie”
You mean “Suckie”?
Ok, yesterday I watched the first episode of True Blood. I got about 20 minutes through and I had to stop because I felt like I was watching porn! Ok so I am sixteen but I watch almost every primetime show. It’s not like I’m a prude or something, but there are just somethings I do NOT need to see haha. I knew HBO had cursing and nudity but I didn’t really expect that lol. So, my question is, is the whole season like that, should I keep watching?
cam3150: Anna and Stephen’s real life relationship has no affect on views of their characters. The only time it was in my consciousness was very briefly during the sex scene last night. Honestly, I thought how much easier it must be for them since they’re together.
Alison: I wouldn’t watch anything you’re not comfortable with. TRUE BLOOD has a lot of explicit sex scenes. At 16 it’s your choice whether to watch them or not, but if you feel uncomfortable I’d say skip it.
I’m surprised more people didn’t have a reaction to Lafayette and the fact that he’s living in a dungeon!!!
I am a HUGE true blood fan, but i have read all the sookie stackhouse books- im wondering if anyone else on here has (and gmmr you totally should!) But it looks to me like the show is not following the books all that closely- anybody else have any thoughts?
oh and i actually am southern- and sookie’s accent is TERRIBLE! i would agree that she is a little annoying!
I think there is something different about the typical Southern accent and the deep bayou accent we are seeing in Bon Temps. I have no first hand experience, but I can tell from experience in Texas that the more isolated you are from the more urban areas, the more profound that accent can become. I have heard drawls from East and West Texas that I wouldn’t have found credible if I had first seen them used on screen. There are dozens if not hundreds of different southern accents, and I think these could be legitimate, just unfamiliar. Especially Bill’s, which is meant to have that blend of drawl and elevated diction we heard in Deadwood… which may say more about how much vocabulary modern Americans abandon the minute we graduate from taking English classes.
Kath wrote this whole piece and we are talking about accents?
I hadn’t read the books, but I did watch a special True Blood special on HBO yesterday in which creator Alan Ball said something about “as fans of the book know, Lafayette is dead”. I thought it was a little suspicious that he would say that outright.
Lafayette was never my favorite character until the whole Eddie storyline. I was glad he is alive. I think he and Eric could have some really interesting experiences.
So glad GMMR is covering the show this year.
As someone who loves the Southern Vampire series dearly I can not stand True Blood. I was appalled by how they butchered not only the storyline of the books but how far away from the basic characteristics of each character. Things that are crucial to the rest of the books in the series. If they decide to continue on with this show they are going to have some major roadblocks with furture stroylines in the future. Unless they don’t plan on doing anything close to the books other than share the same character names.
Anna Paquin’s accent is ridiculous. I would have thought it would be better after her flawless accent in The Piano. She is a huge reason why I couldn’t stand to watch the show if I tried to just take the show as completely seperate from the books. She is not at all like Sookie should be.
And at times I think I am watching soft core porn. So not necessary HBO. The only thing that would make me come back to watch is if by chance they make it four seasons and follow the story line of Eric with his memory lost like in book 4. I love Eric.