So here’s the first thing I really have to say about True Blood. Alan Ball is a genius at keeping me around. Because every episode, at some point, I think I can give up the show (this would generally be a part featuring Tara) and yet every cliff hanger-y ending has me going “AH!” and then “crap. I guess I’ll be tuning in next week.”
*slow clap* Well played Mr. Ball, well played.
So since I’m watching the show (sometimes against my will) I decided it was high time to do an actual review, especially since True Blood searches (er, I mean Anna Paquin naked boob searches) have sent my blog hits into the stratosphere more than a few times this past spring. So here it is. A True Blood Review.
The Good: This show is surprisingly good at turning me around on some things. At first I was not a Bill fan, I wasn’t feeling all swoon-y and I didn’t really get the appeal. But by episode three or four I was in love and couldn’t blame Sookie a bit. There’s always something about the good guy that gets me, and Stephen Moyer’s Bill, despite his vampiric ways, is defiintely a bonefide good guy.
I like Anna Paquin. I would watch Anna Paquin watch paint dry and probably be mightily entertained. I think she’s lovely and a talented actress. I don’t love the accent, but it’s better than a few others on the show and so I’m just deciding to accpet those accents as they are and be okay with it. The Sookie character is a bit annoying and preachy, but I don’t think that’s Paquin’s fault. I hope they’ll ease up on Sookie’s holier than thou attitude as it seems a little bratty and unlike the way she was originally portrayed.
Jessica. Oh Jessica, how you turned me around. At the end of Season 1 there was no plot I was dreading more (except anything involving Tara) than seeing more of the whiny Jessica. But she’s the absolute best thing Season 2 has going for it. It’s wonderful to see a new vampire go through the trials and tribulations of being a vampire and also being a teenager. I don’t know if it’s the writing or Deborah Ann Woll’s acting or a combination, but whatever it is I hope they keep it up. What an amazing turnaround.
[SPOILERS]
Lafayette. Nobody was happier to see Lafayette not be the dead body in the car at the end of Season 1 than me. Of course he was chained up in a basement and the other characters didn’t seem overly concerned about finding him, which seems odd in a place where people show up in cars with their hearts missing, but whatever. At least he’s alive. And now that he’s linked to Eric I suspect all sorts of great stuff is in store for us. Nelsan Ellis’ Lafayette is routinely the only actor/character that doesn’t let me down at some point or another. His performances are always dead on.
Sam Merlotte. Like Sookie I find Sam Tramwell’s Sam a bit whiny and brooding for my taste, but he’s a great character and I hope we’ll get to explore less of the brooding and more of the reality of Sam this year.
Michelle Forbes’ Maryann is a welcome addition this year and her arc is supremely interesting, except where it intersects with Tara, which unfortunately is constantly. Adam and I were sure she was going to be some Circe type character, but this last episode has her looking more like a Minotaur, which is even better if you ask me.
