JUNE 28, 2011 6:47PM
True Blood Season 4 Premiere – She’s Not There
(Note: I’ve been absent from OS for a bit as my wife and I are moving – I apologize for my absence and promise to catch up as soon as I can…and in the meanwhile I’ll keep at my futile attempts to blog the new True Blood season)
AS ALWAYS - SPOILERS
This premiere wove the setup for the
season quite well, as the old “One Year Later” gimmick gave the show’s
creators a chance to spruce things up, reinvent some regulars and whap
us in the back of the head with intrigue. And as always my thoughts are going wander and this won’t involve a formal recap.
I thought we were in trouble when Season 4 of True Blood opened with a groaningly camp “Escape from Fairyland” sequence. It looked like The Wizard of Oz remade by the SyFy Channel, with a bit of Soylent Green thrown in for good measure. Sookie finds her long lost grandfather as played by Gary Cole, a guy who has been ubiquitous in many interesting films. It was cool to see him here, but alas, it was not for long. And
while I’m not ready for the Faeries to become a regular thing, just
what the hell was Queen Mab’s human harvesting plan all about?
But that bit was blessedly short. Faerie lore says a few minutes in Faerieland can equal a huge chunk of time in the real world. So
that’s how we get to one year later, and True Blood looking like the
tight small town Southern Gothic Grotesque that it should be, instead of
last season’s meandering mess.
Let’s get the annoying part out of the way. Sookie is uncertain of Bill, Bill and Eric are still besotted with her, Eric so
much so that he bought her house (and did a splendid remodeling job
after Maryann abused the property). Bla bla bla wish fulfillment
fantasy, wish fulfillment fantasy, wish fulfillment fantasy. Is it bad if I couldn’t care less? My wife and I listened to Charlaine Harris’s second book in the series on a cross country drive. I’m afraid I’m not a fan.
What do I care about?
For one, a crazy witch cult headed by Harry Potter’s aunt Petunia! Lafayette
and his boyfriend Jesus (fun typing that, isn’t it?) are exploring
their magical potential, and something subtly sinister is going on with
the witches that Jesus convinces Lafayette to join. Something
that involves necromancy and could have interesting implications for
vampires, and something that hinges on Lafayette’s magic potential. Sweet! I
had feared that witches would just be a rehash of Maryann’s sinister
mind control paganism, but this plotline looks different enough.
What else? I said earlier characters are reinvented, and none more so than Tara! Last season Tara became unlikeably whiny and bitter. But now she’s back with a new identity and a new job and even a new sexuality! Rutina Wesley shines in this episode and looks radiantly confident and happy. However, her invented identity will likely bite her in the ass and get her back to the Bon Temps madness.
Also of note: vampires, witches, werewolves, and now they introduce the latest classic horror trope to Bon Temps, The Bad Seed. That would be Arlene’s adorable Barbie beheading tyke, possibly fathered by her Season One serial killer ex-fiancee Rene. Arlene and Terry are incidentally, one of the three romances I truly care about on this show.
The second being Jessica and Hoyt. Their trouble in paradise ranges from the common to the vampirical. Jessica’s eggshell dinner fight with Hoyt is one we’ve probably all had in one form or another. In its way it was a sweeter moment than Bill and Sookie’s vomitous Harlequin romance-isms. But Jessica also has her vampire nature to deal with. It seems she’ll be at war with her own bloodlust and just plain lust this season. And the ever-awesome Pam delightfully picks up on it. Good, good stuff.
Is monogamy futile for vampires?
That question might prove another media relations hurdle for fanged PR superbitch Nan Flanagan of the American Vampire League. (If you have a choice of being in a room with a vampire or a PR professional, choose the vampire). Her big PR challenge now is undoing Russell Edgington’s damage to the vampire’s public profile. In
a great moment, it’s Eric to the rescue, as he makes a televised public
statement on behalf of his club Fangtasia and the vampire community at
large. Pam just can’t bring herself to muster up a fake cuddly public image. But will America - or at least, the local Shreveport Louisiana community - buy Eric’s snaky Eurotrash charm? Can he really convince the public that vampires are Americans just like you and me? “At Fangtasia, we’re happy to serve you – and not for dinner,” he states in the episode’s best line.
Finally, I lied a little bit. I do care enough about one aspect of the show’s Big Triangle: the dick measuring contest between Sookie’s suitors. Vampire Bill has now become King of Louisiana and is wearing snappy suits. We’ll probably find out how he got there, but I’m sure he’s highly motivated by a desire to out-Alpha Eric.
In other news: Sam has joined a
shapeshifter anger management support group, and Jason Stackhouse is
still mixed up with the meth-head were panther clan. Meh.
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Comments
Good to see you back and hope you two are settling into the new place well.