What I'm Watching: True Blood (Season Premiere)

True Blood: Season 2, Episode 1 “Nothing But The Blood” (B+)

Last season’s finale of “True Blood” was truly terrific, and set the bar high for its second season. In its first installment, things are still being worked out, but not in the blatantly leg-dragging way some shows start their second seasons. Jason’s headed for more radical religion, and hatred of vampires may be an unfortunate side effect of his transformation. Tara’s getting feisty with her newfound male friend, and is no longer standing by her mother after Maryann tells her off. Bill’s trying to train his new vampire, who seems like she won’t be quite as much of a pill as initially expected, and she may actually prove a fun addition to the cast, especially if her relationship with Sookie becomes interesting. Sookie finds out that Bill killed her uncle, and while that could cause trouble for their relationship, it looks like they’re pretty quick to reconcile and the episode ends with a very literal bite.

What this season premiere provides is three distinctly intriguing and positive plot directions for the show to take from here on, following up directly on last year’s events. The first is the body in the car, which is not Lafayette but instead the fake exorcist, which does well to shake everyone up since there’s a new non-Renee murder, but doesn’t have any major implications like, say, the death of a main character. The second involves Lafayette himself, who isn’t dead, which is good considering how much people seem to love him. I worried that the underground dungeon he found himself trapped in served a very peculiar new brand of perverted character, but luckily it’s just Eric the vampire sheriff interrogating those who may have been involved in the murders of vampires, and likely Lafayette will be implicated for Eddie’s death (though the murderess is already dead herself). It’s always interesting to see the villainous sides of those who aren’t quite villains, and though Eric hasn’t had a huge role on the show thus far, this may be his chance. Lastly, I’m amazed by the intense flashbacks that Sam is having to when he met Maryann, and I think she has to be the most intriguing character on this show since Amy, and this show only has intriguing characters. I’m so ready for more.