Monday, June 27, 2011

Link What I’m Watching: True Blood (Season Premiere)

True Blood: Season 4, Episode 1 “She’s Not There” (B+)

We're diving back into this crazy show after a year-long hiatus, not just for us but also for our number one heroine Sookie. Though its contents were peculiar at best, this episode was actually quite strong. The fairy land was seriously nutty, and I very much liked how Sookie managed to see through the images and realize its duplicitous nature. It was a pleasure to see Gary Cole as the kindly, naive Granddad if only for a flickering moment. Now that the issue of the terrifying fairy leaders is resolved, at least for the time being, it's interesting to check back into the real world to see where our favorite characters are. It's impressive to see a freshly-goateed and deputized Jason keeping on top of a V-addicted Andy, and entertaining to watch Arlene panic about her baby decapitating Barbie dolls. I enjoyed seeing Pam do televised press for Fangtasia, and the intercut scenes of both Bill and Eric making speeches to community members. Tara's new life as a cage-fighting lesbian is decently amusing, but it's probably good that she's getting far away from Bon Temps. I like the new cast additions, such as Fiona Shaw as a possession-prone witch, Courtney Ford ("Dexter") as Portia Bellefleur, and Dane DeHaan ("In Treatment") as a seemingly troublesome member of Crystal's cult. Hoyt yelling at Jessica for not cooking for him while she fends off her desire for human blood and Sam managing his anger by meeting with a group of shifters are also interesting plot points, but the craziest revelations are saved for the end of the episode. Lafayette's role in the temporary rival of a bird was pretty insance, and Bill as the vampire king comes as a huge shock. Eric buying the house and claiming to own Sookie is something else altogether, and I'm curious to see what becomes of that.

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