True Blood

[shipperx]

Last night's episode felt a lot like being bludgeoned over the head with violence against women. I'm not hyper-sensitive about these things. I pretty much accept it in the media... but good grief. It's hard not to notice when there was so damn much of it! Too many women [an array! an assortment! a variety!] being terrorized and tortured for a single episode. Ease off! Or at least mix up the genders!

The only storylines that really interested me last night were Eric's/Layfayette's/Pam's and Jessica's. The Eric stuff (especially Eric and Lafayette and Eric/Pam) worked. I bought all of them being scared shitless and trying to think their way out of this. How are they going to make it out of this? It's a tall order, so I'm intriguted. And I liked the (relatively) understated Jessica moments. Sam's plot wasn't as in your face as the other stuff so I suppose I'm relatively neutral on it, but Zzzz. And, basically, every other storyline boiled down to 'let's torture teh wommenz.'

Blerg.

ETA: Oh, and Alicide, really, keep the shirt off. I suspect that's the most productive thing you bring to the show so... you should probably stay half-naked.

ETA II: Okay, I lied. Having read my own comments here and elsewhere, I must be interested in Bill's plot as well... I just find it ookie while interesting.

Comments

[ceallaigh-hk.livejournal.com]

Sam's parents are dirtbags. We get it. Boring storyline, which if in written form would be tl;dr. Let's move on.

Let's go RuPaul...

Eric, stop pining for Sookie. You and Lafayette are adorable together this season. Just make him a vamp, go off and be a cute vamp couple, and Lafayette could be the most dangerous MoFo in Area Whatever. He can be your deputy!!!

Lorena needs to die a horrible death (the only caveat I'm willing to let slid in the torture the women trope that is driving me nuts as well.)

Frank is icky, and I'm sick of Tara being a doormat.

I had a Wow, Pam is old looking moment. Then I realized she is my age. o.O Guess that's why I don't get tarted up because I'd look kind of scary at 38. That said, I LOVE PAM!!

Alcide is very pretty, but apparently pretty useless. And whipped. Dude, yoru ex is a total skankomatic. Seriously? Her???

And are all werewolfs cracker dirtballs that don't know how to bathe?

And in conclusion: Eric and Lafayette are pretty.

Still don't know what the hell Bill is up to.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Frank is icky, and I'm sick of Tara being a doormat.

I have no problem with the actor James Frain. I rather liked him on "The Tudors" and he's bringing it in the acting department because Franklin is scary as shit!... but I hate this plot with Tara because, damn, we've just had two seasons abusing her and subverting her free will... and they're doing it again?! Stop it, show!

They've hit the same plot point with both Sam's and Jason's stories for three weeks now. Either focus on some other aspect (I do enjoy Sam in the bar with all the crazy crap going on) or skip them this week. We've got the point. Show, you can move along now. And get Jason back to teh funny.

Hated Pam being tortured but liked the Eric/Pam teaming up to try to think of something to save their asses. Honestly, right now, I'd rather watch the Eric/Lafayette/Pam/Jessica show.

[ceallaigh-hk.livejournal.com]

I love how Franklin called Jessica an irritating baby vampire.

Oh, I think Frain is fabulous as Franklin. I just find the character creepy as shit. And his bat-shaped ears only add to the creepiness. He's a wonderful casting.

Is it just me, but are they making Alcide the whiny werewolf of the books. You are wasting a pretty man on whining and pining!

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Heh! I liked Frankline calling Jessica a baby vamp as well. And Frain is doing a good job of making his character legitimately scary.

I wish I could get whiny. I was just getting blah... but he did look good with his shirt off. It's like a joke that used to show up on the AMC boards about a couple of characters. Just let them stand shirtless in the back ground. Don't ask them to do anyuthing, just let them be attractive scenery.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Honestly, right now, I'd rather watch the Eric/Lafayette/Pam/Jessica show.

No chance in hell, although it's what the majority of viewers want. Ball is in love with Bill, and will ram him down our throats if necessary. Ditto Jason and the boring, BORING Alcide.

The Mickens are both ghastly and utterly pointless, rather like Mary Ann's protracted non-story last season. I don't know what's happened to this show - well, actually I do. Ball has gone totally off book. Once he jettisoned Harris's storylines and started making up his own, things have gone totally south.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I actually enjoyo Jason when he's being incredibly stupid. But he wasn't actually very funny this week and being funny is his primary purpose. And I think Alcide's purpose had better be walking around with his shirt off because I don't see much other use for him.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

Totally excessive.

And Bill at this point is irredeemable.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I suppose if Being Human can bring Mitchell back after the train rampage, Bill could be brought back. Unfortunately for Bill, he's not nearly as likable as Mitchell.

Other than the head twisting thing -- which was just EWWWWWwwwww! -- I don't mind Bill's plot (however the violence against women was at eleventy this week and they really need to tone it down!) Still, in a vacuum, I don't mind Bill's overall plot here, which isn't to say that he isn't a monster in it. It's kind of creepily fascinating to see his madonna/whore complex playing out. I totally think he thinks he's doing all of this to protect Sookie. And, I believe that he is protecting Sookie, but that in no way justifies his actions at all. Sookie wouldn't believe these jutifies his actions. No human would. He is frighteningly monstrous here. Sookie's life doesn't justify the lives he is now taking. And the Lorena thing (as well as his hatred of her) is just ookie! (Albeit, I understand his hatred of her. I want her 'gone' too.) So, yeah, Bill is being monstrous and very likely irredeemable, but to him in his twisted way... it's love (not all that different from what Franklin Mott is doing to Tara. And that situation is terrifying and ewwwww! X 10!!!)

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Someone on TWOP said that by this season's end, Sookie will probably consider all of Bill's "dark" antics "romantic." I so know this is going to happen.

As Ball is changing everything so radically, I don't believe he'll leave Eric's amnesia plot in place for S4. For one thing, Bill would have to be out of the picture at that point, and I know that's never going to happen. If Ball does allow a version of this arc, Sookie will probably become involved with Eric because she has to "save" Bill [again], or because she is under a spell, or because Evol Eric blackmails/manipulates her as he doesn't really have amnesia, BWAH HA HA EVOL. No matter what happens, it's going to be bad.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking that they're going to use this dealing 'V' plot to lead into why Eric is spelled into amnesia. That said I haven't read the books, just the wikipedia entries, but it seemed possible to make the 'V' plot lead into that one.

As for Bill, I don't know that I could see it working with Bill/Sookie after this, not for a long, long time. I think that Ball is very much a Bill/Sookie shipper, but I do think that they're going to have to go for a substantial break-up for a while. I don't know that Sookie should take him back after the procuring strippers to death.

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

Y'know what? Compared to the Season 8 wangst I was feeling all weekend, I was on a sugar high giggle fit of happy watching this episode. Jason waxing philosophical! Jessica waitressing! And I was really taken with Eric in this episode, because you could see the fear in his eyes when Pam was threatened. Midway through the episode, I came to the unsettling realization that I was rooting for a drug dealer.

So, yeah, Bill is being monstrous and very likely irredeemable, but to him in his twisted way... it's love

So this comment got me thinking about Spike and being monstrous . . . and I realize that it is Spike's confusion about right and wrong that makes it possible to come back from his monstrous acts. In 'Crush,' where he first displays some Franklin-like behavior, you can tell he doesn't know any better - this is how he always impressed Drusilla, so that's why his realization that such behavior isn't kosher is something you can sympathize with. Again, with the AR, he's clearly confused; he's also heartbroken and driven to the edge of his sanity. That doesn't clear him of his actions, but it is forgivable when taken in the context of his soul quest made in penance. Not so Bill; with the last episode, I was thinking of how the lack of soul mythology liberates characterization in True Blood, because every vampire's actions are their own and can't be blamed on a lack of a soul, like Buffy vamps can (I think this was in shapinglight's post where I came to this conclusion; I think there's a meta waiting to be written on the subject). This makes it easier to evaluate vampiric actions in True Blood, but this time it is clearly not in Bill's favor. Bill is acting monstrous of his own accord; he may have some good guy aims for doing what he does, but his actions are still unforgivable. Hey, let's go Season 8 comparison on his ass: Bill is like Twilight; he professes to be a good guy doing things for the greater good, but you don't do good by doing evil. Yeah, still eagerly awaiting a Twangel smackdown. My life is incomplete until I get a Twangel smackdown.

Shit. Season 8 wangst strikes again. I need a hug. I think I'll go watch Jessica's vlog to make myself feel better.

And yes, I'm well aware I need to go watch Being Human. It's on the list, I promise!

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Hee!

Actually you bring up an interesting question about the whole souled/unsouled thing (and you're right that part of what made Spike seem forgivable is that in a lot of ways it seemed as though he had no real understanding about what it was he was doing. He didn't see why what he was doing was wrong).

Interestingly both True Blood and Being Human have vampires without soul nets. Being Human's vampires also don't have an issue with soulless vs. souled. However True Blood and Being Human approach vampirism a bit differently on a metaphorical level. I don't know that True Blood's heirachy and Fangs as a gay metaphor work in quite the same way to make Bill's actions understandable. Being Human's take is that vampirism is like a hard-core heroine addiction or something. There isn't a substitute for blood. There's just... going hungry. And staying hungry. And just like heroine addicts can fall off the wagon and go on a bender (and feel awful about it) vampires can too. And then there are vampires who just can't cut the addiction no matter how they try. Somehow it was the drug addiction part of it that actually make some of it forgivable in a sense and yet not forgivable in others. I mean... people wind up dead. But you can also buy that maybe they aren't completely in control of their actions. And when they beg someone to love them, to save them, etc. It often takes on the feeling of a drug addict. (Being Human's take on werewolf-ism seems to equate it with anger issues/domestic violence).

It's interesting to compare Bill's fall off the deep end with Mitchell's fall off the deep end. Both are pretty unforgivable, but somehow Mitchell's fall is one I pity him for. I don't really pity Bill's fall.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

I think personally it helps that Mitchell's train rampage and major act outs came through as hot-blooded reaction rather than Bill's completely cold-blooded rational decision to choose Anne and serve her up as dinner. Both end up with dead people, but the place both come from seems crucially different in how salvagable the characters are afterwards.