Season 2 continues exactly where the season 1 finale left off, with Sookie (Paquin), Tara (Rutina Wesley), Sam (Sam Trammell) and deputy Andy (Chris Bauer) discovering a dead body on the backseat of a car; the deceased's painted toenails apparently a nod to the corpse's identity being chef Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), last seen being attacked by something outside Merlotte's. Turns out we were wrong: the body belongs to Ms. Janeatte, the trickster who posed as an exorcist to con money from Tara and her mother Lettie Mae (Adina Porter). As her body is taken away, frozen in a death-scream with her heart plucked from a fist-sized hole in her chest, it's clear that something nasty's on the prowl in Bon Temps...
"Nothing But The Blood" continues a few of the new storylines that began in the finale; himbo Jason (Ryan Kwanten) is being indoctrinated into the anti-vampire clique Children Of The Light, meeting their gladhanding leader Reverend Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian); Sookie can't face disposing of her dead gran's possessions, then inherits $11,000 from her dead uncle; her vampire boyfriend Bill (Stephen Moyer) begins trying to tame rebellious new teen vampire Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) by introducing her to the synthetic TruBlood; Maryann (Michelle Forbes) tightens her grip on Tara's independence back at her plush mansion; flashbacks to a 17-year-old Sam confirms that he knew Maryann as a teen, having been caught stealing from her; and the fate of Lafayette is revealed when we see he's been captured and imprisoned with others, including homophobe redneck Royce (Caleb Moody), in a nondescript underground chamber.It was a decent start, but not remarkable. Obviously it will take time for the new storylines to bed in, but there's definitely mileage in Jason joining COTL (the equivalent of joining the Ku Klux Klan and keeping it a secret from your sister because she's in an interracial relationship); the arrival of another killer in town could be repetitive so soon after we solved the Bon Temps serial-killer mystery, but it appears to be of supernatural origin this time (is that enough to keep it fresh?); Jessica will clearly be a thorn between Sookie and Bill, even though Sookie has apparently earned her respect here; and Maryann continues to be an intriguing conundrum...
She's clearly a paranormal being of some description -- in flashback, during sex with the young Sam, she raises her arms into the pose of a prominent figurine she owns and her body starts to judder before Sam pushes her off. Is she a kind of succubus? Can she steal others' powers through sex? More fascinating was how she chastises her manservant for interrupting a romantic scene between Tara and handsome Eggs (Mehcad Brooks; the other stray she's sheltering), so she's keen to see them get together. But why? And did her manservant intentionally disrupt things because he doesn't want Maryann to go through with her plan? I'm sensing he'll be the one to alert Tara to the danger she doesn't realize she's in. Incidentally, remember that we first met Maryann walking naked with a pig last season, so how does that factor into things?What's particularly nice about True Blood is how there isn't a total dud amongst the cast (well, beyond Tara.) I know some people have issues with Sookie as a character (a little too blinded by love at times, her mindreading sometimes forgotten about for the sake of the plot), but I find her quite engaging for the most part. Even the second tier characters are enjoyable to watch on-screen, from meathead Andy and the unruffled Sheriff Dearborne (William Sanderson) to the arduous Lettie Mae.
Overall, it's great to see True Blood back on the box. For a vampire series, it understands that the neckbiters are symbolic of sex and death, and isn't afraid to show some fairly graphic violence and nudity (yes, Paquin gets to wear her birthday suit once again), and it's a fun slice of pulp vampire erotica. Compared to the frothy, cappuccino romance of Moonlight, or the Diet Coke of the celibate teen lovers in Twilight, Alan Ball's True Blood is a chug of mature, sexual moonshine.
14 June 2009
HBO, 9pm
written by: Alexander Woo directed by: Daniel Minahan starring: Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse), Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton), Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse), Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton), Anna Camp (Sarah Newlin), Missy Doty (Vonetta), Michelle Forbes (Maryann), Rosemary Garrison (Bargirl), Sara Holden (Female Prisoner), Ashley Jones (Terry Bellefleur), Adrienne McQueen (Sorority Girl), Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fornberry), Lauren Pritchard (Coralee), Betsy Rue (Shawnelle), Marc Schaffer (Male Prisoner #2), Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica Hamby), Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette), William Sanderson (Sheriff Bud Dearborne), Adina Porter (Lettie Mae Thornton), Carrie Preston (Arlene Fowler), Alexander Skarsgård (Eric Northman), Michael McMillian (Rev. Steve Newlin) & Royce (Caleb Moody)
