True Blood: A Review
We all have guilty pleasures. Mine happens to be the saucy HBO series True Blood. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, the story is rooted in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. In the backwaters and thick woods creeps something far worse than gators... VAMPIRES... as well as several other supernatural creatures and humanoids.
I can't say I've taken part in the hype over vampire romance stories. But this show is set apart by the its interesting take on the concept and, of course, its mature content.. it is HBO. The series can be a bit a silly at times, but there is something about it that keeps drawing me back season after season.
The fifth season finale aired June 10th, 2012, and, like usual, the cliffhanger is unbearable. The actions cuts off at the pinnacle of suspense and the teaser that airs after the credits leaves you with even more questions. Sadly, we True Blood fans will have to wait until next summer to catch a glimpse of Alexander Skarsgard sweaty and shirtless.
All of the fifth season's episodes have been foreplay to the big battle that takes place within the headquarters of The Authority. Over the first four seasons, the female protagonist, Sookie, develops personal (very personal) relationships with the two vampires Bill and Eric. But in the finale she breaks it off entirely with the two of them... yet another intense cliffhanger. In the fifth season, she stays true to her word and begins a romance with a werewolf.
Oh yeah... and she's a fairy.
There are a few occasions when the new villains and twists each season seem like a stretch. The "werepanthers" and witch covenant were several of the weakest aspects in the show. On the other hand, the a maenad shown in season two was an inventive and atypical antagonist. In Greek mythology, a maenad is a female follower of the god Dionysus. They influenced people to act on their primal instincts, like hunger, violence, lust, romance, anger, and greed.
This last season seemed to surpass the third and fourth in quality of plot, though several of the minor characters seemed to have reached the end of their potential. The most intriguing aspect was the complete role reversal of Eric and Bill in comparison to the first season. In the beginning of the show, Bill Compton plays the role of the sympathetic, humanized vampire, whereas Eric Northman is the bloodthirsty, self-centered villain. In season five, Bill has completely lost touch with his humanity and becomes power hungry and merciless. Eric takes on the burden of stopping Bill at all costs and rescuing the human race from a vampire uprising.
The final episode is a bloodbath where all of the major characters' stories come together. Sookie is once again thrown into a life-threatening scenario where it is unclear whose intentions are pure and who is driven by their own ulterior motives.
Overall, the show has maintained the element of surprise and continues to deliver action and excitement. If you are a fan, you will not be disappointed in the fifth season. If you are not, and you are looking for a bit more fantasy and perhaps fluff in your television series, check out True Blood.
