Cold Grey Light of Dawn

True Blood is not the first show to take a Great Leap Forward in order to inject some new energy (think Battlestar Galactica at the start of season 3). It's a big risk, and it may eventually pay off, but so far Season 4 has been a terrible disappointment -- not because of the changes, but because of what the writers and producers have done with them.

There are far too many subplots, most of which are not engaging. Watching the show this season is like channel flipping, but without the satisfying power of choosing when to push the button. The subplots aren't inherently boring -- though we could easily do without the Hoyt/Jessica thing, the Alcide/Debbie thing, the Sam & his brother thing, and the Andy acting like a bigger jerk than ever thing -- it's just that there are so many, they have so little humor in them, and they're so mean-spirited. Seriously, it would be kinder to kill Tara every episode (like Kenny in South Park) than continue torturing the poor woman like they have.

As for this particular episode, there's not much to say. It's just as busy and unengaging as the rest of the season has been. Yes, there are some important developments between Sam and his brother and, more importantly, between the Spanish necromancer and the local vampires, but frankly, with everything else going on in the show, it's pretty hard to get excited about anything.