Witches Start to Fly High, as Fangers Start to Cover their Ass: True Blood Edition

So I have been sick in bed this past weekend, and let me tell you, I was BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!!  I watched my friends have fun at NYC or Chicago Pride over face book, and was just laying around watching television.  I was most bored yesterday, but the day Sunday ended with one great thing, the premiere of True Blood.  For those who who have never heard of this show (or have been living under a rock) the shows basic premise follows Sookie Stackhouse and her interactions with mythical creatures like Vampires, shape shifters, and werewolves...Oh my!  The story centers around the town of Bon Temps in Louisiana.

The first two seasons of this show were especially strong, and creatively were their best.  As the second season came to an end, the quality started to dip as the show saw the conclusion to the Marry Ann storyline.  Season three added a whole bunch of new characters to the world of Sookie Stackhouse, some people that she never even really interacted with.  At the center of this show is Sookie's love life, and most of the first three seasons have focused on her relationship with the vampire Bill Compton.  Bill is a "different" vampire from the rest of his counterparts more apt to try and protect Sookie because he loves her.  Many people will compare this to the connection between Bella and Edward in the Twilight series, but this relationship is far more complicated.  There have been other potential suitors, like Eric Northman the owner of the local Vampire Bar, and Alcide the werewolf who come to her rescue.  I think this season we will be seeing Sookie get it on with someone other than Bill!

Two of the other main characters Jason and Sam had their own story lines that often isolated them from the main focus of the entire story (Same specifically-although I liked the exploration of his history.)  Jason is Sookie's brother who dated a girl named Crystal whose family sold V (Vampire Blood, which is illegal) and they also had their own mythical identity.  Sam is the owner of the local bar/restaurant Merlotte's and he met his birth parents and brother Tommy.  Tommy was a stupid character and they should have gotten rid of him this season. There are of course other characters like Sookie's best friend Tara, Jessica the young girl vampire that Bill turned, Arlene the waitress who fears all vampires, Terry Bellflour another chef at Merlottes, Andy Bellflour the cop and eventual sheriff of Bon Temps and so on.  This show is colored by great characters, but it needs to find the balance in order to create that perfect harmony.

The big mystery throughout the show has been, what is Sookie?  She is clearly not human because she can read people's minds and has "sparks" fly out of her hands.  Everyone is obsessed with her, and the reason is because she she is a Faerie.  Faerie blood is most sought after blood by vampires because there is potential for day walking.

Season four picks up with Sookie in the Faerie world, but she find out that it is not as beautiful and wonderful as it appears to be.  I think season four started well, but I am worried that the show is going to spread the stories too thin again.  This season has been dubbed the season of the with, with witches being "big bad."  The witch parts of the first episode were my least favorite part of the story, except for the fact that they included Lafayette (one of the main characters) who cooks at the Merlotte's Restaurant in Bon Temps, and his partner Jesus.  True Blood needs to remember its core characters and stop diverting attention from them.  I think if the season focuses on the main cast more and stops just introducing more and more characters (with no connection to their audience) the show will improve.  With that said I will be tuning in every week because well True Blood has put its fangs in me, and I am a V high for this show.