True Blood - Episode 2

Well, there's good news for TrueBlood. HBO ordered more episodes, which hopefully means the show won't go the way of Rome.

Last week delivered little punch, but the scenes between Bill and Sookie left me craving for more. This week I forgot about the exaggerated characterizations and focused on the story. It is an interesting story, and I want to see more. Still, I'm put off by the daily lives in Bontemps. If I read about these characters in a romance book I'd probably feel differently, but this isn't a romance book. It's HBO! Anyways...here is my review.

First Impressions:

Blood drinkers and Fore-head Lickers – Sookie is being beaten within an inch of her life by the Rattrays, yet you know it won’t be long before Bill saves her. Soon after the credits finish, Jason is sprung from the “big house”, then we get more Sookie and Bill…hooray! As a fan of vampire romance, I loved the blood drinking scene. It wasn’t the prettiest thing to watch, but I still got a little tingle. Then there’s Bill licking the blood from Sookie’s forehead. Yes, it sounds disgustingly sick, but I still got another tingle… Call me a weirdo if you wish!

Still No-Love for Tara – I finally got to see Tara in her element, and guess what? She’s a liar who likes to screw with people’s mind because she’s terribly insecure. That’s nice!

Close-ups and long shots – I noticed this in the first episode, but the long shots and close-ups aren’t cute. It’s as though the director is forcing the twist so the audience has no choice but to wonder. Take the obvious clues with the dog. There is something with the dog! I got that the first few times. However, after the next fifty close-ups and long shots, the theme became old. Then there were other shots without context. For instance, in the first episode the there is a close-up on one of the Rattray’s ring. Yet, there was no significance for that shot. At least, there was none I could see.

Two-Thumbs for Anna Paquin – She’s just wonderful, and she’s fantastic with the cheesy lines. That speaks highly to her skills as an actor, and she’s made Sookie believable. She actually makes a lot of this story believable, which is a hard feat considering the subject matter.

Overall, there was a lot to be liked about this episode. Pretty much every scene with Bill and Sookie was fantastic. We also got introduced to more vampire politics, and at the end of the episode Bill had some very unsavory houseguests. Ultimately, this is a character-driven series, but this episode did very little to progress the story forward. That may be end up being a good thing, but I’m hoping to be more engaged next week.

Stay tuned…