My thoughts on True blood season 1.
I finally gave true blood a try. I’ve been meaning to but other shows on my list keep getting the nod. I know, i know that i am late to the party. I just finished the first season and here’s my thoughts on it.
I see the appeal. When i watched the first episode, i thought it was a parody of vampire movie tropes. Girl who is lost, vampire who really wishes they weren’t a vampire and other vampire characters who are eccentric. Vamp boy & girl form a connection and attempt to navigate a love story that’s doomed from the start. ( hey, that’s the entire plot of vampire diaries/ twilight!)
I, however, realised that they were being serious. The fangs which look 100% fake and the exaggeration in the acting left me dumbfounded for a minute and then i realised the quirkiness/ campy feel is what they’re going for and I got absorbed into it.
My favorite thing about it is Stephen Moyer’s (Bill Compton) pronunciation of Sookie’s (Anna Paquin) name. “SOOOKIE!” That alone makes this show worth watching. Not to mention the fact that they are married IRL, i don’t know what it is but i always enjoy a show more knowing that the romance translated to off the screen ( as with Jules & Shawn in Psych.) I digress, let’s get back to talking about the show.
What works:
The expansiveness of the plot.
The exposition in the first few episodes does a lot of world building (Sookie can read peoples’ thoughts, vampires are mainstreaming by drinking Tru Blood ‘synthetic blood’ instead of feeding from humans & tensions remain high between humans and vampires.) Throughout the first season we meet a shapeshifter (Sam), other vampires and even vampire groupies. The plot doesn’t make me feel like i have everything figured out in terms of what this world contains.
Heavy on the satire.
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It mocks religious fanaticism, and even highlights the ‘us vs them’ mentality that it operates on. It even mocks conspiracy theorists — for a vamp show this is a clever angle to pursue.
The steaminess.
It has a soapy feel and any good soap has romances that play out, the first season alone has many potential relationships blossoming and some crashing out ( Rip Tara and Sam)
What i don’t like.
The writing. The writing sometimes seems all over the place and they over explain everything that’s happening — which is good for advancing the plot but it doesn’t really give you the chance as the audience to piece things together yourself ie (The Rene/ Drew Marshall) plotline peaked out of nowhere all of a sudden.
The acting. The acting is a bit overexaggerated at times. There’s overacting if such a thing is a thing.
The characters. It’s an ensemble cast but most of the work goes towards advancing Bill & Sookie’s romance ( if you ask me building a relationship in the first season or in the first episodes rather brings all the focus to those characters as opposed to building up every character first.
Shall i continue watching this?
It has its place. I believe that if i just want to unwind and have a good time & not think into it so much, this is a show for that. I am curious how the villains shall be built ( i liked the originals play that Vampire diaries did, that for me made it a favorite at the time.) I am also curious to see how they develop the characters and which new relationships shall be formed. I have an inkling that Jason shall be a zealous member of the fellowship of the sun so i am curious to see how that contrasts Sookie dating or even potentially marrying Bill.
I shall keep watching and potentially update this article if and when i watch season two. What are you watching, what do you like/ think about it? Let me know in the comments.
