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thegayhimbo · 4 years ago

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True Blood Season 1 Review Part 1 (Spoilers Ahead)

It’s been about 2 years since I first saw season 1. Contrary to the hundreds of GIFs and posts that I’ve reblogged about True Blood, I’m a lot more familiar with the later seasons of the show than I am with the first season. When I first viewed season 1, it didn’t click with me, and the only reason I sat through it is because I had seen clips from season 2 that convinced me the show was worth watching. I’m not someone who usually gets into the vampire genre (aside for a brief period of time when I was in middle school), but something about True Blood hooked me in and got me to watch it. I can’t say that it’s a show I completely love, but I am inspired to talk about it.

In any case, I’m doing a rewatch for the first time as a way of getting closure on this show, and maybe moving on so that it isn’t in the back of my head all the time. I also wanted to view the show with fresh eyes, and see if my opinions changed while watching it.

This review will be split into 2 parts because I’m realizing that I have a lot to say about season 1, and it’s gonna get lengthy. Part 1 will just focus on my general opinion about the season. Part 2 (which will be posted a few days from now) will focus on my thoughts about how the vampires ar portrayed on the show.

Overall, my opinion about season 1 improved a little bit during rewatch. It’s not my favorite season of television (and Lord knows there are issues with it), but it’s a lot better than I remember it being. The casting is stellar, and I didn’t have any problems with the actors or how they played their characters. The interactions between the characters kept me engaged even when the main story started to drag (more on that in a minute).

While re-watching season 1, I was surprised to pick up on some subtle aspects that had been planted by the writers in season 1 that I missed the first time around, and that would come into play in the later seasons. For instance:

Sookie mentioning that her cousin Hadley had been missing for over a year since she ran away from the rehab center that Gran paid for, and that she didn’t know how to get hold of her (all of which makes sense come season 2).

The appearance of Theodore Newlin (Steve Newlin’s father), his subsequent death in the 3rd episode, and Steve Newlin taking the reigns of the Fellowship of the Sun

Bill warning Malcom, Liam, and Diane that he knew of “higher authorities” than Eric, and Diane saying “Well she can suck on sunlight for all I care” (All references to Queen Sophie Anne).

Diane mentioning that Bill “used to be fun” and that he had a very “sizable appetite.” Also, the reference to Bill having a sexual relationship with Diane in the 1930s (which is around the time he left Lorena).

Jason telling Amy about how his parents died, and how he felt responsible for it (the death of their parents becomes a major plot point later on).

There’s a lot to be said about the way the later seasons handled its arcs, but I think the writers were planting seeds in season 1 for future stories and twists that would be revealed down the road. Some of them were capitalized on. Others weren’t.

I will say for the record that I firmly believe the twist about Bill that gets revealed in season 3 was planned by Alan Ball and the other writers from the beginning of the show, and it does color the way I view Bill’s character and his relationship with Sookie, even in season 1. I should also point out that one particular aspect of the season 3 twist came directly from the books (and those who have read them know what I’m talking about here), so there’s that. Again, I’ll go more into detail about the Bill/Sookie relationship and my thoughts on it as I go through this rewatch.

In regards to the main story about a serial killer coming to Bon Temps and Sookie trying to figure out who it is, I will admit that not only did I NOT find this story engaging anymore, I thought it DRAGGED and should have been resolved within 6-7 episodes as opposed to 12. It’s a lot less thrilling when you already know who the killer is, and while there are some nice clues and red herrings that get dropped, the constant attempts at misdirection (like that scene when Sam goes over to Dawn’s house and sniffs her sheets, or Jason consistently being framed for murder) feels time-consuming instead of fun. It doesn’t help that the story loses momentum halfway through the season, and gets bogged down by all these other subplots that don’t connect to it at all.

Also, I didn’t pick up on this the first time, but rewatching has helped me realize there are some irritating plot holes with the story I couldn’t overlook. For instance:

In one scene, Sam goes to Dawn's house to sniff around and pick up Rene's scent. Later on, he’s at Gran’s house after Gran died where he also should have identified that same scent since Rene climbed through the window. And considering that Rene spent a huge amount of time at Merlotte's and interacted with Sam on many occasions, Sam should have been easily able to associate Rene's scent with the scents he found at the crime scene, and figured out early on that Rene was the killer. So why does it take him so long to connect two and two when Sam already knows what Rene smells like?

Likewise, it's been established that vampires have a good sense of smell. Bill was around Rene in several scenes, and should have been able to pick up his scent at Gran's house after she was murdered. So how come this doesn't happen?

On top of that, when Bill gets interrogated by Andy and Bud about Gran's murder, he claims that he heard a car (most likely Rene's) pulling up across the cemetery to Gran's house. He also claims that vampires had heightened senses. However, when Sookie finally reads Rene's mind in the season finale, it's shown that Gran screams and Rene shouts at her before killing her. So if Bill could hear Rene driving up to Gran's house.................then how come he didn't hear Rene and Gran shouting at one another before Gran got killed?

For that matter, why did Rene go over to Gran’s house in the first place? He knew that Sookie was going on a date with Sam. He saw them leave the church together, and he had no idea when Sookie was going to be back. It came off like really poor planning on his part for someone who’s been methodical about how he killed people up to this point.

Also, why didn’t Rene throw away the video he took from Maudette’s house, as well as the tape on bulding a Cajun accent? That seems incredibly stupid leaving that stuff around from someone (like Arlene’s kids) to find, especially since he no longer had use for that stuff.

There’s also the way Sookie’s mind reading abilities work. I thought the way that was handled was not only inconsistent, but that it also didn’t make sense how she didn’t pick up on Rene being the killer in the first place. Everything about that screamed “plot convenience.”

The other thing I noticed is that a lot of the problems that fans complain about in the later seasons (added side-plots, deviating from the books, added supernatural creatures, plot holes, inconsistent mythology, characters making stupid decisions, the focus on vampire politics, the problems with the Bill/Sookie relationship, etc) can all be traced back to season 1. To give a few examples:

There were a BUNCH of side-plots in season 1, from the Jason/Eddie/Amy arc to Tara’s exorcism and her conflicting relationship with Lettie Mae to Lafayette’s hook-up with the closeted gay senator to Sam’s backstory to Bill’s trial and so on. I didn’t have an issue with this because I get the idea was to do world-building and show different sides to the characters (if anything, I found the side-plots more interesting than the main story), but I always find it odd that one of the biggest complaints about the later seasons was the added side-plots and how people couldn’t follow them. Frankly, I thought they were pretty easy to follow, and could even be engaging at times.

Even in season 1, the show introduced other supernatural creatures besides vampires. Sam was revealed as a shapeshifter, Maryann was introduced as this unknown entity (and would later be revealed to be a Maenad), Sam mentioned the existence of werewolves to Sookie, and even Sookie was implied to be a supernatural herself because of her ability to read minds. Add in the fact that the books had a plethora of other supernatural creatures (werepanthers, faeries, demons, witches, etc) that were bound to be introduced, and I think it’s pretty fair to say that this show wasn’t always going to stay “grounded in realism” like some people complain it should have been.

Vampire politics was always there from the beginning: The show was NOT subtle about its “vampires as a metaphor for oppressed minorities” message that it kept shoving out there (and again, I will talk more about that in my part 2 review because there’s a lot to be said about they way vampires are portrayed on this show). Characters like Nan Flannigan and Steve Newlin were introduced in season 1 (albeit regulated to TV) as well as organizations like the American Vampire League (AVL) and the Fellowship of the Sun (FOTS). There was already a conflict within the vampire community between vampires who mainstreamed and vampires who wanted to keep killing humans like they’d done in the past. Bill’s trial gave an extremely ugly look into how vampires dispensed justice among their own kind. And there were constant references to the VRA (Vampire Rights Amendment). This show was pretty clear from the beginning that the driving force behind this story was about whether or not vampires could integrate into human society and co-exist peacefully with humans.

Also, in addition to the added side-plots, we also had the expansion of characters like Lafayette (whose character was completely different from the books) and the introduction of Jessica (who wasn’t in the books at all). Basically, this show was already beginning to deviate from the books even before the later seasons happened.

The way V works in this universe is all over the place. For some people (like Jason and Amy) it acts like an LSD drug, whereas with Sookie, it just gives her heightened senses and dreams about Bill. Lafayette does briefly tell Jason that V has different effects depending on the individual, so maybe this really isn’t a plot-hole. However, at the same time, it just feels like V was whatever the writers wanted it to be. In other words, inconsistent mythology was already a thing in season 1.

As for characters doing stupid stuff, this came as a surprise to me as well, but it isn’t just limited to Jason. Some examples include:

Tara deciding to drive drunk down the road in the middle of the night while downing a bottle of Vodka (and later getting arrested for it).

Sam sleeping on the same bed as Sookie in dog form, even though he knew (or should have known) that he could transform back into human form while sleeping, and Sookie would see him naked (which is exactly what happens).

Lafayette deciding it’s a good idea to sell Jason V instead of just giving Jason the Viagra he requested in the first place.

Bill letting Diane, Malcom, and Liam into his house when he knew Sookie was coming over to give him the numbers for the electrician. Also it was pretty stupid of him to not consider how Diane, Liam, and Malcom would react to seeing Sookie, or whether or not Sookie would be scared off by the way those three were acting.

Bill deciding it’s a good idea to mouth-off to The Magister about mainstreaming when a.) It is painfully obvious that the Magister doesn’t care about seeing humans as equals, and b.) Bill stands the risk of angering the Magister and making his situation worse than it already is.

Andy’s insistence that Jason is good for the murders without considering all of the evidence, and his refusal to admit he’s wrong. That, and he sucks as a cop.

Sookie using the gun to attack Rene, run out of the house................and then throw the gun into the bushes instead of keeping it as a weapon to defend herself.

Bill choosing not to erase the bite marks on Sookie, which could have made her a target for other people who hated fangbangers (although it’s debatable whether or not this was stupidity on Bill’s part or if this was done intentionally).

And I’m sure there are plenty of other examples, but my point is that Jason isn’t the only one making stupid decisions here. Again, YMMV on whether or not a character’s stupidity makes sense in the context of the story, or if it just screams “plot convenience,” but it was there. It seems like Jason gets made the scapegoat by fans for everything that was wrong with the first season whereas the problems with other characters/stories get ignored because of inherent biases in the fandom.

I know it sounds like I’m ragging on this season, and I guess in some ways I am because I’ve long been tired of the constant bashing of the later seasons, as well as the excessive hate that gets directed at some of my favorite characters (Jason and Tara) while everyone consistently ignores the other problems with characters and stories that existed as far back as season 1. I am being genuine when I say that season 1 had its moments (the Tara and Lafayette moments were probably the highlights of that season) and it was better than I remember it, but it’s not a favorite of mine. I don’t really see myself going back to rewatch season 1 as often as the other season. And if it had been the only season of True Blood they made, I probably never would have watched it again. Like I said, something about season 1 just didn’t work for me, and I think a lot of that has to do with the show placing more emphasis on the character’s flaws over their redeeming qualities. It was season 2 rectified this and helped to soften the characters in a way where I cared about them.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where I’ll give my opinions on how I think the show handled vampires.

#true blood #tgh opinions #true blood rewatch #bill compton #sookie stackhouse #jason stackhouse #sam merlotte #lafayette reynolds #tara thornton #rene lenier #arlene fowler #diane hardwicke #liam mcknight #malcom beaumarchais #alan ball #vampires #the southern vampire mysteries #true blood season 1 #true blood spoilers

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tarangela-exif · 4 years ago

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What I watched in February

Watch:

Sound of Metal - wow. When you watch the trailer you just know it is a good film. I know it can be a curse for films when it’s hyped but who cares. This film is sensitive, beautiful, and universal. You can feel the deep respect, and love to this community and to the story of change. I loved this film that I binged on interviews after and have the biggest crush on Riz Ahmed.

Side note, I think there is an injustice and a real loss when I hear excuses for not producing diverse stories because they believe the mainstream public will not relate. Immigrants kids have been relating to white stories all their lives. It is about time white cis kids work on their empathy muscle.

Saint Frances - A tender view on the very delicate topic - abortions, religion, postpartum depression, feelings, being female. Not for the easily queasy. What I love about film is entering into someone’s world even if it is fictional, observing the going’s of your life and reflecting.

Bombshell - surprisingly great film, the poster doesn’t sell it very well. A very strong example of how toxic office culture starts from the top. Also a nice refresher that Murdoch continues to control so much of media, our political results (+Facebook and Google) and ultimately our lives.

To all the Boys & the sequels - I was a bit slow on this train. But I rate it. The first one is the best film in terms of the conflict & resolution. I do appreciate its telling of personal growth and man, the importance of communication. The interweaving of Korean culture, although at times it feels inauthentic at least they are trying.

Another Round - I personally didn’t feel this movie. But I do respect some aspects of this film that I think it is worth watching. I am not sure if I’ve just hit my limit, I simply I no longer care for middle aged white cis male films?

Framing Britney Spears - this really helped me process what happened to Britney Spears while I was growing up. As an impressionable teen living in a misogynistic society, really explained my thoughts and feelings about her. After she went into conservatorship and learning what she has done under it. She embodies our worst fears, to no longer human but a product.

Watch if you are desperate:

Malcom and Marie - feels like the director very self-indulgent rant? Presented as a couple who are having one very exhausting long fight. I don’t feel like I have met couples who just constantly give each other monologues? I ended up having to take a break half way when Malcom (played by John) goes on this long vent about film critics. I would avoid this one.

Nobody’s Fool - in someways I knew what I was walking myself into as this was the post Girl’s Trip phase of Tiffany Haddish. She leveraged her fame and accepted as many roles given to her and a few were flops. This one was one of them. But what I did not do, was notice this was produced, written and directed by Tyler Perry. I feel like that should tell you enough about this film.

What I rewatched;

February was my birthday and Valentines day so I indulged in romantic films in the noughties for nostalgia. They were How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Morning Glory, Hitch, & Along Came Polly.

Devil’s Wear Prada, Ocean’s 8 - went on an accidental Anne Hathaway binge. Although I do get annoyed with the characters with Devil’s Wear Prada, I can’t help but enjoy it. Similar to Morning Glory, I think I have an affinity for female workaholics.

TV; Sprinkling Parks & Rec, The Office US and Modern Family.

Never Have I Ever - I don’t think I am a fan of Mindy Kaling. This TV series wasn’t bad. My disappointment did come with casting, felt inappropriate. They casted a 19 YO female lead and her romantic interest is a 29YO pretending to be a 19YO. I know males movie creators do this all the time with old actors with young actresses but just because they do, doesn’t mean this film needed to as well.

#Movie Review #Movie Recommendations #What I watched #film #movies

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stevesnightmares · 6 years ago

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An incomplete list of the tv shows I used to watch as a kid (6 to 12 y/o)

Only tv shows with real humans and not cartoons/anime or it would be too long.

Maybe I’ll do one of the cartoons that I used to watch too later on.

Gilmore Girls: I used to watch this one with my sisters when I was little so I don’t actually remember much, but we used to love it and we never missed an episode. I don’t know if I would like it or not now that I’m older but 7 years old me loved it.

Charmed: This is another one that I used to watch when I was a kid but, unlike Gilmore Girls, I actually do want to try rewatch this one, I remember loving this one and me and my sisters used to pretend to witches.

H2O, just add water: This brings back so much memories. If you used to watch this one than you probably pretended to be a mermaid every time you went to the beach. Rikki was my absolute favourite and I used to ship her with the one that became her boyfriend but the, when the new hot blond guy arrived I started to ship her with him because he was a fine piece of a man and even 9 years old me knew that.

The sleepover club: Another classic. Tell me you didn’t want to have a close group of friends like they did. I don’t remember who was my favourite in series one but in series 2 it was Maddy.

Blue Water High: Another absolute fave of my childhood, because of this one when I was a kid I decided that I wanted to become a surfer, to this day I haven’t surfed once, but kid me knew I could make it. In series one my favourites were Bec and Edge and to this I’m so happy that they got together and that Edge won. In series two my favourite was Amy Reed. Series 3 didn’t hire during the time that I could watch tv apparently or it was just on a different channel and I didn’t know, however I never had the chance to watch it.

Wicked science: I always forget the name of this show and I always have to type in the google search bar “Tv show where girl and boy became super smart”. This show was such a trip and I never knew when it aired so sometimes I would turn on the tv and bam, there it was and I could watch it. It was weird but super fun, I LOVED it.

7th Heaven: Me my sisters used to LOVE this show we even had a sticker album of it. I personally don’t remember who was my favourite character because I was really really young when we watched this. Maybe I could try and rewatch this because I’m really curious, I don’t remember much of it.

Malcolm in the middle: I remember even less of this on except for the fact that 1) it was funny and 2) I used to call him Malcom.

Un paso adelante (One Step Forward): was another one that we had a sticker album of, I loved this show so much, it was dramatic as hell but also so much fun and there was a lot of beautiful dancing. This (like 7th heaven and charmed) is another one that I used to watch when I was really really young, younger than 10, so I don’t remember much but the feeling connected to it. (I don’t I would really enjoy it now tho)

The OC: This one was really dramatic tv show as well and spoilers but when Marissa died I was absolutely gobsmacked, like what the hell? What the actual hell? How???

Gossip Girl: My parents didn’t want me to watch this one because it had to much mature contented but I watched it anyone. I only have 3 thing to say: 1) Serena and Nate should have ended together, they were my favourite couple and I’m still mad about it 2) Everyone should have just told Dan to fuck off, he always acted as if he was superior to them and then he turned out to be worst snake of all time, the one that was ruining their lives the whole time. I never liked him but god he got worse. 3) I don’t remember much of Chuck so maybe he really did redeem himself and became a good person instead of only being decent to the people that he likes, but literally in the first episode he tried to rape two people so???? Get fucked rich boy.(I also still have a crush on Chace Crawford he has always been a beutiful boy)

Dawson Creek: I remember absolutely NOTHING of this tv show but the fact that we used to watch this saturday morning and that there was always this long ass mattress ad after it.

Wildfire: I used to love this one and I’m still mad because I had to go to a church thing and because of that I never got to watch the last episode of this one. I’m still so mad, I start to fume every time I think about this. That day is the day I lost my faith in god (kidding but you couldn’t blame if that was the actual reason why I’m not a religion person).

One tree hill: Nathan was my main bitch and I loved him. That’s it. That’s what I remember about the show other than some plot points.

Veronica Mars: My sister Veronica used to watch this show and sometimes I just happened to watch some episodes with her if I was around, and that's why when The Good Place came out I was like “Wait I know her!!!” I’m think about “rewatching” this one too, because it sounds really cool and I never ACTUALLY watched it.

Smallville: This one is another that I just happened to watch if it was on tv when I was watching it, all I remember is that he and Lana were really hot (or, as young me would have seen it, I wanted to be her and I wanted him as my boyfriend, now I either want to be her, want be with her or want to be with him.

Hannah Montana: Of course there also were the disney classics. I really loved hannah montana and I used to love Lilly *hemgayhem* however I always hated Miley’s over the top acting since I was a kid.

The Wizards of Waverly Place: This one wasn’t on tv as much as Hannah Montana was but I cherished the rare times when it was because I loved it and I loved the acting more.

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: We loved this masterpiece. It was probably one of the funniest actually for kids tv shows that me and my sister used to watch.

Lizzie McGuire: My and my sister loved this one (+ the movie) and Hilary Duff even became my sister favourite singer (which then turned in Miley Cyrus, when we were kids of course, not now). And let’s not talk about their group phone calls. A classic. The envy of all.

Phil of the future: This one wasn’t as popular as Wizards, Zack and Cody or Hannah Montana but I LOVED it! It was so fun and different. Also, I thought Phil was cute.

Zoey 101: Who didn’t want to go to the same school as this girl, come on! That school was just the best school ever and I’m still jealous that I couldn’t go there. I was never a big fan of Chase tho.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch: I loved this one, we have sooooo many magazines of this show it was so much fun and I loved the protagonist.

The Naked Brothers band: I’m absolutely shocked! I just found out that the two brothers in this show are Nat and Alex Wolff. What the hell. I’m literally speechless. Also, young Nat Wolff looks like my sister when she was that age. A lot.

The Elephant Princess: I accidentally found this one again when I was looking H2O just add water up and oh my I only watched one or two episode of this but the special effects were awful, terrible, horrible.

Jonas: I was never actually a fan of the Jonas Brothers’ music, I think that at the time I hadn’t even listen to anything of theirs (still haven’t) but I used to love this show and I personally always thought that Joe was the ugliest, Nick the cutest, and Kevin took the second place.

What I Like About You: Another one that I don’t remember much about but that I remember watching and I can clearly remember the opening theme.

If you want to add other feel free to do so and I’ll se if I used to watch them or not.

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