I have binge watched every new season of TRUE BLOOD for the past four summers, and despite my disappointment with the direction of the show in season 5, I dutifully rented all the Blu Rays from Netflix and gorged on season 6 as the Dog Days arrived this year.
To say this penultimate season for the series had problems is an understatement, mainly because so many of the story lines just didn't work and the characters have strayed far from their original conception. The least of the problems with Billith is the same with any fantasy where there is a protagonist with omnipotent God like powers: they can end the story in about two minutes if they so desired. Vamp Camp, where almost all of the series's vampires ended up, was another heavy handed allegory on persecution and intolerance. Alcide and his wolf pack, along with Sam and the shifter hunters was an uninteresting story, and one that criminally wasted the talents of Robert Patrick. No way did I buy that Todd Lowe's Terry Bellfleur would end his life willingly in such a manner and do such a thing to Arlene and her children. Arliss Howard's Governor Truman Burrell (a great take on a red state politico) had the potential to be a great Big Bad, but was killed off half way through the season, leaving us with Sarah Newlin and Taylor Pruitt Vince's smarmy psychiatrist. Jim Parrack's Hoyt was sorely missed. Not even Rutger Hauer as Sookie and Jason's great-great-something faerie Grandpa added that much to the show; even the sex and nudity had a been there, done that feel to it.
But this very uneven season managed to salvage itself in the final two episodes. In the next to the last installment, we got a properly gory resolution of the Vamp Camp and Billith stories, along with a perfect send off for Terry.
The season finale did showcase two of the better plot lines that worked this year: the Sookie-Warlow relationship and Sheriff Andy's faerie daughter Adilyn. The show seemed like it was back on solid ground again when Sookie's family and friends pulled together to rescue her from Robert Kazinsky's shady Warlow, a character who had us wondering what his true nature was right to the end. For several seasons, Chris Bauer's Andy Bellfleur had seemed like the show's resident buffoon, but making Andy a very unexpected father put him in a whole new light. The new additions of vampires Violet and James were welcome and Alexander Skarsgard's fans got quite a treat before he burst into flames.
The six month time jump seemed as if the writers were acknowledging that season 6 had major problems, and were making a major and welcome attempt to reset the show and get the action back to Bon Temps where it belonged. By introducing a new crisis for both vampires and humans, they set the stage for the final season in way that is sure to bring me back yet again to see how it all ends for Sookie, Bill, Eric, Jason and the rest of the gang.
To say this penultimate season for the series had problems is an understatement, mainly because so many of the story lines just didn't work and the characters have strayed far from their original conception. The least of the problems with Billith is the same with any fantasy where there is a protagonist with omnipotent God like powers: they can end the story in about two minutes if they so desired. Vamp Camp, where almost all of the series's vampires ended up, was another heavy handed allegory on persecution and intolerance. Alcide and his wolf pack, along with Sam and the shifter hunters was an uninteresting story, and one that criminally wasted the talents of Robert Patrick. No way did I buy that Todd Lowe's Terry Bellfleur would end his life willingly in such a manner and do such a thing to Arlene and her children. Arliss Howard's Governor Truman Burrell (a great take on a red state politico) had the potential to be a great Big Bad, but was killed off half way through the season, leaving us with Sarah Newlin and Taylor Pruitt Vince's smarmy psychiatrist. Jim Parrack's Hoyt was sorely missed. Not even Rutger Hauer as Sookie and Jason's great-great-something faerie Grandpa added that much to the show; even the sex and nudity had a been there, done that feel to it.
But this very uneven season managed to salvage itself in the final two episodes. In the next to the last installment, we got a properly gory resolution of the Vamp Camp and Billith stories, along with a perfect send off for Terry.
The season finale did showcase two of the better plot lines that worked this year: the Sookie-Warlow relationship and Sheriff Andy's faerie daughter Adilyn. The show seemed like it was back on solid ground again when Sookie's family and friends pulled together to rescue her from Robert Kazinsky's shady Warlow, a character who had us wondering what his true nature was right to the end. For several seasons, Chris Bauer's Andy Bellfleur had seemed like the show's resident buffoon, but making Andy a very unexpected father put him in a whole new light. The new additions of vampires Violet and James were welcome and Alexander Skarsgard's fans got quite a treat before he burst into flames.
The six month time jump seemed as if the writers were acknowledging that season 6 had major problems, and were making a major and welcome attempt to reset the show and get the action back to Bon Temps where it belonged. By introducing a new crisis for both vampires and humans, they set the stage for the final season in way that is sure to bring me back yet again to see how it all ends for Sookie, Bill, Eric, Jason and the rest of the gang.
