I realize I am shamefully behind on my True Blood haranguing for this week. School just went back in session and I haven't had a lot of time. Also, I'm having trouble caring, which makes finding time to watch the new episode doubly hard. Since Monday's Labor Day, I may do a two-for-one then.
I can say, however, that seeing a post from the True Blood fan page on Facebook that said, "Sookie's not quite as over Bill as she thought" made me yell, "DAMMIT, ALAN BALL." Out loud. In the middle of the TA office. I then had some explaining to do, but the sentiment remains. For the love of baby vamps, move the damn storyline forward instead of clinging to the past.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
True Blood: Let's Get Out of Here
This was another hit-and-miss episode of True Blood. Storylines have started wrapping up, but the Eric/Sookie/(Bill) thing is getting stupider. Also, Tommy continues to be an idiot.
Demon Baby
Good lord willing and the crick don't rise, this storyline is over with. Jesus (who I had honestly completely forgotten about) swooped in to the rescue, giving Mavis (the French Creole ghost) her baby back and then shoving her out of Lafayette. This took up a good chunk of the episode, but I was actually okay with that because it meant they wrapped it up and got it over with. It seems the writers have learned something about closure from the last few seasons; instead of trying to cram the end of everything into the last episode, they're starting to close storylines now. This was my second-least-favorite storyline of this season, but it did turn out rather sweet and touching and gave Ellis a chance to stretch his acting a bit. His "how I make baby with this, me?" line, when Mavis discovers she's in the body of a man, was priceless.
Tommy
While not over, this story looks like it's headed toward a swift conclusion. Tommy took Sam's place in a meeting with Luna's sort-of-ex-husband and got his ass kicked in the process. He might actually be dead (here's hoping). Tommy's motives for this are a bit blurry. Best-case scenario, he's trying to atone for his offenses against Sam. Worst-case scenario, he's trying to make Sam feel guilty for kicking him out of his life. It's hard to tell. It might also be moot, because those werewolves really kicked the crap out of him.
Sookie/Eric/(Bill)
With both Bill and Eric's blood inside her (thanks to Bill's attempt to heal the gunshot wound Sookie received at the end of the last episode), it's time for the inevitable threesome dream. Sookie declares that she's in love with both Eric and Bill, which made me yell, "COME ON, ALAN BALL!" at the screen. I don't care what sort of off-screen things contribute to this, whether it's Paquin and Moyer's relationship or Ball's continuing infatuation with Bill, it's completely destroying the relationships. Sookie and Eric are endgame. Deal with it.
Jess/Hoyt/Jason
After this episode, I'm much less down on the Jess/Jason thing. He's being incredibly sweet about the whole thing instead of treating her like one of the girls he usually sleeps with then forgets about. Also, his rejecting her last week led to an awesome scene with Jess and Nan Flanigan, who has decided never to sire anyone ever after spending a few hours with Jess. The lead-up to Jess and Jason having sex in the back of his truck worked so well that I'm more inclined to be sympathetic to it, even though--again--it's not how the books are supposed to go. Of course, Jason's part in the books is small enough that small tweaks like this might not make a difference (unlike killing Sophie-Anne. Ugh).
A few other side notes:
I wonder if Eric has castration anxiety. Because Antonia/Marnie's got him by the short hairs.
Sam and Luna are adorable.
I hope that Tara finally learns her lesson about joining cults after this. Her utter willingness to jump into Antonia's thing feet first--then regretting it later--is part of what I've been fussing about with the show not being smart, not having a memory, not allowing the characters to grow. You think she'd have learned from the whole Maryanne thing.
Images borrowed from Skarsgard Fans.
Good lord willing and the crick don't rise, this storyline is over with. Jesus (who I had honestly completely forgotten about) swooped in to the rescue, giving Mavis (the French Creole ghost) her baby back and then shoving her out of Lafayette. This took up a good chunk of the episode, but I was actually okay with that because it meant they wrapped it up and got it over with. It seems the writers have learned something about closure from the last few seasons; instead of trying to cram the end of everything into the last episode, they're starting to close storylines now. This was my second-least-favorite storyline of this season, but it did turn out rather sweet and touching and gave Ellis a chance to stretch his acting a bit. His "how I make baby with this, me?" line, when Mavis discovers she's in the body of a man, was priceless.
Tommy
While not over, this story looks like it's headed toward a swift conclusion. Tommy took Sam's place in a meeting with Luna's sort-of-ex-husband and got his ass kicked in the process. He might actually be dead (here's hoping). Tommy's motives for this are a bit blurry. Best-case scenario, he's trying to atone for his offenses against Sam. Worst-case scenario, he's trying to make Sam feel guilty for kicking him out of his life. It's hard to tell. It might also be moot, because those werewolves really kicked the crap out of him.
With both Bill and Eric's blood inside her (thanks to Bill's attempt to heal the gunshot wound Sookie received at the end of the last episode), it's time for the inevitable threesome dream. Sookie declares that she's in love with both Eric and Bill, which made me yell, "COME ON, ALAN BALL!" at the screen. I don't care what sort of off-screen things contribute to this, whether it's Paquin and Moyer's relationship or Ball's continuing infatuation with Bill, it's completely destroying the relationships. Sookie and Eric are endgame. Deal with it.
After this episode, I'm much less down on the Jess/Jason thing. He's being incredibly sweet about the whole thing instead of treating her like one of the girls he usually sleeps with then forgets about. Also, his rejecting her last week led to an awesome scene with Jess and Nan Flanigan, who has decided never to sire anyone ever after spending a few hours with Jess. The lead-up to Jess and Jason having sex in the back of his truck worked so well that I'm more inclined to be sympathetic to it, even though--again--it's not how the books are supposed to go. Of course, Jason's part in the books is small enough that small tweaks like this might not make a difference (unlike killing Sophie-Anne. Ugh).
A few other side notes:
I wonder if Eric has castration anxiety. Because Antonia/Marnie's got him by the short hairs.
Sam and Luna are adorable.
I hope that Tara finally learns her lesson about joining cults after this. Her utter willingness to jump into Antonia's thing feet first--then regretting it later--is part of what I've been fussing about with the show not being smart, not having a memory, not allowing the characters to grow. You think she'd have learned from the whole Maryanne thing.
Images borrowed from Skarsgard Fans.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Book Review: Kitty's Big Trouble
Kitty Norville is back and in more trouble than ever. Her recent run-in with werewolves traumatized by the horrors of war has made her start wondering how long the US government might have been covertly using werewolves in combat. Have any famous names in our own history might have actually been supernatural? She's got suspicions about William Tecumseh Sherman. Then an interview with the right vampire puts her on the trail of Wyatt Earp, vampire hunter.
But her investigations lead her to a clue about enigmatic vampire Roman and the mysterious Long Game played by vampires through the millennia. That, plus a call for help from a powerful vampire ally in San Francisco, suddenly puts Kitty and her friends on the supernatural chessboard, pieces in dangerously active play. And Kitty Norville is never content to be a pawn. . . .
Definitely not the best Kitty novel and mostly buildup to the next one and the big war that's about to go down between the American vampires. Still enjoyable, though, and as always introduces yet more aspects of the supernatural world.
3/5
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Book Review: Conspiracies (Shadow Grail 2)
As is unfortunately true of most middle-of-the-series books, this one was weak. Too much of it was given over to the aftermath of Spirit and friends' defeat of the Wild Hunt, and too much of it was concerned with building up to the attack on the students at Imbolc. Lackey and Edghill introduced a new character, Elizabeth, who is the reincarnation of Isolde, but she's barely utilized in this book despite being far more interesting than anything happening with Spirit and Co. Quite a bit is left open for the next (last?) book, despite not much happening in this book. The connections between LEGACIES and CONSPIRACIES are weak at best, as though LEGACIES could have been stand-alone but they chose to continue the series.
Also, for a book about a school for magicians, there's surprisingly little magic at play here, at least until the very end.
3/5
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
True Blood: Spellbound
I can't even.
The show continues to be incredibly lame. I lost track of how many times I rolled my eyes. Or said, "Really?" Here's why.
Lafayette/Demon Baby
These two storylines have converged, and despite Nelsan Ellis' consistent attempts to bring it, even he can't save this frakked-up thing from itself. This week, the spirit of the French Creole woman stomped her way into Lafayette and kidnapped Arlene's baby. Because her (white, married) lover killed hers. And the creepy, dirty, why-would-you-allow-your-child-to-play-with-this doll was a gift for her baby. Yeah. Also, Arlene continues to be histrionic at the least excuse.
Jason/Hoyt/Jessica Triangle
I don't mind a triangle. I don't mind a triangle involving Jess and Hoyt--let's face it, they're adorable, but that only gets the dramatic tension so far. But dragging Jason into it? Really? You couldn't have made it someone else? I'd almost rather have a whole new character (despite the glut of characters on this show) than Jess be interested in Jason. I'd even prefer Tommy Mickens to Jason. For one thing, I'm not sold on Jessica having feelings for Jason (though I can believe Jason being attracted to Jessica, because, well, he's Jason). For another, it was incredibly abrupt. Hoyt and Jess having trouble is one thing. Jess having dreams about killing him and then screwing Jason in his truck is another. And Hoyt's outburst when he kicked her out was enough to make me not want to see him ever again.
Edit: Meredith Woerner over at i09 had a different view of the two breakup scenes, and she makes a lot of sense:
Tommy
Tommy, of course, is busy being a skinwalker and bilking Mrs. Fortenberry out of a whole lot of money. Though I give Dale Raoul props for pulling off Tommy-as-Maxine; I think her performance might have outdone Sam Trammel's. Still, it's way past time for Tommy to go away.
Sookie/Eric
I really never thought anyone could ruin Sookie and Eric for me. I figured the idea of the two of them would take care of any bad writing, bad acting, or stupid on-screen antics. And then the True Blood writers did this:
And this:
And this:
Complete with the most inane dialogue possible. Killed it. My whole reason for watching the show is now dead and gone. This whole sequence was terrible. First there was the hand-sucking and Eric's "we will be one," line, followed by loud moaning when said hand-sucking occurred. Then there was the hint that they might actually do the shower scene--and then it starts snowing and they're all winter wonderland look-at-that-bed-we-should-totally-have-sex-in-it. I mean, WHAT? Writers, you are drunk. And what's with the Disney outdoors theme to Sookie & Eric's relationship? First we have the obviously-fake-forest sex scene, then we have this we're-high-on-each-other, snowing-indoors, blurry Scene of Ridiculousness +3™. I give up. Seriously. This has gone beyond inane and into psychotic.
Also. They need to let Sookie get over Bill. And they need to let Eric get over Bill. Seriously. No matter how many times Eric says that Bill is a great king, or Sookie says that he's basically a good person, I'm not going to believe it. Bill is an ass. Sookie is supposed to be over him. Let's move on and stop with the coy sideways looks and the "thank you for releasing Eric so we could screw in the woods" thing.
Werewolves
They have nearly nothing to do with the plot. They keep showing up anyway. It looks like the writers are setting up the whole Debbie-tries-to-kill-Sookie thing, but they're making it not nearly as believable or interesting as Charlaine Harris did. Also, the Alpha is the creepy guy that Sam's girlfriend has been warning Sam about the whole time--of course.
And there's four more episodes of this crap. This is how I feel about that. ------->
(Images taken from Shadow of the Reflection)
The show continues to be incredibly lame. I lost track of how many times I rolled my eyes. Or said, "Really?" Here's why.
These two storylines have converged, and despite Nelsan Ellis' consistent attempts to bring it, even he can't save this frakked-up thing from itself. This week, the spirit of the French Creole woman stomped her way into Lafayette and kidnapped Arlene's baby. Because her (white, married) lover killed hers. And the creepy, dirty, why-would-you-allow-your-child-to-play-with-this doll was a gift for her baby. Yeah. Also, Arlene continues to be histrionic at the least excuse.
I don't mind a triangle. I don't mind a triangle involving Jess and Hoyt--let's face it, they're adorable, but that only gets the dramatic tension so far. But dragging Jason into it? Really? You couldn't have made it someone else? I'd almost rather have a whole new character (despite the glut of characters on this show) than Jess be interested in Jason. I'd even prefer Tommy Mickens to Jason. For one thing, I'm not sold on Jessica having feelings for Jason (though I can believe Jason being attracted to Jessica, because, well, he's Jason). For another, it was incredibly abrupt. Hoyt and Jess having trouble is one thing. Jess having dreams about killing him and then screwing Jason in his truck is another. And Hoyt's outburst when he kicked her out was enough to make me not want to see him ever again.
Edit: Meredith Woerner over at i09 had a different view of the two breakup scenes, and she makes a lot of sense:
Jessica returns home and has a horrible, no good dream about breaking up with Hoyt, killing him, and then fucking Jason in the car outside of her murder. Oh dear God in heaven this scene.
Every time I think I'm done with True Blood and it has just become hollow shell of vampire dick puppets put on screen to tantalize some and shock others, a scene like this comes along. Yes, I 100% believed that Jessica had killed Hoyt during the dream breakup.
The neighbors must have heard my jaw hit the floor. It was horrifying, but then when the actual breakup scene hit, it became so much more. This dream was a layered look into the nightmare that Jessica is terrified she will become (on every level). She doesn't want to be a wife (immediately she pictures Hoyt as a smelly slob). Jessica doesn't want to hurt Hoyt — she not only emotionally ruins him but then physically smashes his head in. And then proceeds to seduce Jason with the blood of his best friend splattered across his face.
It was an excellent look into Jessica's worst nightmare and inner "hunger" pulling at her. And the best part of it all, her self-indulgent little pity party (I'll hurt Hoyt so bad he'll cry and beg) blows up right in her face when Hoyt turns acid-spitting mean in the real-life breakup.
But forget the character emotionand layers, these two scenes worked because they were so ridiculously believable (even after Jessica crushed Hoyt's skull). From "I don't want someone better than you, I want you. I'm sorry I'm sorry. Love me, please please love me" to "You don't deserve me, and I don't deserve you, I deserve someone who isn't going to be a fucking virgin for all eternity." These are real fighting words we've all been dealt (or delivered). I don't know how many writers cried their way through putting both of these scenes together, but thank you for bringing back all the shit from my past I'd tried to hide away. For a show that actually incorporates were-panther dirt rape and fairy grenades into its weekly drama, this was astoundingly real and awesome to behold. Without Jessica and Hoyt, this show would have run off the rails years ago, it should be interesting to see what happens now that the two of them are apart.
Tommy
Tommy, of course, is busy being a skinwalker and bilking Mrs. Fortenberry out of a whole lot of money. Though I give Dale Raoul props for pulling off Tommy-as-Maxine; I think her performance might have outdone Sam Trammel's. Still, it's way past time for Tommy to go away.
Sookie/Eric
I really never thought anyone could ruin Sookie and Eric for me. I figured the idea of the two of them would take care of any bad writing, bad acting, or stupid on-screen antics. And then the True Blood writers did this:
And this:
Complete with the most inane dialogue possible. Killed it. My whole reason for watching the show is now dead and gone. This whole sequence was terrible. First there was the hand-sucking and Eric's "we will be one," line, followed by loud moaning when said hand-sucking occurred. Then there was the hint that they might actually do the shower scene--and then it starts snowing and they're all winter wonderland look-at-that-bed-we-should-totally-have-sex-in-it. I mean, WHAT? Writers, you are drunk. And what's with the Disney outdoors theme to Sookie & Eric's relationship? First we have the obviously-fake-forest sex scene, then we have this we're-high-on-each-other, snowing-indoors, blurry Scene of Ridiculousness +3™. I give up. Seriously. This has gone beyond inane and into psychotic.
Also. They need to let Sookie get over Bill. And they need to let Eric get over Bill. Seriously. No matter how many times Eric says that Bill is a great king, or Sookie says that he's basically a good person, I'm not going to believe it. Bill is an ass. Sookie is supposed to be over him. Let's move on and stop with the coy sideways looks and the "thank you for releasing Eric so we could screw in the woods" thing.
Werewolves
They have nearly nothing to do with the plot. They keep showing up anyway. It looks like the writers are setting up the whole Debbie-tries-to-kill-Sookie thing, but they're making it not nearly as believable or interesting as Charlaine Harris did. Also, the Alpha is the creepy guy that Sam's girlfriend has been warning Sam about the whole time--of course.
(Images taken from Shadow of the Reflection)
Book Review: Ghost Story
GHOST STORY wasn't the very best Dresden novel, but it was definitely different. Butcher plays around with surrealism, the physics of his universe, and the internal lives of his characters. While the bulk of the novel was possibly unnecessary to anything but character development, the ending smacks you in the face with reveal after shocking reveal which left me sputtering at my Nook and reading faster with every page. The setup for the next novel is flawless, and I can't wait for it to come out.
4/5
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Draco Mortem
"Dragon in a Mall," with its spiffy new title of "Draco Mortem," has been sent off into the ether today, submitted to Pedestal Magazine. Their reading period for the upcoming issue ends on the 14th, so I should be hearing something pretty soon.
Meanwhile, between the lots and lots and lots of academic stuff I have to do, I've been working on revising "Devil's Pit" and outlining a new novel, as yet untitled.
Meanwhile, between the lots and lots and lots of academic stuff I have to do, I've been working on revising "Devil's Pit" and outlining a new novel, as yet untitled.
Monday, August 08, 2011
True Blood: Cold Grey Light of Dawn
This week's episode of True Blood varied between utterly ridiculous and boring and not too bad. Let's look at the bad stuff first, then the good stuff:
Bad Writing/Acting
This is where Tommy and Holly fall. Tommy's continuing with his oh-poor-me ridiculousness, showing that he hasn't learned a damn thing in the last year except how to sound out words. He seems to truly not understand why Sam is so mad at him, which makes him either a complete narcissist, or a complete idiot. Generally, he's one of the worst show-only characters and really just needs to go away.
Holly's issue is acting. I don't believe a single word out of her mouth. Especially when she's flirting with Andy. That entire scene was painful, and not because of Andy's V-withdrawal.
Sookie drops into this category a bit, too. I'm not sure whether it's bad writing or acting (or both), but I'm having a really difficult time believing that Sookie has gotten past Eric's past treatment of her and fallen in love with him. Maybe it's because she's acting all motherly. Maybe it's because they took out the shower scene, where the true seduction and surrender happened. I don't know. But I don't believe her.
Bad Plotting
Lafayette's a medium? Bill knows all about Antonia whatever-the-frak-her-name-is despite her having died 200 years before he was born? Bill manages to figure out Antonia's entire plan from one word? That creepy ghost-lady is singing to Arlene's baby in French (and Lafayette can see her)? What? Who? Why? What?
On the other hand.
Marnie--or Antonia--is so much more interesting now that she's taking charge. Also, the tension over who to root for is much better now that you've got someone who wants to destroy every single vampire--even those who have never hurt anyone--and have pretty reasonable reasons to do so. Yet, as I said, not all vampires have hurt people. Some of them feel bad about it. Not all of them deserve to die. So who do we root for? Who's right? Who's wrong?
Also, it's been awhile since we've seen hide or hair (see what I did there?) of the people from Hotshot or the fairies, and I am okay with this. We've still got a glut of plotlines, but they're slowly paring down. I could still live without the demon baby plot, and I really despise Debbie Pelt (though if they stick with the original ending of the book, I appreciate that they're setting her up as a person and not just someone who SPOILERtries to kill SookieEND SPOILER).
The end of the episode was brilliant. They juxtaposed humor (Pam trying to get out of her coffin), drama (Sookie holding Eric down), tension (Jason running to save Jessica), and fear for a beloved character (Jessica walking into the sun) with the witches' spell (though I could have done without the floating) in a very well-edited sequence.
So I didn't hate this episode and I hope they continue to get rid of unneeded stories and characters, make the extra stories more relevant to the overall story, and wrap it all up in a way that does justice to the sad and tragic end of Dead to the World.
All images were borrowed from Shadow of the Reflection's screencap site.
Bad Writing/Acting
This is where Tommy and Holly fall. Tommy's continuing with his oh-poor-me ridiculousness, showing that he hasn't learned a damn thing in the last year except how to sound out words. He seems to truly not understand why Sam is so mad at him, which makes him either a complete narcissist, or a complete idiot. Generally, he's one of the worst show-only characters and really just needs to go away.
Sookie drops into this category a bit, too. I'm not sure whether it's bad writing or acting (or both), but I'm having a really difficult time believing that Sookie has gotten past Eric's past treatment of her and fallen in love with him. Maybe it's because she's acting all motherly. Maybe it's because they took out the shower scene, where the true seduction and surrender happened. I don't know. But I don't believe her.
Bad Plotting
Lafayette's a medium? Bill knows all about Antonia whatever-the-frak-her-name-is despite her having died 200 years before he was born? Bill manages to figure out Antonia's entire plan from one word? That creepy ghost-lady is singing to Arlene's baby in French (and Lafayette can see her)? What? Who? Why? What?
On the other hand.
Marnie--or Antonia--is so much more interesting now that she's taking charge. Also, the tension over who to root for is much better now that you've got someone who wants to destroy every single vampire--even those who have never hurt anyone--and have pretty reasonable reasons to do so. Yet, as I said, not all vampires have hurt people. Some of them feel bad about it. Not all of them deserve to die. So who do we root for? Who's right? Who's wrong?Also, it's been awhile since we've seen hide or hair (see what I did there?) of the people from Hotshot or the fairies, and I am okay with this. We've still got a glut of plotlines, but they're slowly paring down. I could still live without the demon baby plot, and I really despise Debbie Pelt (though if they stick with the original ending of the book, I appreciate that they're setting her up as a person and not just someone who SPOILERtries to kill SookieEND SPOILER).
So I didn't hate this episode and I hope they continue to get rid of unneeded stories and characters, make the extra stories more relevant to the overall story, and wrap it all up in a way that does justice to the sad and tragic end of Dead to the World.
All images were borrowed from Shadow of the Reflection's screencap site.
Open Letter to the Texarkana O'Reilly's
This is the text of an e-mail I just sent to O'Reilly's Auto Parts customer service. I thought I'd share it here, too, just in case it expedites our thanks reaching the people in the Texarkana store.
On Thursday, August 4, 2011, my husband and I were driving from Nashville, TN to Dallas, TX for a very important meeting relating to his education. On the way, we developed an oil seep which dripped onto the exhaust system and caused smoking which forced us to stop every hundred miles or so to allow the engine to cool. In desperation, we stopped at the O'Reilly's in Texarkana, Arkansas, on State Line Avenue to find something to hopefully plug or stop the leak just long enough for us to get to Dallas and then back home a few days later.
The associate who helped us (unfortunately, I didn't get her name) was marvelously knowledgeable and helpful. She suggested a specific brand of stop-leak, though she admitted it was a bit pricey, but she swore it would absolutely work, while the cheaper brands might have issues. She helped my husband find the oil cap so he could put the stop-leak in the engine and stayed outside in the 100+ degree heat with us until we were ready to drive again.
Once the stop-leak had worked its way through the system, it worked brilliantly. We still had to stop frequently on the way to Dallas, but when we left on Sunday afternoon, we were able to drive all the way back to Nashville without any stops other than the usual road-trip stops. The leak appears to have completely stopped, and there was no hint of smoking or other distress for the entire 12-hour drive.
I hope that you can pass our thanks along to the O'Reilly's store in Texarkana and that the nice lady who helped us will remember us so that she'll know how much we appreciated her help and her advice.
Thanks!
On Thursday, August 4, 2011, my husband and I were driving from Nashville, TN to Dallas, TX for a very important meeting relating to his education. On the way, we developed an oil seep which dripped onto the exhaust system and caused smoking which forced us to stop every hundred miles or so to allow the engine to cool. In desperation, we stopped at the O'Reilly's in Texarkana, Arkansas, on State Line Avenue to find something to hopefully plug or stop the leak just long enough for us to get to Dallas and then back home a few days later.
The associate who helped us (unfortunately, I didn't get her name) was marvelously knowledgeable and helpful. She suggested a specific brand of stop-leak, though she admitted it was a bit pricey, but she swore it would absolutely work, while the cheaper brands might have issues. She helped my husband find the oil cap so he could put the stop-leak in the engine and stayed outside in the 100+ degree heat with us until we were ready to drive again.
Once the stop-leak had worked its way through the system, it worked brilliantly. We still had to stop frequently on the way to Dallas, but when we left on Sunday afternoon, we were able to drive all the way back to Nashville without any stops other than the usual road-trip stops. The leak appears to have completely stopped, and there was no hint of smoking or other distress for the entire 12-hour drive.
I hope that you can pass our thanks along to the O'Reilly's store in Texarkana and that the nice lady who helped us will remember us so that she'll know how much we appreciated her help and her advice.
Thanks!
Monday, August 01, 2011
True Blood: I Wish I Was the Moon
This week's episode was a bit better. Yet also had some continuing frustration. Let's break down why.
Tommy
The elder Mickenses are gone (thank Odin), but Tommy's still being a pain in the rear. Also, showing us way too much of his rear (seriously, the boy is incapable of wearing his pants correctly). This week, he shifted into Sam (which he can do, as we've learned, because he killed a blood relative) and proceeded to wreck Sam's life--fired Sookie, treated Sam's girlfriend like a whore, etc. So when, at the endish of the episode, it looks like he's dead of an overdose or something similar, I'm not too unhappy about it.
Although, I have to give Sam Trammell that his rendition of Tommy-being-Sam was phenomenal. Great acting work on his part.
Demon Baby
There was only one instance of the demon baby this time, but they're headed further into la-la land with the baby doll and that weird chick the baby was smiling at and did his eyes turn black or was it just the light? This is by far the dumbest story they've got going right now and I really wish they'd kill it.
Jason and the Werepanthers
No actual werepanthers this week, again thank Odin. Instead, we got some real good heart-to-heart talks between Jason and Sookie and Jason and Jessica. Also, I'm kind of glad they chose not to follow the books on this one, because they'd only make the half-panther Jason look utterly ridiculous and not at all tragic and uncertain like in the books.
Bill
Ye gods. Please go away. He was barely in this book, and I liked it that way. He keeps getting between Eric and Sookie, and at the end, when he lets Eric go instead of killing him, the writers try to make us feel sorry for him. Why? What in the world has he done that would make me feel sympathetic? I hear Alan Ball has a huge crush on Bill's character, but really, he needs to just go away. Also, he needs to stop being king because that storyline is stupid also.
The Witches
Marnie is pathetic, though now it appears Marnie doesn't live here anymore. And Lafayette's taking little vacations from being Lafayette. I miss the old Lafayette, who was special because he wasn't ashamed of who he was and managed to get along in a town that's not real accepting of people who are different. Also, the way Holly hit "thank goddess" a bit too hard (and leaving out "the"), made it sound trite, contrived, and way too pointed. We get it. They worship the goddess. Stop treating us like we're idiots, True Blood.
There was some naked Eric, which always makes episodes more interesting, and Sookie and Eric finally consummate their . . . thing, though unfortunately it wasn't the shower scene from the books (yum).
So, as usual, there's too much going on, not enough time spent on any one character because there's too much going on, and the Wiccans are absolved of all wrongdoing because it's really a witch from the 1600s or something who's taken over Marnie. Though maybe now that she appears to have set up shop permanently, Marnie will get less pathetic and the whole storyline will get way more interesting. At least we don't have the Mickenses and didn't have the Hotshot people to remind us that Southern white people are trash who can't read and sleep with their brother-cousins.
All images taken from Shadow of the Reflection's screencap site.
The elder Mickenses are gone (thank Odin), but Tommy's still being a pain in the rear. Also, showing us way too much of his rear (seriously, the boy is incapable of wearing his pants correctly). This week, he shifted into Sam (which he can do, as we've learned, because he killed a blood relative) and proceeded to wreck Sam's life--fired Sookie, treated Sam's girlfriend like a whore, etc. So when, at the endish of the episode, it looks like he's dead of an overdose or something similar, I'm not too unhappy about it.
Although, I have to give Sam Trammell that his rendition of Tommy-being-Sam was phenomenal. Great acting work on his part.
There was only one instance of the demon baby this time, but they're headed further into la-la land with the baby doll and that weird chick the baby was smiling at and did his eyes turn black or was it just the light? This is by far the dumbest story they've got going right now and I really wish they'd kill it.
Jason and the Werepanthers
No actual werepanthers this week, again thank Odin. Instead, we got some real good heart-to-heart talks between Jason and Sookie and Jason and Jessica. Also, I'm kind of glad they chose not to follow the books on this one, because they'd only make the half-panther Jason look utterly ridiculous and not at all tragic and uncertain like in the books.
Bill
Ye gods. Please go away. He was barely in this book, and I liked it that way. He keeps getting between Eric and Sookie, and at the end, when he lets Eric go instead of killing him, the writers try to make us feel sorry for him. Why? What in the world has he done that would make me feel sympathetic? I hear Alan Ball has a huge crush on Bill's character, but really, he needs to just go away. Also, he needs to stop being king because that storyline is stupid also.
Marnie is pathetic, though now it appears Marnie doesn't live here anymore. And Lafayette's taking little vacations from being Lafayette. I miss the old Lafayette, who was special because he wasn't ashamed of who he was and managed to get along in a town that's not real accepting of people who are different. Also, the way Holly hit "thank goddess" a bit too hard (and leaving out "the"), made it sound trite, contrived, and way too pointed. We get it. They worship the goddess. Stop treating us like we're idiots, True Blood.
There was some naked Eric, which always makes episodes more interesting, and Sookie and Eric finally consummate their . . . thing, though unfortunately it wasn't the shower scene from the books (yum).
So, as usual, there's too much going on, not enough time spent on any one character because there's too much going on, and the Wiccans are absolved of all wrongdoing because it's really a witch from the 1600s or something who's taken over Marnie. Though maybe now that she appears to have set up shop permanently, Marnie will get less pathetic and the whole storyline will get way more interesting. At least we don't have the Mickenses and didn't have the Hotshot people to remind us that Southern white people are trash who can't read and sleep with their brother-cousins.
All images taken from Shadow of the Reflection's screencap site.
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