True Blood Season 5

[benloran]

I think I'm about to give up on this show, which makes me sad.

[JFrazer]

So, been DVRing every week but was nervous to watch. Last night me and the wife sat down and watched the first 3 episodes. What the hell? The dialog actually feels like they were telling the writers "listen, I need you to spend a max of 90 seconds per storyline per episode. But we need to keep the stories all moving". It feels so truncated and boring. It's like every actor and supporting actor has a clause in their contract that they will get equal air-time.

Terry was fine as a supporting actor. As was Layfette. As was the entire police force. As was Luna/puppy girl. Now they're all central characters somehow.

Honestly, this entire season has been as bad as the werepanther sub-plot. You know, the one they spent hours on only to say "oh, wait, no, it meant nothing. Just forget that storyline and those characters ever existed".

[Woolen Horde]

I felt the new episode started going somewhere, right until they hit the Iraq shit. God, what a fucking quagmire. And this show doing a Generation Kill is insulting as hell.

The Vampire Authority is really stupid. They sit around a table oggling Apple products. And the kid vampire deserved a stake, because what a terrible child actor. Did Game of Thrones take all the decent ones?

[JFrazer]

In previous seasons, "The Authority" was some mythical set of vampires whose word was the law and unquestioned. They were, in theory, the oldest and most influencial. They were Kaiser Soze-like, never seen directly but felt in every aspect of the vampire world. Now they are taking audiences with accused seditionists in the heart of their secret lair?

There should be some feeling of authority. Some all-powerful all-knowing vibe about them. Instead they come off as bickering children with no impulse control.

[tgb123]

Last night's episode was definitely an improvement, even if they were still juggling too many balls in the air at once.

And are we being set up for a little Jessica/Tara action, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

[Telefrog]

Funnily enough, Tara's storyline is probably the second most interesting thing on the show now right behind the resurrected Russell. The rest of it is complete hash.

I really, really, really hate the ifrit plot. It's dumb as all heck and it's made me dislike Terry.

[Woolen Horde]

This ifrit storyline is terrible and insulting on so many levels. Even worse, it's a monster time suck.

Lafeyette's demon/witch doctor thing. Am I right to understand it's coming out of fucking nowhere? Like the writers were just sitting there trying to come up with stuff for the character to do. It seemed the complaint I'm reading is that he was one of the rare humans on the show, so he added some moral grounding/heart. Now he's fucked up like the rest of them.

The Authority is a good idea that's terribly executed. "Hey, Chris, want to join True Blood this season? It'll be easy. You'll only be in one room the entire time." The scene with the sassy tech veered waaaaaaaaaay into Buffy territory, and I really can't take it seriously when all the guards look like bouncers at a gay bar, with their tight black shirts and berets.

[Murph]

The Lafayette thing isn't TOTALLY out of left field this season; it was hinted at when he was with Jesus at some point, but I don't like it at all.

I feel like they're completely floundering without direction right now, and I hope they pull it together. This is basically the only show I'm watching right now, and I'd hate to see it crash and burn...with the Russell story actually coming even more to the forefront, though, I think there's still hope they'll be able to salvage it.

Hey, you guys remember when the show used to be about Sookie?

[benloran]

Also out of nowhere: the masked rednecks driving around with their Goodyear tires, shooting shifters.

Aside from all the stupid side plots (actually, I don't even know which plot is the main one anymore. Edgington?), the pacing and editing really bugs me every time. The whole show is like an hour-long "Previously on..." segment.

[JFrazer]

I suspect Jason is soon to go on a crusade to find the vampires that killed his parents. Or perhaps he's going to find the masked supe-killers and be tempted to join them (ala Soldiers of the Dawn or whatever he was in before).

The ifrit story, as mentioned, is just totally worthless to add in. The actor that plays Terry must have bribed the writers to expand his character or something.

And, wait, now that I'm thinking about it... I thought humans only knew about vampires at the moment. Werewolves were discussing announcing themselves but hadn't yet. How the hell does anyone know that there are shifters to kill, much less who they are? And if you're looking to rid the world of all the supes, why not out the whole lot of them? "Hey, paranoid public that still hasn't accepted vampires. Did you know your dog might in fact be a person in disguise? Your local mechanic turns into a wolf on the weekends and eats bambi. Oh, and middle-easterns can summon evil beings of fire and smoke to hunt you down"

[Balasarius]

I thought the efreet was cool, because, hey, D&D!

I am easily amused.

Shifter hunters and Lafayette are lame. Tara and Russel are interesting.

[gameoverman]

I think the problem with this show is they have two kinds of stories going on, but are only doing well with the first one:

1. The ones where we know why characters are doing what they're doing, we know their motivations and possibly even their desired end game. Eric and Bill going after Russell in order to kill him, for example.

2. Storylines which are ongoing, but give the viewer no clue what the hell is supposed to be happening. Lafayette for example, what's going on, why is it going on, what might eventually happen if Lafayette doesn't deal with it and so on...? Who knows.

The problem with the second kind of storyline is it better be damn fascinating to watch unfold, otherwise viewers will prefer to go back to the first type of storyline. The Terry and Lafayette current stories just are not that interesting. Too many of the secondary stories seem to depend on the viewer caring so much about the character that any plot device is going to work. The actors are mostly good enough to keep it from becoming unwatchable(the guy who plays Andy for one), but it's getting pretty close.

[Murph]

Yeah, one of my friends just recently started the show from the beginning via HBO Go, and the other night I was bored so I fired it up myself and watched a few episodes along with her, texting commentary and whatnot.

She's in season 3, and it was just...so much better back then.

Still a fun show, but definitely going downhill from where it was. I hope they get their act together soon, especially if they intend a season 6. It's too all-over-the-place to sustain much longer.

[Sidd_Budd]

I hope they get their act together soon, especially if they intend a season 6. It's too all-over-the-place to sustain much longer.

Not sure if this is good news or bad news, but they announced a season 6 about a week & a half ago. Only change mentioned is that creator Alan Ball will become a special adviser, rather than being executive producer.

I'll watch the forum for how it pans out, because I'm 99% certain I'm done after this season. I watch the show for campy fun, semi-gratuitous nudity, & the occasional over-the-top vampire death explosion. What I get this season is 8 million plot lines, most of which are handled in a non-campy, fully clothed way (admittedly, there has been a recent vampire death explosion). It's boring.

[Murph]

They do seem to be going in a direction completely different from what originally made it so great. I hope they get back to their roots soon.

[Jazar]

I've been saying that for 3 seasons now. They need to bring things down to two or three plot lines max. I think it's too late for that though.

[Murph]

I've been saying that for 3 seasons now. They need to bring things down to two or three plot lines max. I think it's too late for that though.

Not if they'd just kill a few people off. :-)

[Chuck]

I agree with most of the negatives being posted about this season, but I sure do like seeing more of Pam. She's been a favorite since her first appearance at Fangtasia, and giving her more screen time, plus a peek into her origin story, has been a treat.

And Tara and Jessica are a turning into a great pair, what with both of them having been turned against their will, and now bonding. Jessica will make an awesome teacher. It seems like the peripheral characters of this series have become the most interesting.

And in defense of Terry: now we know why he's so fucked up.

Also, loved the Arlene/Andy bit and the careful use of her hand to spare us the crotch shot. Good to see Andy has dropped a few pounds. Probably read the script and saw he was doing a bunch of naked shots and got a clue.

[gameoverman]

I was disappointed with Terry's story partly because it turned a sympathetic character into a war criminal. He deserves a slow, painful death. He's the second murderer Arlene has been close to, haha, she sure knows how to pick them out of a crowd.

[Woolen Horde]

Wow, so I can't believe that Roman is gone already, but goddamn.

Unfortunately, Luna is still alive. Stupid writing; goddamn rednecks are Marine Corps Scout Sniper-class when it comes to picking off non-cast members, but sloppy as hell when shooting class members.

So, seriously, Salome is Lilith, right?

[Murph]

Wow, so I can't believe that Roman is gone already, but goddamn.

Unfortunately, Luna is still alive. Stupid writing; goddamn rednecks are Marine Corps Scout Sniper-class when it comes to picking off non-cast members, but sloppy as hell when shooting class members.

So, seriously, Salome is Lilith, right?

I've gone back and forth between thinking that, and thinking that Luna is about to be like the reincarnation of Lilith. One or the other.

I enjoyed last night's episode more than most lately. Warming up to Terry's story...still not crazy about the ifrit, but the way he handled it and all seemed fairly believable. I wouldn't mind not seeing him for a few weeks though, while he goes off to deal with it all...just to simplify things a bit.

[Chuck]

And where's the (phony) outrage over the shooters wearing Obama masks? The Bush GOT fiasco was so much bullshit, and this seems real blatant.

Imagine if they had been wearing Reagan masks. Heads would have exploded.

[Warning]

This was the first True Blood episode I wanted to read stuff on my phone instead of watching it. I think I'm done. I just don't care about any of the storylines anymore.

[Relayer71]

Show is losing me as well. The Ifrit storyline is just stupid - how much more supernatural shit are they going to cram in? Right now the only characters keeping me interested are Andy, Jason and Pam. And too bad a scene with Pam means a scene with Tara too.

And enough shirtless shots of Alcide!!!!! I don't need to feel punier than I already do!

[Woolen Horde]

And where's the (phony) outrage over the shooters wearing Obama masks? The Bush GOT fiasco was so much bullshit, and this seems real blatant.

Imagine if they had been wearing Reagan masks. Heads would have exploded.

Dude, they even yelled "Yes We Can!" after killing the vampire.

The stupidest moment of the night had to be Arlene when she was all "there ain't no such thing as curses" at Terry. Girlfriend? Please. There are fucking vampires walking around openly, you know your coworker reads minds, and your boss fucking shapeshifts into other animals. But curses are fairy tales?

[benloran]

I had the same thought. Arlene doesn't strike me as being that dim-witted, so the line just didn't make any sense.

I keep telling myself that I'm going to stop watching, but then I keep watching every week, and all I want to do is complain about it afterward.

[JFrazer]

This is starting to feel like 3 different shows crammed into 1.

First we have True Blood, the story where vampires are living out in the open and the impact that has on society. Oh, and there are other supernatural beings as well. Since 90% of the characters on the show are "supes", the whole impact-on-society thing has fallen by the wayside. Will the vampire council prevail and continue to live beside humans? Or will the "sangunistas" succeed in steering vampire-kind to the role of ranchers, tending a flock of humans for their personal consumption?

Show #2 is Fairy Land, where a young telepath and her previously sex-crazed brother travel through portals to magical night clubs where fairies inexplicibly conduct a constant stream of sexualized routines. I have no idea what the actual plot of this place is... I thought it was maybe fairies trying to have half-fairies to keep their race going, but why are they focusing on the rich and powerful humans instead of the fertile ones?

Show #3 is the story of a two men from different worlds both being haunted by demons, both real and metaphorical. Will Terry come to terms with what he did in Iraq and manage to survive the wrath of an efreet? Will Layfette purge the evil bruja living inside him and discover what Jesus's severed head is trying to tell him?

Characters from the shows do guest appearances on eachothers shows, but they are mostly their own little worlds.

[Scrax]

And enough shirtless shots of Alcide!!!!!

You shut your mouth.

[EvoEco]

You shut your mouth.

I secretly think all the beefcake on True Blood is great, since it's a rare chance for men to feel the same inadequacy about their bodies that women are encouraged to feel thanks to the existence of serious discussions about, for example, whether Kate Upton is a "cow."

[jason]

I always put in a more rigorous workout the day after we watch True Blood. So, keep the beefcake.