'True Blood' Season 4 Premiere Recap and Preview of the Next Two Episodes

Monday 27 June 2011


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About a month ago I received the Blu-ray for "True Blood" season three. I had seen about half of the season already, but stopped watching somewhere around episode six. So, with anticipation, I popped in the first disc and started all over again, enjoying the introduction of werewolves and Russell Edgington's control over them using vampire blood. Then I learned what Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is and down, down, down my interest went. Seriously? A faerie? I was willing to give the series a pass on the werepanthers plotline, but Sookie being a faerie was such a letdown, not to mention the silly little faerie land she visits, a land that appeared as if it was going to be a large part of the show's plot moving forward.
Enter season four.
I received screener copies of the first three episodes of this new season a short time ago and was eager, yet wary, to begin watching them. Would the franchise return to the outlandish spectacle that was season one and two, or would it go further down this faerie hole? Thankfully, within the first ten minutes of the season premiere, faerie land is out of the way… and hopefully for good if you want my opinion.
Now before I tease the next two episodes in the season let's quickly touch upon what else happened in the season premiere so we know where we stand. Sookie has been gone for a year (faerie land is a good way to move the plot forward apparently), Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) bought her house, Tara (Rutina Wesley) has turned into a lesbian, low rent fighter of the octagon, Sam (Sam Trammell) finds a few other shifters to spend his time with, Jason (Ryan Kwanten) is now a bona fide cop and Andy (Chris Bauer) is still hooked on vampire blood.
In my opinion, none of this is very interesting, or at least it isn't presented in any way that feels new or exciting. Though, the dynamic between Sookie and Eric is quite entertaining and gets even better in the next couple of episodes. Plus, the one plotline that becomes increasingly entertaining and important as these first three episodes play out is the one involving Jesus (Kevin Alejandro) and Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) as they join a coven led by a witch named Marnie (played by the excellent Fiona Shaw).
Now this coven of witches didn't play a large role in the season premiere, but the role they will play is hinted at as they join hands and bring a bird back to life. What does it mean? Well, perhaps just my mentioning it will give you a hint as to what it could mean as vampire spy, Katerina (Alexandra Breckenridge), ends the episode sitting down with Bill (Stephen Moyer), the new vampire King of Louisiana.
As far as what to expect moving forward Eric and Sookie grow a lot closer under circumstances you cannot yet begin to expect and one member of the cast won't make it out of the second episode alive. Want me to tell you who? Too bad, I won't.
Also, Jason's involvement with the werepanthers goes from being locked in a freezer to being tied to a bed, why and what happens next I won't say. And, as the new King of Louisiana, Bill begins to wield his power. We even get an '80s flashback scene with Bill in a London club, and yes, it's just as punk as you'd expect it to be.
Finally, the question of whether or not Arlene's (Carrie Preston) baby is worth worrying about looks to be a question that may never be answered, but something certainly needs to happen there or they need to just drop it. And the relationship between Hoyt (Jim Parrack) and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) is already getting as tiresome as it was when they couldn't decide if they wanted to be together or not. I like these two together a lot, which is why I hope they don't bog it down too much with a bunch of soapy drama.
So, the premiere brought very little to the plate and while the next two episodes have a few rough edges, by the time you get to the end of the third episode there is some real promise with the Wiccan angle, in my opinion, being the most exciting element.
The one big question I have, is just how exactly will Sookie being a faerie play into the rest of the season? She is obviously still the center of the story and as long as they abandon the glowing "light fruit" and silliness of that faerie land I'm fine with it remaining, but I can't begin to stress how dumb I thought that part of the story was and how happy I was to see it appears to be gone. There is a small dose of information added to the faerie story as Eric has a run in with one of them late in episode three, but I won't go any further on that front.
What I will leave you with is a preview of episode two, where Eric has his confrontation with the coven of witches at the request of his King.


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