True Blood (HBO)

[causingchaos]

Alright, I didn't mind tonight's episode. My new #1 complaint is too much Jason. Of course I complained about that to my husband and friends during season one too. I do agree with causingchaos and Mindy. I like how Sookie evolves and learns as she goes through the different relationships. I think she needed to be betrayed by Bill to grow up a bit and not be so naive about love and relationships. After all, very few end up happily ever after with their first love.

I do have to say I cracked up about the hair scene and the reason why Eric had to cut his hair. But I still wonder why didn't he just take a shower and wash out the blood? Does it dye his hair or something? It was normal human blood, not crazy vamp blood. And why exactly was he getting highlights? I would think they wouldn't last but oh well...minor detail.

I like the show for what it is. But kind of at this point I don't take it as a representation of the book but rather a "fan fiction" sort of deal where the characters are used but they aren't what they are in the original. But it's interesting to watch on it's own.

The books interest me because of the relationships and complications from them/because of them. I'd hope to see it on the show, including the big betrayal by Bill, but I don't know if that will ever be a reality. In the books if the complicated relationships didn't exist they would just be some bad supernatural mystery books.

[liz_momof2]

That's exactly what my friend and I said last night. We are going to view these as a visual fanfic of the books, going all the way back to what "could have happened" after Book 1.

My biggest disappointment is that when the show first came out, Alan Ball stated that he would stick with the storylines of the 1st 3 books pretty closely and from there he would drift off in his own direction. I thought last season did a pretty good job of sticking to the storyline while also fleshing out some of the other characters. Then, this season starts and we get the basement scene with Eric and Lafayette living and MaryAnn being much much more than just the "maenad" that pops up a couple of times. It just seemed completely foreign and kind of a slap in the face to the loyal book followers who he addressed at the beginning of the first season and then turned around and did something completely different. I know it's his show and he is well within his rights to change the series but my initial reaction was "OMG, is he really going to alienate the book followers by changing what he made such a point to mention just a year ago?"

However, last night was a much better episode, so I am calmer. Just wish there wasn't so much of the Jason storyline because gah to the annoyingness of the FOTS.

[prhoshay]

Eggs's abs are totally OUTRAGEOUS!!! Good Golly, Miss Molly!!! And I like the character of Jason. He adds a regular, horny young guy dimension to the show. I'm thoroughly enjoying how they are bringing his character along. And now that he's knocking heads with the alpha male at the leadership camp, I can't wait to see them develop this storyline. Obviously, the first alpha male is getting jiggy with Mrs. Newlin...or at least trying to...and Jason is strong competition for Mrs. Newlin (even though I don't think that Jason knows that yet. Poor Jason is not very smart; just pretty. ) Do the Newlins remind anyone else of Joel Osteen and his wife? I almost feel bad saying that, since I think the Osteens are probably good people.....at least I hope that they are...(and would be surprised if they are! )

I am glad that the show is not following the book, step for step. I think if it did, that would make the show pointless to watch/the book pointless to read. I'm having enough trouble hanging in there with reading the books. I can't believe that I've gotten as far as I have.

[Mike'sgirl]

I am glad that the show is not following the book, step for step. I think if it did, that would make the show pointless to watch/the book pointless to read. I'm having enough trouble hanging in there with reading the books. I can't believe that I've gotten as far as I have.

I agree! Just returned from a family trip and have so much to catch up on but wanted to say that I surrendered the whole book vs series stuff a while back. Charlaine is happy with what Alan is doing and has done (not that she has any say about it). Alan has the TV series rights and can do whatever he wants, it is his choice to follow the series or not and I love the freshness of what he did to the first season and look forward to this season. It is like watching an alternate ending, "what if's" and I have managed to separate the two.

I do hope that some of the book plots surrounding Sookie and Eric play out because I am a huge Eric fan, but if the series plots for Bill never play out as they do in the book, then I am fine with the Sookie/Bill romance. I love Alan ball and whatever he does I will see from a new perspective.

[CaliLily]

I also like the fresh view the series brings vs. the books (I am a huge fan of the books, it is just nice to have a few surprises so that not everything is so predictable). I was a little iffy on Tara's character when I started watching the series but now I think the show would be missing something without her.

The only thing I really wish they would change a bit in the series is how much time they spend on Tara and Jason's storylines. It felt like the shows were 1/3 Sookie and 2/3s everyone else.

[Kiz]

I'm already over the Jason/cult storyline. I like the Jason character and the trouble he falls into though. He's much better as the bad boy.

I'm loving that it looks like Lafayette is going to be turned into a vamp. I love his character, and I hate to see him leave the show.

Speaking of Lafayette, does anyone know what he and the other prisoners were chained to? It was strange the way it turned ever so often.

[prhoshay]

It kind of looked like the inner workings of a huge old clock, to me, the way they had to get up and move at certain intervals.

[Kiz]

Thanks. A clock is a good guess! It's better than anything I could come up with.

[causingchaos]

Did Arlene end up joining that church yet in the show?

[liz_momof2]

Did Arlene end up joining that church yet in the show?

Nope but she doesn't join for quite a while in the series