True Blood has made its way back for season six and- well, it’s tough to say what that means for fans of the HBO supernatural drama. In the immortal words of Julie Andrews, let’s start at the very beginning. When we last left Bon Temps, Bill had become Billith, but honestly, who was sorry to see him go? Sam and Luna were making a break for it with daughter in tow. Then, there’s Alcide who gave in to his primal side, tore apart a man and became pack master. Finally, Andy became the, er… proud father of four faerie/human babies. Alright, I think that pretty much brings us up to speed.
Source: HBO
The season six opener honestly doesn’t waste time, picking up right after Billith was… resurrected? I’m not really sure what the right term is here since the second half of the episode is pretty much dedicated to Bill’s claim that he’s still Bill, just not the same Bill. But there I go, getting ahead of myself again. The first half of the episode is shockingly tight, heavy on action and setting up some promising new storylines for this season. Fans of the political allegory (vampire rights as the civil rights issue of the story universe) will be happy to see how the show progresses. Although season five was heavy on the religious fundamentalism story which was engaging if not, dare I say, heavy-handed. Season six is returning to the secular world to tackle political corruption, civil rights, and the broken political system. Weird that I could get all that from the first episode, right? Eh, let’s just call it a gift. Honestly, I know that I liked season five a lot more than most because the religious and political undertones, as well as the vampire mythology, is really interesting to me, so Alan Ball tackling the political elements head on? Yeah, that’s kinda up my alley. If season six keeps its strong focus on the impending vampire/human civil war and the political corruption, I’m sure I can handle season six.
Source: HBO
The problem is, well- that’s a promise they can’t deliver. The story universe of Bon Temps has gotten so over-inflated in the past few years, so unfortunately, viewers are saddled with side stories that prove to be more tedious than I thought humanly possible. Look, I let you guys have it when you wanted to make Andy Bellefleur a permanent fixture, but now he’s got a whole B-plot? I don’t know if I can handle that. Luckily, the opener keeps the story tight, never devoting more than a couple of off-hand moments to Andy’s daddy duties. Then there’s another sub-plot that gives me pause, one involving Sam and a newfound fatherhood? I’ll give the creators this; it was ballsy to kill Luna in the premiere. That’s normally a season finale or sweeps week move. Unfortunately, that seems to be setting up for Sam as a surrogate father for Luna’s daughter. Alcide seems to be the only one who escaped daddy issues in the season six premiere, which just so happened to premiere on Father’s Day. Coincidence? I think so! Still, it is a weird one…. Then again, he wasn’t given too much in this episode except a gratuitous ass shot and one of the most cringe-worthy moments of television in recent history. I mean, seriously, Rikki’s “I’m your number one bitch” was simultaneously laughable and offensive, all at the same time.
Source: HBO
Unfortunately, the only sub-plots I find myself to invested in are Pam & Tara’s little- well, I’m not sure what they are… and Jason. Hell, even Jason’s time onscreen seemed to lag until that final reveal. After I had blocked out all the stupid Faerie stuff and the Warlow thing and everything! Pretty sneak, sis. Pam & Tara on the other hand, especially as someone who has always found Tara to be a little annoying and wasn’t entirely convinced of their romance at the end of season, command every moment they are onscreen. Yes, there are some maudlin moments between the two, but as the two most hard-hearted characters, it was nice to see the softer side.
Ultimately, there are a surprising amount of things to like about the season six premiere. True Blood has certainly lost its way since it first started, but if they play things right, season six could serve as a great prelude to the show’s swan song. Hopefully, the abbreviated 10-episode season will force them to prioritize their main plot and the creators will be forced to drop some of the more ridiculous and inconsequential storylines.
What did you think of this week’s episode?
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Calhoun Kersten is unofficially over-educated and unemployable. he is currently finishing up his Masters thesis on horror films from DePaul University, but now resides in Hell on earth aka Los Angeles. When he’s not writing, he enjoys being a grown man who still watches Arthur on PBS, singing along loudly to Three 6 Mafia, and spending time with his dog, Karl Marx.