June 17, 2013
Get Yer Bite On :: 'True Blood' Returns June 16
Rick Evans READ TIME: 2 MIN.
***Editor's Note - this article may contain "True Blood" spoilers***
Its summertime - when the networks start reruns and mediocre mid-season replacement shows and when the vampires and werewolves come back out on HBO! Everyone's guilty pleasure, "True Blood," premieres its sixth season on June 16th.
When we left season five last summer, the Authority was in the process of being destroyed, Bill had transformed into some sort of Vampire God, the werewolves were reorganizing their pack, and Sookie was being pursued by the vampire Worlow who had killed her and Jason's parents.
Season Six begins with the Authority's fiery end and the beginning of all out war between vampires and humans. There's no more true blood available. The vampires are hungry, and the humans are pissed and ready to fight back. Is this the beginning of a vampire apocalypse?
As the war begins, Sookie and Jason are finding out more about why the evil Warlow is obsessed with the Stackhouse family and Bill is trying to understand the new being he has become and his role in the future of the vampire world. Of course, there is also a lot going on with Eric, Sam, Lafayette, Tara, Alcide, Arlene, Terry and everyone else too!
Is it me, or has it all become too much? I miss the days of earlier seasons where all we had to follow were vampires, faeries and shapeshifters. The storylines were fun to watch, and there was the interesting subtext to explore about what it means to be different and how intolerance warps our society. Of course, it's also HBO, so there was plenty of drama and sex, which made it all the more fun.
But then the werewolves showed up. And, then the witches. Last season, we even dealt with a demon conjured up in the battlefields of Iraq. Storylines multiplied, and the central themes got lost. The things that made "True Blood" fun either disappeared or started to become just plain bizarre.
Unfortunately, Season Six doesn't bring any relief. So far, we've added a Faerie Grandfather (yes, grandfather!), played by Rutger Hauer and a brand new faerie hybrid stud - destined to be Sookie's latest love interest - played by the handsome Rob Kazinsky. Oh, and I forgot the four new baby faeries that grow at an alarming pace being raised by Sherriff Andy - and with no child support from their absent faerie mother! People we used to care about are starting to become annoying. Sookie is degenerating into a tease for any supernatural male she encounters, Jason seems dumber than ever, and Jessica and Pam just seem whiny.
In Season Five, "True Blood" went off the rails. This season, it's gone right over the edge.