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infinitejest) wrote2010-06-02 11:57 pm
infinitejest) wrote2010-06-02 11:57 pm
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"...take me gently, but not too gently, the way a pirate would."
Over the past several weeks, HBO has been airing True Blood minisodes online. If you're into the show, you should definitely watch them: the HBO site is horribly unwieldy, unfortunately, so I'd recommend checking them out on YouTube instead.
These 3-5 minute minisodes have been fleshing out the end of S2 with little moments that happened off-screen, preparing us for the in media res beginning to S3. I think they're doing more than that, of course: I think they're also invoking themes that will be important throughout the new season.
Fair warning: spoilers for the minisodes are uncut since I'm discussing them. Watch them at the links before reading. There are spoilers for S2, the very beginning of S3, and book-spoilers behind the cuts.
"Eric and Pam"
If the show were tied more closely to the books, you'd expect Eric and Pam to be interviewing new bartenders: Fangtasia does tend to go through them once Sookie becomes a regular feature of their (un)lives. Instead, they're interviewing dancers and this seems largely designed to set up Eric's sexy-time alibi for when Sookie storms over in a panic about Bill. Nothing too deep there thematically, but if it involves Eric taking his clothes off, I'm okay with that. It also serves to highlight Pam's bisexuality, which I'm also okay with.
"Jessica"
The intentions here seem pretty obvious: the minisode comforts us that Jessica is still a good person inside, softening the rawness of seeing her sexually degrading herself and feeding off the trucker at the end of S2. It also highlights her mischief, pointing out that, good or not, she's still going to go astray.
"Sookie, Tara, and Lafayette"
I really hate it when they show Sookie and Tara fighting: it tends to get pretty damn ugly. Sookie's touchiness in response to Tara's questioning of Bill's finances (and the part of his life that secures those finances) possibly foreshadows the discovery of a whole side of Bill Compton that she knows nothing about. This would jive with the novels, considering Club Dead is the beginning of the end of Sookie/Bill. I didn't care as much in the books, because book!Bill is an asshole. However, the Vampire Bill of the show is such an honorable guy... they're really going to have to rough up his image a bit this season to make their break-up more palatable.
I also like the invocation of Bill's finances, because it's possible they'll be bringing in the vampire database that Bill builds and markets. That's the widget that drives the plot of the third book, after all, and is also instrumental background to the dissolution of Bill and Sookie's relationship.
"Sam"
Here we see Sam desperately trying to destroy the symbol of the Maenad's power, before finally desecrating it in puerile fashion. Well, given he's a shifter, I suppose it's not that puerile: it is how a dog marks his property, after all. In any case, I think this emphasizes Sam's need to take control of his fate, and that slots in nicely with the trailers that suggest he's seeking out his birth family.
"Bill"
This was the best minisode, hands down: it is hilarious and eminently quotable. I think it slightly invokes more consideration of those shadowy sides of Bill by depicting his willingness to glamour a human for such a relatively simple benefit. As much as I resented them downplaying Eric to play up Bill (as compared to the book characters), I'll be sad to see them tear Vampire Bill down even a bit.
There was one last minisode released just last night about Jason, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I'll make another post reflecting on it and the trailers sometime this weekend, after I've had a chance to finish my re-watch of S2.
For those of you who've watched all the minisodes: thoughts?
These 3-5 minute minisodes have been fleshing out the end of S2 with little moments that happened off-screen, preparing us for the in media res beginning to S3. I think they're doing more than that, of course: I think they're also invoking themes that will be important throughout the new season.
Fair warning: spoilers for the minisodes are uncut since I'm discussing them. Watch them at the links before reading. There are spoilers for S2, the very beginning of S3, and book-spoilers behind the cuts.
"Eric and Pam"
If the show were tied more closely to the books, you'd expect Eric and Pam to be interviewing new bartenders: Fangtasia does tend to go through them once Sookie becomes a regular feature of their (un)lives. Instead, they're interviewing dancers and this seems largely designed to set up Eric's sexy-time alibi for when Sookie storms over in a panic about Bill. Nothing too deep there thematically, but if it involves Eric taking his clothes off, I'm okay with that. It also serves to highlight Pam's bisexuality, which I'm also okay with.
"Jessica"
The intentions here seem pretty obvious: the minisode comforts us that Jessica is still a good person inside, softening the rawness of seeing her sexually degrading herself and feeding off the trucker at the end of S2. It also highlights her mischief, pointing out that, good or not, she's still going to go astray.
"Sookie, Tara, and Lafayette"
I really hate it when they show Sookie and Tara fighting: it tends to get pretty damn ugly. Sookie's touchiness in response to Tara's questioning of Bill's finances (and the part of his life that secures those finances) possibly foreshadows the discovery of a whole side of Bill Compton that she knows nothing about. This would jive with the novels, considering Club Dead is the beginning of the end of Sookie/Bill. I didn't care as much in the books, because book!Bill is an asshole. However, the Vampire Bill of the show is such an honorable guy... they're really going to have to rough up his image a bit this season to make their break-up more palatable.
I also like the invocation of Bill's finances, because it's possible they'll be bringing in the vampire database that Bill builds and markets. That's the widget that drives the plot of the third book, after all, and is also instrumental background to the dissolution of Bill and Sookie's relationship.
"Sam"
Here we see Sam desperately trying to destroy the symbol of the Maenad's power, before finally desecrating it in puerile fashion. Well, given he's a shifter, I suppose it's not that puerile: it is how a dog marks his property, after all. In any case, I think this emphasizes Sam's need to take control of his fate, and that slots in nicely with the trailers that suggest he's seeking out his birth family.
"Bill"
This was the best minisode, hands down: it is hilarious and eminently quotable. I think it slightly invokes more consideration of those shadowy sides of Bill by depicting his willingness to glamour a human for such a relatively simple benefit. As much as I resented them downplaying Eric to play up Bill (as compared to the book characters), I'll be sad to see them tear Vampire Bill down even a bit.
There was one last minisode released just last night about Jason, but I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I'll make another post reflecting on it and the trailers sometime this weekend, after I've had a chance to finish my re-watch of S2.
For those of you who've watched all the minisodes: thoughts?