From Dead to Worse

by Courtney Hilden
Spoilers: This review gives away almost all of the surprises of this books.

When sitting down to review From Dead to Worse, the eighth book in the Southern Vampire Series, I found myself wondering what I could possibly say as to what the plot was. The plot was really several episodes thrown in together. One involves Sookie meeting a new, mysterious (of course he’s mysterious, this series is nominally a mystery series) relative, another has a Nicene war within the local werewolf pack, another features a hostile takeover, and finally there’s a broken marriage thrown in for good mix. The plot sort of meanders along, and although this would usually be a good thing, it is unlike previous books in Harris’s series, and feels less controlled. This tight, no-flab writing was one of the most admirable things about Harris’s series, which lacked the bloat of other popular urban fantasies and romances. The book felt like Harris is setting up for something else (what I do not know, as I have yet to read further), maybe giving us pertinent information for future books, but otherwise feeling like a letdown.

The other majorly disappointing thing about the book is staving off (yet again!) the romance between Sookie and Eric. Eric, finally remembering everything that took place four books ago, has yet to have an important “talk” with Sookie. This is getting dragged out to the point of boredom. And also, when is Bill going to disappear? His earliest scene, talking to an undressing Sookie, felt forced, and in light on the events of the book, was totally unnecessary to the rest of the plot. His later moments in the book, talking to her on her porch and then arriving at her house during a crisis, felt more like a way to insert an otherwise useless character into the plot and way to compensate Bill/Sookie shippers for having thrown in their lot with not only a jerk of a character but a bland jerk of a character. He is the sort of person, excuse me, vampire, who desperately needs a hobby.

It seems increasingly unlikely that Sookie would still want Bill, given that he has not done much other than talk about wanting to love her. Meanwhile, Eric has shown all the initiative to respect her enough to be there for her when she meets her mysterious relative (telling her he’s there for her but backing off and allowing her to make her own decisions.) And he has shown pragmatism and care for his followers and employers. Of all the tyrants in this series, he is the least interested in power for power’s sake and the unhappiest with what power he has. Why can’t Sookie see that?
Also getting more “page time” in the series is Sam, who was also steadfastly by Sookie’s side throughout the book, helping her when he could. His back story near the end felt a bit rushed, but otherwise Sam’s a lovable character, and a great match for Sookie too.
The last quibble with this book is over lesbian relationships. Even though Amelia could be in either a heterosexual or homosexual relationship, and the book flirts briefly with Amelia and Pam as a couple, Amelia’s longer relations are always with me. Other women with women pairings are shown in earlier parts of the series as dangerous, and there’s something deeply sad and disappointing about this.
Readers could do worse than this series or even this book, which is one of the lower books within the series. The writing is still interesting, the world still imaginative, and there was even a surprise or two.

Evil is Going On

Spoiler Alert!: Almost all (but not the last) spoiler for this episode are revealed in this review.

by Courtney Hilden
"Evil is Going On," the final episode in this season of True Blood, opened up on Eric trying to kill Russell by lying out in the sun with him. After having a conversation with Godric (who, yes, is still dead), decided to punish Russell rather than just kill him. Meanwhile, Talbot's bloody pulp-remains took a trip through the plumping system, Jesus comes out as a witch, and Sam runs after Tommy. Oh, and finally, Sookie broke up with Bill. Hopefully for good.
Dealing with one of the worse things about the episode: Was it really necessary to bring Eric's maker back? Godric was a great character, but using him in some kind of vision is about as original as the heaven world that Sookie and Bill have been making regular visits to. Godric was a great character when he was simply undead, but as an angel/figment of Eric's imagination felt contrived and silly. Even Eric's motivations are obvious through his interactions with characters (like Pam), or they are not. Either way, it could work. But using Godric-back-from-the-dead smacks of some bad tv show I am so unfamiliar with I cannot even give an example.
Sookie's power (whatever it is) has become a deus ex machina. Great, now one of the other good things on this show, conflict, will be sacrificed to make things even easier for the uncompelling character. The only good thing about this is that it gives Sookie her own power within a world where mostly white, supernatural men have power.
The only good thing about Sookie scenes was that, for once, Sookie showed some character and dumped the remains of Talbot down the drain. Her evil laugh was so liberating to watch. Talbot's remains are still gross, but we have assumably seen the last of them.
There were some good moments on the show. Tara and Sam's morning breakfast started out so cute. Tara's reluctance did a good job of capping off her recent struggles with accepting vampires and other supernatural stuff. There's something sad about watching her hate all supernaturals because of the terrible things a few of them have done, but if she really is gone for a season or two, she will come back wiser and more accepting.
Hopefully, Jason is actually going to take care of the people of Hotshot. And it's going to make him a better person. Hopefully.
Jesus's betrayal of Lafayette was awful. Poor Lafayette. He finally gets a good relationship going, and, of course, Jesus has been lying to him. And obviously manipulating him. Lafayette should not trust Jesus.
The scene between Tara and Sookie was great. It was one of the few true friend conversations that have happened. Tara should not have apologized to Sookie, since she was the one trying to help her out of what was clearly a bad relationship. Tara is always setting herself aside for her white friend, and it is so sad to watch. If the show does depict where Tara goes next, it should include her sticking up for her own feelings.
Bill continues to be a disappointment. Eric is one of the few good characters, and although it is nice to embrace my hatred of Bill now that it's clear he truly is in it for himself, I am already missing Eric.
His instance of killing anyone who has tasted Sookie is another great moment of creepy misogyny. "Tasting" here is obviously a metaphor for sex, and to here Bill claim he is going to destroy all of those who share a sexual link with her is just another one of the things to add to the "Nasty Anti-Woman Things Bill Says."
And finally, some positive things about this last episode. One of the things not cover in these reviews is how good the music has been. Every episode has ended with perfect music. The incidental music during the last scene between Tommy and Sam was particularly nice.
Also: Terry has an armadillo?

"Pretend You're All Normal"

A review of "I Smell Rat"
by Courtney Hilden


In this episode of True Blood, Bill revealed to Sookie that she was a fairy, Jason revealed to Tara that he had killed Eggs, Hoyt revealed his true love for Jessica, Crystal revealed her true nature to Jason, and Lafayette and Jesus revealed their mutual familiar histories with magic. Oh, and Eric may be a bad guy now since he appears to be sacrificing Sookie.
The revelation that Sookie is a fairy was as bad as the other things involving Bill this season. In the books, it happens later in the series, and with such absolute casualty as to be funny. Here, it felt like they were reaching for something genuine and failed. It was the closest the show as ever gotten to feeling like a soap opera. Much of the rest of the episode felt like it belonged in a soap opera, since much of the episode dragged, had random craziness that made no sense, and had bad background music.
Finally, there are some consequences for the murdering that Jason has made a habit of on this series. It was nice to see those flashbacks, as a reminder to the audience that Jason has never killed anyone that wasn't a minority in some way.
That said, the best flashbacks on this show are the short ones, and even the flashbacks about beloved Sam were bad. Heartbreaking, of course, because so much of what happens to Sam is heartbreaking, (including all the tiptoeing that went on around him after his fight with Calvin) but still the flashbacks always slow down the momentum of the show, and not in a good way.
Bill did do one good thing this episode: he promised to give up feeding on Sookie's blood to gain her trust. It was good to hear that, and the one redeeming feature of Bill.
Speaking of trust, it's too bad that Crystal didn't decide to stay with Lafayette and Jesus, because I would trust them far more than Norris, who is far more of a racist on the show than in the books.
Though maybe it's best that she didn't, considering that Jesus wanted to do V. This didn't make a lot of sense given that Jesus was angry at Lafayette for selling drugs. It makes even less sense when you consider that trippy drug scene was boring. The only thing that worked was that grin on Lafayette's face as they were walking into the second room.
By far the worse and most boring episode of the season. A lot of this may be because they are setting things up for their two final episodes, but this was True Blood at its worse.

Everything is Broken

by Courtney Hilden
Spoiler Alert!: Almost all of the surprises in this episode are revealed in this review.

In the latest episode of True Blood, "Everything is Broken," Sookie and Hadley met up in an aquarium to see Hadley's son, Eric gave a testimony to the Authority, white womanhood continued to be the chief concern of Jason, Tara continued to heal from her rape, and Sam cut loose after another series of struggles over parenthood.
First and foremost, our show's heroine: Sookie. It's interesting to note that even though Sookie would provide a safe sanctuary for Eric and Pam, he chooses someone else. Even though Eric has decided to get his revenge, he also is still loyal to Sookie.
Sookie will probably never be able to appreciate Eric's loyalty, because, as the episode showed, she is too busy being happy with Bill. Her and Bill shared one of the show's few calm moments with an intimate shower between the two. Then Bill and Sookie had a conversation about the secrets Bill has been hiding from Sookie. She rightly asserted that she is not a thing and not something that needs protection, especially now when she has been through so much. It was a nice change of pace from the usual powerless Sookie that fans are always complaining about.
As discussed in the review of the last episode, there is a lot of defending white womanhood. A lot of it apparently centers on Jason, who this episode was taking care of Crystal, his new potential girlfriend. Parts of it were admirable, since Jason told Crystal's boyfriend that Crystal was allowed to do what she wanted. But parts of it weren't, since it quickly turned into him controlling her.
Black womanhood, in the form of Tara, continues to be sidelined, though she too has gone through a terrible, traumatic event. (And unlike Sookie, recognizes how much danger she was in.) Sam wisely suggests that she consider a shrink. These scenes are troublesome because, again, it's a man protecting a woman, but nice in that they show that these characters do really care for one another. It was so wonderful to see Tara yell at Franklin for being a rapist. But again, as part of the whole "men saving women" meme on this show, Jason ended up saving Tara. For once, can a woman be the one to defend herself?
I will credit the show for at least trying to be progressive. It was also great to see women coming together to support each other. Hopefully, this group will help Tara deal with her situation and save herself from further emotional damage. Women coming together to help each other and fight rape culture? That's feminism. It doesn't make up for the rest of this show, but it's a start.
In terms of race, the show introduced a really interesting concept: snitching. Snitching has been an issue within minority races, particularly African Americans. But the connection between meth-doing, rapist shapeshifters and the African American community is a very dangerous one to make. The outside community doesn't understand why they are the way they are, but at the same time they beat Crystal. It's an unflattering portrait of people of color at best.
One of the many nice things about this episode was the lack of Bill. Sadly, one of the scenes we did get with Bill included another romp through the heaven-garden, which was even more boring than the first time when it was Sookie running around.
Eric and Pam's scene together afterward made up for it. Eric and Pam genuinely do care for one another and it was nice to see that. Eric is not just loyal, he's strong. And far more admirable than Bill.
Finally, after waiting a few episodes, the audience got to see this mysterious Authority, which, unsurprisingly, is represented in the form of Nan Flanigan, the spokeswoman for vampires across America. This Authority is just as unfrightening as it sounded it would be, though Eric took it seriously enough. (Seriously, though, web cams? Those things are scarier in dystopian novels.) Eric has a lot on his plate these days, and Alexander Skarsgaard does a great job of making himself look like a scared puppy. (He even swallows dramatically.) Watching him rat out Russell was a joy, especially since giving this kind of information is usually a thankless task. Watching Russell becoming unhinged at the end of the episode was also a pleasure. His speech almost came off as a piece of slam poetry. And unlike the Authority, he was slightly scary.
Sam is basically a parent now, and managing it better than Bill has done so far with Jessica. At least Sam tries to be a positive influence and guide his adopted kid to being a normal, successful citizens. It's too bad that parenting Tommy is such a thankless task. (Sam parenting Jessica would also be fun to watch, though she would probably realize what was for her own good.)
Gross out moment of the night was brought to you by Talbot, whose remains were disgustingly pawed by Russell at the beginning of the episode. It was creepier than what happened later in the episode, when Russel started carrying around a jar with Talbot's remains inside. It's so macabre and strangely Victorian. Quote of the night goes to Andy, who discussed how he has an ulcer so big coffee was coming out of his bellybutton. The cutest nickname of the night award goes to Lafayette, who was referred to as "Lala" by his Mom. Aww. And the fashion moment of the night was also brought to you by Lafayette (who has by far the best wardrobe on this show) wearing a rosary as a necklace. Haven't seen that look since the late nineties with the Spice Girls. Nice.
Also, as a final note, Holly seems like a wonderful and kind person, which means that she is probably really evil and about to destroy someone's life.

Night on the Sun

by Courtney Hilden
Spoiler Alert!: The first and last spoilers of this episode of revealed in this review.

"Night on the Sun," the latest episode of True Blood, opened up on what fans have been waiting for seasons now: the breakup of Sookie and Bill. Although it was probably heartbreaking for Sookie to break up with Bill, there was something deeply relieving about it. Too bad Bill is still going to be an important part of the show and that the breakup did not last. One of the other reasons it is too bad the breakup did not last was because there are lots of sweet-hearted male characters on this show for Sookie to have a relationship with, and Bill, is well, either boring or annoying. The only good thing about this episode's opening was that it was a nice change of pace to have an opening not dependent on guts, blood, violence, or a naked Eric. (Though the last is always welcome.) Instead, we got to see a scene that is usually reserved for the end of episodes, where Bill breaks up with Sookie.
One of those great male characters includes Terry Bellefleur. It's nice to see him, since it has been MIA for the last few episodes. It is too bad that his sweetheart Arlene is obsessing that the baby she is about to have is an evil ex-boyfriend's.
The most troubling aspect of this show continues to be the rape that Sookie suffered from. Jason was right to suggest that Sookie press chargers, though not because Bill was a "fanger" but because he had raped her. Since vampires are often meant to stand in for other sexual or racial minorities on this show, having a vampire be a rapist is problematic, since it suggests that minorities are a threat to white womanhood. This is not to say that Sookie deserves to be raped, but as a critique of the collective imagination of the Other being sexually dangerous.
One of the other storylines about domestic violence, Crystal and Jason's relationship, shows a white man, Jason, defending a white woman, furthering the idea that white men are the defenders of women. All the white men on this show are always protecting Sookie: Eric, Bill, Alcide, Jason and Sam. This kind of storyline would make a Birth of the Nation fan proud, but on a show that is meant to be forward-thinking, just embarrassing.
The other rape metaphor working on the show, Tara's dominance by Franklin, is slightly more progressive. At least in this storyline it acknowledged the tragic psychological damage rape can do, when Tara has a nightmare of Franklin visiting her in the shower. Not that I really wanted Tara to be mentally raped by anyone, but at least here there's an acknowledgment of the violation she suffered and how difficult that is to deal with.
This tragic moment led Tara to try to talk to Sookie. Sookie, sadly but not unsurprisingly, ignored her. Tara and Sookie's relationship isn't even capable of existing outside of a man's world, since that is the only thing they seem to talk about. It was great that finally someone was able to tell Sookie that Bill was dangerous, even if Sookie ignored it. Tara is one of the few female characters on this show who seems to have it together enough emotionally to realize when something is a bad idea.
The only domestic relationship that is working out right now appears to be Bill and Jessica. Bill might actually be capable of being a good father figure to Jessica, if he applies himself. Again, good for Jessica for sticking up for herself and asserting her needs, which right now includes having someone to show her the ropes of being a vampire.
Best lines of the episode go to Jason for his line about a cult "washing" his brain.

Hitting the Ground

by Courtney Hilden
Spoiler Alert!: Some of the surprises, though not the very last one, are revealed in this review.

First off, what a great opening. It was wonderful that we finally killed off one of the most annoying characters: Lorena. The blood was both delightful and perhaps a little too much, though it prepared the audience for the end of the episode.
It's a good and a bad thing that they changed this part of the story. In the original novel, Sookie rescues Bill by herself, which is a nice moment of girl power. But later on, she gets trapped in a car's trunk and raped by Bill, in the most anti-feminist moment of the series. Seeing that the show also fell into a similar trap was very disappointing. The only thing that was an improvement about this was that Tara was smart enough to dump Bill off and take Sookie to a hospital. (Characters should really spend more time there anyway, given the nature of this show.) But it's even more troubling that the only person who could 'save' her was her rapist. For a show that's suppose to be progressive, it seems fixated on women being helpless and submissive to men.
There's a lot of other moments where women are forced into very uncomfortable moments. Sophie-Ann has decided to take the marriage proposal of Russell, which might be more acceptable if she wasn't so clearly powerful herself. Even though she is a Queen, she is unable to control her own life.
Props for great performances this episode including Debbie Pelt for giving a scary monologue. She's going to be around for a little longer, and that monologue, with the light clearly out of her eyes, was great. Lafayette once again is the best character on this show. Watching him be the strength is this strange family is so uplifting in a very sad show. Lafayette is exactly who any sane person would want in their corner. Pam also gave the sort of performance that will stay with the audience for the next few episodes. Her sense of humor while being tortured was great.
It's nice that they're trying to give Jason more to do, but it doesn't really work. Jason trying to "evolve" just highlights how unevolved he is. Hoyt, on the other hand, is still adorable. His devotion to Jessica is so sweet. Which makes it all the sadder for Summer, who is probably going to get her heart broken.
In the disappointing category this episode was the heaven vision that Sookie had. It didn't actually give the audience or Sookie much information, other than her parents were not killed by water. (Could the writers not think of a more creative way to do this?) Even if this moment does pan out later in the story, this was the most trite way to deal with this.
As to what it is about Sookie Stackhouse, my theory is that she is some kind of rare supernatural creature, like the Maenad from last season, which is why she is always blasting other supernatural creatures with the power thing. It's also why she doesn't have a blood type, which makes her especially delicious to vampires (because she taste like no other human there is.)

Trouble

Spoiler Alert!: Certain details of the latest episode of True Blood are revealed in this review.
by Courtney Hilden

Given the nature of True Blood, with it now multiple storylines all moving at once, it seemed more effective to simply work through each plot instead of trying to analyze the work has a whole, which it in some ways is not. Let's get started:
-The scene with Franklin texting for Tara was funny, but still very squishy, given how messed up Franklin is. It was such a relief to see her get out of her robes and make a run for it, especially since watching her confined episode after episode was disheartening. They're obviously working the battered woman syndrome, where Tara feels genuinely bad for hurting Franklin, though he's obviously the one hurting her.
-Kenya is so smart and capable. Hopefully we'll see more of her soon. Given the storylines with some many female characters who are submissive to men, it is nice to have one who demands respect from her co-workers. Also nice is the power that Sookie appears to be developing. Hopefully this will allow her real power amongst the mostly male supernatural characters.
-Looks like Jason is not going to leave the whole "being a cop" thing. It's too bad, because after last season, I was hoping that Jason would evolve as a character, and instead he's doing the same thing he always does, just with more resources at his disposal for trouble. Although it seems clear from his running Crystal down in a cop car that he at least understands what cops do in porn films, so maybe that is a sign of progress. In the books, the "romance" between Crystal and Jason is mostly physical, but here they have decided to change it so that it is more of a Romeo and Juliet style story, in which both of them are from different groups of people. Of course, what Jason does not yet know is that she's not just from Hotshot, she's also supernatural, and will change him into something supernatural. The actress who plays Crystal is lovely.
-Would someone put a gallery together of all the great outfits Lafayette wears? That man has a great sense of style. Lafayette being so unfamiliar with romantic attention was so cute.
-Also dealing with romantic attention was Jessica. Hoyt showing up to her workplace with a girl was the ultimate in hurtful.
-Sam's family problems are so hard to watch. Sam is not stupid, which given the majority of the other characters on this show, is refreshing. It's good to see that he at least sees things as a problem, unlike Jason who does not even try to improve or Sookie who runs into everything and every man that looks like a bad idea. Again, Sam's family problems seemed centered around abuse, just a slightly different abuse than the one poor Tara is experiencing.
-Speaking of family, Eric is clearly worried for his vampire daughter. His loyalty to his own is admirable, especially considering how everyone else concentrates on what a jerk he is. His backstory about being a Viking prince has been, by far, the only interesting backstory this entire series. Not that we need more of them, since they generally do not illuminate much about the characters they show.
-And finally, Terry Bellefleur is so sweet. Watching him cry over his about-to-be normal life was so darling.

Crimes

by Courtney Hilden


In True Blood land, Bill has officially (thankfully) dumped Sookie.  A normal girl would get angry, break some glass bottles, and then move on.  Sookie, of course, decides to take denial to new levels by staying in another state to look for him.  Sam tries to right his family, Jason attempts to bypass become a police officer the traditional way, Tara is held hostage by Franklin, Lafayette fails to sell his drugs, and Eric's club is sacked.  A lot happens in these episodes, so let's focus on the good and the bad.  
It's really bothersome that Sookie takes two seconds to be attracted to Alcide, especially after he's involved in violence.  Is Sookie attracted to violence and emotional baggage?  She's almost as bad as Bella Swan.
In the books, the audience does not see Bill's stay in Mississippi, and now that the audience can see it on screen, it's easy to see why Harris, the author, left it out.  Bill's plotline continues to be boring and slows down the rest of the episode.  The other irritating plotline is Arlene's anti-vampire screed.  Once again, this show has decided that women are all crazy and bitchy, especially when they are pregnant.  
Some of the other problems with this episode included originality.  Jason's little football-playing-rival Kit called himself the "QB" which is exactly what Kevin called himself on Daria.  And apparently the writers have watching high school rom coms from the nineties, because Sookie got a makeover in order to impress a guy. 
But some things are worth watching for.  The acting by the secondary characters continues to amaze.  Franklin and Tara's scene where Franklin dictated her call was spot on, both scary and terrifying, like a particular moment in the "Midnight" episode of Doctor Who.  Tara's scenes where she was tied up was great too, showing us that Franklin is a rapist, using not just sex but people's mind against them.  Points also to Sookie and Eric, who once again have chemistry in a line of dialogue that outdoes everything Sookie and Bill have had this entire show.
The interesting juxtapositions with faith have also continued, though this is by far the bizarrest way yet.  This time, vampires donating blood in a ritual meant to imitate the Christian ceremony of drinking Jesus's blood.  How exactly the audience should interpret this on-the-nose reference has not been yet revealed, but probably will be as the season continues, just like the show's thoughts on evangelicalism was fleshed out over the course of season two.  
There are also great friendships on this show.  At the end of the last season, the show highlighted Andy and Jason, which continues to be wonderful but now slightly painful.  It's too sad the relationship between Andy and Jason is souring, because so many shows lack friendships that feel as real and faithful as the ones in our lives. This episode showed Eric and Lafayette in a different kind of friendship.  Scenes where Lafayette is discriminated against because of his sexuality, his race and his connection to vampires is hard to watch, but seeing Eric protect his own was a relief, though not as empowering as "AIDS burger" from season one.
And no show can be bad if it uses a song from Massive Attack, so the show, despite having clunky elements to it, also has moments of genius.