True Blood is a new series on HBO about vampires and a telepathic waitress (Sookie Stackhouse). It's based on a series of books (but with its own plot arcs after the introductory backstory, presumably) which are fairly popular.

The first episode premiered Sunday, Sep 7, with new episodes premiering 9:00pm E/P on HBO(E/P), with various encore airings on HBO's various channels throughout the week (and hopefully to catch up on the whole series periodically).

Assume spoilers for the first episode to start the discussion.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.1 "Strange Love" (first US-aired Sun, Sep 7, 2008) after this point.

Okay, it's been long enough since I started the thread, so it's open to spoilers from the second episode, too.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.2 "The First Taste" (first US-aired Sun, Sep 14, 2008) after this point.

The third episode just aired, so I'll wait a little before adding that, but if someone wants to discuss spoilers from 1.3 "Mine" just put the red spoiler warning for it first.

For a mostly non-spoiler comment, they seem to always end the episode with a cliffhanger. But I like that they seem to be important and feed into the plot arc of the next episode.

Compare that with the cliffhangers they've had in the occasional two-part episodes of Doctor Who, which are always resolved in such a quick and trivial way it makes it feel pointless to have had the cliffhanger in the first place.

I'll post some more in a day or so after a spoiler warning for episode 3 so I can talk about how the cliffhanger from 2 feeds into 3.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.3 "Mine" (first US-aired Sun, Sep 21, 2008) after this point.

So the first episode ended with Sookie being ambushed and beaten in revenge, which leads into being rescued and then having to drink his blood to heal her. It wasn't clear how permanent the side-effects were going to be, but it creates a connection between them making it easier for him to come to her rescue when she's in trouble. The second episode ends with Sookie running into some less-friendly (or too-friendly, I suppose) vampires who unexpectedly dropped in on Bill, and this leads into Bill having to "claim" her as his own (hence the title of episode 3, "Mine"). And episode 3 ends with her discovering one of her waitress co-worker friends (Dawn) dead at home, strangled much like Maudette had been. Of course, that's a significant even which sets up the events of episode 4.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.4 "Escape From Dragon House" (first US-aired Sun, Sep 28, 2008) after this point.

Episode 4 actually didn't end with a cliff-hanger (not like the others had, though it may still pick up directly). That's a little refreshing, and suggests that they won't absolutely follow the always-a-cliffhanger format. It makes me wonder where the next episode will start and what it will be about, without a cliffhanger to set it up. But maybe it will mostly continue the murder-investigation arc. It'd be funny if the only time they don't have a cliffhanger is when it's a more-continued episode, the opposite of Doctor Who's continued-episode cliffhangers.



And we can start talking about theories on the murders. Is it a vampire? Is it a human? Does it have anything to do with Jason (who slept with each victim shortly before they were killed), or is it just a coincidence?

I wonder about that bald vampire; seeing him in Maudette's video seemed to be compelling Jason to choke her without realizing it. We know that vampires can "glamour" people face-to-face (I think that's what they called it, not to be confused with the witchy "glamour" which is an appearance illusion), and that seemed to be happening through the video, too. Even if the bald vamp didn't come back and kill her (why would he, though, without even feeding?), perhaps the same video got the next guy to go too far. Did the bald vampire do that deliberately, set up a glamour to turn future viewers into unwitting killers? I could see him doing that just for the chaos, but we may not know enough about him to assess such a motive reliably.

Another theory--which seems more likely to me--is that they are being killed by a human, who perhaps strongly disapproves of "fang-bangers" and such. Besides both sleeping with Jason, we also know that Maudette and Dawn had both "slept with" (and been fed on by) a vampire. We don't know if it's the same one, but same or different vampire wouldn't matter to a human targeting them for being with a vamp in general. Of course, then the question is who it could be, and whether it's anyone we've already seen. Her boss was behaving suspiciously at the end of episde 4, but that seems to be explained as him having had some sort of relationship with Dawn (the new victim); of course that can also lead to a motive, but would they really make him be the killer, or is he going to be another incorrect suspect at some point? And did he know or have any relationship with Maudette? (Unless I have it backwards and it was Maudette's he went over to at the end; but I think that was Dawn in the picture he touched behind the bar.)

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.5 "Sparks Fly Out" (first US-aired Sun, Oct 5, 2008) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.6 "Cold Ground" (first US-aired Sun, Oct 12, 2008) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.7 "House of Burning Love" (first US-aired Sun, Oct 19, 2008) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.8 "The Fourth Man in the Fire" (first US-aired Sun, Oct 26, 2008) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.9 "Plaisir D'Amour" (first US-aired Sun, Nov 2, 2008) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.10 "I Don't Wanna Know" (first US-aired Sun, Nov 9, 2008) after this point.

Okay, I have a theory. This may be spoilery because it's a guess as to who might be the killer of the season arc, so here's some spoiler space (but really, discussing theories about the season arc is one of the purposes of this thread, so there's not much reason not to read):

Potentially spoilerish speculation...

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We just learned that Sam (Sookie's boss) is a shape-shifter and can turn into a dog, and he also told Sookie that werewolves really exist, too, and (in his strong opinion) are fairly evil (unlike himself). Later in the episode we again see a peripheral character named Terry (bearded guy, played by the actor who was Zack on Gilmore Girls). Sookie--trying to pointedly dig at Sam--said that Terry was very decent, and he modestly said she just didn't know him very well. It played like a modest joke, but between the beard, just finding out there's werewolves in this world, and his little "joke", I was struck with the idea that Terry might be a werewolf. And if he is, perhaps he's the vicious killer.

Or I could be wrong.

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End potentially-spoilerish speculation.

We're getting close, now. Only two episodes left in the season, they said. We won't necessarily find out who the murderer is, but it's quite possible it will be revealed in the season finale in two weeks.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.11 "To Love Is to Bury" (first US-aired Sun, Nov 16, 2008) after this point.

Well, I finally had a chance to watch the last two episodes of the season, so I suppose I should get around to spoiler-warning the finale. I may post about it later, but no time now.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 1.12 "You'll Be the Death of Me" (first US-aired Sun, Nov 23, 2008) after this point. (Season Finale)

Oops, the new season started last week and I forgot about this thread.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.1 "Nothing But the Blood" (first US-aired Sun, Jun 14, 2009) after this point. (Season 2 premiere)

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.2 "Keep This Party Going" (first US-aired Sun, Jun 21, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.3 "Scratches" (first US-aired Sun, Jun 28, 2009) after this point.

I'm way behind, and I've just watched up through "Scratches", but I had to comment on this.

Bill's "daughter", Jessica, has of course much of the time been a whiney, annoying, disrespectful pack of trouble--sort of like Dawn at her worst, times ten--but that scene at Merlott's where she and Hoyt meet... I fell in love with her. That was such a great scene, and her performance of it was so perfect. Awesome job!

I'm really rooting for those two. But first they have to get past that tense cliffhanger....

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.4 "Shake and Fingerpop" (first US-aired Sun, Jul 12, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.5 "Never Let Me Go" (first US-aired Sun, Jul 19, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.6 "Hard-Hearted Hannah" (first US-aired Sun, Jul 26, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.7 "Release Me" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 2, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.8 "Timebomb" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 9, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.9 "I Will Rise Up" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 16, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.10 "New World in My View" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 23, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.11 "Frenzy" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 30, 2009) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 2.12 "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" (first US-aired Sun, Sep13, 2009) after this point. (Season 2 finale.)

Here there be spoilers.

Wow! The last several minutes of the finale gave us several things to ponder over the long wait until next Spring for the third season.

Jason actually killed someone, and although it may have been justified (certainly would have seemed so to him) it seems like he's going to be affected by that. I'm thinking this may set off whatever stupid direction he'll take off in for next season's arc.

And Tara lost Eggs, which will probably affect her quite a bit.

Jessica and Hoyt, heartbreaking, but now she's out hunting which could lead to all sorts of trouble, especially if she doesn't yet know how to cover her tracks.

The vampire Queen has some secret plot brewing. Just what could she be up to? Apparently she figures prominently in next season's arc.

Bill disappears (three gueses who's responsible there)--making it harder for him to stop Jessica's hunting--and we have to wonder how long (or how permanently) he'll be gone.

And Sookie's hesitation... do you suppose that had anything to do with her naughty dreams, or just the craziness that is her life in general?

So what do you think?

I thought the episode was a bit slow, but over all I really like it. I'm annoyed with the cliffhanger ending because I hate having to wait.

I didn't really care all that much for Eggs so him dying is no biggie for me.

Aw, Jessica and Hoyt are cute together. I think Jessica is kind of annoying, but in an entertaining way. And I was glad that Hoyt stood up to his mother.

I like the character of the Queen, but Evan Rachel Wood's acting didn't really impress me much, although I found her much more tolerable in this episode. Perhaps she just wasn't all that comfortable with the character in the beginning. Hopefully, she'll improve more because I do want to like the character.

I wish Eric had been in the episode more and not just because I think he's nice to look at, but because I think his character is fabulous.

Yeah, it's no big shock who vampnapped(<---lollerderby, but lame) Bill.

Poor Jason. Poor, stupid Jason. He is hilarious, though. I hope him having to deal with killing someone won't take away from that.

I definately think the hesitation has way more to do with than just her crazy life and all the stuff that went down.

I'm still really bummed about having to wait for next season, though. I guess I'll have to stick with reading the books. They are not my style, but they'll have to do.

The new season of True Blood starts next week (Sunday, Jun 13).

lucky you! It's only shown on cable here = which I don't have.

It's only on cable here (HBO is a premium cable channel--have to pay extra--which can thus carry adult content that can't air on broadcast and basic cable); but I do get HBO.

I'm not sure how many other altbronzers have HBO, but I think there are a few who get to watch the first run.

The third season has started. Discuss away....

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.1 "Pack of Wolves" (first US-aired Sun, Jun 13, 2010) after this point. (Season 3 premiere)

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.2 "Beautifully Broken" (first US-aired Sun, Jun 20, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.3 "It Hurts Me Too" (first US-aired Sun, Jun 27, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.4 "9 Crimes" (first US-aired Sun, Jul 11, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.5 "Trouble" (first US-aired Sun, Jul 18, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.6 "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" (first US-aired Sun, Jul 25, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.7 "Hitting the Ground" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 1, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.8 "Night on the Sun" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 8, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.9 "Everything Is Broken" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 15, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.10 "I Smell a Rat" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 22, 2010) after this point.

Thread contains SPOILERS for 3.11 "Fresh Blood" (first US-aired Sun, Aug 29, 2010) after this point.

I believe it takes a break next Sunday (holiday weekend), perhaps with a recap marathon. The season finale airs Sep 12.