WATCH SEASON 4 EPISODE 01 CLICK HERE http://secure.signup-way.com/5749/16467
What started in its first season as a fairly focused murder mystery with supernatural overtones morphed last summer into a series of gory, funny, sexy, WTF, head-turning (literally), spine-tingling (literally), what-just-happened, I-can’t-believe-they-did-that moments.
The only trouble? Somewhere along the way it managed to sacrifice any semblance of narrative coherence.
Don’t get me wrong … I loved much of last season. In fact, I’d argue that its good parts were the strongest in True Blood’s history, particularly the introductions of such compelling new characters as Russell Edgington (Denis O' Hare), Franklin Mott (James Frain), and Alcide (Joe Manganiello). But midway through, the main narrative arc concerning the vampire-controlled wolf pack had come to a dead stop. Meanwhile, a myriad of sub-plots (and sub-sub-plots) concerning various secondary characters were introduced, only to themselves putter in place.
And anyone hoping the finale would somehow tie these disparate elements together wound up as disappointed as a Fangtasia groupie on “No Biting” Tuesdays.
So the main question for me coming into Season 4 was this: could Alan Ball and his team maintain the show’s go-for-broke craziness while finding a way to restore any sort of dramatic momentum, not to mention comprehensibility?
Having seen the first three episodes, I can tell you with utter conviction that the answer is a firm and definite yes.
What started in its first season as a fairly focused murder mystery with supernatural overtones morphed last summer into a series of gory, funny, sexy, WTF, head-turning (literally), spine-tingling (literally), what-just-happened, I-can’t-believe-they-did-that moments.
The only trouble? Somewhere along the way it managed to sacrifice any semblance of narrative coherence.
Don’t get me wrong … I loved much of last season. In fact, I’d argue that its good parts were the strongest in True Blood’s history, particularly the introductions of such compelling new characters as Russell Edgington (Denis O' Hare), Franklin Mott (James Frain), and Alcide (Joe Manganiello). But midway through, the main narrative arc concerning the vampire-controlled wolf pack had come to a dead stop. Meanwhile, a myriad of sub-plots (and sub-sub-plots) concerning various secondary characters were introduced, only to themselves putter in place.
And anyone hoping the finale would somehow tie these disparate elements together wound up as disappointed as a Fangtasia groupie on “No Biting” Tuesdays.
So the main question for me coming into Season 4 was this: could Alan Ball and his team maintain the show’s go-for-broke craziness while finding a way to restore any sort of dramatic momentum, not to mention comprehensibility?
Having seen the first three episodes, I can tell you with utter conviction that the answer is a firm and definite yes.