As Season 2 of HBO’s True Blood draws ever closer to its finale, you feel the tension building among its fans as they ponder the never-ending list of plot questions still left to be answered:
- Will Sam ever be free of Maryann? And how do you kill something that’s immortal?
- Is the God Who Comes actually going to show?
- Will Jason really start using his brain on a regular basis?
- Will Andy Bellefleur ever get sober? Will he be as entertaining if he does?
- Is Tara really cured or is her demon possession just in remission?
- Will Maxine Fortenberry break Bill’s Wii?
- Will Terry and Arlene stay together after their demons have been exercised? And just out of curiosity, who’s watching Arlene’s kids?
- Can HBO possibly make Eric look any sexier?
- Can Jessica and Hoyt work around the hymen that won’t die?
- When did Lafayette get so.. um.. deliciously macho?
- Will Sookie keep dreaming about Eric?
- Will Eric start dreaming about Sookie?
- What will Bill do when he discovers all this dreaming going on?
- Will Alan Ball stick with the books long enough to give us the shower scene?
And then there’s the question asked most of all:
What the hell am I going to do until 2010?
That’s right… once this season ends, True Blood fans get to wait a whole year before our thirst is once again (temporarily) quenched.
And that got me to thinking: What exactly is this obsession with True Blood?
Well, there’s the obvious entertainment factor – a telepathic waitress finds herself surrounded by a whole host of supernatural beings and the fun ensures. I mean, honestly… who wouldn’t be just a little intrigued?
There’s edge-of-your-seat action, complex oh-no-you-didn’t cliffhangers and yes, some really steamy sex scenes that keep your toes perpetually curled.
From a political standpoint, True Blood (and the Sookie Stackhouse novels on which the series is based) touches on some very deep social issues that actually plague our real-life society.
Vampires don’t have rights and once they came out of the coffin, self-righteous groups everywhere (most notably the Fellowship of the Sun) were happy to demonstrate just how bigoted and small-minded some of us truly are.
Of course, we don’t have vamps walking around among us (at least not yet) but we have seen similar behavior emerge in response to issues on race and sexual preference. I mean, if we can’t even figure out tolerance among humans, how bad do you think we’d be if the undead decided to announce their presence? Personally, I think the Newlins and their Fellowship of the Sun is a pretty conservative representation.
And then there’s the “better you than me” factor. In the True Blood universe, there are all sorts of supernatural creatures coming out of the woodwork… creatures who can control your mind and suck your blood.
Kind of makes solving the public healthcare issue look like a walk in the park, doesn’t it?
But if you ask me – and I know you were planning to – this obsession with True Blood runs much, much deeper. In fact, I think the real draw of True Blood is a very personal one, indeed.
For starters, Sookie Stackhouse is a seemingly average waitress who just happens to be telepathic – an ability that ensured she’d never quite “fit in” and that’s a feeling that is much more common than many would like to admit.
So, how fitting is it then that the “weird chick” turns out to be the courageous and sexy heroine, and with some pretty nifty magical powers to boot? C’mon admit it… it would be great to discover we have some sort of magical ability or super power and if you say you haven’t fantasized about the possibility, well then you’re just not embracing your inner freak: we’d all like to be “something more” than we think we are.
Which brings me to what I think is the real attraction of True Blood – the idea that there really was something “more” out there… Wouldn’t it be cool if our world wasn’t quite as predictable as we’ve all made it out to be. We’ve grown up with the myths and tales of things lurking in the shadows and while our grown up minds tell us that those stories are just that – stories – we still hang on to the idea that magic and the supernatural might exist. And we do so because we find the possibilities intriguing.
Because in that world, life isn’t just about paying your bills and going to work. It’s about adventure, excitement and certainly the unknown. And perhaps that’s what we’re all really seeking… maybe that’s the real draw of True Blood…
Maybe we’re just looking for a way to spice things up… and what could be spicier than some fangs?
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