True Blood - Season 2

True Blood's second season in just over a year was a definite improvement over the first, although the show is still more enjoyable schlock than actual quality entertainment. The main reason for the improvement is the feeling that stuff actually happened this time. Sure, the first season had the thread of a serial killer lurking around town and killing people who got too close to vampires, but it was a subplot in the background until the very end while everyone else just went around screwing each other. Season two has an actual main plot, maybe not the most rapidly paced one ever, but it's there. It's actually funny when I see comments about the show not treading water, because I feel like it does as much as a drama with an actual serialized story can. I liked this batch of episodes a fair amount, but it would have been better if it was more like eight episodes instead of twelve.

The main points covered this time are Jason joining a cultish anti-vampire church, a supernatural being introduced last season turning Bon Temps into a haven of debauchery for evil purposes, and a brewing war between said church and the vampire leadership in the region that just sort of gets abandoned in the last few episodes so there can be a proper, unencumbered climax. The show is still pretty sensationalist and ham-fisted, but its main problem is that a lot of the cast kinda sucks. I mean, let's be honest. Sookie and Bill suck. Tara sucks. Sam kinda sucks. Gran sucked when she was alive. Tara's mom sucks. Eggs sucks big time. By sucks, I both mean the person can't act and the character is irritating. On the other hand, the show has enough enjoyable cast members that I don't regret watching it. Jessica and Hoyt are okay. Jason and Lafayette rule. Andy and Eric are good. We already know season three's coming, and I look forward to whatever wacky crap comes next.