TRUE BLOOD - Season 7

[SonofRobbieJ]

There was a line that was something like, 'He was my first...' and then he trailed off. It may not have been the word 'first,' but it was something that heavily implied a relationship somewhat more than just friendship. Plus, the father called him a 'hippie faggot' so there's that.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Yeah, I thought the story about the friend was supposed to indicate there was a gay romance, especially when it ended with the dad calling him a "hippie faggot." The whole scene seemed very charged, so I do think that's where the storyline is headed. Very left field indeed.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I was kinda pretty high when I watched it so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

I don't know, Phyllis, I was too and I caught it :-p However, I was looking for it since I wanted to know what was the storyline that Luke Grimes left the show for.

[JerseyGirl2]

I think the line was, "He and I were..." and then trailed off. I got it, too.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I AM MOURNING TARA I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING

[JerseyGirl2]

I disagree with those who say there was nowhere else for her character to go! Tara and Pam FOREVER!!!!

[EricMontreal22]

It's too bad they replaced Grimes with one of my least favorite soap actors, but it's not that big a deal, and he seems fine so far. Many people online seem to not even realize it's a recast, just a different character (the same thing happened with the recast this year with Game of Thrones...) It's about time Lafayette gets some action--I just hope they don't tease a pointless "Is he gay/bi" mystery through more than one or so episodes--TB likes to tease gay relationships and often not really commit, at least with the men, but, we'll see...

My main complaint about the premier was... it was kinda boring I thought. Which is not what I expected.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I agree Lafayette deserves some booty.

[lovepuppy]

I agree, I don't think Tara has met the "true death" yet. I posted on twitter that night something to the effect of "I predict Tara isn't really dead, that the vamps took her and someone else wound up a puddle of goo on Lettie Mae. How likely?" and someone replied to me, "VERY. I can't say anymore." Upon doing some research, that person is a talent manager in LA, and I believe, that of either Rutina's or Adina Porter's, but can't find any confirmation on that. Anyway, Rutina has been saying post-mortem-types of things in interviews since this episode, esp. "dead doesn't mean gone on TB," which we know is true, as with Godric. And, some other poster said "most characters are dead," which is also true. AND, the thing that makes the most sense to me is that someone pointed out that Pam seemed totally unphased by the whole incident, so...was there really a (death) incident for Tara? As someone else mentioned, her name is still in the credits. Even if we purists are wrong, looks like we'll still get plenty of flashbacks of Tara, if that's the direction they're going. I don't agree with those who say "the show runners never knew what to do with Tara." Rutina is such a dynamic actress they probably figured, "what CAN'T we do with Tara?" But I'd miss her if she's really dead this season.

I like how Reverend Daniels put up little baby vamp Willa in their shed, since she has nowhere to go, with Tara and Eric (her maker), missing. Too short of a scene, though. that stuff with Pam in Morocco bugged me. I was thinking, "really?" There was no explanation as to how she thought to go there.

Loved the stuff with Jess and Adilyn (save for Adilyn's stupid name), and that young actress who plays Adilyn is pretty good, actually.

The one thing that really bugged me though, was the re-casting of James. When I saw that actor, I had to do some googling, because I was really looking forward to seeing Grimes and Jess after all their tender scenes last season. This new actor is a hottie, for sure, but his acting is so...stilted, wooden. And he paused in weird places. (People are always bugging about how Julia Roberts pauses in weird places, but that doesn't stand out to me as much as this guy's delivery did.) I, too, read the article that said Luke Grimes read scripts and asked to be let out of his contract because he originally wanted to work with Woll, and apparently they're shifting to a gay storyline with him, thus removing him from probably most scenes with her. The way he told his backstory was cryptic (not helped by the pauses in weird places), which would have been weirder had I not noticed the way he looked at Lafayette right away in the bar, when someone "assigned" him to Lafayette in the vampire-human-protection deal. They kind of made eyes at each other right away. But then--why bring him in as Jessica's love interest last season? I don't usually bug about semantics like that, esp. in hindsight, but this particular arc bothers me. Not sure if anyone else feels that way. Plus, Lafayette's kind of a multi-culti guy. He's suddenly going to fall for Typical White American Beefcake? A Vietnam vet, to boot...?

[EricMontreal22]

I'm used to seeing Nathan Parsons (James) use an annoying Aussie accent for years on General Hospital--to be fair I think it was his natural accent lol--and then have a really poorly written role on Bunheads, so his delivery this time didn't particularly bother me. I do sorta wonder why they don't just create a new role? I mean I know lots of people like Grimes as James--I did--but it's not like we got to know the character very well, and they could have just explained that he moved on in the 6 month interval, or whatever it was. Parson/sJames is featured in Jessica's first blog, so I assume they will build some drama with her and him. The actors are not all that similar--even weirder was they included a brief clip of Grimes in the long and confusing "previously on" segment, which just served to remind me how much of last year's story I forgot. (I was thinking that Grimes played gay on Brothers and Sisters already, but I think I just barely remember his role as an illegitimate sibling, the show was dropping so many stories by that point.)

I'm a little confused as to why now the entire town seems to blame Sookie for everything bad that's happened. I know certain characters always did--but the ENTIRE town? I mean isn't the entire world at this stage meant to be having trouble with Hep-Vampires? I do agree about Pam--I guess we're meant to think she's been searching everywhere, but Morocco? DId she already check out Sweden?

[ErikJ972]

How come Jessica has such a hard time controlling herself around Andy's daughters but never had the urge to eat Sookie? Isn't her blood supposed to be the fayest of the fay or something?

[FindingNamo]

I could be wrong because all the plot points are a big blob in my memory but weren't all the vamps starving because the True Blood had all been tainted?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I don't think she's supposed to be the fayest of the fay, I think it was just virtually no vampires had ever smelled anything like her before. Adawhatever is way more faerie than Sookie.

[JerseyGirl2]

Sookie's only 1/4 fae. She's from a royal line, or whatever, but no, she's just barely fae. The others were 1/2.

I do agree about Pam--I guess we're meant to think she's been searching everywhere, but Morocco? DId she already check out Sweden?

Don't I wish!

[ArtMan]

In the new issue of TV Guide, in the cheers and jeers section, they cheer Tara's death. They claim Tara has been "a pain in the neck for years".

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

She's not even a quarter fay, though, is she? That came from her grandfather and he wasn't full-fay.

[JerseyGirl2]

True. She's got a touch of fae. Like so many of my friends.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Ha!

Touch of Fae sounds like a massage parlor on the Faerie realm.

[FindingNamo]

Not to mention a Grateful Dead song.

[lovepuppy]

Sookie is 1/8 fae from her grandfather, Adele's (Gran) husband.

Adilyn is half, so...stronger fae attraction from vamps, I guess.

[Wynbish]

Does anyone remember if, when Jessica first met Sookie, if she had the classic "What are you? - I'm a waitress!" exchange? When Jessica met Claude, she practically pounced.

[EricMontreal22]

"I could be wrong because all the plot points are a big blob in my memory but weren't all the vamps starving because the True Blood had all been tainted?"

Yeah--which is why the "healthy" vamps who aren't infected with Hep V or whatever from the tainted Tru Blood are now paired with humans to protect them and feed from them. But Hep V has mutated so those vamps now live longer and are more dangerous than the initially infected...

....or something....

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Is Luke Grimes a bit of a pill? I remember him not "gelling" with the cast of BROTHERS & SISTERS as the main reason for him not being dropped from the show by David Marshall Grant.

[EricMontreal22]

He could be? In his defense that entire illegitimate Walker child storyline was pretty much a bust from the word go (back when they thought it was whatshername from Revenge :P ) and by the time he entered the show the writers did not seem committed to playing it out at all. But there may be some truth to that. He does apparently come from a devoutly religious family--though if he's doing films like 50 Shades of Grey and the slasher movies he's done, maybe that doesn't reflect his religion.

Vulture offers up one of the few positive takes on this season. I think theyhave some valid points (I certainly agree that the shows appeal has always been about its straight-faced gothic melodrama craziness and not a love triangle or big romance,) though I draw the line at this being the best season premier ever. http://www.vulture.com/2014/06/true-blood-recap-season-7-premiere.html

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

I'm so turned off by the fact that he balked at playing a gay man. Same thing happened with that kid Thomas Dekker, who refused to play gay in HEROES...of course now he's one of the kids supposed to be in the bound-to-be-awful STONEWALL movie directed by Roland Emmerich (ugh).