True Blood Speculation
Having just finished the fifth Sookie book, Dead as a Doornail, I started thinking about where they’re going to go with True Blood, now that they’re nearing the end of the arcs based on Living Dead in Dallas. Speculation on the show with spoilers through that book, the short story in the Bite anthology, and this week’s episode.
I haven’t sought out any major spoilers but I have picked up a couple of minor ones - just stuff in Entertainment Weekly. So I know that there’s for sure going to be a third season. I know that the so-called “love triangle” between Bill and Sookie and Eric will be a factor. I know that Bill “isn’t going anywhere”. And I know that we’re going to meet the Queen of Louisiana very soon.
All of these things lead me to believe that we’ve been getting even more of Club Dead in this season than I originally thought. I had initially wondered how they were going to get Lorena to kidnap Bill since Eric was the one that called her in. But by doing it that way, they were able to create a wedge between Bill and Sookie without the angst of Bill being actually kidnapped. And they don’t need to introduce the vampire database storyline, which definitely wouldn’t translate well to the screen. I think there will definitely still be a showdown between Sookie and Lorena, resulting in the former staking the latter, but I’m not certain if there will be actual infidelity leading to Sookie then dumping Bill’s dead ass. I don’t know that it matters though.
Here’s where I think most of that third book is going to be cut: Alcide Herveaux and all of the Weres. Part of my reasoning is that Eric helped Sookie escape from the Fellowship of the Sun, instead of that shifter woman that was working there. Yes, we know that there *are* other shifters since Daphne told Sam about them but so far it’s not that huge of a focus. Also, I’m like 90% sure that having Luke show up strapped with a stake-n-silver bomb is going to take the place of the attempted staking where Sookie stopped it and ended up staked her own idiotic self. Now, I know that Alcide seems like a big character to cut but I truly don’t think it will change all that much of the narrative. You can still have the Witch Wars without knowing all of the allies that get brought in to fight. You can still have the Calvin Norris and the werepanthers. You can still have the serial shifter shootings. And frankly, if Debbie and her bitchy, murderous jealousy is removed from the picture, the recent melodramatic territorial near-girlfight between Lorena and Sookie makes even more sense, as a stand-in for Sookie versus Debbie.
I definitely think that Dead to the World’s plot of Eric getting cursed with amnesia and the ensuing battle with the witches is a more logical storyline to follow. It really lines up more closely with some of the themes that have been introduced in the show and with some of the new characters created for the show. Beautiful, crazy Amy brought in the hippie, Wiccan, earth-mother elements of nature worship and compelling, scary Jeanette brought in the hidden, Voodoun dark-magic elements of demon possession. Even though they were both scam artists in their own way and denying it to themselves while protesting their own truth-finding. Regardless, I think that wiping Eric’s memory is the key to the love triangle and is definitely a plot element they can’t miss. Ooh, plus it should make for interesting interactions with Lafayette!
It’s a little bit harder to speculate on what the show will do with the characters whose roles have been significantly expanded from the source material. I think Tara’s will be the easiest transition to make. I expect Maryanne’s maenad arc to still end in a blaze, with Tara remembering everything she did. This will make her even more broken down and open to bad influence than she already was, boozing it up after her and her mother’s exorcisms. So I think she’ll still end up the kept woman of a Bad Vampire, though they’ll probably skip the older gentleman she was dating first and go straight to abusive Mickey from “Dead as a Doornail”. Since that ended thanks to assistance from Eric, it’ll tie in better.
I don’t think it matters how closely they hew to the order of the books for some of these other plot elements. It seems to me like they took the series as a whole to develop the townsfolk of Bon Temps and do general world building. As I read each book I get the sense that the character dossiers included everything up front that I’m only learning as it comes. Like Andy Bellefluer. His behavior in the series matches much better with the Andy that witnessed the confession of Sweetie the shifter killer and the post-shooting transformation of one of the victims. He knows there’s weird shit going down but he still wants there to be order and control. And that lines up with Andy trying to provide an alibi for Sam, even though it sounds batshit crazy.
Of course that also means that I could be way the fuck off if they decide to work with something from one of the later books I haven’t gotten to yet.
I was wondering about Jessica possibly being a stand-in for Sookie’s cousin Hadley. In the short story “One Word Answer” we learn that Hadley, before her untimely demise, had ceased to be a druggie prostitute and was instead a newly made vampire. A, ahem, favorite of the Queen’s. Initially I thought that Jessica was there to provide a window into the ideas just lightly touched upon in that story. What it’s like to be made after the reveal of vamp existence, being able to maintain a largely modern existence with fewer major lifestyle changes, other than diet of course, than vamps of some age. But now I’m thinking Jessica might actually end up taking on even more of Hadley’s role and actually end up the consort of the Queen. Because she was so distraught over her everlasting renewable virginity. And because she and Hoyt really are adorable and frickin what Jacob always says: everything you always wanted, in the worst possible way.
I don’t have that much spec for Sam or the other Merlotte’s regulars. And I haven’t decided yet if they’ll really make Jason a werepanther or not. I imagine that’ll depend on where his story goes now that he’s left the Fellowship. Clearly there’s still more in store for Lafayette, since he’s being forced to return to his V selling ways, without knowing the why behind the demand. I’d like it if they introduced Quinn the tiger but I don’t know how he fits outside of the Herveaux’s pack just yet. I’m sure there are some other characters I haven’t even gotten to yet that could come up and I’ll think they were new for the show. But so far it feels like they’re sticking to basically two books per season, more or less, with fluidity in the text’s timeline. And that seems like a decent pace.
I haven’t sought out any major spoilers but I have picked up a couple of minor ones - just stuff in Entertainment Weekly. So I know that there’s for sure going to be a third season. I know that the so-called “love triangle” between Bill and Sookie and Eric will be a factor. I know that Bill “isn’t going anywhere”. And I know that we’re going to meet the Queen of Louisiana very soon.
All of these things lead me to believe that we’ve been getting even more of Club Dead in this season than I originally thought. I had initially wondered how they were going to get Lorena to kidnap Bill since Eric was the one that called her in. But by doing it that way, they were able to create a wedge between Bill and Sookie without the angst of Bill being actually kidnapped. And they don’t need to introduce the vampire database storyline, which definitely wouldn’t translate well to the screen. I think there will definitely still be a showdown between Sookie and Lorena, resulting in the former staking the latter, but I’m not certain if there will be actual infidelity leading to Sookie then dumping Bill’s dead ass. I don’t know that it matters though.
Here’s where I think most of that third book is going to be cut: Alcide Herveaux and all of the Weres. Part of my reasoning is that Eric helped Sookie escape from the Fellowship of the Sun, instead of that shifter woman that was working there. Yes, we know that there *are* other shifters since Daphne told Sam about them but so far it’s not that huge of a focus. Also, I’m like 90% sure that having Luke show up strapped with a stake-n-silver bomb is going to take the place of the attempted staking where Sookie stopped it and ended up staked her own idiotic self. Now, I know that Alcide seems like a big character to cut but I truly don’t think it will change all that much of the narrative. You can still have the Witch Wars without knowing all of the allies that get brought in to fight. You can still have the Calvin Norris and the werepanthers. You can still have the serial shifter shootings. And frankly, if Debbie and her bitchy, murderous jealousy is removed from the picture, the recent melodramatic territorial near-girlfight between Lorena and Sookie makes even more sense, as a stand-in for Sookie versus Debbie.
I definitely think that Dead to the World’s plot of Eric getting cursed with amnesia and the ensuing battle with the witches is a more logical storyline to follow. It really lines up more closely with some of the themes that have been introduced in the show and with some of the new characters created for the show. Beautiful, crazy Amy brought in the hippie, Wiccan, earth-mother elements of nature worship and compelling, scary Jeanette brought in the hidden, Voodoun dark-magic elements of demon possession. Even though they were both scam artists in their own way and denying it to themselves while protesting their own truth-finding. Regardless, I think that wiping Eric’s memory is the key to the love triangle and is definitely a plot element they can’t miss. Ooh, plus it should make for interesting interactions with Lafayette!
It’s a little bit harder to speculate on what the show will do with the characters whose roles have been significantly expanded from the source material. I think Tara’s will be the easiest transition to make. I expect Maryanne’s maenad arc to still end in a blaze, with Tara remembering everything she did. This will make her even more broken down and open to bad influence than she already was, boozing it up after her and her mother’s exorcisms. So I think she’ll still end up the kept woman of a Bad Vampire, though they’ll probably skip the older gentleman she was dating first and go straight to abusive Mickey from “Dead as a Doornail”. Since that ended thanks to assistance from Eric, it’ll tie in better.
I don’t think it matters how closely they hew to the order of the books for some of these other plot elements. It seems to me like they took the series as a whole to develop the townsfolk of Bon Temps and do general world building. As I read each book I get the sense that the character dossiers included everything up front that I’m only learning as it comes. Like Andy Bellefluer. His behavior in the series matches much better with the Andy that witnessed the confession of Sweetie the shifter killer and the post-shooting transformation of one of the victims. He knows there’s weird shit going down but he still wants there to be order and control. And that lines up with Andy trying to provide an alibi for Sam, even though it sounds batshit crazy.
Of course that also means that I could be way the fuck off if they decide to work with something from one of the later books I haven’t gotten to yet.
I was wondering about Jessica possibly being a stand-in for Sookie’s cousin Hadley. In the short story “One Word Answer” we learn that Hadley, before her untimely demise, had ceased to be a druggie prostitute and was instead a newly made vampire. A, ahem, favorite of the Queen’s. Initially I thought that Jessica was there to provide a window into the ideas just lightly touched upon in that story. What it’s like to be made after the reveal of vamp existence, being able to maintain a largely modern existence with fewer major lifestyle changes, other than diet of course, than vamps of some age. But now I’m thinking Jessica might actually end up taking on even more of Hadley’s role and actually end up the consort of the Queen. Because she was so distraught over her everlasting renewable virginity. And because she and Hoyt really are adorable and frickin what Jacob always says: everything you always wanted, in the worst possible way.
I don’t have that much spec for Sam or the other Merlotte’s regulars. And I haven’t decided yet if they’ll really make Jason a werepanther or not. I imagine that’ll depend on where his story goes now that he’s left the Fellowship. Clearly there’s still more in store for Lafayette, since he’s being forced to return to his V selling ways, without knowing the why behind the demand. I’d like it if they introduced Quinn the tiger but I don’t know how he fits outside of the Herveaux’s pack just yet. I’m sure there are some other characters I haven’t even gotten to yet that could come up and I’ll think they were new for the show. But so far it feels like they’re sticking to basically two books per season, more or less, with fluidity in the text’s timeline. And that seems like a decent pace.