"Perhaps the polarisation of his relationship with Russell into stereotyped gender roles also irritates me - it seems a way for him to allow himself to behave and be treated like a spoilt child rather than an equal partner." While that does make sense, you also have to consider that (in a way) Talbot IS Russell's child. In the True Blood universe, vampires seem to have a lot of control over the other vampires that they make. Not to mention Russell is over 2000 years older than Talbot. In relationships where there is a segnificant age difference, the older person is usually the dominant one (or at least that's what I've found to be true) and I'd think this to be especially true with vampires, since they get more powerful as they get older. I've also read a lot in interviews, about the back story the two actors made up for their characters, that indicates that playing the "house wife" role wasn't necessarily Talbot's choice, but more something he does to keep Russell happy. In the show, Talbot at one point says "Russells a greedy boy, he wants what he wants and he takes it, he's that way with people too." Maybe it's just me, but I took that as a sort of indication that Talbot doesn't have much control over his situation; it's not really a matter of how he allows himself to be treated because in the end he knows he'll just wind up complying with Russell's wishes. As for his lack of reaction to violence, I'd think someone who had spent 700 years feeding on human blood to live probably wouldn't shock easily.
That's a good point, of course as Russell's child, Talbot's relationship with him is fundamentally unequal. Given Russell's personality it is also obvious he wouldn't be able to cope with a partner who challenged him to be treated in that way. Taking on the role of tempermental housewife allows Talbot a measure of control in the relationship as he can throw tantrums and have to be pacified without actually challenging Russell's dominence. I haven't bee read those interviews so I hadn't considered that angle so much. Of course one doesn't expect vampires to be that squeamish about people being killed, as I say I think it was just the contrast between his affectation of delicate feelings e.g. with the cruelty-free blood and his response to ripped up corpses as an assault to the soft-furnishings that made him unsympathetic to me. I suppose though that is the shared medium of communication between him and Russell.
While that does make sense, you also have to consider that (in a way) Talbot IS Russell's child. In the True Blood universe, vampires seem to have a lot of control over the other vampires that they make. Not to mention Russell is over 2000 years older than Talbot. In relationships where there is a segnificant age difference, the older person is usually the dominant one (or at least that's what I've found to be true) and I'd think this to be especially true with vampires, since they get more powerful as they get older.
I've also read a lot in interviews, about the back story the two actors made up for their characters, that indicates that playing the "house wife" role wasn't necessarily Talbot's choice, but more something he does to keep Russell happy.
In the show, Talbot at one point says "Russells a greedy boy, he wants what he wants and he takes it, he's that way with people too." Maybe it's just me, but I took that as a sort of indication that Talbot doesn't have much control over his situation; it's not really a matter of how he allows himself to be treated because in the end he knows he'll just wind up complying with Russell's wishes.
As for his lack of reaction to violence, I'd think someone who had spent 700 years feeding on human blood to live probably wouldn't shock easily.
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