EPISODE REVIEW: Season 1 Episode 1: Strange Love

I really do love the series and I find it very original even though it covers an age old topic (Vampires). A lot of the notes I made while watching over the first episode again, may appear to be very negative, however they’re not meant to be. They are merely just observations I’ve made whilst watching.

So to the beginning.

Season 1 Episode 1: Strange Love

It starts with a young couple driving in the car, the young male asleep whilst the young woman is driving. She gets bored and starts playing with him, he’s enjoying and then yells stop when he see’s a sign for TruBlood. The two in the car seem to have no purpose in the story, (neither does the shopkeeper or the vampire) except to introduce Vampires and TruBlood into the story. Why? Surely it would have been better to use someone who is going to appear again in the story later on as apposed to just a bunch of randomers? Not really a big important thing but it left me feeling a little confused, as to who they were or what they were about, and it was only after a couple more episodes that I realized they weren’t going to reappear in the story and were only there to start it off.

After this it cuts to the series intro, I’ll comment on this here and not mention it again as it’s the same throughout the whole series.  I really liked the intro, it seems to show images of everything that is touched on in the series, Sordidness, Righteousness, Victims of racism, perpetrators of racism, and seduction. All of these things are relevant to the story however, they use images from our own history that helps gives a sense of realism to the whole thing and maybe (and this is just one writers opinion) just makes the story a little bit more believable subconsciously.

So onto Characters, I’ve not gone into depth on them here as they are brand new at this point so I’ve only given a quick first impression of them, however I’ll talk more about them individually as the story goes on.

Sookie:  Main character of the story, my first impression was sweet and innocent little all American girl but there is more
to her than meets the eye.

Tara:  Man has this girl got issues, serious ATTITUDE!

Arlene: I did dismiss her straight away as a bimbo, but that impression will change slightly as the story unfolds.

Dawn: This girl is a total tart, and is way too in love with herself.

The Ratrays:  Scum of the earth, total hicks.

Lafayette: I loved his character I thought he was hilarious, definitely the comic side of the show.

Jay: Total tart exactly the same as Dawn, way too innocent though and has definitely got trouble coming his way… poor guy attracts trouble.

Maudette: a very 2D character, only purpose in the show, is to show the idea of fang bangers, and then to implicate
Jason.

Bill: Old, Mysterious, oozes sexiness. (why is it that they put someone in a show, any show, and when they’re the sexy hot guys that all the women are to fall for, they dress them down? but not only that, it works… it seems to make them appeal to women all the more!… if I dressed down like that women would just ignore me. Yet with women they always dress them up? Hollywood works in mysterious ways, but damn they know what they’re doing).

I have to say I like the idea of humans trying to cater to vampires (fang-bangers) because they all want that amazing sex but I thought the idea of the Ratrays trying to trap Bill should have had more effort put into it. Bill is how old? he’s been around the block enough surely to avoid such idiots? (though later the story of Godric did make me reconsider this statement)

Jays character is a bit weird and conflicted, at the start he gets all turned on at the idea of sex with a vampire, and thinks it’s a bit fantastic, but then goes a bit mad at the idea of Sookie getting involved with a Vampire customer. Then seems to get a little turned on when describing fang-bangers to Gran and Sookie?

Sookie’s reaction to Bill is a little weird also, 1 minute she’s cool calm and collected and the next she’s a giggly teenager. I suppose in someways that could be realistic, but I’m not 100% convinced.

Well that was pretty much it for episode 1, like I said some of the comments may come across negative, but don’t get me wrong I love the story and find it very addictive. I think mostly for the realism in it. I can kind of relate it to real life which for me makes a story like this, though I’m sure there are other things that make it for other people, I definitely hope whatever ingredients are making the show work, keeping being put into the shows to make it a long standing story.

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