After last season’s ‘fucking lame’ revelation, True Blood could have gone down a whole new road and easily become laughable, thankfully that didn’t happen, and the latest season of HBO’s impressive vampire drama, True Blood Season 4, is the best the show has been since season one.
Returning to the small southern US town of Bon Temps after a year away (and a brief trip to a magical land) Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Pacquin, X-Men) finds that her now ex-boyfriend Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer, Priest) has ascended to the throne and become the vampire king; a position which leads to a large number of political engagements, and thankfully distances him somewhat from the majority of the action this time around; leaving the pretty young trouble-magnet plenty of time to grow closer to the other vampire in her life; Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard, Straw Dogs).
Still, while the intricate threesome of Bill, Sookie, and Eric, may be one of the main draws for fans (playing the ‘who’s Sookie with this episode?’ game almost makes True Blood what it is), it’s not just a giant episode of Neighbours with fangs. No. There’s much more supernatural goings on in True Blood, and after the werewolf invasion of season three, the vampires, and people, of Bon Temps now have to contend with a gaggle of bloodthirsty witches, led by one Marnie Stonebrook (Fiona Shaw, Harry Potter); a minor witch who’s almost playing at being a Wiccan practitioner, until a resurrected parakeet leads to a visit from a vampire, a life-changing spell, and not only causes her power to grow immensely, but sparks a war between the witches and vampires, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for 400 years.
Of course there’s also a number of side stories involving the various colourful characters of Bon Temps; Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell, Alien vs Predator) has joined a shapeshifter support group and got himself a new girlfriend (Janina Gavnkar, Barbershop) which comes with its own share of problems, his brother Tommy (Marshall Allman, Prison Break) is still looking to find his place in the world, and watches his shifter powers grow to a whole new level, whilst Sheriff Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer, The Wire) battles an addiction to V (vampire blood), and Terry and Arlene (The Princess Diaries’ Todd Lowe, and Doubt‘s Carrie Preston respectively) begin to believe their baby son could either be possessed, or haunted by Arlene’s murderous ex-husband, with surprisingly humourous results.
More important side stories however involve the slow breakdown of relations between the loveable yet frustrated Hoyt Fortenberry (Jim Parrack, Battle Los Angeles) and his vampire girlfriend Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll, Mother’s Day), the kidnapping of Sookie’s brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten, Red Hill) by a pride of panthers, and the journey of Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis, The Help) from an uncertain sceptic, into a fully fledged Wiccan operating medium, who, along with his boyfriend Jesus (Kevin Alejandro, Red State) becomes an instrumental cog in the witches’ war on the vamps.
If this all seems like a lot to fit into a mere 12 hours of TV, that’s because it is, yet even with throwing in a whole new werewolf pack (and a couple of returning wolves from the last series), as well as upping the ante where vampire-human politics are concerned (“it’s a post-Russell Eddington world people”), the writing on this show is simply brilliant, and never becomes bogged-down with all that’s going on; allowing each story exactly the right amount of time it needs to successfully grow, draw you in, further develop the already well-layered characters, and reach that all important payoff.
Payoffs are also handled excellently in True Blood Season 4, and there’s not one plot line that will leave you wanting, disinterested, or dissatisfied. Every episode finishes with an obligatory True Blood cliffhanger (usually involving some form of sex or death, or the threat of impending sex or death), which, like the entire season as a whole, simply leaves you gagging for more blood, sex, fangs and fun; all things True Blood provides in spades.
Every fan will know that all of the returning cast members are able to seamlessly slip into their respective roles, always appear just as vulnerable, cold, angry, surly, dimwitted, or crazy, as they need to be, and bring their characters to life with such ease you’d swear they really are those characters. Newcomers also tend to handle their roles fairly well; Fiona Shaw is fantastically watchable (despite initially being a little annoying) as the confused, angry, and constantly evolving, schizophrenic witch Marine, and the consistently funny and watchable Kristin Bauer van Straten (who plays vampire Pam) also deserves a special mention, as she has some of the best lines in the entire season; providing a welcome change from what’s come before.
Thankfully season 4 also seems to localize True Blood by bringing all of the action to Bon Temps, and despite introducing a whole new faction into the mix (with the witches), many others are toned down (there’s less from the werewolves this time around, no demons, and the fairies are basically ignored) to ensure the show never becomes too cluttered, and keeps the perfect amount of action, drama, suspense, violence, and romance.
As always romance is once again a key factor in this season, with not only numerous sideline stories involves B-characters getting their ends away (or attempting to), but the ever shifting three-way relationship between Bill, Sookie, and Eric once again plays a key part in the show, and this time round gives fans a chance to explore a whole new side to Eric the Viking (which, aside from the visual aspect that will undoubtedly appeal to True Blood’s legions of female fans, is often hilarious, and even makes you feel sorry for the powerful vampire sheriff at times).
You can’t deny there’s a hell of a lot going on in True Blood Season 4, but as the action’s all been localized, all the fat has been trimmed, and there’s not only plenty for everyone to do, but thoroughly engaging, gripping, and well acted, plotlines for every single character, season 4 has to be the very best Bon Temps has to offer; the vampire/witches feud is not only believable, but handled fantastically well, is utterly compelling TV, and has made season 4 it’s easily the best season since True Blood first bled onto our screens in 2008; it’s not only a bloody brilliant TV show, but true must-see TV.
Picture:
Once again the hugely impressive 1080p transfer awarded to the True Blood Season 4 boxset doesn’t disappoint, and matches the immeasurably high-quality of all three previous season’s Blu-ray releases (and the majority of HBO’s other, frankly astounding, transfers); black levels are fantastically deep, inky, and something to be marveled at (an important factor when considering how much of the series has to take place at night, and in dimly lit conditions), while fleshtones remain as strong and natural as ever (people may look a touch warm, but that’s a stylistic choice which is believable for the area, and makes the coolness of the undead skin on offer so effective), colour is superb (especially the striking blood reds), clarity is excellent, and detail on the whole is simply stunning.
True, there may be the odd problem with the transfer; including some of the easiest to miss ringing you’ll ever spot (or miss, as the case will probably be); but thankfully aliasing and blocking are once again nowhere to be seen, and as every frame of True Blood is bathed in a perfectly trademarked level of grain (added to the feel, texture, and realistic look of the transfer), this isn’t just about as good as True Blood could look on Blu-ray, but it’s as good as any series could ever hope to look, and a true benchmark release.
Audio:
Once again coming to Blu-ray with a suitably impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Ma audio track, True Blood Season 4 once again matches the quality of that heard on previous seasons; prioritization is perfect, dialogue is crystal clear (never becoming lost in the show’s hectic action), bass is both powerful and weighty (giving real presence every time it’s effectively used; which is whenever it’s used), directionality is perfectly precise, pans are smooth and sleek, effects are excellently placed, effective, and realistic sounding, and thankfully the rear channels are almost never silent (whether they’re simply filled with the noise of Bon Temps insects during a quiet outdoors scene, bolstering effects, or adding subtle ambience, their constant presence is always felt, and always welcome); creating another audio extravaganza which creates a truly lifelike, 360 degree, listening experience that’s near faultless.
Extras:
Again coming to Blu-ray with a plethora of special featured, the bonus content on True Blood Season 4 shouldn’t fail to impress its fans, and consists of a selection of audio commentaries; with six being available in total, and differing in their quality, but all providing some interesting behind the scenes tidbits; the return of the Enhanced Viewing Mode; a PiP mode (available on all twelve episodes) which is excellently handled, and features character perspectives on the action, flashbacks, flashforwards (explaining how significant certain scenes are), trivia, bios, and more; Inside the Episodes; a fairly dull feature, which takes a couple of minutes per episode to discuss the major goings on in the season; True Blood Lines; a large ‘family tree’ showing how all the characters in the show are connected to one another; and The Final Touches; a lengthier (28 minutes), and more traditional, making of featurette (probably the best inclusion on the set) discussing the season’s main themes, visual effects, deaths, sound design, the score, and more; making for an overall collection of features that should easily satisfy any fan.
The Bottom Line:
When it first bled onto our screens in 2008, True Blood was fresh, original, and a truly welcome change from the sissy vampire world of Twilight that we’ve somehow been forced to grow accustomed to, and while seasons two and three may have veered away from the original season and taken the show down a more sex mad and somewhat cluttered path, season four thankfully brings True Blood back to exactly where we want it to be; in Bon Temps, with vampires once again taking centre stage, and willing to kill anything that gets in their way.
Sex, horror, blood, violence, and sex, it’s all here in True Blood Season 4; realized with some of the best visuals and audio you’re ever likely to see and here on any Blu-ray TV release (as well as being accompanied by some truly extensive and well crafted special features); and with all the drama, fantastic acting, and superb writing (which has thankfully honed True Blood down to an even slicker, and fang-tastically engaging show), which has brilliantly incorporated a gripping, 400-year-long, war into an already great show, this is must-see TV at it’s best, and the best vampire tale anyone has seen for sometime; ignore Underworld. Forget Twilight. Watch True Blood Season 4; it’s the best the show has ever been, a fangbanger’s dream, and TV that has us all gagging for more.
