Cannot be Bored Reviews and discussion on books, movies, video games and food

TV: True Blood season 3 finale

I have a love/hate relationship with True Blood. After last night's season finale, most of the love is gone.

The biggest problem with True Blood is that the main character is completely unlikable. She started off okay back in the first season. Sookie Stackhouse, the feisty waitress who could read minds - it had potential. Over the seasons she devolved into a shrieking banshee. Her cries of "Beel!" and and screaming of obscenities are only interrupted when she has a chance to make doe eyes at any attractive man who crosses her path (and there are a lot of them in this show). What has kept me watching True Blood for three years are the occasional brilliant, neurotic moments that usually involve the supporting cast. These moments seem to be happening less often lately.

*Here be spoilers*

I found last night's finale to be anti-climactic and boring.  Here's the breakdown:

The Good:

• Maxine and Summer's intervention for Hoyt. The crazy ones are always good for a laugh.
• Jessica and Hoyt. They got a happy ending,I'm sure it won't last though.
• Evil Bill. Seeing Bill take advantage of the cement situation with Eric and show a little brass was a nice break from his usual insipidness.
• Terry. Still a complete sweetheart.

The Bad:

• PTSD Tara. Please let something good happen to her next season. Watching her fall apart every episode got dull real fast.
• Sookie. Resolute as always:
  • "I hate you!"
  • "I love you"
  • "I rescind your invitation"
  • "Come on in"
  • "I rescind your invitation again"
  • "Eric can't die!"
  • "Oh, you killed Eric? Meh".
• Hotshot. I can't even describe how little I care about the Jason and Hotshot plot-line. I never bought the relationship between Jason and Crystal, and all the time spent on it seems like a waste. I think I know where it's going next season but it's still not interesting.
• Pam. Her one-liners are becoming much less biting. Her character needs to be either fleshed out or only brought out on special occasions.
• Lafayette. He's spent the last few episodes freaking out over the visions he's having but everything is okay when he finds out his boyfriend is a witch.
• Sam. He may have shot his annoying little brother. Somehow I can't make myself care about that one.

The Stupid:

• Telepathy. Sookie's mind reading ability is  rather sporadic. She didn't pick up anything from Tara before she left?
• Terrible special effects. Bill flying out of Sookie's house, Bill and Queen Sophie-Anne's terrible slow-mo fight, vampires zooming about in a blur in every second scene.
• Godric the vampire angel?
• The end. Sookie goes off to fairyland. That's the cliffhanger? Really?

Season three really seemed like a non-season after a certain point. It started off strong: Russel was the best villain the show has seen, Franklin Mott was probably my favorite character of the series, and we got to see some of Eric's back story. Around the halfway mark it seemed to lose direction and split into so many different story lines it was hard to keep track of them all. It seems like most of the last half of the season was just build-up for season 4. Unfortunately, nothing that was built up has managed to catch my interest.

Rating:

I'm still upset Franklin was so underused

What did you think of the finale?