True Blood Had Infantile Romance and Lots of Kitsh, But Also Tackled Vital Problems

If you haven't watched True Blood, the first few minutes will immediately tell you what series you're about to watch. A pair of lovebirds – a golden boy and his gorgeous girlfriend – show up in the store and make fun of vampires. A salesman dressed all in black, resembling Dracula in appearance, pretends to be one of the bloodsuckers – the tension rises... only to turn out that he was also pulling a prank. The third client is observing the situation, giving the impression of a country bumpkin who simply likes to guzzle beer in front of the television. However, he's the real vampire, and intimidates all the rest with some harsh language. The setting presented in this way proves to be dynamic and deceptive.

They aren't vampires completely for real, but they aren't vampires to be taken lightly either. HBO produced a series that combined cheesy fantasy and horror themes from teen romance with 18+ content: violence, sex, vulgarity – and they managed to create a world full of tension. The resulting cocktail hits you like a Bloody Mary.

Once upon a time, there was a girl...

Every naive teen romance needs a focal point. The intersection of the equator and the prime meridian. Someone who will be a bastion of morality – a clear guidepost for creatures of darkness to follow the rules. Although straightening out twisted vampires isn't an easy task, it's undertaken by Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), who can read human thoughts.

And her, I couldn't stand! But I'm not the only one – a quick glance at a forum and I can already see the unfavorable comments about Sookie. People argue that she falls into the trap of being a "Mary Sue" – an idealized character, at least according to those around her. This is because viewers perceive her higher morality, arrogance, or naiveté as excessive and consider them flaws. Yet it's hard not to get the impression that we weren't supposed to adore the protagonist. Somehow, it's refreshing to see this sweet-faced woman thrown into a dirty, violent world and catching the eye of every handsome man who appears on the screen.

True Blood, creator Alan Bell, HBO, 2008–2014.

At some point, it no longer matters what kind of personality Sookie has. The competition for her heart begins and we start and rooting for various candidates. Will she choose a friend who has long been in love with her? Or maybe one of the vampires involved in plots straight out of Beauty and the Beast? One redemption arc is particularly wonderful, like something out of a romantic comedy, and since it concerns a guy who played the role of the most sinister lord in the lands for a long time – the hype only grows; this is one of my favorite and most surprising transformations in the series.

Gothic South confronted with otherness

The situation in True Blood is a bit unusual. Everyone knows about the existence of vampires. They can even buy synthetic blood in stores! Which of course doesn't mean that they gave up drinking the real one. Revealing bloodsuckers has various consequences, including those exhibiting some sharp humor.

It turns out, for instance, that vampire blood can be used as Viagra. Moreover, it's a kind of drug, very addictive at that. The entire world, despite the presence of fantastic elements, revolves around darkness rather than light – loveless sex, alcoholism, violence, religious themes, racism, or people kept in a basement are commonplace occurrence here and have been influenced by the presence of the fantastic, ages-old creatures.

These elements of the world of True Blood interact with each other, and none of them seem random. The story is set in a rural town in Louisiana. As you can guess – its inhabitants are rather conservative, so they don't think warmly of vampires. Yet... the forbidden fruit tempts. Thus, the stereotypical South clashes with Gothic, creating a unique cultural concoction.

True Blood, creator Alan Bell, HBO, 2008–2014.

As guilty pleasure, the HBO series was quite revolutionary in its time. The show consistently aimed for a unique approach, also in the case of homosexual characters. Some people complain today that LGBT themes can be forced and unnecessary. However, I don't think anyone would dare to say the same thing about an African-American character like Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis). He isn't just a likable person and the good spirit of this series, but also a man who reveals the apparent simplicity and darkness of the surroundings. In one of the first scenes, his orientation, and the fact that he’s a cook, offends people in the diner and causes homophobic comments, which provokes Lafayette to deliver a speech about the cultural and historical contributions homosexuals have made to the world in which everyone lives.

In other words, True Blood, on the one hand, plays with stereotypes, and on the other, challenges and examines some very serious problems. Ultimately, it doesn't lead to the thesis that conservative places will remain insulated from any semblance of progress. Whether we're talking about tolerance towards homosexuals and non-Caucasians, vampires, or werewolves, change is possible, and the South doesn't have to be backward.

Guilty pleasure, serious stuff

Oh, there was some stupidity in this series, for sure. Sookie wasn't the only one who managed to irritate the audience with her behavior – the local Edward Cullen, i.e. Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) had his fair share of sins. However, this is precisely the charm of this kind of production: consciously playing kitsch and stereotypes. Here, the mentioned convention was implemented not only for a greater purpose, such as the creation of a Gothic South but also for unrestrained entertainment.

True Blood has space for serious social topics. In the storyline of Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), we saw how devastating alcoholism can be. I remember the discomfort accompanying the relationship of this character with her mother, dealing with addiction. Lettie Mae Thornton (Adina Porter) convincingly portrayed an temperate alcoholic, attributing her problem to the a demon supposedly inhabiting her body. This reflects the rationalization and the inadmissibility of facing the real problem, which is in the psyche. And so a person finds ostensible solace in drinking and causes damage to people around her.

True Blood, creator Alan Bell, HBO, 2008–2014.

As an HBO series, the production stands at a high level of quality. I suppose that if the literary original (True Blood, based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris) had been picked up by the CW television network, we would have ended up with a mediocre romance – lacking in sharpness and an exceptional cast. Criminal plots, intrigues, plot twists, discoveries, and humorous scenes – even if these elements were crazy, everything in this cauldron could be justified. However, the final product was only tarnished with the last seasons.

That's right – the sixth and seventh seasons have stripped this series of its distinctive charm. For some viewers, the drop in quality occurred earlier, but it was only then that I began to clearly show that the essence of the characters had been lost and their entire development had been squandered. The plot started to feel cheap, and I continued watching the subsequent episodes just to see where the characters would end up. Unfortunately, the answers were also disappointing.

True Blood, creator Alan Bell, HBO, 2008–2014.

However, I have plenty of positive memories of this show. I started watching True Blood when just the few first seasons were available. So, I devoured them in two weeks; I simply couldn't deny myself this pleasure. Episodes were full of cliffhangers. Sometimes, there would be a grotesque scream, heralding a new and gruesome sight. I return to the opening credits – one of the best in the history of television, presenting 90s-style frames and outlining the content of the series: brutality, sex, and religious themes, with the contribution of the country song Bad Things by Jace Everett. It captured the essence of the swampy, unforgiving Louisiana inhabited by vampires perfectly, as it did the seductive allure that True Blood has enjoyed for years.

Krzysztof Lewandowski

Krzysztof Lewandowski

He studied journalism, Polish philology, and psychology at UKSW, UW, and SWPS. There he wrote, among other things, a diploma thesis dedicated to the contemporary role of black-and-white cinema. Has been working at GRYOnline.pl since August 2021. Writes articles and reviews of games, movies, and series, and since July 2023, he is a content creator specialist in the Paid Products department. He is the author of the scientific article "Dynamika internetu a zachowania jezykowe" published in the book "Relacje w cyberprzestrzeni". He co-created a dictionary of local names of the Wawer district of Warsaw. Tried his hand at poetry, but in the future he would prefer to write a novel. Started writing online on the GameExe.pl portal at the age of 14. First, he reviewed books, but he didn't stop there and on various Internet portals he reviewed games, movies, series, and comics. He likes surrealist motifs and RPGs the most.