True Blood, Season 4
I think this season of True Blood, the fourth, may be the best one yet. It seems that Bon Temps, Louisiana, somwhere near Shreveport, is a hotbed of supernatural beings, or "supes." We've already met vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, fairies, and now witches.
The show picks up with our heroine, Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), in fairlyand. It seems nice, but they want her for nefarious purposes, so she escapes. When she's back, she's been gone a year, and everyone thought she was dead. Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), her one-time vampire fiancee, is now King Vampire of Louisiana. Eric Northman, (Alexander Skarsgard) his rival for Sookie's affection, has bought her house.
But a group of Wiccans, led by sad sack Marnie (Fiona Shaw, terrific) has aroused Bill's attention, because they have practiced necromancy. This means they can control the dead, which means they can control vampires. He sends Eric to deal with it, but Marnie casts a spell on him, removing his memory. Sookie saves him, and likes the new Eric so much she falls in love with him.
The theme of this season seems to be people are not who they seem. Several characters are possessed, or impersonated, by other characters, which gives the actors a chance to behave completely differently. Sam (Sam Merlotte), the shapeshifter, has a brother Tommy (Marshall Allman) with the same skill, and he can also impersonate people. He passes himself as Sam, to both comic and tragic effect. Eric, usually sinister and suave, is now like an overgrown puppy dog.
Also, the always entertaining Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) discovers he's a medium, which means dead spirits can inhabit him. Over the season he will be possessed by two different woman.
The main arc of the show is Marnie, though. She summons the spirit of a Spanish woman burned at the stake by vampires in the 1600s. This spirit, Antonia (Paola Turbay) guides Marnie on a path of retribution, which means Sookie, now torn between two suitors, must fight for her vampires. She's aided by her usual gang--Tara (Rutina Wesley), Lafayette, Jason, (Ryan Kwanten), her endearingly dim brother, and Jesus (Kevin Alejandro), Lafayette's boyfriend who also happens to be a male witch, or brujo.
There are several subplots. Jason gets kidnapped by werepanthers, who want his seed to make new ones, and falls for Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) after drinking some of her blood. Problem: she's the girfriend of his best friend, Hoyt (Jim Parrack). Sheriff Andy (Chris Bauer), is hooked on V, or vampire blood. Arlene and Terry (Carrie Preston and Todd Lowe) witness some mysterious goings-on with their new baby. And Alcide, a werewolf who befriended Sookie in season three, has to deal with a new pack, led by the sinister Marcus (Daniel Buran).
As usual, the season ends with several cliff-hangers, but I'll have to wait until next summer to have them revealed. Meanwhile, this season was a lot of fun. I'm sure real Wiccans don't appreciate once again being associated with evil, but I guess it's an occupational hazard. But True Blood, though full of grim violence, never takes itself too seriously. My favorite line of this year's season is when Sookie tells Eric: "You just killed my fairy godmother!"
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