True Blood Season 1, Episode 2: “The First Taste”
Sookie and Bill
As the episode picks up with Sookie being brutally beaten by the Rattrays, Bill steps in to her rescue. Bill murders the pair and frames their deaths as a tornado landing later in the show. Bill crushes their trailer and knocks trees over in their yard. The bodies are found crushed beneath their home. The police seem to suspect that a vampire could be behind all of it, and imply this to Sookie when questioning her about her run-ins with the Rattrays.
Sookie, after the beating she’d taken, is nearly dead. Bill rips open his wrist and has Sookie drink from him. Sookie’s only question is “I won’t become a vampire, will I?” We can see what she is really concerned with here. In the face of death, she values her humanity.
Sookie heals from Bill’s blood and begins to have superhuman senses. She can smell a cracker under a chair as rotting food. She wonders why no one else can smell it. Doctors do not know that vampire blood can heal humans and increase their senses. Bill says he’d like to keep it that way and Sookie nods. After Sookie is healed, Sookie and Bill walk back to her car where Sookie asks Bill to speak to her grandmother and her history group about the Civil War, to which he agrees.
Jason
The police force Jason to watch the video of his escapades with Maudette. Jason breaks down as he watches himself strangle Maudette on the tape. The tape keeps playing to reveal Maudette laughing, calling Jason a moron, and cutting off the camera. Jason didn’t do it. Jason is ecstatic to learn this and tells the police they should look into the vampire on the other sex tape as a suspect. The police tell Jason they did not find another tape as the scene of the crime.
After Jason learns he did not kill Maudette, he pays a visit to another female companion, Dawn. Dawn works at the bar with Sookie and is a known ex-girlfriend of Jason’s. Jason seeks refuge in her arms and the pair aggressively have sex. Nevermind that Jason almost killed someone doing so…
The next morning the pair wake up and Jason notices bite marks on Dawn’s neck and is infuriated that she would sleep with a vampire.
Tara
In this episode, the viewer sees Tara return home to her mother. Tara’s mother is drunk and fights her, hitting her on the forehead with a liquor bottle. Tara leaves and goes to a party with Lafayette.
Sookie, Bill, Tara, Jason, and Sookie’s Grandmother
Bill comes to the Stackhouse home and answers Sookie’s grandmother’s questions about the Civil War and the Stackhouse and Compton ancestors. Afterwards, Bill asks Sookie’s grandmother if he and Sookie can go on a walk. Jason tries to forbid them, but Gran insists that if it is okay with Sookie, it is okay with her and it’s her house. Gran is a seriously badass character. She does things her way and is accepting of how others do theirs.
As Sookie and Bill walk, we learn of how vampires can glamour humans, making them do anything they want for them to later forget such events. Sookie quizzes Bill on his powers: he cannot levitate, turn invisible, or turn into a bat. The scene gets heated and the two begin to make out. Bill’s fangs come out and they decide it best to walk home.
The End
Jason is tied up in Dawn’s bed as she gets ready for work. She reveals that she plans to leave him this way all day until she returns from her shift. Dawn leaves and Jason yanks at the fabric tying him to the headboard.
Sookie watches the news where an Anti-Vampire Reverend and his family, including his wife and baby, have been killed in a car accident. She knows how vampires can manipulate a scene to show what they want it to, evident in the way Bill planted the tornado cause of death for the Rattrays. Sookie drives to Bill’s house where an unknown car sits in the driveway. Three vampires – one is the tattooed vampire from Maudette’s sex tape – with their fangs out answer the door.
The Verdict
This episode is the first in which we truly get the see the nature of Bill’s powers as well as Tara’s mother’s alcoholism. These two pieces of information create a more dynamic character sketch of both of these characters. Bill becomes more complex as we learn he can do awful things, but doesn’t usually. He is capable of much more, but is trying to live a more downplayed existence. With Tara, her mother’s alcoholism explains why she has such a hard exterior shell. That, and the fact that she’s in love with Jason and doesn’t have the guts to say so.
While we are all glad Jason didn’t kill Maudette, Jason as a character is so one dimensional. He likes sex and dislikes vampires. We get it. Where is the substance? Sookie, Tara, and Bill are complex characters that get more complex as the show continues. This episode was compelling and revealed important worldly information.
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(4 / 5)
Episode four of Amazon’s Fallout wasn’t the best-liked. Of course, that’s relative to the rest of the season. While this is the second-to-last-ranked episode, it’s still an 8.1 on IMDB.
So let’s talk about why it might have slipped a bit but was still a great episode of TV.
The story
Let’s start our discussion of this episode with Maximus.
After he and Thaddeus successfully retrieved the head from the Gulper, they’re in high spirits. Together they celebrate around a fire, giving a lovely impression of two people who have been drinking despite not seeing a bottle in sight. Thaddeus even convinces Maximus to brand him.
While having a good time, Maximus’s consciousness gets the better of him. He admits to Thaddeus that he’s not Knight Titus, but he is Thaddeus’s old punching bag.
Rather than responding to this act of honesty with an equal measure of grace and brotherhood, Thaddeus immediately disables Maximus’s suit, taking the power source and the head. He then leaves Maximus trapped in the suit that he wanted so much, doomed to die in it.
Lucy isn’t in a much better place. If you’ll recall, last episode she drank radiated water out of desperate thirst. She’s now suffering from radiation poisoning. Fortunately, before she succumbs to this poison, she finds Maximus. He has the medicine she needs, and she can free him from his suit before he’s eaten by giant cockroaches. It seems like a win/win. If that is, the two of them can trust each other. And haven’t they both learned that trusting other people might be the most dangerous thing in this very dangerous world?
What worked
The first thing I want to draw attention to is the relationship between Lucy and Maximus. A lot has happened since the last time the two saw each other when there were some sparks but no time to do anything about them. Both have been betrayed and hurt. So while they’re instinct is clearly to trust each other, it’s also to be cautious. And that makes sense. They are both good people, driven by the desire to help others. But both are cautious of being hurt again.
This was not only relatable, but it gave a much different feel to a standard will they/won’t they relationship. Will they be able to trust each other enough to let their feelings out is the real question. Which is a lot more interesting, in my opinion.
I also found the giant, mutated bugs to be fantastic. They were the perfect blend of cute and terrifying. At first glance, they seem like a larger version of Hal from Wall-E. Then, you realize how few of them it would take to eat someone trapped in place. And how little time it might take.
And how long it might feel like while it’s happening.
We don’t need to see that happen to feel the terror there. And to feel some concern about the tiny pests that sometimes share our homes.
Of course, the highlight of this episode was the political intrigue surrounding Vault 33, and how its leaders always seem to be from Vault 31. This storyline is quickly becoming my favorite part of the season. It’s a dark and creepy mystery, which is always fantastic. But it’s also fascinating to see the character of Norm blossoming into someone whose life has meaning. Because at the start of the season, he was lacking that.
All in all, while this was a slower episode it was still a good one. And its ending certainly left me excited for what was to come.
(4 / 5)
If you like my work, you can check out my latest science fiction/horror novel, Nova, launching on May 17th. Pre-orders are available now on Amazon.
Movies n TV
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), a Film Review
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) is a horror comedy directed by Halina Reijn. This R-rated horror film stars Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova.
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) is a horror comedy directed by Halina Reijn. This R-rated horror film stars Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la, Rachel Sennott, Chase Sui Wonders, Pete Davidson, Lee Pace, and Conner O’Malley. The film is currently available on fuboTV, Netflix, Hoopla, and Showtime.
Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) brings her girlfriend (Maria Bakalova as Bee) to her friend’s hurricane party. Lasting resentment and toxic relationships infest the group, leaving Bee to witness increasingly uncomfortable situations. Soon after, bodies start dropping.
What I Like about Bodies
The chemistry between these toxic friends gives me anxiety. If toxic friendships aren’t a universal experience, toxic traits certainly make themselves apparent in any friend group, and this film maximizes this experience. It’s not revolutionary, but effective and uncomfortable.
Several subtle clues hint at the relationships of these friends, building up as the story progresses and chaos ensues. I love these moments, though the film doesn’t seem confident that the viewer picks up these clues. This decision hinders execution, an unfortunate point for later.
While the performances are strong throughout, Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova remain the main characters and receive the most opportunities to perform. However, almost every character has a moment, or several, and lives up to those moments once given.
The twist seems obvious, but that doesn’t hinder the viewing experience. While not the biggest fan of the execution, I enjoy the spiraling chaos it creates.
The opening scene shows the two leads making out for viewer engagement. However, I think the contract toward the end gives this scene added context and plot relevance beyond simply sex appeal. While it is unavoidable that so well, many films will go no further. So, added relevance deserves a nod.
Far from the bloodiest film out there, but it doesn’t hesitate to bleed its cast. It uses this blood and limited gore to add weight to the deaths as opposed to haunting or nauseating its audience.
Tropes, Triggers, and Considerations
As previously hinted, toxic relationships remain key points in the plot. Falling in line with this are points of spousal abuse (physically and mentally) that should remain a consideration.
Idiocy to push the plot along certainly plays a role in the plot. In this case, I consider it a feature. However, it’s still a required taste for viewer consideration.
Addiction and recovery drive several characters. I’ll avoid pointing to them so as not to give away plot details. However, usage and relapse deserve a mention in this section.
If any of these are deal breakers, give this film a skip.
What I Dislike, or Food for Thought, about Bodies
Bodies shifts between a mindless and clever horror comedy, never comfortably sticking to one or the other. It pulls off elements of both with expertise, but the tugging and pulling of these different elements limits the execution of either. Because of the above friction, Halina Reijin gives us all the clues to piece everything together and still tells us. Pick an audience and trust them.
As a horror comedy, this film leans on the humor over the horror. The unraveling of characters certainly earns respect but expect a comedy for a better experience. It’s not a particularly scary film, and it doesn’t try to occupy that space.
Final Thoughts
Bodies Bodies Bodies spirals into a chaotic horror comedy, banking on the toxic chemistry of its cast to deliver both. The film never makes a strong stance in either claiming a mindless or clever horror comedy, shifting between both at the expense of the whole. It remains a bumpy but engaging viewing experience, nonetheless.
(3 / 5)
Episode four of Amazon Prime’s Fallout was a great one for character development. It was also great because one of my personal favorite actors was involved.
Let’s discuss.
The story
This episode’s story revolved largely around Lucy and The Ghoul. He’s still dragging her about on a rope, but we aren’t sure why. While she can track the Head, she certainly hasn’t shared that information with the Ghoul.
What he wants her for soon becomes clear, when he barters her for vials of the medication that keeps him from losing himself to the ghoul illness.
At first, Lucy thinks this is a step up. She’s taken by a robot surgeon named Snip Snip to get a new thumb. Since, you know, The Ghoul shot her thumb off.
However, after stitching a new thumb on, Snip Snip takes her to his masters. Who then say they want him to cut her up for her organs.
Lucy manages to escape and even frees the other people trapped by these organ brokers. In doing so, she comes into the possession of many, many of those vials that The Ghoul needs so desperately.
Meanwhile, Norm is starting to suspect that all is not what it should be in Vault 33. While the rest of the vault is preparing to elect a new overseer, he takes Chet and sneaks off to Vault 32. There, they find some horrific sights. Long dead bodies, next to messages scrawled in blood. There are especially bodies around the door that leads to Vault 31, where someone has written We Know What’s in There on the wall.
Of course, we don’t know what’s in there. But I’m sure we’re going to find out.
Norm continues to dig, checking for information on the old Overseer’s computer. And he finds that the door to Vault 32 was opened by a Pip-Boy. To be specific, it was a Pip-Boy owned by Norm and Lucy’s mother.
I’m sure that won’t be relevant later.
What worked
The more I see of this season, the more I like Lucy. She is growing and evolving as a person, just like Wilzig told her she would have to do. She is becoming harder. But her kindness and values haven’t changed yet. She is still a good person. I love that.
I also love the dark, creepy storyline with Norm. I love how serious he is, especially when compared to the rest of his community. I especially love that, even as emotionally disturbed he is by what he’s learning, he seems passionate. And from what we’ve seen of this character, this is possibly the first thing he’s felt passionate about his entire life. I am impressed with the writing and acting that have allowed us to see his lack of passion with minimal focus. He is a fun, well-written character.
Finally, I’d like to shine the spotlight on Matt Berry. He is a delightful actor known for What We Do in the Shadows and IT Crowd. And he is playing the remarkably funny role of Snip Snip, the robot surgeon. His voice lends an extra level of humor to an already funny premise. This was another example of the great casting we’ve seen so far on Fallout.
In the end, this was a great episode from all points. It was fun, heartfelt, and dark. In short, I have no notes. I’m only excited to see what happens in the next episode.
(4 / 5)
