TV Series Lounge

Giles Matthey is coming to True Blood season 5.

The actor – whose limited resume includes a stint on an episode of The Good Wife last year – will appear on multiple episodes as Claude, a British fairy described in the Sookie Stackhouse novels as “the nephew of Sookie’s half-human/half-fairy grandfather, Fintan, and cousin to Sookie’s father.”

Claude is a gay character who – according to the books, again – is a strip club owner that formerly took his clothes off for a living.

True Blood returns this summer with new episodes, though HBO is yet to announce a premiere date.

You can check True Blood Season 5 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Christopher Heyerdahl is coming to True Blood season 5.

Heyerdahl, who plays an ancient vampire in the Twilight Saga movies, will now play one in another screen adaptation of a popular book series, this time on TV. Heyerdahl is joining HBO’s hit vampire drama True Blood in a recurring role.

He will portray Dieter Braun, an ancient, powerful vampire who plays a large part in the intelligence of the Authority and especially enjoys enhanced interrogation. That is familiar territory for Sanctuary alum Heyerdahl who played the ancient Volturi vampire Marcus in 3 of the Twilight movies: New Moon, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and the upcoming Part 2. Additionally, he played a demon in an arc on the CW’s Supernatural. Heyerdahl, repped by Open Entertainment’s Lesa Kirk, currently co-stars on the AMC drama series Hell On Wheels, playing Norwegian badass The Swede. The period Western was recently renewed for a second season.

You can check True Blood Season 5 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Janina Gavankar revealed a major True Blood season 5 spoiler.

“A major thing happens to Luna early in the season, and it’s going to change her life forever.”

The cast learned that Chris Meloni was Bon Temps-bound last month at a table read, news that elicited “gasps” throughout the room, recalled Gavankar. “We’re so excited to have him.”

Alcide’s days of playing Mr. Nice Guy are over. “As you saw at the end of Season 4, he’s not taking anyone’s s— anymore,” said the man-beast’s portrayer, Joe Manganiello. “Now you’re going to see an Alcide who’s going to slam you up against the wall and do his thing. Who doesn’t like being slammed up against the wall, right?” Asked to clarify his use of the word “slam” — i.e. is it a euphemism for, ahem, another s-word — Manganiello cracked a devilish smile and replied, “It could be a fun slam. And it could be an angry slam. You never know?” He then reminded us that, “Alcide is single.”

The latest True Blood script Manganiello read contains “some really fun [Alcide-Sookie] stuff,” he revealed. “Stuff that makes you really nervous… I’m watching my words really carefully.”

Ryan Kwanten hinted that Jason may have bitten off more than he could chew with regard to his romance with Jessica. “As you know, anyone who gets involved with Jason better have her wits about her,” he said. “But I think in this case, it’s Jason who better watch out. The tables have finally turned.”

Where do you go after spending half of Season 4 being raped by a werepanther? “Even that can be topped,” teased Kwanten. “Jason was very lucky to survive; he was down for the count. He has a desire to life. I admire that in a man.”

Any thoughts?

You can check True Blood Season 5 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Photos:

• First Batch of Promotional Photos

Spoiler:

• Episodes 4 – 6 Descriptions and Major Spoilers
• Robert Patrick as Jackson Herveaux
• Tina Majorino to Recur
• Hilarious Promo
• More About Terry and Patrick, Plus Physicality
• Camilla Luddington as Claudette
• Jonathan Kowalsky as Todd Jeffries
• Jacob Hopkins as Alexander Drew
• Denis O’Hare Return Details
• Giles Matthey as Claude
• Christopher Heyerdahl as Dieter Braun
• Life Changer for Luna
• About Tara’s Return

There are already talks about True Blood season 5. So let’s discuss some issues below.

Yes, Tara will return next summer. But in what capacity? That much remains unclear.

Simply put, Wesley tells TV Line: “I know I’m coming back… I just don’t know how I’m coming back.” She also tells Entertainment Weekly that Alan Ball has promised “big plans” for the character next year.
Alright then. So much for that mystery. Will she remain dead and be seen in flashbacks? Turned into a vampire? Simply suck down Bill or Eric’s blood and shake off her little head wound like it’s a scratch?

What are your theories?

You can check True Blood Season 5 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Something’s wrong with the season 4 finale of True Blood. Many critics noticed it and they are not happy with the same. So what happened?

TV Fanatic: Let’s start by considering the climax to the Marnie storyline: without any build-up, Bill and Eric are suddenly chained together in a field. Holly, who has spent more time on the sidelines this season than a professional football coach, chants a bit and casts a spell that awakens some dead people.

Enter Adele Stackhouse, who pulls Marnie out of Lafayette’s throat, and Antonia, who talks Marnie through her angst and convinces her that everything will be okay. Then, the drama is simply over, as all three spirits wander out, Fields of Dreams style, into the cemetery.

Seriously. That was how the most significant arc of season four concluded. Moreover, it was the only action sequence – can we even call it an action sequence? – of the entire episode.

For a show based around blood and gore and sex and violence, everyone pretty much just talked for an hour.

Sookie and Tara foreshadowed the latter’s death by saying they hope they grow old together; Sam and Mrs. Fortenberry chatted about Tommy; Alcide opened up to Sookie; Steve Newlin is apparently a vampire; heck, Rene even figured he’d get into the dialogue-heavy action, offering up a warning to Arlene; and then, to top the tedium off, Sookie spent 10 minutes breaking up with both Bill and Eric.

It was excruciatingly boring execution, playing out as if Alan Ball and company truly had no more season four plot. They just had to kill 55 minutes until they could throw in a couple of season five teases in the closing moments.

Terry has a mysterious past; Bill and Eric are now on the same team and will be going up against the Authority; Russell Edgington is coming back (a development we all knew would take place the moment Bill and Eric chose not to kill him last year); and, oh yeah, Tara is dead.

I can scarcely even celebrate that fact, though, considering the random nature of her murder. It was just another example of the lack of coherence to the episode.

Shouldn’t season finales feel as if the previous three months has led you to a certain point? As if everything is coming together and you can hardly wait to see what happens? Did anyone get that feeling at all from “And When I Die?” Or do you share my irritated sentiment that it was a series of conversations just tossed together until a couple supposedly shocking scenes at the end?

Yes, I grew tense in the concluding couple scenes, but not because the episode did a solid job of leading me to that point. Instead, so little had actually taken place, I was simply anxious because I figured something had to happen. That’s not good storytelling.

And don’t even get me started on the fairies, or lackthereof! Were the writers simply playing a joke on us? I can picture them sharing a good laugh together, having successfully introduced fairy land in the premiere, only to ignore the arc again until one of these creatures had sex with Andy in the woods last week, and then not saying one word about that act or Sookie’s pals on the finale.

Will it come up again next season? Maybe? Probably? But this has become a constant problem for True Blood: nothing is ever resolved. Things either fizzle out or get dragged out, with the goal to seemingly lead viewers on from week to week and season to season. The goal of the show is to tease us, never to reward us, and I’m fed up with it.

Do you agree with the critics? What can you say about the season 4 finale of True Blood?

You can check other True Blood Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

I wish “Soul of Fire” is as cool as the photo below. Unfortunately, this episode of True Blood season 4 left no good marks to the critic viewers.

TV Fanatic: Jesus used a dead body, some mysterious babble and a bit of self-mutilation to unbind Antonia from Marnie on “Soul of Fire” – thereby rescuing Sookie from one of the least impressive CGI fires in recent memory – only for that pesky supernatural to take over his boyfriend’s body later that night.

Seriously, don’t you hate when that happens?

It took a great deal of stupidity on the parts of numerous characters to arrive as this point. Why would Marnie let Jesus, who only last week impressed her with his demonic skill set, alone with that dead body? Why would Sookie and company agree to join hands with Marnie on another spell? And were Eric and Bill really gonna kill themselves just to save one human being?

I know, it’s Sookie. I know, this was meant to be sweet and romantic and all… but knowing it wouldn’t actually happen removed most of the suspense. As I complained after “Burning Down the House,” this love triangle has grown tiresome. I’m really not interested in seeing Bill and Eric try to one-up each other for the foreseeable future.

Did you catch Eric referring to Bill as “Your Majesty” as they were cleaning up the mess at Moon Goddess, though? It does appear as if he remembers everything from his spelled-out state, which ought to make for even more well-rounded character.

But take it easy on Pam, E! Come on. She and Jason were the only ones thinking clearly during this attempted destruction of the store, albeit, ironically, from opposite points of view. You created Pam, Eric. You know what she’s about and she’s been of use to you in her icy, sarcastic, straightforward state for centuries. Don’t cast her aside now just because you’re blinded by love.

Elsewhere, hey, fairies still exist! And they have questionable taste in men! While Andy’s self-congratulatory reaction to tasting this being’s personal light fruit (if you know what I mean!) had me laughing out loud, the development seems random and forced. I’m still not sure why Terry would have left Andy in the woods alone, except that it served to bring a fairy back into the picture, one we can only assume will play a role in next week’s finale, with Andy sworn to protect her.

Then again, we might not hear from the fairies again for nine more weeks. That’s been the pattern so far.

I have no sarcastic digs for Alcide, however. Way to stand up to Debbie, big guy! I will call you boring, no longer. I will ask that you grow a spine, no longer.

What can you say about this episode of True Blood?

You can check other True Blood Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Episode 7 of True Blood season 4 features the return of Eric’s memory but there are also other things that transpired.

TV Fanatic: The most significant development to come out of  “Burning Down the House” was actually NOT the return of Eric’s memory, but rather the reveal that Marnie is really driving the connection between herself and Antonia. It’s not a possession, it’s a “union.”

And that is gonna create quite the dilemma for Bill over the final two episodes of season four.

After all, this is war, right? Isn’t that what Bill said in response to Tara’s possible death if his plan to blow up Moon Goddess went forward? It’s a perfectly reasonable point of view, but will it be one he can maintain when Sookie is included among the casualties?

It’s easy to take a stance when you have nothing at stake. Let’s see what the King decrees on behalf of his kind if it means killing his favorite fairy.

On that note, the scene with Bill, Jess, Pam and Eric going all Reservoir Dogs to close the episode was absolutely awesome, but it did continue a frustrating trend on True Blood: the show always concludes an hour mid-scene, which is a lazy way to create a cliffhanger.

Elsewhere…

• Let’s return to Eric for a moment. Considering the effort put in this season to get Eric and Sookie together, so much of which was based on what would happen when his memory returned, was anyone else disappointed at the lack of attention paid to that seemingly major event this week?
• Sookie used her fairy powers (she still is a fairy, right? There are two episodes remaining. Did the writers devour some shiny apples and forget all about this storyline?) to reignite Eric’s brain, he said he still loved her… and that’s was all we got? I’m actually sick of this love triangle (seriously, Sookie loves them both, we get it; either go with the threeway relationship, kill someone off or make her single), so I was happy with a focus on Marnie and the danger she has brought to Bon Temps.

Let’s admit it, episode 9 of True Blood titled “Let’s Get Out of Here” is not one of the best this season.

TV Fanatic also poses this question: How did Jason and Jessica end up in the back of his pickup truck?!? I can imagine a few scenarios:

Perhaps that’s where Jason keeps his condoms… Maybe he got a flat tire, Jessica assisted and then he couldn’t help but give her a few pumps, as well… They may have believed Bill was home and wanted to keep their affair a secret… Or possibly it was simply there and, hey, Alan Ball figured: why not?!?

I focus on this seemingly inane point because I found the setting of Jason and Jessica’s lovemaking to be hilarious, and also because I wanted to start on a lighter note before stating: “Let’s Get Out of Here” was my least favorite episode of what’s likely been my favorite season.

Here’s why:

Too much Lafayette. We get it. The guy is a medium. This will likely come in handy somehow during the final showdown with Antonia. But, wow, that was a long, excruciating way to draw out the extent of Lafayette’s powers.

There wasn’t any real suspense – did anyone think Arlene’s baby was in danger? – and I simply don’t care about any of the characters centrally involved. No offense, Lafayette, Arlene, Terry, Andy and Jesus. Okay, some offense.

Too much Tommy. Really, any Tommy is too much. Sure, it was noble of him to take a beating on behalf of Sam, but know what would be even more noble? To skip town. There’s no storyline purpose for Tommy to be around, except to point out the obvious in this case:

My goodness, Alcide is enormous! But he’s also predictable. It would be a refreshing change to see him possibly struggle with whether to embrace his pack or not. Instead, he’s always the good guy, always smitten with Sookie, always, dare I say it, sort of boring.

A lack of build-up to the human/vampire tolerance event. I love Nan. (This may have been the funniest scene of the season.) I love King Bill. But I didn’t love what felt like a missed opportunity here. Has there been an ongoing conflict between the pair over how to best settle human/vampire relations? I haven’t really sensed one, despite Bill’s outburst while the pair was chained.

It also would have been nice if we had heard a peep about the tolerance gathering prior to this episode. Such a build-up would have given the interruption that much more resonance. We would have been anticipating the speeches for weeks and wondering how they might go and then – bam! – Antonia and her minions wreak havoc. Instead, the event and the climactic bloodshed felt hastily thrown together.

What can you say about this episode of True Blood?

You can check other True Blood Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

What happened in episode 8 “Spellbound?” Well, storylines continued to converge while, ironically, friends were torn apart. What can you say about this True Blood fans?

TV Fanatic: Can Tara and Sookie ever come back from being on opposing teams in the Battle at Bon Temps Cemetery? Because this is a TV show, the answer is likely yes. But I’d never forgive my BFF if she ever set out to destroy my true loves. Gotta put my foot down somewhere, preferably across Antonia’s throat.

Clearly, I’m on Team Vampire here, but I’ve said it from the introduction of Marnie: it’s refreshing to have an enemy viewers can fully understand. I’d likely want to murder all blood suckers, too, if I were Antonia. Same for Tara. Consider all she’s been through.

In my ideal conclusion to this season, Sookie actually kills Tara while defending Bill and Eric. The series will never go there, but don’t tell me that wouldn’t add another layer to Sookie’s character, as well as the kind of morally grey intrigue that leaves fan buzzing and debating all winter long.

Plus, someone has to die, as we debated in last week’s True Blood Round Table.

That person clearly won’t be Jessica. At least the episode didn’t drag out the possibility of her demise, as Jason put his high school football skills to good use within the opening seconds. I wasn’t surprised, and I’m happy for reasons that go beyond how gosh darn cute Jessica is: specifically, Hoyt’s reaction to their break-up.

Might he join Team Antonia? It would make sense, wouldn’t it? I’m always for well-drawn out relationship developments that involve friends turning into enemies or vice versa. Maybe Hoyt will die!!!

Morbid curiosity and hopes aside, let’s focus on Eric’s nude body, shall we? I assume that was the much-hyped shower scene? To which I reply: Really?!? We’ve spent so much time away from fairy land, and the meaning behind it still seems so unclear, that I was simply bored when these two somehow got it on under the snow. Am I even right in assuming the fantasy setting was related to Sookie’s ancestors?

It’s just confusing, which is not the emotion one should really have when witnessing Anna Paquin and Alexander Skarsgård naked. In positive fairy news, though, I laughed out when Sookie thanked her weird light power for finally working.

So which side are you in?

You can check other True Blood Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.