The fourth season of True Blood has some interesting dynamics in the vampire world--setting it apart from the previous seasons--but I groan at the constant retread of the stereotypical crazed white trash portrayal. Jason finally gets away from the Hot Shot people, who are so weird that they can neither by empathized with or feared. We're free from the crazies, right? Nope. Tommy is grabbed by his father, beginning another cycle of wacky people doing wacky things. It's not funny, emotional, scary, grotesque, or even interesting. It's plain weird. But Alan Ball seems content on these plots, so it's probably better to ignore the plots altogether than complain about them.
The vampire stuff remains interesting which is the good part (and really, the only thing I care about). Bill's new position as King of Louisiana is wrought with difficulty. He wants to do things his way but Nan makes sure he knows the Authority is keeping a close eye and isn't afraid to threaten him. At the same time, he's torn between his professional duties and Sookie who he clearly still cares about. By separating Bill and Sookie, the writers have more freedom, allowing for Sookie to get help from Alcide, drudging up further problems. The intersection between the witches and vampires is the strongest part of the season. With Pam looming over them, Jesus, Lafayette, and Tara manage to get Marnie on board, but Marnie is clearly out of her league and only knows that a powerful spirit performed the spell on Eric. The episode ends with Pam's skin falling off and Marnie falling over, making this the second time witches were able to fight off vampires.
Score: 8.0/10
