The most indelible image from the second episode of HBO’s True Blood last night — even more so than the sight of Anna Paquin gulping blood from Stephen Moyer’s arm, or the intermittent presence of Ryan Kwanten’s perpetually exposed (and exceedingly ripped) torso — had to be the bizarre bit of artwork hanging on the wall during the conversation between Paquin’s Sookie and her boss Sam (Sam Trammell). I would’ve been obsessed with the bunkily drawn "Fido Watches Over Sleeping Nellie Oleson and Her Doll" even if the director hadn’t decided to zoom in on it, then let the camera linger with a "Symbolism Alert!" closeup. But the "bad artwork + extended screentime" equation got me wondering: WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? My friend Drew (whose brain is clearly better equipped than mine to interpret unsubtle symbolism) offered a theory that makes total sense to me. Since it’s kind of spoiler-y (if Drew is right, anyway…and not having read the Sookie Stackhouse books, I don’t know) I will offer it, after the jump…
Is it possible that Sam can somehow take the shape of the mysteriousdog who’s always watching over Sookie? And would Sam’s ability to getway in touch with his inner canine make him a werewolf? Or possibly oneof the shape-shifting types of vampires that Bill was telling Sookieabout? Think about it: Sam (who only seems to work at night!) clearlywanted Sookie to read his mind and discover some kind of shockingsecret about him. And I don’t think said secret is that he’s in lovewith her, since his wears that truth like a beer stain on his flannelsleeve. What’s more, if the kindly barkeep and the brown-and-whitepooch are one in the same, could it be that Sam was the one whomurdered Sookie’s low-rent attackers? After all, Bill only admitted tofeeding on the couple’s blood in the wake of the assault, and making theirdeaths look like a tornado-related accident; maybe the pale vampire wassimply covering up the crime scene on behalf of a fellow blood sucker.
Am I on to something here, or is it possible that I’m overthinking theprop department’s motives to distract myself from the fact that TrueBlood’s not-quite-thrilling characterizations (those final-scenevampires came off like extras from a Billy Idol video!) aren’t asnuanced and intriguing as I’d expected from the creator of Six FeetUnder?
(If you’re thirsty for a little more True Blood, click here for Ken Tucker’s official EW review, and here for my reaction to last week’s pilot episode. We’ve even got a little backstory on the show’s viral ad campaign via our Hollywood Insider blog. Enjoy!)
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Well, I’ve read the books, so I already know the answer. LOL Sam’s not a vampire.
C’mon Michael, the “Sam is a shapeshifter” plot is taken straight from the books. Of course you’re “on to something”.
While unfortunate that you don’t care for the uninspired characters in the show, they are true to the books. So, my guess is that your real beef is with the author, not Mr. Ball’s show.
she read his mind briefly in the first episode
Should I read these books? They seem like they could be better than the show.
I never read the books, so I don’t know any of the series secrets yet. I was more interested in the grandmother’s past — she seems to know more about vampires than she’s letting on to Sookie.
Really Sam is a shapeshifter? I was wondering why when Sookie was getting into her car after the attack she commented that wow Sam’s light is still on. So Sam killed the RatRays and is a dog?
All I know is I am enjoying the show . . . I read the review and I think this show has legs – it’s campy and fun and suspenseful. I was wondering about the dog issue as well . . . hmmmmm
seems pretty clear that Sam is somehow the dog. My immediate thought was that the actor playing Sam is certainly appealing and why wouldn’t she want to date him? In fact, why doesn’t she date at all if her brother is such the opposite? I’m still giving this show a chance primarily due to the guy playing the vampire (so hot but appears to be the same height as Paquin- 5 feet?). Paquin does keep reminding me of the cheerleader from Heroes, unfortunately. Just wish there was less screen time for the Tara character…her fake accent is the worst-so bad!
Sookie probably didn’t want to read Sam’s mind because she already did so last episode and is still queasy about hearing that he had feelings for her. Therefore, she closed her mind of his. I did think it was wierd that the camera was aiming at that picture, but now the theory does seem to make sense. Tara was less annoying this time, but what was with her blowing off that guy by saying she was married? Is it because she has a thing for horny dum-dum Jason? And I do agree with GrandMa that Jason does a pretty good job of embarassing himself.
Helloooooo, torso.
I love this show! I read the review before I watched it, and its so much better than i expected
First off, I haven’t read the books. Second, when I was watching the pilot the scene with the dog in the woods was just odd. Then I watched the episode again and decided Sam must be some sort of shape shifter. This episode only solidified that.
Why is THIS show getting a PopWatch recap while Entourage CONTINUES to get shafted on the recap front?!?!?!??!?! Like vampires, the lack of Entourage love totally s*cks.
Yes, fans of the show should read the books. So far the show is following the plot of the first book pretty closely. The books are so much fun. I really enjoyed reading them and was hooked.
This could definitely explain why Sam “disappeared” after following her out of the restaurant when she went to go after the Rattrays in the first episode. I remember thinking to myself, “where did he go?”. The dog does seem to pop up too often for it NOT to be a coincidence and there is the painting – so it all points to the fact that Sam must be a werewolf (sp?). Can werewolves be out during the day? I always thought they could and it was the full moon that turned them into wolves. I need to read the books!
i don’t know what you all think but that kiss between Sookie and Bill was HOTT
Sam might be a bit of a hound but it would seem that this would’ve dogged him before now if he’s been a long-term citizen of the community. The 2nd episode seemed to go out of its way to do some ’splainin’ and didn’t move as quickly as the pilot did. Next week’s ep will be the turning point as to whether this series continues to be original or if it turns into a caricature of itself. I’m worried, though. The previews looked a bit cheesy to me.
BC the answer is quite simple: Entourage sucks! therefore it doesn’t deserve the recap. True Blood is (so far) awesome, can’t wait for next week’s ep.
I’m gonna finish reading the books and hopefully catch the series on DVD.
Too bad it is not one of Rodrigue’s Blue Dogs. They best of the Loup Garou….heck, the only true Louisiana Loup Garou!
I have not read the books either, but I thought that Sam was the dog after the first ep when he disappeared after she went into the woods to save Bill. I don’t think Sam is a vampire or a werewolf since he wouldn’t be much of a protector if he could only change into a dog when the moon is full. I also think there has to be more to Sookie than the telepathic thing. In the flashback where she was reading her Mom’s mind she said something about Sookie having something evil inside her and that has me thinking. Maybe her Dad isn’t really her dad and her real dad was a vampire or something. I don’t know. I like the show even though those vampires at the end were over the top bad and Tara’s crush on Jason is annoying and stupid. Oh, and the grandmother has to know more than she’s letting on. Next weeks ep looks like it’s going to get a lot darker.
Not a bad observation,however in the first episode Sookie could read Sam’s thoughts as he was hugging her in his office.Have you noticed every time the dog shows up Bill glares at him.Something is definately up with that.I believe it is Sam,but he isn’t a vamp,but I could be wrong.
I love this series. I was bummed at first because it didn’t get a credible review.
Read the books, don’t bother with the series… though they are trying their best to keep true to the books, it just isn’t translating to screen… I’m sooo disappointed.
yah he’s a shapeshifter for sure …he can turn into anything he wants but he likes to be a dog. if i remember right sookie eventually figures it out. he’s definetly not a vampire lmao.
If you have read the book you know that not all the characters in the show are true to the book. For me it is a bit hard to take (especially Tara and her relationship with Lafayette)and why in the hell is Newlin killed off? That messes things up for when Sookie and Bill go to Dallas…and when Sookie is at Club Dead. By the way, Sam is a shifter and there is much more to the world than humans, vamps and shifters…Ain’t like grand!
If you have read the book you know that not all the characters in the show are true to the book. For me it is a bit hard to take (especially Tara and her relationship with Lafayette)and why in the hell is Newlin killed off? That messes things up for when Sookie and Bill go to Dallas…and when Sookie is at Club Dead. By the way, Sam is a shifter and there is much more to the world than humans, vamps and shifters…Ain’t life grand!
I absolutely love this show. It is very true to the book. People also complained about Carnivale being to slow and trying to be David Lynch-like and I ignored them. Sookie and Bill have hot chemistry.
Also alot of the dialogue is verbatim from the book.