Predictions for Season 5 of True Blood

   The show True Blood has been around since 2008 and the books have been around since 2001.  True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana.  A fictional drink in the show called Tru:Blood is reason for the name; the drink being a synthetical blood for vampires.

Now, I have enjoyed watching the show every now and then but never really got into it.  That is, until this past summer, when I watched all three seasons, one right after the other.  I love the show.  And then, the fourth season came along.  Many people will (and have) argue that the fourth season is better but honestly I feel that the third season was the best.  Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself.  This isn't about what season is better but what happened in the fourth and my predictions for the fifth season.

Fourth Season Recap:  Okay, so to those who do watch the show here is a recap (my complements to Wikipedia)
Episode title: And When I Die.  

> As Bon Temps celebrates Halloween, Marnie's spirit possesses Lafayette's body and kills Jesus to take control of his magic powers. Sookie and Sam make up and Sookie gets her job back. Alcide asks Sookie to be with him and have a normal life together. Sookie, Tara and Holly find Bill and Eric being held captive by Marnie. After Antonia and other spirits, including Adele Stackhouse, rise from the dead and convince Marnie to let go, they lead Marnie to the afterlife. Adele tells Sookie that being alone isn't a bad thing. Terry receives an unexpected visit from an old friend, a marine. Rene's spirit appears to Arlene to warn her that the ghosts of Terry's past will not stay buried forever. Pam admits that she is jealous of Sookie. Luna and Sam have a funeral for Tommy where Maxine is the only mourner. Holly and Andy begin to get closer. Sookie tells Eric and Bill that she loves them both but cannot choose between them, so she chooses to be alone. Jason tells Hoyt that he slept with Jessica, after which Hoyt beats him up. Jason sleeps with Jessica again, but she tells him that she doesn't want a relationship. 

Steve Newlin appears at Jason's door as a vampire. Sam finds himself confronted by a werewolf. Alcide discovers that someone has dug Russell Edgington out of his cement grave in a parking garage. Nan Flanagan tells Eric and Bill that she has been fired and wants to start a mutiny against the Authority. She also tells them she knows that Sookie is part fairy. Bill deals her the True Death (she's dead dead) and Eric kills her guards. Lafayette and Tara stay at Sookie's house.  Debbie breaks into Sookie's house and tries to kill her. Trying to save Sookie, Tara pushes her out of the way and is shot by Debbie. Sookie grabs the gun and kills Debbie. Sookie cradles Tara's body, screaming for help. 

Okay, so a lot happens in the last episode.  Bare with me as we go one step at a time.

My predictions:

1)  The werewolf that confronts Sam is Luna's daughter Emma or someone looking for Marcus (who is dead).
2)  Steve Newlin can not enter Jason's house without being invited in (so logically Jason is safe).  However, I think Newlin is there to either a) get revenge for Jason sleeping with his wife or b) ... nope, Jason is a dumb blond man-whore and that's all I can guess for that one.
3)  Alcide may tell everyone about R. Edgington or may keep it to the pack to hunt him down and find him.
4)  Eric and Bill are in trouble for killing Nan and have to run from the unseen Authority (Vamp. like Gov.)  OR they run off to fight the Authority and this opens up a new can of worms because we will find out more about the unseen Authority (i.e. more plot).
5)  Now, because Lafayette is upstairs when Tara and Debbie are shot he will obviously wake up (if not for Sookie's screaming).  He will either see Tara's spirit (meaning she is dead) or he will some how remember something Jesus taught him and (in a deus ex machina way) save Tara.
6)  If Tara is dead she will stay on as a spirit who councils Sookie and Lafayette.  If not dead she will be in critical condition and hospitalized.
7)  Lastly, Sookie has killed Debbie.  She and Lafayette will bury her body and hide it from Alcide (her ex) only resulting in Lafayette being haunted by her.  Or Sookie will have to go into hiding because Marcus' pack will find out and go after her.  Either way, Sookie is in deep Sh** and nothing can get her out of it (unless of course for the deus ex machina).

Verdict:  Okay, I normally wouldn't do this but I like the show...sure they got ridiculous with the whole Hoyt-Jason-Jessica thing (it pisses me off).  The whole Fairy thing about Sookie was pointless and overall I didn't like season four because it felt like Drama for the sake of Drama.  Personally, I'd rank the seasons like so:

Season 3
Season 1
Season 2
Season 4

Again, that's just me.  I look forward to next summer 2012 to find out if Tara lives, what happens to Sookie, Eric and Bill.  But I will end on this note; I'm glad R. Edgington is back!  I loved him in the third season and I just know that the fifth season is going to be good.

Signed The Carnivorous Rabbit

Sweden vs. Hollywood

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has become a household name both in Sweden and in America.  The crime story has brought many followers to the crime genre and movie genre.  

The book and movies are split between two main characters.  Mikael Blomkvist is a publisher of the Swedish political magazine Millennium who is hired by Henrik Vanger to find a long lost grand niece (long believed to be dead).  The second main character is Lisbeth Salander (the Girl) a computer hacker with great researching skills.  Together they work to clear their names, find missing people, and get revenge.

So with the American movie coming to theaters what do I have to say about the book and the Swedish version of the movie?  Also, my thoughts for the American version and my expectations.

The book:  I do not like crime stories.  I find reading crime/mystery stories long winded, dull, and their endings to be fantasy based.  

Pros:  However, Dragon Tattoo opened with a true mystery-hook.  Meaning that it pulls you in right away.  It's fresh take on crime and mystery makes me want to go read crime/mystery stories.  I love Salander, she is a strong willed twenty something year old who can take care of herself.  She is limited to things because of her past and many people hold her to it.  But she is not mentally incapable, she only has a high school degree but writes and reads at a high college level.
As for Blomkvist, I've never read about a man-whore like this before and I love it.  Blomkvist has a married business partner who is also his lover.  He hooks up with three women total through out the book but when it comes to his work he is focused and determined.

Cons:  As I stated, I don't like crime stories because of the long and detailed information.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo can be like this but, based on your taste and reading level, it depends.  The middle portion of the book, when Blomkvist is looking for the long lost niece, gets heavy with information and dull story line.  It picks up after a while so don't put it done right away.  There are curse words, sexual matters (rape, sexual debasement, gender hate and casual sex), and violent scenes.  The original title of the book is actually Män som hatar kvinnor which translates into "Men who hate women".  This was done so that the book could be sold in America to avoid controversy.

Overall:  Read the book, that's all I'm going to say about it.

The Movie (Swedish Version):  Of course, do to some of the things in the book a few things have been left out.  Such as Blomkvist's sexual partners, actions and family background (in the book he is divorced, movie it is unknown).  Salander was the redeemer of the movie for me; I thought Noomi Rapace captured the persona of Lisbeth Salander and I wish she was in the American version.  Personally, if the American version doesn't suit my fancy, I will stick to the Swedish movies.  The problem there is I Love the Swedish version movies and will buy them, but that leads us back to the American version.

The Movie (American Version):  I hope Danial Craig does the same that Michael Nyqvist did in the Swedish version, and makes Blomkvist come alive.  I'm also concerned about Rooney Mara performance.  I haven't seen her in anything else and I'm hoping that she can do the same Rapace did.  Because America is careful not to offend people and wants to avoid a higher rating than 'R' I am sure that the rape scene, the background information and casual sex partners may be limited if not removed.  Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it will stay in the story line but it will not be shown.  A locked door with screaming coming from it?  Yes.  Hinting at past lovers?  Yes.  The other dark stuff in the book/first movie?  ....That's where I get concerned.  I'd hate to go see it and feel that half the story isn't being told but that won't stop me from going to see the movie.

My Verdict:  
Read the book, watch the Swedish version of the movie and wait before seeing the American version.
Do so in this order and you can appreciate the story more.  If you decide to go backwards or in any way out of order, you may be disappointed.

Signed, The Carnivorous Rabbit