Fang-A-Thon Day 19: Best/Worst – Weres (via @VampKingBill)
When I started to think about what I wanted to write for this post, I realized that overall it feels like weres really haven’t added that much to the canon of the show, or at least in a way that convinces me that characters couldn’t have just been human instead. That being said, let’s take a look at the best and the worst of the Weres.
Best: I can hear everyone screaming now, but yes, I think the best use of weres has come from Hot Shots and the werepanthers at the start of Season 4. If you’ve ever listened to True Bites, you’ve undoubtedly heard me rail against how this plot was dropped and how completely inappropriate it was for them to do a story like this just for the sake of getting Jessica and Jason together. That all remains true. However, up until the time that the story got dropped, the Hot Shots arc was working incredibly well for me. There was motivation for the panthers doing what they did (even if they weren’t quite smart enough to realize that their plan wouldn’t work), we got to see some of the panther mythology and hell, the entire storyline was genuinely creepy and horrifying. There was some great acting not only on the part of Ryan Kwanten, but also the little girl who was ‘next in line’ so to speak who didn’t want to do it but was also terrified of what Felton would do to her if she didn’t do it, and you could feel Crystal’s glee and absolute lack of sympathy when she discovered she was going to be Big Momma Kitty. It was genuinely a great set up that should have let to some great aftermath. The fact that it didn’t is a tremendous shame, but the fact remains that those first few episodes of season four were still the most interesting thing that was done with weres of any kind since their introduction in Season 3.
Honorable Mention: There have been some great moments between Alcide, Eric and Bill and the line “He killed my Cooter!” The show also deserves props for using real animals after they shift instead of CGI.
Worst: The wolves. To be honest, they’re pretty useless, and considering the storylines that have been given to them to date, don’t really need to be wolves. The pack in Mississippi were essentially a drug-addicted motorcycle gang. The pack in Shreveport isn’t drug-addicted, but essentially isn’t any better than the pack in Mississippi since they willingly do nothing to stand up the bully that is Marcus and basically stand by and watch Marcus kill Tommy (as Sam). Alcide wasn’t much better, to be honest, not even really doing anything until it’s obvious that Sam wasn’t Sam. Ultimately the question becomes: what is the point of them being werewolves? Really, what is the point? What have any of the packs done that necessitated them being wolves? Alcide’s story didn’t need him to be a wolf. Debbie’s story didn’t need her to be a wolf. The wolves in Season 3 only served as Russell’s minions and Bill soundly kicking all of their asses once he’s fed establishes that as far as supes go they aren’t that much stronger than humans. If Alcide wasn’t around you probably could have gotten Sam to play the role of huntsman for Sookie when Eric had run off after getting high on Claudine. I’m hoping that Season 5 changes that and we see something more from them.
Day 15: Jason Stackhouse (via @Eric_NorthmanTB)
Jason Stackhouse. I have had a special place for Jason Stackhouse since season one. Not the brightest crayon in the box but there’s something about him that makes you like him. He may not use his brain too often but when it comes down to it, he is loyal to the ones he cares for and like Sookie, he’d do anything to protect them.
In Season 1, Jason was a V addict. He struggled with the idea of being dependent on vampire blood and in the end, after watching Amy deliver the True Death to Eddy, Jason straightened out his ways.
In Season 2, Jason went off to join the Fellowship of the Sun. While he went through the camp and learned more about the organization, he realized that he had been wrong to join and ended up saving his sister and Eric.
In Season 3, Jason was working to become a cop. He then met Crystal Norris and became aware of the presence of were-panthers.
In Season 4, we watched poor Jason as he was abducted by the members of Hot Shot and used over and over again by the women in the hopes that Jason would get them pregnant and they’d make more were-panthers (obviously they were not worried about the fact that Jason was not a were-panther at the time). Crystal and her crazy boyfriend also attempted to turn Jason into a were-panther.
The one thing that disappointed me with Jason is that Alan Ball decided to not make him a were-panther like in the books. I liked that character development for Jason and I wished we were given that in the show. Jason needs a strong storyline and that could have been a perfect way to do just that.
All in all, I do like Jason’s character and I hope that he gets a solid SL soon.
Greek Revival (via @JB DuRone)
I like Jason. Ever since Season 1. He’s a chick magnet, a pretty but dumb boy (an awful lot like JB DuRone from the books) and a very awkward hero.
I remember the moment I started cheering for Jason; it was when he pegged Steve Newlin between the eyes with a paintball, signaling an end to the FOS standoff in Dallas. I stood up from my chair and yelled “Yes!” when he did that. I almost missed his double tap with the comment, “I reckon I’ve already been to heaven, and it was inside your wife.”
The next time I literally cheered for Jason was when he stood atop the pickup outside of Merlottes and proclaimed himself “The God Who Comes”. The whole scenario of Jason and Andy on a mission to save BonTemps reminded me of Shanghai Knights, except there was no Jackie Chan between them. It was all Owen Wilson, times two.
But the biggest moment of Jason as the hero was when he popped Franklin Mott’s melon to save Tara Thornton. I was SO glad Jason did that; Mott always made my skin crawl and I was ecstatic to have that particular story line end. Thank you Jason!
His Tarzan attack on Felton should be in there but… Jason is no Tarzan. He’s more George of the Jungle. And Ape ain’t around to supplement Jason’s critical thinking. Which probably explains a lot about the Crystal Norris situation…
And the women! Oh, the women of Jason Stackhouse! Dawn Green, Amy Burley, Sarah Newlin… plus, he could have Tara if he’d been smart enough to realize what was in front of him. Jason gives hope to all of us non-supe guys out there; normal human guys CAN attract beautiful women in Bon Temps.
All of which brings me to this; I don’t remember Jason in the books having ANY hero moments, much less several. Why is Jason so heroic on True Blood? Did Alan Ball or the other writers watch “Jason and the Argonauts” as his character was being written? After all, we took a deep dive into Greek mythology with the maenad and Dionysus. Resurrecting the myth of Jason into the show isn’t that far of a stretch.
Or, maybe they stole the whole idea from “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” (retelling of Odysseus). Yeah, now that i think about it, that makes a lot more sense;
Rural setting? Check
Bumbling, backwoods hicks? Check
Ridicules the South? You betcha
Tragic heroes? A plenty
Oh well – here’s to the modern Greek revival, wrapped up in a vamp love story and a were-panther gang bang.
Want some gopher, Everett?
via Greek Revival.
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