Sunday 23 August 2009

New World In My View

True Blood Episode 02x10 New World In My View. :: Preview - Reviews - Reactions - Recaps - Quotes



In preparation for more blood tonight, we have the preview video and the synopsis handy to get you into the mood. Also, the stunning promo still says a thousand words. Whatever these are, is up to you. But it is clear that the concluding triad of episodes this season is going to be one wild ride.

*An interview with Michelle should be online very, very, very soon.

Update
The interview is online! Head over to BlackBook for: Michelle Forbes: Wild Force of Nature on ‘True Blood’




With the Dallas trip behind them, Sookie (Anna Paquin), Jason (Ryan Kwanten), and Bill (Stephen Moyer) all return home to Bon Temps and are shocked by the mess that Maryann (Michelle Forbes) has made of their neck of the woods. As they try to get a grasp of what has happened during their absence, Bill realizes he's outmatched when it comes to putting Maryann in her place.

Jason, on the other hand, has been training for a war and he knows this just may be the job for him. Can Jason save Sam (Sam Trammell) and the once sleepy little town of Bon Temps from the grips of Maryann?

Elsewhere, Sookie tries to break through the darkness that has been consuming her childhood friend Tara (Rutina Wesley). It's unclear what, if anything, can be done to save this poor soul at this point.


*********
Make your own Lo Lo chant

Lo lo Nachos
lo lo Tacos
lo lo burritos
lo lo Chimichanga
lo lo Margarita
---
Lo lo brontosaurus
Lo lo stegosaurus
Lo lo tyranosaurus
Lo lo brachiosaurus
Lo lo dinosaur

Nobody needed towels!
------
Lo Lo Bridgida
Source: IMDb clowns

(Click to enlarge)

What are you ?? - Maryann

Let me just pause to say I am in awe of Michelle Forbes. It really takes fortitude, tremendous courage and a willingness to be completely despised to be able to take on a character like Maryann. What is most amazing is the way Michelle allows us to fully understand that Maryann is not like us in any way, shape or form … and never apologizes for what she is. She does not have the slightest clue that there is anything wrong with what she does … in fact, she celebrates it. She shows us that Maryann glories in the power and the dark energy that she is able to summon. Maryann is one of the most talked about characters in the True Blood world … and the fact that she is able to get under our skin and make us shudder with fear and loathing shows that Michelle has made Maryann come to life in all of her evil splendor. Yes, there is something beautifully mad in the Maenad … a creature which thrives on the dark side of Life and delights in creating chaos and mayhem. It is hard to watch and impossible to ignore. Although I definitely would like to see the Maenad get her just desserts, I cannot help but be thoroughly impressed by Michelle Forbes. Brava!!
Source: truebloodnet.com



With only two episodes to go now, True Blood devoted this week to wild danger and a surprising amount of humor.

Sam stated the goal of the evening succinctly: that Maryann wants “to cut out my heart while a buncha naked people watch.” Indeed, Maryann’s moving into position as this season’s Big Bad has never seemed more apparent… that is, unless it’s the unnamed “he” that Tara referenced, saying, “He’s gonna kill us all.” (Maybe readers of Charlaine Harris’ novels know something I don’t about the series’ villains; I’m working with what’s on my TV screen.)

Bottom line: True Blood under the guidance of Alan Ball continues to mix sex and violence in ways TV has never seen. Helped by the first-rate performances being given by Anna Paquin and Michelle Forbes, women have rarely seemed as potent in the supernatural world conjured up by this deliriously good series.
Source: Entertainment Weekly



I mean, as someone who loves this season for its wild action and surprising character development, I can't ask for more. There are so many Sucker Punch moments in Episode 10 that I scarcely know where to begin...

Here's the way I see it: Maryann makes people act on their nastiest impulses, and since they're controlled by their ids, they recklessly provoke the people around them. Hoyt's mama, for instance, says nasty things when she's normal, but even she has limits. Under Maryann's spell, however, she not only unleashes her most vicious thoughts, but also uses them like weapons. She intentionally pushes Jessica's buttons until the poor vampire snaps. That adds to the chaos that Maryann loves. (Tara tries to do the same thing to Sookie when she tells her that she ought to commit suicide. Tara probably has thought such a thing in a hidden part of her mind, but Maryann's influence brings that cruelty to the surface.)

With that perspective in mind, I have a new respect for Maryann's presence on the show. More than just a movie-of-the-week monster, she's the engine for a sweeping allegory about a person's secret corners. She's both a positive message and a cautionary tale.

Because there are parts of Maryann's influence that are good, you know? She inspires confidence. She eliminates sexual shame. She gives people permission to be themselves.

But she also demonstrates that liberation can lead to catastrophe.



So what do we do with that? How do we read a character that does terrible things, but also has wisdom to share?

In this episode, part of the answer comes from Sam, who tells Andy that killing the black-eyed people would be wrong, because they are still the citizens of Bon Temps. In other words, we can't destroy people just for having wild streaks. When they succumb to vice, we can't cast them aside.

Lafayette embodies part of the answer, too. He's a great example of someone who celebrates his id, but who knows how to keep it in check. He sees the boundary that Maryann wants people to miss.

This is a big idea I'm working through, and it's possible that the last two episodes will upend it altogether. But right now, I'm liking the notion that Season Two is an allegory for learning to balance all the parts of ourselves. Let's table this for now, though.

In other news, Sookie rocks when she discovers her new "magic hands" power. That's a strong Sucker Punch candidate, since her ability is so surprising and cool.

This week's runner-up spot goes to Maryann's meat tree, because... eww. It's bad enough that she wants to sacrifice Sam. Sacrificing him on a tree full of rotting cold cuts is just gross.

This week's winner is Jason's crazy appearance as Fake Bacchus. First, he chooses to trick Maryann's followers into believing he's their god... but before he does it, he takes off his shirt. Then, he gets tongue-tied while he's praising his followers for bringing him Sam Merlotte. Then, he gets some broke-down horns, courtesy of Andy Bellfleur, and realizes he can't hear what Sam is saying because of his gas-mask headpiece. It's all just... awesomely ridiculous.

This scene truly becomes our Sucker Punch, though, after Sam disappears... then returns wielding a fire extinguisher and wearing nothing but an apron. When we see his bare butt, the show gets so trashy that you have to bow down.
Source: The Huffington Post



Spoilers--or spoiling meat. What is up with Maryann making that giant lawn ornament in Sookie's front yard out of flowers, feathers, Kobe beef and maybe even the kitchen sink? That bitch is getting crazier every episode. (I have to give Michelle Forbes props; she owns this role.)

And who knew that Sookie had another power besides reading minds? When she fights with Maryann, and emits a light from her hand that at first stopped Maryann cold. Then Maryann started laughing, and apparently loving it. "What are you?" she asks.
Source: chicagonow.com

That was a pretty cool scene where [Sookie] pushes Maryann away and that white light comes out of her hands. Could Sookie be the counter-goodness to Maryann's evil? Yeah, I know Michelle Forbes said she's not really evil, but that's how I see her. She's turned the whole town into a chaotic mess and cast a spell over everyone that causes them to do whatever they want, even kill people. To me, that's evil.

As was her weird statue of raw meat, flowers, veggies, kidneys, livers ... a gift for the gods ... and her wanting to cut Sam's "heart out while a bunch of naked people watch" (his words). At least that craziness led to the excellent scene where Jason got to play a god ("I smite thee, Sam Merlotte!") while wearing a gas mask as Andy held up "horns" behind his head. The whole lame Maryann storyline all season was worth it to get to that scene.

Then after Sam "disappears" and returns clad only in an apron with his butt hanging out the back, Andy says, "That's the last drink I'll ever take." Nice. I'm loving the kick-ass trio of Jason, Andy and Sam.
Source: TV Squad

* Maryann begging Bill to “Ravage me! Ravage me!” until he hurls. (This is how my Eric fantasy would probably play out.)

I'm done with the Maryann plot. I love love love Michelle Forbes as an actress and she is making a meal out of this interesting character – very cute how her small praise over the right choice of meat makes Karl blush like a geisha – but it's time to move forward.
Source: Seacoast Online



Michelle Forbes is the real Queen on this show.
Dammit. True Blood episode over already? And no Durham County tomorrow. Me so sad.
Michelle Forbes deserves an Emmy Nod for next year for playing Maryann, the character is just batshit insane.
can't wait to see the sexy Sophie Anne and Hadley next week! And Michelle Forbes is officially one of my all time favorite actresses.
Holy crap True Blood. I really like Michelle Forbes, but I hate Maryann.
I think Michelle Forbes is amazing, but I really don't like Maryann; I like her better in the books.
Michelle Forbes certainly has a knack for playing characters I want to see die.
Is it wrong that I think Michelle Forbes looks really hot right now?
Maryann is the scariest heifer on TV.
Hurricane Maryann hits Bon Temps



Wonder how much Maryann charges for landscaping?
Damn, Maryann was the art director for Texas Chainsaw Massacre?
call me crazy but i kinda like maryann
I still don't get what's so damn special about Sam that Maryann wants him so badly??
Holy shit #TrueBlood was AMAZING!!! Maryann is freakin' frightening! Can't believe there's only 2 episodes left. Talk about withdrawal!
What exactly is Maryann?
Every time this goddamned show ends, I feel like a reveler at one of Maryann's parties; I want to destroy everything and go wild.
Ah, yes. I am satisfied. That Maryann had better die spectacularly.
MARY ANN NEEDS GALLONS AND GALLONS OF HOLY WATER
Somebody please kill mary-ann! Where is scooby doo and the mystery machine when you need them?
I think Mary Ann has a very powerful voice. It commands attention. #trueblood. She'll be a good voiceover 4 Storm from xmen, lol
Source:Twitter

Michelle Forbes is TV Gold
Michelle Forbes guest-starred on Battlestar Galactica. Admiral Cain was a badass.
Now she's on TB as a greek goddess-creature. Like (or because of her character) Marianne she electrifies the set. There's layers to her character that we don't know about. Centuries of evil. - She is awesome!
----
spike, i fully agree! Michelle is AMAZINGLY AWESOME!!
i'm a gay man and Michelle makes me weak in the knees!! seriously!! i find her SO incredibly entrancing that even though the Maryanne character is evil and needs to die, a part of me doesn't want her to ever leave the show! LOL.
----
Michelle is FANTASTIC! I actually got chills during last night's episode her acting was so good!
Source: IMDb boards