Talk us through itFirst Taste continues directly after event's in episode one Strange Love. Bill saves Sookie from the tender mercies of a couple of local rednecks, and forces her to drink his blood in order for Sookie to survive undamaged. Vampire blood, or "V juice", apparently having regenerative powers for humans. Meanwhile Jason is relieved to find he isn't a murderer, jumps into bed with the nearest available woman, and learns she also had a previous relationship with a Vamp. All of which leads Jason to visiting Lafayette in order to get some Viagra style medicinal drugs in the form of "V juice". Following Bill visiting with Sookie and her Grandmother, and coming under the sixth degree from Tara and Jason, Sookie learns vampires can be truly nasty, and another of Jason's current girlfriends winds up murdered. With Tara spending the night with Sam things are getting increasingly complex, welcome to Bon Temps.
Review"I'll always be able to feel you. I'll be able to find you fast. If you're ever in trouble, that could come in quite handy." - Bill ComptonTrue Blood is gearing up to being one hell of a series given what was placed on the menu in the first couple of episodes. Well okay the show is still finding its feet somewhat, but clearly we're almost ready to rock with things now that introductions have been made. Storylines are moving along at a rapid clip with plot arcs already thrown into the mix, major characters having been established, and the central conflict of the first season being firmly presented. Bon Temps is going to be running short of hotties given two of them having turned up dead already, and we're only just into the second episode of the season. Sorry I'm still shocked in how far we have come already! Writer Alan Ball continues to develop the vampire mythology, mixing in traditional elements with some new twists to keep us all on our toes. Don't worry we never descend to the ludicrous intellectually challenged levels Twilight does, but then again True Blood isn't aimed at the lowest common denominator. Vampires can move fast and have super human strength, pretty much a given considering the contagion hasn't been eradicated yet by either Buffy or Blade, but Ball also doesn't dispense with the minor details, Vamps can't enter a human dwelling without direct permission for example. Interestingly while humans are the prey of the more extreme elements of vampire society, vampires themselves are the prey of the more extreme elements of human society. Talk about your mutual destruction societies, an appetite for destruction is to the fore. In case I forget to mention it there are also a whole bunch of vampire weaknesses that they wish to keep hidden from humans, Bill is doing a real bad job of keeping these hidden from Sookie. One of the major elements in the show, True Blood shares this in common with just about all successful dark television franchises, is the inherent humour written into the scripts. Alan Ball had this element happening to pretty substantial effect. Bill coming to call on Sookie and her family leads to some humorous exchanges, especially Tara wanting to know if he owned slaves back when he was human. The ongoing misadventures of Jason as he proves that not everyone in True Blood is exactly a rocket scientist. And as one would expect the tight dialogue and one liners delivered by various characters. I'm yet to note a supporting cast member without some sort of quirk. Alan Ball quite happily endorses the Southern Gothic both in look and feel, all we need really is a ghost in a flowing white nightgown. If Strange Love showed vampires wanting to integrate themselves into human society First Taste demonstrated their willingness to go just that extra yard in order to achieve their social and political aims. Sookie is well aware that Bill invented a "tornado" to explain the "mysterious" deaths of the Rattrays, no loss there really, and he admits that vampires have had a long time to perfect the art of hiding their handiwork from the authorities. Her suspicions are well and truly raised when an outspoken opponent of the Vampire nation receiving equal rights is killed, along with his wife and daughter, in a multi car pileup that Authorities are unable to explain. A lot of space is being used up to explore the clear parallels True Blood raises with the U.S civil rights movement, thankfully no vampire decides not to give up her bus seat to a living person, I wonder if people self congratulating themselves on their social awareness would like to explain where Alan Ball is going with the car crash? This is one of those "you can't have your cake and eat it moments", either Ball is directly calling to mind the black movements in the U.S or he's not. In essence you can't pick and match elements of the show to fit your own agenda folks and leave whole hunks out in the midday sun because they don't fit with your viewpoint! HBO haven't been timid in their "sex it up high" full frontal assault on the audience. There's more T&A going down here than most full length exploitative horror flicks could hope to address. While it mainly revolves around Jason and his current partner, and for sure the ladies aren't getting the short end of the stick here either, things are starting to get steamy between Sookie and Bill. I leave it to the individual reader to draw their own necrophilia line in the sand there. I just wanted to ensure I had bases covered and someone's outraged Auntie doesn't write in to complain about ScaryMinds giving space to a show that highlights the wild thing. Besides which we all like boobs around here and are avid viewers of anything involving them. Guess we just lost the feminist readership, sorry ladies we call them as we see them. 
This show sure does gallop along, covers a lot of ground, and leaves us wanting more as each episode ends on a cliff hanger. I must admit I wasn't overly impressed with the one that rounded out episode two, seemed almost a Disney moment rather than being overtly threatening. Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse), besides supplying the eye candy for the gals (dude sure works out at the gym), is all over his character with a performance that is simply sensational. Besides getting the accent right, Kwanten's Aussie twang never intrudes, Ryan plays down to Jason's view of the world. The actor comes off as urbane and intelligent in interviews, but can dumb it down with the best of them if the role requires it. Nathan Barr provided the score the show uses and it ranges from dramatic moments to almost Hammer style gothic heaviness. Barr has got to the heart and soul of True Blood and demonstrates he fully understands the nuances (more about those next episode review).
Summary ExecutionI'm starting to develop a love affair with True Blood. It doesn't stint on the vampire mythology, doesn't invent bogus plot requirement developments, and goes multi textured on us. Even at episode two the show is starting to spin out more plot arcs than you could hit with a shotgun on a good day, I enjoy a series that does that. For sure I'll be visiting with the folks over at Bon Temps again in the coming days.Guess HBO are onto a winner with True Blood as the Southern Gothic franchise is about to head into its third season in North America. Indications are the season two box set is being released Down Under in a few weeks time, I'm getting a copy of that right? It looks like each season will comprise twelve episodes, ensuring as long as an audience tunes in each week the franchise should have some longevity. If you haven't checked out True Blood yet then you really should put it on your priority list. We're talking a rich, textured, Southern Gothic that will keep you entertained, and that surprisingly has a pretty good re-watch value. Crack open a bottle of TruBlood, you just might like the taste.
ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ... The South rises again.
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