Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 should be released this year, and yes, a True Blood reboot has been confirmed. All of this for your bloodthirsty fix. This is my second post about this awesome game series. And unlike in the first post, I will now focus on a rather different TV project. As you probably remember, I did a post on the first season of What We Do In The Shadows. One of the most hilarious TV shows out there. However now for Bloodlines 2, I will focus on True Blood. A little older project, but amazing nonetheless.
Bloodlines 2: There’s No Shortage Of Vampire Projects
Indeed there isn’t. Especially in the early to mid-2000’s when we saw the biggest surge of vampire-themed projects. First and foremost the year 2008 was the year in which not only True Blood was released. But also the year in which the first Twilight movie came out too. And since Hollywood gave us some good vampire projects such as Only Lovers Left Alive). But at the same time plenty of bad ones (Van Helsing comes to mind here, and so does the last of the Underworld movies).
However, my favorite vampire movies are scattered throughout the decades. From Christopher Lee’s Hammer movies to ’80s Near Dark. From Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula to, of course, Let The Right One In. Just to name a few. But which ones are your favorites? I’d love to know. Let me know in the comment section. But yeah. It’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 that once again got me to another vampire post, and I love it. I can’t get enough of them to honest.
But before I go on with the theme of this post (The tacky, cheesy, southern glory that is True Blood), I believe a word or two is in order about the game.
What’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 All About?
First and foremost, let me just mention that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is currently available for pre-purchase here at IndieGala. And yes, you can go ahead, and get preorder it right now at an early bird deal. You’re welcome.
Developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is a fantastic action RPG game. Bloodlines 2 follows a human in 21st-century Seattle. The vampire is killed and revived as a “thin blood” vampire with relatively weak vampiric abilities.
Seattle has always been run by vampires. Hunt your prey across Seattle locations faithfully re-imagined in the World of Darkness. And yes. The game is set in the World of Darkness. But the game depicts a world in which vampires, werewolves, demons, and other creatures shape human history. You also get to meet the old blood founders present since the city’s birth. And of course, the new blood steering the tech money redefining the city. Everyone has hidden agendas – so choose your allies wisely.
Which brings me to True Blood. A TV show filled to the brim with vampires, shape-shifters and other mythological creatures.
True Blood Is A Guilty Pleasure For Me Even Now
I must admit something. I got into the glory that is True Blood in the middle of the retched 2020. Stuck at home, with nothing to do I got bored easily and binged every show imaginably. But I vividly remember back in 2008 my friend and co-worker (Hi Tatiana) recommending True Blood to me.
It’s great, you’re gonna love it, she said. Just don’t seek for any depth, and you’ll be fine. Watch the show as you’re watching Baywatch. Just a bunch of gorgeous, naked people running around, but now playing vampires. Those were her exact words.
I don’t know why but I took a good look at the trailer and said nope. Never watched Baywatch, and this seems like an equally dumb TV show. Fast forward to 2020, and I already devoured almost everything, so I thought… Hey, how about True Blood? And to my biggest surprise, I actually liked it. A lot. And since there’s the upcoming reboot to ponder and expect soon, I thought… Why not write about one of my biggest guilty pleasures?
The Southern Atmosphere Really Got Me
I thought it would be the beautiful vampires that would be the biggest bait for me. But it was the southern Gothic atmosphere, which I adore. And a disclaimer! I’ll be focusing here mostly on the first season of True Blood, and leave the remaining seasons for some other occasion. But the first season of True Blood focused mostly on the telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her whoremonger of a brother brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Later on, we’ll get to know their childhood friend Tara (Rutina Wesley), Sookie’s love interest Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and the old alpha vampire, Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård). Not to mention, Sam Merlotte the sweet and loyal bar-owner where Sookie works, and the flamboyant cook Lafayette Reynolds (the late Nelsan Ellis).
Set in the small fictional town, Bon Temps in Louisiana, True Blood is set in an alternate universe. A universe in which vampires are out and proud. They’re also cohabitation among the humans, and in return, they get to drink True Blood. Synthetic blood made in Japan, which barely satisfies their needs.
Why It Was So Successful?
Well, aside from the fantastic cast, the vampire lore, the Southern Gothic atmosphere and the blood galore… There were the characters, the crazy sex scenes, the mystery, the drama and everything in between. Let’s start with the characters, shall we? Although praised with a stellar cast, for me it was the characters that made and broke the show.
First of all, Sookie was an annoying dumb idiot, and so were most of the characters too. Furthermore, Bill was the insufferable, whiny vampire and I grew to loathe him fairly quickly in the season. Loathe! All while Tara and her mother were getting on my nerves in every single episode. And yes, to this day I swear by the sweet, kind and loyal Sam. I adore Sam with a capital A. Just wonderful big teddy-bear and a true friend of almost everyone in Bon Temps. And of course Pam as well. The queen of sarcastic witty, remarks and semi-pro in disgruntle eye-rolling. Her sighs and clap-backs kept me alive in 2020, not gonna lie.
More Than Sexy Vampires?
But as I mentioned, the show blended Christianity with lust. Also the moral stoicism of the South with plenty of debauchery, sins and decadence of the fictional universe. Later on, the show, lost all of the edge, focus and direction, but yeah. The steamy atmosphere lingered a lot. A lot. And in every aspect of the show. Not just in the storytelling, but in the development of those aforementioned characters. The show may lost quality over time, but the sex appeal… Never. It never lost that. Take the characters for instance. They were layered, flawed, complex and yes, sometimes naïve, dumb, and annoying. And remained as such. But yeah. That was the good fun mix of flaws and attributes that I like to this day. When the writing and the characters were good, the show was good as well.
Indeed. I’ll be the first to admit. The subplots became less and less engaging as the seasons progressed, and so were some of the characters were less than stellar. But damn… That first season was lit. Steamy, tacky, cheesy southern goodness.
Will The Reboot Repair The Damage?
Personally, I don’t think today’s modern reboots have the chops to elevate the original material. That’s not to say that there aren’t some good reboots in the past. I mean just look at Battlestar Galactica. And are I say it, Cobra Kai (my current addiction BTW). But in terms of the True Blood reboot, I don’t think it will do the OG material justice. Not only it will be timid (my estimates anyway) but stripped of all the themes that were integral in the series.
The themes of redemption, the duality of human nature, the fine line between good and evil. Or the struggle for dominance between the vampires and humans. Not to mention the very liberal views on sex and violence. You just know it’s going to be a watered-down version of the series with lots of 20-something charismatic yet untalented actors. I mean just take a look at the opening intro. There’s no way they will come even close with the intro, to be perfectly honest.
But we’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime make sure to pre-purchase Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 and enjoy.
Your Thoughts On Bloodlines 2
Are you a fan of the series? Let us know your thoughts on the Vampire: The Masquerade series. Hit that comment section and let us know. We’d love to hear all about it.
