Subtle

   Subtle, something delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe, making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something (Webster). This is a word that I would never use to describe Dead until Dark book series and the horrid TV spin-off True Blood both of which take any subtlety that could be and burns it like Bill at breakfast.

The novel makes a better attempt at subtlety in some places while in other place it derails and crashes. Some of the positive uses of subtlety in the book are by giving hints about Sam being a werewolf/dog, the killer’s identity, and how Vampire blood could be addictive, but that’s about the end of it. Other than these few points the book is pretty on the nose about what means what and how the characters are feeling by having the characters narrate their own feelings. The worst example of the negative subtlety in the novel is when Sookie and Bill have sex in the graveyard after she thought he was dead. (Also am I the only one who thinks sex in a graveyard is both creepy and really disgusting) In most romantic novels a person orgasming is described as the character being transported to another realm of existence, feeling euphoric and understanding what it means to be in love. But in this terrible novel this moment is summed up in just three words “Suddenly I came”, how romantic (Dead Until Dark). You can just feel the author just violently beating you in the head saying “Do you get it”. No matter how I bash the book the show did so much worse.

"You just spent all day submerged in the ground, lets plow!"

The only subtle part of the show True Blood, is the actually catchy and fitting opening song called Bad Things. In the opening the song plays over stock footage of decaying animals, the KKK, images that represent Louisiana, and religion. Now some of you might think that this is not really subtle, showing the main themes of the show before the episode even starts but compared to the rest of this train wreck this is godly. Some examples of this are the “pie scene”, and any scene with Sam. During the scenes with Sam there are many hints that he is a dog from showing a picture of a dog in his office, Tara saying Sam is “Like a dog with a bone”, and Bill calling him a mutt. This and the fact he always showed up in his dog form every time Sookie turns him down or tells him to leave, nice. 

Finally we get to the pie scene, where pie is mistreated just like the audience. The scene has Sookie slowly eating the last pie that Gran had made before she died, to the tune of a southern hymn. This scene is supposed to show Sookie grieving for her grandmother, but comes off as forced and heavy handed and almost comical. (It also quickly transitions from this scene to all of the main characters having sex).  So the both book and the TV spin-off show a lot of southern pride, racism and a lot of unnecessary sex, but little to no subtlety and it clearly shows.  

How we all feel after watching the show.