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True Blood season 2

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True Blood
Season 2
DVD cover art
No. of episodes12
Release
Original networkHBO
Original releaseJune 14 (2009-06-14) –
September 13, 2009 (2009-09-13)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 1
Next →
Season 3
List of episodes

The second season of the television series True Blood commenced airing in the United States on June 14, 2009, concluded on September 13, 2009, and contains 12 episodes. It is loosely based on the second novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Living Dead in Dallas.

The second season explores telepath Sookie Stackhouse's relationship with her vampire lover, Bill Compton. It also introduces a number of sub-plots involving the anti-vampire Fellowship of the Sun church and Jason Stackhouse's indoctrination into the church by its leaders, Rev Steve Newlin and his wife Sarah. It also expands the role of Maryann Forrester, a powerful supernatural creature, who slowly gains control over the people of Bon Temps. Sookie and Bill travel to Dallas to help Eric find his maker, a two-thousand-year-old vampire named Godric, who has gone missing and is believed to have been kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun.

The second season aired Sundays at 9:00 PM in the United States. The season finale aired on September 13, 2009.

Plot

Anna Paquin returns as the main character Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with telepathic abilities. Stephen Moyer plays her love interest, vampire Bill Compton. At the beginning of the season Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård), the Sheriff of Area 5, recruits Sookie and Bill to find his maker, Godric (Allan Hyde). In Dallas, Godric's lieutenants, Stan Davis (Ed Quinn) and Isabel (Valerie Cruz), argue over the direction the vampires should take following Godric's disappearance. Christopher Gartin portrays Isabel's turncoat human boyfriend Hugo, who betrays the Dallas vampires to the Fellowship of the Sun.

Ryan Kwanten returns as Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's brother, who was recruited by the Fellowship of the Sun at the end of the previous season. He travels to Dallas to join the church, and Reverend Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian) and his wife Sarah (Anna Camp) both take a shine to Jason; Steve is impressed by his strength and Sarah is impressed by his looks.

In Bon Temps Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), the owner of Merlotte's bar, resolves to leave town but is persuaded to stay when he meets Daphne Landry (Ashley Jones), a fellow shapeshifter and lousy waitress. Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes) reveals herself to be a supernatural being, a maenad. She uses her powers to control the people of Bon Temps, starting with Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley). "Eggs" Benedict Talley (Mehcad Brooks) becomes closer to Tara, and he kills Daphne while under the influence of Maryann.

Arlene Fowler (Carrie Preston) and Terry Bellefleur (Todd Lowe) also become involved while under the influence of Maryann.

At the beginning of the season, Tara's cousin Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis) is imprisoned at Fangtasia with Royce Williams (Caleb Moody). After Royce is killed by Eric, Lafayette attempts to escape and is shot. He is later healed by Eric and ordered by Pam (Kristin Bauer) to resume selling vampire blood.

Jim Parrack returns as Hoyt Fortenberry Jason's co-worker. He meets Jessica Hamby (Deborah Ann Woll) and begins a relationship with her, much to the disgust of his mother, Maxine Fortenberry.

After being wrong about Jason Stackhouse, Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) begins drinking heavily and is stripped of his badge. Despite this, he continues the search for Miss Jeanette's killer, later revealed to be Eggs under Maryann's influence.

In the last two episodes, Evan Rachel Wood is introduced as Sophie-Anne Leclerq, the vampire Queen of Louisiana.

Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) also returns, as does William Sanderson as Sheriff Dearborne.

Episodes

See also: List of True Blood episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS viewers
(millions)
131"Nothing But the Blood"Daniel MinahanAlexander WooJune 14, 2009 (2009-06-14)3.70[1]
142"Keep This Party Going"Michael LehmannBrian BucknerJune 21, 2009 (2009-06-21)3.41[2]
153"Scratches"Scott WinantRaelle TuckerJune 28, 2009 (2009-06-28)3.70[3]
164"Shake and Fingerpop"Michael LehmannAlan BallJuly 12, 2009 (2009-07-12)3.90[4]
175"Never Let Me Go"John DahlNancy OliverJuly 19, 2009 (2009-07-19)3.85[5]
186"Hard-Hearted Hannah"Michael LehmannBrian BucknerJuly 26, 2009 (2009-07-26)4.00[6]
197"Release Me"Michael RuscioRaelle TuckerAugust 2, 2009 (2009-08-02)4.27[7]
208"Timebomb"John DahlAlexander WooAugust 9, 2009 (2009-08-09)4.43[8]
219"I Will Rise Up"Scott WinantNancy OliverAugust 16, 2009 (2009-08-16)4.46[9]
2210"New World in My View"Adam DavidsonKate Barnow & Elisabeth R. FinchAugust 23, 2009 (2009-08-23)5.33[10]
2311"Frenzy"Daniel MinahanAlan BallAugust 30, 2009 (2009-08-30)5.19[11]
2412"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"Michael CuestaAlexander WooSeptember 13, 2009 (2009-09-13)5.11[12]

Cast and characters

Main cast

Guest cast

Special guest cast

Production

Crew

Series creator Alan Ball returned as executive producer and head writer. Gregg Fienberg, who worked on HBO's Deadwood, joined Ball as executive producer.

Chris Offutt left the writing staff at the end of the first season and was recruited onto the Showtime dark comedy Weeds. Brian Buckner, Alexander Woo, Nancy Oliver and Raelle Tucker all returned from the first season. Along with Ball, all writers authored two episodes a piece with the exception of Woo, who wrote three including the finale. Script co-ordinator Kate Barnow and writer's assistant Elisabeth R. Finch co-wrote the tenth episode.

Daniel Minahan, Michael Lehmann, Scott Winant and John Dahl returned to direct multiple episodes. Michael Ruscio, the senior editor on the series and long-time collaborator with Ball, made his directorial debut with the seventh episode. Adam Davidson, who directed a fifth-season episode of Six Feet Under shot episode ten while Michael Cuesta, another Six Feet Under alum directed the finale.

Buckner and Oliver were the co-executive producers with Woo serving as supervising producer and Tucker as producer. Christina Jokanovich served as associate producer along with Luis M. Patiño. Bruce Dunn joined as co-producer and Mark McNair joined as producer.

Reception

The second season received a generally more positive reaction than the first. The New York Post acclaimed the violence in the second season: "I'm happy to report that this season, there's More Blood! More Torture! More Killing! and More Intrigue! than last season."[13]

New York Magazine praised the series: "It's really located at that dirty crossroads HBO discovered long ago, smart enough to be uninsulting, but obsessed enough (and graphic enough about) sex and wildness that it is addictively watchable, not so much a guilty pleasure as a binge food. Cable catnip, in other words."[14] and Newsday described the second season as: "Silly, gross, soapy, mysterious, intriguing, exotic, erotic True Blood is fun. Even more fun this season."[15]

By the end of the second season, True Blood scored 74, indicating favorable reviews, on Metacritic, an aggregator of critical responses, 10 more than the 64 scored by season one.

Accolades

This season was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to Mad Men. The show was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series and Anna Paquin was nominated for Best Actress – Television (Drama). It won Favorite TV Obsession at the People's Choice Awards, which it was also nominated for Favorite Sci-Fi Fantasy Show, Best TV Drama Actress for Anna Paquin, but lost to Supernatural and Katherine Heigl respectively. It received nine nominations at the Scream Awards for The Ultimate Scream (the highest award), Best TV Show, Best Horror Actress for Anna Paquin, Best Horror Actor for Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgård, Best Supporting Actor for Sam Trammell, Best Breakout Performance – Female for Deborah Ann Woll, Best Ensemble for the entire cast and Most Memorable Mutilation. The series won Best TV Show, Best Actress for Anna Paquin, and Best Actor for Alexander Skarsgård. It was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but lost to Mad Men.

Ratings

The second-season premiere of the series on June 14, 2009, was watched by 3.7 million viewers, making it the most watched program on HBO since the series finale of The Sopranos. The total number of viewers for the season premiere, including the late night replay, was 5.1 million.[16] The tenth episode of the second season (August 23, 2009) was seen by 5.3 million viewers, a new record for the series, with an overall weekly second season average of 11.5 million viewers including repeats.[17][18]

United Kingdom

All ratings are taken from the UK Ratings website, BARB.[19]

Episode number
(Production number) 		Title Original air date Total viewers
on FX 		Total viewers
on FX+ 		Total viewers Rank on channel
13
2-01		 Nothing But the Blood February 26, 2010 TBA TBA TBA #TBA (FX)
#TBA (FX+)
14
2-02		 Keep the Party Going March 5, 2010 467,000 108,000 575,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
15
2-03		 Scratches March 12, 2010 555,000 94,000 649,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)
16
2-04		 Shake and Fingerpop March 19, 2010 558,000 106,000 664,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)
17
2-05		 Never Let Me Go March 26, 2010 522,000 95,000 617,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)
18
2-06		 Hard-Hearted Hannah April 2, 2010 484,000 43,000 527,000 #1 (FX)
#7 (FX+)
19
2-07		 Release Me April 9, 2010 390,000 89,000 479,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
20
2-08		 Timebomb April 16, 2010 466,000 90,000 556,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
21
2-09		 I Will Rise Up April 23, 2010 464,000 102,000 566,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
22
2–10		 New World In My View April 30, 2010 520,000 112,000 632,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
23
2–11		 Frenzy May 7, 2010 530,000 151,000 681,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
24
2–12		 Beyond Here Lies Nothin' May 14, 2010 558,000 88,000 646,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)

Soundtrack

List of Season 2 Ending Credits Songs in order.[20]

  1. Randy Travis—Nothing but the Blood (of Jesus)
  2. Chuck Prophet—You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)
  3. Debbie Davies—Scratches
  4. Headbone – Dig
  5. Katie Webster – Never Let Me Go
  6. Dolly Kay—Hard-Hearted Hannah (the Vamp from Savannah)
  7. Bad Livers – Death Trip
  8. Beck- Timebomb
  9. Lyle Lovett – I Will Rise Up
  10. Sister Gertrude Morgan & King Britt – New World in My View
  11. Screamin' Jay Hawkins – Frenzy
  12. Bob Dylan – Beyond Here Lies Nothin

The official soundtrack was released on 25 May 2010 in the United States.[21]

References

  1. ^ "The Closer, WWE RAW and Royal Pains lead cable, True Blood makes top 20". TVbytheNumbers. 2009-06-16. Archived from the original on 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  2. ^ Kissell, Rick (2009-06-23). "Cable fills Big Four's post-NBA void". Variety. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  3. ^ "HBO's Sunday huge with Hung premiere". Broadcasting & Cable. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  4. ^ "True Blood ratings: Still not sucking!". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  5. ^ Kissell, Rick (2009-07-21). "Fox in TV ratings double play". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  6. ^ "True Blood draws 4 Million Viewers, Plus Entourage, Hung ratings". TV by the Numbers. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  7. ^ Kissell, Rick (2009-08-04). "Reality Rules the Roost". Variety. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  8. ^ "True Blood sets another series high with 4.43 million viewers". TV by the Numbers. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  9. ^ "Updated: True Blood bites off another new Nielsen high with 4.46 million viewers". TvbytheNumbers. 2009-08-18. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  10. ^ "'True Blood' ratings: They're huge!". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-08-25. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  11. ^ "True Blood: Not a record, but 5.185 million ain't bad..." TV by the Numbers. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  12. ^ Seidman, Robert (September 15, 2009). "Cable Ratings: USC, VMAs, iCarly and True Blood finale..." TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  13. ^ Stasi, Linda (2009-06-12). "'TRUE BLOOD' IS MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO SEE". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  14. ^ "Bloody Good Show". New York Magazine. 2009-07-02. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  15. ^ "HBO's 'True Blood' is erotically appealing". Newsday. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  16. ^ Levine, Stuart (2009-06-16). "Ads help auds bite into 'True Blood'". Variety. Reed Elsevier Inc. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  17. ^ "Updated: True bloody momentum for True Blood: 5.3 million and another record!" Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  18. ^ "Another you-know-what for 'True Blood'". The Live Feed. 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  19. ^ "BARB Website Ratings".
  20. ^ Music Season 2 – True Blood". TrueBloodWiki.HBO.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  21. ^ "True Blood Season 2 Soundtrack Details". DreadCentral.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
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