If I was Charlaine Harris, I think I would be a little pissed. Very wealthy, and pretty pleased about that, but a little angry about how Alan Ball and gang could turn my literary heroine, an independent, spirited, smart (and kind of ass-kicking) young woman into a whiny, self-pitying, and pathetic female character who almost every character on True Blood, and many of the show's fans, seriously hate.
Now this post isn't necessarily a rant about adaptation and medium. I understand that a book and a television show are different mediums, and so stories are told very differently in those two areas. Ball's series' cannot possibly replicate the first person narration that drives Harris's novels. I get that. Furthermore, a television series will unsurprisingly take a narrative in different directions, and those directions can be dictated by television stardom, ratings, and a show's budget. (There's a reason why the Syfy network's version of Being Human looks so much better than the British version--more money equals better effects).
I've even become pretty entranced by Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's beloved fantasy series, but I have almost no interest in reading those novels. Everything I've read about his books suggests that the television show has greatly expanded some of the more thinly drawn and under-developed women's roles that are on display in Martin's series. Part of the reason those roles can be deepened is because series television allows for the fleshing out of narrative and character over time.
So I'm not ranting that Charlaine Harris's books are so much better than the series, even if I think that they are. What infuriates me about the show is that its central character, Sookie Stackhouse, is painted in a manner that makes her increasingly weak and ripe for humiliation. For a little while I thought it might be Anna Paquin's portrayal of the character. Maybe she's just not the greatest fit, what with her fake southern cadences and overly trembling lip. But this week changed all that for me, and forced me to reflect on poor Sookie's transformation.
Just a little reminder to those of us who can barely remember Season one of True Blood; in the pilot episode, Sookie saves Bill. In fact, she saves a lot of people throughout the first couple of seasons. She is intrepid, courageous, and willing to fight for her friends (and sometimes for strangers). She's not easily intimidated, and she's not afraid of the supernaturals in her midst. This portrayal is not at odds with Harris's creation, and Ball and Co. are careful to allow Sookie the strength and fearlessness that are central to this woman character. At least early on.
Fast forward to Season 5, episode 5 of True Blood, "Let's Boot and Rally." To quickly recap, Sookie nearly dies when her "friend" Lafayette throws some ridiculous demon mojo on her car, and it becomes possessed and tries to kill her. This event occurs after Lafayette tells Sookie that she's the Angel of Death and that everyone hates her (yeah, yeah, there's more to it than that, but I just don't have the patience to rehash the narrative lead up, okay).
Sookie's on her couch getting totally drunk and feeling tremendously sorry for herself when Alcide shows up; he's a hot werewolf. They discuss various plot points that I don't want to get into, and they start making out. Now Alcide is played by Joe Manganiello, who also has a role in Soderbergh's Magic Mike and is a real fan of taking his shirt off whenever possible. This guy is cut. Sookie utters some incredibly obnoxious line about how Alcide is in love with her, so she can make him do whatever she wants; this behavior is not cool, and places Sookie in a self-serving, manipulative light. The scene implies that in Sookie's drunken state, she's showing her true colors, and they are not pretty. To make matters worse, Bill and Eric are hanging around outside, voyeuristically watching and commenting on the action. Ah, but things get even worse.
As Sookie unbuttons Alcide's fly, she then proceeds to throw up all over his feet. Immediately thereafter, Bill and Eric are shown in her bedroom doorway, and Eric wryly comments, "Alcide, you sure know how to treat a lady." Yep.
I suppose this scene is intended to be funny, but at that moment I hit pause and started ranting, and clearly I'm still angry. How could an admirable woman character crafted so carefully by a woman writer become a cross between a pathetic laughingstock and a mean-spirited harpy? Is HBO, with shows like Girls and Veep, now female humiliation central? I have a long, long laundry list of complaints about True Blood, but I just don't want to spend my time going there. What I will say is that while I respect Charlaine Harris's decision to let Ball & Co. take the show in their own directions, I would love it if she got resoundingly pissed and took them to task for transforming Sookie into this pathetic, unlikeable hot mess. GRRRRR. Bring back a Sookie Stackhouse that one can respect and admire, okay? Okay?!
