ebonlock | My heart yearns for your fragrant hair...

The second season has been, in a word, epic. I suppose given that they stopped the vampire armageddon last season by taking out the local king of the vampires/chief of police it only makes sense that this season would take a turn for the dark and massive. The first two episodes suffered a bit in that the focus was all over the place. It was like the writers had a hard time working out which story they wanted to tell and the overall effect was a little muddled.

Mind you the episodes were still fantastic, funny and heartbreaking by turns; but the thing that drew me into the series to begin with was the fact that it didn't follow the usual fantasy series track of telling grandiose stories but focused on three normal people who also just happened to be supernatural creatures.

This season you've got a bunch of chaotic, leaderless vampires causing havoc (with the addition of Ivan and Daisy - serious troublemakers) a pseudo scientific/religious anti-supernaturals organization conducting hideous experiments, Nina is revealed to have received the curse accidentally from George, Annie decides to get a job, etc. It's a lot to juggle, but so far my quibbles have been few and far between. Sure I'd like to spend more time focused on the characters and less on the bigger plots, but at least those plots are interesting. And we are still getting those moments. Most notably in the latest episode, the complete meltdown by George and Mitchell because their favorite show had been moved to a different time was...poetry.

Let's see, Annie's rather mad career as a barmaid and her utter cluelessness when it came to the love triangle she inadvertently found herself in combined with her situation as a spirit who's turned her back on whatever it is that lies beyond the door is making for a pretty interesting season so far. The "men with sticks and rope" are back, though we haven't heard them referred to since the pilot when OtherMitchell asked OtherAnnie not to tell George about them. The fact that they seem to be actively pursuing Annie and attempting to toss her through a rather grim looking door. Yet again it's revealed that Annie has terrible taste in guys, poor thing. And now she's invisible again so she's back to haunting the house and trying to bully George into doing her crazy bidding.

Though her plot does introduce us to Hugh, and the scene where he and George bond over being dumped and coasters left me wondering if the two of them would start dating next. How cute would that be? Will Hugh's reunion with Christy mean we don't see him any more this season? That would be sad, I quite like him.

Mitchell's ascension to new king of the vampires to fill the power vacuum and protect his people should be quite interesting. How long before he starts rationalizing going back to the blood? Not long I'm betting. I like his predicament this season, no longer is he the rebel with a cause, the goody two shoes vampire with a conscience, rather he's sort of the Michael Corleone of the vampire society. He's a reluctant leader holding his nose and trying to tell himself that what he's doing is for some greater good. I liked how dark this latest episode got and just how dirty his hands had to get in order to maintain the status quo. I also liked the new police chief, he makes Herrick look almost noble by comparison. And then there's the poor bastard, the ME, who Mitchell managed to threaten into capitulating through some seriously vile means. I suspect he's not long for this world. I'm also intrigued by Daisy's reaction to Mitchell being crowned king of the monsters. Is she upset because she was hoping Ivan would end up in charge? Does she secretly like the idea that Mitchell is reformed and disappointed that he's assuming the mantle of authority? I seem to find the latter more believable particularly after her reaction to George's quiet psychological dismantling.

And speaking of George this season has seriously beaten the emotional stuffing out of him. First Nina shuts him out and won't explain why, he turns to Daisy and meaningless sex plus a big dollop of anger and I can't say I entirely blame him for that. When things come to a head after the full moon and he screams at Nina I could totally relate, I mean he's right, there really is nothing worse than getting nothing but disdain and disgust from the person you love without knowing why. Of course when she does break down and tell him my heart just broke, especially when he fell to his knees sobbing and begging her forgiveness. I think she wanted to forgive him, I really do, but her heart just couldn't quite let her do it. When she abandoned him and headed to the crazy science/Christian group my heart broke again. They're going to kill her, I have no doubt about that, and it's going to utterly destroy George when he finds out. On the other hand, after her last phone call to him I have to hope that at least for a short time he's going to keep his promise and do something with his life. He certainly seemed to be teaching a class (English as a second language?) in the previews for next week. Of course it won't last, I just wonder what's going to be the trigger this time to send it all tumbling down around his ears.

Am I surprised that the new girl in Mitchell's life is actually the big bad this season? Not really, though I am curious as to what she's doing with him. Is she really as fundie as she seems to be? Or does she have another agenda. Given the lengths the vampires and their aids are willing to go to in order to keep things quiet I can almost see that as reason enough for her to want to strike back. I'll be interested to see where her character goes.

Really enjoying the first three episodes, but with only 3 left I can't imagine how they're going to wrap all this up. Indeed I'm not sure I want them to, I'd happily settle for a well conceived and executed cliffhanger.

If anyone needs this season's eps just ping me in comments.