The “twisted” sex scene between Bill Compton & Lorena is getting a lot of commentary in the blogosphere since the True Blood season 3 episode 3 entitled, “It Hurts Me Too” aired last Sunday. The much discussed scene has recently been listed in the Hall of Shame on the National Organization for Women’s (NOW) website. The article urges the audience to write to HBO to “tell them what you think about this violent, misogynistic scene in True Blood.”
I know that there are various reaction levels: of justice being done, acceptance, outrage & disgust provoked by this one scene. One thing is for sure, nobody has reacted with indifference. The question I am pondering after reading their take, is what if the roles had been reversed and it was a male vampire being so in “love” with the female vamp, that he compelled her to have sex with him and she was the one doing the twisting? Would that affect how we all interpreted this act?
Offender: Television show True Blood
Media Outlet: HBO, first airing 6-27-10
The Offense: Vampire Bill Compton has violent sex with his nemesis/”maker” Lorena, during which he twists her head around backward.
NOW’s Analysis: Here’s a quick backgrounder for the uninitiated: HBO’s True Blood is based on a series of books about vampires and other super-natural characters. The show frequently contains explicit sex and violence. Bill is a main character and romantic interest for the female lead, Sookie. Currently Bill is going through a personal crisis about loving a human while being controlled by vampire Lorena, who turned him into a vampire long ago and keeps popping up despite his attempts to break away from her. Lorena is the classic “bitch” character who viewers are encouraged to hate. Bill definitely despises her, but vampire rules compel him to follow his maker’s commands.
In this context, Lorena asks Bill to make love to her. He says “never” but proceeds to throw her on the bed and rip off her clothes. Apparently, he can’t stop himself from having sex with her, but in a form of protest, Bill literally twists her neck, turning her face around backward. He continues to have sex with her as the camera provides us with a wide shot that is disturbing, to say the least. Facing the floor, with blood spilling out of her mouth, Lorena proclaims to Bill that she still loves him.
True Blood might be make-believe, but the parallels to real life in this scene are too horrifying to ignore. The scene taps into a hatred of women that still exists in our society — a revulsion toward women with power and a desire to punish them for making men feel weak. Yes, we’re supposed to be shocked. This is our wake up call that Bill might not be a suitable lifemate for Sookie. But let’s forget for a minute who or what these characters are: Here is a scene that was written and filmed to allow viewers to watch a man have violent sex with a woman he hates so much he twists her head around, and she loves him all the more for it. Remember, the character of Lorena is fictional, her persona and actions are the creation of writers, directors and producers. She is presented, simultaneously, as a hideous, controlling “bitch” and a pitiful, deluded stalker. And while we are supposed to be disgusted by Bill’s violence, aren’t we given permission to believe, just a tiny bit, that this woman got what was coming to her? Bad girls deserve to get hurt, and, besides, they like it — right? Thanks, but no thanks, True Blood for this messed up depiction of women, men, violence and sex.
hah Get over it ladies – it’s fiction!!!!!
If a woman vampire was to twist a male vampire’s head around to have rough sex with him, we all know you wouldn’t be out there burning bras for the sake of the poor male. Stop crying and think about REAL events.
Bill is violent with Lorena and she likes it so that = bad.
Lorena rapes Bill of his humanity which is torture for him, but that can be ignored?
I agree Kelly, NOW needs to find something more to do with their time.
On the note of rape, Lorena also raped Bill after she first turned him in that bed of hers. She was mounting him and he was 100% against it. Yet not ‘bras were burned’ for him. I’ve got half a mind to tell this protester off, based from a MALE perspective. Unless you’re extremely sexist, I never EVER thought the types of things this article complains about to be true. It never even crossed my mind, other than ‘oh gosh this is a queasy/graphic moment.’
I never once thought about how a woman was violently oppressed and abused in a ‘relationship’. That being said, you could still hold a torch to the fact that even though ‘her man’ is ‘abusing’ her, Lorena still returns to him instead of getting away from him like any healthy woman of today’s age would/ought to do. She returns to him, harasses him, stalks him, rapes him, threatens his current love life with death. She’s the real monster and to give her any favor of pity in THIS scene and ignore all the other crimes she’s done against Bill, is sick and yes twisted in my honest male opinion. Lorena pisses me off for the crap she does to Bill and in no way would she earn my pity.
(Granted this is not a slam to the wonderful actress who plays her. She does a fine job of portraying the monstrous character that is Lorena. So kudos to Mariana Klaveno! :) )
FINALLY!!!!!
fiction my ass….
it was an abuse,…and tv has a BIG impact in Public Opinion…
AB made this scene with a purpose…and that’s what exactly what happened tha day after!
I feel sorry for all the women abused for real who watched the show and then read all the comments about how it was NOT and abuse….or just BUT IT’s NOT REAl….
I’m with all of these women….i feel you.
I lived through a domestic violence relationship and got out of it, having said that I disagree w/you, True Blood is STRICTLY fictional paranormal character show, I have no problem keeping that straight even after being abused in the past. was it shocking YES, but mainly bc it was unexpected.
Do you even watch the show? Yes, it is fiction. I personally, I am not one to blame my actions on the influence of TV. IF you are that type of person, I can see how you would see it as you have stated.
I think this is too much. Lorena is the manipulator here, not the man. And there are other powerful women in the show who are to be looked up to. Sookie is strong willed and she is not taken advantage of. Coming from a woman, this is not some chauvinistic pig getting his way. The man is actually getting taken advantage of in this situation. It seems like they somewhat know the background of the story, but make up other reasons anyway.
I absolutely agree with lilkirby:
The whole situation was forced on Bill – until that moment, he worked to deftly protect Sookie long distance, sidestepping and parrying the Vamp King and Lorena to keep himself and Sookie alive – Lorena used compulsion to control Bill in retaliation of his foiling her plans, she ordered him to her and he had to obey although he more than loathed doing so, he took no pleasure, it was a violent assault on more than one front, his as well as hers, he was literally tearing his hair out by the end of it – she’s his maker and the stronger of the two, mostly in every bad way – I’m sure at some point, Lorena will get hers, but at what cost, will Bill lose every trace of humanity, just as Eric finds his? Between those two and that simmering hunk Alcide, Sookie is one lucky fictional woman…
That is correct, this is fiction … (not real). Anyway the episode was great and also the novels. Get over it people.
Thank you- ppl need to find real problems in the world to be worried about. There are real crimes of abuse happening all over the world that aren’t getting any press.
violence against women is criminal, but that was fiction … and Lorena is a manipulative Bill deserves much more ..
Kind of have to wonder if reviewers such as these (from NOW, etc.) actually watched Bill’s expressions at all or the rest of the episode, but rather just heard that there was neck-twisting and went off. I found the scene profoundly sad, a comment on how Bill was forced by Lorena over and over to deny his humanity, and further forced by his own inability to stick up for himself and what he wanted. The neck-twisting wasn’t about violence. It was about his attempt to avoid facing what he’d let himself become…a tool to Lorena, a tool to Russell Eddington.
This was profoundly different from the trunk scene of Book 3, which I won’t get into too much for those who choose not to read. Suffice it to say that after that scene in the books, I became firmly Team Eric. In the tv show, I find Bill a more sympathetic character, and this scene (which I suspect is the replacement of the trunk scene because I just can’t see Alan Ball doing that one) did not turn me off to Bill.
Lorena didn’t seem to mind her neck being twisted. As his maker, she could have easily prevented that. She’s sad in her own way, but I find it difficult to have sympathy for her.
I am sorry that some of you think that True blood writers went to far, But as for me I was abused and no i did not see how that related to reality in any way. The scene in question was what it was. you can say what you want, i belive it was a vital part of this season. I do not think the writers hate women or even meant for any one to take it as what most of you are making this about. If you think that it went to far then fine but please stop bashing True blood for your misunderstaning of what it was really about. And from what i saw she like the ROUGH sex. like the saying goes to each his own. she liked it and got what she wanted. TRUE BLOOD keep it up the show is great and i wont stop watching.
Actually that’s exactly what I thought after watching it… this is the replacement for the trunk scene, it servse the same purpuse in a less shocking fashion. But I was kind of expecting that trunk scene, it didn’t bother me at all and it didn’t make me love Bill any less. That scene is pivotal for the reader to understand the very nature of a vampire, no matter how human you think he is, he is not, he reacts like an animal, he is pray of its instincts, he can loces you as I believe Bill truely loved Sookie and she absolutely trusted him, but he just can’t help himself he was starving, scared, he’s been abused for weeks, deprived from rest and he is not a man, he is not human, he reacts according to his most primal instincts when he realized it was her he stopped but it was late, he already attacked her.
There is no way I would accept that from a man or a women, let’s not forget women abuse men as well, but I can separate fiction from real life, this is fictions, these characters are not human, they’re not suppose to act like us… and this is the main question that Charlaine Harris has failed to answer in her books, can human and vampires actually co-exist? So far True Blood is apparently heading towards that direction and that is really interesting to me, I’d like to find out about that… we find vampires so attractives and sexy and fascinating, but do we really want to live among them?!
I 100% agree with you on the trunk scene. He was deprived of pretty much his sanity and the only thing driving him WERE primal instincts that he cannot ignore if he is to survive. He had no idea it was Sookie at all until his primal instincts were satiated to where his more rational mind could wake back up to life. To bash Bill over that scene is cruel and unusual imo.
I understand their point a little but at the same time I don’t get it. Is this the first time in TV or film that we have seen any such thing. Ok well not the head twisting during sex but hatred and violence towards a woman? It was supposed to show Lorena the way it did, that this poor woman loves Bill so much that she will take him any way she can. This is a sad reality for some women, and the show is exploring many different types of relationships. Not like this scene was shown in a positive light and what one should do. They also should find out facts first before writing anything about it because Bill has been released by Lorena and while it may seem he was compelled to do this, he was NOT. On TB once you have been released by your maker they no longer can compel you to do anything, control over the child is gone.
I understand it can be disturbing to many but ignoring realities of life doesn’t make it go away. Last season we saw Tara and Eggs beating the crap out of eachother, why wasn’t there concern over that? TB is not sending out the message that this is what a relationship should be like or saying it’s ok for men to do such things, but only when talking about things can you bring awareness to it.
I totally agree!!
I for one was an abused woman for many years & think that it is JUST fiction and nothing else. I doubt that HBO wanted to make women, abused or not, feel hurt or violated in any way. I think that some “people” just don’t have anything else better to complain about then a fictitious show to keep themselves entertained.
I also agree that if the scene was reversed and it was a man being treated that way that the same “people” complaining about this scene now would be rejoicing for the “man finally getting what he deserved” idea.
Also, I thought that Bill was released from Lorena’s hold as his maker many many years ago. So tell me why would she still have ANY hold over him what so ever?
How do you think Sookie is going to feel when/if she finds out about this? Do you think that Bill is going to be able to talk himself out of this?
Go Bill & Sookie ~ if not them then pair her off with Eric :D
Excellent observations.
Well I think on the question of her ‘hold’ over him, I personally feel that she still does have control over him as she still has her blood in him regardless of words she says of ‘releasing’ him. I think until she is dead she still has power over Bill. And to top it off he took some of her blood before this twisted romp started, he chomped on her neck and I think that also would help to override his ability to disobey her.
What I find hypocritical here is that IF this would have been ERIC the very same people defending BILL would be crucifying Eric calling him a rapist and decrying violence against women. They would have talked about how this shows the ‘real” character of how evil Eric is yet read the comments … poor Bill was “pushed” into hurting her because, ya know she’s just a bitch and deserves what she gets for bugging Bill.
Well, I don’t know that to be true (of course you’ll have some elements of both teams being nutters) and I’d sort of like to keep the comments on topic and not turn it into a “my vamp is better than your vamp” thread. We already have suffered through so many of those…
LuvEric please don’t turn this into team hate, please!
It is not team hate it just reality. I sorry you feel that an honest observation is “hate”. Very FEW people would have defended Eric if he would have committed the same actions and that is the truth … even if you hate it.
LuvEric, explain to me please, how is this bout Eric?!!! Trust me we’ll defending him when the time comes and the outsiders start to bash him, but Eric hasn’t been in such a controversial position! So far Eric has been pertty simple, he’s been the bad guy that now is being turn as a good guy because he apparently has feelings for Sookie, which he needs to find out yet.. but that’s pertty much it!
And by the way this is not about defending Bill, this is about defending the writers of True Blood!!!
I’ll stop because I do not want a ‘Vamp War” as it is not now, or has it ever been my intention but I have made my point.
I agree with you. Would have been a different reaction if Eric had done something similar.
Yeah I don’t care to get into a team war, but it is the truth. Eric was called all kinds of things and how disgusting he was for sex with Yvetta in the DOD and about how horrible he is to treat a woman like that and even though it was consensual it doesn’t matter. This was brought up even when the conversation was about something else, so I think it’s why others brought it up now. Am I surprised? no because I realize fans are biased and will bash one character while defending another if something similar or even worse is done so not even criticizing but just stating a fact. I actually think once people do realize this, they wouldn’t feel the need to ask others “but how can you like him, or how can you justify that” and constantly having to know why others feel differently. I won’t sit here and question anyones interest in another character because of this and reason why most of the time I prefer to take a different approach than go in attack mode.
I agree. The reaction would be totally different if it had been Eric. They would be calling for a staking! LOL!
No I don’t think so. I don’t wanna start this up again but I prefer Eric because I have read the series and I know whats up, but I still just spoke up for Bill’s actions just the same even though I know he’s not at all what he seems in that version of the “Sookieverse”. I feel as though the younger more “high school” crowd who stumbled on the show when looking for more of someone like Edward Cullen would probably try to pull that off, but in my view of things, thats a minority. Eric’s nice and safe. :)
O Rly? I guess I could start screeching about sexual harrassment of vulnerable employees in skanky basements, but I won’t go there. And I didn’t two weeks ago, because constant bashing of a fictional character to ‘big up’ your favourite fictional character is totally retarded.
I’m glad to see most of our other visitors have managed to come on here and discuss this matter objectively, without resorting to Team bullshit. Brava.
I will have to strongly disagree with you. I would also say that it is very bold of someone to pass judgment on others and say how they would react if the shoe was on the other foot. This article is not just an attack on one scene, it opens up an attack on the entire show and it writers.
I see you have nothing to actual add to the attack on the scene or the shows writers, but just to criticize the people that are posting and you are trying to defend Eric/Alex when he isn’t even part of the discussion.
Totally ridiculous! It’s FICTION!!! And NOW is doing exactly what HBO wants them to do. They are getting all upset over this scene and making a big deal out of a simple storyline. And because of that HBO will get bigger ratings. Its like free publicity. Bottom line, the scene was amazing and the bra-burners need to get over it! The show is fantastic and just keeps getting better because the writers put stuff like this in it.
Lorena released Bill in 1935. There was no “Compulsion” he did it in anger.
He was not forced to have “sex” with her, he lost control of his anger impulse. I feel AB & Co were trying to display that Bill is in fact a VAMPIRE who cannot always control his darkness.
I know in the SSN children are always compelled to obey unless said maker dies. This is not the case on True Blood. Lorena is older, stronger and faster, and is able to physically over power him. But he is no longer compelled to do her bidding. Otherwise she could order him to leave Sookie, or force him to kill her.
Flashback to Los Angeles 1935 Lorena says to Bill:
“As your maker, I release you.”
Back to present day – Lorena is holding Bill up against the door with a wooden stake in his back.
Bill: “You released me. There is nothing left between us, what could you possibly have to gain from this?”
Season 2 episode 8 – Godric’s house.
Sookie: “Bill, is this your maker?”
Bill: “She released me years ago, she no longer has any hold over me.”
I totally agree with you about Bill being released and they showed the flashback of when it happend. Now, I think that the connection between Bill and Lorena is a more love/hate scenerio. Being his maker and having years spent feeding off of each other has probably made a indestructable bond between them both. He doesn’t have to obey her, but is compelled to do so because of the blood connection.
I didn’t find it offensive to women at all, yes…very shocking because I wasn’t expecting it…but knowing the storyline understood what True Blood was conveying. I’ve been violated in the past and didn’t get upset with the scene. Statistics say that a woman is sexually violated every 7 mins in the US…so maybe NOW should go and spend their time and effort in prevention of “real life” violence against women and leave the fictional alone.
I found the neck twist a bit too much, I wouldnt want to watch it again. But its fiction and the NOW website need to concentrate on more important and relevant content then a ficitonal show.
Wow, where were these folks when Bill and Lorena were having sex in the blood of some poor woman with her throat torn out. NOW needing some spotlight for the cause to help fund raising? Yeesh…it’s fiction with vampires! They rip human apart and eat them. It’s violent stuff. Are we going to pick apart civil rights issues, etc….it’s a tv show folks. It’s so hot that groups want to get a good headline by throwing stones.
Dear NOW
please kindly get over yourselves. It is make believe aimed at a mature audience that I am sure know the difference between right an wrong. Please go face down REAL events and not the imaginative ones from a TELEVISION fantasy show.
I have a feeling they have never really watched the show and only heard through the grapevine about what happened, and if they actually watched the show they may think differently. I personally did not see anything particularly wrong with it other than it took the movie the Exorcist to a whole new level in my mind lol. I actually thought the bitch got what she deserved!
That twisted neck reminded me of “Death Becomes Her”. Were there complaints about that movie as well?
Now I’m wondering where PETA was during the second episode. Bill was cruel to the wolves…eviscerated several and ripped off the ear of one.
LOL @ PETA yeah they will be next
First of all…NOW – get a clue – it’s a TV show that’s fiction!! Secondly, shut your pieholes and don’t talk about something you don’t know anything about. What was portrayed was not a rape. Bill did not rape Lorena. The sex was consensual – kinky, but consensual. GET IT??? I am a victim of rape. My rapist was a mind-warped coward who thought he had power over me and the rape was an act of power & aggression. If anything, it was Lorena who raped Bill over and over again emotionally. Bill’s act was simply giving in to his aggressor(s), but the pain and torment is written all over his face.
NOW – sit down and SHUT UP. You haven’t been relevent since the 80′s!!!
LOL-You tell’em!
OFTLOG. Women are raped every day in Congo as a matter of course, female children are made into sex slaves by Joseph Kony in Uganda, women in the U.S. are subjected to real domestic violence and they’re going after a FICTIONAL CHARACTER ON A VAMPIRE TV SHOW?
Why does this remind me of the time Dan Quayle used Murphy Brown as an example of a bad mother?
OMG, NotHoney! My thoughts exactly! Dan Quayle must be in cahoots with NOW looking for TV shows to criticize! NOW hasn’t been on anyone’s radar screen since the ERA amendments. They’re just trying to make a name for themselves, and they’re grasping at straws! Pathetic!
Well…you have to sympathize with Dan. In his world there were no REAL bad mothers he dared draw attention to. Might not get their vote.
Ok, so obviously some people didn’t read the fricken books and the people that wrote this screenplay maybe didn’t play up the fact that vampires CANNOT say NO to their maker in this writer’s fictional story. That doesn’t really come out in the books until AFTER Bill has sex with Lorena. So Lorena “Asks” Bill to make love to her, but he CAN’T say NO! The vamps in this story, again, CANNOT say no to their maker, it’s not a choice. It’s not a compulsory thing or a rape thing. It’s like an invisible line that connects them. Like: If a maker says jump, he’s jumping before he even realizes he has a broken leg.”
Ok
Flashback to Los Angeles 1935 Lorena says to Bill:
“As your maker, I release you.”
Back to present day – Lorena is holding Bill up against the door with a wooden stake in his back.
Bill: “You released me. There is nothing left between us, what could you possibly have to gain from this?”
Season 2 episode 8 – Godric’s house.
Sookie: “Bill, is this your maker?”
Bill: “She released me years ago, she no longer has any hold over me.”
I am sure these will be brought into play… this was not the case in the books. They’ll probably at least bring up Bill telling Sookie that crap and say he just SAID it to appease her.
I’ll say that the twisting of the neck was shocking and “twisted” and myself, I was looking a little crazy at the screen, but as far as it being a “rape” scene? No. Read the books. I don’t even like the character Bill. The only thing that can break the “bond” is the final death.
Over and over when comapring TB to the SSN, fans hear the proverbial “This is True Blood not the Books, Alan Ball has his own spin on things”
Yes true! And in AB’s world, being released is totally able to happen. Lorena has to “Physically” restrain Bill in order for him not to leave the hotel in Dallas. He hits her with the flatscreen and makes his escape. If she was able to “Compel” him she wouold have told him “As your maker I command you”
I find it hypocritical to use the comparison between the SSN and TB for convenience.
It was not rape. It was anger.
The rules in the show are not the same as the rules in the books.
Okay everybody please grow up! If you don’t like this then don’t look at it! I LOVED THAT SCENE! I wouldn’t change not one bit of it. Some people have nothing better to do than to be negative and complain about every little thing. Just get over it!
NOW needs to be focused on more pressing real life issues such as crimes against children, domestic violence and real rape victims. True Blood is just a TV show about made-up characters. This is not real nor will anyone be arrested. We need to push our focus towards helping the real characters of real life and stop getting bent out of shape about something that does not directly effect us. Again you don’t like it turn the channel!
NOW is seriously reaching. Their parallel btwn “women in power” and a crazed, manipulative, psychotic vampire is more offensive than the True Blood scene between Bill and Lorena could ever be. TB is a series about supernatural beings and should not be taken out of context just so NOW can get some easy media coverage. NOW should be focused on making a difference on actual crimes and injustices against women and leave True Blood to the fictional non-human world it belongs in.
OMY GEEZ! Its a marketing ploy. shock and awe and all that shit. if you want to break it down to violence against women, that is the wrong avenue to take IMO. Bill is a gentleman to sookie. The relationship with Lorena illustrates his bondage to her cruelty and is probably a sado masochistic fantasy of ” giving her what for” So actually, it belies the other side of the coin which is violence to men perpetrated by women. But geez Louise, it was done for shock value and ratings. it got people talking and what they pay attn to, draws more interest. Their work is done. Thanks!
NOW has obviously not watched the entire series nor have they read the books. Look through the history of the Vampire/Werewolf/Supernaturals genre and you find a lot of violence going on. But it is fiction (at least the last time I looked we don’t have vampires, were’s, and such).
Bill was forced to do what he didn’t want to do and yes, he became very violent. But last season Lorena and Bill did a very violent forced sex and murder of a human couple. The room, bed, and the vampires were covered with blood. Where was NOW then? Is one scene worse because it had just a woman in it, worse than the man and woman scene?
NOW, if you are offended by True Blood, may I suggest the Lifetime channel?
True Blood is a GREAT show. As many have said before, it’s FICTION. If people don’t like it..three words DO NOT WATCH
Very, Very True!!!!!
I had a huge speech for these annoying feminist… but I’m gonna save it, they just won’t see the other point of view, they just won’t accept the fact the she abused Bill for decades and kept ruining his life everytime she showed up and managed to make more miserable everytime. There’s no way I can condone this in real life, but this happen to be fiction and there are reasons she makes him miserable, if Bill was a real man in real life I would say “man, snap out of it, enough is enough, get a lawyer and take her to court” but it’s not the case in True Blood, I don’t expect these annoying feminist to understand this, but I would expect them to shut the f*ck up before talking what they don’t know!
I found this scene weird and a bit much at first but after watching it a second time, it wasn’t bad. I don’t think this is the end of Bill and Sookie. I belive by the end of the season there might be a cliff hanger-Bill or Eric. I have only red the first book but I can tell that AB made Bill alot different, more caring. I still love Bill, even after this. I am trying to find out the reasonhe did it. I keep going back and forth. Im going to start reading the 2nd book this week….
I think we are forgetting that Bill was released in a flashback in season 2. A maker can no longer control their child once that child has been released. That is why Lorena doubted her hold over Bill when she was talking to Eric and why she had to use physical force to keep him in the hotel room with her. If she still had the power to compel him, she could have simply said, “As your maker I demand you stay away from Sookie” and he would have had to comply. She released him. He had sex with her out of his own free will.
She didn’t force him… he is struggling with the fact that this vampire made him miserable his whole life, she separated him from his familly and his home not once but twice, he had to agree to do things he didn’t want to protect the woman he loved because this vampire wants to kill her, don’t forget that Russell wanted to kidnap Sookie so Lorena could torture her in front of Bill, he had to give up his home, his Queen (which we still don’t know what might that bring on to him, cause as far as I know that’s treason) to his town and the woman he loves because of Lorena, so he definitelly acted in anger, he wanted to harm her in any way possible, he did wanted to kill her and inflict as much suffer as possible to her and what the show is trying to portray is the fact that vampire get aroused by all this impulses, anger, hunger, hate (the perfect example on that same episode was Franklin Mott when Tara was kickin those red necks, he automatically expanded his fangs because of the exciment) and Lorena did what? She said “I still love you” that’s when he realized she had won, he did the exact thing he didn’t want to do, he acted like a vampire, because that’s what he is!!!
Do I think it was a rape, no! But it doesn’t make a difference because we can’t judge vampires on the same parapeters we judge ourselves…
Don’t think of Bill and Lorena as vampires. Take the whole maker/progeny factor out of the equation, because the blood bond has for all intents been negated by her release of him.
Now, think of it this way: They have a long history together of her acting as an authority to him and him chafing against her rule. She took his life from him. She took his family from him. Now, she’s effectively forced him into a corner where he has to give up his new life and his new love. He’s having to act as if he has no loyalty to the sovereign he pledged to, all because of her manipulations. He’s stuck. He’s miserable. He’s giving up. So why not screw her? She’s stolen his humanity, so why not act the animal?
But in the end, he’s not an animal. He can’t face what he’s started to do, so he makes it so that he doesn’t have to face what he’s doing (see her face).
No, he’s not forced by some mythical bond. He acts out due to repeated psychological abuse.
According to NOW, because Lorena is a female we are supposed to be horrified. Sorry, I’m more horrified by her history of emotional and physical abuse on Bill. Just because we are women, that doesn’t mean we have free passes to be nasty. And just because we are women, that doesn’t mean that anything done against us is automatically abuse.
This comment is so goddamn perfect, I have little to add.
As a woman who has endured all kinds of abuse in the past and survived it intact, I find it absolutely offensive when people toss the words rape, misogyny and sex abuse around for no good reason at all. This organisation obviously doesn’t watch the show, and has no fucking idea what they’re talking about. If I wasn’t too busy laughing my tits off about this, I’d sit down and write them an email dripping with poisonous snark.
I’m a feminist and I fucking love Bill. Stupid bitches.
CitizenErased you are also a fantastic writer. Had to pop in just to say that…
NOW is off-base here, and they said nothing about all the things Lorena did to Bill.
And, btw, it’s a show. A show about vampires.
If you’re gonna try and twist your sex partner’s neck off because of something on TV I don’t think the problem is the TV show.
THANK YOU!!!
Ok let me get this straight..NOW is upset because a fictional man/vampire had consensual albeit rough/violent sex with a fictional woman/vampire? Have human/non-fictional children and women stopped being abused in the world!! There is no more rape or the brutal castration of young girls and has the brutilization of real people stopped? If it did…I freakin missed it. Domestic violence and rape of REAL people are still taking place. THIS IS A TV SHOW=NOT REAL. Perhaps the public would be best served if NOW concentrated their efforts on real people.
One of the good things of the whole silly vampire world is showing us females and males as equals. Sex doesn’t determined power with vampires, age and other factors do.
that’s a great point about vampires being equal in their world. It’s not about male-female relationships so much as it is about maker-child relationships. In this case, I believe that Bill has pretty much lost it. He has pledged fealty to King Russell, he knows he is not returning back to Sookie (hence next week’s phone call) and Lorena is STILL there in his face taunting him over his love and attempt at mainstreaming. I think the episode showed Bill pretty much at his lowest (at least I hope so). I don’t think that it was rape for the simple fact the Lorena wanted it – egged him on even – and got off on every last thing he did to her. It was violent, it was ugly, but it wasn’t rape.
I am quite curious as to what the reaction from NOW would have been had it been reversed – Lorena doing to Bill what he did to her. As many have noted, I found last seasons flashback to Bill and Lorena on the bloody bed sexing it up right next to the drained corpse to be far far far more disturbing, and yet nary a peep from NOW. Hmmm……
wow- uhhh this show is completely fictional im pretty sure there was no underlying theme in that sex scene about the “poor treatment of women”. Why must some women still be all self righteous like you dont like it stand up for yourself but you dont have to pick every thing like this from tv shows, movies and books and ruin it.
okay this is just ppl looking for a reason to cause a freaking issue in my opinion, you’re bored, and there hasn’t been a good scandal in a while. I honestly feel like this was not a violent act against women, and I am a woman, but a FICTIONALLY VIOLENT ACT AGAINST A FICTIONAL MALE FICTIONAL VAMPIRE WHO WAS BEING FORCED TO HAVE SEX WITH THE WOMAN HE HATES MOST. AND IF YOU WANNA GET ALL REAL ON THIS SITUATION-THE SERIES AUTHOR? MS. CHARLAINE HARRIS? IS A SURVIVOR OF A SEXUAL ATTACK. AND SHE IS A-O-FREAKING-KAY WITH THIS! SO STFU! And I also don’t care if I just repeated something one or many of you other level-headed people have said. If you don’t like it don’t watch the freaking show you idiot. Oh? Renee Liner killed all those women, its a plot against you. Don’t forget MaryAnn while you’re at it, and that girl who blew Jason. Those are all acts against women, and not just wow factors that we love and crave from True Blood, HBO, and Charlaine Harris’s books. Fucking morons.
NOW’s concerns fail to take the scene’s context into consideration. Have they forgotten that True Blood belongs to the HORROR genre?
This scene was totally consistent with the show and with the emotions of the Bill Compton character. Also, let’s not forget that WITHIN THE CONTEXT
..oops – hit the return key by mistake!
Within the context of the True Blood mythology, Lorena might be temporarily inconvenienced by Bill’s action but certainly not killed or even permanently injured. Heck, she’s so crazy she might even have enjoyed it!!
There is certainly a place for critical feminism in the world of film and TV, however it loses credibility when applied to images that clearly don’t apply to ‘reality’.
You have got to be yanking my fucking chain with this shit. Seriously???? I’m speechless.
That scene was sick. I think they should have stuck a little more closely with the storyline from the novels. If the scriptwriters were aiming for the audience to think Bill is violent and disturbed, they succeeded. Yuck. and, I am very disgusted that they chose to portray a male protagonist in this light.
So Margo…you would sooner have seen Lorena torture Bill for days and days…like she did in the book? With pincers and knives? While the were pack drank his blood?
That would have been sick…and unwatchable. I think Vampire Bill got his “torment” at the hands of Vampire Lorena across pretty well….and in short order.
My only hope is that Sookie get’s to stake the wench. I’m sure Russel won’t mind…like he didn’t in the book.
k, so. i just want to say that this is fiction. and all the time we see rape and all that other torture stuff on tv, but when it comes to true blood people say that this will sway their conscience, and may provoke these kinds of things? come on. there are serial killers out there in the world who would do/have done much worse to human beings out there right now. i dont think a vampire fictional tv show (which is awesome btw) will set off anything in anybody that will make them go twist off someones head. now, if the younger audience is concerned with this, may i suggest you go watch twilight? stop complaining about this show, if you hate it so much, dont. watch. it? and now for the bill having no control of the situation. it was him lashing out in anger at his maker for ruining his life considerably. lorena doesnt have that kind of control over bill, since he was relinquished from her ruling several years past. its his inner vampire coming out, as mentioned. everyone has demons, whether its the antagonist, or the protagonist. true blood relates to real life and is very raw in that sense. he wanted to hurt her for the damage she has done to him, and it obviously wasnt working because she liked it, so he twisted her head around. possibly because he didnt want to look at her face? bill is still the protagonist, but being reunited with his maker, that has hurt the ones he loves has awoken that inner vampire with “no humanity”. its not lorena controlling him. and i dont even want to start in the eric/bill controversy.
and let me just say. i am a 17 year old FEMALE, who loves this show, and im defending bills character when i dont even like him.
so, come on. you have to realize this is a showwww. and to all the females offended by the scene, get over it. it doesnt even challenge women rights in the least. so stop making such a fuss. puh-lease.
thats all i have to say :)
I don’t give a rat’s patoot what NOW thinks about a fictional character’s actions on a fictional television show. If that is all they have to do with their time, they need to seriously consider disbanding their organization.
I do have to wonder though if Bill haters will keep calling him “boring” now that he’s showing his vampire side a bit more? Has a cat got an ass?
I’ve done a bit of reading on issues like these, ie media images and portrayals of women. I personally believe that fictional portrayals of relationships are important, but not that every show should be some sort of instructional video on life. While I can understand that this scene was upsetting, I didn’t feel that it was misogynistic. In no way is Bill’s violence portrayed as acceptable behavior, especially not among humans. Vampires in the world of True Blood are capable of horrendous evil, and this scene showed that well. If some people somewhere see Lorena as a representative of the female gender, something is wrong with them.
Oh…Bill’s been showing his “vampire side” all along. His attitude…”Get over it”? And that’s what Sookie’s been doing all along. She “heels” nicely, LOL!
Remember also that we may not have seen all there is to see in this scene. We haven’t seen the aftermath at all – I won’t be looking for a redemptive outpouring but we may get a little more insight into these characters motivations and reactions.
I haven’t read all the comments, but would like to throw my two cents in, anyway…
In my opinion, NO ONE should dismiss what Bill did to Lorena as an acceptable show of “rough sex.” It was hateful and violent and COMPLETELY WRONG, no matter how much she loves him or “allowed” it to happen. I really just don’t think this is up for debate, and frankly, I applaud True Blood for pushing the envelope. I see where NOW is coming from, and I think they’re correct in their observation that it’s a very true-to-life depiction of the abusive, dysfunctional relationship dynamics that play out between couples on a daily basis. And it’s DISGUSTING.
However… if they are suggesting that Lorena is somehow the paradigm of a strong and powerful woman, then we’re ALL in a lot of trouble. She is JUST as abusive toward Bill as he has been toward her, and that MUST be acknowledged if we’re going to get to the heart of the message here.
But please. Let’s not pretend as though this fact makes anything about the violence we saw on Sunday night acceptable, or that it means Bill SHOULDN’T be held accountable for his actions because “Lorena had it coming.” Because IT DOESN’T.
That is all.
Totally agree. Both Lorena and Bill are abusive and frankly some of the justifications of Bill’s actions are quite disturbing.
Well, I’d also like to point out that a perfectly good opportunity to talk about the widespread problem of abusive WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS was utterly and completely WASTED while NOW was busy pointing out the obvious.
So many men are afraid to come forward and admit that they’re being emotionally and physically terrorized by their partners for fear of looking weak or being mocked. That’s a shame, and it’s an issue that deserves MUCH more attention than it gets.
Even so, two wrongs don’t make a right, and we can’t let Bill off the hook here. It’s a sad reality that the abused often turn around to become abusers, and I think this scene illustrated that both graphically and effectively. At this stage in the game, Lorena only has as much power over Bill’s choices as he allows her to have, and his actions in this episode were as unacceptable, unnecessary, and appalling as they were genuinely sad.
But I dare say he knows that, even if he doesn’t entirely understand how he ended up right back where he started yet.
And I think that’s the point, Charm. It was appalling and sad. It was meant to be. Bill’s punishment is giving in to that side of himself. To becoming the abuser. He went to a place that he never wanted to. A place Lorena has told him is the only place he belongs. His punishment is giving up on his humanity and on a life with Sookie. He has hit bottom. Will he ever recover and allow himself to move on? Or will he believe Lorena that no matter how much he wants to he will never be able to recapture his humanity. There is his character arc. Who is Bill? Is there a middle ground? Or is he lost forever. Is humanity isn’t just Sookie. It’s behaving in a manner that is true to Bill’s humanity. We’ve already seen Bill’s reaction to what he’s done. Abject horror and anguish. I don’t need anything else to see that even he hasn’t let himself off the hook. And since we are talking about fictional characters let us not forget to mention the fact that Lorena could have stopped what was going on at any time. The fact that she didn’t disturbed me more.
Bill et Loréna…..je n’ai pas trouvé cette scène particulièrement choquante….ce qui m’a surtout touché est le fait que Bill à du sexe avec sa créatrice sous l’effet de la colère, du désespoir….lorsqu’il comprend qu’il ne pourra jamais aimé Sookie sans la mettre en danger, et que ses souvenirs de sa femme ont de plus ravivé une douleur intense pour lui…..et le hurlement à la fin montre à quel point tout cela est douloureux….en fait pour sauver celle qu’il aime, il se perd lui même c’est très touchant et très dur.
Un grand moment dans la série
Quand à savoir si Sookie lui pardonnera certainement pas….cela ouvre l’histoire Sookie/Eric sans une faute comme celle ci leur amour serait toujours…..AB mène très bien l’histoire dans ce sens….dommage pour le personnage de Bill qui mériterait un peu de paix et de légèreté
Pour moi rien de bafouant dans cette scène.
HELLO!! There is many, many “Fictional” show’s out there that show just as much if not more violence towards women. The difference is these other shows don’t/can’t show the graphical violence that True Blood has. I have seen plenty of show’s were such men molest children, rape women, beat them & hold them hostage. These show’s are based on real event’s that have taken place at one time or another. Let’s start getting outraged at these show’s. Instead of a “FANTASY” show where there are vampire’s, werewolves, fairy’s so on & so forth. And if we are going to scream womens rights for Lorena (who also was set on fire by Bill last week) then let’s get P.E.T.A involved for the shooting & or cruel & unusual treatment of the werewolves. Sounds silly huh? Just about as silly as someone attacking a Fantasy t.v show because Lorena (A FICTIONAL CHARACTER) had her head twisted. She’s not even dead or hurt she liked it!
Great scene, love the pushing of boundaries by the writers.
What’s even better is the grandstanding and the worm-can-opening that’s happening now!
Keep up the intelligent debate ladies :)
I haven’t even tried to read all the comments, but here’s mine:
So NOW is against the rape/torture of FEMALE VAMPIRES; wonder how they feel about the same treatment of FEMALE DEVILS or DEMONS; what about MAENADS, FAIRES, or MERMAIDS; then I also wonder about GHOSTS, WEREWOLVES, and SHAPESHIFTERS? I mean, come on; it’s an F-ING VAMPIRE SHOW.
I, too, love that the writers on TB keep pushing the envelope.
THANK YOU, Typeoneg. Folks need to remember we are having a commentary on fictional creatures. Creatures that have been given their own mythos. The rules that have been assigned them come from someone’s imagination and can be changed at anytime and at the discretion of the writer. In this interpretation of the Vampire mythology, younger vampires are at the mercy of older vampires. It is a child and an adult relationship. What I’ve always seen is the abuse of a child by an adult. What you have here is a highly dysfunctional, abusive relationship. What I’m interested in is how will Bill, when given the time, handle his “parenting” of Jessica. Eric had a wonderful relationship with Godric and you can see he carried that to his “parenting” of Pam. Bill was raised by Lorena in this manner of violence. It was something she nurtured and something he loathed and wanted no part of. What some see as justification (come on!) I see as putting that scene in CONTEXT. Was it disturbing? Absolutely. It was meant to be especially because it was Bill. But that scream of anguish by Bill at the end speaks to the absolute HORROR of the act. No one is justifying what he did and I hardly think the character will. What we are discussing is whether or not Lorena was powerless in this encounter. If you view the show’s mythos then she is not. What if that were Russell and Talbot? The fact of the matter is yes it was disturbing. Yes it was abusive. But the abuse is equally doled out. And in my opinion it has NOTHING to do with gender.
Haven’t read all the comments, but this article has made me think. Has the bombardment of media in all it’s forms made society lose touch with what is reality and what is fiction? Fortunately the comments that I did read has given me some hope that society hasn’t lost it completely. First thing first as I’m sure most of you would agree, this show is fiction and therefore vampires are not real. By their very fictional charachter vampires are supposed to brutal, violent, and lack any trace of humanity because to them we are food. Look at any traditional myth or lore and it will tell you that. So with that in mind is it all surprising that this scene was so violent. To me it spoke to the true nature of vampires as traditional lore intended, which are creatures to be feared.
I am a fan of the books myself as well as the show, and I’m currently re-reading them because you always pick up a detail that you might have missed through the first reading. What I love about TB is that AB has explored the what if factor that we don’t get from the books. In the books all we get is what Sookie experiences at that moment and her reactions, impressions, and emotions. We don’t really get the motivation or background of the other characters until it’s revealed to Sookie. But in TB that area is explored with brilliant depth and intrigues us even more. So it’s quite plausible that this is how it happened while Bill was at Russell’s place with Lorena. Yes it takes us out of our comfort zone, but perhaps we spend too much time in that zone because media is too afraid to offend anyone.
This article instead of looking at the whole story and open up the discussion of the implications of these two characters and what it means on a deeper level, it has decided to take one image and sensationalized it out of context. This show has a lot of subtleties to it that in order to really get the true message you have to pay close attention to every detail and watch them perhaps more than once. Of course any excuse to watch TB more than once is alright with me.
I just want to say that when I originally posted this article I was a bit worried that the comments might belittle the issue at hand and spiral into another vamp vs. vamp wankfest. But I’ve been thoroughly impressed with some of the intelligent discourse that has been added since last evening.
So, a giant thank you goes out to our commenters who add so much to this site. Brava!
erm right…. not read all the comments cos I’m just too tired tonight, but here’s my response to the article for what its worth:
1. It’s fantasy fiction
2. They are just picking on one point cos it’s sexual violence and gets attention, personally I found Eric tearing veins out of the neck and spitting them out much more sickening.
3. Lorena is a Vampire so no matter how much Bill or anyone else hurts her she will heal with no ill effect.
4. She didn’t seem to be objecting too much
and
5. I think Bill was dreaming in this sequence. (Look at the glass and what he is drinking when he comes into the room, that’s not blood, looks like whisky to me- surely the continuity isn’t so bad that the vamps suddenly start drinking things other than blood?) With the flash back sequences being dreams, I took that as an indicator that he’s already asleep and it’s some kind of nightmare, but I could be wrong
If they didnt like it, dont watch it.
People who proclaim that Bill is raping Lorena need to get real. If anyone is being raped, it is Bill. Lorena is hundreds of years old. She is his maker and she is much, much stronger than Biill, so there is no way in hell that he could rape her.
He didn’t do the twisty thing with her head until she tells him to make love to her. She is his maker and he must comply.,so, exactly who is raping who. Bill tells her he will never love her as he performs hate sex with her. Yes he inflicts physcial pain on her, after she inflicts mental and emotinal pain on hiim. Geez, the witch really got off on it. I didn’t like the scene, but tBill is vampie after all, and I am glad that he didn’t just willingly comply with Lorena’s request like some lovely, dovey lap dog. The more I think about it, the more I wish Bill had torn the twisted b…ch’s head completely off for all that she’s done to him. It’s too bad that as a vampire, he can’t kill his maker.
Wow! I cannot believe how Alan Ball has you people SUCKED in and brainwashed to this extent. Sticking up for this show by saying it is “simply fiction.” It’s the rules of the maker in the Vampire world. Blah, blah, blah. Can’t give any constructive criticism about my precious True Blood. This scene had NOTHING to do with the fiction and everything to do with how Mr. Ball uses these kinds of scenes to get ratings. He’s using YOU. Why can’t he come up with a different plot device to show what was happening between Bill and Lorena. Why? Because he knows people want the graphic sex. He knows that is what drives this show. He knows people will be talking about it the next day. I mean you people want this stuff and that is what is disturbing. Don’t give me this bull about how you watch for the stories first and the sex is just filler. Do you read Playboy or Playgirl for the articles? C’mon. I am done with this show and this site after this TWISTED and sick display Sunday night.
And that, of course, is your prerogative. I think discourse and constructive criticism about this scene is exactly what is going on here. To simply announce that a scene is “sick” in your opinion with no backup as to why you think it is, doesn’t move the conversation forward. This scene was indeed included to spark controversy, that is clear – but I don’t see why this plot device had to be avoided simply because it included sex. Sex, in this show, is a very integral part of the vampire species’ construct (and also humans’ in case you haven’t noticed). To avoid dealing with vampire sex, the writers would be tip-toeing around a major plot line (yes, from TB and from the books). I think the show on many levels throws this stuff right in our faces so that we can discuss not only the silly vampire story we’re watching, but how some of these issues are manifest in real life (or maybe to compare how they aren’t).
There is a lot more going on in TB than sex. Perhaps anyone who only sees the sex in TB and ignores the rest might have a fixation or an aversion to sex being shown in any capacity. Something to consider.
Oh, one more thing: Alan Ball & Company obviously want ratings, nobody creates a TV show with the hopes that nobody watches it. And seriously, if all we were looking for is sex, well… we’d just go have some.
True Blood is rated MA. Politically-correct need not view. Lorena nor Bill are human. I believe watching True Blood is like peeling an onion. Alan Ball is a master at weaving power, social stereotypes, identity and relational questions, supernatural creatures and plain comedy into a terrific series. We can consider values like power, roles etc. in the safety of an imaginary world. Get a grip. You cannot take a scene which fits conceptually with this story and isolate it as anything else. If you know about these creatures, you know Lorena will sit up, crack her neck and be completely healed in the next minute. She will continue to harass this man who must obey her. A lot of fans probably would not care if he was able to cut her head off, which would rid him of this eternal troublemaker.
Crikey am feeling quite bemused with some of the comments i have just read and also the original article itself- need a lie down . As has been stated it is pure FICTION and will be interesting to contrast the reaction to the scene when it eventually airs here in the UK with the reaction now in the US !!!
Please don’t think for one minute i am making light of the the very serious subject of rape, violent abuse …this scene was just purely fictitious with a lot of creative license added to the mix for dramatic effect .And it worked judging by the furore created .
The scene was appropriate for the show, but i see why some would be offended. Bill was trying to hurt Lorena and set out with that intention, which is why it frustrates me when ive seen many people excusing his behavior just because Lorenas bad and manipulative, or saying Lorena got what she deserved or they wished Bill would have twisted her head all the way off. Lorena no longer has the power to command Bill because she RELEASED him formally in Season2, they made the effort to make that clear in ep. 7,8, and 9, and even if she did she would have to say “As your maker i command you”, and i dont think she would have ordered him to hurt her if she could have commanded him. This is really frustrating because people are not only excusing what he did to Lorena, but saying that he should have taken it even farther. To me what we saw was pure uncontrolled rage, directed towards Lorena in a sexual and malicious way. And thats just scary. And this isnt the first time we’ve seen Bills temper. Just look at how he reacted to Sam kissing Sookie in Season 1, if Sookie hadnt of stopped him who knows what he would have done. And also Jessica, throwing the kid across the room because shes making out with Hoyt. And the cop pulling them over on the way back from Fangtasia. Bill has a serious anger problem, whether people want to admit it or not. And what if one day Sookie is on the receiving end?? . Bill has little self-control, and the head twisting was Bill sinking to Lorenas level.
i think its a good point that was raised that if the roles were reversed the reaction would of been different, and have to say that it would most definatley be different, NOW wouldn’t of even bothered to mention it. Besides vampires are a bit different to humans…….(I mean if you really think this is promoting violence against women then I think you’re the one that needs help)
Glad to see AB is finally bringing out Bill’s true nature instead of Wus “I’m mainstreaming” Bill. Love that he had a dossier on Sookie. Proves Sookie was first an assignment even if he did fall in love with her. I prefer the raping, old lady eating, Queen employed Bill and look forward to more unflattering revelations from the previews like eating a stripper with Lorena. plotting to kill Eric ( which he will fail at) and the uncovering of his assignment and the lies to cover his mission. Looking forward to the scales falling from everyone’s eyes and for Bill to show he is Vampire. This Bill I can stand to watch.
As I’ve said before, this thread is for conversation on the reaction of NOW’s stance on this scene. You have the right to your opinion Jaded, but your comments add nothing to the conversation except your Team Eric hatred for Bill. There are plenty of sites out there that love that sort of thing – we try to remain a bit more civilized here though. Your comments say more about you than a fictional vampire.
I present my comments about fictional characters only and my comments are germane to the subject of “Beautifully Broken.” I think it is classless to attack other posters and will not do so in kind. We are all entitled to our positions and there is nothing in the rules of this blog requiring agreement with the opinions of others. I respect your opinion please respect mine. I will not engage you further but will continue to comment about the subject as I see it.
This thread was not meant to be about bashing either vampire or the fans that might enjoy them. That being said I disagree with the assessment that your post was simply discussing the episode.
You may disagree with me but that is your prerogative. Enjoy the internets.
Ok, first off, the series has very little difference to the tv series. Those who have actually read the book know what I am talking about.
Second.. I like the Bill/Sookie pairing, however if you read the books then you know that Bill started his relationship with Sookie at the directions of our Queen of Louisiana Miss Sophie-Anne. He began his relationship with her based on lies, he already knew what she was because Sookies missing cousin Hadley was diddling the Queen and told her about Sookie.
The whole Lorena and Bill relationship hasn’t been played out properly yet. Lorena actually facilitated his torture while in Mississippi… after they had the nasty and he refused to leave Sookie for her.
FYI: If Lorena getting done like that pissed off so many people how are they going to react when it’s Sookie’s turn. I.E. she is supposed to be raped by him after she saves him from torture- which doesn’t look like it will be coming at all- maybe it will be a moot point.