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Tuesday True Blood Roundtable: Trouble

Lauren
Tara, a young black woman, is dressed in an old, white dressing gown, and runs fearfully from a large Southern estate.
Tara, a young black woman, is dressed in an old, white dressing gown, and runs fearfully from a large Southern estate.

Too much happened this week to avoid spoilers above the fold, so read on, fangbangers.

A new dynamic is developing between Franklin and Tara. Franklin is emotionally fragile in a manner that is intensely threatening to Tara, and Tara is able to manipulate the terms of her captivity by playing along with Franklin’s violent attempts at romance. Then Franklin reveals that he wants Tara to be his “vampire bride.”

LAUREN: We also find out that Franklin is quite adept at texting. Which had me rolling on the floor by myself in my living room.

SALLY: You mean, you don’t find it incredibly impressive that a vampire can learn something new like texting?! It’s AWESOME! Totally high-tech, dude.

LAUREN: One thing that had me squirming in this episode was the scene where Tara fled the mansion in her white gown — just having the imagery of a black woman fleeing a Southern estate in terror in the old school dressing gown and being chased by dogs — in a show about camp vampires. Maybe someone will write a graduate thesis on racial imagery in True Blood that references this scene in a more intelligent way, but it turned my stomach. It evoked the same negative feelings that seeing Lafayette chained up in the basement of a vampire bar did last season. And in the last episode, where they categorized an “ethnic” sex worker’s ethnicity as a food flavor and killed her because they knew no one would come after her. It’s like it’s almost progressive to point these things out but the fact that they don’t do anything with them makes me wonder whether they are intentionally drawing up this imagery.

SALLY: I was wondering that as well when I saw her running out and being chased. Just like you said, it’s troubling that they set up these images but then don’t do anything with them, particularly because I don’t think that everyone who watches will actually make that connection. So it’s almost pointless to frame it in that way if it’s intentional. And if it’s not intentional, then what the hell????

LAUREN: On the other hand, it was interesting to see how the show flipped what has been a creepy and traumatic storyline between Tara and Franklin to a largely comedic one. During the last episode, you and I were both bothered by the intense violence against women, but notice that this episode, written by a woman, had a balance of comedy and drama.

SALLY: And it had Tara attempt to gain control, which is really good to see. I’ll admit, I’m still bothered by how this storyline is unfolding, but if Tara can get away sometime soon, relatively unscathed, I’ll be a much happier person.

LAUREN: And yet wouldn’t Tara make a fantastic vampire?

Lafayette and Jesus. How adorable were these scenes?

LAUREN: I will forgive Jesus his facial hair as long as he and Lafayette stay coy and playful.

SALLY: I had two thoughts when I saw these cutie patootie scenes. 1) Awwwww – they should love each other and be together forever! 2) Hmm… is he being that nice because he’s up to something? Trying to trick Lafayette?! NOOOOO!

LAUREN: I’m telling you, Lafayette and Tara need goodness in their lives. To date, they’re basically out there on their own.

SALLY: I really hope he’s legit and doesn’t have something up his sleeve. In the meantime, he’s definitely nice to look at and it’s good to have a few moments of happiness sprinkled throughout an otherwise dark show.

Speaking of which, I also loved when Terry got all cute and emotional about moving in with Arlene. It was a really sweet moment.

We get some clues to the depth of Sam’s family’s dysfunction, specifically that Joe Lee is physically abusing Sam’s younger brother, Tommy. Sam puts himself on the line, physically and financially, to defend and protect his brother. Where is this going?

LAUREN: There are two theories I’ve seen floating around about what is happening between Tommy and Joe Lee. One is that Joe Lee is sexually abusing Tommy, which would make sense based on some peripheral moments and conversation, and the other is that they are making Tommy fight as in dog fighting, which would explain Tommy’s heavy scarring. I can see both. Have you seen any theories?

SALLY: I haven’t, though both of those are very interesting. I can see it being either, but given what we know about this family, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was something even worse.

But I’m still wary of Tommy, though now I’m not sure if that’s because of his father’s abuse or if he is playing some role in this or has a hidden agenda.

LAUREN: This story is moving at a snail’s pace and poor Sam is getting the back burner again. How much do you want to bet that he has to convince Tommy and his mom to turn into wolves before the end of this season?

SALLY: I don’t get why they don’t do more with this character. He’s a good actor and I’m sure they can make this storyline a bit more interesting. I keep waiting for something to happen, but it never does.

It is revealed that Eric and Russell Edgington have a centuries long conflict after Edgington killed Eric’s family — and that Eric may be more interested in pissing off Bill than hooking up with Sookie. Additionally, Eric has no problem selling out his queen to get a political edge.

LAUREN: Yeah, I thought Eric was going to be loyal to the queen, but he turned around right quick to attempt to save Pam. It’s a testament to the parent-child vampire relationship, I think. And a good thing since I so love Pam. Also, it hurts Bill that Eric edges in by telling the truth because Bill’s motivations for keeping a dossier on Sookie are still hidden. In the end Bill’s going to look like a lying douche.

SALLY: I’m glad we finally got to see how Eric’s parents’ died and how deep this werewolf hunt goes for Eric. Having him see his father’s crown in Russell’s collection was a great moment and I can’t wait to see how this ends up playing out between them.

As for Bill, I am a bit confused about why he’s denying those files are his — couldn’t he just admit that the files were his and then make up a reason why? That seems like it would have been easier. I also am confused about why he has those files in the first place and what’s Russell’s interest in them as well. I get that Sookie’s special and there’s something up with her family history, but I guess I just wished they’d throw us some more clues.

The wolf pack’s packmaster is loathe to fight against the V-soaked Edgington crew, and Sookie seems to be pushing Alcide (who actually had a shirt on for the majority of the episode) into assuming a position of leadership. Where is this going?

LAUREN: Werewolf wars! At the very least we have our Season Three villains that the characters will need to defeat: the Magister and Russell. And it looks like the werewolves and the vampires are going to have to figure out their shit and work together.

SALLY: I would be totally down to see some werewolf wars! I kind of want them to spend some time plotting their plan to make it have a really intense build-up, but I guess there’s not really time for that. In that case, I’d be perfectly fine with Alcide becoming the leader of the pack, Debbie wanting him back and him kicking her to the curb. (Cuz, really, is it just me or is she totally not right for him?)

And what was up with the way Debbie described Russell? It seemed like there was even more to him than we know at this point. Maybe his involvement goes even deeper than we realize? Though how much deeper could it get than having the werewolves do his bidding and paying them in his own blood?

Sookie and Bill reunited. Whee. Meanwhile Sookie did the face-glowing hand thing again!

SALLY: Ahhhh!

LAUREN: WTF! OMG. And Russell’s glee!

SALLY: The Sookie/Bill reunion was kinda weird, but Sookie’s new power move was awesome! Russell looked like a kid on Christmas and Sookie’s expression was also funny — a mix of bewilderment and “oh boy, not again.” I’m sure she gets tired of having random powers sometimes. I guess I would too if all I really wanted was to have great sex with hot vampires.

22 thoughts on Tuesday True Blood Roundtable: Trouble

  1. I think Jesus is on the level. I think Lafayette’s tough-guy act was to remind us that he’s been playing his hand so aggressively for so long in part because he is alone, and because of how things have been for him, he doesn’t know how to do it any other way. If he’s going to be with a good man like Jesus, he’s going to have to negotiate some kind of space between that relationship, and a life that would endanger Jesus. I perdict that Lafayette’s dealing and involvment with vampires endangers Jesus some time before the end of next season.

    Russell: he’s seen the “microwave fingers” before. He knows exactly what he just saw, though Sookie doesn’t.

    I think the Tara imagery was part of constructing Russell and his court as everything loathsome about the Old South, but I don’t think they’ve done it very well, and it comes in a series which has, I agree, thrown images like that out there where they could be questioned and then not done it.

    Is it me, or does Jessica have a particular talent for glamoring humans? Eddie, who Lafayette got his blood from originally, never learned it and it seems to be something that some vamps are much better at than others. Jessica learned it all alone, in no time, and is good at it. We’ll see more of that.

    The Tommy story is neither dog fighting — Tommy does that for his own reasons — nor sexual abuse. Joe Lee’s reaction is like a drunk who is fine during the day, but can’t sit in his room at night without the urge getting the better of him. He’s addicted to something that Tommy provides, and the addiction comes over him suddenly and makes him act irrationally. We don’t know what that is yet.

    Eric isn’t motivated by politics. He loves Pam. Under that cool exterior, he’s fiercely loyal — to Godric and to Pam, and maybe to others. He’ll put himself in danger to protect them.

    Russell probably dies at the end of the season, but I really don’t want to see the Magister go away, mostly because I’m a fan of Ivanek. I’ve watched him from Homicide: Life on the Streets to Oz to 24 to this and I think he’s a great character actor.

  2. The Tara and Franklin bits are really creeping me out. He’s such a psychopath; I’m really curious as to how Tara gets out of that mess.

    Does Eric end up doing Talbot in order to get something from him? I thought it was pretty clever how he was flirting with Talbot, it would be interesting if Eric tries to seduce him in order to get his father’s crown back or something? I don’t know. I do know that Alexander Skarsgard said that he had filmed a graphic sex scene with another man, so maybe I’m just impatient for that.

    I hope Bill dies. Horribly. He IS such a douche.

  4. I was really delighted to see Sookie’s secret power emerge again. It always bothers me how “damsel in distress” her character can be. I can’t wait to see her learning how to harness her powers and be more able to fight and defend herself without Bill/Eric/Alcide/Any guy that happens to be passing.

  5. I think in this episode we’ve seen Russell sign his own death warrant, although I’m sure he’ll be able to get a stay that lasts precisely long enough for him to reveal what Sookie is. To me, all signs point to Eric rampaging through Russell’s plantation with a silver axe and the Magister’s blessing. Eric putting Russell down just earns him far too many points (and ties off too many dangling plot threads) to resist: he avenges his father, he satisfies Godric by playing nice and hiding his emotions until he’s ready to strike, he saves Pam, he scores points with the Magister, he absolves himself of the V dealing I’m sure he’s uncomfortable with (given Godric’s clear disgust for the matter), he finds someone to blame other than Sophie-Ann, he gets to save Sookie while making Bill look like an ass (again), and with Russell knowing about Sophie-Ann he gets a shot at evidence coming to the surface that could bring down a Queen I can’t imagine he’s too fond of. If Eric wants to make a play for King of Louisiana, I think it needs to start by taking advantage of the huge bullseye the writers have given him in Russell.

    I’m totally on board with the Jolee-uses-his-kid-in-dog-fights theory. Not everything needs to be some deeper horror. It fits what we’re seeing, it makes sense for the characters, and its a mundane horror that could still have some real emotional punch. Especially with the comments about ownership that we’ve heard and the deep sense of loyalty that Tommy feels despite knowing he doesn’t want to, my gut tells me he’s been treated like an abused pet.

    I really hope Tara manages to be the one to put the stake to Franklin (especially after Lafayette’s “we’re survivors” speech two weeks ago) but I’m worried they’re going to have Eric do it in order to give Lafayette an excuse not to hate him. Every week I keep crossing my fingers and hoping all the crap that gets thrown at Tara is leading up to some kind of big victorious “I’m more than my mother” moment for her.

  6. @Coda YEAH! what is up with the Crystal girl. Their whole weird scene by the river (all I could think about was how bad the freaking mosquitoes would be), her talking about how they can never be. What a weird sequence.

  7. Oh, and Eric’s fantasy about Sookie was great. He is more than a little intimidated by her; she may be the only human who has that effect on him.

  8. I am seconding Thomas on the “Russel has seen the microwave fingers before” thing. He’s been around a LONG time and he’s broken the rules for a LONG time. He knows a fair amount of what else is up in the world.

    I am pro-Jesus and want that to be nice.

    I want Tara to destroy Franklin in a crowning moment of awesome.

    I kind of love the idea of all of this blowing up with the result that Eric becomes the king his father always said he was going to be. Well, his father probably didn’t think Vampire King of Louisiana, but still. (Also because that messes with Bill no end and that makes me happy.)

    Crystal… I wanted to think she’s a dryad or a lake nymph or something, but that’s probably not it.

  9. I think the writers are hinting that much of vampire society is extremely racist with Talbot’s comments about Tara and the plantation imagery. I just wish they would be more explicit about it, so that it went beyond side comments and imagery. It would make a lot of sense if vampire society was extremely racist and misogynistic too, given the eras in which many vampires were turned and the fact that they believe themselves superior to humans so they would be unlikely to discard prejudices. If anything, the powerful vampires seem to be mimicking European royalty. We have seen some vampire women in positions of power, but given Russel as an example I doubt that misogyny is uncommon among older male vampires. I don’t recall any powerful vampires of color, so it is something to think about. I just wish that the show would flesh out vampire society more fully.

    Also, I still think Bill is racist among his other disgusting traits. He said his father owned slaves, but he didn’t. He also fought for the Confederates. So, either: 1. His father was still alive when he left for the war; 2. His family fell into debt and he sold their slaves; 3. He is lying and he did own slaves. He certainly did not free them. And rather than trying to explain and atone for his human past, he skims over it because he knows it will upset the company. He also didn’t bother to try to save Tara at all, or even to let Sookie know she was in trouble. Now even if Franklin is extremely strong and old, which is likely, Bill could have done something. And he didn’t, he just left. Now that I think about it, I can’t remember Bill ever being really friendly to either Tara or Lafayette.

  10. Haven’t had a chance to see this episode yet, but you’re not the first blog I’ve seen that makes the connection between the (already) put upon Tara, going from one awful relationship to another where she’s basically degraded, treated as pet/property and her personhood stripped from her. I don’t know whats to come of it, but just reading about it makes me uncomfortable. I find her character to be one of the most refreshing changes the show has made over the books, and its frustrating to see her character perpetually brought low.

    As for Jason, I think the only time I’ve thought he was compelling was when he was going through his internal conflict about being a member of the Fellowship of the Sun. His grieving about murder makes him believeable and takes out some of his exterior bluster and bravado, but his sudden goofy Dukes of Hazzardesque cop fantasy just makes me yawn.

  12. Also riffing on something Thomas said, I think Jessica may well be very good at glamor.

    Assuming that Eric can actually fly – it was a dream, so I’m not sure – then his comment implying that some vampires are just better at certain vamp tricks than others makes it seem like this is quite possible.

  13. Y’all have given me much to think about.

    First, I lurve Jessica. Moar screen-time please. And just to note, she didn’t learn glamoring on her own. Bill taught her in Dallas. Nonetheless, she does seem quite adept at it.

    I like the hypothesizing about race, gender and vampire age. I just want to add a point that the concept of race is really quite relatively new. It makes me think of analogizing “European history” as similar to “the 50s”. That is, race as a construct has only been around for at most half a millenium, in the way we understand it today. There were other signifiers that played a similar purpose before, but played out in ways different than the brute physiological way we do now. For example, in the Roman period discrimination was based more on one’s ability to seem Roman. There were what we would call now black senators and all that. Augustine of Hippo was black. So, the question becomes less, how much have these oldy vamps kept of the “olden day” “European aristocratic” racism and more which time periods do these oldy vamps identify the most with? You know… a 2000 year old vampire that’s spent most of its life in Europe has many many models of reality to choose from. Sure, there is a ton of racism in European history in the last 500ish years, but what other models are there? I’d love to see an old vamp come out who has nostalgia for like the Eastern Roman Empire or something. I can just imagine a 1500 year old black vamp who was fully Romanized being a hugely interesting and complex character today.

    On the other hand, misogyny is pretty universal. Gendered discrimination has never abated in history, though we have periods of relatively more or less space for women to have choices and even power in. I’d like to see an ancient female vamp who wasn’t so crappy a character as the queen. Just saying.

  14. fuzzytheory: that is a really interesting point! I didn’t think about it because my historical frame of reference is generally post 1500s, and I have trouble wrapping my mind around how staggeringly ancient True Blood vampires are supposed to be. How would something that has lived for over 1000 years cognate and store memories? I really can’t wrap my mind around something that old and still essentially human and remembering everything. So odd…

  15. The last moments of this episode had adrenaline coursing in my veins.

    I was overwhelmed by “aww” with Jesus and Lafayette. Dittos to the hoping he’s got good intentions.

    Although it’s been really creepy and hard to watch, I had a teachable moment with a friend about Franklin’s behavior toward Tara. We talked about how many “red flags” were in their relationship, and that it’s not just vampires who manipulate, control and abuse.

    I’m tired of Alcide. He’s obnoxious. Can’t wait for the Talbot/Eric love scenes, I agree some seduction to get the crown back might be in play.

  16. fuzzytheory:

    I’d love to see an old vamp come out who has nostalgia for like the Eastern Roman Empire or something. I can just imagine a 1500 year old black vamp who was fully Romanized being a hugely interesting and complex character today.

    I’d LOVE this. Simply fantastic.

  17. On top of that, what irks me the most is how quickly Jason ‘s character becomes this “I’m going to abuse my power to get what I want” especially when what I want is a pretty girl who may not expressly want me. The quickness with which he seems to coerce her into seeing him makes me completley uncomfortable especially when you consider how often real law enforcement agencts have stalked and harassed women under similar circumstances. I thought abuse of power was something most law enforcement agents learned in advanced training. Jason’s right, he IS going to make a great cop! Nowhere near his finest hour.

  19. I think the writers are hinting that much of vampire society is extremely racist with Talbot’s comments about Tara and the plantation imagery.

    Yes. Well, in general, they’re talking about the fact that vampire society is decayed and corrupt in general. Vampires get to be around for centuries, but most of them don’t want to or need to evolve.

    I just wish they would be more explicit about it, so that it went beyond side comments and imagery.

    I don’t. True Blood works because it’s not particularly earnest. And side comments and imagery tend to be more powerful than the more forceful statements in this medium. Kenya’s “shoot a black man” comment earlier in the season, for example, worked well because it was so offhand. It was seemingly casual, and underneath it all, scary as hell – because it’s true. There’s a dark and nasty humour at work in True Blood – and the level to which it makes us uncomfortable sometimes, is, to me, a testament to how well the show is put together. It’s not a subtle show at all – but it’s not pure fun either.

  20. Natalia: I agree with you about Kenya’s comment and I don’t want the show to be didactic or anything. I just think they need more follow through where the vampires are concerned.

    There is a bad habit here of injecting really loaded imagery and then not relating it to vampire social structures. We get the plantation images, but the vampires stay glamorous and sexy.

    With the exception of Bill and Lorena, the only corruption that we’ve seen so far is of the isn’t being a vampire cool, you can do anything variety. We don’t see the vampires who are bound within vampire society. We don’t see the worst ugliness that has to be there if the society is real, and we don’t get a good grasp of how hierarchies, power, and corruption work.

    We also don’t get any explanation to reconcile incredibly powerful vampires who think themselves superior to humans hiding in the shadows before modern military weaponry. To me at least, where the vampires are concerned, the images resonate emotionally, but it feels cheap, like there is no substance behind it. It’s not challenging the viewer, and that’s ok. It just makes it a lot less satisfying for me

  21. Well, to me, it’s challenging precisely because the vampires are so glamorous and sexy, you know? Like, “oooh, Lorena is so hot – oh wait, she is AWFUL.”

    Or, “Yay Team Eric!… Except, you know, he tortured Lafayette.”

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