Greetings, fangbangers. Due to some technical difficulties this week on my end, Sally and I invited Thomas, friend of Feministe and Yes Means Yes author, to weigh in on Sunday’s episode. And for being such a short episode, this one was full of action.
Spoilers below the cut.
We thinned the herd this episode with several character deaths: Lorena took a wooden stake and exploded into a viscous mess of blood, Cooter took a silver bullet in an oddly lackluster scene, and in the final minutes of the show, the Magister was decapitated with a flourish by Russell Edgington himself. We also learned that there is a higher authority, conveniently called The Authority.
SALLY: I was happy to see the Magister go, but I’m feeling a bit ambivalent about Lorena. I never really liked her but she finally got some sort of depth last week and now she’s gone. It’s unfortunate, but I guess that’s just the way things go around here.
LAUREN: The Lorena and Bill Postmortem made me like Lorena a little bit. It’s too bad they couldn’t figure out how to use her in the actual show. She had great clothes.
SALLY: I kinda loved Russell talking about The Authority and his postulation that the only authority is nature and all that jazz. I can’t wait for Russell to be offed, but he sure is entertaining in the meantime!
LAUREN: Russell is what would happen if you boiled down a couple dozen libertarian bloggers and gave them fangs. Flashy and entertaining, full of violent belief systems shrouded in pretty language, dangerously shallow.
THOMAS: I was expecting Lorena to get staked this episode — biting Sookie sort of had to be her death warrant. There wasn’t a way for that to end well for her. However, I was very surprised to see the Magister go. I thought he had a lot of potential to play out, or maybe I just thought the character had potential because I like the actor. Russell is very impulsive for someone so old. It is partly just arrogance, but that doesn’t explain it all. He knows he’s precipitating revolution, or trying to, and he’s completely cavalier about it. I think we all know Russell ends this season dead; the Authority adds a possible method.
LAUREN: The exploding Magister head was pretty cool though.
SALLY: Also, flying across the room wasn’t too shabby either. It was like a pumpkin; it was awesome!
LAUREN: The poor actor was killed off in two HBO shows this year. Dude needs to renegotiate his contracts.
Bill may have finally pounded the last nail in his coffin (heh) by attacking and nearly killing Sookie. Bill has become a darker and more brutal character this season, and it seems that Sookie may finally see that he is a danger to her.
SALLY: Somehow I kinda doubt it. Or, rather, I think she’ll realize he’s a danger but eventually love will conquer all or something like that.
LAUREN: It seems like Bill is being set up for a downfall. As a character he has had too many moral failings this season to remain in our good graces. Contrast Bill’s story arc with Eric who has gone from the snarky, slightly scary antagonist in Season Two to a controlled sexy beast in Season Three.
THOMAS: I think this is where Tara’s reaction is a stand-in for us. I think the writers are using her as a compass for audience members who may be struggling with what to make of Bill. She has perspective on this, she sees it clearly. In fact, with Tara’s triumphs this episode, her essential strength is showing through and I expect her to become a rock at the moral center of the Bontemps world while storms buffet Sookie, Lafayette, and possibly Jason.
We learned that Sookie has never really been sick before, doesn’t have a blood type, and is prone to magical fairy orgy near-death experiences with ladies named Claudine. It has something to do with her blood. Claudine tells Sookie to stay away from Bill because he will “steal [her] light.” Thanks to Cousin Hadley, Eric knows what Sookie is and why she’s so valuable to vampires.
LAUREN: I have to say, after fourteen seasons of “Lost” boiling down to a pool of light that must be defended against darkness, I am not sold on this story.
THOMAS: I would prefer if Claudine were Sookie’s subconscious. But she won’t be. I agree, Lauren, this is likely to add complexity but not interest. Also, Bill’s partial resistance to sunlight … if that’s a consistent effect it could add a significant wrinkle, though there are confounding factors, like how depleted he was and how much he drank. To vampires, Sookie has a lot of upsides. She unlocks mortal minds, tastes great and acts as SPF 350.
LAUREN: It’s intriguing that Sookie and Sookie’s blood could be used for nefarious purposes — consider the possibilities available to a rowdy, ambitious vampire that could walk around in the daylight. My question is why she hasn’t been taken advantage of for her blood’s properties yet.
Jessica was sadly absent from this episode, but Hoyt has a new girlfriend, and she really wants Hoyt to eat her biscuits. Is Summer doomed?
SALLY: I want Jessica!!! This new girl is kinda cool, though. Something about her quirky, perky, declaring her love thing makes me like her.
THOMAS: Jason remains too stupid to live. Somehow, I see Summer and Jason becoming an item, because he’s just dumb enough to be manipulated by her and I expect Hoyt and Jessica to have another chance. I’m all in favor of forward; maybe I just don’t like her because I’m assuming she’s a religious conservative and probably anti-vamp.
SALLY: That’s true. And I do see her as more of a “match” with Jason.
LAUREN: I bet she and Jessica have it out before the end of the season. Jessica wins.
Sam rescued Tommy from the dog-fighting ring, telling off their deadbeat parents and guaranteeing Tommy a better life. Tommy is having a difficult time believing that he can exist separate from his abusive, opportunistic mom and dad. How will he fit in Bon Temps? Are we done with the Mickenses?
LAUREN: Anyone wanting to see Sam in a leash had their day on Sunday.
THOMAS: When Sam first knocked out the kennel keeper and then backed down the rottweiler with only his voice, I thought it was a little victory for his character. We should see more of that. Sam has made it on his own his whole life; he didn’t get there pining for women who didn’t love him back. He got there by sticking up for himself and sticking to his guns. We’re not done with the Mickenses, and Tommy will move on, but I expect he’ll do it alone, having gotten from Sam what he needs most — the message that he deserves better.
LAUREN: I wouldn’t mind Tommy being a permanent character. I enjoyed his flirtation with Jessica at the bar last week. He’s got potential as the young, scrappy guy.
SALLY: I kinda like Tommy too, he’s grown on me after he annoyed me for all those weeks. I am quite bored with this storyline, so it needs to start moving soon. A flirtation/fling with Jessica would be just the thing!
THOMAS: I’d love to see him as a recurring character, floating in and out and not necessarily living in Bontemps.
Finally, the most intriguing teaser: According to Claudine, “it wasn’t the water” that killed Sookie and Jason’s parents. If they didn’t drown…?
LAUREN: Bill did it? Some vampire did it?
THOMAS: Can’t be Bill unless they’re permanently killing the love story. Likely some other vampire. Can’t be Eric either, for the same reason. If I am picking spots in the pool, I’ll take Russell, since he’s getting staked this season anyway, but Sophie Ann or Franklin are possible.
SALLY: I immediately thought Russell. Franklin is a possibility, but he doesn’t seem to really make up his own mind about anything, so I’m sure he would’ve been working for Russell anyway.
LAUREN: Speaking of Franklin, I wonder whether Tara connected the dots with Sookie’s reminder that “this is what a dead vampire looks like,” because after Tara’s recent victories it will suck to see her disempowered, endangered and alone yet again. But that bursting blood balloon is NOT what Franklin looked like, Tara. Watch the hell out.