Spoilers Below
This week on True Blood, there was cute sex, angry sex, death sex, all kinds of sex. Other things happened to, and we invited Thomas to join us again as we contemplated where some story lines are going and what we’re loving this season. Discuss with us!
Bill and Sookie played emotional yo-yo in this episode. They break up within the first 5 minutes of the episode, and both spend much of the episode feeling awful about it. Did you sympathize?
THOMAS: I’d rather be done with them, but at least this process allows Bill’s character to develop a bit. Sookie’s not so much. She’s the nominal center of the show, but the least engaged character in some ways. I’m reserving judgment on the final scene between her and Bill; if she’s suddenly over it, I don’t buy it, but if that was a conflicted explosion of feeling arising out of a fluid situation and a near-death experience, I can buy it.
LAUREN: I’ll just say I solidly identify with Tara, having seen I don’t know how many friends loyally hold on to shitty, dangerous, abusive relationships because they heart the adrenaline. GAG. And in this case, I’d argue that this does develop Sookie, whose attachment to her saccharine good-girl persona has impeded her movement in the world of supes. I could be wrong, but I think Sookie is finally making a choice and accepting what she is and what it means. I wouldn’t advise this in the real world, but it makes for great story-telling.
SALLY: I also identified with Tara, and I was happy to see her be real with Sookie like that. And I definitely liked Bill more in this episode than I have in a while. The way he was with both Sookie and later with Jessica was interesting. We haven’t seen him be that way before, it was a good change of pace.
LAUREN: Bill and Sookie are most interesting when there is tension and anger between them. I’m beginning to wonder if the show’s insistence on keeping the two characters together in LURVE is some kind of favor they’re doing for the real-life couple (Anna Paquin and Steven Moyer), because this is bad narrative work as it is.
SALLY: In general, though, I’m completely over this couple. Unless they both really mature, then I’m happy to see them both move on.
LAUREN: I’m still not sold on Bill as a character, or as Sookie’s unmanipulated love interest. Dude gave her his blood on the first date and keeps a dossier on her family in his bureau. Anyone arguing this is true love needs a primer on abusive relationships. That said, his interactions with Jessica later were great — and it’s things like that that build the show’s vampire mythology, and thus the character (and interestingly, shadowing why Eric and Pam’s relationship is so special). Also, I miss Bill as the ridiculous geek, holed up in his mansion playing Wii Golf all night. Favorite exchange of the night: JESSICA: No way. BILL: Way.
Bill also has some one-on-one time with Jessica. He releases her but after she refuses to leave him, he gets her ready to fight werewolves and other evil folk. Were you surprised by their relationship in this episode?
THOMAS: It was the first time I’ve liked Bill in a long time. The Magister made him make a vampire so that he could be a vampire and come to terms with it, and maybe with Lorena dead and him having to face his own distant past and his attack on Sookie, he finally is doing that. Jessica is now one of my favorite characters, and seeing her head into a fight with the weres with confidence, and then finish it while injured, was great. In a few centuries, she’ll be a vamp to be reckoned with. My spouse says she and Eric should hook up, and I admit that would be picturesque, though not realistic. I expect she’ll come away from this with the confidence to go deal with Hoyt. They’re not done. Tommy will not take that well.
SALLY: Poor Tommy, I actually felt for him just a little in this episode.
THOMAS: In a major fight, Jessica and Bill looked like they could handle themselves. Sookie, ever the guppy in these things, had a shotgun and got it snatched out of her hands by a V-head wolf who meant to kill her and was standing right there. That’s the major problem with Sookie. She’s formidible enough that she invades Eric Northman’s dreams, but she can’t protect herself even when she has the tools and the opportunity? Bullshit. If the writers want us to believe that Sookie is the woman Bill and Eric believe she is, they are going to actually have to make her that woman.
LAUREN: Agreed, hands down. To date she’s been all bark, and it was only the fight with Debbie Pelt that convinced me she has any real bite in her.
SALLY: I still don’t understand how that scene even made sense. Who on earth would actually just let somebody get away like that? I would at least injure them since they’re there to, you know, KILL me! Shoot her leg or something, Sookie! It was so stupid and I was annoyed the whole time.
LAUREN: I… kind of liked it. Granted there was a lot of hair swinging for my taste, but they fought like equals and Sookie was victorious while the show was still able to extend the plot line another few weeks. This was the turning point for Sookie — nobody hopped in and saved her, she held her own, and she won the battle. She also maintains the moral high ground by letting Debbie walk as a testament to her loyalty to Alcide.
SALLY: Well, I was fine with them actually fighting that way, but Sookie saying “one more step and I’ll shoot” (or whatever derivative of that) and then not shooting was wack. And then when she’s all “get out of my house bitch… next time I won’t miss,” take a shot or something. Shoot her arm! Leg! Something! Maybe that’s just me…
LAUREN: Or slice her face open with shears? Giving our antagonist the nastiest scar OF ALL TIME? Time out to remind the not-watching audience how campy this show is.
SALLY: That was the highlight of the scene, really.
Tara is a mess at the moment. She’s having dreams about Franklin, she won’t tell anybody what happened, but she does try to talk sense into Sookie about staying away from Bill. Do you think things will get worse for her before they get better?
THOMAS: I would rather not see Tara’s thousand-yard stare again. We’ve seen that look a lot. The parallel with Lafayette is too obvious — captive, escaped, traumatized and now, having fed, fantasizing about the very vampire that they hate and fear. But she can’t talk to Lafayette, at least not yet. And with Sookie, she can only express anger right now. Some folks may not like that development, but it rings true to me, actually.
LAUREN: Ditto.
THOMAS: Her relationships with Lafayette and Sookie are both very freighted right now. Finally, it’s with Sam, who she has more distance from, that she can let her guard down and show some vulnerability. I like Sam and I think he and Tara could be good for each other, so I am in favor of that, but independently of what it means for their relationship, I totally buy that Tara’s defenses are in her way with those closest to her and that she needs someone less in the middle of it to process with.
SALLY: I kept hoping she’d turn to Alcide, not romantically or anything, but just to have someone to release to. But he seems to be gone for at least a little bit, so that’s not happening. Bums me out. Tara needs somebody new in her life who isn’t a vampire or possessed or anything of the sort. A werewolf isn’t perfect, I guess, but at least an improvement.
LAUREN: Yeah, I kept thinking she would turn to Alcide as a neutral third party, but it didn’t happen. Alcide, despite his inexplicable love for Debbie Pelt, is refreshingly normal (for a werewolf).
Jason is going out of his way to get into trouble. He’s threatening to kill Bill and his unexpected, out-of-nowhere love for Crystal has him threatening strange creatures. Will Jason ever mature? Will we be forced to see him waltz into danger forever?
THOMAS: For the good of the show, Jason must die. His stupidity as a plot element is so predictable and one-note that it no longer even functions as comic relief. I hope that this plot line gives Sam another chance to show some mettle, though. Crystal’s father and fiance know he’s a shifter; they are headed for conflict.
LAUREN: It’s disappointing how Jason’s vigilantism that played so well with the Fellowship of the Sun is being employed so poorly now. The show has to figure out what Jason’s role is, but it’s for certain that the actor is not strong enough comedically to serve as the show’s sole humor, or charming enough to be the heartthrob (plus he’s got a lot of competition), and like some criticism of the Tara and Sookie relationship, we just haven’t seen enough between him and Sookie to believe they have a loving and supportive sibling relationship. There isn’t a lot of weight behind the character, and he isn’t light enough to hold up without it. Plus, every woman he touches dies, so… I think the writers love the eye candy too much to off Jason but can’t figure out what to do with him.
SALLY: He’s definitely one of the weakest points of this show, and I’m getting really sick of him and his recklessness. This episode really solidified that for me — there’s just no point to it. There isn’t much intelligence behind his decisions, yet sometimes he seems like a really smart guy. Are they doing that on purpose to give him depth, or are they just not thinking this out so well? I used to think it was the former, but now I’m thinking it’s the latter.
LAUREN: Jason and Andy together, however, is a good time. Maybe Jason is best serving as a foil for some of the other characters.
Tommy is going along with Sam’s project to save him from the Mickenses — he’s even taken Merlotte as a last name. But they don’t know each other. For Tommy, old habits die hard and he’s ready to throw down with Crystal’s father without probably even knowing what he is; he’s starting with Hoyt and causing trouble in Sam’s place, and he rebuffs Sam’s suggestion that he think about a future. Where do these two go from here?
SALLY: I’m liking Tommy more and more, even with his gut reaction and constantly acting on his instincts. (See, a recklessness that makes sense for the character, unlike Jason.) It’s cute to have somebody younger, protective, in some ways broken, still vulnerable at times, and at least trying to get from day to day. I’m not sure what this story line is going to do for the rest of the show, but it’s an interesting one.
LAUREN: I like Tommy — he’s restless and angry and doesn’t know how to channel his powers yet in a functional manner. I was piqued by the way he provoked the argument with Crystal’s family because of how much mirth was in his body language. To some degree, like all of the supes, he gets off on the violence. And it was interesting that Crystal’s family knew exactly what Tommy and Sam were.
THOMAS: They could literally smell that Sam and Tommy were shifters, and Crystal walked through water to throw off their scent, like bloodhounds. The writers are pointing at weres, though I’m not sure there are not different wrinkles to it.
LAUREN: I’m annoyed with the show’s attitudes toward poor white communities in this season (there’s a lot of racefail in the show, or at least a lot of racedubious), because they have relied on two major stereotypes to tell the story so far: incest (hints of it with the Mickenses and Crystal’s family) and meth manufacture. Also, banjo music. Where I’m from we call it bluegrass, not Deliverance. It’s all getting wound up in the Crystal storyline, so as much as I don’t care for it yet, I’m keeping one eye on it to see where this leads.
Lafayette and Jesus might be reconciling. Now that we’ve seen this play out just a bit more, are we still wary of Jesus? If so, what do we think he has up his sleeve?
THOMAS: Nothing up his sleeve. However, Lafayette and he have a lot to work through if this is to work. Lafayette is not at the end of getting pulled into dangerous situations he can’t control; he’s just getting warmed up. If he’s with Jesus, he exposes him to it as well.
LAUREN: What was up with all the discussion about Lafayette’s power? I was left wondering whether Jesus and Lafayette’s mom were speaking of his depth and personal character, or whether this is foreshadowing literal powers. Considering the probing of Lafayette’s spirituality in the last three episodes, I can’t rule out the possibility. Lafayette is the new Willow.
SALLY: That’s what made me wonder if something was up with Jesus. The power talk creeped me out. Well, that, and the fact that the whole situation makes me a bit suspicious. But I hope they have some good times until something happens to make this explode in their faces.
LAUREN: The depiction of Lafayette’s mom and her deep mental illness on the show was, in this episode anyway, pretty empathetic. Plus Laffy’s mom, Ruby Jean, is played by Alfre Woodard who is awesome. What did y’all think?
SALLY: Jesus saying that she’s schizophrenic but still perceptive was an interesting one. It’s not often that such a distinction is made on a tv show. And Alfre Woodard will always be incredible. Always.
LAUREN: Also, what did everyone think about Hadley’s appearance and her warning toward Sookie? First she told Sookie that she needed to leave, and then she told her above all NOT to trust Bill. Because I hate Bill, I’m choosing to believe that Eric’s prediction that Bill will betray Sookie is going to come true. Sue me.
THOMAS: I assume Eric knows something about Bill’s role, more than the audience and less than the full story, and when Sookie knows that much, it will put a wedge between her and Bill that will make the assault look like a toothpick. I’d rather that was permanent, but I doubt it. I suspect that the last facts to come out will be extenuating and will help Bill get Sookie back. Or maybe the writers will surprise me, Pam will stake Bill and Eric and Sookie will get close like porcupines fuck, slowly and carefully.
Russell tells Talbot that he killed the Magister and will be MIA for a while. Luckily for Talbot, Eric offers to keep him company. There’s a gay vampire sex scene, and then Eric kills Talbot. Um, thoughts?
LAUREN: Glorious. Delicious, all of it. I think I actually clapped my hands at the sex, the deception, Russell’s reaction. Fantastic. Swoon.
THOMAS: I was surprised that Eric sprung the trap that soon, but he has to play this all-out now. He’s crossed the Rubicon and staked the partner of a three thousand year old vampire. Fortunately, he will have at least temporary allies — though he can’t tell them that immediately — in the Authority. Eric will come out ahead. Of that we can be sure. But there’s a wild ride between here and there. Partly because I hate Russell and partly because I like Eric so much, his staking of Talbot and Russell’s immediate reaction was among the most satisfying moments not just of the episode but of the series. I’m sorry to see Talbot go, because I kind of liked him, and Russell’s worst qualities were the ones he was least fond of, too. He was killed, literally and figuratively for Russell’s sins. But I really hate Russell and I really sympathize with Eric, so I’ll watch gleefully as Eric either kills Russell and his whole crew or causes it to be done. This is total war, and Russell and his entire line and household will end up dead.
SALLY: I was also pleasantly surprised that this happened so quickly. I’ll stress the pleasantly in that. Everything leading up to Eric killing Talbot was super hot, then seeing the look on Talbot’s face actually made me laugh out loud. The entire episode was worth it just to get to this point. Really, I loved Eric’s game with Russell throughout the whole thing — it was incredible. Oh, and Talbot had my favorite line of the night: “I’m bored. Take off your clothes.”
LAUREN: Ah, Talbot, we’re going to miss you.