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The finale is finally here or, if you prefer, already here, and its time to review this episode. It’s Halloween in Bon Temps, so everyone is in costume at Merlotte’s including Arlene, Terry and the kids.  Some others don’t seem to be celebrating the holiday though as they have other things to occupy their minds, like possession, burning at the stake, laying family members to rest, just to name a few.  It’s no lie that this sure was action packed and definitely not boring.  My jaw dropped several times because of all the WTF moments throughout.

The main themes tonight had to do with dying and being reborn. We had a huge death count in this episode and it was surprising to see some who were chosen to go.  However, one of the good things about True Blood is that you you never know who might return at some point.  We all knew that it was only a matter of time for Russell Edgington returned, so waiting to see him again will make the next months go that much slower, unfortunately.

What follows are my thoughts on Season 4′s finale episode.

Marnie Possesses Lafayette and then says “Goodbye”

At the end of last week’s episode we saw Marnie possess Lafayette and in the opening scene of the finale, we see that the possession has taken hold. He/she is now in control of Jesus after having first stabbed him in the hand with a fork. The next time we see Jesus, he is duct taped to a chair trying to communicate with, Lafayette. Marnie is having none of it and threatens to kill Lafayette’s body unless Jesus gives her his Bruja powers. He finally says, “yes” when he sees that Marnie means to do Lafayette harm. Once his powers are transferred to Marnie, she stabs Jesus in the chest, killing him. Tara later comes to the house to see Lafayette and finds Jesus dead and immediately runs to Sookie for help. The two women, with Holly and a salt shaker, go looking for help at Bill’s House.

Once there, they find that Lafayette/Marnie has already overpowered Bill and Eric and plans to burn them at the stake. She was kind enough to remove their shirts though so we, at least, got some good views of the two vampires physiques before they were to meet their deaths. Lafayette/Marnie ignites the bonfire which starts to burn the two vampires while Sookie and Tara try to reason with Lafayette/Marnie. During this time, Holly spreads the salt in a circle. Sookie finally uses her magic fingers to expel Lafayette/Marnie out of the circle and then the three women join hands and start chanting. The chanting is to bring up those they love from the dead. All of a sudden zombies start walking in the graveyard. One of them is Antonia who tries to reason with Marnie and another is Gran who comes and pulls Marnie out of Lafayette. Antonia blows out the fire and the spell is broken.

Marnie needs some convincing to go to rest, but soon she leaves with the other dead. Before Gran leaves Sookie tries to make her stay, but she can’t and they say goodbye for a last time and now, Lafayette is himself again. Meanwhile, Eric and Bill are still tied at the stake until Eric says, wanting to be free, “Excuse me, we’re feeling a little crispy up here” and the scene ends.

The Love Triangles

Jason, Jessica and Hoyt – Jason tells Hoyt that he has had sex with Jessica and Hoyt takes it as is expected by getting angry and punching Jason.  He says that Jason has broken their code and he is obviously really disappointed and hurt. Then, later in the episode, Jessica arrives at Jason’s, in her Halloween costume of “Little Red Riding Hood,” and the two have sex again. Jessica tells Jason that she doesn’t want their relationship to go any further than it has for now because she has just left a serious relationship and she doesn’t want to hurt him the way she has hurt Hoyt. Jason at first, doesn’t seem too happy about it, but he soon comes around. I don’t know how next season will effect Hoyt, but it will be interesting to see how the Jason and Jessica hook up plays out. I love all three characters and not sure what I want to happen, so I’m happy to let the writers go wherever they choose with this one.

Bill, Sookie, Eric, Alcide? -  We see Bill and Eric drinking from Sookie wrists after the burning at the stake scene. When done, they both thank Sookie for saving their life. Bill proclaims that she has saved his life, and Sookie says “it was my turn“. Then, Eric thanks her and she turns to him saying , “you don’t have to thank me. I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”  She then turns to look at Bill and adds, “both of you.” She jumps up and says she can’t stand it anymore and that it’s like being ripped in half and no matter what she does someone is going to get hurt. Bill rises and says, “Sookie I just want for you to be happy and if being with Eric is what makes you happy, then you have my blessing.”  Eric then runs to Sookie and says, “See, it’s OK Sookie, Bill’s fine with it. Bill had his chance; he blew it. He lied to you.” Sookie rebuffs, “to protect me, and I lied to him to to protect you and you’ve lied to both of us so many time, we can’t count. What a mess.”  At this, Sookie goes to Bill and forgives him and asks for his forgiveness. Bill exclaims “Like I have a choice, you’re the love of my life.” Sookie says, “I know and that just makes this harder.” She then goes to Eric and says, “If I’m really honest, it’s wasn’t just goofy innocent Eric I fell for, as vicious and untrustworthy that you can be, there’s a goodness in you that breaks my heart because there is a part of me that’s always wanted you.”  Eric exclaims, “You won’t be sorry.” Sookie says, “I already am. The time we had together was unforgettable, but it’s over.”

She tells them that there’s only one way I see this ending and it’s me walking away with neither of you. She thinks it’s best for all, however, while she may be walking away from the two vampires, I wonder if she is now walking into the arms of someone else, like Alcide?

When we next see Alcide, he is sitting at the bar in Merlotte’s with Sookie and is pretty much asking her to think about a relationship with him. Sookie doesn’t seem to think it’s a good idea but we all now know that in the end of the episode, Debbie is no more, so Alcide is completely free as a bird and Sookie just might think that this could be a good alternative to Bill and/or Eric. However, I just don’t think it’s over for Sookie and her love for vampires. I bet there will be, at least, some sort of reunion with one or both of the vampires in Season 5, just to keep it interesting.

By the way, what was with the matching robes on Bill and Eric?

Rest in Peace – We lost quite a few regulars tonight, I’d like to send my condolences to each of them.

Jesus – was the first to die in this episode. I liked Jesus as a character and a love interest for Lafayette and was sorry to see him go. He brought a new atmosphere to the story and Kevin Alejandro did an excellent job in a very difficult part. He, with the very talented Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette, were great together as a couple. It was good to see Jesus die for the sake of the man he loved and that he came back to tell Lafayette that all was well and he didn’t blame him for the killing. I think they needed to show this so Lafayette wouldn’t be overwhelmed with guilt in Season 5.

Nan – I was surprised to see Nan killed off (well, technically, she met the true death), because I thought she had just been signed to be a season regular and that usually means a contract for a few years. However, the story comes first I suppose, so Nan had to go.

At first, I wasn’t quite sure why Bill and Eric wouldn’t just join her and work with her, but then when she told them that she knew what Sookie was, I knew her fate was sealed. Eric really cut off the heads of her guards in a jiffy and it was too bad that Bill had to get Nan all over his beautiful suit in order to finish her off. I will miss Nan, she brought a new kind of woman to the show, a feisty political type, clawing her way to the top, no matter who she had to step on or over to get there. She did get annoying though toward the end and I know that Bill really hated her, not to mention Eric.

It was curious when Nan mentioned factions inside the regime that have never been completely on board with the current agenda and she says that Sheriff Northman knows what she is talking about. I remember early in the season that Bill mentioned Eric had friends in high places and now I think I know what he meant. But, when she called them both “hungry puppy dogs” that was all that was needed to get Eric to pounce and kill her guards and Bill to stab her with the silver stake saying, “We are not fucking puppy dogs.”  So, Good bye Nan!

Debbie – Last we saw Debbie she was very definitely dumped by Alcide. Shortly before the “dumping’, Alcide had come in on her and Marcus, and even though she had told Marcus that she loved Alcide and didn’t want to jeopardize their relationship, Alcide didn’t hear this, so, after Marcus’ scuffle with Sam and then with Alcide killing Marcus in the last episode, Alcide had enough of crazy Debbie. Presumably, Debbie, in utter despair once again, with little to lose, decides she will blame it all on Sookie and arrives at Sookie’s house late at night with a shot gun ready to kill her. Just as she is about to shoot at Sookie, Tara comes to Sookie’s rescue and takes the bullet instead. It sure looks like she is truly dead although it’s very possible that one of the vampires might show up and somehow bring her back to life. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait nine months or so, to find out if that is even possible. Debbie is definitely gone though.  I’m not too sorry to see her go though since she was a drug addict and totally insecure and didn’t know it when she had a good thing in the dependable Alcide.I really liked Brit Morgan in the part, but  saying goodbye to Debbie is just fine with me.

Tara – Now Tara is another story. She is probably the most important person in Sookie’s life and has been like a sister to her for her whole life and to lose another family member so soon after Gran’s death and leaving the two men she loved, is really going to be a lot for Sookie to bare.

I fondly remember Tara in Super Save A Bunch in Season 1, Episode 1, when she told off the customer and quit her job. I remember thinking at the time that Tara was going to be a fiesty bitch and worthy of this show; which she was. Rutina Wesley did a great job in the part, and it is possible that Tara may somehow come back to life or kept alive, but it sure looked like she was a goner to me, so I’m guessing she is out of the show. And, what about Lafayette? He’s just as close to Tara, if not closer, than Sookie is. He’s lost his lover and his cousin on the same day. I now really worry for both Sookie and Lafayette. Maybe they will be able to console each other. Our condolences to you Tara.

Poor Tara suffered the most of anyone in this show while she fought her daemon in Season 1, was controlled by a Meanad in Season 2, and then kept hostage by a crazy vampire in Season 3.  I thought that with her new life in New Orleans this season that she would have finally found some happiness, but that was not to last. Joining up with Marnie sure wasn’t a way to keep her life on a road to happiness, now was it?

Some that were already dead came back to life and then returned to the dead.

Marnie - She just couldn’t stay dead; she was addicted to the power she found in the last days of her life and had to inhabit Lafayette in the hopes of carrying out her quest to rid the earth of vampires. In the interim, she decided that because Jesus had betrayed her, he had to go. However, to use his only love to do the evil deed was just horrible. I was glad to see Antonia and Gran bring her to see sense and finally accept her fate and go to rest. Oftentimes, people who turn evil are those that aren’t loved in life and have a very low self esteem. Marnie was certainly one of them.  I think Fiona Shaw did an awesome job of portraying Marnie and then Marnie possessed by Antonia. I hope that Marnie now has found solace in her resting place.

Gran – I mention Gran because it was just so sweet to see her back again, even if it was for just a short time. I loved how Sookie begged her to stay; knowing full well that she wouldn’t and couldn’t. Gran was a much loved character and Sookie’s rock and now with Tara gone, who will Sookie have other than Jason?

Rene – Rene probably came back with the zombies in the graveyard and decided to take a side trip over to Merlotte’s and see Arlene. Rene’s appearance provides a bit of a clue to next season when I think Terry’s back story will be revealed. Scott Foley, who is expected to be a new character in Season 5, showed up during this episode as a friend of Terry’s, Peter Callahan. I’m guessing there will be something dark happening there since Rene warned Arlene to stay away from Terry.

Who will return in Season 5

Reverend Newlin – returned tonight when he knocked on Jason’s door.  Wow, what a shocker.  Could he really now be a vampire? It will be interesting to see a right wing, bigoted minister deal with the life of being a vampire; that should raise some eyebrows in the religious right. I’m also glad to see Michael McMillian back; he is so perfect as the reverend. However, I admit that I read some speculation about his character and he may not actually be a vampire, but only pretending to be one for Halloween. At any rate, I bet he will be back next season and I welcome it.

Russell Edgington – should be back in Season 5 since in tonight’s episode we saw Alcide come to the place where he was buried and find that it has been dug up. Alcide notices silver chains where a hole in the concrete has been dug. It was further help to have Russell’s music playing when Alcide found the chains providing us additional assurance of what had happened. I am a huge fan of Russell Edgington and, specifically Denis O’Hare, so I’m thrilled that he will be with us again in season 5.

Jesus – Since we learned tonight that Lafayette is a medium and Jesus is a spirit, I bet that Lafayette’s new found medium abilities will create future opportunities for the two to connect in further seasons. I sure hope so.

Other things worthy of mention

Sam and Luna – It looks like Sam might have found a real love interest in Luna.  He sure does get along with her daughter Emma, too, so it’s perfect and would give him a “ready made” family. However, when the girls left for the night we see Sam turn and there is an angry werewolf growling at him. I wonder what this will be about. Could it be payback for Sam taking revenge for the death of Tommy by participating in Marcus’ death?

Sam and Maxine – Poor Maxine doesn’t have anyone now that Tommy is dead and Hoyt has left her for good. So she appears at Tommy’s grave and is happy to now adopt Sam it seems. I really enjoyed the scene with she and Sam at Tommy’s grave; it was “awww” worthy.

Holly and Andy - Andy seems to have taken up Arlene’s advice and decided to try again with Holly. He brings her flowers and they hug. I hope that Holly and he have a relationship; Andy really needs somebody. However, I wonder how the scene form last week’s episode with Andy having sex with the fairy will impact it? Also, its interesting how Andy seems to have sobered up so fast.  Maybe getting a bit of loving last episode has given him the willpower to fight his weaknesses.

Pam – Presumably the spell is now lifted from Pam because Marnie is gone, but even that doesn’t console her and she is fighting mad. She simply can’t understand how Eric could love Sookie so much after all they’ve been through together. Ginger consoles her and that’s all we see of Pam in this episode, so the estrangement between Pam and Eric will continue into the next season, and I can’t wait to see what happens with them them.

I think the season was neatly tied up by this episode. Please tell us what you think about this episode by leaving your thoughts in a comment below.

This week’s episode 4.11 of True Blood called “Soul of Fire” was really fast paced and action packed. Also, lots of stories seem to have come to a conclusion, or have they? I am guessing that, especially with the last scene of Marnie inhabiting Lafayette, that next week’s finale will focus on Marnie’s revenge. The main themes of this episode were, Andy, Sam and Alcide’s stories, but mostly on the vampires and magic which opened up for Sookie to make a decision about who she plans to be with, Bill, Eric or neither.

Andy Gets Laid

In an action packed episode, it was nice to also have the few moments that were devoted to something sweeter, and, it’s about time that Andy Bellefleur got some lovin’. Andy has been suffering ever since season 1 with nobody to love or who loves him, so I’m glad he got a chance to, at least, have a “quickie” with the fairy, Maurella. Arlene was also really comforting to him and that was nice to see. However,I’m betting that this fairy story is going to continue into next season even though it seems as if it’s more likely that he might end up with Holly. I loved it when he said, “I have been cuttin’ back on the carbs,” when he was complimented by the fairy.

Werewolves and Shapeshifters

I don’t think they ever met prior to this season, but I’m glad they now have because Alcide and Sam make a good team. Alcide seems to be a very tolerant werewolf, unlike most of his kind, and accepts shapeshifters, which most Were’s consider to be beneath them. Sam might have finally found his soul-mate in Luna and he sure would make a great daddy to her daughter Emma, so it seems that they could find some happiness together. However, you and I now that somehow it won’t last because True Blood just doesn’t work that way.

With Sam finding love, Alcide has lost it. Even though we know that Debbie wasn’t going to go with Marcus, Alcide doesn’t know that and after killing Marcus he breaks up with Debbie saying: “Debbie Pelt, I abjure you.” I see you no longer, I hunt with you no longer, I share flesh with you no longer.”  I worry what this will do to crazy Debbie.  She told Marcus that she knows that Alcide hasn’t been faithful to her (although we know that it’s not true) and I bet she really gets back on the V.  I also expect her first person to lash out on will be Sookie.  This split also opens up the doors for Sookie to possibly take on Alcide as a new beau; we’ll have to wait and see.

Vampires and Magic

The episode’s real focus was the doings at the Goddess Emporium.

Inside the Goddess Emporium all are prisoners of Marnie. Holly and Sookie are trying to convince Marnie that Bill and Eric are about to blow up the place and that they are all going to die, but Roy, loyal to Marnie as always, says “This is the Hotel California, baby, you can check out but you can’t never fuckin’ leave.”  Casey gets real upset and starts after Marnie when but Marnie throws the knife at her and kills her. Just then, we see Antonia jump out of Marnie in rebellion and she again wants no part of this. Lafayette is the only one of the group who can see Antonia and it was a great line when Lafayette said, “Marnie just puked a bitch out“. Marnie then recites a “bonding spell” that brings Antonia back into her against her will.  Jesus tells everyone that this means that they are one and he wants to figure out some way to break the bonding spell or they are all doomed.

Jesus goes over to Casey and announces that she is still breathing and begs Marnie to let him help her. Marnie agrees because she now realizes that maybe it wasn’t such a good thing to have killed her.  Jesus asks Lafayette to help and they together take Casey into the bathroom.  Once there, Lafayette sees that Casey really is actually dead.  Jesus reveals his plan which is to use Casey’s body to help him cast a spell that will break Marnie’s bonding spell.  He sees it as their only chance.

The vampires, of which there seem to only be four in the whole state these days (Bill, Jessica, Eric and Pam), are ready to destroy the place with their huge automatic weapons, including a grenade launcher. As they approach the Emporium getting ready to shoot, Jason runs up to stop them saying Sookie is in there.  Then, everyone says, “Fucking Sookie“, but Jason defends her to both Bill and Eric. He tells Eric that Sookie took him in and that she saved Bill by letting him feed on her saying “she was you’re own private soda fountain.”  Bill and Eric agree that they have to find an alternate plan. Then Pam says a great line here, “Holy Shit Gentlemen, do not tell me you put our entire species at risk for a gash in a sun dress.”  Yet, it seems they have decided to do just that.

While all this is going on outside,  The remaining two sheriff vampires are under Marnie’s spell and she sends them outside to attack and presumably kill Bill and Eric.  They, of course fail.

Marnie agrees after much coaxing to go out and negotiate. Sookie goes with her. Marnie immediately commands her remaining vampire to kill Bill and Eric but Bill fights back and she falls into the force field which is like a bug zapper for vampires and she dies the true death. Marnie decides to let Sookie go if Eric and Bill will exchange their lives for hers.  They agree and Bill says he will shoot Eric and Pam will shoot him. As Bill points the gun at Eric, Pam decides it’s not going to happen and gets the grenade launcher which immediately hits the force field and backfires on everyone, including Jason who is burned severely. Jessica runs to him and give him her blood saving him. It looks like Jason and Jessica just might end up together and they talk about it in a moment of quiet. Pam’s disobedience has infuriated Eric and he tells her to get out of his sight.

Marnie gets the group to go into a circle and starts reciting a spell that will pull the vampires into the force field and kill them. As this happens, the vampires are all pulled to it and while Jason tries to stop them, it looks like they are about to be goners.  However, Sookie comes to the rescue with her fairy powers and breaks the circle and the force field disappears. Marnie is furious and although Sookie says it was an accident and she has no control, Marnie decides to punish her by placing her in a ring of fire.

Meanwhile, Jesus is working on his spell and he manages to end the  bonding spell and the fire around Sookie is also goes.  The vampires rush in. They are ready to kill Marnie when Roy jumps in front of her to save her, but Eric pulls out his heart.  Then, Bill shoots Marnie several times in the chest, then in the head and she dies freeing everyone.

Sookie’s decision?

It’s true that both Bill and Eric love Sookie now, but quite honestly, I’m not sure why they do, other than for her fairy blood. She doesn’t listen to anything they say and doesn’t seem to show them much respect, so I can’t understand why they persist in their love. It seems that the finale episode might include Sookie’s struggle to decide which vampire she prefers.  However, now that Alcide is free, he might offer her another option and therefore, she just might run to him.

Questions:

• I say, once again, who is working at Merlotte’s? Sam didn’t seem to spend much time at all this season in Merlotte’s.
• Where are the Shrevesport police or better yet, the National Guard? We know that Marnie has banned everyone from the area with her spell, but come on, you know this would all be on CNN.
• Where’s Nan and the AVL?
• How did Debbie and Marcus get to the point of him taking his child and asking her to run away with him. The last we saw them they were starting a relationship; it sure escalated pretty quickly.
• Were Bill and Eric really about to die when they agreed to sacrifice themselves to save Sookie? Why would Bill’s gun be loaded with wooden bullets if they knew they would be fighting humans and not vampires?

This week’s episode 4.10 of True Blood called “Burning Down The House” was really fast paced and it’s all FINALLY STARTING TO MAKE SENSE. Eric is back to himself, Jessica can’t wait to kill somebody, Bill tells Nan where to go and Pam is back to her gorgeous sarcastic self. There were five clear themes in this episode, Marnie Rules Antonia, Terry bonds with Andy – Jason bonds with Hoyt, Tommy dies the true death, Sookie can’t make up her mind, and the Vampires unite.

The image of the four vampires with guns at the end of the episode, just blew my breath away. Four gorgeous vamps in black, Wow! All this waiting finally seems to be paying off. I know I’ve said this before, but for me, the most important part of True Blood is the vampires and this has been the BEST EPISODE YET and I’d lay money that the next two are going to even top this one.

Marnie Rules Antonia

Tara, Holly and the rest are still being held captive when Antonia and Roy return to the Goddess Emporium with the two remaining vampires.  The others really see how insanely committed Marnia/Antonia is to her effort. The vampire Blackburn died in the fight at the Rally (which I was sorry to see), but the two remaining vampires are completely controlled by Marnie/Antonia. Eric, thank God, is free from her spell (thanks to Sookie, more on that below) and now remembers everything.

When Marnie/Antonia is alone, Antonia leaves Marnie’s body and they discuss what is happening. At first Antonia is against what Marnie is doing saying that she didn’t want to hurt people saying that she only turned to necromancy to save her village and save lives. But, Marnie convinces her that they are a union and she can rid the world of vampires, and needs her help to do it. Antonia agrees and once again inhabits Marnie’s body and they are one.  Marnie/Antonia  are committed to end the world of vampires and anyone who collaborates with them.

Bill has vowed to burn down the shop that night to once and for all get rid of the witches. Jesus along with Lafayette, Jason and Sookie go to the Emporium to see if they can free Tara before the vampires start the war. Jesus doesn’t know that Marnie is the instigator and he says he can get to Marnie so he tries to go inside the shop. Marnie/Antonia meets him outside and tells him he must break her force field to be permitted to come in. He is fearful, but manages to get through the fire and impresses Marnie/Antonia by his powers. Once inside, he and Marnia/Antonia talk and he asks Antonia to let him speak to Marnie only. When speaking to Marnie he learns that she  is really the one running the show, not Antonia and he telepathically sends this message to Sookie. Tara and Holly have been trying to figure out a spell to free everyone and just as they do, they run out and Sookie and Lafayette run to them, but Marnie/Antonia manages to reinstate her spell and they all then get trapped and disappear inside.  Jason is left alone in the street.

Terry bonds with Andy and Jason bonds with Hoyt

Terry confronts Andy about his drug addiction and decides to take him to Fort Bellefleur, which is a tree house that they both used to play in as boys. Also, when Terry was just back from the war he lived there for a while. Terry confronts Andy about his addiction and the fight and argue and then Terry takes out his guns and says they are going to try to shoot tin cans. Andy can’t hit one and they argue about who had the worst childhood and then start to fight and, of course make up. In the end, Andy realizes that he has to try to give up his addiction and promises to not take any more V. Terry leaves him to walk home saying, “Take your first steps as a free man tonight by walking all the way home.” The scenes between Terry and Andy tonight were beautifully acted and I have to say I was really impressed with both the writing and the actors. It was nice to see a scene like this in True Blood. Let’s just hope it works for poor Andy.

Hoyt is looking for some understanding from his best friend, but poor Jason is full of guilt over having had sex with Jessica. Hoyt says he doesn’t want Jessica back, but it’s pretty clear that he is torn apart about their split when he begins to cry while he and Jason are sitting in Jason’s living room. Jason flees to Sookie’s house hoping he can stay the night, but Sookie has other plans for Jason and asks him to help her save Tara.

Tommy Dies the True Death changing all for Sam, Alcide, Debbie and Marcus

This is the first time I truly felt for poor Tommy. Turning into Sam the way he did and going to Marcus was certainly an attempt to do Sam a favor and was also a death wish on his part. While I never liked him as a character, I think Marshall Allman did a great job and Tommy exonerated himself for me in the end. Sam truly showed his love for his brother in their scenes together and it was quite touching.

Sam vows to kill Marcus and it’s clear that Alcide is done with Marcus and his pack too because he goes to the motorcycle shop to find him with Sam. When they get there, one of Marcus’ pack werewolves is there alone and Alcide reveals to Sam that he was one of those who beat up Tommy. They beat him up together.

Meanwhile, Debbie is having a heart to heart with our pal Marcus. I knew these two would get together and I predict that this will be a story line for season 5. Marcus is an interesting character and Daniel Buran is doing a great job playing him. The character of Debbie on the other hand is a real doufus and as spineless as they come, as we saw last week when she was willing to turn in Sookie to get away from Marnie.

The Sookie Triangle

When Eric is under Marnie/Antonia’s spell he tries to kill Bill and at the beginning of the episode, we see this. Sookie has enough and uses here magic fingers to zap Eric which also manages to take the spell off of him. We see him recollect his entire past, including his “Emo Eric” period and he stops. After the vampires and Sookie return to Bill’s mansion, Eric and Sookie talk and Sookie tell’s Eric that although she loves him, she realized at the moment he was ready to kill Bill that she did not want to see a world without Bill in it. Eric expresses his love to Sookie and wants her, but Sookie isn’t so sure anymore although she admits that she still loves him. In fact, just like in her dream from the last episode, she says she loves them both.

Sookie sure has a pretty incredible predicament with both gorgeous vampires wanting her, and I have to say that I don’t know if I understand why she is so torn.  This should be interesting to see what happens with this triangle in future and if there is any resolution this season. I tend to doubt it though.

The Vampires Unite

Bill had warned Nan that holding the event at the Dorchester was very risky and he now blames her for what happened. She starts yelling at him and he gives as good as he gets telling her that it’s all her fault and that he is going to report it to The Authority. He then tells her that he plans to blow up the Goddess Emporium and when he says so, Sookie hears him and immediately warns him that Tara is one of the prisoners and if he blows it up he will kill her, too. Bill is all about vampire business and tells Sookie that he can’t stop this just for her friend. Sookie begs to help, but he says no because she was almost killed the last time she helped them. Eric now, in his normal state agrees with Bill and Pam does, too. All the vampires go to ground together in silver chains to rest up for the upcoming battle and before they all sleep, Nan and Bill continue their bickering. Both Pam and Eric support Bill and Nan says that she will see to it that they all die, but not before Pam calls her an “incompetent bitch.”

The episode ends when it’s dark and the vampires arrive in front of the Goddess Emporium ready for battle (and all looking mighty fine) with incredibly big guns.

This week’s episode 4.09 of True Blood called “Let’s Get Out Of Here” was really fast paced and I’m glad that things are coming together, but I have to say that there were some unresolved issues that made it not my favorite episode of the season so far. The themes that resonated this episode were Lafayette/Mavis, the Jason, Hoyt and Jessica triangle, Shifters/Werewolves, and finally the Festival of Tolerance. Somewhere in this I’ll find space to add in Sookie’s dream which almost didn’t fit in the episode somehow for me.

Here’s my random thoughts about this episode.

Lafayette saved by Jesus co-starring Mavis/Jason/Andy and the Bellefleurs

Nelsan Ellis really found his center this week when playing Lafayette possessed by Mavis, his portrayal was just amazing.

The problem starts when Lafayette possessed by Mavis comes to Hoyt’s house and throws Hoyt out at gunpoint while holding baby Mikey.

Hoyt calls Jason for help and he and Andy come over to try and get Lafayette to let the baby go. Before they leave Andy is supposed to get pants for Hoyt, but he finds some V, takes it, and therefore forgets about the pants. Poor Jim Parrack as Hoyt had to play most of his scenes in this episode without his pants because Andy was on V and forgot to bring him a pair.

When they arrive at Hoyt’s house, Andy and Jason try unsuccessfully (by knocking down the front door), to get the baby back.Then, Arlene and Terry show up and soon so does Jesus who has been called by Arlene. Terry offers to go inside the house with Jesus and starts spouting some tactical military maneuver stuff, but Jesus just says, “I’m a nurse.” and that he is going in alone. When he goes in, he connects with Lafayette as Mavis and discovers that she is inhabiting Lafayette’s body in order to get her baby back. She was killed right after the death of  her baby by its father and she needs to just hold the child before her spirit can rest. Jesus shows her this and she realizes that the body she is in, is not hers. After Mavis releases Mikey to Arlene and Terry, Hoyt digs up the grave where they find the remains of both Mavis and her baby. Mavis holds the remains of her child and by doing so frees her soul and she leaves Lafayette’s body and disappears in a flash of light.

This should be the end of it, but for me, it’s an unresolved issue. First, i wonder, who is Mavis?  Obviously she had lived in the house where Hoyt now lives, but what is her connection to Mikey?  Is it all the doll and the fact that Jessica just happened to give the doll to Mikey that made Mavis’ spirit think he was hers? Why did she all of a sudden rise from her grave and inhabit Lafayette?  Who was the father of Mavis’ child? I wonder if he might be a Bellefleur relation, but not sure. Also many had speculated that Mikey was the reincarnation of Renee and Renee would return, but that now appears to be false because I think this storyline is over.

I now wonder how Lafayette and Jesus will now tie into the Antonia plot line, if at all. At least we have some resolution with one story-line this season, but I am still wondering why Jesus and Lafayette went to Mexico?

Jason/Hoyt/Jessica Triangle

We first see Hoyt in his home before being thrown out by Mavis as he wakes from presumably a drunken stupor.  When he finds a CD of Jessica’s, he decides to pack up all her stuff in a box and marks the box, “FOR YOU, MONSTER.” Hoyt is definitely hurting over the loss, and it’s showing us a different side of him that I’m not sure I like too much, but people act strangely when they are hurt so deeply as he must have been. Poor Jessica cries her heart out to Nan Flanagan who has no interest or sympathy for her. After Hoyt gets back into his house he and Jason fix the front door and talk a bit. Hoyt asks Jason to return Jessica’s things to her and hands him the monster box. Jason at first resists, but Hoyt begs him as his closest friend and he gives in. When Jason does return the things, he and Jessica get it on.  Did anybody else notice the chain saw in the back of the truck where Jess and Jason have sex? That seemed oddly reminiscent of Season 3 when Jessica rented one to get rid of the body of the trucker she had accidently drained.  I sure hope that isn’t a bad sign for Jason.  Oh, and I loved it when Jason was sympathizing with Jessica and said that Hoyt had asked him to deliver her things.  She asked him if that was how he said it, and Jason says, “I might be parrot-phrasing a little.”  I also liked that he used a marker to blot out the wored Hoyt had put on the box.

Shifters and Werewolves

Alcide is definitely a good guy.  He saves Sookie originally from the fight that got her shot in the last episode, but he didn’t get a chance to take any glory before Bill ran up, grabbed Sookie from him and took her to her home. Alcide came to the house to find Bill trying to give her his blood to heal her. Once Sookie is healed, she immediately wants to look for Eric.  Alcide is furious that she would again go after a vampire when her life has just been threatened again, so he walks out in disgust.

He goes home to Debbie whom we know saw him carry Sookie home at the end of the last episode. She is not very happy about that. She seems insecure about a lot of things and that’s why I think she is prone to addiction. The next day she seeks out Sookie and brings her flowers, but not before she takes some V for courage. I’m not sure if I trust Debbie because when she takes Sookie to the Goddess Emporium, she rats on Sookie as soon as things heat up. She seems to have an extremely weak character. I predict that she will hook up with Marcus.

Tommy goes to Merlotte’s to say good bye to Sam and since Sam isn’t there, he is writing him a note when Marcus comes in asking for Sam. Tommy has words with him, but promises to tell Sam that Marcus wants him to come see him that night. I think Tommy decided then and there that he might be able to make amends with Sam for some of the things he has done to him by shifting into Sam and going in his place to Marcus’.

Sam and Luna get together in this episode finally when they go camping with Luna’s daughter, Emma.  Sam is so sweet, he even changes into a bunny so Emma can pet one.

Alcide is trying really hard to show his love for Debbie by going to Marcus and offering to work with the pack.  Marcus is happy for his cooperation and then asks if Alcide is willing to stand by him when a shifter comes to see him that night. Alcide reluctantly agrees. Tommy, as Sam arrives at Marcus’ garage and Alcide lets him in. Tommy goads Marcus and his friends into a fight and Tommy, as Sam gets beaten severely and after the last blow, he turns back to Tommy and they all realize they have beaten the wrong person.  Alcide is disgusted again and carries Tommy away.  During the fight the action cuts to Luna and Sam having sex in Sam’s tent.

Sookie and her vamps

Sookie’s dream was a lot of fun. I liked seeing it because now that she has had Bill’s blood she now has feelings for both vampires.  The scene was more comic than erotic but it was fun to watch. I now wonder what will happen outside the dream. Sookie still loves Eric, but is now also still attracted to Bill and I wonder how she will cope with this. Oh, and one other thing, the music in this sequence was really the funniest part of it.  I suppose we were to think that we were in a soap opera.

Festival of Tolerance

Marnie has plans to take down King Bill by using Eric who is now in her control. Sookie has tried to save him, by coming to the Goddess Emporium but was unsuccessful and only managed to get out with her life. Tara, Holly and most of the others are not happy with Antonia’s behaviour of the previous night. Tara even asks Marnie why she didn’t take the olive branch that was extended by Bill. Tara seems to have been affected by what Bill said to her and helps Sookie to get away. Antonia  imprisons all of the witches, who aren’t on her side any longer, and leaves with Eric to go to the hotel where the Festival of Tolerance is to be held.

The vampires are clearly in trouble, but Nan is still sticking to her agenda to make nice with humans and get the political message out about vampires.  Bill seems to see things as they are and realizes that there is a big problem that needs solving, namely the witches. Early in the episode Nan comes to the Compton house and decides to “sleep over” or actually “go to ground” there since the Festival of Tolerance starts early in the evening the next day.  We see Bill, Nan and Jessica in silver chains in the basement as they are presumably going to rest.  Bill and Nan have a real argument and it was sort of like mom and dad fighting in front of the children since Jessica was there. Nan actually said that Bill made her yearn for Queen Sophie Anne again. Bill protested about her shortsightedness regarding the necromancers, but he had to give in and say he would cooperate at the Festival.

At the Festival we see Bill and Nan on stage and many in the audience. Eric manages to get all of Bill’s Sheriff’s cornered so that Antonia can place a spell on them. When done, they then are also under her control and help to kill off Bill’s guards and cause chaos in the audience which enables Eric to pounce.  Just as he does, Sookie runs into the auditorium and yells to Bill,  in a loud voice, “RUN”, and the episode ends.

Overall the season is starting to gel and make some sense.  All of the many storylines are converging, but there are several things I think were not properly explained this week which are:

• How did Bill get free from the silvering he was in at the end of the last episode to run and save Sookie?
• At the end of the first scene of the episode, Sookie was unconscious and therefore not drinking Bill’s blood. But when we next see her, she is well. I guess we are supposed to assume that she did drink Bill’s blood but I didn’t like the untidiness of it.
• Bill told Alcide that the only thing they could do when Sookie wouldn’t drink his blood was to pray. Why would a vampire say that?
• The scene where we see Eric about to kill the King reminded me of the Lincoln assassination  in Ford’s Theater.
• Like Bill I too thought it was odd that the Festival of Tolerance didn’t include many vampires. I don’t understand Nan’s reasoning and would have given her the same look that Bill did?

Spellbound was a good episode, in my opinion. It boiled down to several main themes which were, the witches against the vampires, the love triangle between Jessica, Hoyt and Jason, Eric and Sookie’s love, and the other shifters and humans. I was “spellbound” during the entire episode and the hour went by very quickly and only a few times did I look at the clock wanting to go to the next scene, so while it was over all good; I felt that there were some weak moments which you will read below.

Here’s my random thoughts about this episode.

Love Triangle – Jessica, Hoyt and Jason

The episode opened with Jason saving Jessica from walking into the sun. And, when the spell ended just as Jessica was going to bite Jason, it was touching to see her kiss him instead and he kiss her back.

I’m glad that the death of Bucky won’t be reported by Jason, and that Bill has agreed not to mention Jason having shot one of the guards outside.

I keep forgetting about the time lapse between seasons 3 and 4, and have to always remind myself that Jessica and Hoyt have now lived together for a year. Because of this, it seems about right for their relationship to fall into some trouble now.

The two scenes tonight between them blew my mind. They were both exceptionally good in their portrayals, especially Jim Parrack. Like I said about Sam Trammell a couple of weeks ago, tonight I say that Jim Parrack really showed his depth as an actor in both scenes. In the first “dream scene” with Jessica he was the Hoyt we expect him to be, mild mannered and all blubbery and sad and almost suicidal at the idea of Jessica leaving him. But, then in the next scene, which was real, he showed how powerful Hoyt can be when he is hurt and angry. Deborah Ann Woll and he together were magical.

I was shocked that Jessica killed Hoyt in the first scene until I realized it was a dream and by the way Jason was behaving it became  very clear. Glad for that.

I feel bad for Jessica because even Jason now has spurned her. While I love Hoyt and Jessica together, I hope that Jessica finds someone she can love, and if that’s Jason, I’m OK with it. However, it would mean the end of Hoyt’s and Jason’s friendship, and that would be horrible.

I’m also worried that this breakup might turn Hoyt into a vampire hater.  Jason did that in Season 2, and who knows, now maybe it’s Hoyt’s turn.

Eric and Sookie’s Love

Please, all Eric fans, don’t kill this messenger, but for me, tonight’s love scenes were just way to saccharine. There were a few tender moments when Eric and Sookie exchanged their blood and got into the shower together, but after that it was a sugar coated, syrupy in the bed with the snow falling, mess. I’m sorry, but it just ruined what could have been a very exciting and wonderful moment for all Eric and Sookie lovers, but instead, they got a “Hallmark moment” instead. I know that the couple was supposed to be sort of on a “V” trip, but come on, the Eric fans have waited for four years for a good scene between them, and this just wasn’t it. Jason and Amy’s trip in Season 1 was more acceptable since they were together because of the “V”, but supposedly Eric and Sookie are together because they have this great love, and these scenes didn’t prove that to me at all.

And, now that Eric is possessed by Antonia, as was Luis, I doubt he will even remember his love for poor Sookie if she lives, so who knows if their relationship will even continue.

Shifters and Humans

Tommy and Maxine - As we know, Tommy is a skin walker now because he killed his parents.  He is still up to no good as he shifts into Maxine in tonight’s episode in order to steal her home from her to sell the gas rights. Dale Raoul really deserves praise for playing Tommy as Maxine so well. It was funny to see her place her order at Merlotte’s and bargain with the salesman.  Oh, and Tommy was hysterical dressed in Maxine’s clothes as he shifted back into himself.

Marcus and Sam and Luna - I am starting to like Marcus a lot because he seems to be a good pack leader.  However, I still don’t trust him because I suspect he is up to no good with Debbie behind Alcide’s back. I am also liking the Sam and Luna relationship better now; it’s growing on me.  I am hopeful that some good will come from this story line which Sam so deserves.  However, Marcus seems to be a bit jealous of their interest in each other.

Alcide and Debbie – I rarely feel for Debbie, but I sure felt for her tonight. Right after Alcide promised her he wouldn’t see Sookie, what does he do but go knocking on Sookie’s door?  However, it was for a good reason since obviously, somebody had to grab Sookie and bring her to safety after the witch/vampire fight. Poor Debbie, she saw it all.  If Sookie survives, I fear for her even more with Debbie after her butt.

Since Marcus told the pack to stay out of the vampire trouble, I also worry that Alcide will be in real trouble with him.

Lafayette and the lady Spirit – Although not that long a sequence, we got to see Nelsan Ellis stretch the already colorful Lavayette in this episode.  We now know that the  woman spirit from the past is looking for her dead child and she has decided that Mikey is that child since he has the doll that she bought for her boy. She has discovered that Lafayette is a medium and so inhabits his body. Once possessed, Lafayette then goes to the Bellefleur’s (where Arlene and Terry are temporarily staying) and passes by sleeping Andy Bellefleur, taking his gun and then upstairs to steal the baby. Nelsan Ellis has always been, and remains, awesome in his part of Lafayette. If it is possible, Nelsan took Lafayette even further by becoming even more feminine now that he is inhabited by the spirit.  Nelsan truly had the mannerisms of that woman and did a wonderful job.

Andy Bellefleur - Andy was so funny with Jason tonight when he was lusting after Beulah’s remains. Andy is a kind of tragic figure in True Blood as he has never found real happiness.  However, tonight he had a great line, and probably my favorite in the episode, when he said, “Jesus, tits, and God America!” to Jason.  He is a troubled soul and I sure hope he gets some help soon.

Witches vs. Vampires 

Once again, I am a real lover of the vampires, so this review is very biased in their favor, sorry mortals.

We come in on the vampire story at the crime scene where Maxine’s neighbor Beulah died meeting the sun. King Bill shows up as Maxine is being interviewed by the press and wants to make a statement. The newscaster says she doesn’t know if she can do that, but Bill glamours her into to allowing him to do so.  Bill Compton is good at glamouring, wow, great job. Dale Raoul, as Maxine Fortenberry was awesome in this scene as she looked on in surprise.

Bill calls Antonia and Tara answers the phone. Tara is now fully committed to killing the vampires and has fully joined Antonia in her pursuit.  Bill asks to meet Antonia alone in the graveyard at midnight and she agrees. However, when they meet, each are not alone.  Neither one has trusted the other and they each have brought a small army with them making it pretty apparent that peace is not on anyone’s mind. I do believe that Bill wanted peace, but he certainly decided that he had be prepared for anything.

Bill still attempts to forge an agreement with Antonia when Sookie realizes that Antonia is casting a spell and the fight begins. Eric attacks one of the humans, killing them and the real struggle then breaks out and Sookie gets shot. Antonia has overpowered Eric and has obviously cast the same spell on him that she did with Luis and it’s clear that he is now in her power. Pam is about ready to kill Tara when Bill interrupts her and tells her she may not kill Tara or he will personally see she meets the true death.  Tara asks him why he spared her, and he replies, “you know why.”  We next see Bill being silvered and Sookie lying on the ground  Alcide comes up and picks up Sookie, taking her to safety, but not before we see Debbie shift back from a werewolf and see it all.

While I feel for Antonia’s and Tara’s hardships, I’m not convinced that their on the right path.  As Sookie says, “I’m willing to die if it means keeping an entire group of people I know and love from being eradicated, in the name of hate.” I agree hate rarely solves anything.

Of course the episode ended with the cliffhanger of whether Sookie will live or die. From the promo for next week, we know that Bill will attempt to give Sookie his blood, but it doesn’t look like its working.

I’m very excited to see how things play out next week, aren’t you?  Please leave us your comments about this episode below, we want to know your thoughts.

I am so glad that this week we are finally seeing this season focus on the main theme and all stories are converging making sense to the main story line of the witches vs. the vampires.

I have made it no secret that, for me, True Blood’s center is the relationship between the Vampires and humans and this witch plot line features that.  The unique story that we owe to the books is this powerful and interesting dichotomy between those that are dead and those that are not.  I do also enjoy the shapeshifters and werewolves, too and how they have been interwoven into this main theme is done well.

Last night’s episode truly was, for me, the best of the season and, I’m sure that all of the True Blood fans, like me, simply cannot wait for next week to see the development of this story.

Witches

Each year, the show seems to find a great central character, first, Michelle Forbes in Season 2, and then Denis O’Hare in Season 3, and now Fiona Shaw in Season 4. Fiona Shaw is just awesome as Marnie and now Antonia.  The change from Marnie to Antonia is amazing to see. Not only does her voice change, but her body language is so very different that you don’t think of her as the character she was as Marnie at all.  It’s true, Marnie is now gone and Antonia is back to get her revenge on the vampires.

I enjoyed seeing Antonia take control of Luis; good for her to use him as a tool to gain control and escape. Sending him to Bill for the purpose of killing him was also well done, although I’m glad that Luis did not succeed in his goal.

I wasn’t surprised that Tara teamed up with Antonia. Having been a victim, just like Antonia, Tara has the same needs and they should make a good team. I’m not sure why Holly decided to get back into the frey though, especially after last week’s house fire, but then she has also been a victim of rape and perhaps this is her way of dealing with it. The other’s in the group just seem happy to play along.

Lafayette as medium will be interesting to see. When he is back in the kitchen at Merlotte’s we get to see how he will tie into the story with his new powers as he sees the “pretty lady. I now think that she might have been a nanny for baby Mikey, perhaps in a former life. I don’t think Lafayette is exactly happy about his new powers and I loved it when he told Jesus’ grandfather, that he could have just told them he was a medium and not “proved” it to him. I still don’t really understand the trip to Mexico though. Jesus said that they went there to get help from his grandfather against the vampires. Yes, they discovered Lafayette’s powers, but then they immediately go back to Bon Temps?  How are they now more protected then when they left Bon Temps?

Vampires

Poor Pam, she is struggling through some tumultuous times this season. I really feel bad for her. When she was freed by Bill last episode, I knew she would seek vengence on anyone she could since presumably there is little time left to her, as Eric said, she is rotting away. However, it was delightful to see Dr. Ludwig back to help Pam heal. Although it’s not permanent and will require Pam to take injections daily, let’s hope that she gets her looks back real soon. I loved the scene with Pam and Ginger tonight, too. Both Ginger and Dr. Ludwig do a lot to provide color to the show and I love seeing them whenever they are around.

Eric is still in a state of amnesia and doesn’t seem to want to come out of it. The reason is that he is afraid that Sookie won’t like him anymore. This is a legitimate fear on his part since even Sookie doesn’t know how she will react to the “regular Eric”.  I personally want the Vampire Viking God back. While amnesia Eric was cute in the beginning, especially when drunk, and seeing his softer side was fun, I so much prefer the Eric who is forceful and truly vampiric.

Bill is probably the most humane King Vampire out there. I doubt Russell Edgington would have cared as much for his fellow vampires as does Bill. He obviously did a lot of research of vampire history and specifically the incident during the Spanish Inquisition. Without his leadership the vampires all would have walked into the sun, as did Maxine’s neighbor.

Bill showed true “humanity” when he goes to Sookie’s house where he know that Eric would be to bring them silver chains.  It was good to see Sookie thank Bill for letting Eric go.  He then asks Sookie to chain Eric to save his life and says to her, “If you care anything for him, you will do this, or it will be his last day on earth.”

The scene between Jessica and Bill being silvered was my favorite scene in tonight’s episode. Their relationship has gotten better and better and I am so glad to see it played out. Unfortunately, Bill showed some weakness tonight by being a softy when it comes to his baby vamp. By not silvering her properly, he may have now caused her to experience the true death. Even by calling to her, as her maker, and forbidding her to leave, it didn’t have any effect on her. Let’s hope Jessica hasn’t met her doom because I would hate to see that as she is one of my favorite characters. I also hope that the other vampire Sheriff’s heeded Bill’s advice and silvered themselves well.

Shapeshifters

Sam has been taken advantage of just one too many times now by Tommy and it seems that this might be the end. When Tommy turned into Sam last week, it seems that was the last straw for Sam and he has now thrown Tommy out for good. While Tommy isn’t a favorite of mine, I do feel sorry for him. Having been thrown into the dog ring his entire life must have been a really horrible thing to live with, and now he is having trouble assimilating among normal people. He has so much self hatred too that I worry about him. He has had no proper parental guidance his whole life and it’s no wonder he doesn’t know how to behave.  However, the bigger worry is that he might turn into Sam again to get his revenge for Sam having thrown him out. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen and Sam gets to have a relationship with Luna.

Werewolves

I’m not sure where this storyline is going. Tonight we saw Alcide and Debbie join a new wolf pack and we also saw them talk about the presence of Sookie in their relationship. Alcide does seem to have real feelings for Sookie but he assures Debbie that they are just friendly. They both leave the pack and try to find Sookie who Alcide fears may be in danger since she is walking around the woods during a full moon. They both come up on Sookie and Eric in intamacy and this just might have shocked Alcide into closing the door on a possible relationship with her. However, later on when he and Debbie are together making love, it’s very obvious that their relationship is far from healthy.  Personally, I doubt that Debbie  will stay sober and just might stray again and the one I think she might stray to is the “stringy haired” Marcus.

Humans

The scene with Jason and Hoyt was great tonight. I feel for both of them. One thing I am not happy with is the fact that there seem to be no obvious psychological problems for Jason after having been repeatedly raped in Hot Shot. I think that even a man would have some trauma to deal with from what he went through and I expected to see that somehow. Rape has been a recurring theme in the show, first with Tara and then Holly and now Jason. It was dealt with much better with the women.

I feel so bad for Hoyt since I think that Jessica is going to stray and will do so in the direction of Jason. Both she and Jason seem drawn to each other and, while neither wants to hurt poor Hoyt, I fear that they will, especially when we see Jason running to try and save Jessica as she walks into the light in the end. I just hope that when this happens, Hoyt can handle it, and not go off the deep end of the episode. It would be nice to see Hoyt find his own storyline somehow.

Arlene and Terry are now living with Andy at his grandmother’s house since the fire. Poor Holly is staying at the motel where Andy stayed in Season 2 when he was hiding out. I was glad to see the potential for a relationship between Andy and Holly start tonight, I think they would be great together. However, with Andy addicted to “V”, I’m not sure he can handle any relationship right now. It was sweet how he tried so hard by dressing in a suit and bringing  flowers and all, but since he hadn’t had any “V”, it was sad to see how he just couldn’t handle it. Let’s hope he tries again and they still might have a future with each other.

Unlike previous seasons, for me it looks like the second half of the season is going to be the best of Season 4; let’s hope so. Can’t wait!

The Vault’s Random Thoughts is a weekly review of the episode as a whole with a sprinkling of personal insights.

This week’s episode was better than even last week’s which was even better than the week before. It’s good to see that things are now gelling; I was worried.

It’s a full moon in Bon Temps and all sorts of crazy supernaturals come out on a night like this. Alcide and Debbie are out for a run with their new were pack, Sam and Tommy are scheduled to do so as well, and Jason sits in the back yard with Sookie waiting to turn into a werepanther. Arlene and Terry’s house burns down and we see more weird beings in the form of a woman that Arlene’s baby sees outside the house. Could this be another witch, spirit or supernatural? Everyone seems possessed by something in this episode as you will read below.

Sam and Tommy in a Sam suit

Tommy turning into Sam was, for me, the most entertaining part of the entire episode. Sam Trammell nailed being Tommy in a Sam suit!  OMG, he was so like Tommy I could really feel that it was Tommy inside Sam’s body. Sam’s every move was Tommy and I have gained even more respect for Sam Trammell’s talent as an actor, he is just amazing.

Tommy, as Sam, goes to Merlotte’s and reeks havoc by first firing Sookie, and then starts yelling at everyone. However, his worst offense is later, when he’s back at Sam’s trailer. Just as poor Sam Merlotte finally found someone he thinks he can love in Luna, mischievous Tommy, while still being Sam, has sex with her when she arrives proclaiming she is ready to make the relationship real. Once the sex is over, Tommy, as Sam, throws her out. In his defense, Tommy didn’t throw her out because he wanted to be cruel, but because he had to. He was turning back into himself and knew he’d better get her out of there pronto.  It was pretty clear that Luna sensed something was wrong even before this, so I’m hopeful that Sam will be able to patch things up. I wonder why Tommy was so sick at the end when Sam came back and found him? I’m guessing that turning into your brother takes a lot out of you.

Antonia/Marnie/Luis

We learn, in flashbacks, what Antonia suffered in the 17th century from the Vampires. It seems that Luis is the one who really had his way with her back then and it’s now clear why Antonia is out to get all vampires, especially him. In the flashback, we again see Antonia (through Marnie) burning at the stake, chanting something that makes the vampires come out during the day and walk out into the sun. They all catch on fire and meet the true death. After the flashback is over we see Marnie in her cell and Antonia is on the other side of the room.  We then see her enter into the body of Marnie and she takes her over.  Toward the end of the episode, Luis sees into the cell, while in Bill’s office using his computer, and he notices the change in Marnie.  He foolishly (or is he under control to) goes down to the cell to see up close and he and Marnie/Antonia speak and they both recognize each other. While Luis gets ready to presumably kill her, exposing his fangs, she quickly prevents him and overpowers him. It looks like Luis might be one of the first vampires to go. So now, Marnie is completely possessed by Antonia and has in fact, become her.

Lafayette as a medium

A similar possession happens to Lafayette in this episode where we see him serve as a medium to save Jesus. We come in on Lafayette and Jesus having breakfast with Jesus’ grandfather and his pregnant woman. Lafayette isn’t too keen on the goat tongue they are served, but they also get criticism from grandfather, who additionally gives them a dish of, you only want me for my powers. He tells Jesus that they must go out and get a sacrifice, if they want his help. They do so by finding a rattlesnake and bring it back to him. The grandfather allows it to bite Jesus and while Jesus is in pain and starting to die, his grandfather tells Lafayette to heal Jesus. Lafayette at first doesn’t know what to do, but he then sees tio luca across the room who jumps into Lafayette (sort of like Antonia went into Marnie) and Lafayette becomes him spouting words in Spanish, healing Jesus.

What is this power that Lafayette has; is he like Marnie, a shell to inhabit other spirits, or will he have his own identity and power by being able to become others? And, who is “tio luca?”

Sookie, Eric, Bill and vampire business

The episode opens with Sookie and Eric taking up where they left off from last week, but just as their passion really starts to pick up and get good and steamy, Bill storms in, stopping the mood. Eric and Bill fight, but as soon as Eric hears that Bill is his king from Sookie (who is by the way, saving Bill’s life here), he immediately stops and bows in allegiance. Bill takes Eric prisoner to his house while Sookie protests all the way. She is angry and thinks that Bill is arresting Eric just for spite and she assures Bill that Eric is fine and is different now, but Bill is worried about much more, Eric’s possession.

We get some clearing up of old Sookie/Bill business when Bill exclaims to Sookie  ”you lied to my face“, but she quickly retorts, “you have a hell of a nerve lecturing me on lying.” Stalemate!

Eric defends Sookie saying, “whatever I am guilty of, Sookie has nothing to do with it, she was only protecting me.” Bill replies, “How touching; silver him!”  Eric tells Sookie she doesn’t have to defend him and that she has done too much already and Bill retorts, “yes you certainly have” and Sookie says “That’s what this is all about?” And Bill has a great line here when he says, “Believe it or not my entire existence does not revolve around what or who is between you legs.”  Bill then tells her that Eric is under a spell by necromancers and is a danger to everyone.

Sookie and Bill argue further about the fact that maybe Bill is jealous, but he explains that “this is vampire business“. Sookie’s knowledge of vampire business and politics is so limited that she could not possibly understand all the angles and reasons behind Bill’s order to arrest Eric. Bill took an oath to protect the vampires of Louisiana. All Sookie knows is that a witch has erased Eric’s memory, but she has no idea about necromancers, Antonia, the Authority or vampires walking out in the sun to meet their true death. This is an authentic vampire emergency, but the only reason Sookie can think of to explain Bill’s behavior is that he is motivated by sour feelings over their lost love and therefore still thinks that Bill is just jealous. She says she won’t leave unless Eric goes with her, but she doesn’t win this battle because finally Bill banishes her from the house telling his guards to arrest her for trespassing if she ever tries to enter the ground again.

Eric is now a prisoner, and is put in a cell in the basement with Pam. He sees what Pam has become and they talk about what is happening. Pam tries to reason with Eric reminding him of what he was by saying, “You have no loyalty to Bill Compton, you are a Viking Vampire God and bow to no one,” but Eric doesn’t want to return to the vampire he once was; he is ashamed of what he was. Pam is obviously hurt and shocked.

Bill gets permission from the AVL to give Eric the “truth death” and we see him out in front of the Compton Mansion as guards bring Eric to him.  Bill is now ready to stake Eric.

Before he does, he asks Eric if he has any last words. Eric accepts his fate by saying, “According to my progeny, I am a barbarian thug who has never respected your authority; I don’t expect you to show me any mercy. The Vampire I used to be is a stranger to me. I have nothing to say in his defense, I accept my sentence.”  He does request that Bill release Pam and asks him to say to Sookie, “Tell her, I was born the night she found me and because of her, I went to my true death knowing what it means to love . Tell her, Thank You.”

Eric then says to Bill, “She still cares for you, I saw it last night. After I’m gone, I hope you’ll find your way back to each other.“  Bill asks, ”why would you want that?” Eric replies, “Because she deserves happiness to whom ever can give it to her.” And right there in that moment, probably for the very first time, Bill feels a connection with Eric. Just like Bill in the 1930’s, Eric would rather die than be the ruthless vampire he used to be once again and they both share the experience of loving a human. We then see Bill raise the stake, presumably to kill Eric.

We don’t know the fate of Eric until he comes upon Sookie in the woods. We learn that Bill has spared both Pam and Eric, which not only frees Pam to raise havoc, but also sends Eric straight into Sookie’s arms. I wonder what punishment Bill will have to endure for that transgression of not carrying out his orders from AVL, but none the less, I”m glad he decided to free Eric.

We next see Bill on his porch, the same place where he waited for Sookie to come to him, just a year ago, alone and drinking Tru Blood.

We then see Eric and Sookie when they close out the episode with the long awaited scene where they join together in love making in the woods. The song, which carries the title of the episode, and the setting were particularly lovely and it was a good ending.

Jason and Jessica – the potential love triangle

Jason is so afraid of becoming a werepanther, now that it’s a full moon, that and he and Sookie wait for a long time to see if it happens. However, when Sookie goes into the house to get drinks for them, Jason takes off into the woods, presumably because he doesn’t want to have Sookie witness his possible transformation. Jessica who is serving Tara and her girlfriend at Merlotte’s senses Jason’s fear and quickly runs out to help him.

We are given a very nice and touching scene between them and it was a welcome sight not to see Jason immediately humping a girl for once. It’s clear that they both are attracted to each other, but Jason is doing all he can to hide it. Jessica is acting coy as well, but she is somewhat more obvious about it, and if Jason had tried to kiss her, I know she would have allowed it.  They both part though with nothing resolved or begun but, I don’t think this is the last of the Jessica/Jason relationship that we will see, and I wonder how it’s going to affect Jessica’s relationship with Hoyt.

Arlene, Terry, the armadillo, Andy, Holly,  and other things

The big house burning scene happened in this week’s episode.  I remember seeing photos of the burning of the houses here in LA. Wow, you’ve got to give the production people credit for that burning sequence, it was great and very authentic and must have cost a bundle, even though it didn’t take up a lot of screen time.  I remember when they had the burning sequence in Season 1 of the vampire’s house, but that was in Louisiana and this time, it was in Los Angeles in a much more populated area. I have to comment on the detail and care taken with the making of in True Blood, it’s exceptional!  Kudos to everyone!

Arlene  and Terry manage to get out of the burning house safely, with all the kids, but we have to wonder what started the fire and who that woman is that the baby sees. I loved seeing Terry’s pet armadillo, Felix, but that rascal looked more viscious than friendly. Alan Ball talked about it at Paley saying that when writing the scene they had no idea that armadillo’s didn’t like being held and therefore didn’t take the danger into consideration.

It looks like Andy Bellefleur might finally be getting a love interest in the form of Holly. When I interviewed Lauren Bowles , who plays Holly, last week, she wouldn’t tell me if the rumor of their relationship was true, but she sure hinted about it. I hope that Andy gets some lovin’ because he seems so alone and Holly, has been a single parent for too long and they just might be able to give each other what they each need.  I sure hope so.

Pam comes up on Tara and her girlfriend, undoubtedly to get some vengeance. Since she is so obviously about to rot to death, I suppose she thinks what does it matter if I kill these two women and get even with, Tara.

In closing I have to say that this probably was the most well done and written episode of the season. While there may have been particular scenes in previous episodes I liked more, this episode, as a whole, was clear and to the point. It also brought all the many story lines together into a cohesive theme of vampires vs. witches, which the season is supposed to be about. I just wish it hadn’t taken 1/2 of the season to get here. But, with that said, True Blood is still the best show on TV for me, and I just can’t believe this season is half over and we will soon be saying “waiting sucks” again.

As I mentioned last week I have decided to change up Random Thoughts by not giving a step by step through the episode, but instead talk about story-lines. We’ve all seen the episode, so no need for a blow by blow recap. The Vault’s Random Thoughts is now more of a review of the episode as a whole with a sprinkling of personal insights.

This week’s episode was so much more entertaining that the previous one. I loved the dialogue and there will be some wonderful quotes to add to my list of favorite quotes this week. Finally, things are starting to cook and I’m loving it. I am less concerned about the amount of characters now because they seem to be herding together into a few separate story lines that are beginning to make sense and work better together.

Ding, Dong The Mickens dead!

R.I. P. to Melina and Joe Lee, and thank God they are gone; it wasn’t soon enough to me. And, as one of our message board members said, “Thank God we won’t have to look at Joe Lee’s filthy underpants anymore”, she is so right on!

We see Tommy end the life of both of his parents who were attempting to keep him prisoner so they could make a living by having him fight in the dog ring. I have to say that I don’t blame Tommy for killing them because those two have to be the worst parents on the planet. No wonder Tommy is so messed up. Maybe now that he is free of them, he will be redeemed, but somehow I don’t think so.

Tommy doesn’t deal well with the death of his parents, especially of his mother. He, of course, runs to Sam for help and Sam being the good guy he is, helps him. Again, if Tommy is redeemed, maybe he and Sam will bond, but I just don’t trust Tommy and wonder why Sam is. Tommy’s fear is based in whatever religious training he must have had in his life because, as he and Sam throw the bodies into the swamp, he recites two of the ten commandments, well sort of, in a hillbilly, poor white trash kind of way, when he says,”Its in the ten commandments, don’t kill shit and don’t fuck with you parents, I did both.”

The most hilarious scene in this episode was when Tommy changed into an alligator as Andy Bellefleur opened the back of the van. That was so funny. However, I’m a bit confused. I thought that shapeshifters had to see the creature or, at least an image of the creature before they could turn. I especially remember when Sam turned into a fly that they showed us a fly in the jail giving Sam something to change into and therefore escape. Could this be a foreshadowing of what Luna talked about in a previous episode, that some shapeshifters can turn into anything? However, when Sam and Tommy turned into birds in a previous episode this season, I don’t remember seeing any birds around them before they shifted. I am very confused by this and wish they’d explain it more.

If all you have to do to get rid of a body is throw it into a Louisiana swamp with some marshmallows, I wonder why the mafia isn’t headquartered there. I doubt that Melinda and Joe Lee will have too many people looking for them, but I worry for Sam and Tommy because parts of Uncle Bartlett showed up after Bill ended him and threw him in the water, so all of this might not be over for the brothers.

I don’t think Sam should have revealed to Tommy that he had killed two people before. I know he told Tommy in order to make him feel better, but I fear it will come back later on to “bite him.”

Maxine seems to be all worried about her “Hoyt replacement son” and I wonder where that relationship is going to go? Will Maxine accept him back? If Tommy goes back to her will he try to steal the income earned from the natural gas that is under her house?

Vampires and their struggle with the new foe, the witches

Vampire talk.

Bill/Bellefleur hook up – I loved that Portia had all those facts at her fingertips as to whether it was legal, or morally OK, for her to have sex with Bill. It really did seem to me that it would be fine for her to have relations with him, but somehow Bill feels different. Perhaps it’s the southern gentleman in him that makes him feel very uncomfortable with it. Honestly, I just think the writers didn’t want to go there for some reason. Will Portia be back or is she now totally gone from the story as she is now so afraid of Bill after being glamoured.

Bill  had some great lines in this episode, like what he said when Pam walked in, “Oh, good, the world needs more beekeepers” and when Pam asked if he was insane for going to Marnie, I loved his reply “Insanity comes with the job.”

I am enjoying Bill as King and he seems to be adjusting to the job quite well. He is trying to be fair, but I know it’s difficult when the AVL is so dictatorial. I worry that this will not serve well for the vampire race in future since it tends to corrupt.

It was also great seeing the new sheriff’s; having  more vampires on the show makes it even more interesting and I can’t wait to learn about them.

For Pam to reveal what happened to Eric was obviously a slip on her part. She is so completely beside herself from her disfigurement that it just slipped out, so I hope Eric realizes that when he finds out, and he will. We all know that she would never have betrayed Eric for any other reason.

When Bill hears this news, it’s pretty obvious that he was not only surprised, but hurt that Sookie had indeed lied to him.  But he has a bigger mission to worry about at the moment and rushes off to Sookie’s house.

Learning more about the vampire past is always fascinating, but it seems really important that the vampires know something about their past. In this episode we learned that they hid themselves inside the priesthood during the Inquisition. There were some real political statements made here, especially when Bill said, “Vampires have often found it advantageous to maintain a hidden presence in humanities most powerful institutions. In the 1600’s that was the Catholic Church and today, as you all know it’s Googling and Fox News.”  Wow, that is a powerful statement of our times, in my opinion!

One of the vampire sheriff’s Luis (who was also in the flashback with Marnie) tells about what happened in the inquisition and in the flashback we see that the priests used women taken prisoner as witches to feed on. No wonder Antonia wanted to see their end. Luis tells us that she performed necromancy on all the vampires in the area making them walk into the sun, finding the true death.

An interesting tidbit that I’d like to mention. On Bill’s desk, his computer monitor has the words printed on it, “Computer Alienware”, which presumably is the company that made the hardware. I thought that was funny and proves that the set design people not only think of every detail, but have a great sense of humor.

Witch talk

It’s more than apparent that Marnie is just an instrument of Antonia and is really a meek mannered woman who is “just trying to practice her religion.”

Bill has her captured and brought to his compound to find out what powers she has. He first questions her remotely, from his office, because she might be able to do to him what she did to Pam. However, when that doesn’t work, he decides to go to her cell to glamour her. When he does so, it becomes obvious that Marnie isn’t the witch they have to worry about, but merely a vessel serving as a conduit for Antonia.

Jesus, Lafayette and Tara are in fear for their lives since Marnie/Antonia has now cast spells on Eric and Pam and will not reverse them. Tara says she has had enough and is going back to New Orleans. Jesus and Lafayette decide to go to Mexico to see Jesus’ grandfather who is a Bruja and very powerful. Lafayette is reluctant at first until Jesus tells him of the time when he felt immense power after having killed a goat as a child.  The premise for going seems sort of a feeble reason to me. What are they trying to accomplish? Does Jesus think his grandfather will be able to overtake Marnie/Antonia or, does Jesus just want protection?

Sookie is also interested in finding out what the witches are up to when she asks Holly about it at Merlotte’s. Holly seems to be “done” with the whole wiccan thing and acts suspicious that Sookie is asking since she “hangs with so many vampires.”  And Sookie even goes to visit with Marnie, but soon leaves after she hears Gran say that Marnie is evil.

Eric and Sookie

The relationship between Eric and Sookie as written in the books isn’t the same here, but it is still very powerful. I do like Eric as a nice guy, but I wish they had made him less of a baby.

I enjoyed seeing Godric again, but it was definitely Eric’s “dream version” of Godric. I knew right away that it must have been a dream because we all know that Godric isn’t evil. When Eric woke from the dream and went into Sookie’s room, I don’t understand Sookie’s reaction. How can Sookie allow Eric to stay in her bed after finding him standing over her with his fangs out? However my biggest complaint about this scene is that it’s night, so why has Eric been sleeping?  I thought he would be wide awake, as all vampires are during the night?

The love scene at the end of the episode was well done, but it was far too reminiscent of Bill and Sookie’s love scene in season 1 for me. For example, Sookie has on a dress similar to the one she wore in the graveyard scene, she and Eric kiss outside in front of the house, and it’s Sookie who instigates the union. Also, just like for Bill and Sookie in Season 1, episodes 6 and 7, their love scene is split in two. I fully expect that next week’s episode will start off with Eric and Sookie making love. I know the split was done to entice us all to watch the next episode, but it seems just to similar to me. Why not make their scenes very new and completely different?

Eric and Sookie seem to be falling in love and I understand Eric’s desires fully, but Sookie seems to be running head first into a collision. She had warnings from both Tara and from Gran’s spirit to stay away from him, and she has chosen to ignore both of them, even though she declared to Marnie that when her Gran tells her to run, she runs. Tara laid it all out for her when she said, “this is the fucker who sold you out to Russell Edgington, he tricked you into drinking his blood, locked Lafayette in a dungeon and tortured him, you hate him.” And, without diminishing Eric’s power to fascinate or attract, I don’t see the reasons here for Sookie to do such a complete about face from when she said she “preferred cancer.” to Eric. Eric’s new personality is attractive, but, in my opinoin, the writers haven’t given us enough to justify Sookie’s attraction.

I am guessing that Eric will get his memory back before too long and I wonder if that will change their relationship? However for now, it’s time for all the Eric fans to enjoy the scenes between them.

Jessica, Hoyt and Jason

Jason is back home, THANK GOD! The Hot Shot gang would continue  to stay out of the story, if I had my preference. I didn’t feel anything for the Jason/Crystal affair and obviously she is a nut job, so I’m glad he’s away from her and no longer tied to that dirty old bed.

Hoyt and Jessica take Jason to his home and tuck him into bed and Hoyt exclaims to Jessica, “You just saved my best friends life“. Jessica replies with another great line, “It’s all in the wrist,” which of course refers to her having bit her wrist and given Jason her blood to drink. She and Hoyt then hug, but when Hoyt tries to kiss her, she recoils. I am not sure why she behaves the way she does, but perhaps its the guilt she feels from the glamouring she did to Hoyt in the last episode. Hoyt notices and is concerned, but she says she is just tired.

Jason’s dream of having sex with Jessica and then Hoyt was a scream. I love when Jason asked Jessica,” Is this a dream?” and when she said, “yes,” he thought for a second and then, said glibly, “OK“. And, to add Hoyt prescence in the dream for the purpose of bringing out Jason’s guilt was hysterical and a stroke of genius. I loved it.

I do worry about Jessica and Hoyt’s relationship though. Poor Hoyt, he’s such a good man, but as Alan Ball tells us all the time, blissful relationships don’t make good drama, so I fear that the two will have to part. Jason will probably now be interested in Jessica since he has had her blood, but we can’t yet be sure if Jessica will feel the same. She might want to sow some wild oats instead of getting herself tied to another guy so quickly. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Arlene, Terry and the baby

Arlene and Terry are really still concerned about the writing on the wall and Terry says it’s time to ask for help. A good line here was when Arlene talks about praying to God for help and says “I’ve been praying to him every night, but apparently my prayers are going to his voicemail.”

The scenes with Arlene and Terry, Lettie Mae and the Reverend were a lot of fun to watch. I don’t for a minute think that what Lettie Mae and the Reverend Daniels did around their house will make a bit of difference, but Terry and Arlene seem to think so, because things are already better. The baby is sleeping quietly, Terry and Arlene have great sex, and all is well with the world, or not. Just as this happy scene closes and Terry and Arlene embrace  in bed, the camera pans to a book of matches that suddenly ignites. Oh no, could their house catch on fire? Is Rene up to some evil agains?

I wonder how this fire and the evil baby story line are related to this season’s witch theme? Somehow, it must be related, in order for any of it to make any sense.

I’ve decided to change up Random Thoughts on each episode by not giving a step by step through the episode, but instead talk about story-lines.  We’ve all seen the episode, so no need for a blow by blow recap.  So, from now on, The Vault’s Random Thoughts will be more of a review of the episode as a whole with a sprinkling of personal insights.

I love True Blood; it’s my all time favorite show, but I am becoming concerned that it is getting too complex for it’s own good. This is only my opinion and I certainly wouldn’t dare to try and dictate to Alan Ball, what he should do, but I’ll throw out my opinion for what it’s worth:

There are too many characters and story lines. Even for me, someone who watches each episode many times, again and again, I find it difficult to keep up. True Blood is best when it focuses on the vampires and their relation to humans. Yes, it’s OK to add a few werewolves and witches, but let’s face it, everyone watches this show for the vampires and how they interact with the humans. It’s genius is the concept of vampires coming out of the coffin and co-existing with humans; that’s what is so groundbreaking and I worry that we’re getting too “off topic!”

But, with that said, I thought this episode was good and here are some of my thoughts and opinions about it:

Hot Shot and Jason

Poor Jason, he has been kept tied to that bed for three episodes now; what torture. I was so glad to see that Becky took the high road and decided to be his savior by freeing him. Finally, we got to see someone in Hot Shot with some sense who doesn’t just want to jump in the sack. Is anyone else concerned about the fact that poor Jason was being “raped?”  I found this to be sort of disturbing in the weirdest way.

By the way, the first women having sex with Jason was the woman who played “horny Patty” on Hung, so once again she plays a character who is in need of a good lay.

Jason quickly escapes after Becky cuts him loose, but is chased into the woods by Felton and Crystal who have shifted into their panther form. Jason is very noticeably weary and sick and should probably be in a hospital, but he manages to sharpen the end of a stick and stabs Felton killing him. When Crystal arrives and turns back into a human, she is all lovey dovey and all high on the fact that she will now be “Big Momma Kitty” and  Jason is to become their Ghost Daddy soon. She says she will be waiting for him until the full moon, but he wants none of it and stumbles away. Presumably Jason is to turn into a  werepanther at the next full moon, but we’ll have to wait and see if it happens, or if he even survives.

Crystal is really a nut job! Jason obviously no longer wishes to be a part of their clan or be  their “ghost daddy”, and who could blame him.

By the way, I wonder why Sookie hasn’t thought about the whereabouts of Jason like Andy did in the last episode? And, if Andy is so anxious to find Jason to get his help, why didn’t he go see Sookie and ask about him? Jason seems to have been forgotten by all, until late in the night we see him pass out by the side of the road after coughing up his guts, and Jessica and Hoyt drive by and notice him. They jump out of the truck and Jessica immediately tears open her wrist and offers Jason her blood.

Wow, Hoyt is a generous man allowing Jessica to give Jason her blood, but with Jason being his best buddy, what else could he do?  I wonder if this will develop into some sort of relationship for Jason and Jessica since we know that vampire blood will make Jason be attracted to her. It would be interesting to see them together, but I an such a fan of Hoyt and Jessica, that it would hurt to see them parted. However, it won’t hurt me at all if this will be the last we see of the Hot Shot crew, but somehow I don’t think it’s over yet.

Sookie and her men

Sookie seems to be preoccupied most of the episode with taking care of, or should I say babysitting, amnesia Eric. Eric has become drunk from draining Claudine of her fairy blood and has disappeared. Sookie calls Alcide for help to find him and he comes over, turns into a werewolf and finds Eric in the river which is supposedly filled with alligators and possibly crocodiles. It’s daylight and Eric is out in the sun; presumably because of the fairy blood he drank. Sookie gets him home before the sun does too much damage to him, and she takes him into his hidey hole. He wants her to stay with him, but she gives the excuse that she has “human business” to attend to.

It’s interesting how Sookie is now no longer afraid of Eric when he might actually be more dangerous now in his “innocence”, than he was before. However, his new manner seems to be winning her over. She and Alcide have a moment before he leaves and we see their genuine affection for each other. I don’t think its too safe to be attracted to Alcide either though with Debbie Pelt in the picture. I don’t care what Debbie says about being clean and sober, when she sees the chemistry between Sookie and Alcide, I think she will lose it again, just like she did last year. Look out Sookie!

So, while Sookie seems to be attracted to Eric and Alcide now, what about Bill?. She appears to like the innocence of Eric and the kindness of Alcide, and I suppose she is still angry at Bill and refuses to add him to the equation.

We next see Sookie again with Eric in his hidey hole. He is all depressed now because he can no longer go into the sun and he wants Sookie to stay and says he promises to be happy if she will kiss him. Just as it seems like it’s about to happen, Eric senses someone at the door. It’s the now “other man”, Bill. She meets Bill on the porch who tells her that he is looking for Eric and wants to search the house. Pam has told Sookie that Bill is out to kill Eric and that she should hide Eric to keep him safe. I know that Bill is trying to find him because he is seriously worried about the witches or necromancers, but Sookie believing Pam, lies for Eric and says he isn’t in the house. And, although Bill can now easily enter the home since it now belongs to Eric, Sookie stops Bill as he begins to enter when she says, “When have I ever lied to you, ever.” Just as Bill is about to go in, upon hearing this, he turns away. I don’t think for a second that Bill believed Sookie, but he somehow he knew not to go in. He knows that Eric is there, but he decided it would be better not to cross the threshold. This could have been a wise political move, but I really think he decided to trust Sookie instead.

Sookie has three gorgeous men after her, 2 vampires and a werewolf, but I guess all that danger can make any girl be indecisive. However, I think I would like having three such gorgeous men after me no matter what; at least I’d die happy.

Sam and Luna

Sam is, I think now trying once again to be a good man and wants to have a relationship very badly, even with his shady brother Tommy getting in the way. Since he seems to have long given up on Sookie, and now even Tara who has a love in New Orleans, Luna is his prime objective. Sam is lonely and seriously thinks that Luna might be that person. However, even though we see Sam, in this episode, have a great scene with Luna and her daughter, I somehow don’t think the harmony between them is going to last. I love Sam, but this story line is pretty flat so far, in my opinion. I sure hope it breaks out pretty soon with Luna’s EX providing the drama.

Tommy, Maxine and the Mickens

Poor Maxine Fortenberry really does just want another Hoyt, and I think Tommy realizes that. He is using her for whatever he can get from her, but what do you expect from a guy who has been brought up, or should I say dragged up by the Mickens?  I have never liked Tommy because I knew he couldn’t be trusted, but I now know why he is the way he is, look at the example he has had to follow in his life? His own mother has sold him over as a slave to his dad who will now keep him prisoner and have him again fight in the ring. If you can’t trust your own mother; who can you trust?  He sure can’t trust Melinda.

Even though I never liked Tommy much, this episode’s events made me feel compassion for him. We truly are a product of our environment and when you have such an environment as Tommy has had all his life, how else can you turn out? I hope that somehow Sam helps him again and they bond as brothers. However, I do worry that Tommy heard what Luna said, when the shapeshifters were talking that night, about how there are shifters who can turn into people, not just animals. Will Tommy become Sam?

Terry, Arlene and the evil baby

There’s not too much about this story-line in this episode, except for some evil graffiti. While Arlene and the kids are asleep on the couch Terry puts the baby down while he goes to check the clothes dryer. When he returns he finds written in red on the wall, “Baby Not Yours,” and all of them shutter in fear. When the camera pans to the baby, he is holding the red marker with ink all over his face and hands making us think he has written the words and that he might be even more evil than we thought. The doll is still with him, and yes you all are correct, such a dirty thing should never have been given to him without having been disinfected or at least, thrown in the washer. I wonder how this baby issue will fit into the whole story at the end of the season? Will this baby be possessed by evil as perhaps Marnie is?  Or, is he possessed by Rene?

Bill and the Bellefleurs and the AVL

Wow, Bill having sex with a great, great, great, great granddaughter is more than I can take into my brain. I bet that’s what Bill thought when he realized that they were related. While they are not “really” related anymore as he is ‘dead’, I don’t know if it really would have been technically incest, but EWWWW, it still didn’t sit well with me. I’m glad that the writers decided to end it as soon as they did because it still rang as “creepy.” Poor Bill, all he wants in life seems to be a nice relationship, and he is one who will never get over not being human, I suppose.

While I’m loving the King role for Bill, it’s also heartbreaking to see him so alone; just like he was last season. He is generous to a fault in not demanding anything from Sookie; that’s hard for anyone to do, who loves her so, in my opinion. He really was not a good candidate to become a vampire, but I realize that was Lorena’s whole intention; to corrupt a good man. He’s been fighting it ever since and I don’t think he will ever adjust.

Now, Nan Flanagan is really the boss from hell, in my opinion and because of this, I’m not sure why Bill decided to take her up on her offer to become a double agent back in the 1980′s. I’d like to see more of Bill and Nan’s history together. Having been working together for about 20 years now, presumably they have interacted a lot since then. Didn’t he know she was a pure bitch before taking on this role? And, I find it odd that Nan doesn’t seem to be concerned at all about the witches. I also don’t understand why she doesn’t at least want to know more. Maybe she really is just a politician and can’t see the nose on her face. Bill on the other hand, is really concerned and he somehow knows more than she does which is odd. He recognizes that these necromancers are more than dangerous to vampires.

I was glad to see that it wasn’t Bill’s wish to sentence that vampire to death in the last episode, it just didn’t ring true for me. Instead we now know that is was a dictate from the AVL. Is Bill a puppet King? I know he is really in the with AVL, but I don’t see him liking their politics. Is this really Bill? I want to know more about the “why” of his involvement.

Witches and Spells

I haven’t until now been too impressed with the witches this season, well except for Fiona Shaw who has done a powerful job as Marnie, but with this week’s dream sequence, I got hooked.

Note to True Blood – WE LOVE FLASHBACKS!! I am one of those who is a big fan of flashing back in time to see the characters and learn about their past. The dream showed us who is possessing Marnie, a woman named Antonia. We are taken to a 17th century scene where Antonia is being burned at the stake and Marnie protests her death. We don’t know the tie in to the vampires yet, because surprisingly, the dream scene takes place during the day and you’d think if her death was because of a vampire it would happen at night. I did notice a man in a black robe though. Could he be a vampire who had braved the sun in order to witness the event?

Tara, Lafayette and Jesus come to Marnie, once she wakes up, to try and get her to reverse the spell on Eric because Pam is going to kill them all unless they do so. Marnie tries, but can’t figure how hot to reverse the spell. Luckily, a book magically falls off the shelf to the page where the spell is written that Marnie feels will work to reverse Eric’s memory loss. The four of them go to the woods and meet Pam and they try to reverse the spell. Finally, Marnie starts to concentrate and eventually, as Pam says, “this is bullshit“, Marnie is immediately taken over by Antonia and she says a few words that make Pam’s skin begin to rot on her face and Marnie (as Antonia) says, “corrupt, unsanctified corpse that walks…behold your true self.” Pam’s skin begins to fall off and she runs away in fear as Marnie laughs and then passes out.

Overall, I liked this episode, but somehow I feel that something has been lost this year. I am loving the new Eric, like seeing Bill in his new role, but somehow the passing of a whole year between seasons has changed everyone and I feel that I don’t know the Bon Temps crowd anymore. While I understand why the writers felt that time had to pass, while Sookie was away, for the story line to develop, I wish I had been around during that last year to see how each of them changed. But, True Blood is always worth watching and a delight, don’t ever stop creating this magical world, Mr. Ball!

Tell us what you think about this episode. Did you like it? Which story-lines do you like or not like? Leave a comment and let us know your opinions.

Finally, we have a new episode of True Blood. I was beginning to go through withdrawal. While I liked seeing Episode 2 early, there was a price to pay, since we had to wait another whole two weeks before seeing Episode 3, “If You Love me, then Why am I Dyin’?”

Please give us your thoughts in the comments below. Did you like this episode? What are your favorites and what don’t you like? Tell us, we want to know!

This episode gets right down to work with the story continuing where it left off at the end of episode 2, as it the tradition of True Blood.

At the end of Episode 2, we saw Sookie come up on Eric who seems to have forgotten who he is. Eric sees Sookie and she says, “you know perfectly well why I smell the way I smell smell.” Eric then says, “Like wheat and honey and sunlight“, and his fangs come out and he asks, what are you? Sookie drives off and before she knows it, he is in the car with her.

Sookie escapes from the car and Eric runs after her and she hits him in the nose saying “I am not your fucking dinner”. He says, in surprise, “You broke my nose.”  Sookie replies, “Oh, please, it will heal in a minute, you’re a vampire. Eric shouts, I know I’m a vampire “Snookie”, I know what I am. Sookie quickly corrects him, “it’s Sookie” and Eric exclaims, “I just don’t know who I am.”

He then says, something in Swedish that has been translated for us by our Swedish True Blood fans on our message board.  The translation is: “The wet sand between my toes…the wind between my shoulder blades.” Then she tells him to focus and he says “Her eyes, her eyes were completely cold. Empty eyes.., her cold empty eyes they were reaching into me, emptying me. It was her, but it wasn’t her. She was in a circle chancy then everything was taken from me.

So, this scene establishes the amnesia for Eric that is so famous from the books. It also confirms for us that Marnie is a vessel for someone that Eric has experienced in the past who can control him. Sookie gives in and says she will help him and they go to her home, but not before she sets up some ground rules. She says, “you do not touch me and most certainly, you do not bite me.” He swears and Sookie takes him home. He says “I am grateful for this. Sookie says, “Whatever.”

Marnie is on a couch and Jesus is fixing her wound. They all want to get the police and Lafayette says, Eric Northman is 1000 years old and the best we can do is forget about everything. He has no right says, Marnie. Tara says he is a vampire and doesn’t’ care about anything, they don’t care about law, they just want our blood. Jesus asks Marnie how she did what she did,  and she says, I have no idea. This further confirms that Marnie is a vessel of someone else. Lafayette is clearly still very afraid of Eric and he, Tara and Jesus talk later about how dangerous he is and Tara and Jesus get Lafayette to agree not to go to Fangtasia to ask for Eric’s forgiveness.

In Hot Shot, Jason is not looking very good and we hear the Hot Shot inhabitants talking about the history of their race of werepanthers. Evidently a long time ago, one man and one woman became werepanthers and were called “Ghosts Mama and Ghost Daddy” and they went into the wood during a full moon and told a panther that they didn’t want to live in the man’s world. The panther ate them and when they were in his belly they soaked up his magic. When he puked them up, the next full moon they became werepanthers. And, that was the beginning or their kind.

Evidently, the werepanther clan has been inbreeding so much that they are having trouble having children and they have decided to turn Jason into one in order to get some new blood into the group. Jason is hearing all of this and says, “If you’re going to kill me, be a man and just do it now.” Crystal tells Jason she will not let anyone kill him.

The Vampire haters group that we last saw outside Fangtasia, picketing is in an alley,sees a vampire feeding on a woman in an alley. Turns out they are filming it and have silver string and wooden bullets.  They plan to broadcast the video they shoot on their Facebook page. The vampire runs away in fear. The group finishes recording their YouTube video saying, “Wake up America, before we’re all dead.”

We then see that Bill is watching this video in his home office and the vampire in the video is now sitting there in front of bill being questioned about it. Bill says it’s expressly forbidden by the American Vampire League to be filmed while feeding on a human. He sentences the vamp to the “true death.” The vampire says, “You want to send us back into the coffin.” Bill says, “Russell Edgington already did that.”

He opens the door to leave his office and sees Jessica standing in the foyer of the house. She uses the excuse for coming by to get some Advil for Hoyt. They move in to Bill’s living room, which looks gorgeous, by the way, as Bill asks her to tell him what’s really going on.

Jessica tells Bill that she fed on a guy who was not Hoyt. Having just come from a sentencing for that very same issue, Bill says, “Please tell me that you weren’t somewhere that you will be videotaped?” Jessica says, she is not stupid, but just unfaithful and that the victim was willing. They have a very poignant moment together sitting on the couch where Bill says, “You need to tell Hoyt.” Jessica says, “he will be so hurt.” Bill says, “imagine how hurt he would feel if he ever found out from someone else.” We see the pain and sadness on Bills face, which is quickly turned to a smile when he hears Jessica say “I hate my life.”

This is a very touching scene between a parent and a child and Bill tells her to: Vamp up! If you love him you’ll tell the truth, period.” After this, Jessica leans her head on Bill’s shoulder and he on her. It’s evident that Jessica does love Hoyt, but is struggling with her nature and Bill is trying to live with not having been honest with Sookie and is evidently very much feeling that pain.

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