True Blood Season 5 Premiere: Turn! Turn! Turn!

By the time most shows make it to the fifth season, I find myself both pleased the show I like has survived but I dread that this might be the season the entire narrative falls apart. It tends to be a challenge by the time American television programs make it to the fifth season.  Part of the reason, I believe, is that the seasons are longer than in the UK and other countries and sometimes you can only drag out stories so far. Sure it is easy for me to criticize; I’m not sitting in the writer’s room struggling to see the overall season arcs and trying to keep the network executives pleased.  I felt the only redeeming element of True Blood Season 4 was the death of Tara (Rutina Wesley).  Why do I dislike the character so much?  It isn’t the actress, Rutina Wesley — she is doing the best she can with a severely flawed character.  It’s bad enough in real life when people don’t learn from their mistakes but on television shows, unless there is something extraordinary about their character that makes them a truly tragic figure (and this wasn’t the case with Tara), it is hard to keep excusing their stupidity.  Now, I will admit that Tara throwing herself between the bullet from Debbie’s gun and Sookie (Anna Paquin) did make her a hero, it also would have also potentially ended Tara’s tragic existence in Bon Temps on a high note.  And… it was time for Tara to meet her maker, so to speak.  It certainly wasn’t time for Tara to ‘meet her maker’ as the True Blood team intended for Season 5.   Thankfully, the evil Debbie Pelt had no opportunity to come back, of course, when you try to kill Sookie Stackhouse, you are almost guaranteed some sort of true death for your supernatural species.

Since I am never bowled over by the Season Premieres of True Blood, I am hoping things will pick up over the next couple of episodes.  Jason’s (Ryan Kwanten) fling with Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) seems to be going nowhere fast and while he might be developing true feelings for her, she can’t seem to settle down with anyone.  I actually felt sorry for Jason when she kissed that loser college boy in front of him.  What is more interesting is watching Jason grow into an actual human with feelings (yes he is human but he’s growing up…finally) and resisting a quick lay with a sorority slut for revenge.  It would be a welcome change to see Jason grow as a character and develop a bit more depth.  I’m not even going to comment on the creepy Gay Vampire American scene.  It wasn’t that he was a Gay Vampire American that made it creepy.  It was that he is creepy Reverend Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian) with fangs.

While the witches might be gone this season, there will be no shortage of werewolf angst.  At the forefront of this season’s first supernatural issue is Alcide (Joe Manganiello), the reluctant werewolf leader.  He is going to go up against the evil matriarch, Marcus’ mother, Martha (Dale Dickey).  I’m beginning to wonder why there are so many middle-aged to older evil women that dominate the stories.  While the evil Russell Edgington had a somewhat strange comical edge, none of the maniacal women have any comedic outlets.  They are always a deadly threat.  Marnie, Maryann the maenad, even Bill’s maker, Lorena is an out of control harpie.  Too bad she didn’t have an “M” name as well because I could use French film critic Raymond Bellour’s obsession with women in Hitchcock films whose names begin with the letter M to discuss how these women subvert the narrative through violence, and how, like in Hitchcock’s films, they must always be contained to keep order in society.  Lucky for me, Lorena begins with an L, but it is something to think about.  The truly violent women all suffer a true death while the other women in the show are actually contained because of their subservience to their need for love.  Even Pam (Kristen Bauer van Straten), who is by far the most violent female on the show, serves Eric (Alexander Skarsgård).  Now, we get to experience a woman who is not only slighty older, she is a scorned mother.  Will there be any redeeming features in her character? I’m hoping so because it would be a welcome change to see a threatening female who goes beyond the one dimensional threat they usually represent on True Blood.

It’s amazing what Pam is sometimes willing to do to get back into Eric’s good graces.  Pam is the type of character that shows there is some hope for adding depth the the villainous females on the show.  She mixes humor, violence and anger in order to convey her emotions – and love for her maker, Eric, her true only reason for living, both figuratively and metaphorically.  In some ways, Pam is the most admirable character on the show, since she demonstrates true loyalty to Eric even when he rejects her.  The only bright spot in the premiere is the moment Pam sees the two bloody bodies of Debbie and Tara and she declares, “Color me impressed, you guys know how to party.”

Finally, Eric and Bill (Stephen Moyer), Sookie’s rejects and vampires on the lam, are quickly loosing their luster.  Although, I felt that Bill was more of a doormat all last season, at least he does show some loyalty to his feelings for Sookie even when he is dumped which is better than Eric turning to the arms of his ‘vampire sister’, Nora (Lucy Griffiths), and screwing her as soon as he gets the chance.  Both vampires must face the Authority.  Hopefully that will at least entail some excitement.  Because we are going to need some if we are dealing with Sookie’s grief over Tara seemingly turning into a killing machine and Lafayette’s (Nelsan Ellis) grief over the death of his lover.

Although the premiere ratings were down slightly from last year, True Blood was still the most watched show on cable last Sunday.  Let’s see if it can hold it’s grip or at least sink its fangs into the audience with a bit more compelling storylines as the season progresses because honestly, I don’t give a shit about Jessica’s teen angst any more.  She’s had it for a couple of years now.  Between her feeling sorry for herself, then cheating on the guys who care about her, and Tara being a victim for four seasons, sometimes it’s hard going watching these episodes.  At least Sookie killed Debbie out of hate and admits it.  That gives me a tiny ray of hope.

I’m not convinced I’m going to love this season but I’ve been a fan for the previous four, so I’m hoping I’ll at least be entertained.  And I don’t think “bad Tara” will really do it for me.  Nor will the bromance of Bill and Eric.  Maybe I’ll go ahead and order Season 2 of The Glades because I might need something else to fill up my Sunday nights.

True Blood: And When I Die Episode Review/Season 4 Finale

SPOILER ALERT:

I’m not sure what to say besides:  I’m underwhelmed.  Possibly that the writers wrote themselves into a corner this season and they couldn’t seem to find their way out?  I’d hoped for something more.  I’m not sure what but something beyond what happened.  Now I’ll admit that there were a couple of high points with some deaths I’d been hoping for.  Other than that, the entire episode felt like it was trying to wrap everything up because it was the season finale.  And seriously?  Making it happen on Halloween?  The first thing they teach you if you take a TV writing class is NEVER to write what they call ‘very special episodes‘ for your samples.  They claim those episodes are better left to the professionals.  Someone should let the professionals know that September 11th is not October 31st, nor does it feel like October 31st here on the East Coast.   The leaves haven’t even changed yet and while it is true there is Halloween candy out at Target and the local Stop and Shop, I’m not even ready to buy it for myself let alone considering Halloween.  It could have been a very special Thanksgiving Episode for all I cared.  Or maybe the Easter Bunny could have taken Marnie down?  I just didn’t see the point.

Jesus and Lafayette/Marnie eat breakfast.  Jesus notices Lafayette’s quiet but doesn’t realize Marnie has possessed him.  I have a hard time believing that.  I realize that Lafayette is the medium but it seems he could at least sense something is terribly wrong.  So, he gets a fork in the hand and he knows he’s screwed.  Should I mention those eggs actually looked really good and made me think more about having breakfast for dinner than worrying about Jesus’s fate?

At the Stackhouse residence, Sookie looks on the floor and sees her dead grandmother there. Her vision is interrupted by Tara.  They are both trying to recover from the night before.

Sam and Hoyt’s mother are at Tommy’s grave.  She tells Sam that he can call her ‘mama’ now.  Just as she leaves, Luna and Emma show up to comfort Sam a bit more.

In yet another section of Bon Temps, Jason visits Hoyt on the job and confesses that he’s slept with Jessica.  Hoyt beats the crap out of him.

Marnie/Lafayette ties Jesus up, informs him that s/he wants his magic, stabs him in the heart, eats the blood.  Marnie gets Jesus’s magic as Jesus dies.  Later, it’s Tara who discovers Jesus, dead, and runs to find Sookie.

Sookie has gone to Merlotte’s.  Sam is there now.  Sookie reminds him that he fired her he tells her he wasn’t quite himself and he rehires her.  This is where we discover that it is Halloween.  Funny everybody but Sookie and Tara seemed to get the memo.  There is a great scene with Arlene and her kids and she tells them if they don’t behave they will be trick-or-treating at the trailer park and getting empty Coors cans and food stamps again.  Now why can’t all the lines be that good?  Patrick, a Marine buddy of Terry’s shows up .  They go off to catch up and we don’t see him again for the rest of the episode.  Couldn’t we just meet him at the beginning of next season?  Later, dead Rene shows up to a terrified Arlene and tells her that Terry’s past will cause danger for her.

Alcide shows up for a drink at Merlotte’s and to get Sookie to be with him.  He says he’s left Debbie and wants to get together with Sookie.  She turns him down.  Sort of.  It does sound like she’s sloppy seconds to Debbie anyway.  She already has enough trouble with Eric and Bill.  A little later, Sookie and Holly are behind Merlotte’s.  Holly’s getting stoned.  Tara pulls up explains what happened to Jesus and Lafayette and they all race to Bill’s mansion in time to see Lafayette/Marnie preparing to light a bonfire around Bill and Eric.  Holly somehow manages to pour sage and other magic-related stuff around everyone as Marnie sets the bonfire alight.  Then Tara, Sookie and Holly chant (who knew both Tara and Sookie were so versatile with powers) and just as Bill and Eric are about to fry like bacon, the fire goes out.  Oh yes, and lots of ghosts come up from the graveyard and Sookie’s grandmother reaches into Lafayette’s throat and grabs Marnie out.  Then we are forced to listen to Antonia try to get Marnie to go to the spirit world which finally happens.  It was just – lame.  Then Sookie asks her Grandmother to stay and for her advice and she says Sookie is better off alone.  So, later, Sookie lets both cripsy vampires feed off her then tells them that she can’t be with either one.  Then walks out the door.  Very empowering, however, kind of boring unless Sookie decides to take the Mildred Pierce route and open up popular restaurants featuring fried foods that appeal to humans and vampires and makes a killing.  Otherwise, she kind of needs a love interest for us to keep watching.

This must be the episode for female empowerment since Jessica then shows up at Jason’s to have sex then announce she doesn’t want a commitment.  Those are famous last words.  Whenever they are uttered, the person claiming that usually ends up changing their mind within a week or two.  And Jason’s line about her feeding off other men is like a prostitute having sex but not kissing was ridiculous.  Okay, so if my fuck buddy just told me that I was like a prostitute, I’m not sure I’d take it with the same ease Jessica did, but then again maybe she’s too young and Jason’s too naive to realize he delivered a backhanded compliment to her.

Now perhaps my only truly favorite moment in the entire episode comes when Pam melts down about Sookie with only lines that Pam can deliver including her ridiculing Sookie and shouting about her “precious faerie vagina” (seriously how did they even come up with that line?) or her unbelievably stupid name.  And I have to agree with Pam there.  The name Sookie is, um, unfortunate.

Later, Jesus visits Lafayette and says he will always be around and they can always talk since Jesus is dead and Lafayette is a medium.  Sounds like the making of a typical dysfunctional relationship.  And if that one isn’t bad enough, Andy brings Holly flowers and confesses that he is a V addict.  Now that’s really the way to start a relationship.

Jason gets a visit from the Reverend Steve Newlin who is now a vampire and at the same time, Alcide discovers an empty spot in a parking garage where Russell Edgington was buried just last season.  Looks like we will get a visit from him next season.

Finally… the rest of the deaths.  Nan visits Bill and Eric.  They seem to be a team now that Sookie has dumped them.  Nan’s been fired and is in the middle of a mutiny against The Authority and the American Vampire League.  She mentions Sookie and next thing we know, Eric has decapitated her henchmen and Bill has killed Nan.  I wonder what The Authority will say about that.

Things aren’t any quieter for Sookie now that she has dumped the two men in her life.  She arrives home to find Debbie waiting for her with a shotgun.  Tara is staying at Sookie’s and tries to save her as Debbie takes a shot.  Part of Tara’s head is blown off.  Sookie kills Debbie in cold blood, although Debbie had it coming.  And that ends Season 4 of True Blood.  I’m wondering how soon Sookie will falter and end up with Eric or Bill.  I feel like I should start a betting pool.

True Blood: Soul of Fire episode review

SPOILER ALERT:

In this week’s episode of True Blood, “Soul of Fire”, so much happens that it actually feels like a 2 hour long episode.  We begin with the Vampire A-Team getting ready to blow the Moon Goddess Emporium up in smoke while Sookie tries to talk Marnie out of holding everyone hostage.  Jason gets to the vampires in time to make them stop but not before the two best lines of the show are spoken.  First, Jessica notes how much she hates to silver herself stating that “… silvering herself leaves her feeling so pissed off it’s like what PMS used to feel like.”  I’m wondering if Premensyn would calm her down.  It even works when men get into bad moods.  It’s like valium without the prescription.  It does wonders for everyone I know.    Then, after Bill and Eric finally agree not to attack Moon Goddess because Sookie is in there, Pam voices the other great line in this episode, “Do not tell me you would put our species at risk for a gash in a skirt.”  It’s lines like that that make this show so enjoyable to watch.

In terms of Moon Goddess, so much action takes place there this episode, it’s hard to believe any other storylines had a chance.  Marnie/Anontia have a fight but Marnie proves stronger than Antonia, binding Antonia to her.  Lafayette witnesses this and tells everyone Marnie’s even more powerful and they are screwed.  One of the hostages, a girl named Casey, runs for Marnie she’s killed with a knife Marnie psychically wields and stabs her in the heart.  Marnie actually enjoyed the killing.  Sookie notices and looks more worried.  In the meantime, Jesus pretends Casey is barely alive and asks Marnie to let him try to save her, she agrees.   He orders Lafayette to help him with Casey into the bathroom to try and save her.  Once behind closed doors, Jesus reveals his plan: he’s going to create a spell unbinding Marnie and Antonia so Marnie will lose power and they can try and break free.

Outside, Bill is furious and shouts for Antonia to face them without her magic.  She brings Sookie out with her.  She agrees to let Sookie go if Bill and Eric will kill themselves.  They agree.  Sookie is visibly upset (honestly, she could have been more upset… ).  Just before they are about to die, Pam runs for the van, grabs a portable rocket launcher and blasts the power shield/protection spell Marnie’s erected.  Marnie pulls Sookie back into the Emporium and the vampires and Jason recover from the blast.  Jessica has to give Jason her blood because he’s badly injured.  Eric yells at Pam about her stunt.  Inside, Marnie forces everyone to join in a circle, lying and claiming the vampires are going to kill all of them.  They reluctantly join hands and outside, all the vampires are pulled toward the power shield/protection spell barrier but Sookie hears Jason telepathically tell her to make it stop and she manages to use her faerie powers and break the circle and the power to pull Bill, Eric, Pam and Jessica to their fiery deaths.  In the meantime, Jesus and Lafayette work on the spell and not a moment too soon since Marnie gets so angry she creates a ring of fire around Sookie who screams for help.  Jesus breaks through the binding spell, Sookie is safe, the vampires break in and first kill Marnie’s minion (Eric rips his heart out and licks some blood off it in true Eric fashion) then Bill shoots Marnie multiple times, finishing her off with a bullet to her head.  Jessica and Jason discuss the fact that their feelings are growing and Jason says now he can’t stop thinking about her with all her blood inside him.  So much drama for one night!

In the meantime there is even more going on.  Marcus takes Emma with him to Alcide‘s house.  He and Debbie discuss whether she will run off with him.  Emma calls Luna who is panicked because she knows Marcus has her daughter.  Luna, Sam and Alcide race to his house.  Sam and Marcus beat each other up.  Sam could kill him but decides not to.  Marcus reaches for a gun and Alcide kills him.  Then he dumps Debbie.

The only person having a good time in Bon Temps or the surrounding area is Andy, who gets, well… sexually assaulted by a faerie in the woods and gets laid.  He’s very pleased with himself and his performance but when he tells Arlene what happened, she thinks he needs to be committed.

If we thought we had seen the last of Marnie, we were so very wrong!  Just as Jesus and Lafayette try to drift off to sleep, Marnie appears and forces her way into Lafayette.  It should be quite a season finale next week.  I wonder who else is going to die…

Watch Inside the Episode

True Blood: Burning Down the House Episode Review or “When witches go bad…”

SPOILER ALERT:

This week on True Blood, things are heating up between witches and vampires, shifters and werewolves.  Faeries and vampires and witches.  We are heading toward the season finale and it promises to be – explosive.  We begin this episode in the middle of Antonia/Marnie’s carefully orchestrated attack on the vampires by their own kind at the Tolerance Rally.  Sookie saves the day with her faerie magic, zapping Eric and breaking the spell over him (and Pam we later learn).  She also saves Bill’s life.  Eric realizes what happened.  He and Sookie talk later.  They admit they love each other but she says she has feelings for Bill as well.  [I’m glad to see they decided to take the dream into ‘reality’ and make this dilemma a real part of the narrative.  I am still finding it hard to buy.  Usually there is always secretly a clear winner in these love triangles.  I will be waiting to see who Sookie chooses.  Or, if the plot will pick for her.]  Eric doesn’t have too much time to ponder his nemesis because he is forced to team up with him to try and take down Antonia/Marnie and the entire Moon Goddess Emporium.

Nan and Bill now clash constantly over everything.  He threatens to usurp her power and she threatens him, Eric and Pam with the true death.  If Nan falls apart, the front of the humanized vampire just might collapse and chaos could possibly reign in Louisiana.  In the face of great turmoil, it does seem Nan is not quite the leader she appeared to be in previous seasons.  It looks like poor Nan might be the one facing the true death at the end of the season.

Speaking of true death, poor Tommy bites the dust.  I was actually finding him likable as he was dying.  Yes, I know that says nothing good about me.  I know his heart was in the right place trying to stand up for Sam but he screwed so many things up, and was never truly remorseful, that it was hard to like his character.   Alcide joins Sam in seeking revenge against the pack that killed Tommy – his own pack.  Obviously the werewovles are going to have their own explosive day of reckoning in the near future which will only be worse when Alcide discovers Debbie hooked up with pack leader (and instigator in Tommy’s death), Marcus.  You’ve got to wonder how Luna (and her daughter) will feel if Sam pulls the trigger when he finally tracks him down.

Speaking of sex and betrayal, Jason feels extremely guilty that he is so attracted to Jessica and asks her to glamour him after they’ve had sex.  Because that’s what every girl wants to hear.  That the guy would rather forget it ever happened.  Great move, Jason.  To add to Jason’s guilt, Hoyt asks to stay with him and cries.  Jason solves this problem by going to Sookie and asking if he can crash there for a while.  She agrees but insists he help her stop Bill from destroying the Moon Goddess Emporium since Tara is trapped inside.  He agrees.  They go to Lafayette and Jesus for help.  Jesus is convinced Marnie is a victim until he manages to breach the protective spell Antonia/Marnie has cast.  He learns, as we learned earlier, that Marnie is in charge of the operation and is using Antonia for her deadly purposes.  He lets Sookie hear his thoughts.

In the meantime, throughout the episode, Holly and Tara work on a spell to break the protection spell Antonia/Marnie has cast.  The spell takes just as Sookie, Lafayette and Jason learn (from Jesus’s ‘message’ to Sookie) that Marnie is now bad.  The protection barrier is down.  Holly and Tara make a run for it just as Sookie, Lafayette and Jason run for the shop.  Antonia/Marie is too fast for all of them and casts a new spell and everyone in the perimeter disappears except Jason since he had not breached the barrier.

Finally, Terry confronts Andy about his V use.  Terry takes Andy to an old fort they used to play at when they were kids and where Terry ‘recovered’ from his time in the service.  He helps Andy see how destructive using V actually is and Andy agrees he needs to quit.

Finally, the episode ends after sundown.  Bill, Eric, Pam and Jessica are decked out in black, ready for war.  As they empty out of their vans, carrying heavy artillery as weapons, they look like something out of a time warp and what I would envision the A-Team as vampires to look like.  The showdown should be good.  At least, I’m hoping for a lot of violence.  That’s what this show is all about… sometimes.

True Blood: Let’s Get Out of Here Episode Review

SPOILER ALERT:

Only True Blood can address wayward spirits, unsatisfied virgins, shape shifter issues and repercussions and sexual politics and double standards in one episode.  It’s probably why I like this show so much.

We begin with Bill and Alcide rushing Sookie to her house and Bill trying to get Sookie to take his blood to heal.  I’m honestly not quite sure how Bill managed to get away but I’ll just go with it.  I also love how we don’t see Sookie actually taking blood, and we are left to wonder if Alcide and Bill did pray as Bill suggested.  Which was a great opening scene considering how evil werewolves and vampires are supposed to be.  But that is what this show is about.  Monsters with humanity and humans who can be monsters.  And all the individuals who fall in between.  Sookie obviously takes the blood and the first thing she asks Bill about is Eric.  Ok, that’s awkward but even more awkward is that it is obvious she still cares for him.  Alcide leaves.  Bill tells Sookie to get some rest.  Like that will ever happen in Bon Temps.

Sookie has a dream… this dream, I know, is supposed to be, at least according the the show’s producers, very enlightened.  They feel they are empowering women because Sookie dreams that she loves Eric and Bill.  She then demands they both have an equal relationship with her and share.  This moment is supposed to be a great moment for the female viewers, finally getting their chance to be like men and demand they do what they like sexually.  Ok… seriously Alan Ball, if you want to do this then put it in the fucking real story line.  What is so empowering about a dream on TV in a narrative?  It’s the safe way to say something.  This is HBO.  I pay a lot per month for you guys to take chances and with the female’s sexual desire, I don’t care what you’re claiming, you are playing it safe by having this scene play out in a dream.  Now, honestly, I don’t know what woman in her right mind would want to juggle two men.  One man is hard enough.  Two would be such a time sucker in reality Sookie would probably gain weight and start looking and feeling haggard with all the emotional demands of Bill and Eric.  I’m guessing this is why you don’t always see women so avidly keeping one guy on the side.  They usually make a decision:  one or the other.  Maybe women just know that there truly is no such thing as having their cake and eating it too.  There’s always a price to pay.  Besides if men did all housework, cleaning, grocery shopping, bill paying equally (yes I know some of you actually do this), they wouldn’t have time or energy to go out looking for even more sex.  But I digress from the episode recap…

Sookie gets a visit from Debbie, who offers to help Sookie out with her problem with Antonia and locating Eric.  Debbie figures the sooner Sookie is back with Eric, the sooner Alcide will keep focused on her.  Or perhaps it’s even more sinister than that.  I’d like to give Debbie the benefit of the doubt but she’s an emotionally insecure V addict.  What we soon discover as Debby distracts Antonia while Sookie breaks into the witch shop, is that Debbie is really there to sell out Sookie and get her killed.  Debbie runs for it and Sookie doesn’t notice since she has found Eric who is under Antonia’s spell and is more robot-like than ever.  She does discover, though, that Eric is supposed to kill Bill.  Oh no.  Sookie escapes Antonia thanks to Tara and catches Debbie trying to flee.

Jessica pours her heart out to Nan, who looks like she’d like to send Jessica to the true death or at least silver her to shut up.  Jessica does get her chance with Jason later.  Hoyt asks Jason to return Jessica’s stuff to her and Jason tries to protest but he ends up at Bill’s and Jessica and Jason end up consummating their relationship, at least sexual one, in the bed of his pickup truck.  I found it amusing how Jessica covers her breasts.  A modest vampire?  Yes, I know.  She’s a perpetual virgin.

A short recap of the drama with Lafayette is that he (as Mavis) goes to Hoyt’s, kicks Hoyt out of the house, and sits there with the baby.  Eventually, Jesus comes and coaxes Mavis out of Lafayette’s body and she goes away with her dead baby in her arms.  I guess this is the heart-warming scene for the episode.

Oh yes, Tommy.  He ends up fighting with Marcus (Luna’s ex) as Sam.  Once he gets the shit beat out of him, they (the werewolves) discover Tommy’s a shifter and Sam still needs a beating (which he does in Marcus’ eyes, especially since he is in the middle of banging Luna).  I am truly hoping something interesting happens with Tommy and Sam.

Finally, Sookie makes it to the Tolerance Rally for vampires.  Nan and Bill are speaking.  Antonia is there with Eric.  There is a show of violence orchestrated by Antonia and her minions (vampires under her spell) and Sookie tears into the room screaming for Bill to “Run!”  So finally, we are going to get a Bill/Eric showdown as Eric swoops in for the attack.  But can Eric be held accountable?  He is under the influence… I’m sure we will find out next episode.

Watch Inside The Episode.

My Vlog Review of the episode.

True Blood: Spellbound Review

Things are heating up in Bon Temps and True Blood is living up to its promise of lots of sex and death.  At least for Jessica!  Spoiler Alert!

We start the episode right where the previous episode left off, with Jessica standing in the blinding sunlight, but before she can burst into flames, Jason tackles her and gets her safely back into the house without too much incident.  Ok.  He did have to shoot a guard in the shoulder.  Jessica is so grateful, she kisses him.  And the damage is done.  There’s an even stronger bond between the two now that we witness as Jason carries Jessica up the stairs and gently and lovingly (yes, really) re-silvers her.  If that isn’t enough, Jessica has a dream (but we don’t know it’s a dream until after) and breaks up with Hoyt, who begs her to stay, threatening he will die without her.  He gets so annoying she slams his head off a shelf or counter (I honestly couldn’t tell what it was) and kills him, splattering herself with his blood in the process.  She runs out to Jason, who is waiting for her in the truck.  He gets turned on seeing her covered in blood and tells her they need to have sex immediately in the truck.  Jessica wakes up with her fangs out.   Later, Jessica does go to break up with Hoyt but he ends up breaking it off with her and he rescinds her invitation into the house.  She goes straight to Jason who then tells her they can’t be together since Hoyt is his best friend and he rescinds his invitation to her and once again she’s thrown out of the house.  It’s been a bad 24 hours for Jessica, but at least she’s alive.  She just might be extremely sexually frustrated.  This Jessica/Jason/Hoyt triangle is heating up and this is just the beginning.  I can’t wait to see what happens in the next few weeks.

While Jason might be abstaining, Sookie is going wild with Eric.  And you know it’s all going to end soon since we are into the third episode of their sexual escapades.  Things are going to get bad very fast, I’m guessing, since nobody gets to be that happy and sexually satisfied on this show.  Sookie allows Eric to drink some of her blood to heal his wounds from the silver and then he bites his hand and tells her that “they will become one” and she drinks his blood.  They then have sex for what will be the final time in a while, I’m guessing, considering it was sex on a V/Faerie Blood trip.  I’m actually sad to see it end because it was nice to see nice Eric.  Yes, I know evil Eric is far more exciting sometimes but nice Eric had his good points.

Sam visits Shifter Chick and her daugther.  Yes, I know I should know her name (okay it is Luna) but I just prefer to think of her as Shifter Chick.  Werewolf Pack Leader Dude shows up as he’s Shifter Chick’s ex-husband and faces off with Sam.  I’m sure there will be more posturing and wild animal fights to follow as we proceed through the season.  And Tommy pretends to be Hoyt’s mother and gets a check for mineral rights on her property.  Bad Tommy.  But is anyone really surprised?

Lafayette dreams of the Creole Lady, who is actually named Mavis and we discover she had a white lover in the 1930s who killed their baby because he was married and the baby had a black mother.  Lafayette wakes up in time to experience Mavis inhabiting his body.  She then uses Lafayette to sneak into the Bellefleur mansion and kidnap baby Mikey (taking Andy’s gun as he and everyone else sleeps).  I can’t wait to see how that storyline plays out.

Bill is busy negotiating a meeting with Antonia/Marnie for a truce.  He calls on Eric for help.  Sookie comes along and there is a face-off of witches vs. vampires in the graveyard.  Antonia is supposed to lift the spell for Eric and Pam and stop her attacks.  Sookie hears her start to say a spell in her head and warns Bill.  A deadly battle ensues.  Pam almost gets to kill Tara but Bill commands her to stop.  Pam gets pissed and Tara’s surprised.  She shouldn’t have been as Bill might be a bit boring sometimes (less so lately) but he tries to do the right thing when he can.  Eric becomes Antonia’s bitch.  She has him under her spell.  Sookie gets attacked by a witch and fights him off with her power, only to be shot by another witch.  Bill gets silvered and neutralized so he can’t help.  Lucky for Sookie, Alcide anticipates a problem and shows up, just in time to save her.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t notice a very angry, jealous Debbie has followed him.

Next week should be good, considering Eric won’t be able to help Sookie recover.  In the teaser, it looks like Bill might be helping.  Along with Alcide.  Debbie will, I’m certain, have something in store for Sookie.  It looks like the witches have only just begun their Reign of Terror in Bon Temps.

Watch Inside the Episode on HBO for an in-depth look at the episode.

Watch my Vlog Review on YouTube.

True Blood: Cold Grey Light of Dawn

SPOILER ALERT:

Antonia/Marnie is on a rampage.  I suppose if you’d been brutally raped and ravaged by heartless vampires during the Spanish Inquisition, and you were an extremely powerful witch, you might exact your revenge as well, given the chance.  First, she has Sheriff Patiño kill Katie, who infiltrated Marnie’s coven as a spy for Bill.  Then she escapes back to the witch shop.  Because nobody would go looking for her there?  Why isn’t Nan helping with the crisis?  Just wondering…

Poor Pam, first she gets accused of being a vampire-zombie while trying to kill Tara and her girlfriend, but humans are recording the incident for TMZ so Pam retreats.  If that’s not bad enough, she is forced to endure what looks like the worst chemical peel treatments known to (wo)man.  There is a promise her skin will look normal again though.  A steep price to pay but still.  I’m sure many viewers understand.

Alcide and Debbie are getting indoctrinated into a new werewolf pack but Alcide’s worried about Sookie – until he and Debbie spy on Sookie and Eric – still going at it.  My favorite part of the on-going Eric/Sookie sex scene is that we go from them screwing their brains out at the swamp/lake area, then we cut to several different scenes, then to Sookie and Eric somehow screwing their way into her foyer through the front door.  So, I’ve got to wonder exactly how they got home like that.  The implication, obviously, is that sex was substituted for walking which made me laugh so hard I almost couldn’t appreciate the rest of the sex scene which seemed a bit hotter this time around.  Maybe it was Eric’s staying power.

Bill ends up having to kill Sheriff Patiño, who tries to stake him.  He demands to know where Antonia/Marnie went but Patiño helps Bill stake him rather than give up her location.  Again, there is some logic to this one.  I think even Jason might go to the shop.  Speaking of Jason, Hoyt visits him to talk about his problems with Jessica.  Not the best idea.  He also tries to be there for Jason, reminding him he was raped and he could be a werepanther but Jason’s far more concerned about his desire for Jessica than anything else.

Tara breaks up with the girlfriend.  She cries.  Then she joins Antonia in exacting revenge on vampires.  Here we go again.  Tara just flits from storyline to storyline.  She’s more of a plot device than a character.

Lafayette discovers he is a medium.  Let’s hope they do something interesting with that one.

I know I was relieved to see that Sookie and Eric had finally taken a break from all that sex.  Of course then they had their discussion about Sookie wanting Eric to remember but Eric being scared he’d turn into a jerk again.  If only every male took a lesson from this scene!  When Bill visits later to bring chains and explain the witch situation to Sookie, everyone actually acts like an adult.  Shocking!  Of course, their lives are on the line so it’s nice to see they can sometimes prioritize.

Bill has decided that all vampires must flee Louisiana or ‘silver themselves’ until Antonia’s spell has passed and the desire to go out into the sun will dissipate.  Sookie silvers Eric.  Bill silvers Jessica and then has himself taken care of.  Pam is silvered as well.  All the vampires who count.  Bill and Jessica have a significant conversation about her realization that she’s fallen out of love with Hoyt and she feels terrible about it.  Of course, poor Jessica has fallen into a place called the Land of Resentment.  It’s a popular place for women in their early 20s and sometimes they don’t leave until they’re 40.  I’ve seen it happen before.  Once the guys start expecting the women to act domestic when they are living together (or married), the women start to resent it, then they resent the men, then it all falls apart.

While all the preparations for not dying in the sun are taking place, Sam is helping Tommy, until he realizes what Tommy pulled last week.  It looks like Tommy’s in the dog house.  I almost feel sorry for him.  Almost.  But now there’s Jessica to worry about.  Because she manages to get out of her silver (Bill didn’t put it on as tight for her because she’s such a young vampire and he didn’t want her to suffer through all the pain of the silver).  And as the episode ends, she manages to break through the front doors and let the sunlight in – just as Jason is running to stop her and save her.  Will he make it in time?  We won’t know until next week.

Watch HBO’s “Inside the Episode.”

Watch my Vlog Review and Recap on YouTube.

True Blood: I Wish I was the Moon

On True Blood‘s “I Wish I was the Moon”… It’s a full moon in Bon Temps and all the freaks are out.  Really.  Skinwalkers (that would be Tommy who killed his parents and gained this ability), aspiring werepanthers (is Jason or isn’t he?), misunderstood vampires (Eric – kind and gentle, enjoy it while you can), rotting vampires (Pam who will not be a victim for long), waffling vampires (Bill who can’t decide what to do with Eric because of his feelings for Sookie), and the rest of the nutjobs in Bon Temps.  At this point, I don’t think there’s one sane one to be found in the lot of them.  But let’s face it, sane is boring.

SPOILER ALERT.

I’m still not a Tommy fan and this episode only increases my dislike for him, as he shifts into Sam (who does an excellent job of channeling Tommy in the scenes) and wrecks havoc on his life, including sleeping with the new shapeshifter chick, firing Sookie (yes she does take far too much time off), promoting Jessica and just being a jerk in general.  Sam spends this episode dealing with the fallout of the fire that Baby Mikey or the Ghost/Spirit attached to the evil doll caused at the end of the previous episode.

Sometimes I think of Jason’s scenes as comedy relief.  He spends half the episode (or it seems that long), trying to avoid becoming a werepanther.  Sookie tries to help but loses him in the woods, although she does run into Alcide and Debbie and discovers that the way Crystal tried to turn him into a werepanther reportedly won’t work.  Instead, Jessica senses Jason’s fear and despair and leaves her job at Merlotte’s, and Tara in the middle of ordering her meal, to go help Jason.  My favorite moment was when Jessica calms Jason down by telling him to “focus on something soothing” and he fixates on her breasts.   So far, it looks like Jason’s not a werepanther.  I hope that holds true for the rest of the season.  Finally, it’s obvious that something is going on between Jason and Jessica.  And for those unsure about this, their agreement to not tell Hoyt about their therapeutic rendezvous confirms any suspicions.

As for the new supernaturals on the show, the witches, Marnie has managed to channel and become possessed by Antonia.  I want to feel terrible for Antonia.  I honestly do, but because she has attacked Eric and Pam, I just don’t have any sympathy for her.  Maybe she’ll just end up killing the vampire who tortured her during the Inquisition, who is now on the security team of the VLA.  I can’t decide which storyline I’m less into:  the witches or the shape shifters.  Or Tara and her girlfriend.  Oh, that’s a bright spot.  Pam is released by Bill and she goes after Tara.  And the girlfriend.  I hope there’s damage done.  I can’t wait to find out what supernatural abilities the girlfriend has.  This is True Blood, after all.

Finally, Sookie, Eric and Bill.  Sookie and Eric finally consummate their union.  That sounds so formal.  It wasn’t as hot as I’d hoped it would be.  I’d been waiting for so long.  I get it.  Eric’s supposed to be in love with her so he was tender and caring but that just goes against Eric’s makeup.  I’m sure it won’t be long now until Eric becomes ‘bad Eric’ again and that should spice things up between him and Sookie.  And Bill… it’s obvious he’s not over Sookie.  It was surprising for his character (but obviously not for the logic of the plot) that he doesn’t kill Eric when he gets granted the ability to kill Eric with the ‘true death.’  Bill realizes it would be the wrong thing to do after it becomes clear Eric truly loves Sookie.

I’m looking forward to things heating up next week.  Because they kind of need to…

You can go to HBO’s promo for this episode here.

Watch my Vlog Review on YouTube.

True Blood: I’m Alive and On Fire

Eric and Sookie grow closer

If I can say nothing else about this week’s True Blood episode, I can tell you this is a cautionary tale for all vampires who cannot control their intake of faerie blood.  No vampire wants to go off the rails like Eric, ending up in a crocodile infested lake, having to be rescued by a werewolf and a half-faerie that you are in love with.  Poor Eric.  Actually, lucky Eric.  Because all this vulnerable behavior is making Sookie fall for him.  I, for one, am excited.  I’ve been waiting for the Sookie/Eric pairing since we first met him.  He is the ultimate bad boy, but even as the most maladjusted women know, when the bad boys are as bad as Eric, there is just no point getting involved.  Only fang-banger girls bother with him as they realize they are only a distraction and a snack.  Sookie has her standards; however, we are going to watch those standards lower dramatically due the spell Marine indirectly cast on Eric.  There is nothing more appealing than seeing a bad boy vulnerable.  If you don’t believe me, watch Rebel Without A Cause then we can talk.  The most satisfying moments come toward the end of the episode, when two key events happen that alert us where Sookie’s feeling and alliances stand; the almost kiss between Eric and Sookie that gets interrupted by none other than Bill, and Sookie lying to Bill about Eric’s whereabouts and refusing to let him search the house.  I am hoping this relationship will be a million times hotter than the one with Sookie and Bill.  We all know it certainly won’t ever be a healthy one!

Speaking of unhealthy relationships, Jason is having quite a time in HotShot.  He’s tied to a bed, essentially being mounted by every female in the place to get pregnant, he’s used and humiliated.  I don’t know why I’m enjoying watching this so much.  I guess it’s payback for an entire lifetime of seeing women tied up and raped in films and TV.  Finally!!!  I especially enjoy how used he feels.  And the use of the Mexican viagra explains why he can still perform even if he isn’t personally, um, excited, by the situation.  Two perverse and poignant events happen in this scene.  The first is when one of the women is ‘raping’ Jason and after he — makes his deposit — he orders her to get off of him and she begins crying.  This scene contains my favorite line in the episode by Jason:  “I don’t know why you’re cryin’.  I’m the one gettin’ raped.”  I felt sorry for the woman, nobody wants to be mounted by her ‘brother-husband’ and get bitten on the back of her neck while being held down even if they are werepanthers.  I thought Jason could have been a slightly bigger man at that moment and said, “Oh climb on and have another go.”  But nope.  He didn’t.  Then he had to deal with an even bigger problem.  The young girl in HotShot who looks about 13 who was supposed to lose her virginity with him.  Jason manages to stop the situation, telling her that her first time should be with a boy that brings her candy and flowers.  Uh, Jason, you need to wake up.  I’d love to believe there are teenage boys out there like that (ok, I know there are, I’m just highly jaded at this point),  but I’m fairly certain she’s not going to find that in HotShot.  Nothing like feeding a young girl a pack of lies about how her first time should be.  Raising her expectations like that.  I doubt any werepanther girl has a shot at candy and flowers at any point.

Later, after Jason makes his escape, and manages to kill Felton with a makeshift weapon he’s crafted, Crystal appears.  He threatens to kill her as well.  Jason fails to see that he’s technically now second-in-command of the incest-ridden clan in HotShot.  He does seem to do a better job taking care of them than anything else so far on the show.  While Jason melts down with his burgeoning new identity, Crystal embraces the power and title (“I’m Big Mama Kitty now”).  Suddenly Crystal’s sexual choice for both love and breeding has allowed her to ascend into the equivalent of perverted inbred royalty in the backwoods of Louisana.  Congratulations, Crystal.  All sarcasm aside, I’m looking forward to watching Crystal’s character evolve now that she’s attained a new status.  A lack of education with a powerful role can sometimes be dangerous, depending on the individual’s psychological makeup.  I’m not sure how a werepather’s motivations will fit in.

Bill has a little incest drama of his own.  It turns out that Portia, the lawyer he’s been sleeping with, is actually his great-great-great-great granddaughter.  Oops.

Arlene and Terry have their hands full with the devil baby.  It’s newest addition to creepy behavior:  drawing the phrase on the wall in magic marker :  baby not yours.  Now even Terry is freaked out.

Hoyt and Jessica find Jason on the side of the road, presumably dying.  Jessica makes him drink some of her blood to heal.  Hmmm.  We all know what happens once you ingest a vampire’s blood like that.  Looks like Jessica might be getting some wannabe werepanther action sometime in the near future.

Sam goes to the shapeshifter slut’s house and meets her little girl.  They all play Barbies then later shapeshifter slut reveals her daughter’s father is a werewolf and he’s still got a thing for her (the slut, not the daughter – there’s already too much incest in this particular episode!).  I bet Sam will be getting beaten up very soon.  In the meantime, Sam’s brother stupidly goes back to the mom’s trailer and ends up getting kidnapped by his own parents.  Dear HBO creative execs:  Please tell Alan Ball to do something with this storyline.  Please?

Lafayette, Jesus and Tara go to Marnie with Pam’s demand:  to lift the curse/spell off Eric.  Once they finally figure out what spell they must use, Pam joins them.  Instead of her supervising or being able to bring Eric good news, Marnie/her witch spirit ends up putting a curse on Pam and part of Pam’s face rots off.  I kind of felt bad for her.  I like Pam.  She is loads more interesting than the witch crew.  Maybe they will end up burning up in a fire?  I know.  I know.  We are stuck with them until the end of the season.  I’m sure the rest of the show will heat up.

Watch my Vlog Review on YouTube.

Click here for HBO promo “Inside the Episode”

 

True Blood: You Smell Like Dinner

Image via Wikipedia

I’m both excited and a bit apprehensive about this season.  Things have changed.  Bill is most definitely different.  He’s got more of a personality.   If we had just gotten a bit more of this season’s Bill last season, I might have cared about him more.  I am a bit confused by the lack of interest he seems to have in Sookie especially with all his pledges of undying love for the previous seasons.  This does, however, allow, us, the loyal viewers, the ability to identify a bit more with Eric, although by the end of this episode, even that will be challenged.

Jason.  Jason.   Jason.   He just does not have any common sense.  But he seemingly has working sperm and that’s something the werepanther clan is interested in and Crystal, his ‘true’ love, has figured out how to get him into the fold and have as much sex with him as she pleases since Felton is shooting blanks.  I guess they had to give Jason some sort of supernatural power as he is lacking in the brains department.  I think poor Jason will always just be eye candy.

Some people have complained to me that they don’t like the wimpy Eric.  I don’t think they have to worry for long.  Eric will most likely be a bit more human long enough for Sookie to relax a bit around him and let him in, otherwise, I’m sure Eric will be Eric.  How can he not be?  If he became a nice guy, it would not be the same show.  Fans love Eric for his evil ways.  He’s the bad boy vampire to Bill’s good boy vampire.  You have to have a yin and yang or the show won’t work so I wouldn’t fear for long.

I was a bit surprised to see they brought Alcide back in the mix.  Honestly, three love interests for Sookie?  Even if Bill seems to have gone off her, everyone knows that relationship will never be completely over.  Maybe it will be a pissing contest between Alcide and Eric this season.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Finally, the witches.  Ugh.  I am aware there has to be a new supernatural foil to our vampires we love and we’ve already had the werewolves.  The werepanthers have been introduced.  And we had to deal with entire season of that ridiculous woman beast so I guess it was time for witches.  I will say this:  they did kick Eric’s ass and that really hasn’t been done yet.  And… just as I predicted, a bit of bad boy Eric does come out at the end of this episode… when he accidentally ‘drinks’ too much blood from Sookie’s fairy godmother, killing her without hesitation.

Promo for “You Smell Like Dinner”: