Greetings, fangbangers. Due to some technical difficulties this week on my end, Sally and I invited Thomas, friend of Feministe and Yes Means Yes author, to weigh in on Sunday’s episode. And for being such a short episode, this one was full of action.
Spoilers below the cut.
We thinned the herd this episode with several character deaths: Lorena took a wooden stake and exploded into a viscous mess of blood, Cooter took a silver bullet in an oddly lackluster scene, and in the final minutes of the show, the Magister was decapitated with a flourish by Russell Edgington himself. We also learned that there is a higher authority, conveniently called The Authority.
SALLY: I was happy to see the Magister go, but I’m feeling a bit ambivalent about Lorena. I never really liked her but she finally got some sort of depth last week and now she’s gone. It’s unfortunate, but I guess that’s just the way things go around here.
LAUREN: The Lorena and Bill Postmortem made me like Lorena a little bit. It’s too bad they couldn’t figure out how to use her in the actual show. She had great clothes.
SALLY: I kinda loved Russell talking about The Authority and his postulation that the only authority is nature and all that jazz. I can’t wait for Russell to be offed, but he sure is entertaining in the meantime!
LAUREN: Russell is what would happen if you boiled down a couple dozen libertarian bloggers and gave them fangs. Flashy and entertaining, full of violent belief systems shrouded in pretty language, dangerously shallow.
THOMAS: I was expecting Lorena to get staked this episode — biting Sookie sort of had to be her death warrant. There wasn’t a way for that to end well for her. However, I was very surprised to see the Magister go. I thought he had a lot of potential to play out, or maybe I just thought the character had potential because I like the actor. Russell is very impulsive for someone so old. It is partly just arrogance, but that doesn’t explain it all. He knows he’s precipitating revolution, or trying to, and he’s completely cavalier about it. I think we all know Russell ends this season dead; the Authority adds a possible method.
LAUREN: The exploding Magister head was pretty cool though.
SALLY: Also, flying across the room wasn’t too shabby either. It was like a pumpkin; it was awesome!
LAUREN: The poor actor was killed off in two HBO shows this year. Dude needs to renegotiate his contracts.
Bill may have finally pounded the last nail in his coffin (heh) by attacking and nearly killing Sookie. Bill has become a darker and more brutal character this season, and it seems that Sookie may finally see that he is a danger to her.
SALLY: Somehow I kinda doubt it. Or, rather, I think she’ll realize he’s a danger but eventually love will conquer all or something like that.
LAUREN: It seems like Bill is being set up for a downfall. As a character he has had too many moral failings this season to remain in our good graces. Contrast Bill’s story arc with Eric who has gone from the snarky, slightly scary antagonist in Season Two to a controlled sexy beast in Season Three.
THOMAS: I think this is where Tara’s reaction is a stand-in for us. I think the writers are using her as a compass for audience members who may be struggling with what to make of Bill. She has perspective on this, she sees it clearly. In fact, with Tara’s triumphs this episode, her essential strength is showing through and I expect her to become a rock at the moral center of the Bontemps world while storms buffet Sookie, Lafayette, and possibly Jason.
We learned that Sookie has never really been sick before, doesn’t have a blood type, and is prone to magical fairy orgy near-death experiences with ladies named Claudine. It has something to do with her blood. Claudine tells Sookie to stay away from Bill because he will “steal [her] light.” Thanks to Cousin Hadley, Eric knows what Sookie is and why she’s so valuable to vampires.
LAUREN: I have to say, after fourteen seasons of “Lost” boiling down to a pool of light that must be defended against darkness, I am not sold on this story.
THOMAS: I would prefer if Claudine were Sookie’s subconscious. But she won’t be. I agree, Lauren, this is likely to add complexity but not interest. Also, Bill’s partial resistance to sunlight … if that’s a consistent effect it could add a significant wrinkle, though there are confounding factors, like how depleted he was and how much he drank. To vampires, Sookie has a lot of upsides. She unlocks mortal minds, tastes great and acts as SPF 350.
LAUREN: It’s intriguing that Sookie and Sookie’s blood could be used for nefarious purposes — consider the possibilities available to a rowdy, ambitious vampire that could walk around in the daylight. My question is why she hasn’t been taken advantage of for her blood’s properties yet.
Jessica was sadly absent from this episode, but Hoyt has a new girlfriend, and she really wants Hoyt to eat her biscuits. Is Summer doomed?
SALLY: I want Jessica!!! This new girl is kinda cool, though. Something about her quirky, perky, declaring her love thing makes me like her.
THOMAS: Jason remains too stupid to live. Somehow, I see Summer and Jason becoming an item, because he’s just dumb enough to be manipulated by her and I expect Hoyt and Jessica to have another chance. I’m all in favor of forward; maybe I just don’t like her because I’m assuming she’s a religious conservative and probably anti-vamp.
SALLY: That’s true. And I do see her as more of a “match” with Jason.
LAUREN: I bet she and Jessica have it out before the end of the season. Jessica wins.
Sam rescued Tommy from the dog-fighting ring, telling off their deadbeat parents and guaranteeing Tommy a better life. Tommy is having a difficult time believing that he can exist separate from his abusive, opportunistic mom and dad. How will he fit in Bon Temps? Are we done with the Mickenses?
LAUREN: Anyone wanting to see Sam in a leash had their day on Sunday.
THOMAS: When Sam first knocked out the kennel keeper and then backed down the rottweiler with only his voice, I thought it was a little victory for his character. We should see more of that. Sam has made it on his own his whole life; he didn’t get there pining for women who didn’t love him back. He got there by sticking up for himself and sticking to his guns. We’re not done with the Mickenses, and Tommy will move on, but I expect he’ll do it alone, having gotten from Sam what he needs most — the message that he deserves better.
LAUREN: I wouldn’t mind Tommy being a permanent character. I enjoyed his flirtation with Jessica at the bar last week. He’s got potential as the young, scrappy guy.
SALLY: I kinda like Tommy too, he’s grown on me after he annoyed me for all those weeks. I am quite bored with this storyline, so it needs to start moving soon. A flirtation/fling with Jessica would be just the thing!
THOMAS: I’d love to see him as a recurring character, floating in and out and not necessarily living in Bontemps.
Finally, the most intriguing teaser: According to Claudine, “it wasn’t the water” that killed Sookie and Jason’s parents. If they didn’t drown…?
LAUREN: Bill did it? Some vampire did it?
THOMAS: Can’t be Bill unless they’re permanently killing the love story. Likely some other vampire. Can’t be Eric either, for the same reason. If I am picking spots in the pool, I’ll take Russell, since he’s getting staked this season anyway, but Sophie Ann or Franklin are possible.
SALLY: I immediately thought Russell. Franklin is a possibility, but he doesn’t seem to really make up his own mind about anything, so I’m sure he would’ve been working for Russell anyway.
LAUREN: Speaking of Franklin, I wonder whether Tara connected the dots with Sookie’s reminder that “this is what a dead vampire looks like,” because after Tara’s recent victories it will suck to see her disempowered, endangered and alone yet again. But that bursting blood balloon is NOT what Franklin looked like, Tara. Watch the hell out.
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About Russell and Sookie’s parents, he’s evidenced a very limited understanding of what Sookie is. For him to have killed her parents and yet know very little about what she is or why she’s important … the two are not mutually exclusive, it could be done. But that’s hard to write.
Sophie Ann, on the other hand, has a great deal of intel and has for a long time. That’s what leads me to her. Ultimately, she’s a goner too, and this would allow that to play out in an interesting way.
I was going to write what Thomas just pointed out. However Sookie’s parents died, if they were murdered, it was probably by someone who knew why their family was so special.
Thomas also pointed out Russell’s impulsivity and how outraged Russell becomes when confronted or contradicted. Eric has been noticing those reactions too, and I suspect will use them to his advantage when Russell is destroyed. I’m really looking forward to seeing how that plays out.
Did Eric turn Hadley? Or just heal her up to get the information he needed from her? There was certainly no sleeping in the ground scene so I guess the latter, although he’d really be sticking it to the Queen if he made her favorite human his child.
I suspect that, like most people leaving abusive relationships, the process of Tommy leaving his family is going to be a little more complicated then that last scene. I just wonder if the writers plan on connecting that story line with the others.
It was a relief to see Sookie finally react to Bill based on what he has DONE rather than how she feels about him. Have know idea what’s going to happen to them, but if she had woken up and been happy to see him by her hospital bed, I would reconsider my affection for this show.
And btw? I had a True Blood dream last night. Woke up right before Eric killed me. Scary as shit.
The beauty of True Blood is that if you read the books you know the characters, and no more. In fact if you read the books you don’t even know all the characters. Tommy and Jessica were created for just the show. And I LOVE Jessica! The books give you these great stories and you never know what bits and pieces they are going to use for the show and which they won’t. I honestly think that having read the books makes the show that much more interesting and leaves you even more on your toes and guessing what’s next.
If they follow the books as to who Claudine is that would be really fun. She is a character I like a lot. But who knows. Good in the book may not translate to good on the show.
“Did Eric turn Hadley?”
I lean toward “turned”. He made a comment that the only vampire a vampire can trust is one they have made. Then he fed her as she was within an inch of death.
I was confused by blood typeless Sookie being fed by Bill. He drained her to the point of coma, then she was revived with his blood… I mean, plus taking a dirt nap, isn’t that the process for creating a vampire?
The whole premise of the show is that now blood could be synthesized perfect, and vampires need not bite humans to feed any more. I feel like I am taking crazy pills! If they sell True Blood in any blood type, why do they still have to look for a donor for 0 Negative?!!! The name of the show is True Blood! Named after the synthesized blood!! Synthesized BLOOD!!!!!
Re: Eric turning Hadley. I really don’t think Eric would turn someone as willy-nilly as that. Given what we’ve seen of him and Pam and him and Godric, Eric takes the child/maker relationship far too seriously to just turn Hadley just like that. Plus, imagine how pissed Pam would be!
I am going to be so pissed if Franklin comes back, only slightly more wobbly-headed, to fuck with Tara some more.
I was really liking her strength this episode, especially as it was directed strength, instead of the wild/emotional striking out that they usually have her do.
Still hate Jason. He’s so freaking dumb. And boring. And I still hate the “I’m totes a cop” storyline.
Techraan, I am ashamed to say that shit has never occurred to me. Hah! It’s really important, though – synthetic blood that is just as good as real blood (and can be mass-produced to the point you can pick up a sixer at your local without much trouble) has only changed the world for vampires? Whoa! You just blew my mind!
Is TruBlood functionally the same as human blood, or is it just close enough to be nutritionally sufficient for vampires? I don’t know that nutritionally sufficient is the same as being functionally the same/good enough to be used for transfusions, and I don’t think they’ve ever said anything more than it’s good enough for vampires to subsist on.
I thought that the synthetic blood was originally created FOR transfusions, and only then did vampires start coming “out of the coffin.” True Blood wasn’t invented for vampires because humans didn’t know vampires were real until some vampires started “mainstreaming.” … I think it was just a careless hole on the part of the writers.
Also, I have True Blood dreams all the time. No killing, though. Lots of making out with Lafayette. :D
I agree that Eric did not turn Hadley. I think the person must be completely drained, basically dead. He was tasting Hadley and then he wanted to scare the queen by pretending he was ready to turn Hadley. He wouldn’t turn anyone just like that. We know about only one child of his, throughout all these centuries! it’s not a light decision.
I really wish Sookie stopped screeching and screaming all the time, though. I like her reaction – I can imagine she’s terrified of Bill now, but still, too much screeching.
Franklin is coming back, Tara was totally scared when she realized she probably didn’t kill him. And knowing Franklin it was probably a total turn-on for him…
They need to do something with Jason. He matured a lot, and now they make him this dumb, boring, shallow idiot again. He’s not that bad!
Some episodes of True Blood pay a lot of fealty to the old 70s/80s horror films. I’d read this episode as doing that in the book-ends. Lorena’s death scene, with the tight physical effect shots and fountains of blood, looked like someone was consciously taking a page from Argento and Fulci’s playbook. I saw Sookie’s screeching at the end as a somewhat less impressive nod to the scream queen thing.
All the synthetic blood we’ve seen has all be A, B, AB, or O +/-. There’s never been any indication that there’s synthetics for rare types or untyped blood. I imagine that there’s been a significant impact to the human population in terms of overall supply, but people with “non-standard” blood types are running into the same types of issues they did before.
William, you might be right, although for someone who is not a fan of that genre it’s kind of annoying. Especially compared to the book!Sookie, who is much more composed and in control than the TB!Sookie. Same with all the blood in exploding vamps. I prefer the vision of flaking away…
@KJ: If you watch the extras on the DVD’s and stuff, you see a little documentary about the history of the “grand revelation” and they explain that True Blood was initially developed by a pharmaceutical company as a synthetic alternative when donor supplies are low. Vampires discovered they could feed on humans after those humans received a blood transfusion with the synthetic materials, so they banded together to globally “come out of the coffin.” At that point, the pharmaceutical company decided to start selling the blood over the counter as a vampire drink. So True Blood definitely can be used for blood transfusions, as that was its original purpose.
But seeing as how the vampires all think it tastes bad, I bet it’s not as effective as real human blood in a transfusion – so doctors probably still stock their shelves with donor blood and turn to True Blood when supplies are low. Besides, the episode didn’t actually say that the blood they tried giving Sookie came from a person, did it?
Also: is anyone else getting really sick of Sookie’s high-pitched screaming? Cause I am. Hey writers: she’s a fantastic actor, give her something else to do for fuck’s sake!
Having read the books, I find your prognostications very entertaining! I won’t spoil, but I’ll only say Sookie’s parents were not killed by vampires.
This is the beginning of The End for Bill. In the book, not only does he nearly drain her dry but he also rapes her (claiming that for a vamp, the two needs are linked veryveryclosely). I’d love to hear the writers’ conversation as to why they decided to go w/o it.
I don’t think Eric turned Hadley, but here’s the thing: even in the books turning a human is not a precise thing. Several times it is said to Sookie that she’d better not have too much or she might turn–even w/o dying or being near-death first.
Did you notice Eric totally cupping Hadley’s breast, though? totesgreenjelly
I will miss Lorena’s wardrobe. She had the best taste.
I didn’t like the way the fairy dimension was done. It looked far too much like the music video for Crazy Town’s “Butterfly”. Too hollywood when it should’ve been more classic. Also, when that woman rose from the water right after Sookie drank from it, all I could think was “health code violation”.
Nice spoiler, Roxy…
Just a quick comment of appreciation for Lauren’s analysis of libertarians gone wrong – “Russell is what would happen if you boiled down a couple dozen libertarian bloggers and gave them fangs. Flashy and entertaining, full of violent belief systems shrouded in pretty language, dangerously shallow”.
Perfect observation!
Also, I can’t help myself, I quite like the book readers who come into these conversations and give us sneaky little spoilers, go Roxie!
Was that really a spoiler? Darn I was trying not to. I guess my idea of a spoiler is different.
:x
Roxie,
The whole “what is Sookie?” question is still one of the big unresolved plot threads this season. What she is, how her parents died, or where she went last episode are all still big question marks with relatively few bread crumbs. The big reveal hasn’t happened yet, which makes a line in your previous post kind of a big spoiler.
Heh.
I was going to theorize on what Sookie might be, but Roxie seems to have given the whole game away. Of course, my understanding is that they aren’t following the books slavishly, so if that comes from the books it might not be the truth in the show.
And, of course, it doesn’t spoil the details of who might have killed her parents or such. (Assuming it is a family trait, it does kind of explain Jason and every random girl wanting to jump into his bed.)
Oh, I’d seen discussion by other re/viewers who had not read the books talking about the fairy/land/dimension (in fact it’s mentioned in the recap above), so I thought everyone had figured that out already. I really do try not spoil. I’ll be more careful
Something about this season has turned me off of Sookie. By this time book Sookie is bravely staking people and deftly burying bodies in the woods, while TB Sookie can’t do anything without her posse.
When Sookie screams at Lorena “I will kill you!” just at the moment when Lorena is told to kill Bill and Lorena says, “Oh, please, please try,” Lorena was completely within her right to say that. I wanted her to tell Sookie off! Then when Sookie stakes her–with Bill’s help–I was kind of sad.
I feel like I am watching the show for all the charismatic and interesting bad guys and side characters.
Also as a book reader, I wanted the fairies to be awesome. But the whole scene made me flash back to the maenad-possession orgy thing of last season. Maybe it was the hot tub?