Writer: Brian Buckner
Grade: A
I didn’t hate Sookie in this episode! I’m so excited! I haven’t liked Sookie this much since the first two or three episodes of the series.
Her theory that Jessica is basically just a normal teenage girl with fangs was silly, and she was too quick to give in to Jessica's tears and take her to see her family, but she was well-intentioned (yeah yeah, road to hell and whatnot). The same goes for her apologizing to Jessica and inviting Tara to move in with her. I was seeing the "sweet" Sookie that Anna Paquin wants viewers to see.
The sad thing is, she was almost too sweet in this episode. Maybe it's a writing consistency issue that they're still working out, because it's jarring to me that she was so irritating and judgmental and shrill in the previous episode, and so sweet in this one (that was the awesomest makeup sex ever, I guess?). It was a relief that she didn’t make me gnash my teeth once in this episode, but it would be ideal if they could find a balance between the Sookie in the previous episode and the Sookie in this one.
I thought the Bill/Sookie pillow talk was a bit precious, but it was also nice to see them so open and relaxed with one another, because most of the time they’re fighting or working through some sort of personal trauma.
I’m still not finding Jason’s FotS storyline riveting, but I do like the actors playing the Newlins. They’re really diving head first into the campiness of it all, and I find them hilarious. At this point, I’m predicting that Jason will end up as the object of desire in a twisted tug-o-war between them.
As far as the Tara/Eggs/Maryann/Eggs storyline, I’m glad that Tara still has the sense to question Maryann’s hospitality. Unfortunately, Eggs creeps me out almost as much as Maryann does. For one thing, he’s little more than a perfect triangle frame with six-pack abs—he’s aesthetically pleasing to me on an artistic level, like a beautiful statue, but I don’t find him stimulating in any other way. His violent past, his apparently guiltless freeloading off of Maryann, and his aggressive pursuit of Tara all have me feeling like the guy is bad news and may even become dangerously possessive in the “If I can’t have you, no one can” way.
Jessica’s Bill impression was fucking fabulous, as was pretty much everything else Deborah Ann Woll did in this episode. I can see why Stephen Moyer has heaped so much praise on her. Jessica is a rebellious, snotty teenage girl who is probably going to kill someone this season (if she hasn’t already), and yet I had no trouble empathizing with her confusion about her new body and her desire to see her family. And I do think that desire was genuine. I didn’t sense any deception even when she hugged her father—it wasn’t until he started yelling at her that she snapped.
Bill didn’t have much to do here besides pillow talk with Sookie and set the world aflame with hoyay, at least until the end of the episode. Bill glamoring Eden and her mother was genuinely menacing. I think it was important to remind viewers that as endearing as Bill is with his recycling and awkward parenting skills, he is still a dangerous supernatural creature. And of course, it’s not just Bill. Any vampire can do this, can hypnotize you into inviting them into your home.
This episode would have been awesome with only the things I’ve already mentioned, but Eric’s decent amount of screen time made it that much better. His scenes ended up being highlights in an already awesome episode.
The dynamic between Eric and Pam was a beautiful thing to behold. His lament that Pam was going to kill him and petulant demand that Lafayette defend him to Pam were… okay, I hesitate to use the word “cute” to refer to Eric, but he’s a multilayered character, so what the hell. It was cute. I already knew he adored Pam simply because she’s so loyal and doesn’t show any traces of being afraid of him, but I didn’t realize he adored her to the point of letting her henpeck him. It’s refreshing that he can have these ridiculous moments and yet still be so deeply, deeply frightening.
They definitely seem to be hitting the “Eric swings both ways” angle hard out of the gate this season. First of all, I could sense a bit of the sexual tension that Skarsgård and Ellis have been talking about in recent interviews. There was something casually (and dangerously) flirtatious in Eric’s tone when he asked Lafayette if he’d like to meet Pam, and his “Interesting” and “I’ll take it under advisement” after Lafayette offered to be his bitch were tinged with erotic interest.
He also seems to be losing control a bit over this Godric mess. His words about Godric—“He’s over twice my age and ten times the vampire I’ll ever be.”—are pretty high praise coming from someone who probably doesn’t drop compliments all that often. When Eric shouted “You gave me NOTHING!” at Lafayette in that desperate tone, it made me wonder if the bloodbath frenzy we’d just witnessed was caused partly by anxiety over Godric. I know perfectly well that Eric is a vicious monster by nature, but that still seemed like an uncharacteristic loss of control compared to what we’ve seen of him thus far.
And of course, I can’t forget the homoerotic tension between Eric and Bill in Forever 21. I found it odd that Bill seemed so sincere about liking Eric’s new ‘do, since I’ve always felt that Bill dislikes Eric. Still, it was worth the confusion to see Eric’s wry little smirk for a moment. He knew exactly what that saleswoman thought and was greatly amused by it for all of two seconds before it was back to business.
I’ve always felt that there’s more sexual tension between Bill and Eric than between Sookie and Eric. I'm not even hyper-sensitive to hoyay, but Eric just seems to like fucking with Bill to the point where it verges on "He pulls your hair because he likes you." I figured it was just something Skarsgård did to add another layer to the character, rather than something that was in the script or the direction (at least in the first season—it’s pretty obviously being included in the scripts now). I can't imagine Eric hitting on Bill with any serious expectations, so I don't think it would ever go anywhere, but I definitely get the vibe that Eric has at least a superficial attraction to Bill. It's not like Eric is all swoony for Bill (hee, funny thought), but if Bill swung both ways, I don't think Eric would kick him out of bed for eating crackers.
While I can’t imagine anything happening between Eric and Bill, something between Eric and Lafayette seems not only possible, but likely. Honestly, at this point, I’d rather see that play out than any sexual/romantic relationship with Eric and Sookie. I’ve always had my doubts about that pairing, but I recently found out that the second season takes place over only twelve days—if they don’t start expanding the show’s timeline rather than compressing it, I’m going to have an even more difficult time believing that Sookie could warm up to Eric. Assuming Ball really is heading in that direction, of course. Personally, I’m hoping for something different altogether, although I may not get my wish.
In any case, as awesome as Eric has been so far this season, I’m not wishing he had more screen time than we got in this episode. He can do so much with so little, and overexposure can make something you really like seem a lot less special.
Quotes
Lukinator: “What the hell was the deal with you snapping the American flag in half like you’s some Muslim Buffy with a dick?”
Sookie: “I don’t normally cuss, but you have completely fucked me here.”
Jessica: “I know and I’m sorry, but I swear it was like it wasn’t even me doing it! Must be all these new vampire impulse control issues.”
