People have been making a fuss about the hug between Alex and Deb, implying that there’s something romantic going on.I’ll admit that it seems like she might have a crush on him, and they’re both gorgeous, and they both seem lovely in the nonphysical ways, too, so I wouldn’t be shocked (or horrified) to find out they’re dating.BUT.People seem to be blowing it way out of proportion.Folks are acting as if the two of them were eye-fucking each other through the entire panel, but the reality is that we could only see them for at most 5-6 minutes of the available footage, and they were only looking at each other for about 30-45 seconds of that time.
Not to mention people seem to be focusing all of their attention on Deborah—because yes, she’s looking at him like he’s a giant ice cream sundae—and glossing over the fact that he looks almost entirely unaffected by it all.The vibes there were pretty one-sided, to be honest, and they didn’t even seem like they knew each other that well during their G4 interview together.Not to mention, she was nervous, they were stuck with each other at the opposite end of the table from the other actors they both probably know best (Anna and Stephen), and that hug was pretty quick and chaste.
As lovely as they both are, I refuse to treat real people like paper dolls to pair up however I please, and I don’t want to do that thing where people assume two celebs are involved because they’re both attractive and nice to each other.
And hey, if proof is required that the hug was blown way out of proportion, Alex said he’s single in this radio interview from just a couple of days before Comic-Con.
Episode Title: Never Let Me Go Writer: Nancy Oliver
Director: John Dahl
Originally Aired: 07/19/2009
Grade: B+
This was definitely my least favorite of the season so far.It might not have been so bad were it not for Sookie and Bill having the exact same conversation three different times.“You can’t go anywhere without me, Suckie.We’re in danger and I must protect you.I would die a thousand deaths as painful as the first if anything were to happen to you.”“But Bell, I’m a grown woman and I can do whatever the fuck I want.You’ll never lose me, because our love is unicorns and rainbows and little baby angels playing harps.And by the way, I’m horny right now, so can we stop talking?”Which of course means that something horrible is barreling in their direction.
This is made even more obvious by the disturbing, racially tinged exchange toward the end where Sookie and Bill both talk about how horrible and incapable of love other vampires are, and how special and not like the rest of his kind Bill is.Clearly that conversation is going to come back to bite both of them in the ass.It’s already pretty obvious that Eric can feel love, for one, and I’m sure any other vampire can, too, excluding the ones who were already incapable of love before being turned.It’s also highly doubtful that Bill was always a dapper gentleman vampire.Despite the icky overtones, at least the whole exchange was also amusing, because of course Sookie, in the throes of schmoopy first love, would believe that Bill is the most specialest, kindest, most-capable-of-love-est vampire EVAR.And after what she's seen of the vamp world in the past few weeks, I guess I can understand her need to put Bill on a pedestal right now.
I wasn’t a big fan of Sookie’s attitude toward Barry, either.She’s inherently self-absorbed because she’s had other people’s thoughts in her head her whole life.Right?This is why she’s too high strung and selfish to take five minutes to ponder why Barry might feel the way he does and back the fuck off?Signs indicate that I’m supposed to find her behavior charming, and sometimes she can be, but this was not one of those times.I did feel a bit bad for her that Barry was such a dick, and that she ran him off by trying to make friends with him, but it was still nice to see a male character who wasn’t enchanted by Sookie’s magical whatsit.
As for Eric, I’m not sure how I feel about him throwing things…I get that Godric’s disappearance has him on edge and his drama queen side pops out at the drop of a hat these days, but throwing innocent pottery at nothing was petulant, not scary.Maybe it would have worked better if he’d at least thrown it at someone?Stan, maybe?
I was mildly spoiled about Godric’s age going into this episode, and I had reservations about how they were going to pull off such a physically young individual having so much pull with Eric. How do you find an actor young enough to pass as a teenager, but commanding enough to be believable as someone with that much power over ginormous, terrifying Eric? Even watching the flashback, I was still kind of like, "Hmmm, is this working? I'm not sure..." And then Godric got to the "I will be your father, your brother, your child" line, and it all fell into place for me. I realized that all the lyrical fawning Eric's been doing over Godric, which I was assuming was some sort of homoerotic hero/daddy worship, just as easily applies to him seeing Godric as his child. Or his brother. It's an incredibly complex relationship and power dynamic, and I love that Alex's portayal up to this point completely backs that up and works with all three of those family permutations, and the possibility of them being lovers. Now I'm really curious to see some present-day scenes with Godric, and especially Eric and Godric together.
And everything mentioned so far is only the Dallas side of the episode—there was all kinds of craziness going on in Bon Temps, too.
My first thought when that doe appeared before Sam was that it was a fakeout—we were supposed to think that was Daphne, and then BAM, a wolf or a panther or some other predator pops up and attacks the deer, and that's what Daphne really is. Didn't turn out that way, but I still wouldn't be surprised if the doe really isn't her most comfortable skin and she normally shifts into something else, something a bit less benign.
It's very strange that we've never really seen Maryann and Eggs interact, and yet they’re somehow always on the same page about Tara.Tara told Eggs about Gran and how she made Tara feel safe, and that information clearly made its way back to Maryann.Eggs also backed up Maryann’s BS about the mansion belonging to someone else, and him reading the book when Tara came into the bedroom at the end of the episode mirrored Maryann reading a book at the kitchen table (which in turn mirrored the Season 1 scene where Gran reads a book at the kitchen table while waiting up for Sookie).What kind of big reveal are they gearing up for with Eggs and Maryann?
Of course, Maryann wearing Gran’s clothes deserves a paragraph all its own.That moment seemed like a very tongue-in-cheek Little Red Riding Hood allusion, which I kind of loved. Not only that, but I could even buy it as Maryann’s private joke with herself as opposed to the writer’s joke—she seems self-aware enough to see the twisted humor in her own desperate move.Not recognizing what Maryann was doing makes Tara seem pretty dim, but it just goes to show how much power Maryann has over her at this point.And why is Tara worth this much effort on Maryann’s part?
Lafayette’s scene with Sam was heartbreaking, seeing Laf in head-to-toe black with his inner light blown out.Very well-acted by Nelsan Ellis, though; the most important dialogue in that scene is all in Lafayette’s eyes.
And Hoyt.Ah, sweet Hoyt.I think the man has some mental issues—not necessarily a chemical imbalance, but clearly the loopy, overprotective mama bit has made him a bit "off" from the typical late-20s male. I don't think that means he doesn't deserve love, though. I still find him perfectly charming and think he and Jessica seem like a good fit. It actually kind of reminds me of Secretary, in a weird way—two people who are completely fucked up by other people's standards find love with one another because their respective neuroses are a perfect fit. (Bill and Sookie might fall under this comparison, as well.)
I can’t forget about the Fellowship of the Sun storyline.Jason’s leadership moment was unsurprising, and I hope that someday he can become the person that Amy believed he was (for all her faults, I don’t doubt that she truly saw the best in him).
Nice to finally see the cracks in the Newlins’ relationship, as well.Sarah seems to be attracted to Jason in a very sincere, uncontrollable way, but she buried it the best she could until Steve decided to show Jason Bluebeard’s forbidden room.(I’m wondering if these fairy tale allusions were deliberate, and if there are more that I didn’t pick up on.)At that point, I think she realized that all of her desires converge on Jason: he’s hot, he’s got strong leadership qualities and physical prowess, and now he knows what’s in that room.I’m curious whether the Bluebeard aspect to their storyline will continue, or if it was only for this episode.
