Writer: Alexander Woo
Director: Michael Lehmann
Originally Aired: 06/27/2010
Grade: B-
I said last week that I wasn’t looking forward to this episode, but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this bad, either. I didn’t hate the entire hour from start to finish, but there were a lot of really stupid, over-the-top moments.
The Bad
-The opening scene was incredibly dumb. If Eric knows that weres on V are extremely volatile and dangerous, why did he take a bullet right in front of one? Oh right, because they needed to interrogate the were, so Eric couldn’t take the chance of Sookie killing him. But really, Sookie is an idiot—what are the chances she could actually kill the thing with one shot? And yet it was obvious from the CGI that the wolf was going to jump right into that bullet. So basically, Sookie was a good shot and/or the werewolf was really stupid because the plot needed them to be, then Eric ended up ripping the guy’s throat out with little fanfare anyway.
-I also don’t understand Eric telling Sookie that these weres on V could be trouble even for him, yet Bill took on four of them at once in the previous episode and came away unscathed. We know Eric is an older, stronger vampire than Bill by nearly a millennium, so either Eric was lying or exaggerating, the writers didn’t catch the discrepancy, or the there’s a valid reason for the discrepancy and the writers dropped the ball on conveying it to the audience. I came up with a few fanwanks, but most of them don't hold up because when it comes to badassery, Eric being 1000-ish years old should trump Bill having just fed.
-Also, if Eric wants into Sookie’s panties so badly, why did he send the hottest werewolf in the entire world, a.k.a. Alcide, to be her bodyguard? I realize the guy’s dad is indebted to Eric, but unless this is somehow part of Operation: Woo Sookie, Eric has still stacked the deck against himself. I guess Eric might be well aware of the possibility of a Sookie/Alcide hookup but care more about protecting Sookie than boinking her, in which case, awwwww. (I can’t decide if I’m being sarcastic or not…)
-Speaking of Alcide, what exactly was the plan at Lou Pine’s? Because it didn’t seem like they had one. They couldn’t come up with anything on the drive over? Or did Alcide just assume Sookie actually had a brain and was capable of coming up with her own plan, since she’s affiliated with Eric? If that’s the case, I hope he learned his lesson… (And though I adore Eric Northman, I think “Lou Pine’s” is a better pun than “Fangtasia.”)
-Ugh at most of Tara’s storyline here. She did seem more relaxed post-coital, which was nice to see, until Mott started asking questions and she remembered her shitty life. Tantric vampire sex and more mind control are probably the last things Tara needs. In fact, she needs a little more compassion from the writers and a little less “Let’s torture Tara some more because it makes for such fabulous DRAMAAAAA!” Did the writers even make the connection between Maryann’s mind control of Tara and Mott’s? Does it mean anything? Is it going anywhere?
-I’m really tired of the Bill/Lorena flashbacks, but I was actually empathizing with Bill’s past experiences. I understood how those memories, combined with his conversations with Edgington and the presence of Lorena, might influence him to concede to the King’s wishes in order to keep Sookie safe. Then Bill tried to rape Lorena, failed because you can’t rape the willing, and twisted her head around backwards mid-coitus. I loathe Lorena, but I was more horrified by that than I was by anything I’ve ever seen Eric do, including ripping Royce apart with his bare hands. I’m sure Eric has done worse that I haven’t seen, but that’s just it—I haven’t seen it. So in addition to being annoyed and grossed out, I instinctively want Bill nowhere near Sookie ever again. Which is probably exactly what the writers intended, and the obviousness of it annoys me all the more.
-They were doing so well with the past couple of episodes, but in this episode alone: puppetry with a decapitated and rotting head, Arlene is pregnant with a serial killer’s baby, Tara is mind-controlled yet AGAIN, and Bill and Lorena have the most unnecessarily brutal hate sex I’ve ever seen on television. And those are just the highlights! Two lovely episodes followed by this sensationalist trash makes the show feel incredibly uneven.
The Good
-While I thought the action itself was on the dumb side, I once again enjoyed Eric and Sookie’s scenes together. I talked last season about how Sookie is becoming increasingly interested in the vamp world, and Eric doesn’t try to hide that part of himself from her the way Bill does. We definitely saw that dynamic here. Sookie was clearly stunned by Eric ripping that werewolf’s throat out on Gran’s antique rug, but she also didn’t look away, nor did Eric act ashamed or try to hide his bloody face from her. (He was also significantly less brooding in this episode, which I appreciated.)
-I was happy that Sookie paid for Eggs’ funeral (presumably with the money Eric paid her for the Dallas trip), and that Tara had worked through enough of her shit to forgive Sookie. The downside is that the two of them have spent so much time apart since the first season that scenes like this feel like lip service, although that’s probably another casualty of the show’s condensed timeline.
-Tara and Jason’s conversation at Merlotte’s was incredibly sweet, until he (and I) remembered that he killed her boyfriend. And while I’m bummed that Jason’s well-intentioned killing is standing in the way of he and Tara reconnecting, I’m glad to see that their conversation seemed to help Jason realize that becoming a deputy isn’t a great idea right now.
-I also enjoyed the scene in which Eric gifted Lafayette with a car (the ho-yay, it is divine), but I have a bad feeling about what Eric’s up to. Lafayette suddenly owning a luxury sports car is going to raise some eyebrows, and I really hope one of them doesn’t belong to the Magister.
-I’m tentatively placing Sam’s family storyline in the “good column” because it hasn't annoyed me yet. This episode further reinforced my view of them as the True Blood version of the Sackville-Bagginses. It’s pretty obvious that they followed Sam back to Bon Temps in order to check out Sam’s “cushy” life and case the bar. It’s also pretty clear, from the way Mama Mickens calls both her son and her husband “boys” and bosses Joe Lee around despite his apparent temper, that she’s the mastermind of their cons. I’m guessing that Tommy will be torn between feeling contempt for the clueless mark and feeling gross about taking advantage of the only family member who gives a damn about him (as evidenced by Sam scolding Joe Lee for allowing Tommy’s underage drinking).
Other Stuff
-I got a kick out of Sookie trying to doe-eye Eric into agreeing to come to her rescue in Mississippi. It could have come off as gross user behavior, sort of like accepting a gift or a favor from someone you don’t even like, but she seems to have given up on hating his guts post-Godric, so it didn’t annoy me nearly as much as it could have.
-I sort of love the idea of Jessica working at Merlotte’s, but maybe it’s too fanfic-y to actually happen.
-Fans were pretty thrilled by Sheriff Dearborn’s quitting speech, but if Bud Dearborn is no longer Sheriff, is William Sanderson even still on the show?
-Re: Alcide’s ex, I have seen Alcide, and I have seen Cooter. Cooter is actually somewhat handsome, but still, any woman who prefers him to Alcide must be a V junkie.
Quotes
Pam: “Did you call the hypothetical hardware store and buy a theoretical chainsaw?”
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