Writer: Nancy Oliver
Director: Nancy Oliver
Originally Aired: 11/16/2008
Grade: B+
I find it interesting that Pam was the one with Bill when he was burying Jessica. It sounds like she was there on the Magister’s orders, but did he actually order her to do it, or did he tell Eric to take care of it, which automatically meant Pam was going to do it? Pam’s “You’ve already set her free, just as Eric freed me,” seems to say a lot about their relationship.
Bill's scenes with Jessica were entertaining in a bubble, but tonally, they felt more like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is usually not where this show resides. Maybe it was just because the scene was with Bill, in particular, whose storylines and scenes are almost always serious and tragic. It’s usually Jason and Lafayette and Tara and various background characters who carry the irreverent and comedic aspects of the show, so this felt odd (not that Moyers didn’t do a great job). Still, Bill’s complete seriousness and exasperation in these scenes were definitely in-character for this scenario, and he and Jessica made a hilarious contrast.
Sookie’s reasoning that Bill can sense her emotions and distress, so “If he didn’t show up tonight, he’s not coming back” and “If vampire politics are more important to him than me…” made me want to slap her. She was whiny, self-pitying, and her logic was deeply flawed. Bill obviously cares about her a great deal, and she knows that he is in pretty big trouble, no matter what he said (and if she couldn’t deduce that by the presence of Eric, by the way Bill kissed her, and by the crappy job he was doing of hiding his anxiety, then Sookie is dumb as a rock). What she did not know was how far away Bill was and how that could affect their psychic connection, nor did she know what could be happening to Bill that might keep him from her. Maybe I was supposed to think that’s where her mind was really going under the surface, that if he didn’t come for her, he must be dead or as good as dead. If that’s the case, Paquin’s petulant attitude certainly didn’t sell it, nor did her warm flirtation with Sam toward the end of the episode. Sookie and Sam did have a nice sense of camaraderie, and there was a hint of mutual attraction there, which was fine, but the kissing took that too far and made Sookie less relatable and less believable. It plays like Sookie used totally fucked up, self-absorbed logic to condemn Bill for not being devoted enough and then made out with Sam. Which is appalling on a level that I will damn well judge negatively. It’s fucking trashy.
And if I were Sam, I might be questioning my infatuation with Sookie. Sam is obviously biased against Bill, but he can still see plain as day that Bill a) cares for Sookie and would go to great lengths to protect her and b) is in pretty big trouble with the vampire community, so Sookie turning against Bill so readily should be a flashing neon warning sign for Sam. Instead, Sam acted like a douche, too, not revealing that Bill tasked him with her protection and using Sookie’s discontent with Bill to get a romantic leg up.
I can only imagine what’s going to happen when the writers throw Eric into the sexual/romantic mix. I’m still hoping they don’t, because I think Eric and Sookie (and Bill, and Sam) deserve better than to continue serving the immature wish-fulfillment aspect of the books, but they’re probably going to go there, and it’s probably going to play out in a way that makes no sense with regards to Sookie’s character. I think part of the problem is that the writers need more than just 12 episodes to really sell this character’s sexual/emotional evolution. I’m almost completely in the dark about how Sookie went from perky, devout little miss “you will talk to me like the lady that I am” in the premiere to the person she is in this episode. Starbuck could do this, and it would seem in-character and understandable to me. I would still love Starbuck, because she’d be acting within the confines of what I know and believe about her. I didn’t feel like the Sookie Stackhouse character established and developed throughout this season would have done this. It’s like Sookie just stepped into Starbuck’s shoes with absolutely no motivation and no warning.
It feels like the writers are expecting the books to fill in the blanks for people, but they need to keep in mind that not everyone has read the books, and not everyone wants to do so, which means that we don’t have the same level of understanding for Sookie that Alan Ball and presumably most of the writers do. For one thing, I don’t want to be “spoiled” and I don’t want to develop expectations and attachments that revolve around the book to the point where I won’t be satisfied by the series. (Although I’ll admit I’m working my way very slowly though the first book now that the first season is done, and I am not impressed by Harris’s writing.)
Of course, the fact that this turned into the Jason and Amy Show in the latter half of the season is probably partly to blame for Sookie’s poor characterization, too. I love Jason’s character (and hope Kwanten wins an Emmy someday), and Caplan was admittedly great in her role, but devoting so much time and energy to a storyline with a character who was designed to be unlikable, while at the same time allowing one of the most important characters in the show to become unlikable due largely to lack of attention, was not a smart move.
Speaking of Amy, I love how Amy’s world view is formulated by what Amy wants to do. Everything that comes out of her mouth is a justification for what she wants. Amy wants to get Jason hooked on V again so that she can keep using it, therefore she wants “symmetry” in their relationship and them doing V together one last time is “closing a circle.” What-the-fuck-ever, Amy. Maybe we’re all like this and she’s just a very extreme and heartbreaking dramatic example. As much as I despise Amy, her death scene was touching and beautifully done--the way the editing and the music worked together there was gorgeous.
Eric continues to be interesting with very little screen time. Many of his personality traits were on display in his short scene with Bill--his amusement with Bill, his smartassery, and his tolerance up to a certain point, at which point he becomes scary and menacing. Eric actually came off better than Bill in that scene, because Bill was so anxious to get back to his precious, wishy-washy Sookie that he gave up on Jessica after one night and was willing to go to ERIC for help. Eric. Whom he apparently despises, but is perfectly willing to foist his own responsibilities onto. Was Jessica Eric’s fault in the first place? Yes and no. Eric didn’t kill Longshadow, and Eric did stick up for Bill when it counted at the tribunal. Eric didn’t make Jessica, Bill did. No matter what the circumstances, Bill broke the law, Jessica was his punishment and his responsibility, and he pissily foisted it off onto Eric, who is clearly the more responsible of the two maturity-wise. As for the other meaning of responsible, Eric is actually responsible for the fact that Bill is even alive and well enough to go running back to Sookie in the first place. Nice, Bill.
As for Tara and her new storyline with Maryann, I’m holding back from forming an opinion until I see more of how it plays out.
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