Writer: Alexander Woo
Grade: A
First of all, I was dorky enough to actually compile a list of all the characters who either met for the first time, or reunited after time apart, in the Dallas portion of this episode:
Eric and Godric
Sookie and Godric
Sookie and Bill
Jason and Eric
Sookie and Jason
Lorena and Godric
Jason and Bill
Godric, Stan, and Isabel
Bill and Eric
Jason and Godric
Lorena and Sookie
That’s a lot of characters pinging off each other in new and exciting ways! And probably a lot more than I can cover in this blog, but it’s a fun list to look over, and kudos to Alexander Woo for cramming it all into one episode! I’m sure some of those characters may never interact again, like Lorena and Godric, or possibly even Jason and Godric. I’m guessing Jason and Eric may interact again in the next episode, and surely they’ll cross paths again before the show is over and done with, but it may be a while.
I’m beginning to sidle over to the rather tiny “something’s off about Godric” camp. I’m not sure if it’s something sinister, or simply that he actually wanted to die for the sins of vampkind and is kind of bummed to have to stick around and go through the motions so as not to disturb Eric and his underlings. He seems too good to be true and I suspect he’s up to no good in some convoluted way. Even Eric seemed to be carefully mulling over this new side to his maker, in spite of his giddiness.
The jury’s still out for me on Allan Hyde's performance as Godric, too. It generally worked for me, and I thought it was a nice touch that he didn’t try to make his voice sound deeper in order to be commanding or anything as silly as that. The accent also helped. It was just strange to see everyone bowing before this tiny, pretty, soulful-eyed teenager. He seemed so gentle, for the most part, that it was hard to grasp his ability to command with authority (and apparently hard for Stan to grasp, too). There’s something about him, though, that makes me feel like he could flip on a dime and make Eric seem like a total sweetheart by comparison. Maybe I’m imagining it.
I was pleased that the little information we got about Eric’s plan backed up my previous theories about his motives. When Sookie asked why he didn’t bring Bill, he responded that “his attachment to you is irrational” and that Bill would cause too much damage trying to save her, which is pretty close to my theory that Eric called in Lorena to keep Bill from fucking things up and getting himself permanently dead. Sookie also pointed out that Eric knew she was walking into a trap at the Fellowship, and he didn’t exactly deny it.
When Eric was trying to lead Sookie out of the church, I found he and Sookie’s exchange interesting. After Eric’s aforementioned explanation that Bill would kill indiscriminately to save Sookie, Sookie asks, “Why aren’t you?” It seems like an odd question at first, because it comes off like she’s asking Eric why he’s not killing people for her sake, but she’s actually asking something different. She’s essentially insulting Eric according to her standards—she thinks he's a bloodthirsty asshole who doesn't care about human lives, so she's curious why he's not out there ripping people limb from limb himself. Eric says that Bill would do that for her, but in Sookie's mind, she believes Eric would do that with even less justification. Except he's not. And of course, he insists on maintaining his badass rep by telling her that he’s simply following Godric’s orders not to spill blood.
I actually did, amazingly, think Sookie and Eric had some chemistry in this episode. The hallway scene was nice, but even more than that, I found it interesting that she looked genuinely worried for him after Steve caught them, and then Eric actually acknowledged her concern and told her he'd be okay. That exchange between them, out of everything in this episode, felt the most pure to me—no animosity from Sookie, no ulterior motive from Eric. They'd probably both be loath to admit to it later, but I think they genuinely cared about each other in that moment. It was really quite sweet!
However, I’m really not sure what Eric was trying to prove by offering himself in exchange for Godric and Sookie’s freedom. Eric waited until he was already chained up to even ask, which means Steve had no reason to do as Eric wished. I tend to think Eric would be smart enough to know that, so it came off as a contrived and obvious way for Sookie to see something positive in Eric. At least it was a nice touch that she later removed Eric’s silver chains without hesitation and in spite of Bill’s protestations.
I also found it interesting that Eric apparently ran over to try to save Sookie from Lorena, but Godric arrived first. Eric was nowhere to be seen before Lorena attacked, then someone who was clearly not Bill grabbed Lorena by the throat, and just like in the church basement, we were probably supposed to think it was Eric, but again, it was Godric instead. Yet when they pulled back into a long-shot, Eric was actually right there next to Godric, and I don’t think it had anything to do with being near his precious maker. He knows Lorena couldn’t get one up on Godric, and honestly, he could’ve been left out of the shot entirely and I doubt viewers would have questioned it. I’m nowhere near being on the Eric/Sookie relationship train, but a) Eric rather likes Sookie, especially now that she had a role in saving Godric, and b) he knows Godric doesn’t want her dead. From a viewer perspective, allowing Eric to play the hero would be eyeroll-worthy, and I’m glad Woo stopped short of that, but from an internal, character perspective, I think Eric had every reason to rush to her side, so I’m also glad that Eric at least tried to help.
“Calling in my Maker because you couldn’t win Sookie for yourself was feeble and desperate even for you.” Hee. I had to love Bill completely misreading Eric’s intentions in calling Lorena because he’s so besotted with Sookie himself, and Eric letting him for shits and giggles. And telling Eric “there’s nothing you can do” and calling him powerless seems exceedingly stupid, Bill. Way to issue a challenge instead of a smackdown! Wait a sec, who’s feeble and desperate in this scenario?
Bill and Sookie’s frustrating miscommunication about why Bill didn’t come for her sooner is also interesting to dissect. At first, both of them come off as deeply annoying, but they each have legitimate reasons for their attitudes. When Sookie starts grilling Bill (or any other vampire) for information in a very accusatory manner, I try to keep in mind that she’s awkward at trying to gain information that she lacks because she’s just not used to having to do it the normal way, i.e. simply asking questions and trusting the answers she’s given. She’s used to being able to find out the motives and the whys and the whens behind people’s behavior whenever she needs to by basically cheating and listening in (as much as she may try not to, we know she gives in to the temptation). She’s also used to hearing people’s secrets and horrible thoughts when she least wants to, so I’m not sure it always occurs to her that there’s a proper time and place to ask volatile questions.*
Considering all of that, I was willing to cut both of them some slack in that particular scene. Sookie was annoying because she’s socially awkward. Bill was withholding from her because he didn’t want to discuss such a personal issue at Godric’s welcome home/tribute party, especially with Eric lurking around eavesdropping. (It’s possible that Bill wouldn’t have wanted to talk much about it even when they were alone, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, since now we’ll never know.)
He probably still should have at least given Sookie something, though, because he has to know Lorena well enough to know she wasn’t just going to slink off and admit defeat after being brained with a large television set. “I was held prisoner by my maker, and I escaped. I know you probably have a lot of questions about that, but we can talk about it when we have some time alone. For now, just know that she’s dangerous and she probably won’t give up.” Really not that hard! Although I guess his reluctance to communicate gave us a very dramatic scene.
*(I'll admit they're not doing a great job with showcasing Sookie's telepathic abilities this season--if they won't show it to us, it's hard to keep it in mind and cut her some slack for it.)
Finally, Jessica’s perpetual hymen was not even remotely funny. That shit was pure tragedy and I didn’t laugh once. For one thing, hymens are a tricky issue—some women don’t even have one at birth, many lose them through physical exercise or even for completely unknown reasons, some hymens are so flexible or oddly-positioned that they don’t even break during intercourse and have to be surgically removed before the birth of a woman’s first child, and some women experience little to no pain upon losing the hymen through exercise/sexual activity/inserting tampons/whatever. Thus the entire scenario with Jessica is contrived, based around the typical male perception of “losing the cherry,” and basically just exists to be a titillating and tragically ironic joke. Not only that, but she didn’t even get to finish her first time without the indignity of Bill walking in on her! Still, I’m assuming it may not be as tragic as all that. She and Hoyt can find other ways of pleasing each other, or Jessica will overcome her embarrassment and end up getting some kind of outside help finding a solution.
Overall, this was a great episode, and Alexander Woo greatly surpassed my expectations (I wasn’t a huge fan of the premiere, and especially of Sookie’s characterization in it). The only reason this episode isn’t getting an A+ is because of Jessica’s magically re-attaching hymen and a few other minor contrived moments. And next week’s episode is apparently even more awesome, so maybe Nancy Oliver will make up for all that repetitive Bill/Sookie pillow talk in her last episode.
Miscellaneous Stuff
-Eric’s human impression was hysterical. It wasn’t even a “human impression,” it was totally a Jim Carrey impression! And it was rendered even creepier and funnier by Eric’s pallor and his black leather jacket with a popped collar, which created a “Dracula cape effect.” Bwah, well-played, show.
-Steve Newlin was a stand-in for George Bush in this episode more than any other so far.
-Competent Jason was awesome! I loved him nailing Steve between the eyes with the paintball—that was a nice payoff on their “target practice for vamps” session a few episodes ago.
-I’m not sure we saw Michelle’s face in the same shot as the heart being cut up, so I guess it’s possible that they used a real animal heart and brought in a hand double (maybe a chef or a veterinarian or something). I can’t imagine them actually asking Michelle Forbes to cut up a real animal heart on camera. Maybe I’m over-identifying, though. I would have been vomiting through every take, but maybe she has a steel-lined stomach. The only thing that even got me through the scene was believing the heart was fake, though, so I don't want to know if it was real.
-Eric’s pleased little smile after he got to use his intimidating vampire routine on Jason was precious. In fact, I thought Skarsgård did a great job of showcasing how thrilled Eric was that Godric was safe. He really came back to life in this episode: lots of grinning and teasing and joyful manipulation.
-Tara and Egg’s black-eyed slap sex was just as nasty and disturbing as cutting up the heart and eating that horrid soufflé. At least Woo followed up shortly with Lorena’s “There’s no excuse for domestic violence” line. Really ready for this storyline to climax and conclude…
-Godric saved Sookie from being raped, then he saved her again from Lorena, and to top it all off, he verbally bitchslapped Bill's maker in front of a bunch of vampires that Sookie knew. I would find it delightful and hilarious if Sookie becomes a bit of a Godric fangilrl and tries to sneakily milk Eric for information about him, which Eric totally notices and proceeds to tease her about.
- I have to agree with those I see complaining on various forums about how the writers are dumbing down Sookie’s use of her telepathic abilities in order to make the show more exciting. Come on, writers, don’t risk ruining a character for the sake of titillating the audience, especially when there’s so much titillation to be had already.
Quotes
Sarah Newlin: “You’re worse than Judas!”
Jason: “Why, what’d he do to you?”
Sarah Newlin: “Fuck you!”
Sookie: “He’s you maker, isn’t he?”
Eric: “Don’t use words you don’t understand.”
Sookie: “You have a lot of love for him.”
Eric: “Don’t use words I don’t understand.”
Steve Newlin (to Sookie): “Honestly, what do they see in you?”
Jason: “That sumbitch, it’s like he sucked out my brain and planted all his own babies in there!”
Sherriff Dearborne: “He thinks he saw some kind of bull.”
Andy: “With claws. A bull. In a dress. With claws!”
Eric: “They do nothing but fan the flames of hatred for us.”
Godric: “Let’s be honest: we are frightening.”
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