TRUE BLOOD: I Will Rise Up

I’m Marty McFly. Jump in my time machine and we’ll go all the way back to Sunday night to talk about this week’s episode of TRUE BLOOD.  It was so good that you all want to still talk about it three days later, right?  I hope.

This week, Philboy and I teamed up to talk TRUE BLOOD.  I’m covering the recap portion of this post while he looks forward to talk about the impact this episode has on the future.  I thought it was important to include this note as there is good chance my section may include just a little bit about how damn sexy Erik looked this week.  I’m sure Philboy’s a fan too, but just not in the same way I am.

Where to begin.  Perhaps right where last week’s episode left off.  Luke doing “God’s” work and blowing up the vampire gathering at the Fellowship of the Sun.  Bye Luke, I’ll miss you.

We learn that both humans and vampires were killed, but since none of our favorites were spared, do we really care?

Bill was outside with Lorena at the time of the explosion and wasn’t there to protect Sookie.  Good thing Erik was.  He actually threw himself on top of her to save her life.  What a hero.  Erik got a few silver bullets lodged in him during the massacre and only Sookie could save his life by eating (what?) the bullets right out of his body.  Did anyone else find this extremely odd and disturbing? And no, I don’t want to hear from those of you who thought it was hot.

If you saw the twinkle in Erik’s dead eyes then you know he was not in any real danger. He enjoyed Sookie getting the bullets out of him.  But more than that he liked the look in Bill’s eyes when he saw that Sookie drank Erik’s blood in an attempt to save his life (is life the right word?) As a result of this exchange, Sookie and Eric are intrinsically linked.  Love it!

In a bit of lazy writing, Bill informs Sookie that she shouldn’t be concerned if she ever feels an attraction for Erik.  He probably should have also warned her of some seriously HOT dreams which would include a completely nude Erik. Yes. And don’t you think for a second that this week’s ep is going to be deleted from my DVR anytime soon. This Erik/Sookie/Bill storyline is one I can really sink my teeth into. (Don’t judge, you wouldn’t be able to resist a good vampire pun if you were writing this.)

The other Stackhouse sibling has had a little self-discovery of his own too.  Seems like he’s going to try to take his sister’s advice and put his brain to good use rather than, as Sookie put it “letting it take up space in your skull”.  He wants to contribute to society in a way that doesn’t involve his “sexabilities” (my new favorite word by the way). But I have to ask. Did anyone else think there was something off in the scene with Jason and Sookie on the bed? I thought they were going to start making out any minute. Weird.

Making out. Punching out. It’s all the same to Tara and Eggs.  It’s yet another morning where these two fools sit around and try to piece back together their lost night.  I’m starting to get really irritated with Tara – she’s smarter than this.  Every time she gets closer to figuring out that Maryanne is behind all this mess she is thwarted done by some of Mere’s BS.  Enough already Tara.

Good thing she has Lafyette looking out for her.  That boy walked into the house, faced down the devil and took Tara right out of the house – kicking, screaming, black eyes and all. And if that’s not awesome enough, Mama was there too. She stood up to Maryanne and that big bottle of vodka to help save her daughter.  It’s about damn time someone took Tara away from the situation.

Meanwhile, a desperate Sam is doing his best to try to figure out just what the hell is going on.  He managed to bust out of jail by shifting into a house fly.  In that form he was able to spy on Maryanne.  Later, a naked Sam showed up at Andy Bellefleur’s, presumably to let the guy in on his secret life and all the craziness.

I’ve been saying it for quite some time now, but I think Andy is going to turn out to be the hero in all of this.  And I still think Andy has a supernatural power that he has yet to discover.  Looking forward to finding out.

Speaking of heroes, I think it’s fair to include Hoyt Fortenberry in this category. He’s a hero to Jessica.  Look at the way he stepped up to his Mama.  I love that boy. Maryanne can do what she wants with some of the folks of Bon Temps but she best stay away from my Hoyt.

And on a very sad note, Sunday we said goodbye to Godric. We hardly knew ye.  I’ll be honest, I felt a little cheated.  All this build-up to Godric only to have him off himself a few episodes in?  At least he went out in style…and with Sookie by his side.  I’d be lying if I didn’t have a little tear running down my face when Erik was pleading for Godric to stay alive.  When did I become such a fangbanger? (Don’t answer that).

There was certainly a lot of story in this week’s episode, but to me it felt like an ep aimed at setting up the next few explosive episode leading into the (ugh it kills me to even type this) season two finale.

So what could be in store for our favorite vampires and their human friends? I’m going to turn it over to Philboy to discuss.

When tonight’s episode ended the way it did, with Godrick’s death, I realized that it was a conclusion of sorts.  It’s time for eveyone to leave Dallas and return home to Bon Temps to finally see the state of their friends and their hometown.  In Dallas it was all about the war between humans and vampires.  It seems as if the remainder of the season will center around another war, this time between a town and an outside force that has taken control of everyone.

I, for one, am fascinated with the Maryann storyline but it’s only because I know a smackdown of epic proportions is going to occur. Even though vampires might not exclusively have a skill set to defeat or even take Maryann on, this person has changed their community for the worse and, if they care about humans at all, they will fight back. Until this point, I could have cared less about 99% of what Maryann does. Good call from MERE in the comments last week for calling it!

On other fronts, Jason’s role in this is going to be crucial, as his transformation has, it seems, come full circle. Hearing him talk about the Fellowship in that way and watching him really deal with his grandmother’s death was crucial to him being a productive, well-rounded member of society. I’m looking forward to watching him in these last three episodes.

Sadly, what everyone will be talking this week isn’t the amazing stepping out of Hoyt, or the stoicism of Godrick, or the amazing insight of Vampire PR. No, everyone’s tongues will be wagging about the love triangle between Bill, Eric and Sookie. Look, I love the sort of trashiness and dime-store, campy romance that comes out of “True Blood.” I truly believe that the show wouldn’t be the show I love without a core love between Bill and Sookie. But, I don’t want the show to become “Grey’s Anatomy” and I don’t want Sookie’s every move to be about which vampire she will choose. I think this storyline can become interesting, but in moderation.

That being said, I love the insights we get every week about vampire culture and how that culture butt heads with humans. It’s a classic dramatic device, taking an event (vampires coming out of the coffin) and watching people of all walks of life react to it. That is, at its core, what “True Blood” is. We saw that tonight with Hoyt, who played the reformed supporter of the cause. He was apathetic, maybe even a little scared, at the beginning of the series, but meeting the right person not only brought him to the other side of the issue, but threw him out from his mother’s control. It things like that that I relish in this show, the emotional side –  not necessarily all of the mythos and fantasy elements that we have gotten this season.

I hope that we can find a happy balance between the two in these last three episodes, which will comprise the Civil War of Bon Temps (is it accurate to call it that?).

Thoughts on this week’s episode? Are you sad to say goodbye to Dallas or happy to get everyone back home in Bon Temps? Interested in Jason Stackhouse using his brain? The comments are open!