Hard-Hearted Hannah, Episode 6

Episode 6, "Hard-Hearted Hannah" could be called the turning point episode or perhaps the "hook up" episode. Episode 6, Season 1 "In Cold Ground," was also the turning point/hook up episode for Tara/Sam, Jason/horny bar woman and of course, Bill and Sookie. In this episode (written by Brian Buckner and directed by Michael Lehmann) we saw matches between Lorena/Bill (Ackk!), Daphne/Sam, Sarah/Jason and Jessica/Hoyt.

We begin the episode at the Hotel Camilla with Lorena wondering why Eric summoned her. Eric says that Bill has something he wants. Now why would Eric do this when he's trying to rescue Godric? Is Eric really that selfish that he would restrict Bill's access to Sookie while her life is in danger? Which by the way, he placed her in? I hope this turn and twist isn't a plot hole and that more will be revealed...

Eric is also not gaining any sympathies if you also like Lafayette. Instead of seeing Andy questioning him in the kitchen about this three-week absence from Merlotte's, Lafayette sees Eric. It may be the one of the most touching moments in the series when Terry kicks his cousin Andy out and goes to comfort Lafayette. Terry tells him to close his eyes and imagine a big ball of warmth. Terry now has a fellow PTSD brother-in-arms.

As Lorena lies in wait at the hotel for the perfect moment to pounce on Bill, she caresses a necklace he gave her in a bloody ramage. It was Chicago 1926 and Bill is singing "Hard-Hearted Hannah" (yes, that's really Stephen Moyer singing and playing the piano) which is this episode's title. Lorena and Bill are lovers, which is unusual in a maker/makee relationship and they've been together 70+ years. They're grifters in the vampire way and take no prisoners with their victims: they will seduce and kill a man in his forties and his blonde flapper mistress. After Bill nashes and gashes the flapper he ceremoniously gives Lorena the girl's necklace. So now we have a peek into Bill's violent past, which he's trying very hard to shed (Bill: "I'm a vampire, I'm supposed to be tormented") Sookie knows that he hung around cruel vampires such as Liam, Diane and Malcolm, but he hasn't told her anything about Lorena and why would he? It's not pleasant and he's trying to regain his humanity now. Stay tuned for more Lorena/Bill/Sookie/Eric dynamics.

Speaking of humanity, Jessica and Hoyt are falling in love and the best line in tonight's episode was from Hoyt who told his mom, Maxine, that the reason Jessica only calls at night is because she's a vampire! Go Hoyt! He then drives to Dallas to spend the night with Jessica -- how sweet.

And now in this episode Eggs has something more to do than swoon over Tara. Looks like he's been glamoured and while on a road trip to get a new pump for the water heater, he makes Tara stop at a wooded enclave he's been before. There is a circle and a blood on a rock. Not good. Eggs doesn't know what's going on. When they return to Bon Temps all is then revealed at a wild orgy in Sookie's backyard: Daphne is the pig that Andy's been chasing (as well as Marianne's familiar) and Sam may be Marianne's sacrificial dog. Tara and Eggs are shocked but then we see them later naked and enjoying themselves around the orgy's bonfire. Andy may come back to save the day since he's the only one left not at the party. And Andy needs some redemption bad.

Next week, Bill's mad as hell, Sookie is in the Fellowship of the Sun dungeon with Hugo the traitor, Jason is brought before Steve, and Sam is in a jam. This episode had plenty of action and definitely was both a set-up show and also furthered the action and Episode 7 promises more good stuff.

Can't wait!

Never Let Me Go, Episode 4

I'm writing this blog now as the True Blood panel (most of the cast, Alan Ball and author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Charlaine Harris) is all assembled at Comic Con 2009 in San Diego. I just learned that the Tru Blood drink will be available in stores Sept. 10th, which happens to be the season finale of Season 2 and the finale promises to be great. And HBO has renewed True Blood for a third season -- whoopee!

I've spent way too much time online and researching the books for clues as to what will happen over the next 7 episodes. As many of you know I'm a Bill fan and wish that Alan Ball will change a major plot element that's in Book 6 ***SPOILER ALERT*** In this plot twist, Bill doesn't return to Bon Temps to get back to his roots after the last Compton dies; he's summoned by the Queen of Louisiana to find and seduce Sookie Stackhouse and bring her to the Queen. So all that Bill does for Sookie is an obligation to the Queen and not out of love. I have trouble buying this since it's such a contrived plot device to get Bill out of the way for Eric's moves on Sookie. This plot reminds me of the one in Nicholas Sparks's Message in a Bottle where the Robin Wright Penn character meets the Kevin Costner character under false pretenses and then everyone gets mad as hell at her deception. She falls in love with him and he can't forgive her and then he dies at sea. In the next episode of True Blood, Eric summons Lorena, Bill's maker, who is an evil and cruel vampire to lure Bill away from Sookie (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me at this point). Lorena's presence will force Bill to lie to Sookie and/or maybe Jessica will catch them together and then tell Sookie -- it doesn't look good. But from the longline spoilers HBO has just released for the August episodes, I think Bill and Sookie are still together -- at least for this season. I hate Lorena and I'm sure she'll find new ways to torment Bill who can't seem to control any part of his life. I would hate that!

Well, back to Episode 5 where we had two WonderTwin couples: Sam and Daphne and Sookie and Barry. The not-so-humans find each other (Daphne's a fawn and perhaps a pawn of Marianne to lure Sam) and Barry is the only one who finds it awful. Even though he quit the Hotel Camilla I bet that he'll return to help Sookie out of her jam at the Fellowship of the Sun church. I read in another True Blood blog that Sookie is very much like Jack from Lost because she and he are always trying to fix things. I can't agree more.

I can't wait for the Hoyt and Jessica relationship to heat up. I wasn't a big fan of Jessica last season, but Deborah Ann Woll is excellent in her role. What will Maxine Fortenberry do to stop the couple? Maxine is Hoyt's domineering mom and although she doesn't have a lot of screentime, she's a fully formed character: obnoxious and a know-it-all. Poor Hoyt has to live with her. Another grown man who has to live with his relatives is Andy Bellefleur. Andy didn't make an appearance in Episode 5, but he'll back tomorrow in Episode 6 to question Tara. I hope he stops drinking. He's one of my favorite secondary characters.

I'm not a big Eric fan, but I like getting to know his character more, especially in this episode where we saw how he was turned by Godric. It was a good turning -- unlike Lorena's ambush of Bill or Jessica's turning being Bill's punishment. Godric asked Eric and knew that he wanted to live forever. Side note: my dad sent my son a book all about the Vikings and I read it to find out more about Eric's old life. Very fascinating stuff: Sweden wasn't the main Viking nation (Denmark was) and Vikings would rather own swords than have nice jewelry. I can think of two things that Eric and Bill have in common: they were both soldiers and farmers.

I can't wait for tomorrow's episode to see if Jason and Sookie collide into each other, to see how Sarah Newlin gets more even with her husband via Jason and what is the mission that Lafayette has to fulfill for Eric? I have the feeling that something must be implanted in Tara by Eggs and Marianne (who posed as Adele Stackhouse, Sookie's gran -- how sick is that!). Some answers will be revealed!

Is it Sunday yet?

Alice

Shake and Fingerpop, Episode 4

In this episode written by Alan Ball and directed by Michael Lehman (who also directed Episode 2) we have a nice flow going of the serious and of the humorous -- probably more than in any previous episode, thanks to Mr. Ball. The show starts off with Jason stumbling into a slasher scene at his dorm after arriving from dinner with the Newlins. Turns out it's fake, but not the lip wound that resembles the lips after our cold-blooded friends have had dinner. Things look like they're heating up between Jason and Sarah Newlin. Jason's trying so hard to stay good and not be like Jason from Season 1 -- a horny toad -- perhaps he thinks God's testing him. But Sarah may be too much for him now he's living in their house and he's been recruited to be their top Soldier of Light.

In the final moments of Episode 3 (from 2 weeks ago) we found Hoyt and Jessica engaged in amorous activities just as Bill and Sookie walk in. Bill tells him to get out and Sookie tells Bill to be understanding (good cop, bad cop -- just like any normal parents). Hoyt leaves without too much fuss and that's it for him in this episode and probably for a while since Sookie convinces Bill to take Jessica with them to Dallas. Sookie says, "You don't like other vampires, do you?" I have to scratch my head on this one since one of the reasons she loves Bill is because he's not like the other vampires (see Malcolm, Diane and Liam from Episode 7, Season 1). There's not too much romance between Bill and Sookie in this episode since they are either getting to Dallas (Sookie's almost kidnapped) or getting interrupted by Eric, who can really fly without going on a plane.

Speaking of Eric -- he wants Lafayette to stay healthy, so he perches himself at Lafayette's house and makes him drink from him. He appealed to Lafayette's desire to keep his limbs intact since he told him that he could smell his infected leg which he may soon lose. Eric likes Lafayette and wants to keep tabs on him because he's Sookie's friend, too, and we all know that Eric has the hots for Sookie. The funniest moment in the episode was when Eric is having a serious conversation with Bill and in the background, Lafayette is bouncing, dry-humping, pumping and gyrating because he's Healed! I love Lafayette even though I thought he was a bit much in Season 1 -- he's grows on you because Nelsan Ellis is a 8th Wonder in this part.

Poor Andy Bellefleur. He's getting drunker by the minute since he doesn't want to go home to his grandma and sister who all live with him in the family house. Andy is a direct descendant of Bill's and I hope we learn more about this connection by the end of Season 2. Andy swears he's seen the pig that distracted Tara and made her run off the road last season since he's seen that same pig in Maryann's dollhouse. Of course no one believes him and he has to turn in his badge to Sheriff Dearborn.

I love Chris Bauer's portrayal of Andy and hope he turns things around for himself, but how can he with Maryann around? She's laying waste to the whole town and laying waste to Sookie's house while Sookie is in Dallas with Bill and Jessica. (I love Bill's line, "She's new," referring to Jessica while they are getting checked into the vamp hotel). I'm getting tired of her vibrating thing and hope that next week we'll see that she is the Maenad from the books. All she wants to do is party and spread her love vibrations around. Apparently Eggs and Tara caught some of these vibrations....

While at the party Daphne reveals that she knows who Sam is -- very interesting indeed. Perhaps she's a shapeshifter too. I love how this show references past episodes and last season. For instance, Sookie told Sam in this show that she didn't mean to lead him on after her grandmother died and she thought Bill wasn't coming back (from Episode 11). Grandma is still very much a strong memory in Sookie's heart and this is evident when Sookie gives Tara a framed photo of all three of them for her birthday. We may never know what Lettie Mae (Tara's mom) gave her for her birthday since Maryann chucked that present in the bushes. Now, that wasn't very nice.

Another strong episode that ends with Sookie meeting Barry, another telepath. Next episode we'll have more confrontations between the Fellowship and the vampires and more on Mariann.

You can be sure I'll be viewing this episode at least 2 more times since I missed a few key lines and it's an Alan Ball episode with too many things going on at once to catch them the first time.

To life immortal,

Alice