‘True Blood’ Recap (Season 4, Episode 6): Bad Moon Rising

In the latest episode of True Blood, “I Wish I Was The Moon”, the full moon rises over Louisiana and with it comes supernatural mayhem. So basically a normal night in Bon Temps.

Lindsey’s Take: Tonight’s episode brings us to the halfway point in Season 4. Last week it felt like the show was taking a deep breath before the plunge into the inevitably crazier second half of the season. Tonight it took the plunge by hammering some significant plot pins into place.

Firstly, the less important, but still entertaining plot, of Jason’s trials as a werepanther. Assuming he’s going to turn into a werepanther at the full moon, Jason handcuffs himself to the bed. After he spills the beans to Sookie about whyhe’s handcuffed to the bed – “it’s not some sex thing” – she quickly points out what we were all thinking: his panther paws are going to slip right through the cuffs. Sookie sticks by her brother as the night wears on, and when he runs away, she follows him into the woods. But instead, she meets Debbie and Alcide (begrudgingly) on their way to a pack meeting. They tell her that being a were-something is hereditary, so you can’t be bitten and then made into one.

Looks like Jason’s cat is out of the bag, and so is Tara’s. Her New Orleans girlfriend Naomi discovered her true identity and tracked Tara down to Bon Temps. Tara comes clean and they have a brief fight, which is followed by I-don’t-know-who-you-really-are sex. Later, to prove how messed up Bon Temps is, Tara brings Naomi to Merlotte’s. They’re attacked in the parking lot by a rotting Pam, but Tara pops up in the preview for next week’s episode, so something saves her from Pam’s gooey grip.

Meanwhile, Arlene’s devil baby(doll?) set the house on fire. Luckily, everyone made it out alive, but Mikey, despite being an infant, was out of the house before everyone else. Relieved to see her son safe, Arlene cradles her baby in her arms. Over her shoulder, Mikey sees a black woman who smiles and waves at the giggling child. But this vision is invisible to Arlene. I’m not sure where this plot is going, but Alan Ball recently said that it becomes quite devious. However, that makes me worry for Terry. He’s a nice guy and he makes Arlene happy, but we all know that no one is allowed to be happy on True Blood. I don’t think he’ll live out the season.

Now that the minor plots are out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff. The build up to Marnie’s full blown possession has been painful, but Shaw did it masterfully. Being held captive by a vampire king only strengthened Marnie’s resolve to commune with Antonia, the medieval Spanish witch who was burnt at the stake (but not before summoning all the vampires within 20 miles out into the sunlight). Lying on the floor of her cell, cuts up and down her arm, Marnie finally becomes Antonia’s vessel and she is not messing around. With only a devilish glance into the security camera, she summons Louis, one of Bill’s vampire cohorts who raped and fed on Antonia when she was alive, into her cell and casts him on his knees. Only bad things lie in his future, and I’m loving it. Now Shaw really has a chance to cut loose, and I can’t wait to see what havoc Marnie/Antonia wreak on the vampires of Bon Temps. I kind of hope it costs Bill his kingship because he is no fun anymore. Heavy lies the crown, etc. etc.

And now, what we’ve all been waiting for: Viking on Fairy woodland sex. Sookie and Eric are making out with all the passion of the fans that have been hoping/waiting for for three and a half seasons when Bill busts in. Upon finding out that Bill is his king, Eric submits to arrest. Sookie pleads with Bill not to take Eric, but Good King Bill is all business. Sort of. He’s clearly hurt by Sookie’s actions, but he buries it underneath red tape.

Bill petitions Nan for a warrant to bring the true death to Eric Northman. Under the full moon, he hauls Eric outside to deliver his sentence. But Eric is a changed man and he doesn’t struggle. He gives a sappy speech about knowing what true love is because of Sookie blah blah let’s get to the good stuff. Sookie, still wandering around in the woods looking for Jason, bumps into the Viking. Bill, of course, has set him free. Without even so much as a greeting, Sookie and Eric get it on. My question is, can Bill sense when Sookie is experiencing pleasure just like he knows when she’s in danger? Because that would get awkward.

Eli’s Take: I went to my true death knowing what it means to be bored.

I’m sorry, but those last few minutes of tonight’s True Blood were sentimental drivel. Soft, acoustic rock plays in the background while Bill looks sadly into the night, knowing that Sookie and Eric are probably having sex on the forest floor, maybe even on his property!?  Just when did this show turn into The Vampire Diaries?  It’s true that Bill’s always been in touch with his emotions, but Stephen Moyer has always deftly handled this aspect of the character; the music, or at least that particular style of song, wasn’t needed.  To be honest, I’m getting kind of tired of this whole Eric-Sookie-Bill love triangle.  I know a lot of fans were probably waiting for Sookie and Eric to get together, but for me, there’s just no tension.  Eric won’t be a goody two-shoes forever.  Bill still loves Sookie.  Sookie will probably dump Eric and hook up with Alcide before resuming bumping uglies with Bill in every possible place one could imagine.  The characters in their current states just don’t hold any interest for me.

Sam’s developing relationship with his brother though, is something to get excited about.  Or at least it was, until the writers once again borrowed a page from a CW/WB show.  Did anyone else think of Sister/Sister when Tommy the Skinwalker morphed into Sam and then mislead his brother’s potential girlfriend.  Can anyone say, “hi-jinks?”  But in all seriousness, after last week’s episode, in which Tommy showed signs of warming up to Sam, to bring him right back to being the same, irresponsible jerk he’s always been seems like a step backwards.  I don’t know what the writer’s have planned for him, but he’s been on the show for a while now, and it’s time for Tommy to show some signs of growth.

Finally, there’s los brujos, Lafayette and Jesus.  They’ve traveled south of the border to get help from Jesus’ grandfather, Mexican Willy Nelson.  The writers are trying to keep Lafayette and Jesus involved in the goings on in Bon Temps by having them seek protection from Pam and Eric.  I’m actually a little excited for their plotline in the next couple of episodes.  I think Lafayette is going to start embracing his own abilities, and I expect them to be nothing less than awesome.  The grandfather is also going to mix things up a little bit, simply because he seems unpredictable and a bit insane.  We’ll see how things turn out next week.

Oh, and just as a personal note to Vampire Bill:  Don’t worry – nobody does it in the dirt like you do.

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True Blood season 4 episode 1 review: She’s Not There: season premiere

4.1 She's Not There

We're finally back in Bon Temps after an agonising wait. And as it turns out, we weren't the only ones anxiously awaiting a return. Having left the disaster -prone Sookie literally away with the fairies last season, our fave psychic encounters disaster almost immediately, after stepping foot in the fairy ‘realm', seeing through the Garden of Eden allegory almost as quickly as we do.

Like pretty much every supernatural being in the greater Louisiana area, the fairies want Sookie for good, and she narrowly escapes with a little help from her long-lost grandfather. Her gramps has also literally been away with the fairies, but for over twenty years, and his appearance presents us with the first shock of the season. Sookie is related to Jack Killian, The Midnight Caller himself, otherwise known as Gary Cole, who rolls into True Blood for the briefest of periods, delivering Sookie safely back to Bon Temps before swiftly dying.  Goodnight, Grampa Stackhouse, wherever you are.

Of course, returning to Bon Temps is never straightforward for any of its residents, but at least this time, there's little to no horrific death involved as yet. No, this return has, in fact, been over twelve months in the making.  It turns out those tricky fairies create some sort of time distortion, and rather than having spent a rather unpleasant evening at what looked like the dullest party ever, Ms Stackhouse has actually been gone for more than a year. And thanks to Jason, she no longer owns her house.  Apparently, he decided to forego the customary seven year cooling off period.

Once all the ‘we thought you were dead' nonsense is over with, we can see that everything has changed in Bon Temps. Everything and nothing. Through the course of the episode we discover that Sam did shoot Tommy, but in the leg, and other than a limp and Hoyt's mother, is perfectly fine. Laf and Jesus are still witching it up, although Laf is less than impressed with the whole thing. Bill and Eric are still bickering like children, but also glad-handing the locals, and cosying up to the media. They're clearly up to something, a suspicion re-enforced by the fact that in the twelve months since Russell's concrete overcoat, Bill has stepped in to fill the power vacuum. Whatever his original intentions where when he rocked into Bon Temps three years ago (hinted at last season), his agenda is clearly still in play. Can't imagine Eric is too happy about this particular turn of events, though.

Then, of course, there's poor Arlene. The demon baby has arrived, and despite Terry's best efforts, it was always going be Rene's kid. The doll beheading might have been a little heavy handed, but hilarious all the same. It'll be interesting to see if this particular titbit plays into anything significant this season, or is kept for comic effect.

And then there's Tara. Last seen driving into the sunset with a new ‘do, these days she's a champion cage fighter and lesbian called Toni. Which is, frankly, completely understandable. Franklin's peculiar brand of psychopathy would be enough to turn even the staunchest straight woman to the other side. But this is one of those incidences where everything has changed. Even the news that Sookie is alive and back in town isn't enough to bring Tara home.

Premiere episodes are tricky things. Setting up a season's worth of storylines, while simultaneously keeping the action up is an incredible balancing act, and She's Not There manages to keep that balance for the duration of the show. Yes, the ‘surprise' revelation that the mysterious new owner of Sookie's house is Eric was in no way a revelation, but there was still plenty of intriguing titbits. What's up with King Bill? What's with the dead-alive-dead again bird? Where did Sam find his new shifting pals? And will Jason ever get out of the freezer? Only the rest of the season will tell, but let's hope he does.

So, as premieres go, She's Not There was pretty spot on. Apart from the fact that it's fabulous to be back in Bon Temps, any show that Gary 'Lumbergh' Cole graces with his presence has got to be worth a look. Welcome back, True Blood. We missed you!

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‘True Blood,’ Season 4, Episode 5, ‘Me and the Devil’: TV Recap

Poor Tommy is still getting jerked around (literally) by his evil father Joe Lee when finally, on the verge of being strangled to death, he fights back. Sorry Mickens family, but Tommy is just doing what viewers have wanted to do to you for two seasons. In another creepy wooded clearing, Marnie tells Jesus, Tara and Lafayette she was “taken over” by the spirit. The old “I-was-possessed” defense doesn’t work with vampires, Lafayette tells her in his Lafayette way. They abandon Marnie in the woods…because let’s face it, she’s boring while not possessed.

Arlene is convinced Rene’s “ghost hands” scrawled the creepy “baby not yours” on their living room wall, but that would assume that Rene was literate. Terry wants a preacher to come by to conduct an exorcism and cleanse the evil out of their nice little family. (Maybe when he leaves, Satan can take Arlene’s camouflaged faux Juicy Couture sweatsuit with him.) Sookie is sleeping soundly (don’t ask me how) when Eric creeps in to get a good look at her. That’s when Godric appears and proposes that the two of them go to town and drain Sookie. He tells Eric he’s damned and can’t be saved. How has Sookie not woken up yet? Oh, wait. It’s all a dream and Eric is safe in his cubby and ultra-long athletic shorts. The guy is 6’4”. How long do those basketball shorts have to be?

Jessica and Hoyt are nursing Jason back to health. Hoyt is so grateful Jessica saved his best friend’s life but now she’s acting all weird. She goes to bed and they have another passive aggressive Ronnie-Sam moment. I am now seeing the Bellefleur genes in Portia. Never mind that she’s a staunch defender of incest, but she really doesn’t know when to take a hint. After she tries to seduce Bill he glamors her, like any great-great-great-great grandfather would do. Sookie assures the utterly lovable Eric that he’s not evil. They cuddle and she gently strokes his hair exchanging sweet stories about Godric. She lets him spend the night in her bed as long as he promises not to hurt her. Poor disfigured Pam whose face is rotting off by the second wants permission from King Bill to torture and kill Marnie. But he’s way too law abiding for that. He suggests some cosmetic surgery, perhaps extra lipstick? Jesus and Lafayette are going to Mexico to stay with Jesus’s granddaddy who is a grand brujo. Tara says she’s going back to N’Orleans. Please, go Tara, don’t look back! Jesus tells a story about a childhood birthday present.  His grandfather gave him a goat. But this is no pet goat. Grandpa then made him sacrifice it and lick the blood off his knife. (I was thinking a tres leches cake would’ve been more appropriate, but this is Jesus we’re talking about.) And still Lafayette who gets the Stupid Award this episode, agrees to go to Mexico with the guy. Tara’s girlfriend finds some mail with her real name and is not happy. Maybe no N’Orleans after all? Tommy stops by Sam’s trailer with their parents’ corpses in the back of his van. Oh, so now you appreciate your brother, Tommy, huh?

At Merlotte’s Jason is opening up about his rape to Hoyt. He reckons dozens of women forced themselves on him. Hoyt interrupts to confide that Jessica seems distant…because when your best friend is confiding in you about a traumatic rape and kidnapping, the best thing to do is to turn it back to yourself and your moody girlfriend. Jason hears it’s a full moon and freaks out a little. Jury is still out on whether he’s going to become panther-man. Sookie, serving eggs with aplomb, suddenly realizes her brother hasn’t been around for a few days. Terry and Arlene let Tara’s mom (now the preacher’s wife) and Rev. Daniels in to exorcise the baby.

Sookie wanders into the Moon Goddess Emporium and begs Marnie for a reading. Suddenly, Sookie’s beloved Granny communicates through Marnie. She tells Sookie to run like the wind. Tommy is having a breakdown over possibly bludgeoning to death his terrible parents who, let’s face it, deserved it. Then, Andy Bellefleur, the most incompetent cop in the history of TV cops, shows up. In a fantastic twist, Tommy has shifted into a terrifying live alligator. (I almost jumped back with Andy…which reinforces my opinion that CGI is nothing compared to the, well, bite of a real-life Hollywood animal. Remember the first time we saw that panther? The wolves last season? It’s all better than one digitally-enhanced fairy creature. Thoughts?) Bill’s armed forces come in and arrest Marnie. Tara confesses to Sookie that she has a girlfriend and lied about her identity in New Orleans. Sookie tells her to just be honest and fight for the relationship—as she lies through her teeth about Eric living downstairs. He comes out of the shadows all mopey and vulnerable.  Tara freaks out, calls Sookie a hypocrite and ticks off all of the old Eric’s previous sins. (Yes, he locked Lafayette in a basement but was he really that evil?)

King Bill interrogates Marnie (who hallucinates that she’s back in 16^th century Spain) through a combination of Skype and an air-conditioning vent. He tells her to reverse the spells she cast on Pam’s face and to help him locate Eric. Of course, Marnie has no idea how to un-cast the spells since she didn’t cast them in the first place. (What is with Bill’s unfortunate choice in ties?) Please, Marnie, un-cast the spell on Pam because she used to be so pleasant to look at and now she is all Latex and Halloween makeup and it’s killing us. Jesus’s grandfather looks kinda like a homeless person but he speaks perfect English. Que bueno! A weird biker dude shows up at Alcide’s house. It’s the Shreveport werewolf welcome committee. The town’s pack master isn’t happy that Alcide hasn’t registered with the pack, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to, at least not voluntarily. Tommy and Sam undergo the brotherly task of disposing of their parents’ bodies in a swamp. Let’s just hope they’re really dead, Tommy, and move on. In an effort to console his brother, Sam confesses that he’s killed two people. And now we learn the little-known fact that alligators love marshmallows. Farewell Mickens family.

Arlene and Terry are getting busy in white satin sheets. They’re making street pillow talk and we just know something creepy, terrible and probably life-threatening is about to happen. As they cuddle, a matchbook on a nearby dresser just lights itself. Jason wakes up with Jessica on top of him (or at least dreams she’s on top of him). You would think gang rape would’ve turned Jason off of wet dreams, at least for a while, but he can’t help it after drinking so much of Jessica’s blood. All of the sudden Hoyt is on top of Jason. He wakes up in a sweat. (Can we all start saying “Oh my gravy!”?). Eric now knows what a bad seed he was. Sookie says she always knew there was decency in him. (Um, really?) She says she knows in her heart that he’s changed and she likes the new Eric. They hug it out. And then finally, our girl Sookie heeds our plea and embraces Eric body, mind and, yes, body.

Bill meets with some vampires to discuss the worsening witch situation. Necromancy is a rare but real phenomenon, they say. During the Spanish Inquisition, La Girona, Spain, a sorceress named Antonia was being burned at the stake. She cast a spell to wake up all the vampires within a 20 mile radius. Vampire priests and nuns came out into daylight and burned. Vampires used to maintain covers in powerful establishments like the Catholic Church. Today, Bill says, it’s Google, Fox News. Pam gets all huffy. Even with half her mouth decayed off she manages to say too much. She tells Bill that Marnie erased Eric’s memory and blabs that he’s staying at Sookie’s house. Bill rushes over with jealous rage in his eyes.

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