Monday, September 12, 2011

True Blood: And When I Die

Okay WHAT THE FLYING FUCK WAS THAT?  This is the first episode all season that I pretty much sat on the edge of my couch afraid to blink, while I continually cursed.  This episode started off with Jesus making Lafayette breakfast and promising that they could both avoid magic from then on in.  Slowly Jesus realizes that he is not talking to Lafayette but to Marnie.  She ties him to a chair and demands that he give up all his power or she will hurt Lafayette.  Finally, Jesus agrees and Marnie stabs him in the stomach leaving him for dead.  I know that all season Tami and Sparky having been saying that Jesus is on borrowed time but I was really upset with this.  I firmly believe that Jesus was considered disposable because he is a gay man of color.  I do however think that it is worth noting, that in the director's cut, they talk about where the relationship will go from there, so perhaps there is some hope for growth in their relationship yet.

Tara and Sookie sit in her kitchen to have a coffee together.  Sookie tells her that she feels as though Adele is in the house with her, after having a vision of Adele's dead bloody body on the kitchen floor. Tara tells her that Adele will always be with her and they share a laugh about the advice that Adele would give them both.  Sookie expresses a desire to grow old and sit on her porch watching her grandchildren play.  It is Tara who says that she hopes that she will be able to join her and that should have been a clue that something terrible was in the wings for Tara.

Sam stands in front of Tommy's grave, and is joined by Mrs.Hoytenbury.  She tells him that though Tommy was not blood, he was a son to her.  She then goes off to list a bunch of things that Tommy stole and Sam tries to excuse Tommy saying, no one ever taught him to love without hurting someone.  In the end, Mrs. Hoytenbury promises to stop by with the most horrendous casserole ever thought up and tells Sam that they have to be there for each other now, because they only have each other now thanks to Tommy's passing.  Watching, I could almost hear Sam screaming please God noooooo in his head.

Jason decides to go over to Hoyt and tell him about Jessica.  I had to laugh about Jason making Hoyt put down the saw before telling him.  Hoyt gets predictably upset and tells Jason that he is never going to have anything real with Jessica or any other woman. Jason reminds him that Jessica was a free woman when they slept together, but Hoyt tells him that there is something broken and missing in him that causes him to try and solve everything with his dick. I suppose this brought the end of one love triangle and I was quite happy to see it come to an end.

Back at Merlottes, Arlene and Terry are dressed up as zombies for Halloween.  It was all cute until the camera panned to Arlene's daughter.  Apparently, she was dressed up as a teenage mother because of a character on a reality television show.  Really?  Who the hell thought that this was okay?  What parent in their right mind would allow that shit?  I think this was another example of class based shaming.  Hey they are poor southern hicks so they don't know any better right? FAIL FAIL FAIL.  If that were not enough Arelene threatens them that they had better behave otherwise she will take them to area to trick or treat where they will only get foodstamps and empty beer cans.  When it comes to class, True Blood will never seem to get it right.

For the first time in a longtime, Sookie actually shows up at Merlottes.  She tells Sam that she is sorry about Tommy and he offers Sookie her job back.  Why would Sam bother?  Everything that Tommy said when he fired her was absolutely true.  She's only going to miss yet more shifts, though she is supposedly strapped for cash.  He does however make her wear bunny ears, which felt very exploitative to me.

Alcide comes into the bar and tells Sookie that he and Debbie are done.  He propositions Sookie and tells her that he wants her to be done with all of the drama as well.  Sookie does not think about his suggestion for one second and says that she loves who she loves.

Back at Fangtasia, Pam bursts in looking for Eric.  When she is told that he not there but that Sookie called looking for him she trashes the place screaming that she cannot believe Sookie and her precious fairy vagina are coming between her and Eric.  Once again, I get that Pam is upset, but this is the second episode in a row that she has reduced Sookie to her genitalia.  Sookie is a lot of terrible things, but there is no need for this sort of language.

Tara goes over to Lafayette's  house and discovers that Jesus dead. She finds Sookie and tell her that Marnie got him.  Holly and Sookie jump in the car with Tara.  Holly collects salt, mirrors etc and says that she has never tried to oust a spirit before, but they have no choice.  When they get there, Bill and Eric are tied to a stake.  Marnie quickly surrounds them with fire.  Though Tara reminds Sookie that she is dealing with Lafayette, she uses her fairy power to blast Lafayette away as Holly quickly draws a circle with salt trapping Lafayette on the outside.  Funny how once again, Sookie was more than willing to attack one of her friends.

Sookie, Tara, and Holly form a circle and start chanting, asking that spirits of the dead rise up and protect them.  Adele and Antonia approach and Adele rips Marnie out of Lafayette's body.  Marnie explains that she wants the power because all of her life she has been without out and people have ridiculed and attacked her, because of her ability to talk to the dead.  It was nice to finally have a concrete reason for Marnie's actions this season.  Antonia tells Marnie that she does not have to be afraid anymore and that she is at peace - a peace which the vampires will never have the chance to have, because they are forced to remain on earth and with that Marnie agrees to leave.  As Adele goes to return to the grave, Sookie begs her to stay, but Adele merely says that she cannot and that Sookie needs to follow her heart.

Jason gets a knock on his door and it is Jessica dressed up like a sexy red riding hood.  They have sex and Jessica tells him that she is not promising him a relationship, because she just got out of a long one with Hoyt. I for one was very happy to see that because a relationship with Jason, is not what she needs right now. When she gets up to leave after the sex is done, Jason is concerned that she is leaving because the sex wasn't any good and of course Jessica boosts his fragile male ego and tells him that she is leaving because she is hungry after having sex.  He is confused when she says she needs to go and feed, and then has the nerve to compare her to a sex worker.  Really?  I mean really?  Talk about a terrible analogy.

Back at Bill's, both Bill and Eric feed on Sookie to heal their burns.  In what was the most drawn out boring scene of the episode, Sookie tells both Bill and Eric that she will not be with either of them.  We all know that this is not the end of the triangle, and it just feels like more unnecessary angst.

Tara puts Lafayette to bed as he cries about killing the man that he loved.  I found this scene touching and his pain felt real to me.  Once Tara leaves, Jesus appears to Lafayette as a ghost, and tells him that he is fine with how it all ended, because otherwise he would have died of cancer. They share another very chaste kiss, and Jesus tells him that he will see him again because Lafayette is a medium.  Okay, the man that he loves is dead and they only exchange a chaste kiss?  If that were me, I would be holding onto my partner with everything that I had begging them not to leave me.  This scene should have been so much more than it was; however, it falls in line with the lack of physical contact and emotion between Lafayette and Jesus this season.

Nan Flanigan shows up at Bill's announcing that she has quit the authority and tells Eric and Bill that they should join forces.  Nan reveals that she knows that Sookie is fae, and that vampires will travel for miles to get their fangs into her. They try to tell her that Sookie does not belong to either of them and she calls them on their bluff and calls them lap dogs.  Eric slips behind her and kills her guards and then Bill stakes Nan.  Once again, both Eric and Bill act to protect Sookie. 

Back at Sookies,  Debbie Pelt breaks in brandishing a handgun.  As she goes to shoot, Tara jumps in front of Sookie and takes a bullet to the head. Sookie and Debbie struggle and Sooke grabs the gun stuffing the end of it under Debbie's chin.  When Debbie starts to beg, Sookie fires off a round. She runs back to Tara and starts screaming for help.

After everything that Tara has been through, seeing her die to save Sookie's life made me sick to my stomach.  Even in death, Tara's life was all about Sookie.  Since the beginning of this show, Sookie has been the worst possible friend to Tara.  She has shown no concern for what is going on in Tara's life, and quickly makes everything about her, yet this is the woman that Tara gave her life for? Tara has always been constructed as highly disposable. Last season when she was being raped, Franklin became a sort of anti-hero.  Neither Bill or Eric ever thought that she was worth saving. No matter what tragedy has happened to Tara, Sookies pain has always been constructed as more valuable and no matter how Sookie has treated her, Tara has always been there for her.  The only good thing that can come from her death, is the knowledge that at least all of this has been brought to an end.

At a parking garage the concrete has been torn up and the person in charge of watching it has clearly been glamored.  As Alcide looks into the concrete hole, and sees the silver chains, we realize Russel Edgington has escaped.  I say thank goodness, because Russel is the best big bad that has been on the show thus far.

I tried to do a straight up recap because so much happened on last night's episode.  I do think that we have a lot to discuss so have at it everyone.