Monday, August 6, 2012

True Blood Season Five, Episode Nine: Everybody Wants to Rule the World

This episode opens with a true blood factory on fire in Huston Texas.  At the compound, a man is tied up on the table and Steve Newlin says a prayer over the body after some sarcastic prompting from Russel.  Salome is clearly not impressed and follows up with her own prayer.  This scene is interesting because it's the first time in history of the show that they have shown full frontal male nudity. It is however worth noting that the nudity was that of a nameless male victim whereas at some point most of the female stars have shown some kind of nudity. In the meantime, Eric wants out of the compound.

Lafayette is in Sookie's bathroom looking at himself in the mirror and Sookie chastises him. Apparently, she wants him to look into the presence she sensed last episode.  Lafayette gets serious and tries to find out about the apparition, but isn't able to.  Lafayette says that he is still going to charge her 100 dollars, to which responds, "put it on my tab." I like the point of Lafayette not playing servant to the other characters, but it does not add to his authority to have Sookie so easily cast her debt aside.  As they sit down talking about Tara, (yeah I know, surprise surprise, Sookie thought to ask) Lafayette gets a message from Sookie's grandmother, who says that she is happy that the fae are looking after her and brings up a box that is under her bed.  This of course casts all thoughts of Tara aside.

Jessica is at the police station trying to defend Hoyt's involvement with a hate group. It seems that they have named the hate group the Obamas because of the masks that they wear.  I found this to be absolutely disgusting. Jessica is worried because she cannot feel Hoyt and says that if anything happens, it's because of her  When Jason reaches out a hand to comfort her, she pulls away from him. I liked this because there is no way she should have been accepting of this considering that they last time they were together he shot her. We flash to a scene of Hoyt tied up and unconscious being dagged on the ground.

Luna and Sam argue because he does not want to leave her alone.  He is off to chase the Obamas, so Luna gets out of bed saying that she is not going to lie in bed like the princess and the pea.  She accuses him of being sexist and Sam is frustrated saying he is only trying to protect the  person he loves. Considering everything that Luna has been through recently, this seems a little spunky agent to me but I do respect the idea of a woman not needing a mans protection.

Terry decides he is going to offer Patrick a fair fight but Arlene is far from happy about this.

At Fangtasia, Tara stockpiles True Blood, but Pam tells her to sell it so that their customers don't feed on humans.   Pam says that they need to keep their heads down, tits up and the True Blood flowing. When the True Blood runs out, it's her plan that they feed discreetly on the humans.  Tara offers to be an air for Pam, because she senses that Eric is in the thick of this but Pam wants know part of it, saying that they are not Oprah and Gayle.

At the compound, Eric confronts Bill about his idea with much sarcasm.  Bill insists that he is not playing a game but Eric suggests that he is laying it on thick and playing against political masters who are out of his league.  Eric out that they are not going to buy this act much longer and Bill asks what if God is a vampire. Eric reminds him that they were high.  Bill says he does not know who to trust because everything he believes has been turned upside down, and so Eric asks if Sookie is food to him now and says that he can have his religious crises elsewhere.  Eric hands him a stick and says that the only way out is with a sample of Salome's blood.

Sookie is going through memories out of the box and she finds out that her parents bodies were found by Sheriff Dearborne.  

At the station, Jason assigns men to watch Jessica.  She is sad that she cannot stay and help out, but Jason reminds her with sun coming up, she has to be safe. Jason tries to reassure her saying that this is what he is trained for. Yeah, if I were Jessica, I wouldn't be reassured by that fact because we are after all still talking about Jason Stackhouse.  Andy is online reading the vampire manifestos and he sees a video of them forcing vamps to face the sun.  Apparently, the Obamas are modelling themselves after the Klan and this sets them off to find the dragon.  I am going to take a small break to say how offensive this comparison is.  The KKK is a White power terrorist group and to have Black members of the Obamas just flies in the face of history.  This leads them to beat on the prisoner to try and get answers.

Alcide is driving and he gets a flashback to his youth were he is hearing about the importance of the pack.  It's a flashback to his father and him choosing to become a member of the pack.  After each vow, bear blood gets smeared on their forehead.  Alcide it seems, is headed to Jackson, which is out of town altogether.

Sookie goes to Bud's briefly asks how he is doing and learns that his colon cancer is in remission.  She quickly segues into her parents death, wanting to know if anything he noticed anything suspicious.  Bud says yes, it could hae been a vampire, but they didn't know about vamps at the time and assumed it was gators. Bud points out that her grandmother was killed because she associated with vampires and this does not make Sookie in the least bit happy  Sookie begins to read his mind and hears that he is hiding something, and so she grabs his hand, but is hit in the back of the head by a woman with a cast iron frying pan.


Outside the station, Andy is asked about Barack Obama and he actually has to point out that the group are wearing masks. When he goes back in the station, Luna and Sam follow.  Luna and Sam say that they picked up the smell of pig shit in the basement where Jessica was being held. Andy thanks them and suggests that they lie low, but Sam says that they are in this.  Andy tells him to go home and so Andy and Luna go to another room to shift so that they can listen in on what is happening in the station.

Arlene is opening up Merlott's when Patrick holds a gun to her head.  Patrick tells her to call Lafayette and say that Merlott's is closed for the day. It looks like Patrick has decided to get Terry before Terry can get him.

Sookie wakes to find herself on the ground outside of a pig pen with Hoyt tied up a few feet away. Sookie tries to use her fae power but it's not working. I bet she regrets blasting it in the air. A man in an Obama mask enters the barn.

At the station, Jason says that Joe Bob must be scared because he didn't give up the dragon. Andy has to interrupt him because Jason almost reveals that he and Andy beat Joe Bob. Jason blames himself for what is happening to Hoyt and says it's all because he slept with Jessica.  Andy is not happy that they assaulted Joe Bob and says that it is his job to protect even the likes of him. I really liked this scene, because police abuse is hardly ever acknowledged in the media for what it is.   Andy considers retiring like Bud, who is now cheating on his wife and square dancing.  When Andy looks at the video again, he  sees the same boots that Bud was given during his retirement. 

Bud comes in to see Sookie and tells her hat the supes are trying to take over the world.  He says that innocent poeple like her folks are being murdered.  When Sookie brings up Sam, Bud and Sweetie point out that he is buying up the town up.  Apparently, Sweetie thinks that world war four is coming.  Sweetie thinks that Sookie is a supe because she is a mind reader with electric fingers and says that Sookie is not like them.  When she asks about Hoyt they point out that Hoyt was given a chance to defend humanity and he pussied out. I have never been a fan of using the feminine as a pejorative and there was certainly no justification for it this time and having this said by a woman does not remove the inherent sexism from the statement. Bud says that law doesn't protect humans and the law didn't do anything good for him.   Sookie wants to know what happened to her and we get a flashback to Sweetie wearing makeup in a ridiculous outfit and being laughed at. Humans have legitimate reasons to fear supernatural creatures and Sweetie's reasons are a complete cop out. 

Bud gives Sookie ginger ale laced with Oxycotin in it on Sweeties orders.  It turns out that Sweetie is actually the dragon and not Bud. He calls her the love of his life.  Andy, Jason and two cops show up at Bud's but the house is empty.  On the mantle Jason finds a picture of Bud's wife and reminisces about her being his six grade teacher, then remembers that her family owned a pig farm.  Andy quickly makes the connection with the pig shit Luna and Sam told him about earlier.

Outside of Merlott's Terry gets a call from Patrick, who tells him to put his hands up and put his weapons on the ground. In the background, Arlene yells and says not to do it. When Terry enters, Patrick and Arlene are sitting at a booth, and Patrick has a gun to her head. Patrick says he has a family too and that Terry is stronger, a better soldier, and a better man to explain why he does not want the fear fight. Patrick orders Terry to get on his knees and throws Arlene to the floor.  Before Patrick can shoot, Arlene stabs him in the neck and Terry and Patrick start to fight.  Arlene picks up the gun, holds it to patrick and tells him not to move.

At the compound Nora is praying in front of Lilith's blood, when Eric approaches her saying it must be peaceful to be so sure of something.  He points out that this faith requires surrendering and she says that he is still a viking after all these years.  Eric asks her she found god and Nora responds saying that Salome let her taste the blood during the day during Roman's absence, and it blew her mind.  Tasting the blood ended up giving her a sense of purpose and belonging. Nora suggests that it could be this way for Eric as well, because believing in something doesn't make you weak.  Eric says that he does not want to fight her, that he wants to believe, and asks for help. Nora and Eric then share a kiss.


Bill is waiting in Salome's room naked and Salome enters saying that bringing back Lilith will be her true legacy. Salome believes that it is not an accident that she has been chosen giving her a second chance to shape history.  Salome promises that both she and Bill will rule the world together. Bill asks what if he doesn't want to be chosen and she says that Lilith's blood is inside him.  As he is making love to Salome, he sees a vision of Sookie and drinks her blood. When he pulls back he gets an image of Salome covered in blood.   Bill puts his hand in his mouth and looks at the blood.

At the pig farm, Sweetie orders everyone to put on their masks and then opens up the gate and puts Sookie in, but what they don't know is that Sam is one of the pigs. They totally stole this idea from Hannibal by Thomas Harris. Sam changes to human form and Sweetie runs out of the room.  He starts to fight the Obamas, as the police pull up outside.  Bud lifts his shovel saying humans rule and Andy is forced to shoot him in the chest.

In the meantime, Sweetie is making a run for it, but she is being chased by a wolf who happens to be Luna.  Luna tackles her and punches her three times calling her human trash.  In the barn, Sam checks on Sookie, but Hoyt is still not conscious and is bleeding in Jason's arms, as Jason begs him to stay with him.

Patrick says that if Terry isn't going to shoot him, that he needs to get to the hospital; however Arlene tells Terry to shoot.  Patrick says that he has a son coming at Christmas and adds that he should do what his conscience tells him is right. Zaafira appears in the bar and says do what's right and Terry shoots Patrick in the head.  Zaafira announces that "blood has been paid with blood" and she tells the Irfrit to take what belongs to it, then smoke comes out of her mouth.  The Ifrit appears and takes Patrick away, leaving a blood stain on the floor. Hopefully this is the last we will see of Terry and Arlene for the rest of the season, now that their storyline has been wrapped out.

At Fangtasia the vamps are drink the stock of true blood and when Pam finds a vamp feeding on a human while sitting in Eric's throne she challenges him.  He tells her that Northman is history and he is the new sheriff of area five knocking Pam to the ground.  He orders everyone grab a human, saying "drinks are on me."

Sookie does at least ask about Hoyt which surprises me given her history, and Luna and Sam show up tell Andy that he is not the worse sheriff the town ever had, because he has Bud beat by a mile.  Andy gets in the car with Sookie. 

Russel and Steve Newlin take a walk together and come very close to sharing  kiss.  He opens the barn door to congratulate J.D who is now the new pack master of Shreveport  Russel opens a vein and all the wolves gather to drink the blood except for Martha.  Russel tells her to join the pack and she says that she will never drink from him.  Russell takes her granddaughter Emma away and gives her to Steve Newlin as a gift.  JD begs for Emma saying that she is a member of the pack and Russell chokes chokes him saying that his blood is not free.

Alcide pulls up to a shack and gets out of his truck.  It seems this is where is dad is holed up.  His father is gambling his disability check and Alcide is not impressed.  Alcide says  that he lost the role of packmaster and that he is a lone wolf, which causes his father to suggest that Alcide is just like him.

As Sookie is watching the news, she hears that more factories have blown up.  Claude and two female Claudettes (yeah, heaven forbid we have a name that isn't built around Claude) show up and say that vamps are behind the explosion at the true blood factories, and that vamps are bent on taking over the world.

Eric injects silver into Nora and Bill shows up, but Salome is in the elevator. It seems that Bill has betrayed Eric.  Bill says that he is doing it for Eric and that he has been chosen by Lilith and that this is what God wants.  I suppose we now know that Bill is really converted and this is not an act but I suspect that Salome is using some sort of power on him.