True Blood: Fuck the Pain Away

"And I firmly believe God wants me to fuck you!"

So, apparently Warlow loves Sookie and she is his "intended": that's a little creepy. And then there's Jessica, distraught with guilt over murdering the fairy girls yet high on their blood. It doesn't take much to guess there's a lot more religious angst in store for her. It's quite an opening and I am, for once this season, almost hopeful about the episode.

Warlow, it seems, hates being a vampire, and killed Sookie's parents to stop them killing her, quite a bombshell. So is the fact that Bill, being part-Lilith, turns up to order Warlow around as his maker, a nice twist. 

Only one of Andy's girls are alive; this must be devastating. Understandably he's furious at Bill, under whose roof this all happened. Tara and Eric are also displeased, in their case about Pam being taken to the camps, and proceed to spend much of the episode being badass together. Things are getting bad fast, especially with Sarah whispering all that poison into Truman's ear.

Speaking of Sarah, after her inevitable shag with Jason (one up on her estranged husband there), she gets into a mismatched cat fight with Jessica, who is so not in the mood. Less lighthearted is the fact that Terry has just hired an old war mate to kill him; in effect, suicide by hit man. Last season's adventures with the Ifrit were all too much for him. 

Pam is fascinating when she says that, yes, she was distraught about Eric but that's over now. Vampires are old, with a long-term view, and "pain is a worthless emotion". This is a nice contrast with Terry in an episode all about the emotional pain people carry. At last, an episode this season that's actually about the human condition.

Lafayette helps Sookie to learn her parents knew about Warlow and wanted her to die so she wouldn't be turned by Warlow. Blimey. 

There's also a flashback from 3496 BC, with Warlow returning to his village and massacring everyone except Niall, another violent event causing lasting pain for so many. 

We end on a double cliffhanger, with Pam and Steve Newlin forced to fight while Lafayette, possessed by Sookie's dad, tries to drown her. This episode is much better.

True Blood: In the Beginning

"Join us!"

"Never, you Bible-banging cunts!"

Edgington, that hypocrite who has so recently burnished his atheistic principles,  is taking over at the Authority. As if we ever doubted it, he's clearly the season's Big Bad. 

Elsewhere, there are touching scenes between Sookie and Jason as he reassures her that she isn't responsible for their parents' deaths. Their relationship is rather lovely.

Andy visits Bud for some advice; long time, no see, but Bud seems distracted. You know his random appearance has to have some significance, though. Tara is visited by her horrible mother, and disowned. Poor Tara. But, of course, in the long run I suspect this is done to underline the fact that Pam is her mother now, and finally one who cares. Or will do.

Lafayette is off on his own shamanic subplot in Mexico while Edgington takes control of Marcus' old pack. Sookie tries to use up all her powers do she can lose them. And all the Authority have a massive drug trip where they see Lilith.  There's a murderous death orgy and Eric and Nora see Godric's disapproving ghost... 

Most of the characters are at quite a low ebb; must be mid-season then...

True Blood: Cold Grey Light of Dawn

"I am not a zombie!"

The possessed Marnie escapes from Bill's helpless clutches as we get some light relief with Tara escaping from a hilariously annoyed Pam. The trippiness down in Mexico is leavened with a bit of family drama added to give it a bit of a plot purpose beyond establishing Lafayette's magical abilities, and Debbie and Alcide are initiated into their local pack. So far, so functional. But then we get to the real heartbreak; Tara feels she has to break up with her girlfriend to keep her safe. Will nothing ever go right for her?

Jason's position gets all the more awkward with his feelings towards Jessica and Hoyt confessing his relationship troubles, saying that "It'll kill me if I lose her". We all know where this is heading. We're well-informed on the Big Bad and her plans, too, as Bill uses Jessica to give us yet more exposition on who Antonia is. 

The father/daughter relationship between these two is genuinely lovely, though, especially given the abusive ways of her birth father. Also sweet is Andy's nervous approach to his date with Holly, his V addiction getting the better of him. It's an episode all about relationships but, in many cases, ominously. We get an ominous ending, too, as Marcie's spell has vampires running for the Sun, including Jessica...

Bloody brilliant.

True Blood: Release Me

"I'm gonna kick your ass so hard you'll be shitting boots."

The cliffhanger, and Sam's certain death, gets resolved by... the arrival of a rat-arsed and confused Andy Bellefleur. Only in True Blood! 

Otherwise, things are not going well as Sookie and Hugo are rumbled and caught by Steve Newlin and his nutters. Bill is unable to help because of Lorena holding him captive, leaving to an intriguing flashback from 1935, where he finally leaves her and resolves to stop killing people; stating that he could never love her.

It seems Hugo, jealous at not being "turned" is the traitor, not that it does him much good. He reveals all- not good news for Jason, now brother to a spy. At last his somewhat over-baked plot line is coming to an end.

An angry Sam confronts Daphne but finally gets done answers; Maryann is an immortal, ancient Maenad, presumably from Classical Greece, a worshipper of Dionysus. That explains the Bacchanalian rituals but is a genuine surprise. So is the fact that Daphne is killed by an increasingly evil-seeming Maryann. Yep. She's the big bad.

We also get a lovely series of scenes where Kessica and Hoyt pop their cherries with each other, and quite a cliffhanger in which Sookie finally meets the mysterious Godric...