So get this. I offered up True Blood reviewing duties to the entire Team TFE last week when I was out of town and noone bit. What's up with that? No fangbangers in this house? Which means we've got two episodes to chat up today. Ratings for True Blood are strong this season and deservedly so. We're only halfway in but -- at this point -- it's much stronger than Season 3. It also isn't as repetitive as Season 2. We definitely approve thus far.
"Drink now."
4.5 "Me and the Devil"
Here we have a perfectly titled episode as everyone is battling their personal demons (Tara and Eric specifically) or actual demons as the case might be (Arlene & Terry who hold an exorcism of sorts in their house, still worrying about their spooky baby).
This is also another terrific rangey episode, with fast pacing, surprises and character bits. It kicks off with a violent family squabble (Tommy vs. his parents), moves expertly through tense comedy including the aforementioned exorcism, Bill glamouring his latest fling to "scream" and run whenever she sees him, and Lafayette's post Pam-cursing reaction to Marnie's 'who? me?' act.
That's some catchy shit for your headstone!"
Despite the abundance of actual plot there's graceful tightening of story threads as Sookie's finally braids to Marnie's when the women meet under the false pretenses of a reading. It doesn't turn out how Sookie or Marnie OR the audience expect.
Best Sookie Moment
Marnie: What? What are you doing?
Sookie: Lady. When my gran tells me to run, I run. Keep the change.
Gran's spirit warns Sookie away from Marnie THROUGH Marnie... much to Marnie's own surprise. That's some A+ twisty/funny scripting there.
But the key to the episode is really in the moment when Tara realizes that Sookie has been lying to her and protecting Eric. Both Eric and Tara are desperate to leave their past behind and it's beautifully right that they should be so at odds and that the scene should hit with such emotional force in this line reading hall of fame moment when Tara is justifiably enraged as Sookie's hypocrisies
You got a short goddamn memory."
"You people"Body Count: 3 (2 humans, 1 goat) Tommy & Sam's trashy parents get pipes in the head. What do you call matricide & patricide combined?; Sex Scenes: 2 Arlene & Terry (normal, human, orgasmic) and Jessica + Hoyt + Jason; Fresh Meat: the new alpha dog in the werewolf pack; Trashiest Moment: the Jessica sex dream with what has to be a Rocky Horror homage what with those face close ups with name calling. Funniest Moment: "Oh my gravy"; Episode MVP: Deborah Ann Woll is very funny while heightening her Jessica act to suit Jason's erotic dream version, Tara is moving and definitely the most improved character, but I'm handing this one to Carrie Preston who is often underused but always a comic delight as continually exasperated, not very religious but hopeful and perpetually put upon Arlene. In this episode she gets to play both comedy and drama and often simultaneously; Episode Grade: A-
4.6 "I Wish I Was the Moon"
Ah, the full moon. That lunar power makes everyone crazy. This episode is nothing but shifting and not just from the were creatures (Debbie & Alcides leave their isolated existence to join a new pack) and actual shifters (Tommy turns into Sam!!! Yikes). The other characters are shifting too. We see a far more vulnerable side of Pam than we've ever seen as she realizes it's not just her flesh and beauty that's falling away from her but Eric, too. Most importantly, in terms of the series' entire identity, we shift away from three years of Sookie ♥ Bill over to where the show has been trending which is Eric ♥ Sookie. What takes it definitively in that direction? Well, the fucking for one.
"I wish i was the moon tonight."
Stupid Sookie. When her Gran tells her to run she runs. But her Gran also told her not to fall for Eric, that his condition was temporary and did she listen? Nooooooo. But the series shift is also noticeable in that it's essentially Bill who engineers this moment by releasing Eric, who he has been authorized to kill, and banning Sookie from his property.
The other really interesting shift is happening with Jessica and Jason, who are now tied together by Jessica's blood but separate by mutual love of Hoyt, Jason's bestie and Jessica's boyfriend. Jason struggles with a strange realization that he's disappointed to not become a were-panther just as Jessica realizes she wouldn't change her making. Resulting in this lovely entry into the line reading hall of fame.
Don't ge me wrong. It aint easy. I never see the son and I'm always hungry. I have all these feelings, these urges that I don't understand, but it's exciting. I'm fast and i'm strong and there aint nobody can hurt me. And i smell. And I taste things in a way that I -- I never thought was possible. It's kind of hard to explain but my old world was about that big and now... now it's endless.
There's one final shift that we deeply love, if by shifting you mean being possessed by.
Marnie kept inviting the dead witch Antonia's spirit in. Now Antonia seems to have entered Marnie for good and boy does she have it in for the vampires. The way Antonia says "Mar Nee" before possessing her is chilling. Even better, once inside, Fiona Shaw takes over Antonia acting duties, flashing her Joker smile. Black Dahlia Crazy here we come!
"Mar nee"
Body Count: 1 snake, 6 vampires... albeit in flashback; Sex Scenes: 2 Tommy (as Sam) does (what happens if two skinwalkers procreate?) and Sookie + Eric; Fresh Meat: None; Trashiest Moment: Hoyt's Best Sookie Moment: Giggling at the idea that her brother might become a were-panther. That's as ridiculous as her being a fairy. Oh wait...; Funniest / Trashiest Moment: Hoyt's cruel mama continues to be a waddling terror, and she makes the most of her hilariously unChristian exit line "You tell him he's dead to me and I want my bible back." Episode MVP: Once again, this is a very tough call. Woll is touching as Jessica, still all raw guileless feeling, Sam Trammell demonstrates wonderful mimicry skills playing "Tommy" playing "Sam" and Shaw continues to schiz out memorably. But let's give this one to Kristin Bauer who is usually asked to perform within a tiny albeit hugely enjoyable "bitch" register as Pam. In this episode she also digs believably into sorrow, love and fear all with just her voice since her rotting face is practically unrecognizable now; Episode Grade: B
Previously on True Blood
4.1 "She's Not There" MVP: Marnie; Grade: C
4.2 "You Smell Like Dinner" MVP: Eric; Grade: A
4.3 "If You Love Me Why Am I Dying?" MVP: Eric; Grade: B+
4.4 "I'm Alive and On Fire" MVP: Sookie; Grade: B+