Director: Nick Gomez
We're already half-way through the season; so time to reflect on the story so far, as Sookie (Anna Paquin) reflects on the vicious murder of her grandmother Adele. True Blood just got personal for the perky mind-reading waitress, as Bon Temp's serial-killer shakes the foundations of her close-knit world…Raelle Tucker's story is a quiet, sombre piece that gives many of its characters time to ruminate and take stock of the situation. Friends and family are brought together in grief, although Sookie's telepathy once again casts light on how cruel and two-faced neighbours can be -- with the assembled mourners mentally-mumbling their true feelings about this latest murder. True Blood has been particularly good at demonstrating how torturous and despairing it would be if you could hear other peoples' thoughts.
As a character-driven episode, this is a big success. I'm not a fan of bitchy Tara (Rutina Wesley) herself, but I can't deny the actress sells the performance completely and is slowly turning Tara into a three-dimensional person. Her alcoholic mother Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) reappears at Adele's funeral, with Porter giving a riveting performance that made me eager to see more from her. Absolutely first-rate stuff that blew everyone else away.
Lettie Mae may also have revealed an important part of True Blood's mythology; insisting to her daughter that her alcoholism can be blamed on an evil demon corrupting her inside. Is she telling the truth? Is she crazy? Is the expensive exorcism she alluded to just a con? If True Blood is widening its supernatural wingspan to include possessive demons now, is that a clue to the identity of Bon Temp's killer? Could the perpetrator be unaware he/she is even doing it, but acting on suppressed prejudices (which is a theme of the show)?
Clearly, audiences are supposed to think Sam's (Sam Trammell) the killer, and able to shape-shift into that mysterious dog -- or at least can control the canine. It's a plausible explanation of his crime-scene sniffing antics awhile back -- and I'm sure you caught Bill's comment about Sam "marking his territory", too -- but it all seems too obvious to be the truth. A red herring the writers are pushing to distract us from the real culprit? The killer's identity will surely have to be a major shock, and hopefully someone we've met already. I really hate it when villains only appear in the last few episodes before being unmasked, so hopefully True Blood will avoid making that mistake.
The arrival of creepy Uncle Bartlett at his sister's funeral will hopefully fill in a few blanks, too. Might he have Sookie's mind-reading abilities? Why was he cast out from the Stackhouse family? What put him in a wheelchair? This episode did a marvelous job of injecting a few new ideas and characters into the show, while taking the time to develop the existing characters and giving all the actors some of their best material.
Anna Paquin was particularly good as the numbed Sookie, outrageously blamed by Jason (Ryan Kwanten) for their gran's death, and having to battle through the funeral and wake, trying to ignore the upsetting thoughts of gossiping townsfolk. There's a beautiful moment where Sookie is finally left alone in peace and sits down to eat the last home-made pie her gran ever baked, before breaking down into tears with her memories. A really great scene, quickly followed by a sequence ripped from a Hammer movie, with Sookie racing to Bill's house in a floating white nightdress, for a night of passionate sex by a roaring fireplace.
Indeed, the episode culminates in sex of three differing types: Sookie/Bill consummate their tentative romance, stud Jason finds himself bored for the first time during sex (as he's becoming addicted to a bigger high; the dangerous "V" drug), and Tara/Sam continue their no-strings lovemaking.
A few final thoughts: was Bill's dream of Sookie being strangled a premonition? The coroner's assistant was at the Fangtasia vampire bar; does that make him a suspect? Would you really want to clean up your dead grandmother's blood, on your own, hours after she's been taken to the morgue?
Overall, this was a very well-written episode that gave all the actors ample opportunity to impress. The murder mystery is thickening very nicely now, the Sookie/Bill relationship has been taken to the next step, and a few fresh elements were expertly pushed into play (weird Uncle Bartlett and Lettie Mae's demon). For a TV series only 6 episodes old, everyone has really settled into their roles and True Blood is going from strength to strength just recently.
12 October 2008
HBO, 9/8c
Cast: Anna Paquin (Sookie), Ryan Kwanten (Jason), Stephen Moyer (Bill), Sam Trammell (Sam), Tara (Rutina Wesley), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette), Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur), William Sanderson (Sheriff Bud Dearborne), Stewart Skelton (Minister), Danielle James (Randi Sue), Dale Raoul (Maxine Fortenberry) & Adina Porter (Lettie Mae Thornton)
