Director: Michael Lehmann
Is this the most consistent TV show on-air right now? It's nice to be able to settle down for a viewing experience and feel safe that the writers have a plan, direction and continually develop the story and characters. "The Fourth Man In The Fire" deals with the aftershocks of the redneck attack on the vampires who caused a scene at Merlotte's, with Sookie (Anna Paquin) convinced her beloved Bill (Stephen Moyer) was inside one of the four coffins the police have uncovered, burned to a mushy pulp…Of course, that isn't the case. Bill escaped incineration by opting to sleep underground that night, so they're soon reunited in a slightly disturbing sequence where Bill emerges zombie-like from graveyard soil to have sex with Sookie whilst covered in dirt.
Again, Sookie demonstrates total trust in Bill's vampiric nature, despite continuing raised eyebrows from the Bon Temp populace. In one amusing sequence, Sookie agrees to baby-sit Arlene's (Carrie Preston) kids and she gets to play happy families with Bill. It was fun to see Bill acting playful with the star-struck youngsters (showing them his "fangs"), but also interesting to note Sookie's nightmare about Bill exploding into flames at the breakfast table. She's clearly beginning to realize they'll never have a normal life together -- it's even mentioned that human/vampire marriage is illegal.
The other notable subplot concerns Jason (Ryan Kwanten) and his new girlfriend Amy (Lizzy Caplan) who, far from being a one-night stand, takes an active role and replaces Dawn at Merlotte's, after impressing Arlene and Sookie with her waitress skills. The speed of Amy's infiltration of Jason's life should already be sending alarm bells ringing, but Jason is too smitten after she introduced him to the pleasures of V-tinged sex (which, amusingly, wasn't even penetrative.)
Tying into their plot nicely, we're shown how Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) manages to score vampire blood: he's given it in exchange for sex with a middle-aged vampire living alone in suburbia. This knowledge leads Jason and Amy to plan an attack on the singleton vamp, in an effort to drain him so they can fuel their growing addiction.
Elsewhere, Tara (Rutina Wesley) sees a huge difference in her mother Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) following her recent exorcism, as she throws out half-full bottles of alcohol and makes breakfast for the first time in years. Despite thinking the exorcism was phony, the result speak for itself (placebo-effect, or not.) Indeed, the change in her mother's attitude and temperament is so refreshing that Tara begins to think there might be some truth in the exorcist's comment that she herself is infected by an evil spirit. But is that truly the reason for Tara's hot-headed personality and dysfunctional relationships with men?
More than anything, I appreciate how True Blood doesn't ignore the big questions buzzing around its audience's mind, as the sight of Sam (Sam Trammell) running across a field naked is brought up by those who witnessed it here. At first, Sam is dismissive of the incident and claims it wasn't him, but after Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) mentions it, he spins an implausible story about honouring his dead, naturist parent's memories by running around naked once a year. O-kay.
It was great to see dumb-looking Andy didn't fall for Sam's weak excuse, and quickly investigates his naturist story to disprove it. To me, it still seems likely Sam's a werewolf and we caught him post-transformation last week. But does that also make him Bon Temps' serial-killer? If so, was he targeting the waitresses who spurned his advances at work, with Sookie's grandmother an unfortunate accident when he targeted Sookie? I don't think Sam would want to hurt anyone, but maybe his lycanthropy draws on his deepest, darkest, angriest, sexual thoughts?
Finally, ancient vampire Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) returns and asks for Bill's help in finding a thief at his Fangtasia nightclub, if he'll oblige the services of Sookie to mentally-interrogate suspects. It was inferred that something more insidious would be taking place with this story, so I was mildly disappointing to see things take a smoother turn. For a second I thought Eric was demanding Bill hand Sookie over to him for sexual favours, but the playful waitress instead seems to have charmed the higher echelons of the vampire subculture. A shame Skarsgard is so empty and hollow in his portrayal of a character that should be a scene-stealing highlight, too.
Overall, "The Fourth Man In The Fire" is another strong episode for a series that has quickly settled into its universe and refuses to stop progressive and surprising. I'm still a bit confused about why there isn't more fuss over Bon Temp's spate of killings, but otherwise I really like the direction this show is taking. It manages to look unpredictable, even if you're faced with evidence that seems to signpost obvious twists (Sam's secret), and I'm genuinely thrilled to imagine what the finale will bring in a month's time.
26 October 2008
HBO, 9/8c
Cast: Stephen Moyer (Bill), Anna Paquin (Sookie), Michael Raymond-James (Rene Lenier), Carrie Preston (Arlene Fowler), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette), Rutina Wesley (Tara), Ryan Kwanten (Jason), Sam Trammell (Sam), Alexander Skarsgard (Eric Northman), Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fortenberry), William Sanderson (Sheriff Bud Dearborne), Lizzy Caplan (Amy Burley), Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur), Adina Porter (Lettie Mae Thornton) & Raoul Trujillo (Longshadow)
