Having interrupted Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) smooching with Hoyt (Jim Parrack), Sookie (Anna Paquin) persuades Bill (Stephen Moyer) to let her accompany them to Dallas, where Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) wants them to find missing vampire sheriff Godric. Bill reluctantly agrees and books two in-flight coffins aboard Anubis Airways, although it becomes clear that Bill's fears for Sookie's safety are justified when a chauffeur (Dean Norris) meets their landed airplane and immediately tries to abduct Sookie. Luckily Bill's around to prevent her coming to harm, and he "glamours" her would-be abductor into revealing he was hired by the Fellowship Of The Sun, before turning him over to Jessica to practice her mind-control on...
Speaking of whom, Jason (Ryan Kwanten) continues his ascension at the Light Of Day retreat, despite the fact his teacher's pet status has alienated him from the rest of the group, particularly his rival Luke. Still, Jason is being groomed by Reverend Newlin (Michael McMillian) to become a key member of "elite spiritual army" The Soldiers Of The Sun. However, in-between fun exercises with Newlin aboard an off-road vehicle, shooting vampire cutouts with paintballs, Jason is beginning to realize he's falling for Newlin's tactile, sexy wife Sarah (Anna Camp). Can Jason contain his nymphomania to serve this higher purpose he believes God has for him?Back in Bon Temps, Tara (Rutina Wesley) accepts Sookie's offer to move into the Stackhouse residence to keep her company after the death of her gran, much to Maryann's (Michelle Forbes) irritation. At Tara's surprise housewarming party, the revelry once again turns peculiar with Maryann around, when we see her outside striking poses and vibrating, apparently heightening the partygoers experience and turning their pupils inky-black, as her own hands transform into hooves.
It would appear that Maryann is the Minotaur-like creature that's been stalking the town, responsible for killing Miss Jeanette and injuring Sookie. Quite why she's so keen for wild parties to turn into rampant orgies is anyone's guess right now, as is the mystery of her disappearing pig that Andy (Chris Bauer) has become obsessed with finding. I'm guessing that Andy's going to have a tough time convincing anyone of his findings, as they all now think he's just a bitter drunk and has been forced to hand in his badge to Sheriff Dearborne (William Sanderson).
Also at the party, Sam (Sam Tramell) grows closer to barmaid Daphne (Ashley Jones), having earlier noticed the deep scratch marks on her back after their nighttime swim in his lake. Perhaps Daphne's infected and not thinking straight in her single-minded pursuit of Sam, but she's acting fairly normally -- although, after sharing a kiss with Sam at the party, she reveals she knows his true nature (i.e. that he's a shape-shifter).
Finally, gregarious Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) has become a recluse after his dungeon ordeal at Fangtasia, not even willing to leave his house to have his leg wound seen to by a doctor. Unexpectedly, Eric pays him a visit and offers him some of his restorative blood to heal his infected wound, which Lafayette grudgingly accepts even though he suspects Eric has ulterior motives for helping him, seeing as he's one of Sookie's best friends.
There was definitely a lot going on in "Shake And Fingerpop", which was great to see. While the episode was once again just nudging several of its subplots along, it felt like we were really getting somewhere. I'm still confused by Maryann's motives, particularly if her altruistic good deeds are tempered by ripping hearts out of her unfortunate victims. Maybe she has no control over herself when she's transformed? And if she scratched Daphne, does this mean the Merlotte's waitress is under her power, hence why she's aware of Sam's ability? But how did Daphne survive this attack if the same scratches almost killed Sookie? And is there any significance that everyone the creature has attacked has relevance to either Tara or Sam?
Overall, while not everything is hanging together perfectly in my mind just yet, I get the feeling that there's more direction and purpose than previously thought. In particular, I think it's likely Jason's story is going to gradually dovetail with Sookie's, now that we know Godric was probably kidnapped by the same anti-vampire movement Jason's becoming a deified member of. To what end? Newlin's group don't strike me as particularly organized or clever enough to successful outwit and capture a two-thousand-year-old vampire, so are there more threatening strands of the Fellowship Of The Sun out there?It was also fun to get another look at this parallel world of True Blood from a city perspective, with Sookie and Bill checking into a hotel that caters exclusively for vampires (you can order people with certain blood types through room service as you would a bottle of bubbly), and the episode ended on an tantalizing note with Sookie discovering a bellboy called Barry who shares her ability to mind-read.
12 July 2009
HBO, 10pm
written by: Alan Ball directed by: Michael Lehmann starring: Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse), Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton), Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse), Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton), Anna Camp (Sarah Newlin), Michelle Forbes (Maryann), Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica Hamby), Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette), Carrie Preston (Arlene Fowler), Alexander Skarsgård (Eric Northman), Mehcad Brooks (Eggs), Stephen Root (Eddie), Ashley Jones (Daphne), Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fortenberry), Michael McMillian (Rev. Steve Newlin) & William Sanderson (Sheriff Bud Dearborne)
