Wow I’ve had a crazy busy couple of weeks, but I’m back in the game and ready to zombify myself in front of the boob tube! And what better way to enjoy the boob tube then by watching a show with actual boobs? Yes, I realize these shows objectify women, but they also objectify men so it’s equal opportunity! Lots and lots is going on in Bon Temps and Shreveport, which is still the biggest problem True Blood has. So much is going on that I’m starting to forget who has which story line and which one I even care about! Tighten it up, HBO, or you’re going to start losing viewers like flies… (or humans at a Vampire party).
Spoilers Ahead!
True Blood Episode 4.2: You Smell Like Dinner
There is still probably a lot too much going on in True Blood, but at least this episode brings us back to the one plot point that we’ve all been waiting 3 seasons for – Eric losing his memory. But I’m jumping the gun on this recap.
Last week’s cliffhanger was Jason getting kidnapped by the denizens of Hotshot, this week we find out what their nefarious plot is and it really isn’t pretty. Basically, Felton can’t get it up and Crystal wants a furbaby, unfortunately they’ve chosen Jason to be the furdaddy and that means he’s going to need fur.
Eric is still trying to get into Sookie’s pants, which is why he bought the house and built himself a cubby down below. Sookie isn’t too happy about this and enlists Bill’s aid, so Bill sends Eric after the coven. Coincidentally, this is the coven that is able to raise the dead (however momentarily) and their ability to do so may have repercussions for the vampire community. It definitely has repercussions for Eric who attacks Tara (Oh yah, Tara came back to town) and Marne (Aunt Petunia), then warns the lot of them that they should probably consider not covenating. This leads to Eric’s mind wipe, so next time you think about picking on your local Wiccan – think twice.
Meanwhile we learn quite a bit more about how Bill became king, through the oft used flashback. I still can’t decide if I like the flashbacks, but I’m erring towards not really. Regardless, it was amusing seeing Bill in the 80’s London punk scene. Basically, because Bill doesn’t kill his food, the Vampire Authority find him to be very useful in the quest to mainstream. Nan Flanagan enlists his aid as a spy/monarchy saboteur and when it comes to finally pick off Sophie Anne, Nan is there with a few human guards toting vamp extermination bullets and the powers vested in her to make him King of Louisiana. Clever girl. I honestly wouldn’t mind if they just ditched the rest of the show to concentrate on the vampire politics, but I think that show already got cancelled (See: Vampire: The Masquerade).
Hoyt and Jessica continue to have relationship problems, Arlene is still freaking out about baby Mikey, and Sam is cavorting with the shapeshifters. These are currently the weakest story lines, although I’m charmed by baby Mikey and the relationship between Hoyt and Jessica is moderately interesting. Unfortunately, they seem more like distractions than well thought out issues.
True Blood Episode 4.3: If You Love Me, Why am I Dyin’?
Eric without his memory leads is one of my favorite bits from the original books and it looks like they’re going to have a ton of fun with it in this season of True Blood. For one thing, the beautiful Alexander Skarsgard is pulling off the innocent as a newborn look fabulously. His gigantically tall frame manages to shrink and he’s definitely channeling a bit of a Lennie from Of Mice and Men (and lest we forget, Lennie accidentally kills things). They’re going to have to be careful lest he become too loyal puppy-like, because there’s nothing sexy about that and the whole point of Eric living with Sookie and showing his vulnerable side is for the sexy!!
The relationship issues between Jessica and Hoyt take a dark and disturbing turn in this episode. She feels guilty for feeding off another guy and so after getting relationship advice from Bill (seriously, laughable) she spills her guts. Unfortunately, Hoyt is intelligent enough to realize that her drinking someone else’s blood is pretty much the same as having sex with another guy. Her weak excuse is that she wanted something different for a change. The disturbing bit is that when Hoyt gets outraged, Jessica decides to glamour him into submission. Suddenly I’m wondering how real their relationship is, has she done this to him before? How real is love if you’re not under your own control?
Lafayette, meanwhile, is a bit freaked out that Eric Northman might be pissed off. He confronts Pam, she kicks his ass, and he only lives because of a little help from Jesus and Tara. They agree to bring her Marne, with the belief that she’ll be able to reverse the spell on Eric. However, Marne is busy inviting a powerful spirit to possess her and she might very well get her wish.
There’s also some stuff about Tommy trying to screw Maxine Foytenberry over with Sam’s help, but I’m so over the Tommy/Sam storyline it isn’t even funny. The only interesting thing this reveals is that Maxine collects dolls and there’s a creepy one showing up to freak out Hoyt and Jessica (How sweet too, they pass the demon doll on to baby Mikey). I’m not sure why I’m so unenthusiastic about this, but the Tommy/Sam relationship has never worked for me and, frankly, I’ve been turned off by everything to do with Sam since they had him murder two people in flashback. Sam is a good man and they’ve turned him into more of a monster.
Lastly, it turns out that Crystal and Felton aren’t just after Jason’s sperm so that SHE can have a furbaby, but they’re apparently trying to get every of-age female in Hot Shot pregnant with a furbaby. I really haven’t liked the direction they decided to go with Hot Shot at all. Perhaps I’m still too caught up in the books, but turning the whole town into a scene from Deliverance is just not working for me. Jason becoming the towns protector WAS working, but they’ve cut that really short and allowed themselves to be sidetracked by the creepy furbaby factory line.
Andy continues to be a V-addict and his sister is now having sex with Bill. I really look forward to when they finally put both the Bellefleur’s in the same room together – that is going to be CLASSIC! OH! And how could I forget? Huge news! Debbie Pelt is back! More importantly, she got back with Alcide, cleaned herself up and found Jesus (the other Jesus, not Lafayette’s boyfriend). Don’t you love train works? I know I do!
AND!! I leave you with this – Eric killed Claudine so maybe we’ll finally be able to say goodbye to the hot mess that was the whole fairy business! YAY!
Apparently the viewer numbers dropped dramatically after the Season premiere but then went back up again for Episode 3. I think people were genuinely worried that things were going to suck after that super rushed first episode that led into a fairly rushed second episode, but that they’ve decided to stick with the Eric sans memory story is a good sign!
