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True Blood Season 2 Episode 4

Shake and Fingerpop

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 7/12/09

With Jessica in tow, Bill and Sookie head to Dallas to carry out Eric's vampire-reconnaissance mission but a surprise awaits them at the airport. At the Light of Day Institute, Jason falls victim to a practical joke but has the last laugh when the Newlins anoint him for a higher calling. Maryann throws Tara a birthday party at Sookie's, attracting much of Bon Temps to its Bacchanalian revelry. Sam postpones his departure from town to attend the bash, connecting with Daphne in the process. Having barely escaped Fangtasia, Lafayette finds himself reluctantly pulled back into Eric's orbit.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (9)

craziness, pure craziness

10

By matt_oc, Oct 20, 2010

true blood just keeps getting better by the minute. okay, lets see... tara (amazing actress by the way), i thought she was awsome this episode, love her friendship with sookie and looved that she slept with eggs (soooo hot). her party was CRAZY, courtesy of MaryAnn of couse, im not sure what the hell she is but i sure do love it. she's clearly the creature from last episode that attacked sookie cuz she had the same "hands" and my theory is that she did that cuz she wanted tara to move in with her. same thing with the old exorsist liar who hurted her so maryann kinda made her pay, in her own twisted way.

bill & sookie were really cute and i loved jessica. shes so funny and so pretty. the ending was great, sookie's not alone in the world! yay! (maybe she'll get into a relationship with this new guy cuz she can relate to him? hmm). jason was kinda boring but loved the scene with sarah being sexy. amazing music there by the way. crazy episode, loving this show more and more. keep it up!moreless
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Amazing episode. Surprise is always there.

10

By PauloFaria0, Oct 20, 2010

This is absolutely unexpected. The arrival at Dallas was awesome as they were going to a trap. Lucky for them, the flight was delayed and it was already dark when they arrived. I loved the fact that Jessica is still funny when it's shown she has no experience with dealing with the Vampire's Usuals.

I love to see Bill getting sweeter on Jessica to teach her how to behave and how to really become a vampire. The learning of the Glamoring was a delight.

I absolutely loved when Jessica asked Bill "Was it my fault that my fangs came out when I got turned on?". Absolutely hilarious.

The conversation of Bill and Eric was fantastic. Bill is making fun of Eric when he orders True Blood "just for Eric to pay for it".

The scene with Lafayette, completely gorgeous. Lafayette realizes that he has no choice but to accept Eric's offer and drinks from his blood. I think they really like each other. Could Eric like men as well?

Jason has an amazing punch. O liked his comment "How's your nose?"

And Sookie, well, she contacted someone that is like her. She was amazed and surprised. Fantastic.

Just another absolutely unbelievable episode. Congrats to the writers.moreless
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Bill, Sookie, and Jessica are off to Dallas where the Church of the Light tries to abduct Sookie. Maryann throws an orgy for Tara's Birthday and she gets together with Eggs. Daphne and Sam seem to have hit it off and she knows what he is.moreless

9.5

By jyarter, Oct 20, 2010

Another great episode similar to the first episode of the season more than the last two but with more action. We see some things completed and some new stories start to take shape.

I am really starting to like Jessica a lot. I hope they are setting us up for a big fall there. Bill and Eric seem to be getting along better not so much because they want to but because they have too. The news about the Texas sheriff was major that a Vampire that old could be taken by humans. I liked Eric explanation for why he helped Lafayette.

Daphne has those scratches like Sookie and the dead woman did but she seems to be fine. She did not attack Sam and she seems to understand what he is. Sam saw the scratches but didn't react that much to them. It will be interesting to see where this story goes.

Maryann is still bad news and the parties she throws are outrageous. It still is hard to figure out what or who she is. Somehow I am wondering if Daphne and the thing that is attacking people are related to her. They seemed to show up shortly after she did. Now Daphne is after Sam. Tara hooks up with Eggs despite her better sense earlier. It seems she is destined for something Maryann has planned for her.

Things are getting a little stranger with the Church people. Sarah is acting a little strange for a preachers wife especially in front of her husband with another man. They tried to kidnap Sookie and Jason is there. They say he is special. Why? Is Sarah after him or is there something more sinister afoot. What a shock at the end when Barry and Sookie could read each others minds. So there are other people like Sookie and maybe we'll get to learn a little more in time.

A great episode with a few new storylines and a few older ones moving towards an end maybe quite nicely. Great production values and the acting is superb as always. Thanks for reading...moreless
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A-W-E-S-O-M-E.

9.5

By Sarah_LOST, Oct 12, 2010

With Jessica in tow, Bill and Sookie head to Dallas to carry out Eric's vampire-reconnaissance mission ??" but a surprise awaits them at the airport. At the Light of Day Institute, Jason falls victim to a practical joke, but has the last laugh when the Newlins anoint him for a higher calling. Maryann throws Tara a birthday party at Sookie's, attracting much of Bon Temps to its Bacchanalian revelry. Sam postpones his departure from town to attend the bash, connecting with Daphne in the process. Having barely escaped Fangtasia, Lafayette finds himself reluctantly pulled back into Eric's orbit. I love the first scene so good, I love the way Jason hits him. I love the scene with Bill, Jessica, Sookie and Hoyt, I love the way Hoyt is so nice to Jessica. I love the scene with Sookie and Bill. I also love the scene with Sam and that girl, I forgot her name but the one with the scratches on her back. I have to say I hate Maryann but I guess she has made a good storyline this season. I love the scene with Sookie and Tara, especially when they mention Layfette and then I love the scene with Tara and Layfette. I love the police service dudes they're awesome. I also love Terry he is so cute and awesome. The scene with Sam and Sookie is awesome. I love the Merlotte scenes, I feel sorry for Tara's mother when she is wants to see Tara on her birthday, sad really. I love the scene where the man is trying to get Sookie into the limo and then Bill gets out his coffin so fast it's amazing and then Jessica can't get out of her coffin so funny and the scenes after that awesome. I love the scene with Sam and Marryann. I love Jason's storyline. I also lvoe the scene in the hotel at the desk so funyn, I love the scenes with Jessica, Sookie and Bill amazingly good. Oh my god, I love the scene with Eric and Layfette, its amazing. Eric is super, super hot. I love the scene where Eric interups Bill and Sookie, then the scene after that with the both vampires yummy. I love the way that girl, forgot her name knows what Sam is. I love the scene with Sookie and Barry awesome storyline plus I loved him in the book!moreless
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Full Review of "Shake and Fingerpop"

9.0

By BenHL, Sep 08, 2010

"Shake and Fingerpop" continues True Blood's strong start to its sophomore season with plenty of fine drama and intrigue. Though the episode is split into three different storylines (Jason with the Fellowship, Sookie and Bill in Denver, and Tara back in Bon Temps), each one was compelling in their own ways. There could've easily been a disjointed feeling in the episode and a diluted focus at each location – problems a show like Heroes sometimes suffers from, as it attempts to juggle many plot threads in one go – but True Blood doesn't dwell too much and makes enough significant advances for the most part to stop the scenarios from getting stale.

For Jason, he's still at the leadership conference. Just as he starts to catch on that something is not quite right with the Fellowship of the Sun, the Newlins manage to say the right things to keep him brainwashed. His journey in trying to find some sort of redemption for what happened to Eddie takes an interesting, if a little predictable, turn: he looks increasingly likely that he will be taking up arms against the very thing he's grown to tolerate last season. The Newlins talk of two clear-cut sides, of light (humans) and of darkness (vampires), which goes against what we've seen on the show. In the previous episode, Jason rightly acknowledged that his best friend was human and evil, but Sarah convinced him that it all happened because of the existence of vampires. I don't think Jason training to be a "Soldier of the Sun" means that he excuses what Rene did. Instead, Sarah's putting ideas into his head and making him shift a portion of that blame onto vampires. Being completely surrounded by anti-vampire activists day and night probably also has a severe effect on him.

If there's one thing that I miss from the Jason scenes, it's him interacting with some of the other core characters, particularly Sookie. It's been a long while since Jason and his sister shared a scene. With the way things are turning out in Dallas, though, their arcs may come together pretty soon after the Fellowship unsuccessfully try to intercept Sookie on her arrival, who together with Bill and Jessica are searching for a mysterious vampire named Godric. Personally, I wasn't too invested in this search so far. We hardly know anything about Godric, and the exposition we are given by Eric – that he is extremely powerful and that the Fellowship are to be feared as a result – hasn't convinced me of anything yet. We've not seen any evidence why vampires should be intimidated by humans. Vampires are categorically stronger than humans in the True Blood universe, and given how incompetent the Fellowship's plan was to take Sookie, I'm hesitant to take Eric's word. I currently find it hard to take the Fellowship seriously as an enemy. Despite this, the Dallas scenes aren't a snore. From Jessica struggling to get out of her coffin to Bill mentoring Jessica on the art of glamouring in the limo to Sookie's realisation that Barry possesses the same gift as her, there was still much that I really liked.

In fact, Barry the bellhop was the most interesting part of the episode for me. Throughout much of her life, Sookie had been resigned to the supposed fact that what she possessed – her mind-reading ability – was unique. As a result, she felt very lonely. Though she had understanding friends, none of them knew what she went through as she learnt to control her power. This led her to find comfort in the arms of Bill; she could relax more, as she couldn't read his thoughts. With Barry, she has found someone else who has probably gone through the same things as her. She's optimistic that maybe she'll have someone to confide with and someone to share her experiences with.

The final storyline involves everyone giving in to sexual pleasures at Tara's surprise birthday party. Like Jason, Tara previously suspected something was up with the company she keeps, and even in this episode she still has a couple of tiny doubts, but a spell casted by Maryann makes everyone (except Sam with his shapeshifter DNA) rather horny and indulge in an unusual orgy that includes people hitting each other and someone rather disturbingly shoving dirt into her mouth. It's the third episode in a row we've seen folks sexually charged because of Maryann, and while it goes a little further each time, there's still a sense of repetition developing. The climax of these scenes also has the reveal that Maryann sports minotaur claws, which didn't surprise me. This is enough confirmation for me that she was the one who killed Tara's fraud of an exorcist and attacked Sookie in the woods. We don't get the full story behind her motives, but it's worth considering that both of the two targets have noticeable connections to Tara. For some reason, Maryann wants Tara all for herself. Someone else with claw marks on her back is Daphne, which remains a mystery for now; nothing new is shed on this. Instead, she spends the episode flirting with Sam and then revealing that she knows his secret. A pretty interesting development, though I'm expecting her to be Maryann's next victim.

Everyone's coupling together, it seems. Daphne and Sam, Tara and Eggs, even Arlene and Terry. The one pairing that I was rooting for most of all, though, was Jessica and Holt. It was rather sweet – Holt has a curious fascination with vampires, while Jessica admits that she's new to boys. They're both shy, even if Jessica doesn't show it at times, and look to be well-matched for each other. Whether the relationship will be plain sailing is another matter. It's been mentioned on more than one occasion that Jessica may not have complete control of her impulses, evident when she was outside her family's home a few episodes ago. I have a feeling that at some point, we'll see something similar happen again but with graver consequences. The final highlight in the hour worth mentioning was Lafayette, high on Eric's blood, enthusiastically dancing. It was a great moment of levity that forced a good chuckle out of me.

On the whole, the episode was perhaps the finest so far this season, boasting intense and gripping drama with brief bouts of comedy. It's also nice to see that Jessica, who I initially saw as a wild card in the season premiere, is now fitting into the cast well with growing bonds to Bill, Sookie, and Hoyt. At the same time, "Shake and Fingerpop" is laying down the foundations for the things to come. With Godric, the Fellowship's true plans, and Maryann's shady intentions, there is much up in the air as we approach the halfway mark of the season, and while I'm currently indifferent towards Godric's currently perilous situation, the sum of everything else does more than enough to make me tune into the next installment.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Anna Paquin	Sookie Stackhouse
Stephen Moyer	Bill Compton
Sam Trammell	Sam Merlotte
Ryan Kwanten	Jason Stackhouse
Rutina Wesley	Tara Thornton
Chris Bauer	Detective Andy Bellefleur

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Dean Norris	Leon	Guest Star
Chris Coy	Barry the Bellboy	Guest Star
Aisha Hinds	Miss Jeanette	Guest Star
Adina Porter	Lettie Mae Thornton	Recurring Role
Tanya Wright	Deputy Kenya Jones	Recurring Role
Ashley Jones	Daphne	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- Jessica learns how to glamour in this episode.
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- Music
  
  Louisiana Hot Sauce- Sammy Kershaw
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QUOTES (21)
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- Eric: I admire you Bill it takes a real vampire to admit he cannot protect his human.
  Bill: And it takes a true monster to not care about anyone or anything other then himself.
  Eric: I care about others.
  Bill: You care about Godric. You had no obligations to Dallas or Texas. This is personal for you, why?
  Eric: I hope you'll enjoy your blood substitute - which is costing me $45.
  Bill: Oh, I have no intention on drinking it. I just want you to pay for it.
  Eric: Oh, you're so mature.
  Bill: Answer the question. Why this allegiance to Godric?
  Eric: He is much beloved by his subjects.
  Bill: (smiles) Only kings and queens have subjects Eric. Not Sheriffs.
  Eric: Godric could have been king of Texas had he wanted. He could have been king of any vampire territory anywhere. He is twice as old as I am and very powerful. There are none above him in the new world.
  Bill: Well if he's so powerful how could they abduct him?
  Eric: Now that is what worries me. If one such as he can ben taken by humans, then none of us are safe.
  Bill: What can I give you to release Sookie from her agreement?
  Eric: Nothing. And since you like humans so much I think you will want to protect them. The vampires here they're like cowboys - if they don't get Godric back they'll want justice. They'll start attacking people.
  Bill: Open aggression against humans that's insane.
  Eric: That's Texas.
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- (Offering his blood to Lafayette)
  Eric: You obviously mean something to Sookie...and what Sookie finds meaningful I find...curious. You really have no choice Lafayette. (raises an eyebrow) You know it.
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- (Holding a mini bottle of alcohol from the plane)
  Sookie:I've always loved these - they're like booze for dolls. (pause) They gave me ten.
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- Terry: We'll call whatever this turns out to be Terry's scramble. Scrambled Terry's scramble.
  Sookie: Hush.
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- Maryann: (to Tara) Go. Flourish. And don't ever say no to yourself.
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- Jessica: Meetin Hoyt's the only good thing that's happened to me since my whole new life started.
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- Jason: I don't know who Lazarus was but he sure as hell wasn't the first vampire. Everybody knows it was Dracula.
  Luke: It's in the bible moron. Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead.
  Jason: So Jesus made the first vampire? maybe Jesus was the first vampire. I mean he rose from the dead too, and he told people "Hey y'all drink my blood. It'll give you special powers."
  Luke: Jesus never said that.
  Dirk: The first vampire was Cain. Being a vampire is the mark of Cain. It's God's punishment for bringing the first evil into the world by killing his brother.
  Luke: No. The first evil was Eve. Eating the apple. That's why they call it Eve-l.
  Jason: That wasn't evil. That was just skirtin the rules. Evil is making the premeditated choice to be a dick.
  (Jason gets called to meet Steve Newlin)
  Luke: One thing you can count on. God will make sure evil gets punished.
  Jason: Yeah. Then explain Europe to me.
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- Bill: Open aggression against humans. That's insane.
  Eric: Well it's Texas.
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- Sam: I've got serious shit that I'm dealin with so making you feel better isn't really high on my list.
  Sookie: I've got serious shit that I'm dealin with too.
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- Terry: I thought you were leaving.
  Sam: I haven't left yet.
  Terry: Does that mean you're not leaving.
  Sam: It means I haven't left yet.
  Terry: So you are leavin.
  Sam: I haven't left yet.
  Terry: Dumbass.
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- Tara: If you die I'm gonna be really pissed.
  Lafayette: Well that makes the two of us.
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- Sheriff: Andy you're drunk on the job.
  Andy: I'm not drunk. Like you've never had a beer in the middle of the day.
  Sheriff: I'm not an alcoholic.
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- Sheriff: We are looking at a human animal collaboration.
  Kenya: That doesn't make any sense.
  Sheriff: I was makin what people with actual senses of humor refer to as a joke.
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- Daphne: If you're worried about me seeing you naked I have seen boy parts before. And water isn't exactly opaque.
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- Sam: Cities bring out the worst in people. They loose touch with nature forget where they come from.
  Daphne: People do that here too.
  Sam: Not the same way.
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- Sam: There's no people, no boats, no car stereos blasting crappy music, no people saying stupid things when they drink.
  Daphne: Just the world like it was when it was brand spankin new.
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- Sookie: You can teach her how to walk that fine line between vampire and human.
  Bill: Yes because I have mastered that.
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- Sookie: I think deep down you don't like vampires even though you are one.
  Bill: So.
  Sookie: Well hating yourself isn't a good thing.
  Bill: I am a vampire. We're supposed to be tormented.
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- Bill: Are you gonna leave or am I gonna have to throw you out. Through a window that is closed.
  Sookie: Bill that is just rude.
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- Jason: Vampires are not a joke! There's a war goin on and you're either on the dark side or you're on the side of the light. And there ain't no in between.
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- Luke: (pretending to be a vampire)I can just smell that hot blood under your skin and cowboy you smell awesome.
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NOTES (2)
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- International Episode Titles:
  Czech Republic: První výlet (First Expedition)
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- International Air Dates:
  -Latin America: August 10, 2009 on HBO Latinoamerica Este
  -Australia: October 6, 2009 on Showcase
  -Czech Republic: December 8, 2009 on HBO
  -Germany: February 20, 2010 on 13th Street
  -United Kingdom: March 19, 2010 on FX
  -Sweden: March 24, 2010 on SVT1
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ALLUSIONS (3)
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- Sookie: (to Bill) Call her your ward. Your ward, like Bruce Wayne.
  
  When checking into the hotel, Bill is unable to describe his relationship with Jessica, so Sookie suggests calling Jessica his ward. This is an allusion to the description of Dick Grayson (Robin) who was the ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne (Batman).
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- Name of the airline: Anubis Air
  
  This is a reference to Anubis, the Egyptian god associated with mummification and the afterlife. Anubis was also believed to protect the dead and guide them to the afterlife, so it is fitting that an airline that caters to the needs of vampires would take the name of Anubis.
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- Episode Title: Shake and Fingerpop
  
  This is an allusion to the song Shake and Fingerpop by Jr. Walker & The All Stars.
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