True Blood Season 4 Episode 2

Now that we've firmly established True Blood's new status quo, the writers don't waste any time on catching us up on some of the more interesting new developments left by the season premiere, particularly where Bill and how he managed to usurp the throne in order to become the king of Louisiana is concerned. It's a fast-paced hour with plenty of sharp one-liners and a very intriguing cliff-hanger. I'm really beginning to warm up to the idea of this fresh version of True Blood.

It has been virtually impossible to avoid online chatter about what happens to Eric during this episode. After a very entertaining encounter with Lafayette's new coven (still not as engaging as I was hoping for, but we're getting there); and Tara doing her best impersonation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as she attempts to stake Eric from behind (rookie mistake), Eric has his memory erased, a development that would have been genuinely surprisingly had I not been spoiled by the legion of Sookie/Eric shippers foaming at the mouth as to where this plot-thread eventually leads to. (I'm guessing nakedy goodness.)

Elsewhere in the episode, Sam has a new playmate in the incredibly beautiful Janina Gavankar, a romance I'm sure will end horribly. It certainly was no coincidence that Tommy just happened to show up directly after Luna detailed her traumatic experience as she shifted into her own mother. It's something I fear will bite Sam in the ass. But who will Tommy kill in order to gain this ability? One of Sam's anger management shifting group, or Sam himself?

I voiced how much I enjoyed Bill as a character last season when he was separated from Sookie and forced to develop beyond simply being her protector, and the same can be said for him here, as he once again proves that he can carry his own storyline sans Miss Stackhouse. Sookie's astonishment over Bill's revamped house and new floozy was curiously underplayed, but then again, aside from freaking out over Eric slipping a new cubby into her house, she has been very nonchalant about a lot of things ever since she came back from Fairyland. I'm still thrilled to see these two characters branch out on their own, given that their relationship was the core of the series for the first couple of seasons.

Bills flashbacks were also a hoot. I'm glad to see the back of Queen Sophie-Anne (Evan Rachel Wood), she was a bit of fun from time to time, but never truly grabbed me as a character. I'd also forgotten how fun the true death of a vampire can be: it's a visually striking death sequence. Bill's other flashback was very reminiscent of Buffy, even down to the cockney attitude and total Spike swagger Bill carried with him. Nan Flannigan also looked striking during these scenes, recruiting Bill as one of spies for the AVL -- it was a brief scene that really fleshed out their relationship without very little effort at all.

Where the episode failed to capture my interest was during Jason's Hotshot scenes (bored now) and the irritating decision to continue to put a wedge between Bon Temps' cutest couple, Hoyt and Jessica. Crystal is such a waste of airtime, as is her good for nothing boyfriend Felton, who's a total dick. It's just an icky and boring storyline. Will Jason be tied to a bed all season? I'm clinging to the edge of my seat to find out. Ahem. Likewise, I'm already agitated by the forced bickering between Jessica and Hoyt. While I do enjoy Jessica's scenes at Fangtasia (she is unbelievably stunning) it's kind of making me dislike her a little bit. And that kinda sucks.

All in all, though, this was a much better offering than the premiere episode. Sookie once again showed how feisty she can be as she juggled her duality -- the one Eric so candidly pointed out at the very beginning of the episode -- ranging from sweet as sugar to downright saucy, all within one episode. Anna Paquin, too, looked amazing here. In fact, the entire cast are looking their best this season.

There will surely be massive consequences for erasing the mind of a thousand year-old vampire, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next. Let's hope this season can keep the momentum going.

Okay, I will be the first to admit that maybe I was a bit harsh on the True Blood premiere earlier. It just frustrates me when shows are in the early stages of shaking things up. I still feel like the premiere was clunky in places, but after seeing the follow-up to it, I'm more inclined to (somewhat) appreciate the plots being developed.





The second episode , not very surprisingly, quickly begins pushing things forward. Perhaps the most interesting is what's going on in the vampire world. Last week, we were introduced briefly to the supposed villain of this season, Marnie (Fiona Shaw doesn't get a whole lot to do yet besides yell gibberish and look surprised, but she's still good). In this episode, Bill and Eric learn that Marnie and the group have successfully risen the dead, which doesn't bode well for vampires. Eric pays them a visit and displays the usual awesome cocky attitude we've come to expect from him… except this time a mere witch controls him and actually wipes his memory. Meanwhile, now that it's been revealed that Bill is King of Louisiana, we get some backstory on how exactly he came to Bon Temps to investigate Sookie. It turns out Nan has an agenda to put her own people in charge of each state, and Bill is one piece of that puzzle. It was fun to see him in Sid Vicious mode during flashbacks and should be fun to see how Bill as a King works out.





As for everything else, it was pretty hit or miss. I like how the show utilized Tara here: she's someone who hates all things supernatural, and with some people complaining that the show is focusing too much on supernatural stuff, it might be easier for some to connect with her now. Also, while I thought last week's plot with Sam was thin at best, I'm actually looking forward to seeing how him and Tommy relate and who this new Luna woman is. Same goes for Hoyt and Jessica. Jessica has always had trouble with her urges so it's nice to see some good plots thrown her way. But as for Jason… what in the world is going on over there? In the third season, I was already sketchy with Crystal and the weird hillbilly farm, but I have no clue what the point of turning Jason into a shifter is. It seems dumb, although the scene where Andy visits is tense. I just hope it actually goes somewhere.





But for all the complaining I did last week, I'm willing to admit that the premiere set the table for a great second episode.

Eric is such a romantic. It's what I thought after watching the premiere. Buying the house of the woman you care about so she becomes yours was the sweetest thing. Still with all its flaws, specially the epileptic editing, I hadn't much hope for this second episode but surprisingly it turned out pretty well and in fact it convinced me to sign for the whole season ! What went right ? First the shapeshifters and witches arcs quickly became exciting and the second was definitely this installment ruby. The ending was mind blowing and augurs the best for the upcoming episodes. Second Eric trying to own Sookie, now he has bought her house, was delightful and delivered the sexual tension and comic relief a great horror story requires. Third I really worried for Jason after the creepy kids tied him up to a bed and following his little big adventure was both enlightening, because season 3 less that I am I had no idea who they were, and of course it was also entertaining because when it comes to it Ryan Kwanten is the man ! And I'm sure the girls love him as a super cop. Fourth Bill has a sexy assistant who knows how to spy and serve her king. Seriously his arc could have been done better but learning more about his past and how he became the new king for Fangland was interesting. Again my complain would be about the zombie editing. His few flashbacks were awkwardly thrown in the mix with hope that things would shape by themselves but they didn't. Masterful productions like Lost have accustomed with creative transitions and twisted stories so these sharp cuts between scenes are unacceptable, specially when they're so numerous. However it was less painful than in She's Not There so let's just forget about it until next heresy. To sum things up You Smell Like Dinner should convince reluctant viewers to ask for their weekly dose of True Blood. Lafayette's gay relationship is puritan, Jessica is a poisonous freckle but her behavior felt like déjà vu and the evil baby conspiracy is just dead boring but beside these few cons this episode had enough wicked twists to enchaint the soul.

So far this season is shaping up to be a fairly decent one. Pretty much all the characters have moved forward significantly storyline wise since the end of last season and there have even been some surprising revelations about some of the characters that I wasn't expecting. The Witchcraft storyline is looking to heat things up for this season and at the end of this episode things have come to a head of sorts especially for Eric. I'm really liking the direction that they are taking for Bill, revealing that he actually was playing an extremely significant role in the vampire politics since the very beginng and has as a result moved up the food chain (if you will). Things are not looking that great for Jason at this point but hopfully he will bounce back. On the whole I am really looking forward to this season.

The season premiere of the ever popular HBO series impressed me, but the followup did not. It looks like the witches are going to be a focal point of this season, and there is very little to be excited about from that front. This show has really taken supernatural to another level, but I wonder if they have gone too far with this. I also have to wonder if Sookie and Eric is going to be emphasized more than the Sookie and Bill relationship in the coming season, because I'm not excited for that transition either. The show is good summer fun, but I think that a lot of viewers may be confusing the show's sometimes uncouth style of writing for edgy and entertaining. This episode had its shaky moments, but I'm not about to write the show off this season because of one regression.

Sookie seeks out Bill's help to get her house back from the clutches of Eric. Bill learns of the necromancy the coven of witches is doing and sends Eric to deal with them. Tara returns from New Orleans to see Sookie now that she's back. Jesus and Lafayette are determined to not cross the line of wrongdoing in magic. It becomes harder for Jessica to control her hunger and after a confrontation outside of Fangtasia with protesters and Hoyt getting into a fight and refusing her blood. Sam tries to break Luna's defenses down and connect and she promises to try to let him in the best she can. Tommy feels left out by his shifter club and he and Sam agree to try to "be brothers" again. I wish Tommy would just die, I hate his character and he just serves as a nuisance to Sam as well as to me but that's just me. Eric's shakedown of the witches has drastic consequences once Marnie pulls out the crazy. Jason, after being abducted and tied to a bed sees Crystal again who has a plan to have a baby were-panther since Felton can't conceive so to be with her she plans to turn him into a were-panther which he refuses and tries to get help. Andy sinks back into his V addiction after nearly discovering Jason's location at Hotshot. Things truly begin to pick up and now that we've got all the exposition out the way seemingly now the witches can truly become more dangerous and be a threat to vampires. Interesting to see where it all goes from here character wise.

You Smell Like Dinner was a really great episode of True Blood and I enjoyed watching this episode because there was a lot of action, drama, intrigue, character and plot development. It was interesting to see why Jason was captured and his scenes were kinda crazy. It was neat to see Jessica dealing with her urges behind Hoyt's back. Sookie has definitely been thrown into a whole new world of crazy and it is fun to watch her find her way. Tara reunites with Sookie but keeps her life a secret for now which will provide interesting arcs down the line. This episode has a lot of changes for some of the major characters. Bill struggles with his feelings and urges towards Sookie as Eric tries to become her protector. It was fun to see Eric confront the coven and see what happened. I look forward to watching the next episode of True Blood!!!!!!!

After last week's season opener introduced us to a wealth of new information as far as Bon Temps and the canon of True Blood goes, this week's "You Smell Like Dinner", followed suit. Continuing to fill in the gaps of Sookie's missing year as well as fleshing out the present day story line to a thoroughly interesting point, Sunday's True Blood just about perfectly set up the remainder of the season, leaving several avenues for it to follow (Or not, if it follows the books). The episode essentially revolved around two main themes: Sookie (as always) and the vampires. Sookie's plot points largely centered around the vampires as well, so at its core, it was a fang-packed week. Following on from last week's unfinished plot threads, Jason remained a captive of were-panther Crystal's family and Eric had laid a claim to Sookie. Jason's story really wasn't touched upon nearly as much as I'd have liked, especially given how the episode opened, but in essence - Crystal is once again hooked on V thanks to her abusive boyfriend and they're failing to have a child. Needing to carry on the were-panther bloodline, their plan is to turn Jason into one of them and then he and Crystal can be together in every sense of the word. By the culmination of the episode Jason appears to have been turned, and, as a result, one would imagine yet another bizarre sex scene involving Jason Stackhouse is soon to appear on screen. Eric's claim to Sookie was also brushed over fairly quickly; being used mostly as a way to get Sookie to go and talk to Bill. When our faerie heroine learns of her former love's new title, she asks Bill as king to command Eric to return her house to her ownership. In yet another brush over, Bill claims to be unable to issue such a command, as his sheriff has "friends in high places". The crux of basically everything that we have seen thus far in the season - and the series as a whole - is then laid out, when Bill looks back to how he became the king after the question is posed by Sookie. Although to this point we have believed Bill to have been a servant of the queen, a flashback to 80's London reveals that he has actually been working for Nan Flanagan and the American Vampire League to disrupt the monarchy and allow for the possibility of "mainstreaming" to arise within vampire culture. Whilst not a thunderous reveal by any means, given his affinity for the mainstream lifestyle, Bill's association with the AVL does make me, as a viewer, reassess everything that has come before. Not having nearly enough time to go back and watch the first three seasons again, I couldn't pinpoint many specifics, but I'd have to imagine that there have been moments throughout the series that Bill's allegiances have shaped his actions - entombing Russell Edgington and helping to kill the queen to name but two. Whether - given that the books had already been written - all of this was pre-planned and woven into the story, I cannot be entirely sure, but if it has been, I really have to commend the team behind True Blood. Bill's ascendency to the throne is one thing, but a well crafted and strongly executed narrative overall is what takes a show from good, to great. With the history lesson over, we returned to strengthening the present day story. As I predicted last week, at Bill's command, Eric goes to investigate Lafayette's coven. With his woman on the inside, Bill has learnt that the witches are necromancers - those with the ability to control the dead - and in turn, vampires also. With the threat of that possibility looming over he and Bill, Eric sends a threatening message of his own to the coven - to stop, or die. When their leader refuses to listen, Eric chows down, but the other witches bring themselves together to stop him. The motionless Marnie is then possessed a spouts off some witch before Eric flees. Having been looking for him to try and get back ownership of her house, Sookie them comes across a half-naked and confused Eric in the street, and whilst he is clearly still the same handsome vampire, he appears to have no recollection of who Sookie is.





There were a plethora of other plot points in the episode, most notably the growing discontent of some humans for vampires in the wake of Russell's outburst, but Eric's condition and the power of the coven are undoubtedly going to be the focus of the next episode - perhaps even the season as a whole. The scope for things to come right now is pretty exciting and with an abundance of questions like: who are Eric's powerful friends? will Eric be back to himself anytime soon? when will the faeries come back? and what exactly is up with the witches? I'm really looking forward to Sunday rolling around once more. Even ignoring the driving forces of the show, Sam, Tommy, Arlene, Terry, Jessica, Hoyt and Tara have all had interesting enough parts to play so far that they could carry entire episodes by themselves as well. The ensemble cast and the expansive story has certainly paid off leaving me guessing what exactly is coming week-to-week.