So far, this is the most farfetched and fantastic season of True Blood yet. Last night’s episode, “I Hate You, I Love You,” followed suit seamlessly.
The storyline between Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) this week was nothing short of precious. Skarsgard’s portrayal of a wouded and vulnerable Eric should win an award. Their coupling even provided an outlet for Tara (Rutina Wesley) to be relevant this week, when she let it slip to Eric that he used to be a horrendous person.
In perfect contrast to Eric’s growing likability, the writers are building the King Bill (Stephen Moyer) character perfectly. He’s proving to be a solid king, making much more reasonable decisions than he ever made when doting on Sookie. He even told his creepy, turns-out-incestual girlfriend to GTFO.
Speaking of, next week’s opening is going to be a monster. Pam (Kristen Bauer) let it slip to Bill that Sookie’s been hiding Eric all along, even though Sookie pleaded the “I’ve never lied to you” card to Bill. But what do you expect from poor Pam? Her face is melting off.
Marnie (Fiona Shaw), the witch leader who may or may not be an antagonist, is quite happy about the “protector,” who used her body as a vessel to wipe Eric’s memory and destroy Pam’s visage, but Gran Stackhouse (Lois Smith) isn’t too pleased with her. When Sookie goes to Marnie to secretly find out what happened to Eric, she hears her Gran, through the witch, telling her to run away.
Jason (Ryan Kwanten), who we previously saw dying on the side of the road, only to be saved by his best friend Hoyt (Jim Parrack) and his portable container of miracle healing juice, Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), is doing just fine, medically. Psychologically, the boy is more confused than ever. Was it a sign from God that Jason be repeatedly raped by hot ladies? He seems to think so.
Having drank Jessica’s blood, Jason predictably starts having fantasies about the gorgeous redhead, which always happens when a human drinks from a vampire. Remember when Sam (Sam Trammell) drank from Bill? Best fantasy scene of all time. It seems as if our favorite player has learned a lesson though, because his dreams are plagued with hysterical images of Hoyt.
On the Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) and Jesus (Kevin Alejandro) front, they’re sick of trying to convince crazy Marnie that they’re in trouble, and they’re going to Mexico to seek protection from Jesus’s grandfather, who made him kill a goat and ingest its power. Or something else completely over-the-top.
Jesus’s goat-killing flashback scene may have been one of the most disturbing scenes ever on True Blood, just like the continuing scene with Tommy (Marshall Allman) and his terrifying redneck parents.
This season of True Blood really seems to be pushing the limits of disturbing images that can be shown on television, while at the same time adding in more adorable and heartfelt moments between characters like Sookie, Eric, Hoyt, and Alcide (Joe Manganiello). The resulting balance is completely satisfying.
When Tommy is almost killed by his psychopath father and then accidentally kills both of his parents in self-defense, we are reminded of one of the most important truths of all: rednecks are terrifying. I don’t know how Tommy and Sam are going to recover from this one, but they will probably wear really tight jeans while doing so.
All in all, this was another excellent episode of True Blood. The writers seem to be taking requests from fans with their storylines from the books, and the creative tangents they’re going on with supporting characters make for fantastic TV.
For example, when Arlene (Carrie Preston) and Terry (Todd Lowe) call in a reverend to cleanse their house of a ghost, and the holy man brings in good ‘ole Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) to clean up the place, hijinks of the highest order ensue. Arlene and Terry are really funny additions to the show, regardless of their characters’ relevancy.
This week’s True Blood brought romance, violence, and betrayal. What will happen next week? Will Bill and Eric have a smackdown of epic proportions? Can the writers find a way to squeeze Godric (Allan Hyde) into one more scene? Will Pam and Lafayette say more wildly inappropriate and hilarious things? Probably.
Tune in next week!