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True Blood: Escape from Dragon House

Sookie: "This feels a little bit like what a vampire bar would look like if it were a ride at Disneyworld."

The best so far. I laughed out loud several times.

Gotta love a vampire bar called Fangtasia. The decor was all red and black, which reminded me of Buffy. The vampires on staff and even the patrons all wore black, too – except for Sookie, who was dressed like Sandra Dee or Annette Funicello. And I was so pleased that we got to meet two of my favorite characters from the books, Eric and Pam. They looked a lot like I saw them in my head, so good casting, there.

Eric just found out that Sookie isn't your average fangbanger. As Bill said, uh oh.

I thought Bill being pulled over because he was DWV (driving while vampire) was pretty funny. The comparisons of vampires to minority groups is a constant. Even Sam believes vampires and humans should be separate but equal. But you know, Sam has a point. The underlying theme of the episode was that consorting with vampires is a walk on the wild side. Two young women in Bon Temps have been murdered, probably because they had sex with vampires. People who go to Fangtasia are deliberately flirting with death. Even Bill can be dangerous; he literally scared the piss out of that cop.

Okay, Jason's unfortunate bout with priapism actually made me laugh a little. Big with the karma there, so to speak. And the fact that he protected little Tara from her violent, drunken mother back when they were kids made me (1) understand Tara's love for him better, and (2) like him a little more. Although I wish she hadn't lied for him.

The end was hilarious, as well as ambiguous. Sam pulled on rubber gloves to... break into Dawn's apartment and roll around on her bed to the tune of "Oooh, that smell." Was he getting off, or was he trying to smell who killed Dawn? Woof.

Bits and pieces:

-- The level of intoxication for vampire blood seems inconsistent. Sookie drank a lot from Bill and it only healed her and "enhanced her senses," while a drop or two is comparable to a dose of Viagra and tube will put you in the hospital?

-- Sookie is 25 years old.

-- Detective Andy Bellefleur gets no respect. Probably because Sheriff Dearborn seems to be the better detective.

-- Gran asked Sookie to "listen in" to try to clear Jason, and she got a headful of nasty thoughts. Except for Hoyt Fortenberry, who was the only one thinking kindly of poor, murdered Dawn.

-- I absolutely loved the painting on black velvet of George W. Bush biting the neck of the Statue of Liberty. (If you didn't see it, it was behind Long Shadow at the bar.)

-- Bill likes Cambodian music. Where did that come from?

Quotes:

Jason: "Will you listen to me? I've got gout of the dick."

Sookie: "Apparently, there's this vampire bar where Maudette and Dawn used to hang out at, in Shreveport. You know it?"
Bill: "Fangtasia."
Sookie: (aghast) "Fangtasia?"
Bill: "You have to remember that most vampires are very old. Puns used to be the highest form of humor."

Bill: "You look like vampire bait."

Bill: "Uh oh."
Sookie: "Don't say uh oh. Vampires are not supposed to say uh oh."

If I were still doing ratings, this would get three out of four stakes,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

7 comments:

  1. I just bought the first book (Dead Until Dark) because of your book review, Billie, and because I'm enjoying the series so much.

    Bill is insanely sexy, even if his accent makes him sound like an extra on Gone With The Wind (which I think might be the point). Sookie is lots of fun. Jason, not so much.

    And I think I've figured out the mystery.

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  2. Yeah, I waited anxiously for this episode to see how they did Pam and Eric. I think they did a great casting job too. Alexander Skarsgard certainly looks a lot like how I pictured Eric! Now that I think about it though, when I read the latest book I wasn't picturing any of the actors in my head as the characters. Interesting. I think because I read them for so long without the show, and because I think of them as two different universes for the series.

    Anyways, I also found this short essay (more of a brief statement) from Charlaine Harris online that addresses the topic of books vs show:

    http://www.borders.com/online/store/ArticleView_harris2

    And one last side - I'm a little sad that they are changing the covers of the books. I like the old quirky cover art. It was different from your typical urban fantasy covers--a woman in sexy clothes with a tattoo or something. Oh well.

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  3. "The level of intoxication for vampire blood seems inconsistent. Sookie drank a lot from Bill and it only healed her and "enhanced her senses," while a drop or two is comparable to a dose of Viagra and tube will put you in the hospital?"

    I noticed that too, but I assumed that because Sookie was so badly wounded, Bill's blood had a different affect on her. The blood healed her and had beneficial side effects. (I also read a bit about her character’s lineage from the books, so maybe that also affected her differently.)

    Since Jason had nothing physically wrong with him when he took it, it had a different, more severe affect on him.

    Dan

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  4. Very revealing episode. As someone who hasn't read the books, I was still however aware that Eric was something of a vital character to the series.

    It's a good introduction for him, though he got very little to actually do and probably knows more about Maudette and Dawn than he actually told Sookie.

    Pam intrigued me a lot and it looked like her and Eric were similarly intrigued by Sookie, given that she warned them of a police raid the way she did.

    I don't agree with Longshadow in that everyone who goes to Fangtasia has a death. I'm sure many do but I think a lot of them really don't. Dawn and Maudette didn't deserve what happened to them, even if some of the locals seemed to think so.

    Andy was more than an unprofessional creep with Jason. Tara probably shouldn't have lied for Jason but she was there for him a lot this week. Jason's V problem was gross and hilarious - the plank.

    Very little Lafayette and Gran in this episode for my liking though it's nice to see a sweeter side to Hoyt and Rene. Arlene was a bit of a bitch though.

    Sam sniffing Dawn's bed at the end and the picture with her. He couldn't be the killer, right? Feels like a red herring to me.

    Sookie and Bill's date was interesting though she really got annoyed when he dealt with that officer at the end, 8/10.

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  5. I really loved the whole bar scene, everything was working great: the acting, the scenery, the music. And I laughed when that vamp asked for Sookie´s ID.

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  6. okay, this is more like it... and I can't stop watching it, the beauty of watching "late" is that you don't have to wait a week :)

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  7. "School is for white people looking for other white people to read to them. I figure I save my money and read to myself." Oh, how I loved that. I dropped out of school when I was 15, but I read everything I could get my hands on. Eventually went back to formal education, but only because I wanted to be a lawyer.

    This was the first episode that I felt completely engaged. Loved the backstory of Tara (whom I like) and Jason (whom I don't).

    And Eric? Dear me. He is simply stunning. It's obvious from the comments that he is going to be a major character, so something to look forward to.

    And -- how can you not love a show that ends with Skynyrd. The ultimate in Southern Rock.

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