Sookie: "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."Tara: "Stop worrying about being so damn appropriate. This is not an appropriate event."
Why do some people turn into assholes when someone dies?
Sam chose the absolute worst time to "mark his territory." People who were supposed to be Sookie's friends brought food and condolences, but were secretly thinking the worst of her. And yes, people tend to lash out when they're grieving, but what Jason did to Sookie was unforgivable. Although I did feel for him a little when he started to cry. While having sex, of course.
You also find out who your friends are when somebody dies, though. Tara was there for Sookie in a great big way, defending her against Jason (whom she loves), and throwing the "buzzards" out of the house. Lafayette gave Sookie practical assistance and emotional support, as well as a valium that she obviously needed. And Bill and Sam became unwilling allies to protect Sookie from the killer: Sam during the day, and Bill at night.
But of course, this was Anna Paquin's episode, because it was all about Sookie. Numb with shock. Cleaning up all that blood on the kitchen floor. (Unfortunately, this is an experience I've also had. It's not something you get over quickly.) The scene where Sookie sobbed as she ate the rest of her grandmother's last pie was genuinely moving. The pie was the physical manifestation of the last bit of her grandmother's love, the end of Sookie's childhood and anything resembling security.
And then she left her grandmother and her childhood behind and went to Bill. She wore a white dress, like a bride. She lost her virginity to a dead man and got bitten for the first time. Orgasm and petit mort. Actually, the sex as death metaphors were pretty thick on the ground. Sookie even found Bill's human grave earlier in the episode. It's sort of fascinating that Sookie went from death to death, as she decided to go on with her life.
Bits and pieces:
-- Jason inviting Uncle Bartlett to the funeral was the last straw that made Sookie lose it. Although we don't know what Uncle Bartlett did in the past that made Sookie so upset. (We can guess, though.)
-- The pie scene also made me think of sin eaters. It's an ancient ritual of eating food over the dead or dying person as a way of absorbing their sins so the dead person could rest in peace.
-- Sookie's loss made Tara reconnect with Sam, as well as her mother. I was starting to think Lettie Mae had a good side, until the moment she hit Tara up for money. To get rid of the demon inside of her. Okay.
-- Bill sleeps under his house. Better than a coffin. He picked up on what must have been a nightmare Sookie had.
-- Sookie mentioned her cousin Hadley who was once in rehab, paid for by Gran. Sookie hadn't heard from Hadley in a year.
-- I have to complain again about the inconsistency of the effects of V. Jason has had it only twice, and already he's experiencing withdrawal? That would be about as addictive as anything can possibly get. It just didn't quite work for me.
Quotes:
Bud: "I've seen worse. There was a murder about six years ago. Lady snapped, blew her husband's head off while he was watching the game. Big chunks of brain all over the TV."
Andy: "Why'd she do it?"
Bud: "I guess she wanted to watch something else."
Tara: "Nothing says I'm sorry like a tuna cheese casserole."
Lafayette: "What the fuck is it with white people and Jell-O?"
Jason: "Sookie, please. I mean, we're all we've got."
Sookie: "We got nothing."
Maxine: "You should come to our next Descendants of the Glorious Dead meeting."
Lettie Mae: "That some kind of support group thing? I went to one of those AA meetings once. It was nothing but a cult."
Sam: "I liked your speech. What I heard of it, anyway. I especially liked the part where you told the whole town to shut the fuck up."
Sam: "I thought you were staying with Lafayette."
Tara: "I was. Do you know he has a webcam in his bathroom? No way I'm letting a bunch of perverts watch me pee."
Definitely a four star episode,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
This was the best episode yet. The pie scene nearly made me cry. Nice review as ever.
ReplyDeleteAnna
My favourite episode of the series. Also a hard one to watch as well, given that I have a certain anniversary myself in the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteLosing a loved one is hard at the best of times but damn, Sookie really didn't catch a break at all.
Seeing your grandmother murdered like that is bad but having all the neighbours blame you for it was another thing.
Sookie was a lot more gracious in that situation than she should've been. I would've ran them from the funeral. I smiled when Sookie told them to shut the fuck up. Believe me, I've felt like that and I didn't have to deal with the neighbours from hell.
Sookie had some brilliant moments. I related to her feeling numb and then breaking down in the kitchen. I also thought that her and Bill's first sex scene was handled better than I expected it to be. And he bit her to boot.
A lot of what Jason was feeling in the episode was also believable but it was way out of order for him to have hit Sookie and blame her for Adelle's death. Not Sookie's fault.
I don't have to be a genius to deduce what happened between Sookie and Uncle Bartlett and her hatred for him is more than justified.
Tara and Lafayette are exactly the two people anyone needs around them during a time like this. Lafayette with the Valium and Tara's just plain brilliance. I love those two. Tara shooed everyone out and yelled at Jason. Respect.
I don't believe her mother has an actual demon inside and it was sad to see Tara believe it eventually though. Her and Sam slept together because they didn't want to be alone.
I like Sam a lot and while Bill can be a bit of a jerk, Sam really should've backed off as well.
Crass of Andy to accuse Jason of killing his own grandmother. Andy's a bit of a question mark for me. I'm beginning to wonder if he's had fangbanger urges, hences his civility towards Bill. 10/10.
Anna Paquin did an amazing job and I laughed out loud when she told them to shut the fuck up. And then I nearly cried with the pie scene. And I can definitively relate to Sookie´s numbness. When my grandma died, I spent two days totally numb and I just felt I wasn´t really there.
ReplyDeleteFinally, how sad is it that the people think the worst of her while giving her food and offering condolences. People sometimes are crap.
Amazing piece of acting by AP. I believed everything she was feeling. The pie scene was so true to life, as was the numbness of having to deal with all the neighbours.
ReplyDeleteI love Lafayette. He's got a good soul, and he looks damn good in a suit! My favourite character so far.
What I found interesting was the range of sexuality shown after the funeral. It's a common emotion to want to have sex at a time like that -- to feel close to someone, to feel something, anything.
We saw one end of,the spectrum -- anonymous sex with a stranger. OK, she wasn't completely a stranger, but Jason couldn't remember her name that morning. I really dislike him. I have yet to find one thing about him even slightly redeeming.
The midldle of the spectrum was the friends with benefits sex. But, I liked that Sam was no longer going to play Tara's game. "If we do this, we really did this."
Finally, the other end. Losing one's virginity to someone one has such strong feelings for. Absolutely lovely scene. Very romantic, and not a little erotic.
By the way, I am back to thinking that Sam and the dog are somehow linked. Why else would a dog stand beside Bill outside the house?