Home Featured TV Shows All TV Shows Movie Reviews Book Reviews Articles Frequently Asked Questions About Us

True Blood: Scratches

Eric: "You surprise me. That's a rare quality in a breather."
Sookie: "You disgust me."
Eric: "Perhaps I'll grow on you."
Sookie: "I prefer cancer."

Sookie nearly died, for a second time. More than enough to make her realize that the supernatural world is, well, dangerous. And dating a vampire isn't like dating someone of another race, or the same sex. It's a whole other thing.

Sookie has also decided that Eric is the root of all evil. And yeah, okay, Lafayette, I get it, but Eric just saved Sookie's life. He got her a very strange but effective doctor. He offered her his own thousand-year-old blood. He sent Pam (in her favorite pumps) and Chow to scout out the attack site. I couldn't believe Sookie had the nerve to slap him. She was practically vibrating with fury, while Eric was at first amused, then a bit angry, and then obviously turned on. It was like really angry flirting. Eric is a lot colder than Bill, less emotional, more contained. I find him fascinating. I find the possibility of him with Sookie fascinating. Bring it on.

So. Orgy. Black-out eyes, disappearing boar, juniper berries in the scary-looking blood red soup. I'm sure it must have something to do with the bull guy attacking Sookie. Which means that Daphne is involved, too, since she was hiding some familiar-looking vertical claw scars under her Merlotte's uniform. How come the poison didn't kill Daphne? Did it "turn" her into something, instead? Sam is ready to bug out of town, and I think he has the right idea; he just might not have gotten out in time.

Tara may be ready to take off, too. I haven't had a lot to say about Tara lately, but I was proud of her for walking out on Eggs and the orgy. Why didn't Maryann's mojo work on her, though? Is Tara supernatural, too?

I thought Jessica was going to make kibbles and bits out of Hoyt, but instead they wound up smooching on the couch. She didn't even bite him. They make a cute couple. (His mother is going to hit the roof.) Jessica isn't acting as badly as I was expecting. She's almost... dare I say it... sweet. Maybe it's because Bill is a much better parent than her own obviously were, despite his constant "as your maker, I command you!"

Meanwhile, back at the Leadership Conference, Jason's conscience is getting to him, and Sarah appears determined not to let him get away. I don't think Jason is responding so much to God's love as he is to Sarah. They have this thing going on: praying together, knee to knee; whipped cream and banana pudding, uh oh. Jason was praying for a sign and Luke hit him with a pillow. Jason, that was a sign. Leave before something terrible happens. These are scary people, Jason.

It seems strange to say when we had a vicious attack by a bull man and a sex orgy by Maryann's pool, but this episode moved a little more slowly than last week's. I enjoyed it a lot, though.

Bits and pieces:

-- Bill didn't kill Jessica's family. Not a surprise.

-- No immortality for Lafayette. At least he's alive and out of vampire prison. I bet Lafayette won't be dealing V anymore.

-- During that second driving scene, Bill wasn't watching the road. I know they're on a sound stage, but it always drives me nuts when they do that. I keep thinking, if you were in a real car, you'd be driving off the road, you idiot.

-- Eric is over a thousand years old. I knew that because I'm a fan of the books but I don't think it's been explicitly stated before. Correct me if I'm wrong.

-- Maryann learned how to roll massive joints in Ibiza.

-- Tiny Doctor Ludwig. Doesn't seem to be human. What was she in the books? Goblin?

-- Dead or not, Jessica is only seventeen. Can she buy blood in a bar? Is blood restricted like alcohol? I guess it couldn't be, could it? Do vamps carry ID?

-- Sarah Newlin believes she lost her sister Amber to vamps. No proof, though.

-- I actually have two tee-shirt comments this week. Sookie looked really cute in the red and black Fangtasia tee; Eric was right. (And I think he was being possessive, too.) And Sam was wearing a faded tee that said, "Boggy Bayou third annual mullet festival."

-- Tara can do some interesting things with that big gorgeous head of hair she has.

-- Change into sneakers next time, Pam.

-- No episode next week. Rats.

Quotes:

Eric: "She is extremely lazy, but loyal. How's yours? Jessica?"
Bill: "Petulant. Dangerous. Afraid."
Eric: "I'm glad to see you two are bonding."

Maryann: "Sam seems like a wonderful sensitive guy, but all instincts scream 'unevolved'."

Terry: "If I were you, I wouldn't be my first choice."
Sam: "Actually, you're not. I can't reach Sookie, and who knows where the hell Lafayette is, Arlene's got enough on her plate, Tara's going through some personal stuff right now. So you're all I got."
To misquote Joss Whedon... Sam, have you ever actually heard of tact?

Steve: "What's going on out there is a war." Steven gestured toward the window. Jason took him literally and looked out the window.

Sarah: "I'm gonna go get the whipped cream."
Steve: "You know, my wife must think you're pretty special. Sarah doesn't whip out her pudding for just anybody."

Jessica: "He makes me sleep in a hole."
Hoyt: "My mama keeps her doll collection in my closet."

Jessica: "I have fangs. They just come out and I can't control them. This is so embarrassing. I'd die if I weren't already dead."

Sookie: "The more open my mind gets, the more evil I see."

Three out of four stakes,

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

19 comments:

  1. Loved the review Billie! It seems like you like the show more every week.

    Also, I think your love of Eric is clouding your judgment just a tad. Sure, he got a doctor but meanwhile, he had one of her good friends chained in a basement and subject to countless inventions of torture and horror. I was actually glad when Sookie slapped Eric. I don't hate Eric though, he's one of the most interesting characters on the show and he reminds me a lot of Spike from Buffy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, Troy! Season two is already much better than season one. And yes, my love for Eric is indeed clouding my judgment, I'll admit it. He's my favorite character in the books. I agree he's Spike to Bill's Angel. Lestat to Bill's Louis.

    I'll admit prison conditions in the basement of Fangtasia are pretty wild and crazy, but Eric is the Sheriff of Area 5, and Lafayette was implicated in the murder of Eddie what's his face... I can't believe I'm excusing what Eric did. I'll stop now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I understand how you feel, Billie. Since he's my favorite character too, I'm trying to cut him as much slack as I can. I was actually upset when he showed up at the end of the first episode, showing that he was the one keeping Lafayette prisoner. I was like noooo, don't make him a bad guy! He was never really a bad guy in the books, just ruthlessly practical at times.

    So yeah, I didn't appreciate the show having him do darker things. But I'm hoping that over time it will be sorted out and he'll be painted in a more positive light! Here's hoping. I mean, it's not like Spike didn't do some bad things at times. ;-)

    At least he is definitely still painted gray. He did after all help Sookie and let Bill stay in the bar, etc. And yeah, he didn't have to send anyone out to search the area. (See there I go defending him too!) <3 Eric.

    I'm really happy they found a great actor to play him. And your description of Sookie's confrontation with him makes me want to see it again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loved your review as always, Billie, but you missed my favorite quote of the episode.
    Hoyt: "You hungry? You should try the chicken fried steak 'cause it's like, oooohhh, it's like a chicken and a steak got together and made a baby, a delicious crispy baby.

    ReplyDelete
  5. To be honest, I just couldn't make myself transcribe that chicken fried steak crispy baby quote. It made me groan out loud.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the Eric character too (he is so much more interesting than Bill), but I don't know how the storyline will translate into him hooking up with Sookie. She made a deal with him that she would help him only if he promised not to kill any human but instead turn them in to the police (Eric repeated their deal during his conversation with Bill at the store last week). However, Sookie is well aware that Eric has been applying his justice in bloody ways with humans (wouldn't Lafayette talk to her about that?).

    Bill is a bit boring, but he was all love for Sookie in this episode. The scene where he lays her head down tenderly after feeding her his blood was very cute (Did Eric look like moved by the gesture?). He clearly feels his relationship with Sookie threatened by Eric. And I don't understand his relationship to Eric. Fine, Eric is the sheriff, older, and all that, but sometimes Bill really confronts him (his refusal to give Sookie up, to allow her to go to Dallas, doubling up Sookie's request for 5K) and sometimes he is painfully passive (Eric threatened Sookie and Bill didn't react... Allright, I wouldn't want to be in Sookie's path of anger, but he could at least cringe). I work with animals and it reminds me of dominant dog/subordinate dog relationships: Submission unless food is threatened (could that be the case here, literally?).

    Jessica is by far a much better character than I anticipated. I don't think you need ID to order true blood, after all, that's all mainstream vampires drink. She is proof that all that talk about vampires having no emotions is BS, she is a bagful of teenage emotions. I can't wait to see how her relationship with Hoyt develops. I am still bored with the Maryann storyline, it is about time something happens with her. Could she have any relationship to the bull-man? Is Daphne related to Maryann somehow?

    As a final comment, I was bummed that they did not use the book's version of Sookie's reply to Eric's "perhaps I'll grow on you". My recollection is that she responded "like a fungus?"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great comments, Cecilia. I particularly liked what you said about the dominant/subordinate dog relationship. You might have something there. Would that mean that Bill really doesn't love Sookie? That it's not in him? He did get fried by the sun last season, though, and I don't think I'd do that for food. :)

    I avoid spoilers religiously and really don't have a clue as to where Alan Ball plans to go with the series, but he took a lot of chances with Six Feet Under. And I hear he is aware of how popular Eric is with fans of the books. So I have hope.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey Billie!

    I just wanted to let you know that I've been reading your reviews for a year now and I think they're wonderful. I started with LOST, then Dexter and Heroes. I'm so glad you're reviewing True Blood too.

    Sometimes...when I watch the shows you review I try to guess which quote you will start the review with. I was right this week :)

    -D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Billie, I think you are right and Bill is portrayed as too adoring of Sookie to see her just as a blood slave. However, they are hinting more and more to his dark side this season, so I have a sense he will really screw things up with Sookie sometime soon. Eric is dark, but he's all out there, so nothing he does is out of character. He is being portrayed a little bit... bisexual? The spoiler scene for the next episode showed him seeking Lafayette, and I have a sense we will see vampire Lafayette soon (the whole "making" of a vampire appears to be very sexual -- think about when the fangs come out unexpectedly), and Eric seems fascinated by him. At the same time, Eric has a very playful relationship with Pam (they almost act as an old married couple) and flirts a lot with Sookie (maybe the reason why Bill rebels sometimes?).

    I am glad I did not read all the books. It is fun to not have any expectations as to what will happen in the long run.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sawyer, Julian Sark, Nathan Petrelli, Spike, Methos...and now Eric. You really do have a thing for the bad boys, Billie. ;) Well, maybe just the good-looking ones.... ;) Kidding. Great review, as always! It's weird how I always enjoy your reviews, even when I completely disagree with them (although that wasn't the case this time). Great blog, been reading it for years.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I liked how Sookie just slapped Eric. She doesn´t lack nerve! But she is also afraid of the supernatural and she said that she knows that Bill has a dark side. I also liked Jason in this episode which is unusual and Jessica was fun again.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for the review... It's been a habit for ages now to come to this site to read the review after watching an episode. And it's a bit weird to leave comments when most of you already know what's gonna happen :)

    Anyway... Loved the episode. I think Daphne is that "head of a bull" monster, after all they did say the footprint was human.

    Love Eric, not too much for it to cloud my judgment, but I still think Sookie could have at least thank him for saving her life.

    Glad Jessica is rather sweet, I anticipated her to cause tons of troubles.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This episode seemed overflowing with sexual passion -- mostly hidden just under the surface.

    For a couple that promised to never fight again, Bill and Sookie seem to be fighting a lot. But, their make-up sex is hot!

    Eric seems to be just brimming with passion. First, there were all the sexual undertones in his dealings with Lafayette. Now, he seems more than a little intrigued with our Miss Stackhouse. He was certainly turned on by that slap. And Sookie is responding to him in a way that is hardly neutral.

    Jason seems to bring out the desires in both Steve and Sarah. Whipping out the pudding, indeed! As much as I disliked Jason in the past, I find his current struggles very interesting to watch. I thought the dream of finding Eddie in his bed was fascinating. Fear or fantasy?

    Maryanne and her games are all about the passion. Those black eyes are creepy. She does seem to bring out the id!

    Daphne and Sam in the lake -- hope they show us more of that!

    Jessica and Hoyt -- I love the potential of this one. I have a soft spot for Hoyt and Jessica is beginning to grow on me. The scene between them at Merlotte's was so sweet, but Jessica's teenage hormones were fun to watch.

    Tara and Eggs -- I'm not sure how I feel about this one as I can't tell yet if he is involved or another victim. But, something is telling me she should run and run fast.

    Whew! That's a lot of UST for one hour!

    ReplyDelete
  14. UST - Unresolved Sexual Tension. I can't believe I didn't know that one. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. In environmental circles it can also mean "underground storage tank." And, humorously, LUST is a "leaking underground storage tank." It gave me a bit of a chuckle when I saw your inquiry and immediately thought you were talking about fuel tanks. I should have known better. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sorry, again. It's a hangover acronym from a site I used to visit a lot.

    Although -- I kind of like Jess' better!

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Don't apologize, ChrisB. I thought this exchange was hilarious.

    ReplyDelete

We love comments! We moderate because of spam and trolls, but don't let that stop you! It’s never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.