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True Blood: Night on the Sun

Sookie: "If I knew what was best for me, I would have fallen in love with somebody like you."
Alcide: "Back atcha. It's too bad we're so stupid, huh?"

Now, Eric. Was that fair? What did Talbot ever do to you?

Eric finally took off that blood-spattered pastel sweater (and a lot more), symbolizing his transformation from gay undercover sycophant to bloodthirsty Viking avenger. (I could tell it was coming when Eric almost couldn't bring himself to slam Godric, even for the sake of his masquerade.) So did we finally get the real Eric back? And who is the real Eric? What was that message to Sookie via Hadley all about? Yes, Russell is coming for you (and he certainly did), but is Bill actually a danger to Sookie? After he just saved her life again? Twice?

Bill said he wants Sookie to marry someone else and have babies and a normal life. As if she could. Probably the most normal guy she could stand to be married to is a shifter like Sam or Alcide, and giving birth to puppies might be problematic. I wasn't surprised that Sookie took Bill back already, though, because as far as I know, Alan Ball isn't listening to me about the Bill/Sookie relationship being a bore, wild bloody sex on the floor or no wild bloody sex on the floor. If they're still together at the end of the season, I'm going to bang my head against a wall.

Anyway, moving right along.

There was a really big family theme going on in this episode. My favorite was Bill and Jessica training together in Bill's house and teaming up to save Sookie from the weres. (That werewolf/vampire fight at Sookie's house was quite cool.) The Bill/Jessica relationship has acquired the lovely flavor of the relationship between Eric and Pam: genuine deep affection and respect uncomplicated by romance. And I'm glad we finally found out why Jessica won't see Hoyt any more. I don't think Hoyt would agree. Especially with the alternatives that have been throwing themselves at him lately.

Tommy has taken the name Merlotte. That was a nice way to acknowledge what Sam just did for him. Sam couldn't bring himself to forgive his mother, and I really get that. She seems to have the supernatural version of battered wife syndrome and I feel sorry for her. Up until the point where she allowed her younger son to be victimized as well, anyway.

Alcide said that Debbie burned down his sister Janice's hair salon. Man, could Debbie be any badder? She even quoted the Big Bad Wolf when she kicked Sookie's door down: "I'll huff and I'll puff..." Debbie is turning into one of my favorite characters, sort of the werewolf parallel of Franklin. And now she's got a little Joker action going on. Time to break out the clown makeup.

Speaking of which, I'd hoped that Franklin would be back by now, and I definitely thought he'd show up for real in Tara's shower. If Tara is having sexy dreams about him, that means his blood is still active inside of her, confirmation that he's still "alive." Right? Talbot said that he couldn't get Franklin's brains out of the guest linen, but that doesn't mean he's dead.

Let's see, what else? I don't have a lot to say about Jason's new and important love affair and his Fellowship of the Sun commando raid into Hotshot, other than I think he just made some seriously freaky enemies. Plus, Crystal came to him for protection and he left her alone? Seriously, Jason. Get a brain.

Bits and pieces:

-- I love Russell. He's so happily despicable and he certainly deserves everything Eric is about to do to him. But I do feel bad for Talbot, who never did anything to Eric's family. Bad Eric, no biscuit.

-- Lafayette is powerful? How? That can't be a throwaway line on a show like this. Ruby Jean did mention vampires and witches. And her dear Lala definitely isn't a vampire.

-- The Norrises are obviously shifters. Interesting how we haven't actually seen them shift yet, huh? They're setting up a surprise there. And hey, no book spoilers in the comments, please. :)

-- Nearly everybody in the cast cried. Bill, Jessica, Debbie, Tommy, Sookie, Hadley, Hoyt, probably Tara (she was in the shower so it was hard to tell). Bill's in particular made him look like he should have been working under the big top. Maybe he and Debbie could do a clown act together.

-- Arlene's dream about Rene and the baby didn't surprise me. I just wonder what she's going to do about it. I don't sense a happy ending approaching for Arlene and Terry.

-- If Eric was telling the truth, it's been a long time since he was with another vamp. He prefers humans, doesn't he?

-- Gran's house got trashed again.

-- I think every member of the cast should be wearing dark red clothing with an darker red abstract pattern or figures on it; they'd save a fortune in dry cleaning. Have you ever seen the cast of a television show get covered with blood as much as these guys do?

-- The True Blood "post-mortems" they're running after the episode are really funny. This week's was "A Vampire's Guide to Surviving a Werewolf Attack."

Quotes:

Talbot: "You can't buy your way out of everything!"
Russell: "Of course I can. This is America."

Russell: "What's up, pumpkin?"
Debbie: "They killed my Cooter!"
Best line in the episode for a second week in a row. Last week it was "Vampire burrito? For me?"

Jason: "What he did to you, that's domestic... something."

Tara: "Maybe he can flirt some sense into that girl because logic sure as hell ain't working."

Arlene: "That Tara. She's all bark... well, she bites, too."

Sam: "Who's this?"
Arlene: "This is Holly, your new waitress. Don't sleep with her."
Holly was rather creepy looking, and knew Arlene was pregnant. Could it be that she's not a normal human waitress? Are there any normal people in Bon Temps?

Talbot: "I'm bored. Take off your clothes."
I'd give quite a bit to be able to say that to Eric Northman and actually have him do it. Of course, if he killed me afterward, that would be a drag.

I really enjoyed this one. Four out of four blood-spattered pastel sweaters,

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

15 comments:

  1. Wow, Anonymous. A bit of a harsh punishment, wouldn't you say, for a teenager who has been abused most of his life but still sacrificed to support his parents? Yes, he's a pain in the ass, but I think that's understandable.

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  2. Eric is an ass. A major league douche. Is, has always been, even before turning into a vampire, and I have no hope he'll cease to be one. You women just love him because he's a bad boy, and you can't help yourselves feeling attracted to this kind of man.

    If Sookie breaks up for good with Bill for the reasons she stated and goes on to have a relationship with Eric, she'll be the most stupid person on Earth. She'll be a waste of whatever she is that's special.

    I love Russel and can't wait to see how he dies. He's a great villain.

    Jason... snore

    Jessica, you found the person you love and give it up so easily? Oh, right, you're 17, you need the drama.

    Sam's story just got better because it's starting to interact with the other plotlines. This season seems to be coming together much better that S02. I can see a convergence, and I just love it.

    Best ep of TB in a long, long time. I found myself speculating about it and relivng the scenes in my mind again many times today.

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  3. BTW, Debby looks much better with more clothes. She was sexy as hell when she was attacking Sookie.

    Jessica, on the other hand, should find an excuse to wear minimal.

    I had the impression Crystall's people were werewolves. The guy called Sam "shifter" as if he despised them.

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  4. I didn't really care for Tommy until right after his mother walked out. The actor really pulled it together there. He's still a jerk but he's had no positive role models and he's been used like a tool for a while now.

    Also, great review. My favorite, howling-out-loud line was when Ruby opened the door and exclaimed, "Oh Jesus!"

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  5. Hehe topher that was a great line :-)

    Gustavo, maybe there are shifters, who can turn into anything, werewolves (wolves only, obv) but then there could be other kinds of were-animals?

    Even though I loved tonight's episode, I thought there were a few holes:

    - How did Hadley get to Sookie's and back? Tara had a pretty tough time trying to escape the Man-sion and Russell surely wouldn't allow Hadley to come and go as she pleased. After that, how'd she get to Sookie's? Sookie didn't look like she'd heard a car approaching, and Hadley probably doesn't have one anyway.

    - How did Jessica get into Sookie's house? Are we to assume she was invited in previously or just before the attack? You can't bend or blur the rules just to make a cool scene Alan Ball!

    - Why did Debbie let herself get beaten up when she could have turned into a wolf at any time? Surely she genuinely wants to kill Sook, what stopped her shifting?

    - Why did Eric kill Talbot before he'd had 6 hours of sex with him? This one might not truly need an explanation but my enquiring mind is Very curious to know :-P

    One other thing that I thought was pretty bizarre - why did Sookie not talk about the dossier Russell showed her that Bill had been keeping? It's like she either didn't think it was real, or significant, or doesn't care, or has forgotten about it, or is waiting for the right moment. Considering it is in a way, a much larger betrayal than Bill almost draining her, you'd think she'd be wanting some answers about it. I know I do!

    Answers on the back of a postcard please :-)

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  6. I have a lot of the same questions, Harry!

    With Hadley, I also wonder just how she made it to Bon Temps and back to Jackson so quickly.

    I think Jessica and Bill were actually in Bill's house, Russell was trying to keep them from defending Sookie while the weres were attacking, and Bill made it back to Sookie's with his super-duper vamp speed.

    I think Debbie was not allowed to kill Sookie as per Russell's orders (he wants her alive). Which is kind of stupid of Russell because Debbie is obviously not the sharpest tool on the shed and she is very angry at Sookie.

    Eric and Talbot... Who knows. I'm going to miss Talbot's bitchiness, though.

    I wonder about the whole Lafayette thing. It is kid of weird that everybody in Bon Temps has some supernatural abilities. And every new character that is introduced is not human. That makes us wonder about the new waitress Arlene was interviewing. Since Ruby mentioned "witches and vampires" I assume she is a witch? She has some wizard-like powers to have seen that Arlene is preggers... Wonder if Lafayette's special powers are related to her too.

    Why did Eric tell Sookie not to trust Bill? He's done quite a few things for her, to save her, and to protect her. In the last few episodes, Eric seemed to be more motivated by his revenge than by Sookie. And I also wonder about Sookie's reaction to the dossier Bill kept on her. I am sure that will come up next episode.

    Billie, thanks for another great review (and for keeping your promise of NO spoilers!)

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  7. Did anyone else feel a glow of pride when Jessica killed that werewolf? It was like watching a chick leaving the nest for the first time. And, my, how she flew!

    Great review, Billie.

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  8. Concerning the dossier Bill was keeping, I think this is the reason Eric told Sookie not to trust Bill.

    We know that the Queen is aware of what Sookie is (we better find out this season) and Bill was pledged to the Queen when he met Sookie, so I'm thinking the Queen sent Bill to meet Sookie in the first place. It would explain the dossier.

    Jessica getting the best of that werewolf was quite satisfying, and I thought it was cute when Bill called her a "Baby Vampire"

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  9. I totally agree with those of you who think this was the best episode in a long time. Ruby saying "Oh, Jesus" when Jesus was at the door was very good, and I`m very curious and excited about the new Lafayette plotline. I love him, so more of him is always nice to the program. I was sad to see Talbot go, his bitchiness and spoiled nature was so fun to watch, but Russell deserves it. I just wonder how Eric will scape that. I can hardly wait for next episode. This one was great, lots of action, less bloodbath, fantastic sex'n'killing scene with Eric and Talbot. And hey, do you need to be a vampire to ask Eric to take his clothes off and actually have him do it? I wonder... witches, weres, new shifters, Jesus, new love triangle (or should I say quadrangle?), and the possibility of Franklin still being around, all of these make the wait till next episode harder. Great review as usual, Billie

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  10. I just noticed that there were no obvious cliffhangers this week. The last scene was the hot sex. And, all the same, I can't wait to see the next ep. That just proves that cliffhangers are cheap and TB should stop doing that. Good plot is much better.

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  11. Hi Billie, I really love your True Blood reviews. I'm glad to have found a community online that shares a love for the series as much as I do, and you have inspired me to start writing my own reviews. If you could, please check them out on my blog. I appreciate it!

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  12. Jessica, congratulations on joining the review-writing sisterhood!

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  13. Loved this episode, definitely the best of the season.

    Didn't care that Talbot died though. He's pretty but wasn't an interesting character though I can't wait to see how Russell will take his death.

    Even though I like Bill and Sookie as characters, they need to break up and I'd rather her with Alcide than Eric as well to be honest.

    Sookie and Debbie's fighting was a little on the Buffy and Faith side of things, wasn't it?

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  14. I liked this episode a lot. Much more than the previous ones but I still cringed at some parts like Eric and Talbot together and the sex at the end.


    I think Russell is an amazing character.

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  15. huh billie didnt comment on the 2 naked men together

    for shame billie for shame :P

    also that ending with bill and sookie WAS HOT and i dont like sex in tv shows that much

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