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True Blood: Evil is Going On

Bill: "Sookie, stay here. Pam will protect you."
Sookie: "Feel safer protecting myself. Since I now know I'm basically vampire crack."

After being yanked here, taken there, bitten and used, Sookie finally turned the tables. This was Sookie's episode, and it was about time. I loved seeing her literally take her life back.

I've been waiting for Sookie to show Bill the door, and she finally, finally did. We saw Bill's evil side in all its glory. Not only did he doublecross Eric and encase him in cement and (horrors) take out a hit on Pam, Sookie found out that the incident with the Rattrays in the pilot episode was a complete set-up. Bad Bill the Queen's procurer, no biscuit. In the final scene, I thought Sookie was running to Bill to forgive him... and she wasn't! Hallelujah brother, it's over!

I was freaked by the cement when it was just Russell, so when Bill turned on Eric and encased him in cement, too, I was beside myself. Fortunately, they didn't cliffhanger us with that, because Eric has someone who loves him (even if she complains about cement in her hair). Of course, no one loves Russell now that Talbot is down the garbage disposal. Can I hope that Russell's wolves indeed came to his rescue?

Actually, the whole episode was worth watching just for that scene with Sookie and Russell and the garbage disposal. I love Russell. He's such a hoot, even covered with black flakes and goo. I'm happy they decided not to kill Russell off. He's too good a character to throw away.

As Bill finally showed his slimy side, Eric again got to shine. This has been a great season for Eric, nearly everything I could have asked for. I'm glad he didn't decide to forgive Russell, even for Godric's sake, because it would have been out of character. And I'm holding out hope that Sookie will see Eric differently now. Bill has been lying like mad, while Eric has continued to tell her the truth – and she did save his life in the opening scene. I completely believe that he would never have given her to Russell.

In other news, I noticed a galloping wave of welcome maturity taking over some of the characters. Tara forgave her horrible mother and wished her well before cutting off her glorious hair and leaving town. Jason manned up in a big way, and took responsibility for the people of Hotshot. I was actually proud of Jason; he made Andy look bad. Crystal sacrificed herself for her people, too. Maybe she's not a total loss.

And Hoyt told off his mother and Summer during their "intervention," and got a house for himself and Jessica, his new vampire fiancee. Those crazy kids might just make it work. Except for that evil doll lying like an omen on the floor, and Maxine out buying a vampire-killing rifle, of course.

It's too bad about Jesus, who apparently seduced Lafayette in order to feed him V and turn on his power. That explains why Lafayette saw Jesus with that monster mask on; Lafayette is now seeing what people want to hide. I'm sad about Jesus. No one lives happily every after on this show.

Way too many cliffhangers for season four. Did Sam shoot Tommy? I certainly hope not. A lot of what Sam did this season was understandable under the circumstances, but not that. Will Bill take out the Queen? I think he will. I'll say again that I'm dreading the Arlene baby plot because I hate evil baby plots. At least the vicious and completely unreasonable Debbie Pelt is still out there, and that's fun waiting to happen.

And apparently, Alcide may have a chance with Sookie now. That is, if Sookie ever returns from magical fairy cemetery land.

Bits and pieces:

-- There are 2,712 people, shifters and vamps who live in Bon Temps. Does that include poor little Hotshot?

-- The VRA may not pass, but I could watch Nan Flanagan and Steve Newlin debate on television until the cows come home. The "vampire agenda." Wonderful.

-- Sookie's fairy encounter in the opening scene reminded me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Maybe fairies are aliens, after all.

-- Lettie Mae was being naughty with her married minister and thinks he's going to divorce his wife and make her respectable. Lettie Mae is clueless. It was great to see Tara finally disconnect and walk away.

-- "Uncle Daddy Calvin" just bit the dust. Kind of went well with the rampant character assassination, since he's nothing like the likeable character in the books, and I won't get more spoilery than that.

-- Terry's armadillo has a name now. Felix. Felix the armadillo.

-- Loved the Queen's widows weeds. Very fifties crossed with Morticia Adams.

Quotes:

Sookie: "Go crawl back in your holes, you creepy cold freaks."

Andy: "So we just let 'em sell drugs?"
Jason: "Well, if we stop 'em, somebody else just gonna start up, right?"
Andy: "You just rationalized away all need for law enforcement."

Sookie: "Don't be such a good guy right now."
Alcide: "I can't help it if I'm a good guy."
Russell: "Yeah. Every full moon, he turns into a wolf and kills and eats his prey."
Alcide: "Rabbits and squirrels. Not people."
Russell: "Details."

Lafayette: "You're a witch... who's a nurse... who's a dude."

Russell: "You will regret this!"
Eric: "Maybe. Right now, it feels fucking good."

This was a good season, my favorite so far. Nearly all of it worked. And unlike the first two season finales, this one felt a lot more like a finale instead of like set-up for the next season. Thank you, Alan Ball.

Three out of four garbage disposals,

Billie

P.S. Again, no book spoilers in the comments, please! I'll have to delete them.
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

24 comments:

  1. I'm really annoyed that I'm going to have to wait until next year for more True Blood! Nearly everything worked and the episode had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

    I did not like how Sam treated Tommy, especially after Tommy told him that he was illiterate. If Sam shot Tommy i'm going to be very annoyed. Jason and Hotshot did nothing for me, again. And i'm also a bit disappointed that Arlene's story line went nowhere all season.

    I loved everything with Tara, that nearly made me cry. And the final scene where Sookie goes off to fairy land with Claudine was lovely.

    I'm hoping for some kind of time jump next season. It would be nice if the characters had some time to rest off screen.

    I've really enjoyed your reviews Billie, despite the fact that I am very team Bill and you are of course team Eric.

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  2. As cool as Russell is, I don't want them to turn him into another Spike. Defang him, take away everything cool about the character in the first place...simply, badass decay.

    I hope Andy's going to be OK. He's one of my favourites and I feel he was underserved this season, especially considering his big role last season.

    Tommy's obviously alive, which sucks. Sam's storyline this season has been flat-out retarded.

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  3. Interesting finale and a nice set up for the next season too. Russell was a great villain but I'm so looking forward to the next baddie to wreak havoc for Sookie and company.

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  4. Your reviews are always fangtastic Billie! They make me enjoy this show I love a bit more. Thanks.

    This is a proper finale -as my grandpa would have said- with things falling into place and others about to... just to make us wonder where they will be at last.

    I also hope Sookie will see Eric in a different light now. Alcide might get the best of her vampire-out-of-my-life-reaction, that will be temporary, I hope. Im sure we will see more Russel, and I'm glad about it. Jess and Hoyt will be something to see... and the witches are in town.
    There will be blood.

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  5. First of all, not even all the concrete in the world could make Alexander Svasgard look bad - what a great season for Eric and how much more can we grow to love a character who says: when you guys finish eye-fucking each other... Great, just great. And Godric's appearance, though useless for it didn't change Eric's mind (which would be so out of context), served to raise a question: do vampires have a soul?
    Next, I hate what they did to Sam. Ok, he's tortured and has blood on his hands, but the way he treated despicable and abused Tommy was just wrong! And is it just me or is their father hanging out with the Hotshot people? How many saggy and ridiculous underwear are there in Bon Temps?
    I can't wait till next season, it'll be great, especially with new layers of characters being revealed, as Lafayette's. I;m not sure, though, whether Jesus is bad or not, or how their relationship will evolve. I don't think that arlene's baby is evil, but that what Lafayette saw was secrets people try to hide, like Sam's bloody hands... Oh, gosh, guess I'll have to learn Swedish and download some films with our favorite viking vampire actor to KILL the time, lol.
    I agree with you, Billie, on the rating, but I'd say it was three of four evil dolls lying on the floor, hahahah...

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  6. Everyone keeps mentioning that "eye-f---" comment. I think I missed it! I'll have to find it and add it to my review.

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  7. My favorite season so far, undoubtedly. And the Big Bad had lots to do with it.

    It's nice to finally see something that could turn out to be interesting in Jason's storylines. But Tara going away is something they've already done, she was picked up by Maryanne, and we all know how bad it ended up (in many ways, including plotwise).

    Now, I see many people saying Bill showed his evil side, and that's true, but none of the reviews or comments I read mentioned the most evil scene I can remember in TB: Sookie's look of pleasure while she destroyed Talbot's remains. And that evil laugh! She was genuinely enjoying making Russel suffer. Sadism is more evil than cruelty.

    And I have to say once again that I hope Eric and Sookie never get together. He's an evil jerk. And evil jerks get the most women in real life. I want my escapist fun to be different from that.

    And before anyone argues that he's not an evil jerk, remember what he did to Talbot. And to Lafayette in the beginning of Season 2. Jerk!

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  8. Gustavo, I echo your wish that Sookie and Eric do not get together. I am neither "team Bill" nor "team Eric" but I don't understand why people are so willing to overlook the evil ways of Eric (killing people by breaking them in half? keeping a dungeon? having killers for hire on staff?) and crucify Bill because he was sent on a purpose and fell in love on the way. Both have protected Sookie (Eric by sending Alcide, Bill by killing another vampire, facing a maenad, etc.) Either way, she would be much better off with someone who is alive.

    The one thing I am still confused about is, how long of a time span has the series covered? From Arlene's pregnancy we should assume somewhere about 4 months. That's a whole bunch of stuff (people dying, falling in and out of love) in a little bit of time! Jason has known Crystal for what, 2 weeks? And is someone (anyone) in Bon Temps (pop. 2,712) not a supernatural being? Humans may be in the minority there!

    Anyway, it was a good finale, and we'll have a long wait until the next season starts!

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  9. Cecilia, your support gives me not only more reasons to snub Eric that I had forgotten, but also hope, because I felt like all women were falling for the guy.

    Thanks

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  10. Gustavo, Cecilia I agree with you. I despise Eric. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

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  11. It's sort of fascinating to read so many "I hate Eric" comments. It's a lot like what happened to Spike on Buffy. It's also interesting that Spike was by far and away the most popular character on Buffy, as Eric is the most popular character on True Blood. The best part about season three was that I nearly got enough Eric. Could have used a bit more.

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  12. Billie,

    I like him as a character, but would never befriend him. He's despicable.

    I loved Spike because he was witty and sarcastic. And mostly sincere, because he rarely had anything to lose. That's not Eric's case. I don't get why you keep comparing them like equals all the time.

    (while reading my comment, I realized my tone may come across as rude. That's not my intention, but I don't know how to rephrase it. Sorry :( )

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  13. No problem, Gustavo. I just don't understand why Bill fans think anything he does is explainable and excusable, while anything Eric does is despicable. It's a mystery to me. But I have officially stopped debating the issue.

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  14. This finale pretty much summed up how I’ve been feeling about this entire season. There was a load of things I absolutely loved, loads that I didn’t and a few things I found so unbelievably ridonkulous I’m still unsure how to react to them.

    Even barbequed Russell was just all different flavours of awesome. Hoyt and Jessica were so adorable that I now have this horribly sinking feeling one of them is going to die next season (don’t do it, Alan Ball, don’t you dare). And although she’s far from my favourite character I really liked that Tara seemed to finally decide “enough of this fucked up shit” and left town. Oh, and of course there was Pam and Eric just being Pam and Eric.

    I do think that it is about time that the Bill/Sookie relationship came to a definitive end. I’m not fussed if she gets together with Eric, Alcide or Felix the armadillo but after the numerous break ups and make ups this season (not to mention Bill’s many fibs) this star-crossed romance has more than run it course. It just looks bad for Sookie’s character if she keeps going back again and again to the man who’s not only repeatedly lied to her but also nearly killed her.

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  15. Mark, I vote for Felix the armadillo as Sookie's new love interest! Considering how things run in Bon Temps, he is probably a shifter too! :-)

    Billie, I don't think people who don't see Eric as a good love interest for Sookie are necessarily rooting for Bill. It is just that Sookie has to choose between the psychopathic murderer and the psychopathic liar, and I would recomment neither to a friend. Eric fits the category of "bad boys waiting to be redeemed" which are always a big hit. And of course, there is the he-is-insanely-hot deal too.

    I personally think both Eric and Bill have done despicable and unexcusable stuff. Sookie would be stupid to run back to Bill, but I am not sure she would be better off with Eric. So, if I have to choose a "team," I would choose to be on team Alcide, who is the only male character who, to this point, has not done something bloody, murderous, and creepy. But he is a werewolf, so I am sure he's hiding some dirt too.

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  16. I've enjoyed this season a lot, but this just didn't feel like a finale to me. There was too much left hanging at the end, and without even a satisfying big bad death I was left feeling that nothing had been resolved.

    My predictions for next season:
    1.Hoyts Mum shoots Hoyt by accident
    2.Tara is back by the end of the first episode
    3.Sookie is boinking Bill within 3 episodes
    4.Tommy isn't dead - why waste that illiteracy character development just to kill him
    5. Jason gets distracted by a shiny thing and forgets all about Hotshot before we hear the theme music.

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  17. I again completely agree with Cecilia. Nothing to add, except that I think Sookie doesn't deserve Alcide, for what we know about him so far. That evil laugh of hers is still in my head.

    Speaking of that, he's a very large guy. And I remember that I was stunned at how small and skinny Debbie is. I wonder how he hasn't accidentally broken her in half when they were an item.

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  18. Not sure where else to put this. Here seems good:

    Hot guys with kittens, featuring Sam Trammell:

    http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/2aee0e6312/hot-dudes-with-kittens?playlist=featured_videos

    It is exactly as wonderful/awful as it sounds.

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  19. That vid is too funny. Dan thought it was disturbing.

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  20. Oh, dear God! My eyes! My eyes! And my brain. Also my brain.

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  21. Definitely best finale so far.
    Loved that they sort of kept Russell sort of alive.
    The intervention for Hoyt was very funny.
    I even liked Jason in this one, and I hope Crystal comes back. The panther was adorable.

    But Sookie just freaked me out with that laughter while destroying what was left of Talbot, so I’m with Gustavo on this one. I think that was the scariest moment of entire three seasons. Whether it was written that way or Anna juts overdid it, but that was very disturbing.

    When Bill held his hand out to Eric for a second there I thought those two might become friends after all. But what Bill did next caught me completely off guard. But, not Eric, I think he might’ve anticipated that.

    Stephen Moyer is good actor, because often I can’t tell if his lying or telling the truth and when he came to talk to Sookie after burying Eric in the cement he looked scary, I even thought he came to kill her or something. As far as him setting up that trap for her back in season 1 - I hate it when they turn stuff around like that. I bet they just came up with that (unless it was in the books, which I wouldn’t know, since I haven’t read them). Still he is a vampire! He’s supposed to do bad stuff, plus he fell in love with her AFTER that! And I do believe he loves Sookie, I mean he walked under the sun and almost burnt to death for her. That’s love. Having said that it’s clear that their relationships although quite romantic [especially in the beginning] but boring at it’s core came to an end. I do think some time apart will be good for them, plus Bill is far more interesting alone than with Sookie. I don’t really care who she ends up with, since she’s my least favorite character, but I wouldn’t like seeing her with Eric nor with Alcide for that matter. I think it’s time for Sookie to be alone for awhile.

    I find stuff they’re doing with Sam so inconsistent with the character established earlier, that I’m quickly loosing interest as well as in Lafayette and Tommy. Don’t quite care about Arlene and Terry except for the fact that I don’t like seeing her messing with Terry’s head that way.

    p.s. 1 looking forward to next season
    p.s. 2 hated Tara’s new haircut.

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  22. Olga, Bill's motivation for getting involved with Sookie was indeed a key point in the books. Alan Ball really is going in different directions with the series, but some things are the same.

    I'm really enjoying your comments. :)

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  23. Thanks, Billie!
    I'm catching up really fast :)
    It is great when you can watch all seasons at once, the only minus is that I can't participate in discussions, but always enjoy your reviews and everyone's comments.

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