More Flashbacks, More Fairies

True Blood, S05E03

Tara tried to seek help from Sam, wanting to avoid Lafayette and Sookie.  Andy began to question about Debbie's disappearance, and Sookie had to come clean to Alcide.  Eric and Bill were saved from execution, but were tested by an Authority councilor to see if they could be trusted.  Pam continued to remember how she came to be Eric's child.  Jason encountered the teacher who taught him how to have sex and realized that sex didn't comfort him like it used to.  Jessica realized that Jason wanted more than a physical relationship and assured him that she could be a friend who was also a woman.

If there was some way I could feel sorry for Tara having to adjust to being a vampire, which she hated, and trying to resist harming innocent people, I would do it.  But she is just so damn annoying!  Tara took a bullet for Sookie, and Sookie had someone she disliked help save her life in return.  When Tara takes the moment to stop freaking out over her new found hunger and abilities, maybe she'll see that people loved her enough to not want to be visiting her grave every day. Perhaps if Pam gets annoyed enough she might take Tara under her wing and settle her ass down.  Pam, at least, is a pretty cool and collected vampire and would make a good role model for Tara.

However, she did lose it when Sookie was bothering her about Tara when Eric had been missing for days.  Sookie was lucky that she didn't get her neck bitten off, pestering her about an act that she and Lafayette made her do.  But I was surprised that Sookie was able to control her fairy powers enough to retaliate against Pam and send her flying.  Damn!  I almost wished that the fight had escalated.  Sometimes Sookie pushes her damn luck.  I know that she doesn't have full control over those powers just yet, so she should be a little more careful about attacking vampires who would gladly see her dead.

I suppose what I liked best about this episode was Pam's 1905 flashback when Eric came to her establishment.  He wanted to have Pam, but she refused him unless he would take care of the vampires who were draining some of her girls dry.  It turned out these vampires were none other than Bill and Lorena!  That wasn't interesting to me until I realized this was the first time that Bill and Eric met.  Bill was still quite the greenhorn vampire who seemed to have nothing but contempt for Eric.  But Eric recognized Bill's talent, I suppose, and was gracious enough to let Lorena and Bill (who glared at Eric instead of apologizing) go without any bloodshed.  Classy.  And it adds upon the relationship between Bill and Eric which has been horrible until recently.  I wonder when it was that they met each other again (possibly when Eric became sheriff?).  I also wonder what it was about Pam that Eric felt strongly enough not to let her die, but take her on as his child.  I dunno.  Eric can't be that compassionate.

Oh, there was a random fairy who appeared.  He was fairly good-looking (as fairies are supposed to be) and reminded me that the fairies who have been on the show so far annoy me with their average looks.  But I was worried that Jessica following the fairy was going to get her killed or something.  I've read the books and I can't get over at how vicious and sadistic fairies were (though I don't think they are as bad in the TV version).  Still, I think the fact they are still floating around town is going to have some kind of dangerous consequences down the road.  Hopefully in an interesting way, not a stupid way.

I was none too surprised that Alcide didn't accept Sookie's confession too well.  Any guy with some sense would think that Sookie wasn't a very good friend.  However, just because I like Alcide, I hope that he forgives her.  She will surely need his help to keep the Pelts off her back.  Once they find out that Sookie is the one who murdered their daughter, they'll be an addition to the list of people who will want to kill her (the foremost being Russell once he gets back on his feet).

Jason also surprised me by visiting his past when he had sex with his former teacher (again), but then realized that sex being the highpoint of his life and worth didn't fulfill him anymore (if it ever truly did).  I was really happy to see that he resisted Jessica and wished to be treated like a human not a sex robot.  It was even better when Jessica wasn't so horny to not listen to his feelings and offered to lend him her ear like a real friend.  I guess she really is serious about Jason after all.  I was worried that she was all talk and might lose interest in him if he wasn't getting naked for her.  There is hope for those two yet.

I think overall this episode wasn't that exciting, possibly because nothing really happened.  Bill and Eric were still stuck on Authority grounds, Tara was still being a bitchy newborn vampire, and Arlene was no closer to finding out what was going on with Terry than she was before.  Truly, if there wasn't a Pam flashback and Jason's revelation that sex wouldn't whitewash all his problems, I would have been pretty bored.  Next time, I'd like to see Pam have a bigger role (that wasn't in a flashback) and find out what's going on with these fairies in town.  Hopefully, Russell won't make a move any time soon because I'm not quite ready for him to come in and cause havoc just yet.  That's either going to be really great or really terrible.

How Much Would You Pay For Jason?

True Blood, S05E02

Sookie and Lafayette struggled to look after Tara who was raging around the house.  Eric and Bill were interrogated and tortured at an Authority holding area.  Arlene tried to get to the bottom of what was wrong with Terry.  Luna gave Sam the boot when he tried to give his two cents about Emma.  Steve offered money to Jessica to hand over Jason to him.

The winner this week for best scene in this episode was hands-down when Steve approached Jessica for the use of Jason for 10 grand--cash.  I had hoped that he hadn't given up on Jason so easily, and this time he really showed that he was indeed determined to get his hands on him.  I was dying with laughter when Jessica was teasing him about how hot Jason was so he would double his offer.  Luckily, she wasn't about to pimp out her friend.  Still, Steve seems that he is going to keep causing trouble for Jessica until he gets what he wants.  I'm very interested to see what else he might do.  Also, I loved when he just barged into her party and was getting along with those college students so well.  Wow.

The second best scene for me was when Lafayette had to offer Tara some True Blood, and he looked terrified and pulled up his sweater around his neck.  I freaking love when Lafayette is kinda scared shitless--his expressions are so funny!  But I felt myself feeling sorry for him when he was about to stake Tara, and he confessed that he had her turned because he didn't have anyone without her now that Jesus was gone.  Aww!  As much as I hate Tara, I don't want to see Lafayette so sad and lonely!  If Tara can just manage to be there for him, I can tolerate her ass still being alive.

Another scene that had me very interested was Bill and Eric being interrogated.  I was amazed at how they refused to sell one another out, no matter what happened to them.  Even better, I love that Eric can still be sarcastic when his life is on the line.  He cracks me up.  Of course, it would feel a little out of character for him if Eric was cowering in fear or something.  Not only is he brave no matter what, but he's also so damn loyal!  I was surprised that when it looked like "Guardian (who the hell is that guy?)" was going to stake Bill, Eric tried to throw all the blame on himself to save him.  Man, they are really going to be friends forever once this Authority business is done (perhaps it's all due to the fact they don't have to fight over Sookie anymore?).

Their interrogation also brought up the issue of the Vampire Bible, where it was said that God was a vampire and created the first vampire in his image, and humans were just created to feed vampires.  That's interesting.  Then they showed the chancellors engaging in this very religious ceremony where they all consumed blood (like communion or something).  It was weird seeing vampires engaging in their own religious rituals.  

The last thing that I liked in this episode was seeing Eric circa 1905.  Since it was Pam's flashback, I'm pretty sure that many fans like myself were just waiting for Eric to make an appearance dawned in that century's style of clothing.  I think that it suited him pretty well, and I loved him calmly licking his bloody hand before he started chatting with Pam.  Since Eric left right after giving Pam some money to cover her ruined dress, we still haven't seen when she was turned by Eric.  I'm guessing that he probably showed up another time at her place of employment another day.  Though, I can't see Eric really needing to pay anyone to sleep with him.  Hopefully we'll get to see the continuation of the vampire Pam origin story.

Lastly, I just want to mention how insane Luna is for kicking Sam out of her house (and life, basically).  He almost got himself killed by wolves for her and her daughter's sake!  I'm sure he would do it even if they weren't dating, but she is all kinds of crazy to tell him that it's her way or the highway like that.  Hopefully now that she's seen that her daughter is indeed a wolf after all, maybe she'll stop acting like a bitch and lean on Sam.  She could do a lot worse for someone in the supernatural world, anyway.  At least when things go to hell, Sam would be around for support.  That's enough to keep him around, considering her connection with the werewolves in town.  But I wonder if she'll break down and go to Emma's grandmother for help or will she apologize to Sam?  Either of those choices are better than her being a stubborn bitch and trying to handle everything for herself.  She best come to her senses and realize Sam's the best thing that's happened to her in a while (although, he can be a bit of trouble magnet himself).

I liked this episode a lot more than I did the first.  I was worried that I was going to be watching, but not that invested in what was mostly going on, but I'm surprised by how much I like the Jessica versus Steve battle and Eric and Bill's involvement with the Authority.  I'm not looking forward to Eric and Bill taking down Russell, but it's good that they were able to use his escape to prolong their lives for a while.  I'm sure that they will find a way to redeem themselves by stopping the ex-King from causing more havoc.  But of course, more than that I want to see Steve try another way to get Jason.  I have a feeling that's going to be the funniest storyline this season.