Monday, June 28, 2010

True Blood - Episode 3 Recap & Highlights




*WARNING*
This post contains spoilers and may contain offensive language.
If you don’t like either, please cover your eyes now.


Umm, I’m not sure how to react to this episode. I mean on the one hand, there were things I loved *cough* Alcide *cough* but, there were also things I just couldn’t wrap my head around. So without further ado let’s get on to the recap.

Sookie
We begin episode three where two left off. In the middle of what looked to be a crazy showdown between Eric and the werewolf who had been following Sookie. It was probably the best intro to the show I’ve ever seen. I especially liked the Matrix style special effects. Nice touch HBO. Back to Sookie, so she fires the gun and Eric jumps in front of the bullet (I’m guessing to prevent Sookie from killing the psychopath so they can question him). The were shifts back into his human state at the sight of Eric’s blood. As he comes in for a taste Eric grabs him by the throat and starts pumping him for information. The guy’s trying to talk so Eric starts to loosen his grip and the guy tries to take off. Sookie fires another round and drops him. Eric swoops in and tries to obtain information from him again. The were proves to be uncooperative and Eric kills him. They head over to the cemetery to bury the body. She thanks him for saving her life. On the way back to the house she mentions that she picked up on the word Jackson from the were’s mind. Eric figures it’s where the were is from. Sookie immediately wants to head to Jackson. He asks her to take the day to think it over. And in true Sookie fashion she insists on leaving the next morning. Sookie heads in to Merlotte’s the next day and asks Sam for a couple of days off. She heads back home to clean the mess that Eric made the night before. As she’s cleaning she ‘hears’ someone talking about her. She looks up and starts to run and freak out at the same time. The mysterious stranger is none other than….*drum roll please*…..Alcide!!! About time!! He explains that Eric sent him to escort her to Jackson. Ever the polite hostess she invites him in and offers him refreshments. While she’s serving him he’s wondering if it really is true that she can hear thoughts. She answers his question which sets up a very funny mental back and forth between them. Sookie then is filled in as to why Alcide is helping Eric. Next stop – the Jackson were bar. Alcide walks her in and then they split up so that Sookie can tune in on people and he can talk to his people. She puts on her best dumb blonde act to get inside people’s head. She ‘hears’ one guy say something about a vamp they picked up the other day. When she steps up and puts her hand on him she discovers he was one of the guys that kidnapped Bill. She follows him into the back room so she can try to get more information. Unfortunately, things get out of hand. Alcide swoops in to save her but, gets knocked around in the process. If that’s not bad enough, he also finds out via the bouncer that his ex-girlfriend is about to get engaged. Don’t worry Alcide. I’ll comfort you. ;-)



Tara
We find Tara in the throes of passion with none other than Mr. Franklin Mott. He attempts to engage her in conversation but, she feels uncomfortable talking about herself and her past and leaves. Tara heads into work the next day and receives a call from Mike Spencer regarding Eggs’ funeral. She lets him know she’s on her way and not to start without her. She arrives and finds she’s the only one in attendance. She looks around and notices that someone made arrangements for Eggs. When she asks who paid for it Sookie steps out and says that it was the least she could do for him. It was a very sweet moment for them and they start to take steps toward repairing their friendship. Sookie asks Tara to come back home and Tara agrees. Later that night Tara receives a visit from Franklin. He proceeds to hit her with the vamp stare and starts to question her about Bill. Whatever this guy is up to it's not good. He’s got it in for Bill and doesn’t look like he’s going to let up on getting the answers he wants.



Sam
After his brother’s attempt on his life, he walks into his biological family’s home to confront him. His mother is under the impression that he’s going to stay the night but, he insists on heading back to Bon Temps. He promises to see them again soon and heads home. He receives an unexpected visit from his family the next day at the bar. He tries to explain to them that he was under the impression that they weren’t going to see each other for a while. His mother takes offense to the statement and Sam (being the nice guy that he is) invites them to stay for lunch, his treat. His father ends up ordering too much to drink and trying to give Tommy a drink. Sam stops his father and that’s when things get tense. His mother suggests that they leave and Sam agrees that it’s the best thing to do. He's woken up later that night by the bar’s alarm. He goes to check out the scene and finds a bird in his office. Upon further inspection he realizes the bird was his brother Tommy and that he was trying to pull a fast one on him. Shame on you Tommy. Shame. On. You.



Jessica
We find Jessica placing a call to Pam to explain her situation with the missing body. Pam is um, well, let’s just say she’s preoccupied with the club’s new dancer. So she’s less than thrilled when Jessica starts blabbering about her issues. Pam basically tells her that if there’s no body then there’s no problem. Later that night Jess receives a visit from Franklin. At first she thinks he’s a human trying to harass her. She bears her fangs and he makes a funny face at her and bears his own. They walk into the living room and he places a bag on the floor. He begins asking her if she’s been looking for something. When she declines he pulls the trucker’s head out the bag he was carrying. He tells her that since he’s helped her she now needs to help him and asks her to tell him everything she knows about Bill. Things aren’t looking good for our baby vamp.



Jason
We find Jason having a conversation with Hoyt about becoming a police officer. Apparently, the tackle he did last episode fired him up to become an officer of the law. The next morning Hoyt tries to help Jason study for the police exam. Jason, being Jason, can’t focus and figures that if Andy Bellefleur could pass the test them so could he. We then find him in a classroom taking the exam. He starts to get frustrated and walks up to the front of the class to ask Bud for a new test. When Bud looks up he has a bullet hole in his forehead. He then points out the fact that Jason has another problem. When Jason looks down he realizes he has no pants on. Lafayette proceeds to wake him up from his dream. They hear Hoyt start to freak out and run over to see what’s going on. Hoyt’s discovered a body with no head and no hands. Sheriff Dearbourne, Kenia and Andy are called in to investigate the scene. Sherriff Dearbourne becomes so frustrated and upset that he literary quits in the middle of the investigation. Jason heads to Merlotte later that night and has a heartfelt chat with Tara. He then has a vision of a bullet hole in the middle of her forehead and makes an abrupt departure. At home he burns up the police officer application. Poor Jason. Hopefully he finds a way to deal with his trauma.


Bill
*Sigh* So my wish of him offing Lorena doesn’t come true. She survives the hurricane lamp incident. The King is not pleased by his behavior and asks to speak with him in private. He asks him why he hasn’t turned Sookie. Bill says it would be impossible. The King then implies that that decision could damage Sookie’s well being in the long run. Bill then has a flashback / dream about the night he goes back to visit his family. He finds out that his son has passed away from small pox. He starts to cry over his son’s death and his wife discovers what he’s become. Lorena shows up and encourages him to make his wife forget about him. He buries his son and Lorena reminds him that he brought this suffering upon himself. Bill wakes up and meets with the King in his office. Also there are Talbot, Lorena and Coot. Bill advises the King that he has decided to accept his offer. Lorena is furious because she now can no longer cause harm to Sookie. Lorena visits Bill and golf claps his decision to help the King. She realizes he’s doing this to protect Sookie. This episode ends in such a weird, bizarro way that I can’t find the words to describe it. You’ll have to download it and give me your thoughts on it. I’m seriously scarred for life from the ordeal.



Highlights

Arlene & Terry
We find Arlene getting an ultrasound to confirm her fear that she’s pregnant. The doctor confirms that she is and that she’s probably 9 to 10 weeks along. This causes her to worry because she realizes that she hasn’t been with Terry that long. Once she’s back at Merlotte’s she tries explaining to Terry that she’s pregnant. He’s misinterpreting what she’s saying and thinks she’s breaking up with him. She finally says that she’s pregnant and he becomes so overjoyed that she decides not to tell him that he's probably not the father.

Opening scene
What can I say. I loved it. I thought it was nicely done. It had the right mix of suspense, drama and action. It was also kind of gory. I’m all for the return of the deadly vampire. Enough with the sparkle crap.

Alcide!!
Okay, you guys knew that was coming. Finally!! We get to see Mr. Joe Manganiello in action. All I have to say is…more please!


Lowlights

Closing scene
Honestly guys, the only lowlight I have is the way Mr. Ball and his team decided to end this episode. Yes, I’m still traumatized. And yes, it’ll take a while to get that visual out of my head. *Brrr*

Joe Lee Mickens
Oh wait, there’s one other thing. What is up with Joe Lee Mickens constantly walking around in his tightie whities?!?


Favorite One Liners

Sookie: ‘How’s your bullet wound?’
Eric: ‘Well, it would’ve healed a lot faster if you had…’
Sookie: ‘I will never fall for that again.’
Eric: ‘Maybe the next time you shoot me.’

‘He had a Mississippi accent. Can’t you people tell the difference?’
-Eric to Sookie

‘Don’t ever get married Sam. The second you do that’s when they start to woman you.’
-Joe Lee to Sam

‘Spit it out cupcake I’m in the middle of something.’
-Pam to Jessica

‘You think Andy Bellefleur knows half of this shit? There’s gotta be an easier way. I’m ready, now! I’m like a ninja level marksman. I got all the training I need.’
-Jason to Hoyt

‘Great. You’ll get us both killed.’
-Alcide to Sookie

‘Hello sweetheart. *Taps passenger side seat* Hop in.’
-Eric to Lafayette

‘If I had a nickel for every time I…I’d have 15 cents.’
-Terry to Arlene

‘You here alone cream puff?’
-Random biker were to Sookie


What did you all think? Are you as disturbed by last night’s ending as I am?


On a side note, looks like there won’t be a new episode until July 11th. Have no fear. I’m working on a post to hold us over until then.

12 comments:

Book of Secrets said...

*Book/Show Spoilers*

Overall, great episode. The ending was beyond disturbing. Of course, Alcide was the best part, though I wish they would have included the scene of Sookie fixing Alcide breakfast when he came to pick her up. In the book Sookie couldn't hear his thoughts easily, and she invisioned what her life would be like with a werewolf. It could be as normal as possible for her. Also, they're keeping Bill a good guy in the show. I don't like that!!

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

Mornin' Diana! I would have liked to have seen the breakfast scene too. You're right...I think in the books she gets either random visuals or speech but for the most part it's fuzzy reception. LOL...after that last scene I'd use the term good guy loosely. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I'm not as disturbed as maybe I should be. Yes it was totally wrong but at the same time...he is a vampire...and now we know that Bill can be vicious when it suits him and he does hate Lorena. He knows he can't kill her so he settles for hurting her. Didn't look like she minded much.

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

Hi Anna! Hmmm...I guess when you put it that way it kind of takes some of the shock value out of it. I just wasn't ready for the visual. =/

Vickie said...

I missed the first 10 or 15 min, cuz like a big ol' dork, I FORGOT it was on!!! How in the heck could I have done that? Especially as I will likely be missing it next Sunday..have to go spend quality time with DH's fam in Minnesota...sigh...wonder if they have HBO...
My favorite line was Terry to Arlene "If I had a nickely for every time...well I'd have 15 cents." I adore Terry in this show, he's such a puppy.

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

I loved that line too. It was so sweet. Have no fear Vickie. There won't be a new episode until July 11th. =)

Van Pham said...

I just finished watching the show, had to download it because i dont have cable. Yes, the ending scene was very distrubing...i was like WTH is going on?!! Also the scene with Tara and the vampire in the motel was pretty weird too.

Yes, the only highlight of the show seems to be Alcide haha :)

Also does anyone know who's Arlene's baby is? I am so lost on that.

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

@van_pham: I agree with you on the Tara scene. Franklin just straight creeps me out.

WOOHOO Alcide! =D

*Spoiler ahead if you haven't watched Season 1*

I thought about it afterward and the first person that popped into my head was Rene Lenier - you know...Arlene's crazy psycho boyfriend who killed off all those girls and then tried to kill Sookie. That would be quite an interesting turn of events.

Van Pham said...

@Jen: I was thinking of Rene too, but didn't he die like a long time ago? Franklin is realllly creepy, he reminds me of a leprechaun haha.

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

LOL!! That's the funniest thing I've heard all day. It totally makes sense now...he's needs Bill so he can find his lucky charms.
=D

Vickie said...

WHEW! Thanks Jen for the good news on not having to worry about missing this weekend's episode. I'll be home by the 11th.

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

Anytime Vickie. =)