TV Show and Tell - True Blood, Season 4, Episode 8 et al.

Episode eight—more than halfway through the season, four more and it's over. My fellow truebies, we are past the point of no return. I'll admit, I stuck with this season mostly out of loyalty; with hopes that the storylines would pick up—they did. The drawn out, scattered plot and character introductions in the first half of the season are finally coming together. This is probably gonna be one of my longer posts as I will try and cover events from some earlier episodes as well.

Here we go!

Much like the presence of Maryann in season two, the lives of Bon Temps' residents are once again disrupted by the spiritual presence of a powerful female super—Antonia Gavilán de Longroño—the meanest baddest angriest witch you never hope to meet.

Antonia. She may have been dead for 400 years, but her spirit's back and she's PISSED. Hermione Granger would NOT approve. Tsk, tsk.

Antonia was a very powerful witch who lived during the Spanish inquisition. One particular trick of hers drew the attention of vamps: Necromancy—the power to control the dead, and by extension the undead (i.e. vampires). She was imprisoned and sentenced to be executed, but not before being raped and fed upon by vampires who posed as men and women of the cloth—the very same ones who ordered her capture in the first place. As she stood burning at the stake on the day of her execution she chanted a spell that controlled all the vampires in the city. In the light of day, vampires across the city awoke against their will, walked into the sunlight and met the true death.

Four hundred years later her spirit is back, takes possession of Marnie's body, and is wreaking havoc on the vampires of Bon Temps. Marnie, an innocent palm reader with mediocre witchcraft potential, unknowingly possesses a powerful ability—she is a very receptive medium.

The concept of mediums made me notice that a bigger theme ran through this season: the concept of duality—the concept of having two sides. In this case, the Marnie side (harmless) vs. the Antonia side (lethal). Another Bon Temps resident possessed latent medium capabilities: Lafayette. Lafayette (scared and resistant) vs. Mavis (determined and unpredictable).

Open wide, Laffy!!! Mavis at a running start for some possession action.

I'm gonna be honest. I didn't really care much for the Lafayette/Jesus storyline, and I still kinda don't, but I'm hoping this new development could in fact come in handy when the time comes to get rid of Antonia, mano a mano, medium vs. medium.


Now back to Marnie/Antonia—Marntonia. She really is a talented and feisty one.

Down Boy!!! Some good old-fashioned one-on-one necromancy.

Marntonia gave us a taste of necromancy as she controlled vampire sheriff Luis Patiño, who incidentally was already a vamp during the Inquisition. Luis was on a mission in a different city and so survived the Spanish Vampire Decimation—his maker was not so lucky.
In the present: Marntonia ordered Luis to terminate Katherine Pellham (Bill's Wiccan spy) and later to attack King William himself. Bill survived and Luis was staked.

For her next trick—

Marntonia will recreate the events at Logroño and order all the vampires within 20 miles of Bon Temps to meet the sun.

Human levitation and widespread Vamp control: a typical day at the Moon Goddess Emporium.

Luckily, when Luis attacked Bill, the King was informed of Marntonia's plans. He convened the remaining sheriffs to warn their areas and subjects to avoid any vampire from meeting the true death. The plan: They must silver themselves as they go to ground.

Daddy's Little Girl. Bill comforting Jessica as he binds her in silver.

Bill in silver, impressed by Jessica's vivacity. "If I survive the day, I am going to eat that f*ckin' witch... starting with her face," - Jessica. What a sweetheart.

Ooh Eric you're so hot. And it's not because the silver is burning your sexy undead flesh. Sookie ogling Eric after silvering him.

Pam's Pick: Silver Chainmail Snuggie: adds some edge to the girliest of coffins!

Ooh! By the way, I love that it was Ginger who helped silver Pam.

Naturally, she screamed.

Another cameo I enjoyed: Dr. Ludwig!

Dr. Ludwig: the walking enema. You know she's good for you but she's still a pain in the butt.

Dr. Ludwig came to Fangtasia to help Pam with her Rot Problem. In the only way she knew how, Pam thanked the kindly old doctor by saying, "You f*cking c*nt!!! I'm gonna shove my hand up your @ss and use you as a handwarmer!" Oh Pam. Always so classy.

Sorry, I digress.

Despite the heightened security, some vamps were not informed and perished.

Maxine Fortenberry watches as her closeted vampire neighbor, Beulah Carter, meets the True Death. In her most compassionate tone Maxine mutters, "I knew it!"

This leads us to one of the biggest cliffhangers of the season: Jessica's Escape.

As the witches continue to cast their spell all the vampires become more and more desperate to escape their chains. Jessica manages to break free from her silver bindings. As she escapes the underground prison cell she manages to kill Bucky, one of their most trusted security officers. Episode seven ends with this image:

"The SUN!" exclaims Jessica.

Needless to say, I was shocked. I couldn't stand the week-long wait. I knew they couldn't kill her off. She is the favorite of so so many people.


Luckily, episode 8 started with Jason tackling Jessica back into the house, burnt and bruised—but alive. Bill states that he underestimated Jessica's strength and she was bound to her bed again in even more silver chains.

Oh did I mention that when Jason saved Jessica they KISSED?!
Yeah-huh.

Some kind of bloody bow-chica-wow-wow!

And it doesn't help that earlier in the season Jason had to drink Jessica's blood to heal him from the werepanther attack. And since sexual attachment is an effect of the blood, his Jessica-fantasies began.

"Sure stud, it's your dream," says dream Jessica.

This leads me to a list I want to call:
The 180º characters.

In this season, some of our favorite characters are exhibiting behaviors inconsistent with how we've come to know and love them—they did a 180—again, the duality theme.

1. Jessica.

Uh Jess, that doesn't look like Hoyt...

Sweet innocent Jessica. We fell in love with her naïveté, her desperate need to learn to be a vampire, and her even more desperate need to cling to what makes her human. This season, we see her darker more primal side. She has embraced her vampire nature fully. She ended her relationship with Hoyt. In this season she is a hunter—a physical, primal, sensual and sexual hunter. She may not have met the sun in episode 7, but to me, a part of the Old Jessica has died.

2. Hoyt.

I've never seen Hoyt this mad...

Oh Hoyt. For me, the most pronounced change was with Hoyt. Hoyt was dependably good. Hoyt was the only character who would consistently be thinking of good and kind thoughts when Sookie would 'eavesdrop'. Talk about duality. In past seasons, Hoyt was kind-hearted and soft-spoken. Now he's hurtful and angry and bitter. I never expected to see this side from Hoyt. I'm not sure I like it. Funny thing is, I'm not entirely sure that I hate it either... I mean, the Hoyt-Jessica tandem was one of the purest surest and sweetest relationships of the series, I'm sad that it's over, BUT it does allow Jessica's to do some more, umm, 'exploring'.

3. Jason

Time to relax? Are you kidding, in Bon Temps, never.

I think what shocked me the most about Jason this season was his ability to think with his head rather than his disco stick. He refused Jessica's advances after she had broken up with Hoyt despite the effects of her blood in his veins.

Did I mention that both Hoyt and Jason rescinded their invitations to Jessica? As expected, she was thrown from both homes:

Bye Jessica. Thrown from Hoyt's house.

Bye Jessica. Thrown from Jason's house.

4. Tara

Hey Tara, you have some vampire on your face.

In past seasons, despite her mouthy and in-your-face demeanor, Tara has always found herself at the mercy of a powerful super. This season, she has taken control and is defending herself with an extra steely exterior, some no fuss guts and a lot of luck. She gets herself on Marntonia's side, gets in the way of the vamps and is getting on my nerves.

5. Eric

Eric Northman in a denim jacket? How wholesome!

Eric lost his memory and is kind and transparent now. 'Nuff said.
Oh also, he puts his vamp-peepee in Sookie.
A lot.

Sookie and Eric in a V/Fae-induced snow-covered Asgardian hallucinatory tryst. This is the weirdest of many.

6. Debbie & Alcide

Oh Alcide, I love the false sense of security I get when you hug me.

Well, if you don't see how Debbie has done a 180 from her character last season, then I don't know what else to tell you... Debbie has been remarkably stable and put-together. We'll see how long that lasts now that she's seen Alcide break his promise.

The definition of Trust: Changing into wolf form and spying on your partner. Hey, she caught him red-handed right?

7. Andy Bellefleur

Andy contemplating taking a bite of Beulah goo off of the sidewalk. Somebody's jonesin' hard.

In past seasons, Andy Bellefleur's goal in life was to prove to everyone (and himself) that he wasn't just a bumbling washed-up cop. He threw all that out the window because now he's addicted to V. He used to be so by the book that he would arrest people left and right just to show everyone in town that he was "doing his job". This season, he could care less about the book, I mean he's addicted to an illegal substance!

8. Pam: a devolution.

Pam as we know her. Taking a break from feeding to deliver her betchy one-liners.

"Uh, the veil then." - Bill, after running out of advice. Pam's Rot Problem, care of Marntonia.

During Dr. Luwig's treatment. I love how she still remembered to put her hair up in a towel.

After Dr. Ludwig's treatment. She is such a girly girl.

The biggest change for Pam this season is clearly a physical one. I was hoping that with Eric mentally incapacitated, she would step up to the plate. I am 1/3 disappointed, 1/3 pleased and 1/3 pissed.
The disappointment: The moment she goes off to act all badass and catch Eric's witch she goes and gets herself cursed.
The pleasure: She is really really really pissed off. The only thing better than Pam, is a very angry out-for-blood Pam.
The piss (?): Everytime Pam's about to open up a can of whoop-ass she gets thwarted. Grrrr!


In other news:

1.The Werewolves

Ah, right. The perfect place to address your secret pack of werewolves and talk about secret supernatural activity is on your front lawn in the middle of the day.

Marcus Bozeman, Shreveport packmaster, warns his pack (which Alcide and Debbie joined) to stay away from the witches and the vamps. Incidentally, Marcus fathered a daughter with Luna, one of—

2. The Shifters
Ugh... honestly, this is another storyline I'm not really interested in right now... But for the sake of going through the motions; here's what's up: Tommy can skinwalk now, as in he can shift into people. He shifted into Sam and proceeded to sleep with Luna. Luna and Sam found out so now Tommy's been thrown out. Tommy then shifted into Maxine and sold her land. Luna and Sam got rocky, but now things are patched up. Luna's daughter, Emma, loves Sam, but Marcus, Emma's dad and Luna's ex, hates Sam. So there.

Also, I think the inclusion on the Shifters and Weres (even if they don't have much to do with the main plot, yet) plays with the theme of duality, for obvious reasons...

3. Terry and Arlene.

Nope, that's not creepy at all.

Last we saw, Terry and Arlene are soundly asleep in their bed while a possessed Lafayette—Mavayette—is cradling baby Mikey in his/her arms.


Now. As with the famous VH1 specials, of the following characters I would just like to ask:
Where are they now?

1. Portia Bellefleur

Didn't really like you, but still, where are you?

2. Nan Flanagan

I'm surprised that with the recent turn of events the AVL hasn't stepped in. I miss Nan's happy, fresh cheerful face. And by happy, fresh and cheerful I mean pissed off, gaunt and foreboding.

3. Crystal Norris and the Werepanthers

Eeew. Don't really care where you are. Good riddance.

4. The Fae

Uh, now would be a good time to be of service to your kind.

Now for the last section (I swear I'm almost done):

The Witch Vs. Vampire standoff.

The Witches of Eastwick

VERSUS

The Lost Boys.... And Girls... And Sookie.

Bill seeks out Marntonia with hopes of bringing peace between their kind. However, neither trusted the other and both brought reinforcements. Sookie was surprised to see Tara (ugh) standing alongside Marntonia. I'm also happy to see that Pam's looking normal in a spiked leather jacket. She has both ears and a nose again!

Time for the battle highlights and cliffhangers:

Bill begins by presenting the terms of negotiation. Marntonia is unimpressed. Sookie looks into Marntonia's mind and discovers that she has been casting a spell. Marntonia raises her arms to reveal even more witchfolk decked out in their heirloom silver paraphernalia. Bill gives the order and about half a dozen vampires zoom into view followed by human soldiers. As the soldiers target Marntonia's heart, Bill states that she may control the undead, but she will have no control over his soldiers. Marntonia merely laughs it off which I guess pisses off Eric because he then does this—

Hey Beverleen, I think I got your throat.

Marntonia quickly casts a spell that engulfs the cemetery in fog and darkness. Humans run in every which way and the vamps zoom after them. Tara (ugh) successfully shoots a wooden bullet through an unnamed vamp's heart and then this happens:

"I think you dropped something," - Pam to Tara. PS. Where does she get her awesome jackets?!

As Pam was finally going to get her revenge on Tara (ugh), Bill zooms in and orders her to cease and desist. He goes as far as tells her that if she were to ever hurt Tara (ugh) he will personally execute her (ugh x 1934287). Pam's retort: "You've gotta be f*cking kidding me..." Still classy. Before she zooms off to probably feed on another witch instead she says,

"This is sooo F*CKING LAME!!!" - Pam. I agree.

Tara is helped up by Bill. "Why did you save me?" she asks. "You know why." he says. I hope that this means Tara will become a little less anti-fang and in turn a little less annoying.

The melee continues and in the confusion Sookie is shot.

Oh, now she goes and gets herself shot? What an attention hog.

As I mentioned earlier, Alcide finds Sookie in the cemetery and carries her off the scene. Debbie watches this all happen and from the looks of it, she is POed.

I have a creeping suspicion that shiny happy Debbie is gone...

Both having a blood/empathic connection to Sookie, Bill and Eric are alerted to her distress. Eric had just finished off an enemy and immediately zoomed after Sookie. Bill however was in the middle of a fight with Holly and another Wiccan. With Bill distracted, the two silver him immediately.

This silver really brings out your eyes.

On his way to Sookie, Eric runs into Marntonia. And what happened next comes as a close second to the biggest cliffhangers of the season. Marntonia further exercises her necromancy on Eric. She forces him to kneel before her and she proceeds to pet his hair, muttering the word "Servus" repeatedly. If Marntonia is successful at controlling Eric, then by George, she now has the oldest and most powerful vampire in Louisiana under her command.

Do you use Vidal Sassoon?

As the episode ends, the camera pans out and leaves us with this image:

Focus on the lamp in the cemetery? I smell faaaiiirrrriiieeesss!

Phew! That sure was a whopper! I now realize that I should stick to one episode per entry. I promise the following posts won't be this long... But wow! Things are really starting to pick up, right? Til next time!


<3




As usual, images are screen grabs.