The three of them are finally making their way back to Bon Temps after an overly adventurous time battling the Fellowship of the Sun in Dallas.  Sookie’s just talking about how things seem a little different when people jump out in front of their chauffeured van and smash through the windshield.  By the time they get to Bill’s house (and by then, the sun has gone down and he’s able to get out), they find Jessica and Hoyt trying to get his mother, who has been possessed by the same thing that’s controlling the whole town, under control.

Sookie talks to Lafayette and learns that he’s got Tara and she’s not in good shape and he also tells her that her home is not a safe place to be.  Unfortunately, she’s already inside and is shocked when Maryann emerges and says that the house now belongs to her.  Sookie tries to get tough but she’s easily overpowered by the Maenad and when Bill tries to drain her to save Sookie, he finds out the hard way that vampires shouldn’t try to suck the blood of mythical beings.  Sookie reaches for Maryann’s face and, in doing so, emits some sort of energy from her hand, shocking the three of them.  Maryann chuckles and asks “what are you?”  They ignore her and run for the door with Bill vomiting all the  way.

Sookie suggests they contact Eric (Bill is adamently against it) but then supplies Bill with some of her blood so that he can heal.  They get to Lafayette’s house and they find Tara looking possessed.  Sookie tries to get into Tara’s mind and is shocked to discover that her friend seems to be gone.  Bill glamors Tara to lower her defences and, finally, Sookie was able to connect with her telepathically to bring her back to her senses.  Tara emotionally reaches out for her mother and says that she’s sorry.

Meanwhile, Sam and Andy are lured to Merlotte’s after a frantic phone call from Arlene.  She says a mob is outside and she’s afraid they are going to kill her and hurt her kids.  Sam can’t bear to turn his back on her and he runs straight into their trap.  Arlene is, in fact, part of the possessed mob and after some fighting, Sam and Andy lock themselves into the freezer.  They are surprised when Jason Stackhouse is able to get the “zombies” (for lack of a better word) out of the bar and he frees Sam and Andy.  Sam lets the group eventually take him when they break back into Merlotte’s and Andy and Jason devise a plan to make it seem like Jason is the “God” they’ve all been waiting for and Sam offers himself up.  Andy and Jason are left speechless, however, when Jason yells “I smite thee” to Sam and the bar owner vanishes into thin air.  The group, believing they’ve accomplished their goal, leave to report back to Maryann and Sam reappears wearing nothing but an apron.  He agrees to explain everything to Andy and Jason later.

With everything that is happening in Bon Temps, it becomes clear that the only way to restore order is to get rid of the Maenad in town.  Sookie asks Bill if he knows how to kill her and, after conceding that he doesn’t, he tells her that he knows a vampire who might.  He tells Sookie that he has to go alone and he makes his way to the Queen of Louisiana’s home.

So, I’m guessing we will finally see Evan Rachel Wood as the Queen in the next episode but what do you think is going to happen here?  I’ve read the books but the show follows a slightly different storyline.  Did Bill make a mistake by bypassing the Area 5 sheriff (Eric) when he went directly to the Queen?  I think he did.  This is about to get realllly interesting.

images: HBO/John P. Johnson

Post from: EveryJoe

Jessica continued to lament over the fact that, since she died a virgin, she will always be a virgin vampire since they heal.  Hoyt didn’t seem bothered by it and he tried to console her and reassure her that everything would be fine between them.  He told her that he wanted her to meet his mother and Jessica was excited, despite the fact that Hoyt warned her that his mother didn’t like vampires.

Back at home with his mother, Hoyt brought up the fact that he wanted the two to meet and his mother respondly negatively.  Hoyt told her that she was a woman filled with hate and stormed out.  Later, the three met at Merlotte’s and things did not go well.  Hoyt’s mother pointed out that Jessica could never have any children and the young vampire ran out crying.

Tara and Eggs woke up looking beaten since, well, they beat each other up after eating Maryann’s pie (you know, the one made with Daphne’s heart – shudder).  They don’t remember a thing, of course.  When Tara shows up for work looking bruised and bloodied, Lafayette automatically assumes that she’s been a victim of domestic violence and goes after Eggs.  Later on, Tara and Eggs are talking to Maryann in Sookie’s kitchen and Lafayette and Tara’s mom come through the door.  They tell Tara that she’s going to have to leave this situation and Lafayette accuses Maryann of being something supernatural.  A fight breaks out but Lafayette is able to grab Tara (whose eyes are black and she’s snarling) and throw her in the car.  Maryann tells Eggs not to worry because Tara will be back – and she’ll bring her mother and Lafayette with her.

After the explosion, Sookie wakes to find Eric on top of her.  He tells her that he shielded her from the blast.  She immediately begins looking for her brother, Jason, who is miraculously fine.  Some humans and vampires were not as lucky, including Stan.  When Sookie returns to where she had fallen, she finds Eric still lying there and he begs her to suck the silver bullets from his skin, claiming he’s about to die.  Sookie does it and, despite trying to spit it out, ingests some of Eric’s blood.

When Bill finds out, he’s furious since exchanging blood has bonded them – Eric will now know where Sookie is and how she is feeling.  That’s a potentially bad thing since he will be able to tell if she’s beginning to feel attracted to him (and Sookie’s very sexual dream about Eric could signal an impending love triangle).

After Nan shows up accuses the vampires in Dallas of being bad press to their kind, Godric agrees that it was a mistake to go to the Fellowship of the Sun and voluntarily relinquishes his title of Sheriff.  Eric tries to object but it’s clear that Godric has made up his mind.  It also becomes obvious that Godric plans to kill himself.  This upsets Eric but Godric tells him that he has made his decision but agrees to talk about it on the rooftop.  Eric is about to follow him when Bill stops him, despite Eric pleading that it was the wrong time.  Bill insists on letting Eric know that the blood swap with Sookie was a mistake and he punches the Area 5 Sheriff (who heals instantly).

After a brief pause, Eric follows Godric and Sookie explains that she needs to be with Godric too, since he did save her life.  She tells Bill that she needs to go alone and, since it’s almost daylight, he should retire to his room.  After arriving on the roof, Sookie watches the exchange between a peaceful and resolute Godric and an extremely distraught Eric.  It’s a first glimpse into some tenderness from Eric.  He begs Godric not to “meet the sun” but his maker insists.  Eric says goodbye to him and retreats from the rising sun.

Sookie approaches Godric and asks him if he is afraid.  He tells her that he isn’t but she confesses her own fears.  He asks her if she believes in God and she says that she does and he expresses worry over what punishment might lie ahead for him.  She tells him that God doesn’t punish, he forgives and that seemed to be enough for Godric.  He told her that having a human by his side proved that, after 2000 years on earth, he could still be surprised.  Sookie watches as his body slowly burns and disappears.

images: HBO

Post from: EveryJoe

Anna told AOL Television:  “It’s a sexy vampire show and yes, there’s more getting it on, so to speak.”

I’m sure having her real-life boyfriend, Stephen Moyer, play her on-screen love interest, vampire Bill Compton, helps make her more comfortable.

She went on to say:  “I feel fine.  Although the way that people ask me about it all the time, I feel like maybe I should feel uptight about it. But I really don’t.
Obviously, if you’re already with that person then you’re not having to sort of get over the ‘Wow, I’m naked with someone that I don’t even know the middle name of!’  I think that regardless of what kind of scene you’re doing, the better you know the person … the more open and real your performance can be.  And that goes for stunt scenes and heavy emotional scenes and sex scenes. OK, so I have a little bit of a leg up in that particular area with my on-screen [partner].”

I think she’s got a real point.  I can’t imagine what it’s like to pretend to have a connection with someone that I don’t even know (or like).  It can work out, however, if both people are professional and don’t get uptight about it.  Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds recently talked about their nude scene in The Proposal and, while it was awkward at first, they quickly got over and were able to even laugh at the situation.

True Blood is in its second season.  You can catch it Sunday nights on HBO.

HBO Photo Credit: Steven Lippman

Post from: EveryJoe

Sookie Stackhouse and Tara Thornton walk Detective Andy Bellefleur out to his car because he was so drunk he could barely walk.  After he swears that his car has been moved, Tara scans the area and sees it in the distance.  When they walk over to it, they discover that the rear door is ajar and the ladies begin screaming when they see a foot hanging out.  Since it’s clearly the appendage of someone with a dark complexion and red toenail polish, it seems most likely that the foot belongs to Lafayette Reynolds, the short-order cook at Merlotte’s.  It’s hard to guess who could have done something to him because he was involved in most of the sordid things that happen in Bon Temps.  Since we know he had boldly threatened that politician and that he’s involved with drugs and the sexual underworld of the small town, it’s fair to say that anyone could be responsible for putting him in the back of that police car.

Meanwhile, Tara has been staying with Maryann Forrester, a woman who bailed her out of jail and claims to be a social worker.  The weird part is that this mystery woman doesn’t seem to actually work and likes the companionship of a large pig (kind of like the naked woman who caused Tara’s car accident and landed her behind bars in the first place, right?).  Tara meets another boarder at Maryann’s house, Benedict “Eggs” Talley, and it seems pretty obvious that their storyline is going to develop this season.

Sookie’s brother, Jason Stackhouse, is released from police custody after it is revealed that Rene Lenier is responsible for killing all of the recently murdered young women (and Sookie and Jason’s grandmother).  Unfortunately, Jason believes that he’s been saved for a reason and he joins the anti-vampire church, Fellowship of the Sun.  It’s hard to be mad at Jason since he’s clearly not the brightest person and he’s just lost Amy Burley, the love of his life, but it’s equally obvious that his alignment with the hate group is going to lead to disaster – especially since his sister is in love with a vampire.

Speaking of which, Bill Compton, was more than disappointed to learn that Eric Northman and Pam would not be honoring their agreement to care for and train the young woman (Jessica Hamby) that Bill was forced to turn into a vampire as a punishment for murdering one of his own to protect a human (when Sookie was attacked at Fangtasia).

Jessica is bound to cause trouble between Sookie and Bill – will Sookie turn to Sam Merlotte (her boss at the bar) when things get rough?  Are Sam and Tara truly over now?  How does Sam know Maryann?

If you’ve read the books by Charlaine Harris, then you will have a good idea of what will happen although the television series does deviate a fair amount from the original storyline.  Either way, I’m sure the viewers are excited that the show is returning.

If you’ve never seen the show, you might want watch one episode to see if you like it.  I will warn you, though, that the series does contain a lot of graphic sex so if you hate that sort of thing steer clear.

True Blood airs tonight on HBO at 10pm ET/PT.

images: HBO

Post from: EveryJoe