Recap: Frenzy
Jason: “Sometimes you need to destroy something to save it. That’s in the Bible. Or the Constitution.”
Queen's day room copyright: HBO
I loved the Queen’s “day room” so, so much. It was luxurious and utterly weird, and it’s hard to pull off a combination like that. And it suited her, come to think of it, because the Queen is indeed luxurious and utterly weird. The Yahtzee game and some of the things she said were just hilarious. (She was cheating at Yahtzee. Who cheats at Yahtzee?)
Why does the Queen know who Sookie is? How close are the Queen and Bill? Or was it just because the Queen’s “human” is Sookie’s cousin Hadley? Queen, yes, I get it, hard to make excuses and get away, but why didn’t Bill leave sooner? Sookie obviously needed him in Bon Temps, even though she wasn’t in danger at the time. At least Bill now knows how to take down a maenad. I think.
We finally know why Maryann targeted Bon Temps: Tara’s ordeal with Miss Jeanette opened the door. That even makes sense. I’m among the scads of fans who are tired of the Maryann plot, though. I wonder if they should have held back the crazy for awhile, and accelerated later in the season? Character actor William Sanderson (Bud) doing a square dance half naked may have been my favorite black-eye scene, period. There could have been a lot more of that instead of all the orgies.
I totally understood what Sookie said about her house being defiled. She’s had a terrible time lately, and what Maryann has done to her house is probably like bitter frosting on a really awful cake. Sacrilege. That scene on the kitchen floor was pretty funny, though, with Sookie braining Mike the coroner with a saucepan.
Jason is now convinced that God sent him to the leadership conference so that he could save Bon Temps. Who knows? Maybe he’s right. His speculations about Sam were too funny; I laughed throughout that entire Jason/Andy conversation in the truck. Note how all of Jason’s theories about what Sam can do in animal form had to do with sex. I also loved how Andy called Jason a damn fool, and Jason promptly walked into a tree.
copyright: HBO
Sam was terrific. He told Jason and Andy the truth about himself. He took care of Arlene’s kids. He went to Eric for help. And for me, Eric was the highlight of the episode. Children, yum. Teacup humans. 
Taking off straight up into the air, but only after carefully buttoning his suit coat. I even loved the self-conscious way he kept trying to make his hair lie down flat post-flight while he was arguing with Bill.
And hey. Gorgeous grey suit. Yowsa. Not that I didn’t like the black tank top.
A great big egg? Really? What is it? A dinosaur egg? The future “god” imagining itself into existence? Did Daphne pop one out before she died after a romp around town as an ostrich? I found myself hoping it was just really weird performance art, because this is getting way too bizarre.
I take brief notes when I watch the show, and looking at part of last night’s made me laugh out loud:
grey suit
Eric can fly!
house is defiled
vamps eating kids
Yahtzee
Bits and pieces:
– For Hoyt, blood turned out to be thicker than… well, this metaphor isn’t going to work on a show with vampires, but Jessica shouldn’t have gotten between Hoyt and his mother. At least not this early in their relationship. I hope it’s not over for those two crazy kids.
– Eric confronted Bill about giving Sookie blood the night they met, and Bill actually looked guilty.
– Sookie and Lafayette are both dreaming about Eric. Lafayette is clearly not having as much fun, though. Eric as Lettie Mae was just too disturbing. How am I supposed to fantasize about a hot vampire when he’s in a church lady dress?
– Lettie Mae shot cats with her BB gun. And she chose the worst possible time to listen to Tara. Typical.
– Tara was an utter idiot. Yes, she’s in love, but she was an idiot.
– Lafayette just killed Karl. And replaced him as Maryann’s chef, unfortunately.
– Potato chips, Snickers, and hot sauce casserole. Gah. And poor Hoyt just found out his father killed himself. It hasn’t been a good day for Hoyt.
– I particularly liked the subtle way that Bill cringed a little every time the Queen said something obscene or profane. He was freaked when she said they should have sex, but didn’t let it show. Much.
– Hadley doesn’t know Gran is dead, and Bill didn’t tell her.
– Lafayette has fuzzy purple handcuffs. Of course he does.
Quotes:
Jessica: “Did you hear all those nasty things she said about you? And me?”
Hoyt: “She’s my mama! She gets to! Where the hell are you from?”
Queen: “What gives you the right to say no to the femoral blood of a good woman? You know what your problem is, William? You are a snob. I hate snobs. Tiny tiny souls. Or penises. Or both.” That was pretty insulting.
Jason: “I read a book about this. This is Armageddon. This is the oral history of the zombie war.” I honestly don’t know where Jason came up with that one.
Cop: “Chinese fire drill?”
Jason: “Russian roulette.”
Sam: “Hopefully someday I might be able to give you something you need.”
Eric: “Can you give me Sookie Stackhouse?”
Pam rolled her eyes. Is she jealous?
Eric: “Come on, Pam. They’re funny. They’re like humans, but miniature. Teacup humans.” Okay, much to do on the True Blood discussion list about Eric chomping on kids. But note that he didn’t say they were delicious in English; it was in Swedish. I choose to believe he was joking with Pam, and said it in Swedish so as not to scare the kids.
Queen: “It seems your friend Mr. Northman is here.”
Bill: “It’s definitely time for me to go.”
Queen: “This alpha male posturing. You two really should just fuck each other and get it over with. I could watch.”
This reminded me of Buffy telling Spike to wrestle it out with Angel, and oil of some kind being involved.
Another witty, fast moving episode. Three out of four stakes,
Billie
BillieDoux.com
(Season 2, episode 11)
Related posts:
“Oral history of the zombie war” is from Max Brook’s novel, World War Z. I’m kinda surprised Jason read a whole novel. And I really hope Bon Temps doesn’t see any zombies in its future.
oh thanks but what was the “oral” about, when i hear oral i think spoken or by mouth…
The book is supposed to be interviews with survivors of the Zombie war.
Oh my God!! I thought I was only one that thought the Queen was cheating at Yahtzee!
How DOES one cheat at Yahtzee?? I liked ERW as Sophie Ann, because I don’t think WE are SUPPOSED to like her…she definately reminded me of old French royalty…
During the Yahtzee game, the Queen rolled and then deliberately turned over one of the dice right in front of everyone.
Sorry Billie…I was being sarcastic!! I nearly fell off the couch laughing at that…
Haha! I think I know why the queen knows who Sookie is and why Bill became distraught when she mentioned meeting her! (That is, if the television series follows the books on this one… I think it will.)
I think Pam’s reaction to Eric’s request for Sookie had more to do with her feelings of vampiric superiority than jealousy, but who knows?
Two weeks is like torture. Nearly a year is going to be hell.
Maybe Pam is just tired of hearing about Sookie.
I agree, I don’t know how I’ll get through the long True Blood drought. I’m going to wear out my Season 1 DVDs.
I believe the Queen’s home is actually part of Hearst Castle… The pool looks familiar to me.
Here’s another thought after re-reading this…did Daphne know Maryanne before she didn’t know where the table was at Merlotte’s? Hmm…
When the queen asked bill ‘what do you think of my new day room,’ Stephen Moyer answered… not as cajun-tongued Bill, but as proper-english voiced S. Moyer. He sat up, looked around and said, ‘It’s… Lovely’.
Nevermind…pig in the road when Tara crashed…lol!
Does anyone else here think the show is becoming too preachy? It seems that the moral of this season is that if you are into drug and alcohal fueled orgies then you are some how messing with Satan. Why is it that there has to be negative consequences for the kick ass parties that Mary Ann throws. Can’t a guy get drunk, high and have crazy sex without contributing to people getting their heart ripped out and eaten. I love Mary Ann’s character and am kind of rooting for her (although it seems her God will never come). I just worry that the show is getting a little too Christian with its negative view of weed, booze, and zombie-orgies.
Let me know what you guys think.
I don’t see any of that at all. I think you are reading way too much into this.
I disagree Sex/booze/drugs does not equal Satan according to the TB writers. For example, plenty of drugs & plenty of sex (on the downlow, w/ politicians, w/ many unnamed folks around town) = Lafayette. And we all love him. Plus Bill/Sookie sex and Jason doing it w/ every female in town as well as the preacher’s wife. No the writers are not “too Christian”. They’re going for ratings!
Very funny – made me literally LOL!
Sure they can….think Jason all of season 1
I am really confused by this episode. There was a lot going on and it was going on in all different directions. Bill just looked like he wanted to be any where but in the Queen’s house. Can you imagine walking in on a woman with her face in another female’s crotch? Maybe you can, I don’t know, but it just put me off a little bit. Andy and Jason are going to save the day or so they think but it was hilarious when that woman was trying to throw herself at Jason and surprise, he says no. He actually does have morals of a sort. Now my favorite quote of the show has to be when Eric said that the kids were “Teacup humans”. Overall, the finale looks to be a scary show if nothing else but I seem to recall that Maryanne (Michelle Forbes) said that when she read the script for the finale that her jaw hit the floor.
Billie–with the exception of the Eric kids portion (which gave me the creeps) I couldn’t agree more about everything you liked and disliked in Frenzy. I really wish they would have done more of the Twin Peak’s sort of eccentric/fun scenes as apposed to the weekly orgy–it became a little laborious having to see it several times in an episode. Especially with so many other possibilities. Loved Eric confronting Bill–wondering if the Queen is actually making Eric deal the blood? Loved his immaculate grey suit, his hands running through those rumpled locks and of course when he took flight. Eric in a dress was disturbing and put a damper on my fantasy vamp as well. HA! Tara couldn’t be more stupid and Lettie Mae–she is a pretty big idiot too! Hoyt has had it rough–hope some good things are coming his way next season. AND does anyone else want Eric and Sookie to have a conversation before this season is up–I find it odd he wouldn’t at least ask her about Godric…Can’t wait for the finale and hope it won’t be one big orgy again–I am not sure if I can handle another hour of naked zombies in heat! Let’s hope Eric saves the day!
Sarah, I agree. I think the “Billie” reference was meant as a degrading insult to Bill not being creepy, just lack of respect to Bill. Eric was showing his superiority.
I also think the Queen is asking Eric to deal V for the profits like any other drug dealer.
Not only do I want Sookie and Eric to have a conversation, I want the “Yield to Me Sookie” line, that melts my heart.
I thought I read somewhere about another dream sequence for the finale. I hope this whole season isn’t a dream sequence, I would be disappointed in that ending.
I like the messy haired Eric. Sometimes the slick back gel look is too much. But I will take him anyway I can get him. hee hee
Sarah, I think Eric is dealing V for the Queen just like a drug dealer.
I hope Eric and Sookie have a conversation, I’d like to hear “Yield to me Sookie” even though we won’t see him in pink spandex.
I agree, Jaxx–the pink spandex is not happening and I am afraid “Yield to me Sookie” may not happen as well. Fingers crossed BIG, BIG, BIG crossed there will some sort of real life intimate scene between them. I am going to sound like a broken record but it has already happened a couple times in the books. Come on AB!
I think the term “Billie” was meant to be a very derrogatory comment towards Bill, Eric showing his superiority. I don’t think it was meant to be creepy. I also think Eric is dealing V like a drug dealer. Is the Queen in on it too?? We’ll see.
I so hope Eric and Sookie have a conversation and I want him to say “Yield to Me Sookie”. That’s one of my favorites quotes from Eric from the books.
Sorry for the repeated blogs, but they weren’t showing up the first couple of times sent them. I don’t know what happened here.
Oh Jaxx–I loved when Eric called Bill “Billy” I was referring to Billie who wrote the article! LOL! Eric can berade Bill anytime he wants–wink-wink!!!!
Oops! Sorry Sarah, I didn’t realize that until now. LOL.
I hear you about the weekly orgie. Tired. And I too find it strange that Eric has not sought Sookie out to ask about Godric. I also wish we could see a softening of Sookie towards Eric, a deeper understanding, instead of vamp blood trickery. Let’s hope Eric paves her driveway in a selfless way and wins points.
And can I hear an amen that MARYANN HAS TO GO?
Bring back sexy dangerous mysterious Vampire Bill and let sappy Harlequin Romance Bill meet the sun!
Is this show becoming too preachy? I love this season but it seems that the moral is that if you are into drug and alcohal fueled orgies you are some how messing with Satan. Can’t a guy get drunk, high, and have group sex without contributing to something evil like ripping out peoples hearts and eating them? Why does Mary Ann’s parties have to have such negative consequences. I love Mary Ann’s character and am kind of rooting for her in a weird way. Seriously though, I worry that the show is becoming too Christian with its negative view of booze, drugs, and zombie orgies.
I’m not joking. Let me know what you think.
It has absolutely nothing to do with preaching or Christianity. When you mix an abusive amount of booze, drugs and sex there ARE consequences. It’s inevitable. I have never heard of anything good coming out of things like this. There are always consequences.
Couldn’t disagree more. There are not always consequences. Often booze, sex, and drugs leads to a really good time with no ensueing cardiac canabalism. There are tons of HBO series which show these aspects of life in a positive light. I wonder why True Blood is not one of them. I love the show but sometimes its like Nancy Reagan in writing the episodes.
Having read all the books, I know precisely why the Queen knew about Sookie and a likely reason why he didn’t tell Hadley Gran died. And, why he told her not to keep in touch. I am surprised they are bringing it in so early. Perhaps this will replace Lorena’s summoning Bill since she was also brought in early and left. I can’t wait to find out.
For those who read the book. Maybe Eric and Bill’s animosity towards each other is a bit more than it should be. In the book Bill tells Sookie if anything happens to him to go to Eric. Any thoughts on how their relationship is being played?
I am also sooo ready for the maenad to get the H E double hockey sticks out of Bon Temps.
I don’t like how the Eric/Bill relationship is being played this season. It seemed right last season but now Bill is punching Eric and commanding him to ‘go to your maker’ like he is the sheriff, not Eric. Bookies know there’s no way Eric would tolerate that and Bill just wouldn’t do it. Even when Eric annoys Bill, Bill accepts it because he knows his place in the vamp hierarchy.
I agree–Eric is Bill’s boss and he is suppose to follow Eric’s orders. There is no way that Eric would tolerate Bill slapping him around or being disobediant…They seem more like equals this season…
I don’t like the Eric character on the show as much as in the books. (I know, people are tired of hearing this.) I agree that Eric wouldn’t tolerate Bill’s behaviour.
I am a bookie also and I agree. The vampire hierarchy is in place for a reason, the oldest have the say over the others. Bill tests Eric a little in the books, but ultimately he does have to obey him, even though he doesn’t like it. Remember, Eric made Bill tell Sookie “the whole truth” in one book. He has to obey Eric, no matter what. I hope they get back to that.
When Lorena left, she said “I wish you hadn’t said that” to Bill when he said she was dead to him. I think she’ll be back, and it won’t be as a Bill fan.
There are some who were really disturbed by the scene with the children, but after a second viewing, it’s much more obvious how Eric is teasing them. We forget how much of a vampire he is, especially after the last two episodes, and this was a great way for AB to remind everyone about Eric’s sense of humor and how dangerous he can be. If you pay attention after he asks, “Are you afraid of vampires, little girl?”, and she responds by mentioning Rene’s dislike of vampires and how her and her brother don’t feel the same way, you can hear Eric’s fangs retract. When it shows him again, he calls them “teacup humans” and his fangs are gone. In my opinion, he was getting more a kick out of Pam’s reaction than any wistfulness he may have felt at no longer being the kind of vampire who thinks kids are delicious. You have to think that Eric doesn’t see kids too often, so they are probably fascinating things for a 1000 year old vampire. What seals this is when he winks at them, tells them goodnight, and then shoots up into the air like the showoff that we know he can be. That was a great scene, imho.
ditto. and Coby and Lisa, the actors, are just amazing little stinkers. Coby’s execution is ace “He went on a vacation with Jesus” and how he kept tilting his head around in awe of Eric was so cute (he was also chowing down @ Merlotte’s, i wouldn’t he’d eat cat food with mayo). i didn’t know it until i saw them but i missed those darn kids. Sam did such a great job with them, but i got this odd feeling when Lisa mentioned her dad, Duane, like the conversation would be important later on… or maybe not.
In the teaser for the last episode, there is a very short shot of someone I didn’t recognize (red headed guy) with a handgun. Anyone know who that is? Could it be Duane?
When Coby looked back and forth at Eric’s fangs it killed me. I cracked up.
My favourite line of the night was probably Coby’s “woow” after Eric flew up. I can’t help but think that the scenes with the kids were great mostly because of Alexander and his humour coming through. If someone else were to play it, it would be completely different. Look at how Bill first interacted with them in season 1, it’s a totally different feeling.
I agree, Eric was joking. You are right, he probably doesn’t see too many children, running a bar at night, there aren’t any children there and he sleeps during the day. I think he was saying those things to get Pam’s goat, edging her on for a response. Love him in any scene and lying on his side in that gray suit teasing us, was just too much. Love him.
I’ll have to rewatch that part; I didn’t pick up on the fangs retracting. I liked that he flashed the fangs when Coby asked though – and not the french fry fangs or whatever Bill did last season. I was also hoping when Eric termed them “delicious” he was speaking metaphorically.
The Queen was a complete and total misfire for me. She is completely miscast and played it all wrong. Sophie-Anne should be European, distinguished, extremely cold and distant. You have to believe that she can intimidate the oldest and strongest vampire and that she commands respect. She played her like she was Paris Hilton or something. It was painful to watch. You don’t get a sense that Eric would ever bow to such a woman. She needed to be Godric in a dress, only more cunning, less spiritual and equally awe-inspiring.
Thank you! I agree with every thing you say. Sophie-Anne is a great part and it all went wrong. Made me wonder how on earth she had done to be the Queen. What a wasted opportunity.
I also thank you. I said this earlier in another blog and got scolded for it. I know ERW was a big fan of the books and wanted “any part” in this series, even calling AB himself to insist she be in it. With that said, she should have had the queen’s part down pat if she read the books like she claimed she did. All wrong. Not regal enough. She wouldn’t command anyone’s respect acting like that but looks like she’s here to stay and I can only hope AB or ERW herself will read these blogs or get wind of them and re-examine her role as the queen and do us proud in Season 3.
Hey guys–alot of this is the words the actors have been given and the director…
Yeah, I know. That’s why I hope someone at HBO/TrueBlood is monitoring these blogs and will get the info back to everyone involved for a great 3rd season.
I hope they monitor them too but who knows–they certainly don’t like the Eric lovers at HBO. They sometimes throw us a bone but it is only a dream…literally.
But how the actor handles it also has an impact on how we see them. I can imagine the same lines spoken in a different way and still come out better than what ERW did. I thought the lines Godric got were pretty sappy, but the Allen Hyde did himself proud.
I agree with your Sophie Anne assessment. I was really anticipating something special from her based on the setting. Also shouldn’t the queen have vampire courtiers around her? Why is she all alone in her castle? Is it because the rest of the vampires don’t want to play Yahtze? I thought Eddie was sad sitting home alone watching Heroes, but this?
They spent too much energy on the decor and cstumes and not enough on the actors. Totally agree about the lack of vampires around her. You would think there would be security guards, sentinels, people to help her manage her business empire. Picture Gordon Gecko as a teenage vampire acting like a grown woman. SO much more interesting. I liked the character of Andre. That relationship was very interesting and rich in the books.
I am not one of those who insists on absolute fidelity to the books but the Queen is nonsensical. They might decide to make her physically super-strong to counteract her ditsy persona but it makes no sense. Someone would have staked her long ago. Hadley was more regal.
It was an amateurish performance, forced. Stephen Moyer had trouble acting credibly against her.
I thought the children/vampire scenes made this episode(far more than the rather 2d Queen). they were hilarious and Pam does in fact mirror some peoples hidden sentiments about children. I don’t think Eric *the vampire* was only just “teasing” them. Stop being so precious about children… in the old movies and cartoons you have none of that.
Otherwise this episode was a little weak. Viewers seem tired of MaryAnne. I am not sure why they felt the need to turn Bon Temps upside down in season2 and make Maryanne such a main story. I hope in season 3 they get back to just pulling you back into the vampire/human coexisting thing. Season 1 felt more tangible to me like it could have been happening somewhere down south. This season2 is on another planet totally.
I’m going to ask just one thing… why… WHY does Eric have to fly?! I don’t like that part I would prefer if he just jump or something like that… even I enjoyed when he arrived and try to comb his hair.. so cute!
By the way, I love this show! I follow it by Internet because it doesn’t come to my country!!! (agghhh!… excuse my awful english!)
=)
Because for us crazy “bookies”–FINALLY we are getting the real Eric–in the books he fly’s and does a lot of other really rebellious, really generous, really sweet, unbelievable things!
Ditto, Eric is great. I really hope they show more of his “book” personality in Season 3. Some vampires in the books have different supernatural qualities. Eric’s is that he can fly.
I agree. Eric in the books could fly, and I think book Bill could levitate although they didn’t give TB Bill that ability. Also in the episode where Eric gives Lafayette his blood, he says he’s got to fly so it was hinted at.
now that i see it in writing, that Queen line about snobs was insulting, and i take it she gets a lo of crap from other royals who think she’s weird.
i thought Ludis was cute, “I will have the sex with you” his had the sweetest face and looked so earnest when he told Bill that.
“Teacup Humans” had me rolling! The Pam and Eric was fabulous. It seems the Bill and Queen story line from the books will be played out. I can only hope…Frenzy had me laughing out loud. It reminded me of reading the second book, which ending was indeed funny and crazy.
Tea cup had me thinking of Godric and Eric drinking of children like sipping of tea cup, may be for break fast; quite easy consider their size and Godric past; let follow the books.
I loved the scenes with jason and andy. They make a great comedic pair. But the best thing about this episode, defenitely was eric talking to sam in the bar. I do think he was trying to scare the kids. I thought it was funny. I did not get any creepy vibes. As for Eric flying—Auesome!!! I did pick up when the queen metioned sookie’s name, and now, I am very curious to find out about it…
For you bookies out there, I just wish they could somehow fit in the scene where eric wheres the “outfit”, you all know what I mean
Yeah, too bad, I’d love to see that 6’4″ man wearing pink. I also want him to say the line “Yield to me Sookie”, I could just die.
me too Jaxx, me too.
Did anyone catch that sign on the door of Fangtasia when Sam first showed up? “Sorry-We’re DEAD” Classic!
I can’t wait for this season TO BE OVER!
Loved the first season and its clever and well pitched interpretation of Harris’ first book.
This season, its absurd Maryann-the-never-ending thread, and seemingly inexhaustible use of tired orgy scenes, comes across as a sophmoric film project at best. The recent episode where Jason and Sookie return to scampering, capering, black-eyed and trashed citizenry looks exactly like a high school horror film project where the whole town shows up to overact their best for their 15 minutes of fame. Sad and so far below the mark that the first season hit. WTF is Ball doing???????????
Maybe he should stick a little closer to the book on the third go round. If the third go round is as off as this one, it just doesn’t have the magic to make it worth watching anymore. And that would be a shame because the core cast–Sookie, Bill, Eric, Pam, et al. are gifted and compelling in their own right.
PS, What is this Yahtzee #^$% ???
Poor use of Evan Wood’s talents for crying out loud!