RECAP: True Blood 209 “I Will Rise Up”

Sookie: “You big lying A hole!”
Eric: “Bill, you’re right. I believe I can sense her emotions.”

Eric, Eric, Eric. What is it with me and those blond bad boy vampires? We saw two distinct sides of him here: a deeply emotional side, as well as an extremely naughty side.

Godric’s suicide was surprisingly moving, as well as terribly painful for Eric. I even cried a little, as much for Godric himself as for Eric’s pain at losing him. Eric may think he doesn’t know what love is, but he is certainly capable of depth of feeling. And I’m sure he was grateful that Sookie was there for Godric in the end.

It’s difficult to tell what Eric truly feels for Sookie. He did cover her with his own body so that she wouldn’t get hurt, no matter what his motivation was. (And could anyone, even a vampire as devious as Eric, think several chess moves ahead that quickly? As in, omigod a grenade is about to go off, I’d better jump on top of Sookie so that I can get her to suck debris out of my chest?)

Was it dirty pool on Eric’s part? Absolutely. Is all fair in love and war? I guess it depends on whether or not Sookie still has free will, erotic dreams about Eric or no erotic dreams about Eric. (And hey, could I have one of those? Really? I actually watched that scene eight times, hoping to give my subconscious some hints.)

Seriously, though. Rewind that scene and listen to what Sookie and Eric are saying to each other. It was like a real conversation, not a dream conversation. They were so tender and honest with each other, so loving. Eric talked about it being their beginning. (And about how much he wants to turn her.) But note also that Lorena was sitting in the corner directing the whole thing. I don’t think that dream was all Eric. I think Lorena was using their new blood bond to get Sookie away from Bill.

In fact, this blood bond thing made me wonder if Sookie’s relationship with Bill was actually real. She drank a lot of his blood, not once but twice. Are any human/vamp romantic relationships real? Does this explain why vampires are so sexually attractive to humans — is it just a mere chemical reaction? Does it explain why Jason had that weird dream about Eddie? Is Lafayette currently having erotic dreams about Eric, too?

I doubt that Sookie hates Eric as much as she says she does; it feels like she doth protest too much. It’s common for two characters fighting a strong attraction to each other to spar with words, after all. She touched Eric’s hand when he was leaving the roof, too. I don’t think she would have done that if she genuinely hated him. (And good on her for being sharp enough to realize what Godric was going to do. Sookie is no brainless cupcake.)

Love triangles are good. I’m all for love triangles. In fact, this one is intriguing me so much that I almost wished the wanton destruction of Bon Temps would just go away. But I really did love two things about this week’s installment: Lafayette storming in to kidnap Tara, and Sam literally as a fly on the wall. What clever writing. (The fly, I mean.) Andy didn’t even blink an eyelash when Sam showed up stark naked. He must be getting used to the crazy.

Finally (Hoyt and Jessica seem to be constantly relegated to the end of my reviews, even though I love them) I knew bringing Jessica home to meet Mama was going to be a huge mistake. Maxine tried, but she just couldn’t resist being nasty to Jessica. That’s not love, that’s smotherhood. Not a surprise that the toasted cheese and potato chip sandwiches just aren’t working any more. It’s rather sweet how good Jessica has been for Hoyt. What a lovely little subplot this has been.

Bits and pieces:

— Eric’s black tank top was perfect for bullet-suckage. I should have realized they had Alexander Skarsgard wearing it for more than just my viewing pleasure.

— We got a truly lovely Sookie/Jason moment. He apologized for everything, and that couldn’t have been easy for him.

— Stan was killed, along with two other vamps and two humans. And goodbye, Luke MacDonald. He had the mentality of a fanatic, and Steve Newlin literally used him to death. It’s hard to feel sorry for him, but it shouldn’t have happened.

— Maryann noted that it was easy to take Bud over. I think that explains why there were so many orgies that we got tired of them: she was using them to gradually take over most of the town. (It was also easy to take over Hoyt’s mother, Maxine. Maybe it’s a simple minded thing, huh?)

— Tara is an adult child of an alcoholic (ACOA), like me. She doesn’t like being out of control and I think she’s starting to fight it. Despite the circumstances, it was fun seeing Tara attack Lettie Mae.

— I thought a small dog and an owl were both pushing it as far as body mass is concerned, but a fly? Okay, it’s magic, I just need to adjust and move on.

— Merlotte’s is becoming a sort of sick tourist attraction. The murder capital of northern Louisiana.

— Isabel is now Sheriff of area nine in Texas. I like Isabel. The now late Stan was an idiot. Especially since he admitted to killing papa Newlin.

— The Newlins were wearing matching outfits again. Red and black this time. Were they deliberately wearing vampire colors?

— What sort of position does Nan have? Bureaucrat? A representative of the vamp kings and queens?

Quotes:

Eric: “Suck it out.”
Sookie: “Eric, I can’t. It’s too gross, and it’s… you.”
Eric: “Dy… dying.”
Sookie: “Son of a mother…”

Sarah: “We are fighting for God’s green earth. And daytime, and Christmas, and Easter Eggs, and all that is sacred and good. We are fighting for…”
Steve: “Human rights. Human rights!”
Sarah: “May I finish my thought?”
Steve: “What? You were done.”
Sarah: “If he’s not the center of attention, he just flips out.”

Arlene: “It was a walk-in refrigerator. And you are one sick buzzard. Go find some road kill ’cause you ain’t eating here.”

Arlene: “Oh, come on. Coby will eat cat food if you put mayo on it.”

Arlene: “Terry, please quit being so much more peculiar than you usually are.”

Maxine: “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
Hoyt: “My mama. Who hates Methodists.”
Maxine: “I got my reasons.”
Hoyt: “And Catholics.”
Maxine: “Just priests and nuns.”
Hoyt: “African Americans.”
Maxine: “Hush. That’s a secret.”

Dream Sookie: “There’s love in you.”
Dream Eric: “Only for Sookie.”

Maryann: “The god who comes demands his sacrifice. Where is Sam Merlotte?”

Godric: “A human with me at the end, and human tears. Two thousand years, and I can still be surprised.” Quite a memorable character. Good job, sir.

Four out of four stakes,

Billie

Billie Doux writes episode reviews of sci-fi, fantasy and cult  television shows. All her reviews can be found here: http://www.billiedoux.com/