True Blood Guide, Season 1: “To Love is to Bury” with Commentary by Alan Ball

Bill fulfills the conditions of the tribunal’s sentence, although he and Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) find that Jessica doesn’t quite turn (out) as expected. Trying to solve the mystery behind her most recent vision, Sookie heads to a pie shop with Sam and later puts the squeeze on a philandering police officer to get info. Jason helps clean up Amy’s mess, worrying about their future, but unable to break away. Tara’s anger over Lettie Mae’s refusal to bail her out of jail is tempered when Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes), a wealthy “social worker,” comes to her rescue. Disgusted by the hypocrisy of a vamp-bashing state senator, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) decides to pay him a visit on the campaign trail. In Bill’s absence, a vulnerable Sookie finds comfort in Sam. A distraught Jason finds himself in hot water with Bud (William Sanderson) and Andy (Chris Bauer), again.

Written and directed by Nancy Oliver.

Eric and Bill find Jessica a handful. / Photo: HBO

Alan Ball: I love when Lafayette goes the [vampire hating] senator and confronts him. That’s really the introduction of Maryann, when we see her and she comes to Tara in the jail, and she talks to her about her life. Then there’s Bill with the girl he has killed her and now he has to deal with her being the new vampire. Oh, and that’s the great Jason and Amy V trip in the rain, where Renee is strangling her and she flies away from him in the vision as she dies in real life. That whole thing was basically something we came up with that wasn’t in the book. The books are narrated by Sookie, so those are all from her point of view. There is a character named Amy Burley in the books, and she does get murdered, but we sort of created her and Jason’s relationship. You know, I feel that 10, 11 and 12 are the big three episodes. I feel like 10 is, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our descent.” Episode 11 is, “Put your tray tables up” and episode 12 is landing. (SciFiTVZone.com)

Watch True Blood every Wednesday night at 10 p.m., on Channel 4.