RECAP: True Blood 201 “Nothing But the Blood”

True Blood episode recap for “Nothing But the Blood“. Original airdate: June 14, 2009.

Sam: “I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve seen enough dead bodies to last me a lifetime.”

Just outrageous. I alternated between gasping with surprise and laughing out loud. That’s a good sign.

I was sure the body in Andy’s car was Lafayette. I should have realized the writers were playing with us. I can totally get why someone would kill “Miss Jeanette”; she was a scam artist, after all, which is a dangerous occupation. But why remove her heart? They also made a big point out of the murderer moving Andy’s car, so that must be a Clue. Andy was drunk when it happened. Who had access to Andy’s keys?

I’m glad Lafayette is still alive; I like Lafayette. But he seems to be in pretty deep crap. He’s in the Area 5 vampire jail, isn’t he? (And we thought prison conditions in human jails were bad.) The presence of one of the nasty guys who burned out the house last season suggests that Eric “arrested” Lafayette for vampire murder. Probably Eddie’s. Jason had better watch out.

Oddly enough, Jason was a lot easier to take this time. No sex, no drugs, and he was even kind to his sister for a change; how refreshing. His stupidity was still intact, though. You can’t join a group that advocates death to a specific minority group and say, hey, but that’s not all it’s about. Geez. Isn’t death enough to make you just say no?

I’ll admit I was sort of dreading the scenes with Bill and bratty, newly vamped Jessica, but I was wrong; I thought Bill explaining bedtime rules and “we recycle in this house” was just hilarious. Jessica even responded to Sookie’s friendship overture. (Let’s hope Jessica doesn’t eat her on their upcoming girl’s night.) So Jessica isn’t going to keep Bill and Sookie apart. Interestingly enough, neither is the death of Uncle Bartlett.

I loved the way Maryann let Lettie Mae have it right between the eyes. What is Maryann? She’s definitely not a vampire, and she doesn’t seem to be a shifter. When she was having sex with young Sam, she made her arms curve like the statue Sam saw. She wanted to set Tara up with Eggs, so much so that she whacked her Renfield-like servant for interrupting them at the pool. The food all over the place must mean something; it’s like bait for a trap, but we haven’t seen the trap yet. And what does she want from Sam, if it wasn’t the money he stole from her when he was a homeless 17-year-old beagle?

In this season’s hair report, Eric showed up at the end with his hair in highlighting foil. After I thought about it for a moment, I realized that it had to be a fun way to transition from last season’s wig to something new — possibly the actor’s real hair. Eric is one of my favorite characters in the books, and Alexander Skarsgard is very close to the way I pictured him, so frankly my dear, I really don’t give a damn what they do with his hair, as long as we get more of him this season.

I’m also happy to report that nearly everything introduced in this episode was different enough from the second book (which I just re-read) that I have no idea where they’re going with it all. And that means I can speculate to my heart’s content. (I really had to be careful with the reviews I wrote of season one, since nearly all of it followed the first book.)

Bits and pieces:

— This episode took up where season one left off. Like, the exact moment.

— There’s a new waitress at Merlotte’s named Daphne. She was pointedly introduced to the audience instead of just anonymously walking by carrying a tray, so I’m sure she’s going to be important.

— Terry threw out some patrons that were upsetting Arlene. Terry and Arlene make me smile. Andy Bellefleur’s interrogation methods also made me smile.

— What do you want to bet that Lettie Mae thinks about the Miss Jeanette situation for a bit, and then uses it as an excuse to fall off the wagon?

— Newlin and his wife were wearing color-matched outfits. It had to be deliberate; no one dresses in purple and black by accident. It just struck me as interesting. Maybe a little comment on their characters. They probably do everything together. Or maybe she’s a reflection of him, or vice versa.

— I liked Sookie’s new hair.

— The redneck housefire guy hit Eric with a cross, and it burned Eric’s cheek. I thought Bill said at the Descendants of the Glorious Dead meeting that crosses didn’t bother vampires? I suppose he had good reason to lie, though.

— This week’s Most Obvious Symbolism was probably the blood Sookie shed on Uncle Bartlett’s inheritance check. She certainly suffered at Uncle Bartlett’s hands. No wonder she refused to take the money. It’s a shame Jason is going to use it for tuition to Death to All Vampires Institute.

Quotes:

Bill: “I will not have you looking like a slattern.”
Jessica: “A what?”
Bill: “A… lady of the evening.”
Jessica: “Awesome.”

Jason: “I’ve been reading your father’s book, and it’s really making me, um… (long pause) think.”

Maryann: “The Greeks knew there was the flimsiest veil between us and the divine. They didn’t see the gods as inaccessible, the way everyone does today.”
The wall mural behind the pool of Pan and his human lover suggested that Maryann might be something mythological. Is Maryann a Greek goddess? Is there a goddess of tropical fruit?

Sam: (to Sookie) “I’m tired of charring my ass on your back burner.”
What a wonderfully evocative metaphor.

I really enjoyed this one. As I said, let’s hope it’s a sign that season two is going to be even better than season one,

Billie Doux

Billie Doux writes episode reviews and articles about sci-fi, fantasy and cult television shows. All her reviews can be found at BillieDoux.com.