Recap 4.9 True Blood “Let’s Get Out of Here”

Sookie: “I’m proposing that the two of you be mine.”

There wasn’t much in the way of a beginning, middle and end, and not a lot was resolved. But this episode was damned entertaining.

The Festival of Tolerance

My favorite part (you had to ask?) was Sookie’s long fantasy dream. It was funny, sexy, silly and beautifully done, with some lovely feminist overtones. That incredible red thing Sookie was wearing, the fuzzy lens, the old va-va-voom music, the resounding *thunk* as both vampires retracted their fangs simultaneously, Bill and Eric ready to do Sookie’s bidding instead of commanding that she be theirs… and how interesting that it was the real Eric she was fantasizing about, not memory-free Eric.

I am loving Anna Paquin’s Sookie this season. I can’t quite put my finger on what they did to subtly change her character, but she’s a lot more fun and definitely more lovable. Maybe it was finally pairing her with Eric. It was so funny that when Sookie woke with Bill and Alcide hovering over her, the first words out of her mouth were, “Where’s Eric?” Alcide was definitely not amused. Bill, either.

The Festival of Tolerance was just hilarious, and that was even before the screaming started and the bodies started flying through the air. (I didn’t even notice until the second time through that the corporate sponsors were the Red Cross, Mystic Tan, and 1-800-Dentist.) I got such a kick out of Nan this time, squabbling with Bill about civil rights, her “I’ll never be a maker” reaction to Jessica, and arguing loudly while chained down with silver in Bill’s mansion.

Too much to expect for Jason to remain noble forever. It was sweet how he magic-markered “For You, Monster” off the box. Not so sweet that he just tossed away his best friend for Jessica. Poor Hoyt.

The Moon Goddess Emporium

Sookie teamed up with, of all people, Debbie Pelt to infiltrate the Moon Goddess Emporium. Debbie is now off the wagon and consumed with jealousy (which we know because she was helpfully watching “Cheaters” on television), and her plan to hand Sookie to Antonia in order to get rid of her didn’t quite work out. Coming to Sookie’s door with flowers hidden behind her back like she was concealing a weapon was the perfect visual for Debbie’s intentions. She even aimed the flowers at Sookie.

I liked that Tara and Holly led the resistance against Antonia, although all it did was make them into hostages. Tara just learned that witches can be as bad as vampires. Her only option when all this is over may be to move to an uninhabited patch of Siberia.

The resolution to the ghost baby story was really sweet, although by the end I was starting to look around for Jennifer Love Hewitt. But Jesus and Lafayette made a great team, and it was by far the best plot line involving Terry and Arlene. I still think that Lafayette is going to be the key to neutralizing Witchy-Poo. I don’t mention it often enough, but I love Lafayette, and his newly discovered talent as a medium is a good fit for the character. Plus it’s giving the talented Nelsan Ellis some fun acting challenges.

The Motorcycle Shop

Tommy showed that he was really sorry for what he did… by doing it again, but in a nice way. Since he was the one that slept with Luna, he went to Marcus and took a beating for it. I actually thought Marcus was going to kill Tommy, and maybe he would have if Alcide hadn’t been there. Alcide is turning into a serial rescuer, isn’t he? That’s twice in one episode he carried an injured cast member to safety.

Sam surreptitiously turned into a fluffy bunny to make Luna’s daughter Emma happy. That was just incredibly sweet. And he got a sexy karmic reward for it, too. Maybe the writers heard us complaining about Sam’s earlier character assassination and are making up for it. At this point, I’m starting to believe that kinder, gentler Sam will indeed forgive Tommy. Although how could he ever trust him again?

Bits and pieces:

— Bill’s bodyguards. Again, sucks to be them.

— The Sookie, Bill and Eric triangle keeps reminding me of Buffy, Angel and Spike. Even their coloring is the same.

— Sam is a multiple tent owner.

— Eric began and ended the episode under Antonia’s spell. This did not make me happy.

— The “For You, Monster” box was an Amazon box. Was that perhaps a statement about Amazon? Amazon recently dropped me as an advertising affiliate because I live in California. Because they refuse to pay California taxes, California schools will suffer. http://www.thinkbeforeyouclickca.org/

— Somehow I’m starting to doubt that Alcide will move up in the Shreveport Pack.

— Alcide naked again. Spectacular. And I’m sure the producers are aware of this. Thank you, producers. And thank you, Joe Manganiello.

— I am so hating Andy this season. What an annoying plotline to force on the talented Chris Bauer.

— Jessica and Jason made love in his truck, and there was a chain saw lying next to them. Most Obvious Symbolism, anyone?

— In True Blood world, it’s October 29. It’s way too funny that they scheduled a vampire tolerance festival two days before Halloween.

Quotes:

Nan: “Bolster security if you feel it necessary, but tomorrow’s Festival of Tolerance is going forward. And the cameras had better find you in a festive and tolerant fucking mood.”

Marcus: “Since you’re about six six and wider than a door, he might be more inclined to listen with you standing behind me.”
Alcide: (toasting with his beer) “To communicating shit.”
Marcus: “To communicating shit.”

Mavis: “Merci, Lafayette. Thank you for everything.”
Lafayette: “You got it, bitch.”

Joyce Watney: “… and the doorbell rings and it’s Julie, wanting to know if she could watch us eat.”

Bill: “How can we have an event in honor of the living dead without any living dead? It’s like having a civil rights protest without any black people.”
Nan: “They’re called ‘African Americans’. And maybe those protests wouldn’t have turned into the bloodbaths they became if they hadn’t been there. Ever consider that?”
It’s Bill’s expression that made this so funny.

Jessica: “That how he said it?”
Jason: “I might be parrot-phrasing a little.”
This is my favorite Jason malapropism ever. From now on, for me, paraphrasing is “parrot-phrasing”.

A bit too weird and all over the place for a four, but such a good time. I’d say three out of four parrot-phrases,

Billie Doux

(Billie Doux and her contributing writers review science fiction, fantasy and cult television shows at BillieDoux.com.)