Recap 4.10 True Blood “Burning Down the House”

Tommy: “There ain’t no heaven, and hell’s a dog fight. I’m gonna disappear like I never was. That’s what I want.”

Yet another terrific episode that just flew by. It was jam-packed with all the right stuff, too, as in many scenes of personal connection between two characters.

Sam and Tommy

Tommy’s exit was surprisingly moving. How incredibly sad that Tommy thought of Merlotte’s as his only real home, and Sam as his only real family. How incredibly sad that Tommy was hoping for nonexistence instead of heaven. Tommy just self-destructed, probably because he couldn’t live with the guilt of what he did to his parents and to Sam. It was good of Sam to tell Tommy he loved him, and I believed it. I’ve never liked Tommy, but I always felt sympathy for him and his death made me cry.

(This is only the second time a True Blood scene made me cry. The other was Sookie at the kitchen table eating Gran’s last pecan pie.)

Alcide and Debbie

Tommy’s unexpected death has inadvertently resulted in Sam and Alcide teaming up. I’m starting to like more about Alcide than his spectacular body; he’s a stand up wolf who chose justice over Pack politics. Does Debbie have any taste at all? Who could possibly prefer Marcus or Cooter to Alcide? Although Marcus and Debbie have all that poisonous jealousy in common and would probably make a great pair. If Sam doesn’t kill Marcus, that is.

Sookie and Eric

Eric remembered everything, which really pleased me; it would be so frustrating if he didn’t, and I’m deliberately not going to discuss what happened in the fourth book. Absorbing his amnesiac experiences appears to have pushed a lot of the arrogant jerkiness right out of him. He’s now both Erics, a combination of the sweetie that Sookie fell for and the vampire Viking we all know and love. As far as I’m concerned, that makes him practically perfect in every way — for a vampire love interest, that is. What more could Sookie possibly want? Why, oh why is she still hung up on Bill?

Bill and Nan

Bill’s continuing conflict with Nan this season has been the gift that keeps on giving. The two of them keep making me laugh out loud. Eric said that Nan was on her way out, though. What does Eric know that Bill does not?

I have to give the writers tons of credit for the fun scenes in the cell under Bill’s house. It started with just Bill and Jessica chained to the beds, and now it’s every vampire in the cast — and all they can do is argue. I can’t blame them for being crabby, under the circumstances. At least Bill and Eric seemed to have buried their differences for now because of a common foe. Actually, Bill had better hang on to Eric, because I don’t think he’s going to have any other sheriffs around when all this is over.

Terry and Andy

Andy’s struggle with V addiction has been boring and frustrating, but it finally paid off. Terry finally knocking some sense into Andy at Fort Bellefleur were probably the best scenes both characters have ever had. Their common past and shared experiences with serious addiction worked for me. And it was nice to hear that back when Terry was at his worst, it was Andy who took care of him, and Terry was just returning the favor.

Jason and Jessica

Jason has become such an adult. He was serious about asking Jessica to glamour him, and he didn’t blurt out the truth to Hoyt, after all — something I’m sure he would have done a couple of seasons ago. I’m all for truth, but Hoyt doesn’t need to lose his BFF on top of Jessica. Maybe they won’t go for predictable, and Hoyt won’t find out.

Antonia and Marnie

We finally know Antonia’s backstory, and her shock at what happened at the Festival of Tolerance makes sense — she was a healer, not a killer. Antonia was ready to pack it in, but Marnie wouldn’t let her. Marnie didn’t care about the humans who were injured at the Festival; she hates the “normal” humans who have mocked her. So she’s not the crunchy granola innocent victim that we thought. She invited it. She wants the power. She wants to kill. Good to know. Maybe Antonia is the only one who can stop Marnie.

Frontal assaults on the Moon Goddess

Sookie, Jason, Lafayette and Jesus decided it was time to get Tara out of the Moon Goddess Emporium. Jesus impressed me by taking the lead. He was wrong about Marnie, but I absolutely give him credit for trying. I didn’t like Jesus at first, but I do now. He’s shown where his heart is. I hope that means he’s not about to die.

And now Sookie, Lafayette, Holly and Tara have vanished. (I had to run that scene three times to be sure exactly who disappeared.) Since there’s more than one main character in the mix, I think they’ll magically appear somewhere else. I was sorta expecting them to show up at Fort Bellefleur.

Our four favorite vamps in black, striding toward the Moon Goddess armed and ready to take down their common threat — I want that shot for my screen saver. Seriously. It made me think of Angel, Darla, Spike and Drusilla during the Boxer Rebellion.

Was that a bazooka Jessica was carrying?

Bits and pieces:

— Jessica seems to be turning into a vampire bad ass. I love it.

— Tara and Holly also found common ground and were pulling together with the Latin.

— Sookie and Jason standing together with their arms folded and determined expressions on their faces looked and felt like brother and sister, possibly for the first time.

— I don’t see a good future ahead for Marnie’s buddy Roy.

— Even though the shots are working, I assume Pam is still spellbound. She should have gone to the Tolerance Festival and hung out with spellbound Eric. Maybe Sookie’s death ray would have caught her, too.

— Gold acting stars for Marshall Allman and Sam Trammell. Everyone was good in this episode, but they deserve singling out.

Quotes:

Nan: “What’s the deal with your little dairy maid and her lightning trick?”

Jessica: “Fucking humans. I’m gonna find somebody to eat.”

Sookie: “Maybe it’s just chemical.” And she’s just thinking that now?

Jason: “He drank eleven of my beers, passed out and started farting continuously.”

Andy: “For a year after the Marines, you lived up there like an insane squirrel.”

Lafayette: “If she woulda goddam let her parakeet rest in peace, then Eric Northman and Bill Compton wouldn’t be marching on Moon Goddess to blow up my only fucking cousin.”

Marnie: (to Antonia) “Fate brought us together to fight evil. Did you really think no one was going to get hurt?”

Jessica: “I don’t care what happens, as long as I get to kill shit.”

Jason: “What’s that on his head?”
Lafayette: “It’s a… Latin thing.”

Marnie: “It’s marvelous. They’ll do anything I want. They’ll slaughter their friends, kill each other, eat chocolate, go to the beach…”

Four out of four bazookas,

Billie Doux

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