Recap 5.7 True Blood “In the Beginning”

Bill: “You can’t play the grieving widow and the leader of a coup at the same time.”

Lots to enjoy in this one. Lots that made me unhappy, too.

We now know (at least I think we know) that Nora and Salome were always accomplices, that Salome was indeed the one who freed Russell, and that Lilith is a naked, growling hallucination that can only be seen by those who have drunk her magical blood and chowed down on innocent bystanders.

(Did Lilith actually come out of the punchbowl at the wedding? I’m confused!)

At least Eric and Bill were again standing together for sanity and mainstreaming (before they went Lilith-nuts, at any rate) and Eric even turned on Nora and called her names. (And Godric-vision! I always enjoy seeing Godric.) And a huge crowd of completely stoned vampires was new and different. Or maybe sort of funny, in a rampage-of-death kind of way.

I’ve been forgetting lately that Sookie is supposed to be the main character, because we seem to be getting about five minutes of her per episode. This season’s Sookie plot thread is still confusing, because I keep thinking the fairies must be lying to Sookie for some reason — but why? Can Sookie truly zap away her “luminescence” powers and eventually become normal? (I doubt it.) Is Claude an ally or a threat? (I’m going with threat.) At least Jason was good to her about that ridiculous band-aid theory, which was sweet of him.

Can I say how incredibly disappointed I am with Hoyt? Or more accurately, how the writers are assassinating Hoyt as a character? Yes, he’s needy and immature, but he’s always been a sweetheart, a good guy. And now we’re supposed to believe he’s capable of putting on a mask and shooting Jessica? Never.

And here’s the other bit I didn’t like one bit. Lafayette is a favorite of mine, and I absolutely hated what they did to him in this episode. I hated seeing what remained of Jesus on a blue chair shaped like a hand, too. Little Mama had some rage going on, though, fortunately. I just wish she’d gotten in touch with her inner Amazon a bit sooner. That is, if she doesn’t have something even worse planned for Lafayette than Grandpa did.

The wedding video made me go aww, and it wasn’t because we saw Terry kissing Arlene’s pregnant wedding dress belly. It was seeing Lafayette and Jesus together again, joking and teasing each other. Damn.

Way too many plot bits, recapped:

— Interesting how the truck assassin hate group is a mixed race group. That doesn’t seem likely to me, but okay.

— Sam is turning into a shifter rights activist. Him rolling on the floor like a dog smelling out bad guys was very like an early scene in the first season.

— Alcide and the very pretty Rikki were also rolling on the floor like dogs, but I think they were having a bit more fun.

— Martha called Alcide “Rambo.” I totally get it, because he looked like Rambo at the time. Martha protected Emma from J.D. Maybe Martha isn’t so bad, after all. Okay, the jury’s still out; we shall see.

— Tara has a new and exciting job at Fangtasia involving an uncomfortable-looking black leather and buckles outfit that looked pretty uncomfortable. Lettie Mae certainly wasn’t pleased. It’s funny, but Pam is a MUCH better mother already, and consider the circumstances.

— J.D. has a vampire friend who tells him the end of days is coming. I am assuming it’s an accomplice of Russell’s, and Russell is again building up a werewolf army?

— Terry nearly killed himself. Sad.

— Jason has become too mature for Jessica. Who knew?

Other bits and pieces:

— Roman is definitely dead. Some people thought he wasn’t. I thought he was.

— Weird liaisons. Coroner Mike Spencer was going on about his lady friend, and Sheriff Dearborn was about to hit the hot tub when Andy stopped by for advice.

— Was that Denis O’Hare doing his own singing? 🙂

— So sorry to see the last of Dieter, but not a surprise.

— New hairdo for Pam. It was crimp fest. Which sounds obscene, somehow.

Quotes:

Bill: (looking around) “Eric?”
Eric: (pinned up on the wall) “The view from up here is spectacular.”

Jason: “Listen, I ain’t been to med school or fairy school or nothing, so if you could put it in terms a laid man could understand, I’d appreciate it.”
Not quite as good as parrot-phrasing, but still, a good Jason-ism.

Sookie: “Would I be normal? Would I be human?”

Hater: “Do you hate Jessica Hamby?”
Hoyt: “I do.”
Hater: “Then we’re here to hate her with you.”
Echoes of a wedding ceremony there. Well, in reverse.

Nora: “Join us. Please.”
Eric: “Never, you Bible-banging cunts.”
Is it me, or has Eric been swearing more than usual lately?

Dearborn: “I get that the job’s stressful. I did it for forty-three years. But I’m retired now. The wife’s out of town and the hot tub’s just right, and I’ve got an experimental male enhancement ointment I’m anxious to try out. So go on, get out of here, and let a man relax.”

Steve: “I’m like a tree in the wind. I’m just so happy to be included.”

Pam: “So your mom’s a real bitch.” Not that funny written down. It’s Kristen Bauer’s delivery that makes it funny.

I’m having trouble assigning stars to episodes these days, so — what did you guys think? How many uncomfortable dance costumes out of four?

Billie Doux

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