Recap: 'True Blood' Season 2, Episode 8

More than halfway through Season 2 it has become clear that Alan Ball and his talented crew of writers and actors are intent on making sure that "True Blood" remains one of the most creative and patently wild shows on television.

This week's episode began with Sookie about to be raped by Fellowship of the Sun trigger man, Gabe, only to be stopped just in time by Godric and Eric. It is quickly broadcast to the church (which also happens to be having a lock-in sleepover) that a vampire is loose in the building and the church goes into lockdown mode.

In a relieving reveal we learn that Sarah has shot Jason with only a paint-ball gun. And boy, is she mad that he never told her his sister was a vampire-lover of the highest order. "You're worse than Judas," she yells.

"What did he do to you?" Jason asks. She shoots him in his man parts and he writhes in pain. Then she tells him that Sookie is in the church basement. Jason rushes to her rescue.

Back at the church, Eric and Sookie engage in flirtatious back and forths before Eric feigns a ridiculous Midwestern accent and tries to get into the church by masquerading as a human. He is quickly revealed and he and Sookie rush into the church to confront Steve Newlin and his congregation of vamp-loathing nut jobs.

Steve is wearing an amazing white suit a la Jim Bakker and announces that the war has begun. Eric steps forward and offers himself in place of Godric and Sookie (whom Newlin has called an evil whore of Satan. I get that all the time too). Eric is quickly placed on the alter and draped with silver chains, which burn his skin and keep him weak. Meanwhile, Jason shows up outside the church and tells the guards that he is a special-ops cadet with the Light of Day institute. He brandishes his gun, but the men instantly recognize it to be a paint-ball gun. They rush him, he overpowers them and sneaks into the church.

Back at the hotel Lorena is still holding Bill hostage. She has also grabbed Barry and is threatening to bite him, which she does in short order. Bill pulls her off her psychic prey and smashes her over the head with a giant plasma TV screen. It's an alarmingly brutal act, but she totally had it coming. Bill throws Barry over his shoulder and leaves. Next he rushes into Jessica's room, where she and Hoyt are having a mutual virginity-losing bout of sex. Jessica is more than embarrassed. Bill is too intent on saving Sookie to beat up Hoyt, so he tells him that if he really cares about Jessica he needs to drive her immediately back to Bon Temps.

When Bill finally bursts into the church a gun is being held to Sookie's head and Jason has positioned himself in a balcony across from the alter where Newlin stands. "If you shoot her everyone in here will die," Bill thunders. Then Jason shoots Newlin square between the eyes with a green paint ball. He goes down. Sookie rips the chains off of Eric and Eric turns to Newlin, ready to kill him.

And then -- we were all waiting for this moment -- the entire Dallas vampire posse rolls into the church, looking downright nasty. "Destroy them, all of them," says Stan, looking particularly Wild West. Suddenly Godric, dressed in white and looking a bit like the frontman of a Silver Lake electronica band, appears high above the fracas and orders his posse to leave the humans be. "These people have not harmed me," he says with his calm Middle Earth voice. "You see, we can coexist."

Stan is visibly disappointed. He's George W. Bush to Godric's Obama. But Newlin isn't moved to accept Godric's peace offering. "I will not negotiate with subhumans," he says (more Ahmadinejad than Kim Jong Il). "Jesus will protect me," he adds.

"Actually, I'm older than your Jesus," counters Godric, descending to ground level. Newlin still goads him on, saying that they should just kill him. (He wants his war as bad as I want a boyfriend with a job.) Godric won't budge, and he sends his posse home. As Jason is leaving, Newlin hurls an insult at him. Jason turns around and gets up in his face to say, "I reckon if I've ever been to heaven it was inside of your wife." Zing! Remember that one next time you really want to bum out one of your married friends. It works every time.

Let's not forget about our friends back in Bon Temps. At Merlotte's Lafayette is reading Tara's tarot cards and he sees something (the justice card) that really spooks him. Just then Eggs walks in, distraught that he has lost a bunch of time in a blackout again. That'll happen when you get turned into a demon and ordered to kill a shape shifter. Tara takes him home.

Just outside Sam is sleeping in his car when he gets a phone call from someone who just hangs up. When he goes into Merlotte's to investigate, he finds Daphne in his walk-in freezer with her heart cut out of her chest. The police show up. It seems Sam is being set up for murder. "This is the second time a woman has shown up dead in your bar," says Sheriff Dearborne. "And nothing about your past ever checks out."

Fortunately (or not) Andy shows up, still filthy from his travails in the woods, and tells the sheriff that Sam almost got killed by a "bull in a dress with claws." That helps a lot. At this point everyone thinks Andy is just crazy and drunk. Bud locks up Sam anyway, as much for his own protection as out of suspicion. A few stragglers from the previous night's orgy are also in jail, one for having sex with a pine tree.

Back at Sookie's house Mary Ann is lovingly cooking Daphne's heart (in graphic detail) with celery, carrots and onions. In the living room Tara and Eggs talk about how it may be no coincidence that people all over town are blacking out and Eggs tells Tara he may have done something "real bad."

Mary Ann suggest they ease up on the partying and relax by eating a pot pie that she just cooked called "hunters souffle." Tara cuts into it and it oozes red juice. She and Eggs eat it gluttonously, getting blood all over their faces and acting crazy like they just swallowed a mushroom cap or two. When they've finished the heart pie they get all handsy with each other and then start slapping each other as hard as they possibly can. Their eyes go black and they mount each other on the hall rug. Mary Ann is pleased.  

Cut to Godric's lair, where a very tame vampire party is in full swing. Bill is struggling to explain to Sookie why he didn't come to her rescue. The Lorena part is hard for him. Jason apologizes to Bill for being a member of a vampire-hating group and gives him a big hug. Then Bill tells Eric to avoid Sookie for good. Eric plays coy. Suddenly Isabel enters with Hugo and throws him down at Godric's feet. "This is the one who betrayed us," she says. Godric asks if she still loves him, she says she does and begins to cry. Godric says that Hugo will go free. Stan is freaking out. He wants blood. And who can blame him, that's what vampires do, right?

Not so, according to Godric (who is like some sort of magical, elfin fairy of goodness). He laments that after thousands of years vampires have not evolved and still act like savages. He drives his point home when Lorena shows up and acts all catty with Sookie, calling her "no more than a blood bag." Sookie gets crazy mad and tells Lorena that Bill never loved her (she also calls her a lot of words I can't use on a family blog). Lorena tries to bite Sookie, but Godric stops her and admonishes her to be civilized and asks Bill to escort her out. Cue an orchestra of tiny violins, Lorena is terrible.

Back in the lair we see the feet of an intruder, stealthily approaching the living room. The camera pulls back to reveal ... the Lukinator! Jason approaches him, but Luke pushes him away. "I have a message for you all from Reverend Steve Newlin," he says, opening his jacket. He is strapped with bombs covered in silver chains. He lifts his hands up and presses a red button.

Roll credits.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Ryan Kwanten (Jason) and Alexander Skarsgard (Eric). Credit: HBO

Comments

[Mike]

I really don't care for this recap, it is full of a lot of opinion that is placed in it and makes it rather skewed for interpretations sake. I don't recommend it. It's an opnion recap, not a journalistic one of stating facts. Rather curious, since the show is recorded and edited and it's easy to rewind to get things much more accurate.

It should be more clearly stated this is a blog-recap, not an article published by the paper, even though it appears on the papers site.

[anonymous]

I personally really like reading your recaps (or "blogs"). I think you do a great/accurate job letting those who couldn't watch the show know what happened.

I can't wait to find out what happens next week!!

[masha]

I found this very entertaining and amusing actually. I thought it was a perfect recap of all the main parts of interest.

[Rothchild]

I hope Lorena comes back. She seemed like a lot of fun. She was like the anti-Godric. When she does come back, I hope she tells Bill and Godric to get some vampire balls. Godric said, " I require very little blood now". Oh yeah? Well, f*ck you, you self-righteous prick.

[GodricFan]

@Mike: Um, I think you're missing the point. And could use either a nap, a drink or some good old-fashioned loving. It's all fun and games in here, son! Geez Louise.

@Jessica: Keep on keepin' on. I'm torn between your "Whore of Satan" comment and Godric looking like the singer of a Silver Lake electronica band for best line of the week. Leaning towards the latter. That's just too sweet of a description. 2-point conversion: successful!

@Rothchild: Easy, my child. I have a sneaking suspicion that Godric is gonna surprise all of us before the season is over. But yeah, Lorena is kind of awesome. I'm sure Alan Ball will bring her back around when we least expect it and blow minds.

Otherwise, yet another super-fun rundown of the hottest show on TV!

And for all of the gross scenes over the past season and a half, none have bugged me out harder than watching Maryanne cutting up that heart and then seeing Eggs and Tara eating it. It was enough to make me consider vegetarianism. YUCK!~ Still, I loved it, though.

And Rev Steve is cruisin' for a serious bruisin'. I'm just sayin'. That dude sucks big time.

[norwegian blue]

I'm trying not to think about it as I really like Godric --but he is totally channeling Mathesar from Galaxy Quest

[Ames]

Jessica, great run down of the episode and I love your added commentary.

GodricFan, I am vegan and couldn't stand watching the scene where Maryann cuts up and feeds the heart to Tara and Eggs. I have re-watched the episode a couple times and fast forward through it. Oh so extremely disgusting!!!!

[Godrics Maker]

Just before Godric snapped Gabe's neck, Gabe said - "Godric, its me". Why would he say that? Also, why didn't the ministry restrain Godric with silver chains like they did with Eric? Something isn't right about the Godric abduction. My guess is that he isn't Mr. Goody-two-shoes at all.

[Kathy]

You got it mostly right. Eric doesn't stop Gabe. Godric does and snaps his neck. He senses Eric's presence "I'm here my son." Though Eric wants to get Godric out, he instructs Eric to get Sookie out and do it w/out blood shed.

Eric escapes being staked as Sookie shouts the alarm and the two try to get out through the sanctuary, only to be stopped by Steve Newlan, who confronts THEM.

Jason at the church once he gets past the original FOTS gang, one follows him into the church and realizes he has a paintball gun. Jason uses the gun to bonk the guy on the head and he sneaks into the sanctuary.

And you left out a wonderful scene at Godric's Between Eric and Jason. Eric walks up to Jason and tells him he knows he's been taking "V." Jason says he doesn't do it anymore. Eric is all "and you never will again will you." there's a bit of up and down, back and forth head nodding with Jason assuring him he won't. Eric tells him since he was a bit of a hero back there at the church they will call it even. As Jason walks away, a grin of amusement crosses Eric's normally stern face.

[ted nugent]

you guys skipped the best lines in the episode

Sookie: Godric is your maker
Eric: Do not use words you do not understand
Sookie: And you love him
Eric: Do not use words that I do not understand

[kimmy_z]

You did a great job! This last episodes is one of my favorites. I loved it! Yeah Godric, is the bomb and we are gonna see something very interesting come out. Cannot wait! And what are the odds that he is older than our jesus and his name is Godric. Ya know God. Wow, and the snack mary ann made yucky! It made me kinda sick to watch it! And Jason did tell the newlin's that his sister was with a vampire back when he first got to the campground. Wonder how many people actually caught that? Can't wait till sunday to see who lives and dies from the bomb! Will be exciting!!! So, keep posting you did a wonderful job!

[Ecstacy]

I am in love with Godric there is something about him, he captivates me, i want to know everything about him, i hope they give us more on his history.

[Ross]

I want to see more of the Godric from 1000 years ago. He was a hell of a lot more dangerous back then.

[prankster]

Rothchild,you didn't get it. Godric wasn't being self righteous-he's just getting older and requires less blood than when he was younger.

[ana moy]

I LOVE this recap, it's the funniest damn thing ever. The inserts like (looking for a boyfriend with a job), are hilarious. Come on, if you are looking for a technical recap go to hbo.com.

[NoJunk4Me]

Did you actually watch the show? You have so many inaccuracies in your recap...