True Blood Tuesday: Turn! Turn! Turn!

Credit: HBO

 Season Five, Episode One.

After a phenomenal Game of Thrones season finale, I had my expectations pretty darn high for the start of True Blood. How was it? Well…it didn’t disappoint. We had emotion, action (of all kinds), humor, and a mega GASP moment. Can’t ask for much more than that.

So, let’s jump in the coffin and head back to Bon Temps!

Sookie, Tara, Lafayette, Pam, Bill, & Eric: We ended last season with dumb Debbie shooting a chunk out of Tara’s head when she jumped in front of the bullet to save Sookie. Sook, crying for help, held her best friend’s lifeless body on the floor of her kitchen.

The season starts at the point when Debbie attempts to shoot Sookie. Here, instead of re-watching what happened, we flash to Bill and Eric, sensing the dangerous situation facing Sookie. Eric, still feeling the sting of Sookie dumping him, continues cleaning up the mess Bill made when he delivered the true death to Nan. Despite sensing Sookie’s trouble, Eric remained steadfast about getting the mess cleaned and getting out of there before the Authority could catch them. Bill, however, couldn’t sit idly by while his favorite fairy was in danger. He took off to help her, but was trapped by the Authority just outside his mansion, along with Eric.

Note: For me, the fact that Bill hurried off to help Sookie highlighted the difference between his love and Eric’s love [for Sookie]. Eric was busy thinking about saving their hides, while Bill put Sookie’s safety first.

Meanwhile, Pam shows up at Sookie’s looking for Eric. Instead, she finds Sookie and Lafayette crying over Tara’s body. Though Pam couldn’t give two fangs for Tara, Lafayette begs her to change his cousin. Pam, however, won’t sire Tara without payment—Sookie has to fix things between Pam and Eric AND still “owe her [Pam] one.” This could get interesting.

Even if Pam successfully changes Tara, there is a chance she will “…rise up out of the ground fu*&tarded,” since half her head’s been blown off.

Pam, wearing a yellow Wal-Mart sweat-suit —much to her displeasure—agrees to be buried with Tara…even though she smells. And so, Sookie and Lafayette bury Tara with Pam.

Jason, Steve Newlin, & Jessica: So, vampire-hating Newlin is now a vampire himself. That, we knew. The next big shocker? He’s gay, y’all, AND in love with Jason!!! Poor, unsuspecting Jason fell for the “abandoned,” newborn vampire act, which allowed Newlin to glamour our beloved Stackhouse.  Once inside casa Stackhouse, Newlin reveals his love for Jason…but he’s climbing the leg of a man that doesn’t “bark” that way. The Rev apparently doesn’t take rejection well—he goes all angry fang-y and attempts to force Jason into loving him.

Enter Jessica.

Jess bursts through the door, claims Jason as hers, and informs the little newbie vamp that she’s older and the progeny of the king of Louisiana.  Oh, and King Daddy is out of town, which means she’s basically the queen. Talk about putting Newlin in his place! With her hand clasped around his neck, she gives him a choice: leave or get the true death. Seriously. Awesome. Scene. Go Jess! Jason rescinds Newlin’s invitation, and the slimy, manipulative little worm is forced to leave.

Sam, Luna, & the pack: Looks like the pack knows their master is dead. They confront Sam, but he manages to shift and fly away. Now at Luna’s, Sam tells her he won’t give up Alcide to the pack—Alcide saved his life, and he refuses to return the favor by telling the pack that their resident sexy were was the one who actually killed Marcus. Just as Luna begins to protest his refusal, the pack shows up and says they won’t hurt Luna or Emma if Sam leaves with them. Being the upstanding guy he is…Sam goes with them.

Note: Very nice bum, Sir Sam. What? It’s a valid observation. *blushes*

Bill, Eric, & Nora: With Bill and Eric locked in the trunk of an Authority car, the two vamps work together to blow the thing up, figuring they’d survive it. It worked. Eric hurried to check on a slightly injured Bill, refusing to leave him behind. The driver, unfortunately, survived the explosion and threatened to kill both of them. Before he could decide who to kill first, Nora, the girl who was traveling in the passenger seat of the car, killed the driver, saving Eric and Bill.

Eric whispered her name, walked towards her, and laid one heckuva kiss on her.

Note: Great kiss, Eric. Great kiss. Seriously hot. So jealous of Nora right now.

Turns out, Nora is Eric’s “sister.” They share the same maker, Godric. Nora is a chancellor with the Authority, but isn’t working to their agenda. Eric, Bill, and Nora head into a storage unit thingy before sunrise. The next night, Eric and Bill will be forced to assume new identities and leave Louisiana forever.

Sookie & Lafayette: Sookie heads to Lafayette’s house to help bury Jesus…except his body is gone. Sookie thinks Eric or Bill might have helped dispose of the body. She heads to the car to give Lafayette some time to say goodbye. Poor Lafayette is falling apart—he doesn’t know how to keep on breathing.

Andy & Holly: Well, it looks like Andy and Holly had a fun Halloween—they found their tricks and treats on the couch of her house. Holly’s sons come home early from their hunting trip to find them, um, you know.

Arlene, Terry, and Patrick: Terry is extra touchy and clearly does not want to revisit the past. While having breakfast at the Bellefleur mansion, Patrick learns that Terry, Arlene, and the kids are only staying with Andy and company because of a house fire. At this little reveal, Patrick started acting weird, like a light bulb switched on over his head or something. Later, he confronted Terry in back of Merlotte’s. Terry just wants his old friend to go back home, but Patrick says he doesn’t have a home…he lost it in a fire…and he wasn’t the only one. Fires have destroyed the homes of several other men in their squad. Patrick said these fires have something to with what happened in Iraq. Apparently, he thought Terry was the one responsible for the fires. When Patrick realized Terry wasn’t to blame, he figured his old war buddy might want to help, which he doesn’t—Terry just wants everything to go away.

Note: How good is it to see Scott Foley? Still, he’ll always be Noel to me. :)

Sookie: Here, Sookie thinks back on some childhood moments with Tara. Looks like Sookie was bullied as a child because of her telepathy, and Tara was the one to save her. Could be foreshadowing if Tara becomes a vampire???

Note: I actually loved the flashback of Sookie and Tara. Is it just me, or was the actress that played young Sookie seriously perfect? She looked so much like Anna, it was uncanny.

Alcide, Sookie, & Lafayette: There he is! Been waiting for Mr. Alcide to make an appearance! Alcide shows up at Sookie’s to warn her about Russell Edgington. This, of course, comes as a shock to Sookie, who thought the nutcase was dead. Worried about Sookie’s safety, Alcide asks her to stay with him. (Oh, just go, Sook. Seriously.) However, Sookie’s guilty conscience over Debbie won’t allow her to stay with Alcide. So, she starts to confess, but Lafayette storms into the kitchen and puts a stop to it.

Note: Sookie, obviously nervous about Alcide being there, spotted Debbie’s tooth/tooth tissue on the floor. She kicked it under something so he wouldn’t see it. My question is this: How could he not smell the tissue attached to the tooth? I get that she cleaned massively well, but wouldn’t that tissue/tooth hold enough of a scent?

Note: Quite liked the growl Alcide gave Lafayette. This show is just so good for my hormones.

Andy & Judge: New big wig alert—it seems this Judge Clements has Andy in his back pocket. Judge got Andy to toss out his son’s speeding ticket. That’s really all we had, but I’m guessing he was introduced for a reason.

Jason & Hoyt: We had a brief encounter at Merlotte’s between the former best friends. Unfortunately, it didn’t go so well. Hoyt’s hurting and has no use for Jason.

Eric, Nora, & Bill: My, my. What a nice bum you have, Eric. Yep, Eric and Nora are having some quality time against the wall of the storage unit, while Bill waits outside. Halfway through their, um, exercise, Eric’s phone rings. Naturally, he’s not supposed to have a phone being on the lamb and all, which Nora reminds him. They spat, and Eric exits the unit, saying to Bill, “We fight like siblings, but we [blank] like champions.”  So, who’s on the phone? It’s Alcide, presumably with the news of Russell’s escape. Pretty sure the next scene confirms this—we see someone dragging a barely conscious human to a cell, toss him halfway inside, and whatever’s in there eats him alive. Yeah, sounds like a Russell thing to do.

Jessica & Jason: Jess is really toying with Jason. He shows up at Bill’s mansion while Jess is having a little college-esque party. He doesn’t like the idea of her partying without him, so he throws off the cop clothes and joins in. During the party, Jess flirts it up with some guy and even kisses him. Jason is obviously hurt. One of the sorority girls hits on him, and he decides to go all old Jason and leave with her. But, when push comes to shove, he can’t sleep with the sorority chick. It seems Jason is too much the smitten kitten with Miss Jessica. Aww.

Eric, Bill, & Nora: On the docks, Eric, Bill, and Nora meet up with some vamps who give our boys new identities and provide the get-out-of-town transportation. Before they can leave, the Authority vamps show up and kill all the fanged ones, except for Eric, Bill, and Nora. I’m thinking they’re in trouble.

Sam, the pack, Luna, & Alcide: In exchange for Luna and Emma’s safety, Sam leads the pack to their former leader’s burial site. They dig him up, and Marcus’ mama, Martha, transforms and, well, eats her son’s flesh. Ew. Alcide shows up with Luna and tells the pack the truth—that he killed Marcus, not Sam. Some of the pack members bow to Alcide, recognizing him as their new master. Others aren’t so forgiving, which doesn’t bother Alcide either way. He’s so man…and wolf.

Note: Did anyone else hear Luna say, “Don’t do it, Martha,” just before the mama wolf transformed and ate her son’s dead body? If she did, I wonder what she meant. Was it just an ew thing, or is Luna aware of something that might happen if the flesh is consumed?

Sookie, Lafayette, Pam, & Tara: Waiting to see if Pam was in time to save Tara, Sookie and Lafayette wait by her grave. Eventually, Pam crawls out, complains about dirt in her bra, grabs a bottle of True Blood (yeah, she doesn’t like it so much), and points Sookie in the direction of Tara’s head. Sookie starts digging, but Tara is still as stone. It didn’t work. Staring at her best friend’s peaceful face, she sobs. Sookie and Lafayette cry over their loss.

HOLY CRUD! GOOSEBUMP ALERT! Tara EXPLODED from the grave, completely out of her mind, and headed straight for Sookie!!! END OF EPISODE.

Seriously, I have goosebumps!!! AWESOME start to the season.

Quick thoughts: Pam stole the episode; Eric and Bill’s brotherly love thing is seriously adorable; Tara…wicked!  It looks like Tara is kind of 100% vampire right now, completely out of touch with her former human self. I’m looking forward to seeing her strong, and, hopefully in time, she will be able to join Sookie in this fight against any big bad that comes upon them.