What we have here is what I like to call a soft tissue episode. It's no mere place holder filler episode but it's not the real muscle of the season either. We are moving along at a nice clip though, advancing all of the plots and raising the stakes.
Marnie watches a witch being burned alive. So that's why her eyes go alight?
I'm Alive and On Fire
In this episode we learn that fairy blood is no joke. If a vamp drains the whole fairy (see last week), he gets drunk and he can spend hours in the sun. Turns out that Alexxander Skarsgård's drunk Eric is just as much fun as his childlike Eric. He flirts shamelessly with Sookie, and he goes skinny dipping in the sunlight (in an episode that's veritably bursting with beefcake). Speaking of which, most of the skin show is far less icky than the past two episodes of Jason Stackhouse's rape at the hands of the werepanther women. Jason finally gets vertical again (thank God) and escapes, though it's probably safe to say that trouble will follow him. In other storylines that evil baby gets a writing on the walll moment "BABY NOT YOURS" and there's more potential trouble for the Merlotte boys as the people they turn to emotionally are less than safe havens.
Something smells fishy. Well, yeah, he's been to the lake.
The strongest element of the episode was its fluid reflectiveness as scenes from disconnected storylines seems to comment on each other. The reveal that Bill's latest conquest is actually his great great great great great granddaughter bounces off all of that sick "brotherhusband" talk in Jason's storyline. And then there's the crazy girlfriends. Take, for instance, Alcides's relationship with his girlfriend Debbie.
Surprisingly it's not his rock-hard body that's made her nuts...
She may have noticed that Sookie and Alcides can barely look at each other -- and not just because Alcides is always stripping to wolf up. Debbie handles his reunion with Sookie well enough on the surface, but there are visible cracks; her crazy is just a tiny fissure away. That's especially obvious when you are invited to compare her to Cristal, Jason's were-panther ex-girlfriend, in the same episode. Cristal's crazy has totally consumed her... she doesn't even register that Jason has left her and wants her dead. To drive this point home in another reflection, Sam's new girlfriend reveals that she has an ex-boyfriend who stalks her.
All of these compelling sisterwife threads scream "MORE CRAZY COMING!"
Though Bill and his plotlines tend to bore, the new story about his reign as King is yielding some promise, most of which is reflected in the contempt with which both his subjects and superiors hold him. First Pam bristles at his orders and then, in a neat emotional reprise, Nan Flanagan (Jessica Tuck), who put him in charge, doesn't like his tone when he gets testy at her attempt to lighten the conversation. Line Reading Hall of Fame:
Nan: Aw, poor Bill. Power's so hard.
Bill best watch himself. Nan isn't playing.
Draining It Dry...
Body Count: 2, one witch burned at the stake and one were-panther staked; Sex Scenes: 1 if you define it that way but maybe you shouldn't as it's non-consensual (poor Jason) but the best she ever had --ewww. So glad that part of that plot is over with!; Trashiest Moment: Mrs Mickens is bustin' with pride that her adult son Tommy has learned how to sound words out, "an educated man!"; Funniest Moment: Eric's skinny Dipping and Sookie's exasperation at the same. The new relationship between Sookie and Eric, a weird mix of flirtation, impromptu parenting, and avoidance continues to delight but it can't possibly stay this light and funny for much longer, can it? Something will have to give. Something may also have to give in terms of the final beats of each episode. They can't each end with Fiona Shaw's Marnie suddenly possessed and messing up vampires (Poor Pam!). Can they?
Episode MVP: I think I've gotta hand this ensemble-heavy episode to one Anna Paquin, whose Sookie is the spine of the series and the point of what appears to be the new love triangle: Alcides vs Eric for Sookie's newly free heart. This triangle even gets visualized in the sunlight, the men growling like beasts over their beloved fairy. Paquin also aces a tricky and sad scene where she reminds Bill of her consistent honesty with him while blatantly lying to him. Episode Grade: B+