Welcome to Sucker Punch, the only blog post that ranks the gaudiest moments on this week’s episode of True Blood.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
—
Compared to Russell’s de-spining of a television news anchor, every other moment in this season of True Blood may seem tame by comparison. Perhaps they know that—or perhaps they know that we need to take a breath before the blow-out of the season finale—because writer Nancy Oliver and director Daniel Minahan make “Fresh Blood” a relatively quiet episode. Instead of focusing on the gory or the baroque, they deliver scenes that thrive on what isn’t said, or what’s said in a quiet voice.
Take the lovely scene where Bill and Sookie drive back from Fangtasia, after Sookie gets sprung from the wheel of misfortune. They play a game of imagining what their “normal” relationship would be like, and their dreams are heartbreakingly simple. Bill wants to be a third-grade teacher who loves his job, and he wants to go fishing with Jason. Sookie wants a big flower garden, a  real-estate license, and an occasional double date with Terry and Arlene.
That’s just so… sweet. And sad. Because even though they allow themselves a moment of fantasy, Bill and Sookie clearly know that they will never have these things: Not just because they’re together, but because Bill is a vampire and Sookie is half-fairy. The paradox is that they are human enough to appreciate what they’re missing by not being fully human. Hearing them voice that—and watching Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin convey that—drives home another rich emotion that runs through this series: Ache.
It’s also interesting, isn’t it, that at its core, the series glorifies being human? It’s full of vampires and werewolves and panthers (oh my!), but when they’re pushed, all of the supernatural characters just want to be people.
Allow to take that idea a little further: Many of us—including me—have wondered if this show is getting too supernatural, what with every character turning up as some kind of magical creature. But what if by having fewer humans, the series is emphasizing how valuable being human actually is? What’s if it’s reminding us to appreciate who we are?
Or what if “human” stands in for “mainstream” or “normal,” and all of these supernatural creatures are symbols of the many, many people who are forced to feel like outsiders because of what they are? As in, I’m gay or I’m black or I’m disabled or I’m a woman, so I can only have bittersweet dreams about “belonging” the way that the straight people or the white people or the able-bodied people or the men do? What if the small number of humans on True Blood suggest the small number of people on earth who are on the “inside” of the culture?
(I know I’m not the first person to notice that particular metaphor, but it’s really striking me right now.)
Of course, none of the human characters are all that happy, so perhaps True Blood is also saying that this dream of being “normal” is just a big illusion. Everybody looks at somebody else and sees what they wish they could be. That’s why the human quarterback takes V, just so he can pretend to be a great athlete.
Whoa… look at that! I actually made myself care about the storyline with the high school quarterback! But only a little. Because really, I don’t give a good damn about him, or whether or not he breaks Jason’s passing record. That subplot feels silly compared to everything else that’s going on. I mean, Jason’s got a meth-cooking pantherlady in his house, a half-fairy sister on the lam, and a lifelong friend who just found out that he shot her boyfriend. Let the jock have his fun, dude, and focus on the big picture.
But let’s get back to the quietly powerful moments. There’s Crystal’s revelation, for instance, that she’s being forced to marry her half-brother so he can breed more werepanthers. That little bomb gets dropped and ignored, right? But that makes it even more unsettling.
Meanwhile, I’m moved by Tara’s confrontation with Andy Bellfleur: Thanks to the great acting and writing, we can see the oceans of grief pouring from both characters, and we can see see Tara realize that she has to stop being angry and just accept that Eggs is gone. [Sniffle!]
I wish I were as moved by Tara and Sam bringing the sexy back, or by Sam’s whole spiral into drunken fury. Yes, I dig the Sam-n-Tara conversation about not being nice, but it clarifies how inauthentic Sam feels in every other scene. Neither Sam Trammell’s acting nor the choppy direction make his tantrums feel the least bit threatening, which only leaves me to notice that his rage is mostly an engine to move the plot along: Sam gets angry, which gives Tommy an excuse to do something crazy and Arlene and Holly a reason to run and and start their Goddess Circle. Those are important developments, but I wish they felt more organic.
But all is forgiven, since Arlene’s almost-miscarriage gives her her best-ever scenes on this show. Carrie Preston really nails the mixture of vulnerability, joy, and yes, ache that Arlene feels when she loses, then doesn’t lose Rene’s child. (And did anyone else notice how beautiful she looks in her dream sequence?)
This leaves us with the most powerful moment of the episode, but before I get to that, I want to shout out a few choice jokes and trashy asides: When Pam calls Estonian Yvette a dumb immigrant, and Yvette responds that in Tallinn, she’s a cardiovascular surgeon… well,that cracks me up. Way to tweak a cultural stereotype! And when Hoyt’s Crazy Mama (or Maxine) returns from the shadows like a distaff Don Corleone, revealing her plan to make her son marry Summer at all costs… I practically whoop for joy. Get it, Trash!
But as has become the custom, this pales next to Russell. This week, he’s at the center of a breathtaking series of scenes in which Eric and Bill plot to lure him into the daylight by making him feast on Sookie’s blood. Russell wisely insists that Eric go into the daylight first. That leads to Pam’s palpable agony over the prospect of losing Eric to the sun and Sookie’s bewildered rage that the man she was just daydreaming with in the car is now apparently sacrificing her to Russell. We know it’s all just a ruse, but they don’t… and the tension really satisfies.
And then there’s the trip into the sun: Eric knows he won’t be vulnerable for long, which creates even more tension as he waits for Russell to join him, even as his face starts to burn. And when Russell finally does arrive… and Eric handcuffs himself to his nemesis… damn! Will they both die? Will they both survive? I can’t wait to find out!
But for me, the real triumph in these scenes is the way Eric and Russell respond to being in the sun. Russell especially, thanks to Denis O’Hare’s remarkable performance, displays such joy at just being in the light that I almost can’t take it. That a creature so vile can suddenly seem so innocent… it’s a reminder that once, he was indeed a human, a person, an insider, and now, he’s an outsider full of ache, ache, ache. This reaction is complicated, of course, because I know that if he stays in the daylight, he’ll just use that new freedom to start killing people during their lunch breaks. But that’s what makes hims such a great character. He is terrible and wonderful at the same time.
And besides, his predicament perfectly embodies the insider/outsider theme. You get a taste of normalcy—you step into the sun—but you have to do terrible things to get it, and it will probably end up killing you. Is this the price for wanting to be “normal,” for wanting to be on the inside? Does the cure for ache bring more ache? Or is there maybe, just maybe, some other way out? Any scene that makes me think about these things—that makes me feel them—is a Sucker Punch.
30 responses so far ↓
1 Amanda // Sep 1, 2010 at 11:41 am
Beautifully said. I think people that don’t take the show seriously, or don’t watch it because they think it’s just another vampire thing, really are unfortunate. Because they miss out on all of the depth the show has to offer. The plot is really quite wonderful and intricate. The acting is phenomenal. It makes so many statements, and it has so much depth that I think a lot of people miss, or don’t expect. And you really described Fresh Blood beautifully. You managed to grasp all of the beauty within the characters and the plot. Well done.
2 Billy // Sep 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Holy revelations! I can tell you definitely felt the impact of the little hidden messages that drive this show. I tend to forget about them, since season 1 was pushing them so hard. Now, you really need an episode like this one to remind you of the struggle.
I know that Jason’s story seems lame, but I honestly think it’s all building up to make Jason feel left out. This season he watched everyone become the town hero (Andy & the quarterback) or reveal that they are supernatural. He, on the other hand, is realizing he isn’t “super” or a hero in his town anymore. I think this will lead him to seek out a way to be “better”. Even since Season 2 he was trying to fight and make something of himself. Now he had a whole season to do that and it’s revealed that he just can’t. I think this is possibly how the show will create a twist in his story for the next season. How far will Jason go to become something super?
3 Mark Blankenship // Sep 1, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Billy — What a great read on Jason and the quarterback. Thanks for sharing that. It changes the way I think about that storyline.
4 PurpleMonkey85 // Sep 1, 2010 at 12:13 pm
I can say while this episode did not resolve anything, I actually loved it. Episodes 9 and 10 left me quite upset but this one redeem the season for me. While I care so very little about most of the side plots, they way they were executed so subtly; made them bearable. Terry happy dance in the hospital and the look on Arlene’s face. Lala V vision of Jesus soul, possibly. I agree it was about insiders versus outsiders. Bill’s shameless groveling with Sookie about starting anew and how none of this is his fault(but hers for not listening); was like a plea to stay prom king or maintain a position after a scandal. He is realizing that more and more he is becoming less popular with Sookie.
I loved the juxtaposition that happens when Eric and Russell feed on Sookie. When they kissed last week no fangs came out, even though sex and feeding go together for vampires. Eric was hesitant to actually feed, Russell dove in with relish. Eric very gently, stroking her hair as to sooth her finally bit her. Every episode we are reminded of how Bill struggles to maintain his humanity but in the same vein; we actually see how Eric has maintain some of his. Even someone so evil as Russell or so cold-hearted as Pam; can feel joy, sadness, love, all the things that makes a human, human.
5 Gonzalo Alonso // Sep 1, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Mark, as always, great analysis – particularly your last paragraph on the price of trying to achieve normalcy was brilliant.
While I didn’t love this episode as a whole, the scenes you pointed out were really quite good. It just felt more like a mid-season episode than a mad rush to the finale, and while I appreciate the calm before the storm, I feel like we’ve lost a lot of the urgency that had been accumulating in the last 2 eps (I also wish we’d seen a bit more reaction to that spine-ripping scene… how does the vampire league react? how does hypocritical Nan? how does Arlene?). My reaction was similar to snotty quartback (kudos to Billy for almost making me care!), and Sam and Tara: we’re a little too close to the end to pick up on these (seemingly inconsequential) threads from long ago.
On to my weekly non-thematic confusion: what does Eric achieve by handcuffing Russell? Can’t Russell just drag Eric back in? Or cut Eric’s hand off, and run to the shade of a tree? Found it a bit odd, perhaps someone here (or the finale in two weeks) will explain this.
6 Danielle // Sep 1, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Wow.
You have said everything I was thinking in WAY more words.
Good show, brother.
7 InfoMofo // Sep 1, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Gonzalo- I think that by the time he catches on to the ruse, Russell is significantly weakened by the sun. That’s at least how I interpreted.
8 Gonzalo Alonso // Sep 1, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Slight correction to my previous post: I said: “while I appreciate the calm before the storm, I feel like we’ve lost a lot of the urgency that had been accumulating in the last 2 eps”. I meant: the urgency of Russell’s spine-ripping was lost in the last 2 episodes – last week’s was a little slow to me as well. So it was 1 calm episode too many for this viewer.
@InfoMofo: that makes sense so far, but wouldn’t Eric be even more weakened by now? Considering his older vampire age, and some less exposure to the sun, could Russell not drag Eric back inside? Or did Eric wear SPF 60? Am I thinking about this way too much? I’m afraid I know the answer to that last one
9 K. // Sep 1, 2010 at 1:30 pm
I had a full-on belly laugh at “Get it, Trash!” Brilliant.
10 Saman Sadeghi // Sep 1, 2010 at 1:57 pm
No mention of Jessica and Hoyt? I loved that he truly accepts her for what she is, and that their relationship is back on track and hotter than ever!
11 Rebecca // Sep 1, 2010 at 2:05 pm
I’m hoping Eric pocketed some of Pam’s silver
12 Lacey // Sep 1, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Gonzalo,
I believe in season 2 when Godrick was goign to be tied to a steak and allowed to burn by the Fellowship of the Sun, Eric or someone metioned this: The older a vampire is, the faster they burn. Remember when Godrick killed himself on the roof, he went really quickly. So, if this is true, Eric beign the younger vampire can outlast Russell and be saved by the others inside Fangtasia before he meets his true death.
13 Gonzalo Alonso // Sep 1, 2010 at 2:30 pm
@Lacey: Thank you! I’d forgotten about that! With Russell more weakened by the sunlight, it makes sense that Eric could restrain him from flying away, at least long enough for the King to die the true death. Who knows if Eric will survive the ordeal? And will Sookie be killed by her loss of blood? (yeaahhh right, on those last two)
14 Tamiko // Sep 1, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Mark, I look forward to your reviews every week. Thanks for such a thoughtful review and commentary. The one odd thing about this last episode was that as Sookie, Russel, Eric and Bill were walking into Fangtasia Bill and Eric staged a fight. It didn’t cause a distraction as Russel hardly noticed. I wonder if that has something to do with Eric being out in the sun and handcuffing himself to Russel.
15 Mark Blankenship // Sep 1, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Hi Saman… Oh, I have much love for Hoyt and Jessica, but like Jesus and Lafayette, they just stuck out less for me this week. But thank you for bringing them into the mix. Jessica’s confession that she can’t change her blood-drinking ways struck me as pretty significant: Can ANY vampire turn away from human blood?
16 Mark Blankenship // Sep 1, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Hi Tamiko… Thanks for reading and commenting! The way I understood, Eric and Bill staged a fight so that they could stay outside and sort out the details of the plan to trick Russell. He assumed he was leaving them out there to duke it out, so he didn’t wonder why they lagged behind.
17 PurpleMonkey85 // Sep 1, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Everyone keep saying that Russell spine-killing has had no affect. But a few episodes ago Jessica was being attacked in her and Bill’s home. The swears and that burning cross on the lawn; showed that Bon Temp was becoming very anti-vampire. When Eric, Sookie, Russell, and Bill were going into Fangtasia; that whole bar was covered in hate graffiti. A place that made no qualms about vampires hiding their true nature. We can see the mess but unlike Russell, not all vampires want to eat children, so most of the hate is coming from humans now.
18 Michael // Sep 1, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Mark: As I’ve said all along, this particular show about supernaturals among humans is at its best when it focuses on the challenges of being different, the morality of being different vis-a-vis the normals. One half of the options presented by that dilemma is despising normalcy and relishing superpowers and the outlaw life; the opposite half is longing to belong to the mainstream. (The resemblance to gays and lesbians versus the heterosexual majority could hardly be clearer–this is Alan Ball’s personal theme.) And yes, the episode was full of palpable yearning (most yearning for normalcy, but Jesus is dreaming of supernatural power and insight, Hoyt is risking it all for the love of his vampire lass, and Jason learns at the end that the whole town is beginning to use vampire blood as a shortcut to being extraordinary).
By the way, I think the Jason thread in this episode did alert us to a growing and community-wide problem of drug abuse; since Russell’s evil schemes are apparently being thwarted, here is the problem that is impinging on the whole of Bon Temps.
So my question is–who do y’all think will die by the end of the season? I say Russell certainly, but they’re going to pull a fast one and get Erik through it. They may cliff-hanger us with some threat from Mrs. Fortenberry to Jessica. And my guess is that Tommy dies in an accident that loads Sam with more guilt; and Crystal’s not going to make it through the raid. Any other guesses?
19 Betty // Sep 1, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Gonzalo, as someone else mentioned, Russell probably succumbed to the sun faster because he was much older. The handcuffs Eric used were silver, and apparently weaken a vampire very quickly. In season 1 episode 1, Bill was restrained by a thin silver chain, so maybe it works like kryptonite?
20 Mark Blankenship // Sep 1, 2010 at 8:30 pm
HI Michael… I definitely think Russell and Tommy are done for. Like Maryanne, they’re major characters who feel confined to their season. And since we’ve already seen Tommy planting some kind of bomb in Merlotte’s, I think we even know how he’s going to go. I’m wondering, though, if the bomb will take someone else with it… maybe Terry? He’s so damn wonderful that he seems like he can’t be long for this world. Anyone that evolved and good-hearted… well… look out.
21 Krashorama // Sep 1, 2010 at 8:42 pm
I’m just waiting for Tara’s head to explode when she eventually finds out that Sam’s a dog…
22 PurpleMonkey85 // Sep 1, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Tommy was cutting the wires to Sam safe, in order to steal money. Tommy will get hurt but he is not done for, at least for a few more episodes in season 4. I tell you who will die QSA. The spoiler for the final episodes show someone being buried in cement. I believe this is Russell. QSA is the only other vamp who knows Sookie fae heritage and who wants her. I think that Bill and Eric will kill her.
23 MadRosey // Sep 1, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Great job, Mark. I know the SVM books, like TB the series, are thought by some to be trashy and lightweight, but I have found the books to be full of humor, pathos and surprise. While the TV series has long deviated from a strict representation of the book series, and is now clearly its own entity, I knew Alan Ball would bring those same elements to the show. I really enjoy coming here and sharing the show’s treasure with you and your fans.
I, too, noticed how pretty Carrie Preston was in her dream sequence, but that’s the way she looks when she’s not made to look like a desperate-to-be-still-young-and-sexy, single, redneck mother of two. Like Denis O’Hare, I remember Carrie Preston from an old Law and Order episode. They are both a pleasure to watch.
24 La Verne // Sep 1, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Hi Mark,
I really enjoyed your article. I have read a lot of other reviews, and for some reason they seem to think this episode was boring. I did not find that at all. Just as you pointed out, there was some pretty heavy stuff in this episode. I also loved the scenes with Tara and Andy.
Also, I have to say, I don’t think Russell is done for. I read on another website, that Russell will be in season 4. I don’t know for how long, maybe just the first episode, but it is suppose to happen. I know the show is different from the books, and Russell in the books is not like Russell on the show, but Russell is still among the undead in the books.
25 LauraMac // Sep 1, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Denis O’Hare= Emmy.
26 Michael // Sep 2, 2010 at 1:18 am
I knew the very young Carrie Preston as a stage actress doing classics (Ibsen and Marston) in Pittsburgh in the late 80s–a classic ingenue (patrician blonde, in fact) and one with real acting chops. Typical of Alan Ball, who has a sensational casting instinct, to give her this character role.
27 Fran // Sep 2, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Usually I have comments bubbling out of me at 20:02 MST each Sunday, but this week was different. While this episode was rather quiet in many ways, I found it quite satisfying as a BIG set-up for S4. I can see where the writers are going with some things, and we don’t have too many storylines IMHO. Particularly, we see three:
1. The Witch Plot is coming together with Holly, Jesus, LaLa, Ruby Jean (and Lettie Mae?), Arlene (and by association, Terry), and possibly Tara.
2. The Hot Shot Plot (heh) is coming together with Jason, Crystal, Crystal’s family, Kitch, Andy (with the V in his drawer and the sheriff’s badge on his chest) and maybe Sam and Tommy.
3. The Vampire Plot is the most obvious, and this season’s central plot, with Eric, Pam, Sookie, Bill, Russell, the AVL and peripherally Jessica, Hoyt, Summer, and Hoyt’s mom. Alcide and Sophie Anne appear in the finale trailer, and I’d put them in this storyline for now. If internet speculation is to be believed, Yvetta may tie this story to the Witch Plot.
While I can’t wait to see where they take #3, I have to say I’m MOST curious about Jason’s interaction with Hot Shot. Calvin Norris basically disowned his daughter Crystal for going out with Jason, but I can see Jason choosing to help Hot Shot in the upcoming DEA bust, thus endearing himself to Calvin. Finally Jason might not be aimless!
28 Anonymous // Sep 4, 2010 at 11:21 pm
No way can Eric die. Plus, as said before, older vampires burn faster. Eric will probably be able to barely make it. But back to Eric not dying…he cant cuz hes still in the books after the third one! It would be absolute sacrilege to kill him off xD
29 Nikita // Sep 6, 2010 at 8:28 am
Hi Mark. I love reading your reviews of TB and look forward to reading them every week.
What I’m concerned about is the growing distrust that Sookie is harboring against Bill since the last 2 episodes. She may say that she hates Eric, but its very clear that shes attracted to him and is very vary about being with Bill ever since he almost drained her). I wont be surprised if Bill and Sookie break up for good by the end of the season finale. And that depresses me!
I’m not really interested in reading the books, but I’ve “heard” that they do break up. 
30 jackie // Sep 7, 2010 at 5:07 am
Only the briefest mention of Lafayette this week – yet his was a scene that promised a whole new mess up ahead. I really hope they don’t kill Russell – though I can’t imagine how they could allow him to live. I have truly loved his character!
Leave a Comment