Nothing But The Blood
Anyone else a total geek for True Blood, or is it just me? OMG do I love this show! It is just amazing! In case you are a fan, and haven't seen tonight's season premiere, I will put my thoughts/recap behind a cut. If you are new to True Blood, I will also have a recap for the first season behind a cut so you're up to speed here. But I would strongly recommend watching the first season. Bill & Sookie are just too adorable for words ♥
*end fangirl gushing*
Characters
Sookie Stackhouse
Perky blond waitress who works at Merlotte's. She's telepathic, and spends her days trying not to hear the thoughts of those around her. Most people assume she's crazy, although her close friends and family know about her "gift". She lives with her Grandmother in Bon Temps, Louisiana (it's a fictional town outside of Shreveport). Because of her "gift", she's never been one to date. She's 25 years old, and still a virgin. She has yet to meet a guy she can really be herself with, since she can hear their thoughts the entire time she's with someone. Makes it hard to get close to a person when you know what they're really thinking. But then she meets Bill Compton, the first vampire to take up residence in Bon Temps, and it's obvious from the second she lays eyes on him that her life is never going to be the same.
Bill Compton
Silky smooth vampire with a heart, so to speak. Even before the vampires "came out of the coffin", Bill Compton was doing his best to "mainstream" into human society. He was turned vampire in 1865 when he was 30 human years old. He was a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Before being turned vampire, he was married, and had children of his own. Being turned meant leaving his wife and children behind to adapt to the ways of the vampire. It isn't until he walks into Merlotte's (after assuming ownership of his ancestoral home in Bon Temps), and meets Sookie Stackhouse, that the possibility of falling in love again seems to be on the horizon for him. Much like Sookie, he is instantly taken with her, and can tell that she's different from most people. Bill has a bit of a violent/jealous streak, but I suppose that's to be expected with a vampire. More than anything, he wants to protect Sookie, and she's going to need it.
Sam Merlotte
Owner of Merlotte's Bar & Grill, and Sookie's boss. Sam is a sweet guy who tends to be a little over-protective of Sookie. He's had a crush on her for years, but never bothered to tell her as much. Then Bill Compton comes to town, and all of a sudden, Sam kicks things into overdrive. He doesn't much approve of vampires being part of human society, and the idea that Sookie might actually fall in love with a vampire makes him a little sick to his stomach. Sam seems to think that Sookie needs protecting, but all it does is push her further and further away. To cure his loneliness, he starts a friends with benefits type relationship with Tara, who just happens to be Sookie's best friend, and Sam's new bartender. Oh, and Sam's also a shape-shifter, which means he can transform himself into any living creature that he has a visual of. His go-to shift is a dog, but this information isn't revealed right away.
Jason Stackhouse
Jason is Sookie's older brother. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He's egotistical and a total manwhore. He's slept with just about every available girl in town, except for Tara, who's had a crush on him since they were kids. He lived with his Grandmother and Sookie until he turned 18, and then he moved back into his parents' old house (Sookie & Jason's parents were killed in a flash flood when they were young). Since then he's had nothing but a string of drunken/high one night stands with various girls around town. He's had an on again-off again relationship with a girl named Dawn, who is another waitress at Merlotte's. That relationship comes to a definite end when Dawn is found strangled after a fight with Jason. The problem is that Dawn is the second of three girls that Jason has slept with that turn up dead. All of them have been killed the same way. Like Sam, Jason isn't too keen on the idea of vampires mainstreaming with society, and is disgusted that humans would want to have sex with a vampire. Yet that doesn't stop Jason from getting hooked on "V Juice", vampire blood, which happens to be highly addictive, and very illegal.
Eric Northman
1000 year old Viking vampire who owns Fangtasia, a vampire bar in Shreveport. He is also a sheriff in the vampire hierarchy, and is essentially, Bill's boss. He first meets Sookie when Bill brings her to Fangtasia to ask a few questions about two of the murder victims that have her brother in trouble with the police. All it takes is one look, and like Bill, Eric is infatuated with Sookie. Thanks to vampire politics, Eric cannot touch Sookie because she "belongs" to Bill, not that Sookie is the slightest bit interested in Eric. In fact, she finds him rather irritating. Vampires also have issues with being in debt to anyone, especially a human. So when Sookie warns him about a raid on his bar, that places Eric in her debt. Not long after that, she also helps him to discover who has been embezzling from the bar. Eric doesn't like this one bit, nor does he like the fact that Sookie couldn't care less about him.
Tara Thorton
Sookie's best friend, and the newest bartender at Merlotte's. Tara has some serious anger management issues that stem from a lifetime of dealing with an out of control alcoholic mother. She has hopped from job to job, always leaving a wake of anger everywhere she goes. She's also had some serious trouble holding onto a man, thanks to her very sharp tongue. In fact, it seems the only real friend she has is Sookie. Tara also has a crush on Sookie's brother. She fell for him when they were kids, and he defended her against her mother. But since Jason never seems to notice that she's sending him all the signals he needs, and Sam is pining for Sookie who is interested in Bill, Tara and Sam end up hooking up. Friends with benefits never works out well, and Tara and Sam don't seem to be the exception to that rule.
Vampire Pam
100 year old vampire (give or take a few years) who is a co-owner of Fangtasia with Eric Northman, and another vampire named Long Shadow. Pam prefers women, as it seems, but isn't nearly as enchanted with Sookie upon their first meeting as Eric and Bill are. It isn't long, though, before Pam seems to take somewhat of a liking to Sookie. Well, as much as most vampires like a human who is helping another vampire to mainstream. She is Eric's constant companion, and perhaps one of the more vicious vampires anyone could ever meet. She's also got an interesting sense of humor that makes her unique, since most vampires are lacking in that department.
Lafayette Reynolds
Oh now THIS guy is a character! Lafayette has more jobs than some people do fingers. He's hysterical! In addition to being the cook at Merlotte's, he is also a drug dealer (who trades in V Juice, which is highly illegal, as previously mentioned), a member of Jason Stackhouse's road crew, internet pornographer and gay prostitute. Yet, Lafayette, for all of his dealings, seems to fly below the radar in Bon Temps. He is also Tara Thorton's cousin, and is well aware of the problems Tara has with her mother. Lafayette is the one who introduces Jason Stackhouse to the effects that V can have on a person, but unlike Jason, Lafayette seems to be able to handle his high much better than Jason does.
Gran
Sookie & Jason's grandmother who raised them after their parents were killed in a flash flood. For an older southern woman, Mrs. Stackhouse is rather progressive. She supports the vampire rights amendment, as well as Sookie's relationship with Bill Compton. She's a member of a club called The Descendants of the Glorious Dead, which is just a bunch of ancestors of folks who fought in the Civil War. The thought that Bill Compton might actually be able to recall anything about the war is enough of a reason for her to like him. She trusts that Bill will bring no harm to Sookie, and she has cause to believe such things. Sadly, she meets her end when a serial killer comes to Bon Temps who seems to have a thing for women who associate with vampires.
Other Characters
Arlene; Another waitress at Merlotte's. She has two kids from a previous marriage, and has the worst taste in men.
Rene; Arlene's boyfriend with a mysterious past and a Cajun accent that comes and goes. He seems like a nice guy, though.
Hoyt; Jason's friend, and fellow worker on the road crew with Rene and Lafayette.
Long Shadow; The third vampire partner in Fangtasia.
Lettie Mae; Tara's alcoholic mother who is convinced she has a demon inside her.
Uncle Bartlett; Sookie & Jason's great uncle who was shunned from the family by Mrs. Stackhouse.
Lorena; The woman who turned Bill into a vampire.
Mary Anne; Bails Tara out of jail after Tara's car accident. Just so happens that Mary Anne is the reason Tara had the accident in the first place.
Miss Jeanette; The woman who performs Tara's and Lettie Mae's exorcisms.
Since there is so much ground to cover here, I'm going to break this down by story arch. The premise of all this is that the Japanese have perfected a synthetic blood that vampires can drink in place of human blood. Therefore, there is no reason for vampires to remain hidden in the shadows of society, so to speak. This does, however, open up a whole new world of possibilities.
Sookie & Bill
From the minute they meet, they are drawn to one another. Bill comes into the bar where Sookie works, and she can instantly tell that he's a vampire. In fact, he is the first vampire she has ever met face to face, and she's a little too excited about this for some people's liking. The night they meet, Sookie saves Bill from a couple of vampire drainers who would have taken his blood to sell on the black market, leaving Bill to die (again). Bill rescues her right back the following night when the drainers come to get their revenge on Sookie. They nearly beat her to death, but are stopped by Bill. They are no match for a pissed off vampire, and he kills them both. He forces Sookie to drink his blood, even though Sookie fears it will turn her into a vampire. Bill assures her it won't. All it will do is heal her. He is correct, and Sookie quickly heals from her injuries. There are side effects, however, if you drink vampire blood. Sookie will experience a greater strength than usual, along with keener senses. Bill will also be able to feel her, or locate her any time. She explains her "gift" to Bill, and is delighted to discover that she really can't hear any of the thoughts running through Bill's head. This makes him very appealing, since she's spent her whole life trying to block out the thoughts of others. Sookie doesn't have much experience with men on account of her gift, but she finds herself having very specific fantasies of a life with this mysterious vampire who has taken up residence in Bon Temps.
Shockingly enough, the only person who seems to support Sookie and Bill's relationship is Sookie's grandmother. Bill agrees to speak to Mrs. Stackhouse's club because it will make Sookie happy. While they are walking together one night, Bill discovers that because of Sookie's ability, he cannot "glamour", hypnotize, her. He finds this odd, but also refreshing. Sookie discovers that Bill's house is just on the other side of the cemetery that adjoins her family's property. While they are standing outside of Bill's house, Bill kisses Sookie for the first time. His fangs come bursting out, breaking up their kiss, and he walks her home. It seems as though, for just a moment while she was kissing him, Sookie forgot that Bill was a vampire. It's obvious that she doesn't see him as the monster that other people see. He doesn't see her as the town cray that most people think she is.
Things are going relatively well, until Sookie shows up at Bill's, as promised, with the names of contractors who will come out at night to do estimates for renovations on Bill's house. Unfortunately, there is a group of vampires there for a visit, and they spook Sookie quite a bit. After that, she begins to wonder if he's really the one she should be with. She decides she needs a break to think things over, but the break doesn't last long. Another woman turns up dead that Sookie's brother was known to associate with, and as it happens, this is also the second woman to associate with vampires. Sookie asks Bill to accompany her to a popular vampire bar in Shreveport called Fangtasia. Bill agrees to go with her, although he worries that he won't be able to protect her.
Sookie is taken aback by the vampire bar scene, and can't help but notice Eric Northman, co-owner of the bar. Eric is a 1000 year old vampire, and sheriff of area 5, which makes him Bill's boss. Eric summons Bill and Sookie over to him to talk. Eric doesn't seem too pleased that Sookie is asking questions about women who may have been previous customers. Turns out both women were customers at Fangtasia, but Eric only fed on one of them. Eric is quite taken with Sookie, and is disappointed when Sookie says she's Bill's. Eric is further intrigued when Sookie alerts him to the fact that there is about to be a raid on the bar. That now puts Eric in Sookie's debt, which Eric isn't happy about.
On the drive home, Sookie and Bill are stopped by an officer who is out looking for vampires. Bill glamors the cop, and takes his gun. Sookie is shocked by this, and when she gets home, she tells Bill that she once again needs a break. Bill is hurt by this, but lets Sookie go all the same. Bill keeps his word, and still shows up to talk to Mrs. Stackhouse's club, although he is disappointed to see that Sookie has arrived on the arm of Sam Merlotte. Later that night, when Sookie gets home from her date with Sam, she finds that her Gran has been murdered. Bill shows up, sensing that Sookie is in trouble. She isn't, thankfully, but she is awfully glad to see him.
After her Gran's funeral, she's feeling awfully lonely, and decides that she wants Bill. So, she takes off running for Bill's house just after the sun goes down. He can feel her coming, and goes outside to greet her. He carries her into the house, and they have sex in front of his fireplace. While they're having sex, Sookie gives Bill permission to bite her, which he does without much hesitation. Afterward, Sookie feels like a whole new person, and is sure that she has done the right thing. She also confesses to Bill that she was molested as a child by her Uncle Bartlett.
In retaliation, Bill goes after Bartlett for what he has done to Sookie. Bill takes Bartlett's life without hesitation, and then disposes of the body. At the same time, the vampires that were previously at Bill's house have come back to town, and are terrorizing the patrons of Merlotte's. Sensing that Sookie's life is in danger, Bill simply tosses Bartlett's body into a creek, and goes after Sookie. He manages to get the vampires out of the bar, but the damage has already been done. A group of crazy rednecks decide they're going to get revenge on the nest of vampires who have moved into town. The next morning, they set the house on fire that the vampires have moved into. Bill isn't answering his cell phone, and when a fourth coffin is discovered in the house, Sookie fears that it's Bill. Later she goes to his house to check his resting place, and finds that he isn't there. Heartbroken, Sookie takes flowers to his grave site. As she is walking back home, a hand shoots up out of the ground, and begins to pull at her. Turns out it's Bill. He got her messages, but couldn't get home before sunrise, so he slept in the ground at the cemetery. Bill and Sookie have sex in the cemetery, and Bill bites Sookie a second time.
Sookie tries to hide the fang marks Bill has left on her neck, but is unsuccessful at it. Sam, Arlene and Tara are all pretty disgusted and angry that Sookie has had sex with a vampire. They don't understand it, nor do they approve. They think Bill is dangerous, but what they don't know that Bill has already saved her life. Sookie agrees to babysit Arlene's kids all the same, but Arlene is less than pleased when she shows up with her kids, and finds out that Bill will be there as well. The kids are immediately curious about Bill, and want to know everything. Bill promises to be on his best behavior, which is of little comfort to Arlene, but everything turns out just fine. This is also the closest we will ever come to seeing what Sookie and Bill would be like as parents together, since Bill cannot father a child.
Thanks to Sookie's tip off about the raid, Eric was able to figure out that Sookie was a telepath. He makes a visit to Bill's house, requesting that Sookie and Bill come to Shreveport. Someone has been embezzling from Fangtasia, and no amount of vampire trickery can reveal who the thief is. So, they have called on Sookie to read the minds of their human employees. When Sookie surmises that it was a vampire who stole the money, Long Shadow jumps over the bar with the intention of killing Sookie. Bill stakes Long Shadow to save Sookie's life. It's a big no-no for one vampire to kill another, especially if it's to save the life of a human.
Bill's actions result in his being called to a tribunal. Sookie wants to go along to testify for Bill, but that is not allowed. In his absence, Bill asks Sam to look after Sookie for him, since there is still a serial killer on the loose. Bill's punishment is that he must replace the life he took. He can do that by forfeiting Sookie, or by turning someone else into a vampire. For all his years as a vampire, Bill has yet to be a maker. He is presented with a 17 year old girl named Jessica. At the demand of the "court", Bill is forced to turn this girl into a vampire, and it becomes obvious rather quickly that she is the most annoying creature ever turned. Bill can't handle Jessica, and makes a deal with Eric that leaves Jessica in Eric's care.
Sookie, meanwhile, brings home a stray dog that hangs out around the bar. She's staying at Bill's house for her own protection, and brings the dog along with her. She wakes in the middle of the night to find Sam sleeping naked on the bed with her. She freaks out, thinking that he's the killer. Turns out that Sam is just a shape-shifter. Sookie is hurt that Sam never told her the truth in all the time she's known him, especially since he wanted so desperately to be her boyfriend. While at Arlene's engagement party the next night, Sookie is attacked by the serial killer, but survives. Terrified, she feels like she has no choice but to place herself under Sam's protection.
While they are sitting in Sookie's living room, they start to kiss, and it's bad timing. Bill comes back to find Sam with his hands all over Sookie, which he does not take kindly to. The two men get into a fight, but Sam is no match for a vampire. Sookie gets between them, angry at Bill for his reaction, and rescinds his invitation to her home. Bill is heartbroken by this, wanting to explain to Sookie where he's been all this time that he's been gone, but he has to leave her house immediately. Sookie slams the door in his face, leaving him to believe that she has chosen Sam over him.
While Bill was out of town, Sookie and Sam did a little research based on one of Sookie's visions. The search leads them to another town in Louisiana where the police department is supposed to fax over a picture of the man suspected of killing another woman who was killed much the same way the Bon Temps murder victims were killed. Turns out that man is Rene, Arlene's fiance, only the fax gets buried in files, and is never seen by anyone at the Bon Temps police department. Besides, Jason Stackhouse is in custody, and he's linked to all three of the women who have been murdered in Bon Temps. Too bad he's not the killer.
With Rene still on the loose, and Bill out of the way, Rene cuts some wires in Sookie's car. With the car disabled, he offers her a ride home from work. While she's pouring iced tea, she has a vision of Rene stabbing her grandmother to death. She drops the pitcher of tea, and says she's going for a mop. What she goes for instead is a loaded shotgun by the fireplace. Unfortunately, Rene spotted the gun while Sookie was in the kitchen, and removed the ammunition. She hits him over the head with butt of the gun, and runs out of the house. Rene gives chase, with Sookie having visions of each murder Rene has committed. Bill senses that Sookie is in extreme danger, and even though it is the middle of the day, he wakes up. He leaves his resting place, and ventures out into the sunlight in attempts to save her life.
Rene left his vest behind at the bar, and thanks to his keen shape-shifter senses, Sam is able to identify the scent on the jacket. He recognizes it as the same smell that was in Dawn's house when her body was found. Figuring that Rene is the killer, he goes after Sookie. He arrives at the house to find blood on the floor, along with Rene's belt, which has been the murder weapon in four of the five murders Rene has committed. Sam shifts into a dog, and attacks Rene while he's choking Sookie in the cemetery with his bare hands.
Bill, meanwhile, is charred to a crisp, but continues to stagger toward Sookie, intending to save her life. Or, at the very least, make sure her face is the last thing he sees before he dies. Sam, as a dog, attacks Rene mercilessly, getting him away from Sookie, who passes out. Rene turns his attentions to this dog, and begins to kick it and hit it with anything available. Sam shifts back to a human when he loses consciousness. All of a sudden, Sookie's eyes pop open as Bill collapses a hundred feet away. She gets up, and bashes Rene's head in with a shovel. When he reaches for her ankle to attack her some more, she uses the metal end of the shovel as a spear, and nearly decapitates Rene.
She then runs over to where Bill is smoldering in the field. Sam wakes up, and carries Bill to an open grave. They bury Bill, and hope for the best. Later that night, Sookie is badly beaten, and very distraught over losing Bill. She doesn't think that he's going to be okay, and it's obvious that she feels guilty. While she's laying on the couch watching a movie, her doorbell rings. It's Bill. He's restored. He admits that he fed on someone, but he doesn't mention if he took that person's life or not. Sookie invites him into the house, and he apologizes for not getting to her sooner. She stops him from taking any more guilt on himself. She's enamored with him for how selflessly he sacrificed himself to save her yet again. From there on, it's obvious the two of them are back together, but it won't be the last of the drama they face.
Two weeks later, Sookie has no clue about Jessica, girl Bill was forced to turn. This is a problem since Eric has had his fill of Jessica, and dumps her on Bill.
Jason & Amy
The first victim of the serial killer in Bon Temps is Maudette Pickens, a girl that just happens to be a "friend" of Jason's. Jason thinks he may have killed Maudette while they were having sex. He thinks he's choked her to death, but doesn't bother to report it. Luckily for him, Maudette was freakier than he imagined, and she taped them having sex. The tape reveals that while Jason thought he killed her, but didn't bother to report it, Maudette was actually very much alive when he left her.
The second victim is a girl by the name of Dawn, who Jason has had an on and off relationship with for some time. After the two of them have a fight, Dawn throws Jason out of her house, and even fires a gun at him in order to make her point that he is no longer welcome in her house or life. Jason leaves Dawn alive. He goes to see Lafayette, hoping that Lafayette has some sort of drug that will help Jason get himself back on track. What Lafayette offers is V. Lafayette tells Jason to take one or two drops, and nothing more. Unfortunately, Jason returns to Dawn's house to find that she's been strangled to death as well. When he's taken in for questioning, he has an entire vile of V in his pocket, which is highly illegal to be in possession of. So, Jason drinks the entire vile of V. He pays for that dearly. Tara comes by the police station to spring him, since there is no evidence tying Jason to either murder, other than he knew the victims intimately. Tara even gives him an alibi, saying that she was with Jason the night before, so he couldn't possibly have killed Dawn. It's not true, but the police don't know that. The overdose on V has horrible consequences for Jason, who ends up needing to have blood drained from his penis. The worst part is that Jason is incredibly hooked on the V, and doesn't really learn from his mistakes.
Jason meets Amy Burley when he goes to Fangtasia in hopes of scoring some V. He doesn't realize that it's stupid to go to a vampire bar to try and buy their blood. No vampire in their right mind is going to sell their blood to a human, and especially not in Eric Northman's bar. Amy just happens to be into doing V as well, and has some with her. She stops Jason from making a gigantic fool of himself, and drags him out of the bar before he gets himself killed. They take V together, and find that they are able to connect to each other in ways that Jason has never been able to connect to anyone else. Amy is the first girl he meets and likes who he doesn't have sex the first night they meet. But the high doesn't last forever, and the V they took was the last that Amy had. So, to replenish their supply, the follow Lafayette to his supplier's house, and Amy decides to kidnap the vampire, rather than try to drain him in his own home.
They bring the vampire back home, where Jason gets to know him. In spite of his feelings of hatred for vampires, he takes pity on the one they have kidnapped. Jason finds that this vampire isn't so bad. The vampire, however, is convinced that Amy is crazy, and Jason would be better served if he dumped Amy. Jason disagrees, but he starts to see another side of Amy that he can't quite get on board with. Jason wants to let the vampire go, but Amy fears that if they do, they'll become his next meal. So as Jason is in the process of freeing the vampire, Amy stakes him. After that, Jason swears off of V for good, and insists that Amy stop taking it as well.
Amy is able to talk him into taking it one last time, and while they're both high, the killer breaks into Jason's house, and strangles Amy to death. Jason wakes up to find Amy cold and blue beside him, having no recollection of what happened to her. But rather than take his chances that he might hurt someone else, he tells the police to lock him up. While he's in jail, a representative from Fellowship Of The Sun, a church group that is strongly against vampires mainstreaming with human, comes to visit Jason. The church can't officially back him for what he's done to these human women, even if they were tainted. The rep leaves Jason with some information about the church, and it's while Jason's in jail that he decides he's been "saved". He decides that he's going to clean up his act, and find an actual purpose for his life outside of partying and having sex with every girl he meets. He thinks the church will be able to provide him with the guidance he so desperately needs. Nevermind the fact that it's more of a hate group than it is a church. Jason gets sucked in, and quickly becomes one of the church's biggest followers.
Tara & Sam
Sam hires Tara to work at his bar, reluctantly, knowing all too well what kind of temper she has. But, he needs the help, and she needs a job. Tara is still carrying a torch for Jason Stackhouse, while Sam is still hung up on Sookie. Neither Sam or Tara approve when Sookie and Bill get together. Since Jason is never going to notice Tara the way she wants to be noticed, and Sookie is occupied with Bill, both Tara and Sam are lonely. They turn to one another for comfort, and decide to give a friends with benefits relationship a try. The first time they sleep together, it doesn't seem like such a big deal.
Tara goes on with trying to deal with her crazy alcoholic mother. Lettie Mae shows up at Mrs. Stackhouse's funeral, asking Tara for money for an exorcism to cure her problem. Somehow or another, Lettie Mae got the idea in her head that it was a demon she was possessed by. Tara is horribly offended that her mother showed up at the funeral to ask her for money. Yet, Tara isn't able to really give up on her mother, and in the end, decides to get her the money for the exorcism. Apparently, the exorcism works, completely transforming Lettie Mae into the kind of mother she always should have been, but "the demon" wouldn't let her be it. It seems like things are on the mend between Tara and her mother, although Miss Jeanette (the woman who performs the exorcisms in a broken down old school bus in the middle of nowhere) tells Tara that she's got a demon of her own she needs to get rid of before it swallows her up.
Sam, on the other hand, finally gets a chance to go out with Sookie when Sookie and Bill take a break from one another. Sam asks Sookie to accompany him to the meeting of the Descendants of the Glorious Dead where Bill will be the guest speaker. It isn't directly implied, but I got the impression that Sookie went with Sam because she wanted to feel normal, whereas Sam wanted to go with Sookie to rub it in Bill's face as much as he wanted to spend time with her. Sam and Sookie sit together through the meeting, and it's obvious that Sookie is touched by the story that Bill tells the club. This doesn't make Sam happy. After the meeting Sookie and Sam go for coffee. As they're walking back to his car, Sam kisses Sookie, but Sookie's not really ready to get into another relationship so fast. Sam is highly disappointed to discover that Sookie has kissed Bill, and is quite worried that it may have gone further than that. Rather than let him drive her home, Sookie takes a cab.
The entire town of Bon Temps mourns the loss of Adele Stackhouse, Gran, along with Sookie and Jason. The funeral, however, is cause for Sam and Tara to hook up once again, only this time, it doesn't go so well. Tara leaves Sam shortly after they finish having sex. Sam is left alone once again. Tara does, however, confide in Sam that she's been convinced by Miss Jeanette that she has a demon in her. Since she can't afford the exorcism, Sam gives her the money for it. Tara gets her exorcism, and stabs the demon that has been controlling her. Sadly, it turns out Miss Jeanette is a con-woman, and the "demon" that Tara stabbed was a result of some peyote that Miss Jeanette put in a potion she made Tara drink.
Tara is enraged by this, and ends up getting extremely drunk at Merlotte's. While driving herself home, she sees a naked woman in the road, holding a pig. She swerves out the of the way to avoid hitting the woman, but ends up driving through a fence post. She gets arrested for DUI, and no one believes her story about the naked woman and the pig.
Sam, meanwhile, has been looking after Sookie in Bill's absence. He saves her from the serial killer when she is attacked at the bar. Sookie makes him promise not to leave her. They do some investigating into the murders that Jason has been accused of committing, and they think they have found the real killer. Unfortunately, Bill comes home at the worst possible time, just as Sam thinks he's finally getting somewhere with Sookie. In the aftermath of his fight with Bill, Sookie just wants to be left alone for a while.
Tara's mother comes down to the jail to see her, only to tell her that she can't have any part of Tara's craziness. Lettie Mae is devoting her life to the Lord, and she can't have any part of Tara's problems. So, Tara is bailed out, instead, by a woman named Mary Anne. If Tara hadn't been so drunk the night before, she would realize that Mary Anne is the woman who was standing in the middle of the road when she had her accident. But, Mary Anne offers to not only bail Tara out of jail, but to give her a place to stay while she gets her life back in order. Feeling as though she's hit rock bottom, Tara takes this strange woman up on her offer. She finds rather quickly that she feels safe and loved when she's with Mary Anne. There is a guy by the name of Benedict, whom everyone calls Eggs, staying at the house as well. Tara and Eggs develop feelings for one another rather quickly.
Sam is not so happy to see Mary Anne, apparently having a history with this mystery woman that no one seems to know much about. He wants Tara to stay away from Mary Anne, but for the first time in her life, she feels like she's found the place she belongs. Sam bundles up a bunch of money, making it seem as though he's planning on bribing Mary Anne to leave Tara alone.
Two weeks after it is discovered that Rene was the serial killer loose in Bon Temp, Lafayette has gone missing, and hasn't been seen since the night Bill Compton fed on someone. Sam threatens to give away Lafayette's job, but Tara doesn't seem to think her cousin is going to turn up any time soon. This isn't the first time he's just disappeared. Andy Bellfluer, Bon Temp police detective, has a little too much to drink at Merlotte's, and is escorted to his car by Sookie and Tara, who are trying to talk him out of driving himself home.
His car isn't where he remembered parking it, but he's also extremely drunk, so the girls don't take him too seriously. When they finally find his car, they find the passenger door open with a foot sticking out of it. The toe nails are painted bright red, which was something Lafayette was known to do, but is it really Lafayette's body in the back of Andy's car? Andy swears that whoever it is, he didn't put the body there. So if Andy didn't kill whoever was in the back seat of the car, and Rene is dead, then who killed this person? *cue the cliffhanger*
As it turns out, the body in the backseat of Andy's car is NOT Lafayette. It's Miss Jeanette, and her heart has been ripped out of her chest. The police are very interested to hear what Tara has to say on this subject, but they don't believe her. Not after her crazy story about a pig in the road after her car accident.
Bill is a little flustered, trying to figure out how he's going to tell Sookie about Jessica, who is sitting on his couch. When Sookie shows up at his house after work, Jessica just happens to be getting out of the shower, leaving Sookie with the impression that Bill has cheated on her. Bill explains how Jessica came to be in his life, and assures Sookie that at no point has he had sex with Jessica. Jessica is grossed out by just the idea of it. She doesn't much like Bill. She finds him boring, especially in comparison to Eric Northman. Sookie is hurt that Bill didn't tell her the truth from the beginning, and is worried that she can't trust him. She asks him if he is hiding anything else, and he says that he isn't.
Then Uncle Bartlett's body is discovered, and as it turns out, he left all of his financial holdings to Sookie alone. Sookie, of course, doesn't want a penny of Bartlett's money, and gives it all to Jason. Sookie then confronts Bill about Bartlett's death, and Bill admits that he did kill her uncle. Sookie is horrified by this, and once again finds herself reconsidering if Bill is the right guy for her. She'd thought that even though they were different, there had to be a way they could make things work. Now she's not so sure anymore. When Bill doesn't say anything, Sookie moves to go, but Bill stops her. He tells her that he will make up for all the hurt he has caused her, but he will not be sorry for the feelings he has for her. She has made him feel something he didn't think he could feel ever again. Finally, he tells her that he loves her. Sookie tells Bill that she loves him back. *insert sex scene here*
Tara is still living with Mary Anne, much to Sam's dismay. Turns out the money that he had taken out of his safe in the finale was supposed to be fore Mary Anne, but then the body was found on his property, and he couldn't take it to her when he meant to. Sam has several flashbacks to when he met Mary Anne. He walked into her house as a dog. He ate some of her food, and intended to steal a bunch of things in order to sell them, I would imagine. Mary Anne catches him in her house. They end up sleeping together, and that's when Sam finds out that Mary Anne has a "gift" to, only she won't discuss it. While she's in the shower, Sam gathers up a bunch of things to steal. While he's going through her drawers, he comes across a drawer full of cash. He stuffs the cash into the pillowcase, and runs out of her house. Eventually, Mary Anne shows up at the bar, and Sam gives her the money back that he stole from her all those years ago. Turns out Mary Anne didn't come back for the money. She wants something else, and it doesn't have anything to do with Sam.
Jason decides to use the money Sookie gave him to go to a leadership seminar hosted by his new friends at the Fellowship of the Sun. He feels like the church is where he belongs. He has given up drinking, smoking, drugs and women. He's trying to make himself pure. He wants to bathe in the light of the Lord from now on. He does, however, lie to Sookie about where he's going, telling her that he's going to some Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, instead of telling her he's going to Dallas to attend the leadership conference. Lucky for him, Sookie doesn't read his thoughts, or she would have seen right through that.
And finally, there's Lafayette. Lafayette is not dead. He is, however, being held prisoner somewhere. At first, it's hard to tell that it's him, but it is. He's been there for two weeks. He doesn't know who has taken him, or why, but he's been there all the same. Then one of the guys who was responsible for the deaths of the vampires in the house fire is brought down to the "dungeon" as well, and it all starts to make sense. The dumb redneck decides he's going to make a plan to escape, which is stupid, considering how well vampires can hear. No sooner do the words leave his mouth, than someone comes down to the dungeon. Lafayette hides in a corner, not wanting anything to do with the Redneck who was shooting his mouth off.
Down the stairs comes Eric Northman, who is in the middle of getting highlights, it seems. He's got foils in his hair and everything. (At this point, I almost peed my pants with laughter. SO FUNNY!) Eric is unamused by his prisoner's talks of escape, and plans to finish him off now, rather than let him suffer any longer in the dungeon. The Redneck doesn't plan on going down without a fight, and smashes a silver cross into Eric's face. Crosses don't harm vampires, but silver sure as hell does. Eric screams in agony, but quickly peels the cross off of his face. He grabs the Redneck, and takes a big bite out of the guy's side before ripping the guy's arm off. Blood sprays onto Lafayette, who watches the dumb Redneck meet his end in Eric's jaws.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS EPISODE
*end fangirl gushing*
Characters
Sookie Stackhouse
Perky blond waitress who works at Merlotte's. She's telepathic, and spends her days trying not to hear the thoughts of those around her. Most people assume she's crazy, although her close friends and family know about her "gift". She lives with her Grandmother in Bon Temps, Louisiana (it's a fictional town outside of Shreveport). Because of her "gift", she's never been one to date. She's 25 years old, and still a virgin. She has yet to meet a guy she can really be herself with, since she can hear their thoughts the entire time she's with someone. Makes it hard to get close to a person when you know what they're really thinking. But then she meets Bill Compton, the first vampire to take up residence in Bon Temps, and it's obvious from the second she lays eyes on him that her life is never going to be the same.
Bill Compton
Silky smooth vampire with a heart, so to speak. Even before the vampires "came out of the coffin", Bill Compton was doing his best to "mainstream" into human society. He was turned vampire in 1865 when he was 30 human years old. He was a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Before being turned vampire, he was married, and had children of his own. Being turned meant leaving his wife and children behind to adapt to the ways of the vampire. It isn't until he walks into Merlotte's (after assuming ownership of his ancestoral home in Bon Temps), and meets Sookie Stackhouse, that the possibility of falling in love again seems to be on the horizon for him. Much like Sookie, he is instantly taken with her, and can tell that she's different from most people. Bill has a bit of a violent/jealous streak, but I suppose that's to be expected with a vampire. More than anything, he wants to protect Sookie, and she's going to need it.
Sam Merlotte
Owner of Merlotte's Bar & Grill, and Sookie's boss. Sam is a sweet guy who tends to be a little over-protective of Sookie. He's had a crush on her for years, but never bothered to tell her as much. Then Bill Compton comes to town, and all of a sudden, Sam kicks things into overdrive. He doesn't much approve of vampires being part of human society, and the idea that Sookie might actually fall in love with a vampire makes him a little sick to his stomach. Sam seems to think that Sookie needs protecting, but all it does is push her further and further away. To cure his loneliness, he starts a friends with benefits type relationship with Tara, who just happens to be Sookie's best friend, and Sam's new bartender. Oh, and Sam's also a shape-shifter, which means he can transform himself into any living creature that he has a visual of. His go-to shift is a dog, but this information isn't revealed right away.
Jason Stackhouse
Jason is Sookie's older brother. He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He's egotistical and a total manwhore. He's slept with just about every available girl in town, except for Tara, who's had a crush on him since they were kids. He lived with his Grandmother and Sookie until he turned 18, and then he moved back into his parents' old house (Sookie & Jason's parents were killed in a flash flood when they were young). Since then he's had nothing but a string of drunken/high one night stands with various girls around town. He's had an on again-off again relationship with a girl named Dawn, who is another waitress at Merlotte's. That relationship comes to a definite end when Dawn is found strangled after a fight with Jason. The problem is that Dawn is the second of three girls that Jason has slept with that turn up dead. All of them have been killed the same way. Like Sam, Jason isn't too keen on the idea of vampires mainstreaming with society, and is disgusted that humans would want to have sex with a vampire. Yet that doesn't stop Jason from getting hooked on "V Juice", vampire blood, which happens to be highly addictive, and very illegal.
Eric Northman
1000 year old Viking vampire who owns Fangtasia, a vampire bar in Shreveport. He is also a sheriff in the vampire hierarchy, and is essentially, Bill's boss. He first meets Sookie when Bill brings her to Fangtasia to ask a few questions about two of the murder victims that have her brother in trouble with the police. All it takes is one look, and like Bill, Eric is infatuated with Sookie. Thanks to vampire politics, Eric cannot touch Sookie because she "belongs" to Bill, not that Sookie is the slightest bit interested in Eric. In fact, she finds him rather irritating. Vampires also have issues with being in debt to anyone, especially a human. So when Sookie warns him about a raid on his bar, that places Eric in her debt. Not long after that, she also helps him to discover who has been embezzling from the bar. Eric doesn't like this one bit, nor does he like the fact that Sookie couldn't care less about him.
Tara Thorton
Sookie's best friend, and the newest bartender at Merlotte's. Tara has some serious anger management issues that stem from a lifetime of dealing with an out of control alcoholic mother. She has hopped from job to job, always leaving a wake of anger everywhere she goes. She's also had some serious trouble holding onto a man, thanks to her very sharp tongue. In fact, it seems the only real friend she has is Sookie. Tara also has a crush on Sookie's brother. She fell for him when they were kids, and he defended her against her mother. But since Jason never seems to notice that she's sending him all the signals he needs, and Sam is pining for Sookie who is interested in Bill, Tara and Sam end up hooking up. Friends with benefits never works out well, and Tara and Sam don't seem to be the exception to that rule.
Vampire Pam
100 year old vampire (give or take a few years) who is a co-owner of Fangtasia with Eric Northman, and another vampire named Long Shadow. Pam prefers women, as it seems, but isn't nearly as enchanted with Sookie upon their first meeting as Eric and Bill are. It isn't long, though, before Pam seems to take somewhat of a liking to Sookie. Well, as much as most vampires like a human who is helping another vampire to mainstream. She is Eric's constant companion, and perhaps one of the more vicious vampires anyone could ever meet. She's also got an interesting sense of humor that makes her unique, since most vampires are lacking in that department.
Lafayette Reynolds
Oh now THIS guy is a character! Lafayette has more jobs than some people do fingers. He's hysterical! In addition to being the cook at Merlotte's, he is also a drug dealer (who trades in V Juice, which is highly illegal, as previously mentioned), a member of Jason Stackhouse's road crew, internet pornographer and gay prostitute. Yet, Lafayette, for all of his dealings, seems to fly below the radar in Bon Temps. He is also Tara Thorton's cousin, and is well aware of the problems Tara has with her mother. Lafayette is the one who introduces Jason Stackhouse to the effects that V can have on a person, but unlike Jason, Lafayette seems to be able to handle his high much better than Jason does.
Gran
Sookie & Jason's grandmother who raised them after their parents were killed in a flash flood. For an older southern woman, Mrs. Stackhouse is rather progressive. She supports the vampire rights amendment, as well as Sookie's relationship with Bill Compton. She's a member of a club called The Descendants of the Glorious Dead, which is just a bunch of ancestors of folks who fought in the Civil War. The thought that Bill Compton might actually be able to recall anything about the war is enough of a reason for her to like him. She trusts that Bill will bring no harm to Sookie, and she has cause to believe such things. Sadly, she meets her end when a serial killer comes to Bon Temps who seems to have a thing for women who associate with vampires.
Other Characters
Arlene; Another waitress at Merlotte's. She has two kids from a previous marriage, and has the worst taste in men.
Rene; Arlene's boyfriend with a mysterious past and a Cajun accent that comes and goes. He seems like a nice guy, though.
Hoyt; Jason's friend, and fellow worker on the road crew with Rene and Lafayette.
Long Shadow; The third vampire partner in Fangtasia.
Lettie Mae; Tara's alcoholic mother who is convinced she has a demon inside her.
Uncle Bartlett; Sookie & Jason's great uncle who was shunned from the family by Mrs. Stackhouse.
Lorena; The woman who turned Bill into a vampire.
Mary Anne; Bails Tara out of jail after Tara's car accident. Just so happens that Mary Anne is the reason Tara had the accident in the first place.
Miss Jeanette; The woman who performs Tara's and Lettie Mae's exorcisms.
Since there is so much ground to cover here, I'm going to break this down by story arch. The premise of all this is that the Japanese have perfected a synthetic blood that vampires can drink in place of human blood. Therefore, there is no reason for vampires to remain hidden in the shadows of society, so to speak. This does, however, open up a whole new world of possibilities.
Sookie & Bill
From the minute they meet, they are drawn to one another. Bill comes into the bar where Sookie works, and she can instantly tell that he's a vampire. In fact, he is the first vampire she has ever met face to face, and she's a little too excited about this for some people's liking. The night they meet, Sookie saves Bill from a couple of vampire drainers who would have taken his blood to sell on the black market, leaving Bill to die (again). Bill rescues her right back the following night when the drainers come to get their revenge on Sookie. They nearly beat her to death, but are stopped by Bill. They are no match for a pissed off vampire, and he kills them both. He forces Sookie to drink his blood, even though Sookie fears it will turn her into a vampire. Bill assures her it won't. All it will do is heal her. He is correct, and Sookie quickly heals from her injuries. There are side effects, however, if you drink vampire blood. Sookie will experience a greater strength than usual, along with keener senses. Bill will also be able to feel her, or locate her any time. She explains her "gift" to Bill, and is delighted to discover that she really can't hear any of the thoughts running through Bill's head. This makes him very appealing, since she's spent her whole life trying to block out the thoughts of others. Sookie doesn't have much experience with men on account of her gift, but she finds herself having very specific fantasies of a life with this mysterious vampire who has taken up residence in Bon Temps.
Shockingly enough, the only person who seems to support Sookie and Bill's relationship is Sookie's grandmother. Bill agrees to speak to Mrs. Stackhouse's club because it will make Sookie happy. While they are walking together one night, Bill discovers that because of Sookie's ability, he cannot "glamour", hypnotize, her. He finds this odd, but also refreshing. Sookie discovers that Bill's house is just on the other side of the cemetery that adjoins her family's property. While they are standing outside of Bill's house, Bill kisses Sookie for the first time. His fangs come bursting out, breaking up their kiss, and he walks her home. It seems as though, for just a moment while she was kissing him, Sookie forgot that Bill was a vampire. It's obvious that she doesn't see him as the monster that other people see. He doesn't see her as the town cray that most people think she is.
Things are going relatively well, until Sookie shows up at Bill's, as promised, with the names of contractors who will come out at night to do estimates for renovations on Bill's house. Unfortunately, there is a group of vampires there for a visit, and they spook Sookie quite a bit. After that, she begins to wonder if he's really the one she should be with. She decides she needs a break to think things over, but the break doesn't last long. Another woman turns up dead that Sookie's brother was known to associate with, and as it happens, this is also the second woman to associate with vampires. Sookie asks Bill to accompany her to a popular vampire bar in Shreveport called Fangtasia. Bill agrees to go with her, although he worries that he won't be able to protect her.
Sookie is taken aback by the vampire bar scene, and can't help but notice Eric Northman, co-owner of the bar. Eric is a 1000 year old vampire, and sheriff of area 5, which makes him Bill's boss. Eric summons Bill and Sookie over to him to talk. Eric doesn't seem too pleased that Sookie is asking questions about women who may have been previous customers. Turns out both women were customers at Fangtasia, but Eric only fed on one of them. Eric is quite taken with Sookie, and is disappointed when Sookie says she's Bill's. Eric is further intrigued when Sookie alerts him to the fact that there is about to be a raid on the bar. That now puts Eric in Sookie's debt, which Eric isn't happy about.
On the drive home, Sookie and Bill are stopped by an officer who is out looking for vampires. Bill glamors the cop, and takes his gun. Sookie is shocked by this, and when she gets home, she tells Bill that she once again needs a break. Bill is hurt by this, but lets Sookie go all the same. Bill keeps his word, and still shows up to talk to Mrs. Stackhouse's club, although he is disappointed to see that Sookie has arrived on the arm of Sam Merlotte. Later that night, when Sookie gets home from her date with Sam, she finds that her Gran has been murdered. Bill shows up, sensing that Sookie is in trouble. She isn't, thankfully, but she is awfully glad to see him.
After her Gran's funeral, she's feeling awfully lonely, and decides that she wants Bill. So, she takes off running for Bill's house just after the sun goes down. He can feel her coming, and goes outside to greet her. He carries her into the house, and they have sex in front of his fireplace. While they're having sex, Sookie gives Bill permission to bite her, which he does without much hesitation. Afterward, Sookie feels like a whole new person, and is sure that she has done the right thing. She also confesses to Bill that she was molested as a child by her Uncle Bartlett.
In retaliation, Bill goes after Bartlett for what he has done to Sookie. Bill takes Bartlett's life without hesitation, and then disposes of the body. At the same time, the vampires that were previously at Bill's house have come back to town, and are terrorizing the patrons of Merlotte's. Sensing that Sookie's life is in danger, Bill simply tosses Bartlett's body into a creek, and goes after Sookie. He manages to get the vampires out of the bar, but the damage has already been done. A group of crazy rednecks decide they're going to get revenge on the nest of vampires who have moved into town. The next morning, they set the house on fire that the vampires have moved into. Bill isn't answering his cell phone, and when a fourth coffin is discovered in the house, Sookie fears that it's Bill. Later she goes to his house to check his resting place, and finds that he isn't there. Heartbroken, Sookie takes flowers to his grave site. As she is walking back home, a hand shoots up out of the ground, and begins to pull at her. Turns out it's Bill. He got her messages, but couldn't get home before sunrise, so he slept in the ground at the cemetery. Bill and Sookie have sex in the cemetery, and Bill bites Sookie a second time.
Sookie tries to hide the fang marks Bill has left on her neck, but is unsuccessful at it. Sam, Arlene and Tara are all pretty disgusted and angry that Sookie has had sex with a vampire. They don't understand it, nor do they approve. They think Bill is dangerous, but what they don't know that Bill has already saved her life. Sookie agrees to babysit Arlene's kids all the same, but Arlene is less than pleased when she shows up with her kids, and finds out that Bill will be there as well. The kids are immediately curious about Bill, and want to know everything. Bill promises to be on his best behavior, which is of little comfort to Arlene, but everything turns out just fine. This is also the closest we will ever come to seeing what Sookie and Bill would be like as parents together, since Bill cannot father a child.
Thanks to Sookie's tip off about the raid, Eric was able to figure out that Sookie was a telepath. He makes a visit to Bill's house, requesting that Sookie and Bill come to Shreveport. Someone has been embezzling from Fangtasia, and no amount of vampire trickery can reveal who the thief is. So, they have called on Sookie to read the minds of their human employees. When Sookie surmises that it was a vampire who stole the money, Long Shadow jumps over the bar with the intention of killing Sookie. Bill stakes Long Shadow to save Sookie's life. It's a big no-no for one vampire to kill another, especially if it's to save the life of a human.
Bill's actions result in his being called to a tribunal. Sookie wants to go along to testify for Bill, but that is not allowed. In his absence, Bill asks Sam to look after Sookie for him, since there is still a serial killer on the loose. Bill's punishment is that he must replace the life he took. He can do that by forfeiting Sookie, or by turning someone else into a vampire. For all his years as a vampire, Bill has yet to be a maker. He is presented with a 17 year old girl named Jessica. At the demand of the "court", Bill is forced to turn this girl into a vampire, and it becomes obvious rather quickly that she is the most annoying creature ever turned. Bill can't handle Jessica, and makes a deal with Eric that leaves Jessica in Eric's care.
Sookie, meanwhile, brings home a stray dog that hangs out around the bar. She's staying at Bill's house for her own protection, and brings the dog along with her. She wakes in the middle of the night to find Sam sleeping naked on the bed with her. She freaks out, thinking that he's the killer. Turns out that Sam is just a shape-shifter. Sookie is hurt that Sam never told her the truth in all the time she's known him, especially since he wanted so desperately to be her boyfriend. While at Arlene's engagement party the next night, Sookie is attacked by the serial killer, but survives. Terrified, she feels like she has no choice but to place herself under Sam's protection.
While they are sitting in Sookie's living room, they start to kiss, and it's bad timing. Bill comes back to find Sam with his hands all over Sookie, which he does not take kindly to. The two men get into a fight, but Sam is no match for a vampire. Sookie gets between them, angry at Bill for his reaction, and rescinds his invitation to her home. Bill is heartbroken by this, wanting to explain to Sookie where he's been all this time that he's been gone, but he has to leave her house immediately. Sookie slams the door in his face, leaving him to believe that she has chosen Sam over him.
While Bill was out of town, Sookie and Sam did a little research based on one of Sookie's visions. The search leads them to another town in Louisiana where the police department is supposed to fax over a picture of the man suspected of killing another woman who was killed much the same way the Bon Temps murder victims were killed. Turns out that man is Rene, Arlene's fiance, only the fax gets buried in files, and is never seen by anyone at the Bon Temps police department. Besides, Jason Stackhouse is in custody, and he's linked to all three of the women who have been murdered in Bon Temps. Too bad he's not the killer.
With Rene still on the loose, and Bill out of the way, Rene cuts some wires in Sookie's car. With the car disabled, he offers her a ride home from work. While she's pouring iced tea, she has a vision of Rene stabbing her grandmother to death. She drops the pitcher of tea, and says she's going for a mop. What she goes for instead is a loaded shotgun by the fireplace. Unfortunately, Rene spotted the gun while Sookie was in the kitchen, and removed the ammunition. She hits him over the head with butt of the gun, and runs out of the house. Rene gives chase, with Sookie having visions of each murder Rene has committed. Bill senses that Sookie is in extreme danger, and even though it is the middle of the day, he wakes up. He leaves his resting place, and ventures out into the sunlight in attempts to save her life.
Rene left his vest behind at the bar, and thanks to his keen shape-shifter senses, Sam is able to identify the scent on the jacket. He recognizes it as the same smell that was in Dawn's house when her body was found. Figuring that Rene is the killer, he goes after Sookie. He arrives at the house to find blood on the floor, along with Rene's belt, which has been the murder weapon in four of the five murders Rene has committed. Sam shifts into a dog, and attacks Rene while he's choking Sookie in the cemetery with his bare hands.
Bill, meanwhile, is charred to a crisp, but continues to stagger toward Sookie, intending to save her life. Or, at the very least, make sure her face is the last thing he sees before he dies. Sam, as a dog, attacks Rene mercilessly, getting him away from Sookie, who passes out. Rene turns his attentions to this dog, and begins to kick it and hit it with anything available. Sam shifts back to a human when he loses consciousness. All of a sudden, Sookie's eyes pop open as Bill collapses a hundred feet away. She gets up, and bashes Rene's head in with a shovel. When he reaches for her ankle to attack her some more, she uses the metal end of the shovel as a spear, and nearly decapitates Rene.
She then runs over to where Bill is smoldering in the field. Sam wakes up, and carries Bill to an open grave. They bury Bill, and hope for the best. Later that night, Sookie is badly beaten, and very distraught over losing Bill. She doesn't think that he's going to be okay, and it's obvious that she feels guilty. While she's laying on the couch watching a movie, her doorbell rings. It's Bill. He's restored. He admits that he fed on someone, but he doesn't mention if he took that person's life or not. Sookie invites him into the house, and he apologizes for not getting to her sooner. She stops him from taking any more guilt on himself. She's enamored with him for how selflessly he sacrificed himself to save her yet again. From there on, it's obvious the two of them are back together, but it won't be the last of the drama they face.
Two weeks later, Sookie has no clue about Jessica, girl Bill was forced to turn. This is a problem since Eric has had his fill of Jessica, and dumps her on Bill.
Jason & Amy
The first victim of the serial killer in Bon Temps is Maudette Pickens, a girl that just happens to be a "friend" of Jason's. Jason thinks he may have killed Maudette while they were having sex. He thinks he's choked her to death, but doesn't bother to report it. Luckily for him, Maudette was freakier than he imagined, and she taped them having sex. The tape reveals that while Jason thought he killed her, but didn't bother to report it, Maudette was actually very much alive when he left her.
The second victim is a girl by the name of Dawn, who Jason has had an on and off relationship with for some time. After the two of them have a fight, Dawn throws Jason out of her house, and even fires a gun at him in order to make her point that he is no longer welcome in her house or life. Jason leaves Dawn alive. He goes to see Lafayette, hoping that Lafayette has some sort of drug that will help Jason get himself back on track. What Lafayette offers is V. Lafayette tells Jason to take one or two drops, and nothing more. Unfortunately, Jason returns to Dawn's house to find that she's been strangled to death as well. When he's taken in for questioning, he has an entire vile of V in his pocket, which is highly illegal to be in possession of. So, Jason drinks the entire vile of V. He pays for that dearly. Tara comes by the police station to spring him, since there is no evidence tying Jason to either murder, other than he knew the victims intimately. Tara even gives him an alibi, saying that she was with Jason the night before, so he couldn't possibly have killed Dawn. It's not true, but the police don't know that. The overdose on V has horrible consequences for Jason, who ends up needing to have blood drained from his penis. The worst part is that Jason is incredibly hooked on the V, and doesn't really learn from his mistakes.
Jason meets Amy Burley when he goes to Fangtasia in hopes of scoring some V. He doesn't realize that it's stupid to go to a vampire bar to try and buy their blood. No vampire in their right mind is going to sell their blood to a human, and especially not in Eric Northman's bar. Amy just happens to be into doing V as well, and has some with her. She stops Jason from making a gigantic fool of himself, and drags him out of the bar before he gets himself killed. They take V together, and find that they are able to connect to each other in ways that Jason has never been able to connect to anyone else. Amy is the first girl he meets and likes who he doesn't have sex the first night they meet. But the high doesn't last forever, and the V they took was the last that Amy had. So, to replenish their supply, the follow Lafayette to his supplier's house, and Amy decides to kidnap the vampire, rather than try to drain him in his own home.
They bring the vampire back home, where Jason gets to know him. In spite of his feelings of hatred for vampires, he takes pity on the one they have kidnapped. Jason finds that this vampire isn't so bad. The vampire, however, is convinced that Amy is crazy, and Jason would be better served if he dumped Amy. Jason disagrees, but he starts to see another side of Amy that he can't quite get on board with. Jason wants to let the vampire go, but Amy fears that if they do, they'll become his next meal. So as Jason is in the process of freeing the vampire, Amy stakes him. After that, Jason swears off of V for good, and insists that Amy stop taking it as well.
Amy is able to talk him into taking it one last time, and while they're both high, the killer breaks into Jason's house, and strangles Amy to death. Jason wakes up to find Amy cold and blue beside him, having no recollection of what happened to her. But rather than take his chances that he might hurt someone else, he tells the police to lock him up. While he's in jail, a representative from Fellowship Of The Sun, a church group that is strongly against vampires mainstreaming with human, comes to visit Jason. The church can't officially back him for what he's done to these human women, even if they were tainted. The rep leaves Jason with some information about the church, and it's while Jason's in jail that he decides he's been "saved". He decides that he's going to clean up his act, and find an actual purpose for his life outside of partying and having sex with every girl he meets. He thinks the church will be able to provide him with the guidance he so desperately needs. Nevermind the fact that it's more of a hate group than it is a church. Jason gets sucked in, and quickly becomes one of the church's biggest followers.
Tara & Sam
Sam hires Tara to work at his bar, reluctantly, knowing all too well what kind of temper she has. But, he needs the help, and she needs a job. Tara is still carrying a torch for Jason Stackhouse, while Sam is still hung up on Sookie. Neither Sam or Tara approve when Sookie and Bill get together. Since Jason is never going to notice Tara the way she wants to be noticed, and Sookie is occupied with Bill, both Tara and Sam are lonely. They turn to one another for comfort, and decide to give a friends with benefits relationship a try. The first time they sleep together, it doesn't seem like such a big deal.
Tara goes on with trying to deal with her crazy alcoholic mother. Lettie Mae shows up at Mrs. Stackhouse's funeral, asking Tara for money for an exorcism to cure her problem. Somehow or another, Lettie Mae got the idea in her head that it was a demon she was possessed by. Tara is horribly offended that her mother showed up at the funeral to ask her for money. Yet, Tara isn't able to really give up on her mother, and in the end, decides to get her the money for the exorcism. Apparently, the exorcism works, completely transforming Lettie Mae into the kind of mother she always should have been, but "the demon" wouldn't let her be it. It seems like things are on the mend between Tara and her mother, although Miss Jeanette (the woman who performs the exorcisms in a broken down old school bus in the middle of nowhere) tells Tara that she's got a demon of her own she needs to get rid of before it swallows her up.
Sam, on the other hand, finally gets a chance to go out with Sookie when Sookie and Bill take a break from one another. Sam asks Sookie to accompany him to the meeting of the Descendants of the Glorious Dead where Bill will be the guest speaker. It isn't directly implied, but I got the impression that Sookie went with Sam because she wanted to feel normal, whereas Sam wanted to go with Sookie to rub it in Bill's face as much as he wanted to spend time with her. Sam and Sookie sit together through the meeting, and it's obvious that Sookie is touched by the story that Bill tells the club. This doesn't make Sam happy. After the meeting Sookie and Sam go for coffee. As they're walking back to his car, Sam kisses Sookie, but Sookie's not really ready to get into another relationship so fast. Sam is highly disappointed to discover that Sookie has kissed Bill, and is quite worried that it may have gone further than that. Rather than let him drive her home, Sookie takes a cab.
The entire town of Bon Temps mourns the loss of Adele Stackhouse, Gran, along with Sookie and Jason. The funeral, however, is cause for Sam and Tara to hook up once again, only this time, it doesn't go so well. Tara leaves Sam shortly after they finish having sex. Sam is left alone once again. Tara does, however, confide in Sam that she's been convinced by Miss Jeanette that she has a demon in her. Since she can't afford the exorcism, Sam gives her the money for it. Tara gets her exorcism, and stabs the demon that has been controlling her. Sadly, it turns out Miss Jeanette is a con-woman, and the "demon" that Tara stabbed was a result of some peyote that Miss Jeanette put in a potion she made Tara drink.
Tara is enraged by this, and ends up getting extremely drunk at Merlotte's. While driving herself home, she sees a naked woman in the road, holding a pig. She swerves out the of the way to avoid hitting the woman, but ends up driving through a fence post. She gets arrested for DUI, and no one believes her story about the naked woman and the pig.
Sam, meanwhile, has been looking after Sookie in Bill's absence. He saves her from the serial killer when she is attacked at the bar. Sookie makes him promise not to leave her. They do some investigating into the murders that Jason has been accused of committing, and they think they have found the real killer. Unfortunately, Bill comes home at the worst possible time, just as Sam thinks he's finally getting somewhere with Sookie. In the aftermath of his fight with Bill, Sookie just wants to be left alone for a while.
Tara's mother comes down to the jail to see her, only to tell her that she can't have any part of Tara's craziness. Lettie Mae is devoting her life to the Lord, and she can't have any part of Tara's problems. So, Tara is bailed out, instead, by a woman named Mary Anne. If Tara hadn't been so drunk the night before, she would realize that Mary Anne is the woman who was standing in the middle of the road when she had her accident. But, Mary Anne offers to not only bail Tara out of jail, but to give her a place to stay while she gets her life back in order. Feeling as though she's hit rock bottom, Tara takes this strange woman up on her offer. She finds rather quickly that she feels safe and loved when she's with Mary Anne. There is a guy by the name of Benedict, whom everyone calls Eggs, staying at the house as well. Tara and Eggs develop feelings for one another rather quickly.
Sam is not so happy to see Mary Anne, apparently having a history with this mystery woman that no one seems to know much about. He wants Tara to stay away from Mary Anne, but for the first time in her life, she feels like she's found the place she belongs. Sam bundles up a bunch of money, making it seem as though he's planning on bribing Mary Anne to leave Tara alone.
Two weeks after it is discovered that Rene was the serial killer loose in Bon Temp, Lafayette has gone missing, and hasn't been seen since the night Bill Compton fed on someone. Sam threatens to give away Lafayette's job, but Tara doesn't seem to think her cousin is going to turn up any time soon. This isn't the first time he's just disappeared. Andy Bellfluer, Bon Temp police detective, has a little too much to drink at Merlotte's, and is escorted to his car by Sookie and Tara, who are trying to talk him out of driving himself home.
His car isn't where he remembered parking it, but he's also extremely drunk, so the girls don't take him too seriously. When they finally find his car, they find the passenger door open with a foot sticking out of it. The toe nails are painted bright red, which was something Lafayette was known to do, but is it really Lafayette's body in the back of Andy's car? Andy swears that whoever it is, he didn't put the body there. So if Andy didn't kill whoever was in the back seat of the car, and Rene is dead, then who killed this person? *cue the cliffhanger*
As it turns out, the body in the backseat of Andy's car is NOT Lafayette. It's Miss Jeanette, and her heart has been ripped out of her chest. The police are very interested to hear what Tara has to say on this subject, but they don't believe her. Not after her crazy story about a pig in the road after her car accident.
Bill is a little flustered, trying to figure out how he's going to tell Sookie about Jessica, who is sitting on his couch. When Sookie shows up at his house after work, Jessica just happens to be getting out of the shower, leaving Sookie with the impression that Bill has cheated on her. Bill explains how Jessica came to be in his life, and assures Sookie that at no point has he had sex with Jessica. Jessica is grossed out by just the idea of it. She doesn't much like Bill. She finds him boring, especially in comparison to Eric Northman. Sookie is hurt that Bill didn't tell her the truth from the beginning, and is worried that she can't trust him. She asks him if he is hiding anything else, and he says that he isn't.
Then Uncle Bartlett's body is discovered, and as it turns out, he left all of his financial holdings to Sookie alone. Sookie, of course, doesn't want a penny of Bartlett's money, and gives it all to Jason. Sookie then confronts Bill about Bartlett's death, and Bill admits that he did kill her uncle. Sookie is horrified by this, and once again finds herself reconsidering if Bill is the right guy for her. She'd thought that even though they were different, there had to be a way they could make things work. Now she's not so sure anymore. When Bill doesn't say anything, Sookie moves to go, but Bill stops her. He tells her that he will make up for all the hurt he has caused her, but he will not be sorry for the feelings he has for her. She has made him feel something he didn't think he could feel ever again. Finally, he tells her that he loves her. Sookie tells Bill that she loves him back. *insert sex scene here*
Tara is still living with Mary Anne, much to Sam's dismay. Turns out the money that he had taken out of his safe in the finale was supposed to be fore Mary Anne, but then the body was found on his property, and he couldn't take it to her when he meant to. Sam has several flashbacks to when he met Mary Anne. He walked into her house as a dog. He ate some of her food, and intended to steal a bunch of things in order to sell them, I would imagine. Mary Anne catches him in her house. They end up sleeping together, and that's when Sam finds out that Mary Anne has a "gift" to, only she won't discuss it. While she's in the shower, Sam gathers up a bunch of things to steal. While he's going through her drawers, he comes across a drawer full of cash. He stuffs the cash into the pillowcase, and runs out of her house. Eventually, Mary Anne shows up at the bar, and Sam gives her the money back that he stole from her all those years ago. Turns out Mary Anne didn't come back for the money. She wants something else, and it doesn't have anything to do with Sam.
Jason decides to use the money Sookie gave him to go to a leadership seminar hosted by his new friends at the Fellowship of the Sun. He feels like the church is where he belongs. He has given up drinking, smoking, drugs and women. He's trying to make himself pure. He wants to bathe in the light of the Lord from now on. He does, however, lie to Sookie about where he's going, telling her that he's going to some Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, instead of telling her he's going to Dallas to attend the leadership conference. Lucky for him, Sookie doesn't read his thoughts, or she would have seen right through that.
And finally, there's Lafayette. Lafayette is not dead. He is, however, being held prisoner somewhere. At first, it's hard to tell that it's him, but it is. He's been there for two weeks. He doesn't know who has taken him, or why, but he's been there all the same. Then one of the guys who was responsible for the deaths of the vampires in the house fire is brought down to the "dungeon" as well, and it all starts to make sense. The dumb redneck decides he's going to make a plan to escape, which is stupid, considering how well vampires can hear. No sooner do the words leave his mouth, than someone comes down to the dungeon. Lafayette hides in a corner, not wanting anything to do with the Redneck who was shooting his mouth off.
Down the stairs comes Eric Northman, who is in the middle of getting highlights, it seems. He's got foils in his hair and everything. (At this point, I almost peed my pants with laughter. SO FUNNY!) Eric is unamused by his prisoner's talks of escape, and plans to finish him off now, rather than let him suffer any longer in the dungeon. The Redneck doesn't plan on going down without a fight, and smashes a silver cross into Eric's face. Crosses don't harm vampires, but silver sure as hell does. Eric screams in agony, but quickly peels the cross off of his face. He grabs the Redneck, and takes a big bite out of the guy's side before ripping the guy's arm off. Blood sprays onto Lafayette, who watches the dumb Redneck meet his end in Eric's jaws.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE FROM THIS EPISODE