'True Blood': Alcide arrives, Bill gets freaky

A lot happened on this episode of "True Blood," including the debut of the very awesome werewolf Alcide, but all anyone is going to be able to remember is that final (completely twisted) scene.

Seriously. Bill did the thing with the head and the rape and the screaming and the "I still love yous"...this show is officially not afraid of anything. But let's circle back to that and talk about a few of the more sane elements of the episode first, shall we?

Continuing where we left off last week, Sookie shoots at the werewolf intruder in her house but Eric jumps in the way of the bullet, taking it in the chest himself. Seeing the blood, the were shifts back to his human form and then goes berserk in pursuit of Eric's vampire blood, managing to overpower him long enough to get a good taste. When the were refuses to talk about who his master is, Eric kills him right in front of Sookie. Thank you, writers, for not diluting Eric so far even though he's somewhat romantically inclined towards our heroine. The way the writers are building Sookie and Eric's emotional connection each week is some of the more subtle work on the show, with each conversation she and Eric have adding a little bit more nuance to the relationship. Good job, show.

Before the were died, Sookie picked up the word "Jackson" from the were's mind and wants to go there to see if she can find Bill. Eric, concerned about her safety, sends (smoking hot) werewolf Alcide Herveaux to look after Sookie on her trip. Once they arrive, Alice takes her to Lupine's, the oldest were bar in Mississippi. Sookie meets one of the weres that kidnapped Bill, but when he gets a bit too rough with her Alcide comes to her rescue and the make quite the scene.

Bill's firebombing of Lorena last week didn't quite succeed in killing her, but did manage to burn her to quite the crisp. King Russell has in interesting conversation with Bill about turning Sookie, and how if he loves her it would be the most kind thing to do considering the circumstances. Bill calls this "impossible," and I agree. Sookie hasn't expressed a desire to be turned and I hope that doesn't change. After a troubled night of sleep filled with flashback-filled dreams (below), Bill decides to renounce his allegiance to Queen Sophie-Anne and pledge his loyalty to Russell. He obviously has something up his sleeve, and I think it is to protect Sookie. Between his current rage at Lorena and the flashback-ridden dreams, Bill finally can't take it anymore and does real bad things to Lorena. Real, real bad things. It's a sort of combination hate sex/rape/murder/mutilation, and even though Bill does the entire thing out of abject rage Lorena is completely into it. It is without a doubt one of the most depraved things I've seen on television since the old HBO show "Oz."

Bill flashback! Three years after being turned, Bill returned to his family only to find his son Thomas dead of smallpox (I think?). He shows his true face to Caroline but it is more than she can handle, and she goes completely catatonic on him and wishes for death. Lorena shows up and tells him he must glamour her so she doesn't remember his visit, for her own good.

After his aborted romp in the woods with his brother, Sam leaves his biological parents and goes back to Bon Temps. His family surprises him at Merlotte's and generally acts embarrassing. Later that night, his brother breaks into the office and steals...something? Whatever it is, Sam seems pretty upset about it.

Jason's apprehension of that drug dealer last week has given him the bright idea to become a cop. We are really close to the Bumbling Police Adventures of Jason and Andy, y'all! The problem? He's 0-for-22 so far on the practice questions for the written police exam. Another problem is Jason's pesky habit of seeing people with bullet holes in their foreheads. Still, this needs to happen. Jason and Andy together are comedy gold.

Meanwhile, Hoyt finds a headless body while on a work site. We later find out the headless body belongs to Jessica's dead trucker, and Franklin Mott was the one who put him there as a favor to Jessica. Now, since he helped Jessica, Franklin wants some quid pro quo from her: what does she know about Bill? What is Franklin doing, and why is he obsessed with Bill?

Tara. Tara, Tara, Tara. Tara. Tara. Tara makes bad decisions, you guys. This week she has some mind-blowing sex with Franklin Mott and then decides she wants nothing else to do with him. When he shows up at Sookie's house later with a ton of questions about Bill, Franklin glamours her to get her to let him in the house. This is not going to be good for Bill or Sookie in the future.

Also in this episode: Bud quits the police force, Arlene's baby isn't Terry's but she tells him it is, and Eric gives Lafayette a very fancy car.


Random thoughts:

• Bullet time on "True Blood!" Weird.
  
• I really wish Sam's dad would wear pants. Really, REALLY wish.
  
• Just as they aren't afraid of show Eric's dark side, they really let Bill's extreme dark side shine through in the final scene with Lorena. OK, so his dark side is beyond dark. It's black hole dark. It's serial killer dark. *shudder* Still, I applaud the writers for allowing the vampires to be vampires and not water them down because they are also supposed to be seen as viable romantic interests for our leading lady.
  
• Alcide is still pining for his engaged ex, Debbie Pelt. I have a feeling this little bit of random info is going to be important later.
  

Favorite quotes:

• "I got your rug all wet." - Eric
  
• "I don't need to know it, because if it's on the sample test it's not on the real thing. Everybody knows that." - Jason
• "Zima, correct?" - Talbot
• "Mind you, it might look out of place parked in front of that strange plywood hutch you live in." - Eric
• "Oh, William. I still love you." - Lorena (who has ISSUES, y'all)
  

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Photo Credit: HBO