EPISODE FOUR — SHAKE AND FINGERPOP

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER   ALAN BALL   |   DIRECTED BY   MICHAEL LEHMANN   |   WRITTEN BY   ALAN BALL

At the Light of Day pavilion, Jason wanders the night finding an open door and bloody corpses in the dormitory.  A hooded figure attacks Jason from the shadows, revealed as Luke playing a prank on Jason along with the other catsup-soaked men.  Jason retaliates by punching Luke in the face, declaring after his dinner with Reverend Newlin that vampires are not a joke and that the fight against them is a war!  Is this merely Jason's latest go-along-to-get-along sympathy for the cause or has he actually drunk the Kool-Aid and 'seen the light' of the Fellowship?

After the opening credits, we jump right into Bill's confrontation with Hoyt and Jessica, throwing Hoyt out of his house and accusing his minion of feeding in the house.  Jessica is in tears, admitting she's never even kissed a boy until that night, and thanks to Bill turning her, she's barely enjoyed that pleasure of being a teenage girl.  With Sookie sympathizing for her plight, Jessica asks if she can help it that her fangs show when she's turned on — and the repressed human Jessica emerges momentarily, embarrassed to admit she was turned on by Hoyt in the first place, so she retreats upstairs.

Sookie admonishes Bill for making Jessica's new life more difficult than it needs to be, a fault to which Bill admits as his own shortcoming as a maker.  Sookie suggests that Bill teach Jessica to better walk the line between vampire and human, and let Jessica do the same for him in her century.  Then she adds the bold proposal that they take Jessica with them to Dallas to seek out Godric, and use the trip as an educational time for them both.  Bill reluctantly agrees, unable to deny Sookie her request.

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Sam and Daphne enjoy their midnight skinny dip in the lake together, enjoying the idyllic, undistracted joys of natural beauty in Bon Temps.  Yet her flirtatious nature keeps Sam at bay as he admits he's on the verge of leaving his hometown in search of another just like it — his reluctance to get close to Daphne tangled up in his instinct to flee Maryann and the danger she represents.  Daphne invites him out for sweet potato pancakes, but Sam declines, itching to leave town.  She berates him playfully for being embarrassed to climb up on the pier naked, and as she climbs the ladder, Sam sees the scarred gouges down her left shoulder blade, similar (but unknown to him) to the claw marks the bull-man left in Sookie's back.  This only raises Sam's guard further with Daphne.

The next day, Tara gets a call from Sookie to stay at her house while Bill and Sookie are off to Dallas.  Maryann overhears the call and questions Tara, who admits she's moving out to live with Sookie.  Maryann briefly attempts to cajole Tara into staying because she fit in so well, though Tara clearly feels out of place after the quasi-orgy the night before.  Maryann sends Tara off with an encouraging spiel, but the reaction of Tara's face as she leaves indicates not even she buys Maryann's routine.

At the Light of Day camp, Jason attempts to discuss the biblical origins of vampirism and evil with Luke in a hilarious thesis of Jesus being the first vampire, the feminine nature of evil, and the unpunished existence of Europe — no summary can do justice to this comic moment, you just have to watch it to enjoy how clueless all the Fellowship newbies are.

Sookie gives Tara an early birthday present: a photo of Sook, Tara and Gran together, which brings Tara to tears.  Asking about Sookie's trip to Dallas quickly reveals Tara's discomfort with Bill, but Sookie warns of the peril of waiting for the perfect man to come along when none exist.  Has Tara given up the best man she's ever found by leaving Eggs behind at Maryann's place?  The question is erased from Tara's mind when Sookie lets slip that she rescued Lafayette, who didn't even tell Tara he was back in town.

At the coroner's office, Sheriff Dearborne examines the corpse of Miss Jeanette, the first victim of the succubus creature in the woods.  Mike Spencer easily determines the ragged, poison-filled clawmarks on Jeanette's back are quite different from the knife wounds in her chest caused by the removal of her heart.  Andy bursts in, demanding Kenya tell him about the pig noted in Tara's DUI report, though Kenya denies such a pig ever existed beyond Tara's drunken storytelling.  Dearborne is fed up with Andy's insubordination and off-duty snooping in police files, and asks for Andy's badge until he can get in control of his alcoholic behavior and is trustworthy on the job again.  Another bitter defeat for Andy, who is on one slippery spiral down in fortune lately.

Tara practically beats down Lafayette's door to confront him about his vampire captivity, berating him for not seeing a doctor for his wounds.  Tara insists she'll stay to care for her brother and since it's her birthday, he can't refuse.  But refuse he does in loving but brutally direct terms, and Tara storms out crying, feeling like she's losing yet another person in her life.

Sam restocks produce at Merlotte's, adding further tension to Terry's doubts about running the diner, and confronting Sookie upon her mysterious absence.  Both confront the mess of their interrupted romance and troubled friendship because of such unfinished, unsatisfied business, and neither willing to budge an inch out of their own personal problems to help the other.

In sharp contrast, Newlin and Jason engage in a joy ride through the woods, armed with paintball pistols to hunt plywood vampire paintings which pop up along the trail.  Newlin is impressed with Jason's accuracy and vamp-blasting bloodlust, vowing to arm Jason with wooden bullets in actual combat — the gun-toting equivalent of staking a vampire through the heart.  Newlin is excited by the prospect of killing vampires in his own holy war, but Jason tells of the horrifying reality of watching a vampire die — a case of the spiritually blind leading the gullibly stupid in the battle of human over vampire.  Newlin vows one day soon, the war will begin.

Tara cries on the couch at Sookie's house until a noise disturbs her: it's Maryann, Karl and Eggs jumping out from the porch to surprise Tara on her birthday.  Scare her to nearly to death is more like it.  Maryann says her extensive birthday party plans were tossed in the air when Tara moved out, so Maryann is bringing the party to Tara now.  Eggs is surprised to see Tara crying, and promises that today ends the trend of Tara's birthday being the worst day of the year.

Sarah treats Newlin and Jason to a good ol' country barbeque at their house, but all Jason can concentrate on is Sarah shaking her booty to the music and testing the finger-licking barbeque sauce.  As her hip-grinding dance becomes more enticing, it's clear Jason is fantasizing her seduction, but his baser motives are more covertly encouraged as Sarah cops an extra feel of his muscular chest as she ties the BBQ bib around his neck after serving up a sizzling platter of ribs.  Steve and Sarah reveal they are forming an elite unit, the Soldiers of the Sun, to wage battle in their war against vampires, and they insist that God needs Jason to fight with them.

Back at Merlotte's, Sam cuts off Andy's booze binge despite him being the only customer in the joint. The whole town is off at Tara's birthday party and Arlene begs to leave early to join them, even though Sam didn't know about the party at all.  Daphne gladly joins in but Sam declines once he hears Maryann is hosting the bash.  Lettie Mae walks in, hoping to give Tara a birthday present and resume some contact with her daughter.   She leaves the present for Sam to give to Tara, forcing the onus on him once again.

The Anubis Airline jet (catering exclusively to vampire travelers) lands in Dallas and Sookie totters off the plane, a little tipsy from the in-flight cocktail service.  A nervous limo driver meets her, urging her to get in the limo while a forklift wheels Bill and Jessica's sleek flight coffins into the hangar.  Sookie reads the driver's mind, senses danger and shouts — in a flash, Bill's coffin blasts open and he flies to her defense in a blur, fingers gripping the driver's throat.  Jessica's coffin tumbles off the forklift as she attempts to free herself, pleading for help from inside — a fun moment of comedic diffusion.

Crowds arrive at Tara's evening party, including Sam with Lettie Mae's gift in hand.  Maryann greets him on the porch and sends Sam into to drop off the gift, but he dares Maryann to 'turn him' and reveal whoever, whatever she truly is to everyone attending.  She gets her dig in at Sam, revealing that all the women in his life have dumped him for someone else.  Sam walks away after spying Daphne on the back porch, and walks right past Tara who dances happily with Eggs.  Tara asks who all these 'friends' really are, but can't be bothered to press for an answer because she's enjoying the moment too much.  Maryann retrieves the present Sam brought and chucks it out into the bushes — does she even suspect it's from Lettie Mae and not Sam? — and she walks off into the night, her white gown and hair flowers glowing in the moonlight.   Here comes some revelation, gang!

Back in the Dallas airport hanger, Bill questions the driver, Leon, and teaches Jessica how to glamour him.  Bill has already pulled the answers from Leon's mind: he was sent to abduct Sookie, by 'a church' — presumably the Fellowship.  Sookie can't believe they mean any harm, but Bill confides that churches have done plenty of harm throughout history.

In the same state, Jason brags about being chosen to join the Soldiers of the Sun until Luke reveals the fourteen others including himself were also recruited.  Luke teases Jason about being the latest boy-toy for Sarah Newlin's amusement, which offends Jason and especially his guilt over indulging such fantasies about Sarah himself. 

Bill and Sookie check into their hotel, countermanding Eric's reservation for a room with no bed and taking a luxury suite with adjoining room for Jessica.  In the lobby nearby, Jessica continues glamouring Leon, making him give her his cell phone and making him scream a silly taunt about her former schoolmate at the top of his lungs.  Bill has justified doubts about bringing along his 'progeny' for this dangerous trip.

Back at Tara's party, Maryann is chanting in an ancient language to the night, summoning winds and once again unleashing her powers to drop her guests' inhibitions, specifically including Tara and Eggs who retreat upstairs to a bedroom.   Lafayette sits at home alone, watching TV until Eric appears at his window.  Lafayette refuses Eric permission to enter, of course, but Eric offers a gift instead: the healing power of his 1000 year-old blood.  Eric says Lafayette will lose his leg to infection if he does not drink, but Lafayette questions why Eric wants to track him after he drinks the blood (a known side-effect connection of sharing vamp blood).  Eric reveals that Lafayette means something to Sookie, and that means something to Eric. 

Leon reveals to Bill that the Fellowship hired him to abduct Sookie and bring her to the church.  Yet Leon didn't know Sookie's name nor anything beyond that a human and vampire were searching for Godric, which implies a limitation to some informant network between the Fellowship conspirators and someone inside Bill and Eric's circle in Louisiana.

Eric is inside Lafayette's home, as the wounded man feeds from the vampire's wrist in desperation.  A phone call interrupts: it's Bill reporting back to Eric, highly displeased to learn that his sheriff suspected the Fellowship was involved in Godric's disappearance without warning Bill and Sookie first.  Eric calmly retorts that he had no obligation to inform Bill as his superior, and that if his underling doesn't like that arrangement, he can complain to the Magister or the Queen (aha!).  As Eric ends the call, Lafayette — fully, quickly healed — is dancing up a storm, popping and grinding against every furniture surface in the house, alive like he's never been before.   And quite tied to Eric's influence now.

As Jason unpacks his things to stay with the Newlins, Sarah arrives in his room in her nightgown, attempting to put him at ease by lavishing him with praise as the solider they have the highest hopes for in their mission. All Jason seems to care about his that he's the only one invited to stay with the Newlins, keeping him one step of favoritism ahead of Luke the other soldier recruits.

Eric arrives in Dallas to meet with Bill, revealing that he is a subject of Godric who commands such power and loyalty that he could have been King of Texas or any other vampire territory in the world.  Bill asks how such a powerful vampire could have been abducted, yet Eric lacks that very answer which is why he's enlisted Sookie to use her powers.  Godric is the oldest and most advanced vampire in the New World, and if he can be taken, then no vampire is safe.  Eric warns that the cowboy-like vampires in Texas demand justice, and if Godric is not returned, they will exact revenge on humans — a threat related specifically to Bill for Sookie's sake.  Not only does Eric need Sookie's unique abilities, he may well have a soft spot for her too... otherwise since when would he exhort Bill to guard over her so carefully when no doubt Eric could protect her even better?  Interesting!

Back at Tara's party, Sam and Daphne flirt in the kitchen, quickly embracing and kissing up a storm.  Sam insists he has something to tell Daphne but she reveals she already knows what Sam is.  Upstairs, Tara and Eggs make love but the party scene widens to reveal everyone is under Maryann's spell as orgiastic displays of hedonism spread through the group.  Maryann shudders under the moonlight, digging in the dirt between the roots of a tree to reveal her hands have grown into three-fingered claws of the succubus.

In the Dallas hotel room, a knock at Sookie's door reveals a hotel employee, Barry, delivering 'room service' for Jessica: a male type B-positive (it is a vampire hotel after all).  Sookie thinks what to do about Jessica feeding against Bill's orders, wondering if her 'food' is even of legal age.  Barry answers Sookie aloud, having read her mind.  Sookie is shocked and can hear him attempt to cover up his slip, but when she answers his thoughts Barry runs in a panic down the hall with Sookie in pursuit.

SUMMARY: A solid episode which advances the plot as well as it raises the stakes for all involved, both vampire and human alike.  Perhaps one of the strongest points is the revelation that vampires and humans are much more cooperative and dependent on each other to maintain the fragile peace since vamps came out of the coffin to humanity.  If a vamp as powerful as Eric is worried that his superior isn't safe from the clutches of the Fellowship, then vampires need all the human allies they can get lest all out war ensue which will bring utter destruction to both entities.  This formula is also being played out in the growing mentor/progeny relationship between Bill and Jessica, with Sookie being the model of cooperation and encouragement between them.  The extreme forces on both sides are pulling the knot of conflict tighter with every new complication, yet it's those like Eric, Bill, Sookie, Lafayette and Jessica who are caught in the middle.   I find it a little odd that Tara has been in effect kidnapped to serve Maryann's plot as the succubus feasting on Bon Temps, which removes Tara (an important character) from the main action of the story.  It's unclear how Maryann will figure into this growing war between vampires and humans since she seems to be nibbling and clawing at the edges of the action.  But certainly we're not meant to see the big picture as early as Episode Four, so time will tell how these opposing forces will combine or collide as the season unfolds.

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