EPISODE FIVE — NEVER LET ME GO

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER   ALAN BALL   |   DIRECTED BY   JOHN DAHL   |   WRITTEN BY   NANCY OLIVER

The hedonistic revelry continues at Tara's house with the Bon Temps residents under Maryann's spell, and Daphne reveals to Sam that she too is a shapeshifter, catching him completely off guard in the brief teaser opening.

Sam's astonishment slowly abates as he learns he's no longer alone and the only one of his kind, but the amorous Daphne quickly scampers away into the night when Terry and Arlene interrupt, still high on the night's sensual atmosphere.

Back in Dallas, Sookie chases down Barry the telepath working in the vampire-exclusive Hotel Carmilla.  He's clearly frightened to death of anyone, human or vampire, discovering he can read others' thoughts as Sookie can.  She presses him to become an ally so they both can learn more about their special gift, but Barry refuses and hastily returns to his duties, urging her to keep quiet about their shared abilities while in Dallas as such a revelation could mean death or worse to them both amid this hostile local population of vampires.

In their hotel suite, Bill reprimands Jessica for ordering a human from room service to feed upon, insisting she continue obeying his rules to properly learn her vampire ways, especially in Dallas.  He also warns Sookie not to wander off alone in the hotel, confessing that their lack of experience with the aggressive vampire community in Dallas puts them all at a disadvantage not to mention in danger.  Sookie insists she is safe under Bill's protection and that she's well aware of their predicament and mission.  She then insists Bill forget all that for a few hours, and seductively urges him to celebrate the fact that, for the first time, he doesn't need to leave her bed at dawn.

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Hoyt gets a call from Jessica, once again feeling confined and lonely under Bill's care in Dallas.  Their budding, sweetly clumsy romance blossoms a bit more until Hoyt's mother barges into his room, insisting no girl can be ladylike calling so late at night — though clearly she is against any girl who would take her son's attention away from his mama.  Hoyt stands up to her and locks her out of his room, continuing to entertain Jessica long distance by reading her his comic book.  Well, it's a small step toward his repressed manhood, anyway.

At the Fellowship camp, paramilitary trainer Gabe wakes Jason from a dead sleep early in the morning, rousting the soldier-wannabees for a workout under Sarah's strict supervision.  She attempts to show she's not playing favorites by refusing to let Jason go to the bathroom until he's earned it, but her sly wink while he does pushups proves otherwise to him.

Tara awakes next to Eggs in bed after their night of partying, soaking in this moment of intimacy and happiness with him.    She stares at her picture of Sookie and Gran, reflecting on good times with them both — dare she trust such good times are possible with Eggs now?

Back in Dallas, Sookie awakens at dawn (though the light-tight window shades block the morning sun) and goes downstairs to take advantage of the not-so-continental breakfast, as well as attempt to persuade Barry to share his experience as a telepath.  Barry refuses, considering his life cursed by his telepathic gift, unable to live his life amid the constant barrage of thoughts and minds surrounding him.  Sookie attempts to teach him how to shut out other humans' thoughts, but he refuses to allow yet another person in his mind.  Sookie returns to bed, telling Bill she's met another telepath.  Again, he insists that Sookie must not reveal her powers to anyone in Dallas for her own protection.  Bill fills frustrated and somewhat powerless in Dallas, charged with protecting both Sookie and Jessica while both continue going against his wishes.  He also confesses his distrust of Eric's desperation over finding Godric, which is both highly unusual for Eric and potentially a sign of danger for them all.  In the end, Bill's fears boil down to losing Sookie, which she assures him will never happen.

Morning in Merlotte's as Arlene reprimands Daphne for sliding on her service prep the night before, yet Daphne's much more interested in picking up where she left off with Sam instead as their flirtation builds.  At long last, Lafayette walks back through the doors of the diner, only to face Sam's wrath for his irresponsible disappearance.  Subdued and not at all his flamboyant, exuberant self, Lafayette quietly asks for his old job and naturally Sam agrees, but not before asking what happened to him while he was gone.  Lafayette seems unwilling and unable to put it into words for his boss, and exits the office to get to work.

Back at the Fellowship camp, Gabe and Sarah push their soldiers along on a run through the woods, barking out vampire attack scenarios to test their mental preparedness amid their physical exhaustion.  One of the recruits drops in his tracks, Luke urging Jason to leave the failure behind for the hypothetical vampires to devour, though leaving a man behind clearly goes against Jason's instincts.

At Sookie's home, Tara discovers that Maryann, Karl and Eggs plan on moving in to stay but Tara refuses, insisting she's a guest there herself and she cannot invite others into Sookie's house.  Maryann pretends to feel hurt by Tara's rejection, building more distrust in Tara over her motives which explodes in an argument between Tara and Eggs about family and trust.  Tara admits she may not have the best track record of believing in family, but she can't help but recognize when others are lying to her, and for the moment she's not getting the full story from either Maryann nor Eggs.

Gabe tests the soldier trainees at a fence climb, which quickly turns into another testosterone-fueled competition between Luke and Jason.  Luke breaks down emotionally under Gabe's degrading pressure, but Jason climbs the fence, pulling Luke up and over with him, exhibiting the leadership (and physical prowess) that Sarah hungers for in her life — er, in the Fellowship's cause, that is

Night in Dallas as the local vampire leaders including Isabel and Stan argue over how best to rescue Godric from the clutches of the Fellowship: Isabel and Bill siding on the dangerous plan to let Sookie sense clues to his capture, while Stan insists that the vampires attack the humans in an all-out war to preserve themselves now.  Eric berates them both for their incompetence in allowing Godric to be captured in the first place, baring his overwhelming emotional, somewhat irrational loyalty to Godric. This crisis reveals telling tensions exist between regional vampire populations, proving they are as susceptible to petty prejudice and power grabs as are the humans so many of them disdain — watch for this internal powder keg to play out dramatically as the plot to save Godric develops in the coming weeks!

Rising to the top of the recruit pyramid, Reverend Newlin takes Jason into his confidence, revealing to him the Fellowships secret weapons stockpile and its true motives in training Light of Day soldiers: Newlin is not only training his warriors to defend against vampires, but he aims to launch a holy war against the immoral bloodsuckers who murdered his father.  A basement armory is filled with wooden arrows, guns with silver bullet ammo, silver throwing stars, flamethrowers and even a guillotine for the widespread staking, shooting, burning and beheading of their vampire foes!  It appears the divine influence of Jesus now takes a back seat to the high-ordnance tactics of General Patton in the heart of the Fellowship and Steve Newlin.

Back at Merlotte's, Karl drives Maryann up to the diner where she casts a spell of verbal abuse from the staff and patrons against Tara, in retribution for her earlier rejection.  Knowing all Tara needs is a good push outside her tolerance zone, Maryann knows the troubled girl will quickly return for the apparent comfort and reassurance Maryann lavishes on her.

Jason's rejuvenating soak in a hot bath is interrupted by Sarah, who insists on washing Jason as a biblical parallel "lesson" to Mary Magdalene and Jesus.  It's instantly obvious that Sarah's interest in Jason is anything but spiritual though, as her hands slide under the water, seducing the weak-willed soldier. Like her husband, Sarah's hypocrisy knows no bounds within the Fellowship public, holier-than-thou he façade of moral piety, providing a tantalizing and dramatic counterpoint to the revealed in-clan disputes and grudges among the vampires in Dallas. 

Indeed, there Eric explodes with rage against Isabel and Stan's incessant bickering over who is to blame for Godric's capture and the apparent traitor among them who leaked news that Sookie was coming to Dallas.  Sookie insists that the only way to find Godric now is for her to infiltrate the Fellowship and find him herself.  Stan's refuses to support any plan putting a human in charge while Bill objects to exposing Sookie to even more harm.  Yet Eric quickly seizes on the tactical advantage to Sookie's plan and, with Isabel's vote, orders Sookie into service.  When Bill pulls Eric aside to demand an explanation why he is so hell bent on saving Godric, a flashback ensues to a thousand years back in history, when Eric lay dying on a nordic battlefield with two soldiers watching over him.  As night falls and Eric weakens, noises surround their encampment: it is Godric, a young yet powerful vampire who quickly kills Eric's men.  Godric offers to save Eric from impending death, after admiring Eric's valor in the battle, and with a bite turns the fallen warrior into an immortal vampire, and Godric's companion for the ages.   Eric reveals simply that he must save his maker in that holiest of unholy bonds.  It is the only argument Bill cannot refuse.

Closing up Merlotte's for the night, Daphne and Sam sweep up the mess of the hectic evening, consummating their mutual shapeshifting experiences and rising passions.  An important moment for Sam's character, who for the first time feels and acts like he's abandoned his perpetual loneliness as a perennial outsider, finally meeting a woman, a partner with whom he can share his innermost self.

At the Hotel Carmilla, Sookie learns that Barry has quit his job and disappeared.  In Bon Temps, Tara returns to Sookie's place to find Maryann waiting at the kitchen table, dressed in a homey house frock not dissimilar to how Gran once dressed, forcing the metaphor of returning home to comfort and love.  Maryann half-heartedly insists she's been looking for a place to rent, but of course Tara, in her deliberately caused state of emotional turmoil, insists her unbeknownst tormenter stay the night.  Maryann's manipulative ploy pays off as she professes her devotion to Tara's happiness, though clearly such caring gestures are just a convenient means to Maryann's supernatural ends.  Interesting how Maryann's succubus nature now comes off much more vampiric and life-draining for bewitched Tara than even the worst of Eric's bloodsucking wrath, and of course all the more dangerous since neither Eric nor Bill have any knowledge or defense against Maryann's powers.  Watch for a battle between these two mystical forces soon when the vampires of Bon Temps return to Louisiana, where Maryann has gained a foothold of power she most definitely will not surrender without a fight!

In their suite, Bill confesses his distaste for the way the vampires — "vicious, petty, vile creatures" — acted to each other and Sookie, proposing they return to Bon Temps that night and let the vamps and Fellowship devour each other.  But Sookie reminds him she gave her word to Eric she would help find Godric, and promises Bill she will do so quickly and safely.  The danger, tension and high emotions stoke their passion, but the menace only grows outside their door as the figure of a woman glides down the hotel hallway toward their room.  It is Lorena, Bill's maker, come back to haunt what little peace of mind he has left.

SUMMARY: The TRUEBLOOD mythology is expanding and deepening quickly this season as viewers see not only new dimensions of their favorite characters but also learn worlds more about the vampire society with all its faults and feuds.  Godric's reputation and importance loom larger each week, but for now he exists mostly as the crux of the crisis exploding between vampires and humans.  Accordingly, for all Eric's dominance over Bill and subversive influence over Sookie, Godric's disappearance has exposed Eric's vulnerable side in surprisingly dramatic fashion.  As much as Sookie stands up to Eric in their confrontations, his devotion to Godric may well help Sookie turn the tables on Eric if he ends up beholden to her for saving his maker.  A dominant theme of this week's episode is power and who controls it: the Fellowship abducting Godric, or vampires on the verge of declaring war against humanity, or Maryann weaving her dark magic over the unwitting victims of Bon Temps, or Sookie who becomes more indispensable to the vampires who pose a constant threat to her safety.  One fact is certain: as the balance of power shifts beyond the control of those caught in the struggle, the danger grows more dire for all involved.  TRUEBLOOD continues to impress in SEASON TWO!

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