Bloody Good
Eric Comes to Mississippi!
Rejoice shady citizens of Mississippi, The Great Blonde hope is in the house! Talbot sure seems excited by the new face, and Lorena seems a little scared at the return of the guy that kicked her out of Bon Temps. And rightfully so all around. Maybe with Eric’s awesomeness we can finally get this Mississippi storyline into high gear? -D

Sookie!
Well Dark Disguise Sookie only stuck around for a sliver of the episode (she had a good line about Alicide’s shitty ex Debbie), but even back as the boxom blonde we know and tolerate, Sookie has a nice little moment at episode’s end using her powers. Considering the Stackhouse telepath is supposed to be the main character of the show, it’s probably about time we explore her gifts a little bit more… -D

Tommy and Merlotte’s
Sam’s familial storyline is still pretty irksome, but at least we the viewers (and Bon Temps) got Tommy out of it. I’m pleased the show is giving more characters jobs at the local watering hole, if only to see them interact in more ways with one another. Tommy and Lafayette can be cigar buddies! Jessica and Arlene can face off! And who knew Jessica and Tommy would have such good chemistry? I’m still rooting for Hoyt and Jessica to pull through, but glad to know the girl’s got options. -D

Jesus
Sweet Jesus, look who’s back! Being pretty spoiler-friendly, I knew Lafayette’s mom’s nurse would be back (also, his portrayer Kevin Alejandro is in the credits, so that’s usually a hint too) and I’m happy it happened. After having to put up with his mother’s crap, his aunt’s crap, and his cousin Tara’s crap, the dude needs a nice man to date. I’m sure Jesus will have his own drama surrounding him in the episodes to come, but at least Lafayette might get some lovin first. -D

“Make you my vampire bride”
Line of the show, right there. And while I have issues with the Franklin/Tara plot (see below), I can’t help but find the moments the want me to find amusing, amusing. Moreover, I can’t help but feel like Franklin, with his dress and accent and manners, is some sort of extended shoegazer/Brit Pop parody. Because, really, isn’t this how Oasis would be if they were a vampire? -Z

Adorable Gays
Man, between Jesus basically being the cutest thing ever and Eric’s good-natured flirting with Talbot, this was a pretty adorably gay episode. Which is just fine with me, thanks. In fact, can we just have a lot more of it? I can definitely think of some plots I’d sacrifice in favor of more Jesus screen time… -Z

Tara
So often we end up complaining about this character, so I thought I would give Tara her due this week. Not only was she (unlike some people…) capable of engineering a way out of, or to deal with, a bad situation, but she managed to have just truly great reactions to Franklin’s increasing madness. -Z

Bites
Viking Flasbacks
If one of this season’s central mysteries involves old tyme Eric moments, can we just abort that storyline right now? Aw, bummer, Eric’s family got killed by mean werewolves. Couldn’t he just tell us that and save us the five minutes of extra cheese? -D

Were’s the Hair?
Also, I’m pleased to see many a blogger has also noticed this since permanently shirtless Alicide showed up. but it bares (weres?) repeating : If the dude is a werewolf, why does he feel the need to shave his chest, but leave his facial hair in tact? I blame Twilight for this hairless werewolf trend! -D

Bill and Sookie: Reunited
I guess this is good? I mean, Bill was vaguely able to snap out of whatever downs in the dumpness had gotten hold of him and actually do something…but only for one of the most sexist reasons ever. But Bill and Sookie are back together! Yay? Does anyone in the audience honestly care at this point? I imagine most of us are just waiting for Sookie and Eric to be reunited at Russell’s Bon Temps Refugee Pajama Party. -Z

Crystal
Oh, goodie. another vaguely mysterious chick. Here’s a tip, Jason: if a girl tells you that what is essentially your first conversation is the greatest moment of her life? You run away. Far, far away. But given this show and Jason’s track record he won’t, and she’ll probably turn out to be a ghost or something. -Z

[Just that she looks like she's practically a teen and it's kind of creepy watching thirtysomething Jason romance. I'm sure she's over 18 IRL, but it would help if she looked it. -D]

Sam’s Intellect
Dear Sam,

HOW DENSE ARE YOU? HE’S AN ABUSIVE FATHER. CLUE UP ALREADY!

Love,
The Audience -Z

Franklin and Tara
On the one hand, I am definitely as amused by this plot as I am supposed to be. On the other hand, I am pretty uncomfortable with them using Tara’s rape and kidnapping as a source of chuckles. I’m not saying the show can’t do black humor, but let’s not make Franklin, with his speedy texting and what not, too anti-hero, ok? He’s still and rapist and kidnapper. -Z

[I enjoyed Franklin's speed texting, but still find this storyline in poor taste. I know Franklin's Tara's boyfriend in the books, so I'm curious how long they keep him around here. You can't really build a lasting relationship on kidnapping, unless it's all Stockholm syndrome. -D]

Each week Dennis and I assemble a list of our favorite (and least favorite) moments for the latest episode of True Blood.