It's Monday again and time for our weekly True Blood discussion group! How do you say that in Viking?

playing with sticks and balls
  • playing with sticks and balls

It seems like every season of True Blood spends its first half setting the table and its second half actually eating. I think we're getting to the first course. After an episode last week that felt pretty transitional, the characters are, for the most part, as caught up as we are and now we can watch it play out together.

For instance, Sookie's "Where's Bill?" story was pretty perfunctory because we've known for ages that Bill is chilling out with Russell, the Vampire King of Mississippi (RTVKOM), chowing down on strippers and swiveling Lorena's head like a lazy susan. But now Sookie's werewolf tour of Mississippi is over - just in time to fucking blast Coot with her magic hand! It would make sense that there's more to Sookie than just being telepathic and sassy. The way she leads all the supernatural men in her life around like puppies I'm not surprised that she's got hidden reasons to be so confident.

How about that RTVKOM? We know he's selling V and that he's had the werewolves under his control for centuries. Are werewolves immortal, too? Are the same wolves that killed Eric's viking king father still patrolling Russ's estate? Either way, the Colonel sure seemed freaked out by him and RTVKOM is not very concerned about the Magister and Sophie-Anne. All the vampire politics in this season are somehow both incredibly interesting and confusing/dull. Like real politics, I guess. All I know for sure is that Eric's got a score to settle and I wouldn't be surprised if RTVKOM ends up on the pointy end of a stake.

Neither confusing nor dull was Tara's vampire paramour and my new favorite character, Franklin. I love his unhinged mix of passionate love, goofiness and homicidal rage. He's sort of a good match for Tara in that way. I also like that he leaves her nothing to do but look on in lip-quivering, wide-eyed confusion. Franklin is a one-man party, Tara! Sit back and enjoy the attention! He's so much fun that I wish I wasn't being facetious. I think we can all agree that Franklin was a fun one-night stand who would make a terrible person to be linked to for eternity. Big step down from Saint Eggs, to say the least.

Meanwhile, over on my favorite sitcom Sam & the Fam, things are finally heating up. We got to see a side to little bro Tommy that wasn't as prickish (I liked him flirting with Jessica) and to see their dad go bugaboo-crazy. I don't really care what the secret of Sam's family is but at least we've shifted out of first gear.

Same with Jason's bizarre pursuit to become a deputy, except that's always been fun to watch. Seeing Jason act out the ol' office-supply-playtime montage (paperclip limbo!) and commandeer a police cruiser sans shirt made me wish I'd had a summer job at a small town sheriff's dept. Not only is Jason a written exam away from becoming a real-life deputy but he's caught up with his phoneless mystery girl, Crystal. I was digging the lovey-dovey vibe of their soon-to-get-super-complicated relationship. Their moonlit makeout sesh by the lake was a nice change of pace from True Blood's standard feral sleaziness. Or do you guys disagree?

I'm sure we can all agree that Lafayette's almost-date with his mom's nurse was super-cute, though. What else can be said? Franklin could take some lessons from that guy on how to make fawning over someone charming and not scary. That said, how do you think it's gonna get fucked up? Nobody stays happy for long in Bon Temps...

Stray notes and quotes
Sam & the Fam even has its own wacky neighbors courtesy of Arlene and Terry. Wacky and sad.
Red mulch by a wishing well? That does sound a little wild.
Tara can gnaw through rope.
Jason should guest-star on The Office.
If you were Jessica would Hoyt's blonde, pixie dinner-date make you jealous?
"Tara, watch how fast I type 'motherfucker.' It's cool, right? I'll delete it so you can watch again."
"He look like he got bombed by radiation on the way to middle school."