Jason in the Sky with Diamonds

Last week after her Grandma’s funeral, Sookie and Bill finally consummated their unholy relationship. Afterward lounging in his insanely large tub, Sookie flashes back to her memories being molested by the exceedingly creepy uncle we spied at the funeral. Sookie regrets that this moment of happiness with Bill is marred by her memories. Bill seethes and you just have to believe that the creepy uncle is gonna get the fangs at some point.

Slow witted Jason once again visits awesomely gay LaFayette in an attempt to score some more vampire blood. LaFayette refuses and in the scuffle it becomes even more clear how strung out Jason has become. Sookie even catches him stealing Gran’s silver to sell for drugs. Once again Jason looks destined to continue his awesome meltdown. Right on cue, Jason decides to head for the vampire bar in Shreveport. Trying to score vampire blood from vampires seems about the most moronic thing I could imagine. Jason begins to draw attention to himself and a girl grabs him and tries to talk some sense into him before its too late. Eventually, she convinces him that she has what he needs, and the two leave together. For the first time it looks like Jason might catch a lucky break. The hippie dippy yankee chick seems to have some deeper knowledge of the vampire blood and give Jason a lesson. She creates a mixture of the blood and aspirin creating a snort-able version. She and Jason embark on a mind melting trip and bond in a seemingly magical way. It looks like Jason is about ready to head out on Phish tour.

Tara’s demonically possessed and alcoholic momma says she needs money to pay for an exorcism that she is convinced will save her from her alcoholism. The depth of what she will do to get her exorcism is painful and gut wrenching. Tara and her family continue to be the stars of the show for me. I can feel the fear and anguish from them. Tara finally relents and takes her mother into the bayou to meet the insane witch doctor who perform the exorcism. Tara is obviously skeptical of this voodoo crap, but as her mother believes in it fully, she goes along. After the exorcism, the crazy bald witch doctor claims that Tara too has a demon inside of her.

Back at the bar, Sookie’s tryst with Bill is exposed and Sam has an absolute meltdown. Sookie stands her ground, openly defending her decision to sleep with Bill in front of the whole bar. Not surprisingly, the rednecks openly mock Sookie. At that moment, the nest of vampires we were introduced to a few episodes arrive and begin to make trouble. Sam stands up to the crew but its Bill, fresh from killing the molester uncle (surprise!), who runs in to end the vamp nest’s fun. Bill agrees to rejoin the nest and return to his old ways. The angry villagers at the bar seem to be sharpening their pitchforks and dreaming up revenge for the vampire nest. Sookie tries to warn Bill of their plans without success. At dawn, the rednecks throw molotov cocktails into the vampire house burning it down and  seemingly destroying the nest possibly with Bill inside.

This was one of the better episodes so far. I think I found it so because of Sookie’s absence from the focus of the show. Often, her aw-shucks nature and wide eyed optimism have just been annoying. Tara’s family problems and Jason’s ineptitude are far more compelling and honest plots. Sookie is supposed to be the anchor of the show, but more often than not, she seems to be a lost wide-eyed child. She seems unable to be made real. Sookie feels like a satin doll. Beutiful and delicate, but without any real feelings or motivation. Even when her grandmother was brutially murdered, I just didn’t feel for her. The good news is, Tara has taken an even more central role and Jason’s roller coaster of a ride is bound to hit the downslope again soon.