"GODRIC"
Godric makes joyful exit on ‘True Blood’Beginning with a bang and ending in a whimper,
this week’s “True Blood” turned out to be one of the more delicate,
nuanced episodes of the season, and if that’s not your official SPOILER
ALERT, I don’t know what is.
Taking
up where we left off last week, a be-bombed Luke blew up himself and
the vampire’s lair. There were a number of deaths, both human and
vampire, and as Nan Flanagan, the TV talking-head for the American
Vampire League said privately to her vampires, this public explosion is
“a P.R. mess.”
But
this “mess” was not without its deep “Blood” pleasures. Eric shielded
Sookie from flying debris, probably saving her life. In return, he lay
wounded, and Sookie felt obliged to help him in his request for her to
remove shards of silver shrapnel stuck in his body. “It’s too gross;
it’s too… you!” protested Sookie, disgusted. But she did it anyway,
chomping and sucking until Bill came upon them and told Sookie she’d
been suckered by Eric, that the silver bullets would have pushed
themselves out, and that “this means you’re connected; he’ll be able to
sense your emotions.”
For his part, Eric just lay back and smiled,
saying, “She was superb.” The metaphor for receiving a sexual favor
from Sookie was all too clear. “You big, lying a-hole!” squawked
Sookie. It was funny, but also ominous. “Don’t be surprised if you feel
some attraction to him,” said Bill, adding, “sexual.” As if we didn’t
know that. (Sometimes Bill is so inactive and so stating-the-obvious,
he becomes less appealing as the series’ key vampire. But this also
requires a more subtle range of acting, and adds to the complexity of
vampire-human relations.)
There
were, of course, other subplots. The Jessica-Hoyt affair continues to
be comic relief, complete with an awkward dinner between the couple and
Hoyt’s hoity-toity mother.
But the bigger subplot was Maryann’s
increasing power over Tara and Eggs, her striding into the jail and
demanding to see Sam, and setting free the rest of the pleasure-addled
citizen-prisoners. Sam escaped — he was a fly on the wall (er, table)
when Maryann went to Tara’s house. Maryann has pretty much given up
trying to hide her pleasure-principle powers, her let’s-party mood
replaced by impatience and cruelty, as when she tried to lure Tara’s
sober mom to relapse with a nice, chilled bottle of vodka.
Ultimately,
the episode moved “True Blood’s” narrative ahead most forcefully in
revealing to us just how much hitherto unknown influence Nan Flanagan
holds in the vampire world. She was able to relieve no less than Godric
of his status and power within these ranks. In the midst of this
dead-serious stuff, “Blood” still had time for an excellent joke. Eric
tells Nan, “You don’t have that kind of power.” Sneers Nan, “Hey, I’m
on TV — try me.”
Yes,
TV exerts a great and terrible power, doesn’t it, making us helplessly
in thrall to “True Blood.” There was a beautiful moment when Eric cries
as Godric explains he must die to atone for his sins. The love between
the two men was palpable: “There are centuries of faith and love
between us,” said Godric, trying to comfort an agonized Eric.
In the closing moments, a now-chastened,
eager-to-atone Godric went up on a roof to see the killing sunrise.
Sookie, ever the forgiving Christian, tried to comfort him, but
Godric’s different faith surpassed even hers in welcoming either final
death or a soul brought to ultimate justice: “I’m full of joy… I want
to burn!” Godric cried in final ecstasy.
The
mixture of Christian and pagan faith; same-sex and hetero-sex love; and
Sookie in a red gingham dress looking like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz…
it was another genre-bending, mind-expanding edition of “True Blood.”
Subject: True Blood ~ 
Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:45 pm
Ok for all you True Blood Fans out there, All I gotta say is WTF? 
