The 411 True Blood Review - Episode 11: To Love Is to Bury

Posted by Marilyn Yang on 11.18.2008

Yet another event-filled episode with a big reveal at the end. Sookie and Sam spend some quality time together. Lafayette gets serious. One annoying female character is replaced with another. Jason and Tara are in hot water. Oh, and Bill's back!

We start off this week's episode with a long recap (as usual) followed by Bill, digging a grave for the girl that he bit at the end of last week's episode. Pam is overseeing this, since Bill can't be trusted to follow through and make sure the girl becomes a vampire. Bill says he'll set the girl free rather than stake her, and Pam says the girl has already been set free, just as Eric set Pam free by turning her years ago. The girl's name is Jessica. Pam unceremoniously nudges Jessica's body into the grave with her foot, and starts to bury Bill and Jessica together. Tomorrow night Jessica will rise a vampire. Open credits.

Sam is at Sookie's trying to reach Tara, and leaves a message asking her to at least let him know she's not "drunk in a ditch somewhere," but he apologizes and takes it back, asking Tara to just call him. Sookie comes downstairs, saying she had to wash her clothes because it felt like the killer was all over her. There is something familiar about the killer and the visions she had prior to the attack. The girl in Sookie's vision was young with an apron, like a waitress. Sookie couldn't read the girl's name tag, but remembers the surprise in her eyes. Surprisingly, Sam suggests Sookie may want to call Bill, but Sookie declines, saying Bill wouldn't understand how she felt. Bill should have sensed Sookie was in danger, but didn't show up. Sookie doesn't think Bill will come back. Sam puts his hand on Sookie's shoulder to comfort her, and Sookie asks if Sam's heard from Tara. They share a long look and say goodnight to each other. Sam loads a shotgun after Sookie goes upstairs.

Next we see Tara in the same horrendous red outfit from Arlene's engagement party. I forgot how awful it was. Tara is with a female police officer, trying to desribe the creepy naked lady she saw before driving through a fence. Naked lady had a giant pig, too. The officer says she knows Tara is drunk. Tara agrees to take a sobriety test, and doesn't understand the directions to even try. The officer tells Tara she's turning into her mother Lettie Mae, which earns the officer a good F you from Tara. Tara gets put in the squad car.

Meanwhile, Jason and Amy have to deal with the giant mess left behind after Amy staked Eddie last week. Jason asks Amy, "Who the fuck are you?" and Amy responds with, "You know who I am better than anyone else." They fight. Amy says Eddie was glamouring Jason. Jason says that wasn't possible, since Eddie didn't really know how. He also says Eddie trusted him. Amy says Jason knew exactly how this situation would end, but Jason disagrees. (For once, I am siding with Jason on this. No one expects kidnapping a vampire will end in bloody goo all over your basement. And yourself, for that matter, because Jason's hands and forearms are covered in Eddie's remains.) Jason and Amy yell insults at each other and start cleaning. Jason gets sick. Amy tries to tell him everything will be okay, and they didn't kill Eddie because he was already dead, and a predator to boot. Amy tells Jason not to let Eddie get between them, because what she and Jason share together is "beautiful." Jason unconvincingly responds with, "Yeah."

The next morning Sookie is in the kitchen, and Sam greets her shirtless for some reason. (He has to put his shirt on in the kitchen? As opposed to taking the extra few seconds in the other room?) Breakfast is in the oven. Still no word from Tara, but we know why. Sookie tells Sam she's sick of waiting around to get strangled. Sam assures her that won't happen while he's with her. Sookie says Sam can't spend the 24 hours a day with her, but Sam says, "Sure I can." Sookie is set on finding the killer before he finds her again. While she was sleeping, Sookie remembered more about the girl in her vision. The girl's name was Cindy, and she was wearing a waitress uniform. The restaurant she was at had something to do with pies. Sookie is thumbing through the phonebook. Sam knows the place, Big Patty's Pie House. Sookie unconvincingly says Sam doesn't have to go with her, but Sam insists. He also tells Sookie to eat breakfast, which she refuses at first, saying, "You're not the boss of me." After a pause she says with a laugh, "Oh, right. You are." It's nice seeing Sam and Sookie not fighting, since all Sookie's done for the past few episodes is yell at people. I guess she's not so mad about seeing Sam making out with Tara any more.

Cut to Amy and Jason. Amy is pouring Eddie's guts into the garbage disposal. Amy tries to talk to Jason, who won't talk back. While Amy's back is still turned, Jason goes into the fridge and sweeps vials of V into the trash. He throws the bag at Amy, and we hear glass break. He's done with V, and wants all of it out of his house. Jason says he wants every drop of V out of his house, and if Amy doesn't like it she can leave. He walks out of the house. Amy looks uneasy says, "Love you," but Jason's not there. Dare I say it? Hooray for Jason, actually trying to do the right thing and putting his foot down to his crazy girlfriend.

Next we cut to Lafayette painting his toenails at the bar in Merlotte's. Gross. The TV is on, and Senator Finch (the one that Lafayette helped get over "stage fright" last week) is running for the House of Representatives. Senator Finch is opposed to equal rights for vampires. Finch says vampires steal people's jobs and women, and their blood turns children into addicts, drug users, and homosexuals. Finch says vampires don't deserve any rights at all. Lafayette yells obscenities at the TV, and asks Terry if he just heard what the senator said. Terry replies, "I can't listen to politicians no more; I get a seizures." I actually laughed out loud at this, not because epilepsy is funny obviously, but because I'm starting to like the few lines Terry says in each show. The TV says Senator Finch will be at the Remington Hotel in Monroe. Terry asks Lafayette if they can put it on the home decor show, and changes the channel. Amy walks up behind the bar looking "used up," as Lafayette puts it. He asks Amy if Jason is dragging her into some bullshit, and Amy denies knowing what he's talking about and walks away. Lafayette asks Terry why is everyone lying to him today, and Terry doesn't know. But Terry does like the shelves on the show that's on, and Lafayette asks Terry to work for him that night.

Cut to Sam and Sookie, now at Big Patty's Pie house. A seemingly slow-witted blond waitress tells them she doesn't know a Cindy, but slowly rattles off a bunch of pies they can try. Reminds me of Bubba in Forrest Gump. A patron named Buster tells the waitress to get Sam and Sookie some pies, and she rushes off. Buster tells Sam and Sookie that the waitress wouldn't know anything; she's only been there for two weeks. Buster takes the pie slices for himself. He takes a bite of pie, and tells them about Cindy (whose last name is Marshall.) Buster met Cindy two years ago, and she moved into town a few months earlier with her brother. She was strangled to death, and they never caught the killer. Cindy's brother was gone by the time they found her body, but there was no evidence indicating if he was the one who killed her. Her brother's name was Drew Marshall. Buster said Cindy was cute and nice, but people talked, and said Cindy associated with vampires. Buster didn't believe it, and says he doesn't know what kind of woman would do such a thing. Sookie makes a face, but Sam puts a hand on her shoulder before she says anything. I am grateful, because I'm getting tired of hearing Sookie getting all self righteous. I get it, Bill is great, but so far the other vampires featured in True Blood haven't been portrayed very flatteringly. Eddie isn't unfeeling (compared to Pam or the nest that was killed in the fire), but he's made to look sad and weak. Eric isn't so bad, but obviously doesn't give a shit about humans. Longshadow committed fraud, and tried to kill Sookie. And the magister? He's a little twisted, to understate things. Bill isn't a bad guy by any means, but I can certainly see why vampires aren't exactly popular. Buster leaves his seat because he was given the wrong slice of pie.

Tara is on the phone in jail, talking to her mom. She tells her mom she wasn't drunk and to stop crying. Tara just needs bail money and a ride home.

Jason is at work with the other construction guys, Hoyt and Rene. Jason wants to go out for some beers later, but Hoyt declines saying he has to drive his mom to a baby shower since she has night blindness. Rene has a date with Arlene. Hoyt asks why Jason doesn't want to spend time with Amy. Jason admits to Rene and Hoyt that Amy likes V. Rene asks if Amy sleeps with vampires. Jason says she doesn't, but she could be lying. Jason considers dumping Amy. Rene suggests Jason try to work it out, and tomorrow night they will go out and get drunk. They exchange man-hugs. (Does Rene not remember when Jason was still on V and tackled him to the ground while operating a jackhammer? No one really thought anything of this, nor cares? Okay fine.)

Sam and Sookie pull up to a window. Sookie reads the mind of an officer behind some dividers. The officer is thinking about how it's not adultery if he's not having sex, and at least "Debbie" is a good Christian. He comes around the corner happy to help at first, until he notices bite marks on Sookie's arm. (Good job Sookie, wear a tank top and also raise your arm while you're tying your hair so everyone can see.) The officer asks if they are bite marks, and Sam basically tells the officer to mind his own business. The officer refuses to give Sam and Sookie any useful information until Sookie threatens to find the officer's home and tell his wife about his affair with Debbie from church. The officer agrees to fax the photo of Drew Marshall to the Bon Temps police.

Next we see Senator Finch talking to some supporters. Lafayette shows up looking sharp in a suit. Lafayette shakes the senator's hand while threatening him to watch himself, and a photographer asks them to pose for the camera. Lafayette has his picture taken with the senator and walks away.

Jason comes home late from work to a nice dinner on the table. Amy asks if he was working late, but takes it back saying it doesn't matter. Jason says he didn't want to come home, and was worried Amy wouldn't be there. Amy tells him that she did what he asked, and she'd do anything for him. They hug, and Amy says she'll make things right. This would be touching, if we didn't know Amy was so crazy already.

Cut to Bill (finally), sitting next to Jessica's grave. The dirt starts to shift, and Jessica climbs out of the grave, asking for help. She starts screaming.

Sam and Sookie are in the car. They talk about Sam and Tara. Sam likes Tara, but she makes it hard to love her. It's not working, and Sam says he's not easy to love either. Sookie tells him he's wrong. Sam asks Sookie if she loves Bill. Sookie says she thinks she does, but where is he? If vampire politics are more important to Bill than her... Sookie is mad. She apologizes to Sam for having to drive for so long. Sam says he doesn't mind, because he likes riding in cars. Sookie makes a joke about Sam hanging his head out the window. Sookie says when all of this is over, she'll rent a convertible and they can drive to the beach and bake in the sun. Sam says, "It's a date."

Next, Jason is at home unbuckling his belt not for sex (for once), but because he just had a nice big dinner. Amy says she wants to show Jason something, but he has to promise not to get mad at him. Jason promises not to get mad at Amy ever again. (Stupid, stupid Jason.) Amy saved one drop of V. Jason gets mad. He tells Amy he can't trust her for a second. Amy starts talking about balance and closing a circle and the usual shit she talks about that I don't pay much mind. Jason caves in and agrees to take V with her for the last time.

Cut to Jessica and Bill. Basically Jessica wants to go home, and Bill is trying to explain the whole turning into a vampire process. Bill tells Jessica a bunch of stuff (how she has things to learn, how she isn't human, etc.), and Jessica responds with an impetuous, "Why?" every time. It's really annoying, and I no longer feel sorry for her. Now she's just annoying the shit out of me. Bill grabs Jessica and tells her she's a vampire, and can't go home. Jessica is thrilled to be a vampire. No more belts, clarinet, parents, little sister, homeschooling... Jessica celebrates being a vampire by swearing a lot. You know, because she can. Jessica thinks being a vampire means she can kill anyone she wants, and there are a lot of people she'd like to kill. Bill tells her that she cannot kill anyone she wants by any means. "Why?" she whines. "I want to kill them!" Bill says, "With your new powers come new responsibilities." Great, way to rip off Uncle Ben and Spiderman. (Oh, but Spidey got his powers from getting bitten too, so is it still so bad? Yes, yes it is.) Bill tells Jessica she can mainstream like he did. Jessica wants to kill people, and she's starving. She whines a lot. Bill gives her some Tru Blood, which Jessica spits out. Jessica tells Bill he's the worst maker ever, and starts crying. I'm really wondering where the writers were going with this. First Jessica goes from being terrified (climbing out of her grave begging for help) to being quite possibly the most annoying character ever on the show within mere minutes. When Bill tells Jessica she can't go back to her family, you might think for a second that it will finally sink in and Jessica will be devastated, but no. Being a vampire is like, the best thing in the world to her. And then she just whines, and whines, and whines about how she wants to kill people. Is this supposed to be for comic relief, because Jason is no longer fucking everything in sight, and Lafayette has decided to take on a hypocritical senator? Whatever it is, I'm just adding Jessica on to the list of vampires who suck (no pun intended), and she can be yet another example of why I can't blame the humans on this show for hating vampires.

Tara's still in jail, and Lettie Mae has come to visit her. Kenya (Tara's arresting officer) tells Lettie Mae she looks good. She leaves to give Lettie Mae and Tara some time alone. Lettie Mae isn't bailing Tara out, and she isn't letting Tara come home either. Lettie Mae is committed to salvation, but Tara is on the road to hell, and she's endangering Lettie Mae's soul. Tara can't believe this, considering all the times Tara has cleaned Lettie Mae up, bailed her out of jail, endured all the beatings, the list goes on. Tara gives her mom an F you, and calls her an evil bitch. She tells Lettie Mae to get out of her sight.

Amy and Jason are in bed. They start making out, and it gets bright and starts raining in bed. Suddenly the bedroom has turned into the outdoors, and Amy and Jason go running around in their underwear. We see someone sneak in the door. Amy and Jason are still running around in the pretend outdoors while someone in work boots is walking around Jason's apartment. Now we see that Jason and Amy are just in bed holding hands, and the running around in the rain outside is their V experience. The intruder steps on and breaks the vial the V was in, but Amy and Jason don't budge. The intruder starts to take off his belt, and strangles Amy. In Amy and Jason's V experience, Amy flies out of Jason's arms and into the sky. Jason awakens next to Amy, sees the bruising around her neck, and realizes she's dead. He kisses her, and cries. I wonder why he's not freaking out. The clock says it's 10:48a.m. Jason picks up his cell phone and dials 911 (which is weird, because I heard a lot of extra beeps for just 9, 1, 1.) Jason identifies himself to the operator, whose name is Rosie. She knows Jason.

Bill's taken Jessica to Fangtasia, because Jessica won't listen to him. Eric tells Bill that she's Bill's punishment, not his. Right now, it feels like Jessica is punishing anyone who's watching right now. Jessica whines and swears some more, because that's all she can do. Eric finally tells her to sit down and shut up. She listens. Eric tells Bill he has to be firm, or she won't listen. It's funny, like they're talking about raising a kid or training a puppy. Bill says he has more important things to tend to, and if anything happened to Sookie while he was gone.... Bill starts to make a threat towards Eric, but stops short. Jessica starts being annoying again. Bill tells Eric he would be in Eric's debt for taking Jessica off Bill's hands. Eric asks Jessica if she'd like to learn how to feed. Jessica sure does.

Back at jail, some white woman has paid for Tara's bail. Her name is Mary Anne Forester. She knows Kenya. Mary Anne wants to help Tara. Tara can't go home, and doesn't want anyone to see her in the state she's in. Mary Anne offers to take Tara back to her place until Tara is back on her feet. Tara eventually agrees to go with Mary Anne. Mary Anne has a sweet convertible parked in a police vehicle only spot, and Andy pulls up and cusses her out. She already knows who Andy is. They drive away. Andy brings Jason in.

Sookie and Sam are back at Sookie's. Sookie admits she had a good time today. Sam thinks it says a lot that they can have a good time together while investigating a murder. He tells Sookie the day she came to Merlotte's looking for a job was probably the best day of his life. They start kissing, and Bill rushes in and starts beating up Sam. Sookie breaks a vase over Bill's head. She kicks Bill out. Sookie takes back Bill's invitation into her home.

Tara and Mary Anne pull up to Mary Anne's place, which is nice. They go inside. I suspect Mary Anne is the creepy naked white lady that Tara saw before her accident, but I'm probably wrong, since I have a habit of seeing things that aren't evident in episode. (Like last week's episode, where I thought--honestly, still think--Jessica's parents, or a pair of very unvampire looking people were in the crowd at Bill's trial.)

Cut to Andy, Bud, and Jason. Andy is convinced Jason is the killer. Bud plays good cop. Jason tells them he doesn't remember anything that happened with any of the women who have been murdered. He tells them he took V with Amy, and when he woke up Amy was dead. Jason doesn't remember what happened, but they were alone, so he guesses he must have killed her. Jason knows he didn't kill Gran though. He asks Andy and Bud to lock him up, so he doesn't hurt anyone else.

A fax comes through while Jason is being taken away, and a blond receptionist is on the phone telling her friend all about it. A fax comes through showing Drew Marshall's picture... It's Rene, Arlene's fiancee. The blond unwittingly covers the important fax with some files. End credits.

The 411: "To Love Is to Bury" isn't such a bad episode. It's satisfying in that there are major things that happen. Obviously, we know who the killer is (finally!), Sam and Sookie get it on (sort of), Lafayette is portrayed as more than just flamboyant comic relief, and Jason tries to do the right thing (first trying to quit V for good, then when he turns himself in.) I'd say the balance of this week's episode is about as good as it could be, with minimal Tara, more Eric than usual, and no sanctimonious lecturing from Sookie about how there's nothing wrong with being with a vampire. Next week is the finale. I hope True Blood will go out in style, after all the ups and downs this season.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]