My Review of True Blood's 3x08: "Night On The Sun"

Written by Raelle Tucker
Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter

Sookie: “Get out of my house, bitch!”
Debbie: “Fuck you.”
Sookie (after shooting a dollhouse): “Next time, I won’t miss.”

And this was an episode that came pretty close to no real misses at all, except for a few obvious ones. Oh, Alan Ball, what are we gonna do with you? I’m not gonna join on the Sookie/Bill suck bandwagon but its high time this relationship got some proper assessment.

In the hospital, Sookie had the most naturalistic reaction to scream her bloody lungs out when she clapped eyes on Bill. When they were alone, both of them even came to the painful realisation that they were due some time apart. However the episode ended with the two of them screwing their brains out and basically saying “fuck logic” to it all.

And that’s where the problem lies with these two. I know love is supposed to make you do the wacky but isn’t it time that both Sookie and Bill used some common sense and stick with it? I don’t think the sex at the end was meant to signal them getting back together but it still did seem like an unwise move on both of their parts.

Sookie’s felt betrayed by the stuff that Russell’s told her about Bill and Hadley certainly didn’t make it any better when she followed up on Eric’s message not to trust him but she still defended him against Tara and Jason. I understand that impulse of hers but she was also too quick to harshly judge them as well.

Tara probably shouldn’t have repeatedly referred to her as a dumb bitch but what Tara was saying about Bill made sense. I noticed that both Jason and Tara heavily alluded to Sookie behaving like a battered wife/enabler to Bill and partially, she was. This is why I don’t blame either Tara being angry with Sookie defending Bill or Jason wanting to kill him.

And then there’s the allusion that Bill knows even more about Sookie than we previously thought he did. He seemed to confirm in the next episode and if that doesn’t get Sookie to back off from him, what will? Bill had some pretty frustrating moments in this episode and not just with Sookie.

I almost wanted to stake him myself when he tried to release Jessica into the wild. I’ve tried giving Bill the benefit of the doubt but he really is an awful maker, isn’t he? I get that a part of his attempts of releasing Jessica were so that he didn’t fall into the same horrible pattern that Lorena was with him but right now, I believe Jessica needs Bill a lot more than Sookie does. Sookie herself needs to depend less on both Bill and Eric as far as I’m concerned.

One of the best moments of this episode was watching Bill and Jessica training up for the latter to defend herself against werewolves. If we could see this side to Bill more often, both he and the show would be miles better for it. Bill has the capability of being a good maker/paternal figure for Jessica and Jessica herself does need to learn more about the crazy world that she’s been dragged into, so in other words, more of this please.

Just seeing Bill and Jessica eventually fighting down werewolves was a treat in this episode. I absolutely loved the glee Jessica exuded when she was getting them to chase after her. Even when Russell drank from her and tossed her aside, I knew that she was going to best the wolf after her.

As for the fight scenes of this episode, Bill and Russell’s sparring took an interesting turn. Russell was happy to goad Bill on his uselessness but I think Bill made the more perceptive comments to be honest. Apart from directly killing the Magister last week, Russell has been using wolves to do his dirty work and I figure that it might get to a point when even they turn on him as well.

The best fight of the episode was between Sookie and Debbie in the former’s bedroom. I was looking forward to this even since the Comic Con trailer and it sure as hell lived up to my expectations and then some. Debbie’s blinded by revenge and certainly went full throttle towards Sookie but the best part was actually watching Sookie physically fight back. Sookie might have been juiced up on vampire blood but it was nice to see her handle Debbie, even to the point of using a scissor on the psychotic werewolf.

Debbie was certainly baying for blood in this episode and I knew that as soon as Alcide bolted out of town that she would come after Sookie. If Russell hadn’t been plotting to snare Sookie, then Debbie would’ve clearly disobeyed him and went after her. Debbie seems to hold Sookie responsible for Cooter’s death and I doubt that she’ll stop with this attack. Sookie’s going to need to be on her guard for the final four episodes.

Speaking of guards, anyone else think that Eric shouldn’t have let down his so quickly? For someone as calculating as Eric, I was actually surprised that he killed Talbot as openly as he did. I’d like to say that Talbot’s death made me feel sad but it didn’t. He was nice to look at but underdeveloped as hell and the whole sex scene between him and Eric whilst nice could’ve been given to Lafayette and Jesus instead.

Like Russell, Eric’s just gone and done something reckless and there’s a very good chance that it’s going to backfire on him. There’s no way that Russell can’t know that Eric killed Talbot and I actually fear that Pam will get caught in the crossfire again because of her maker. I hope Eric has a few aces up his sleeve because he’s definitely going to need them in the next few weeks.

Something I need however, is to know what the heck is up with Jesus? I wanted to believe that he’s a nice guy who likes Lafayette but now I firmly believe that there’s more to him than meets the eye. Jesus talked about Lafayette being powerful in a similar context to Ruby Jean and given that there are certain rumours flying around the place, I have a feeling where Lafayette is going to go next as a character and I’m not sure about it all that much.

Another thing I’m not sure about is Jason and Crystal. I want to get into this story but it’s the weakest of the bunch and I actually don’t like that Calvin is being written as a violent meth dealing thug. Felton, I don’t mind because not every Hotshot character needs to be noble but I’m disappointed with Calvin, except for the confrontation between him and Jason which showed some future storytelling potential.

As for Tara, when she wasn’t castigating Sookie, she was just about managing to deal with her own recent trauma. I really hope that she lets someone in on it. I don’t care if it’s Sookie, Lafayette or Sam but I want her to open up to at least one person about it. Potentially Sam, given that they had a nice moment in this episode.

Also in “Night On The Sun”

We got another pivotal character this week. New waitress Holly was able to tell that Arlene was pregnant and gave off some interesting vibes and Arlene had nightmares of Rene.

Bill: “Keep out of this!”
Alcide: “I don’t take orders from vamps.”

Alcide’s certainly fulfilling the wolf stereotype of disliking vampires but even I got his disdain for Bill in this episode.

Bill: “I want you to have the life you deserve and I can’t give it to you. I love you, Sookie Stackhouse and I will love you forever.”
Sookie: “I love you too.”

Russell: “The real question is, can I trust you? You turned on your own queen and now that I’ve freed your feisty little ward, how do I know you won’t sell me out as well?”
Eric: “Because I have been searching for you for a thousand years.”

Eric looked visibly pained when he spoke in a derogatory manner about Godric to pander to Russell. Now that’s some good acting on Alexander Skarsgard’s part.

Bill: “Look at me. As your maker, I release you.”
Jessica: “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sookie: “Did you just call me a dumb bitch?”
Tara: “I’m sorry but if you go back to that vampire, that’s what you are.”

Ruby Jean seems to have the affectionate nickname of “Lala” for her son. I also loved her description of modern day TV.

Jason: “God damn. What is it about you, Crystal? Why do you make me feel like this way?”
Crystal: “What way?”

Ruby Jean (to Lafayette): “You got power, boy, you always have. That’s why they’re coming. I got to protect you but I can’t do it if you keep drugging me.”

How manipulative was it of Melinda to come to Sam as a dog? I’m glad he ran both her and Joe Lee out of him and Tommy’s lives. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Sookie: “If I knew what was best for me, I would’ve fallen in love with someone like you.”
Alcide: “Back atcha. It’s too bad we’re so stupid, huh?”

Hadley: “Sookie, if they find you, they’re gonna do horrible things, I’m so sorry. I hope one day you can forgive me.”

Not surprising that Hadley told Sophie-Anne about Sookie, is it? I also enjoyed Sam and Tommy detecting that Calvin and Felton were shifters more than Tommy and Hoyt fighting over Jessica.

Jesus: “Ruby Jean’s got a flair for drama.”
Lafayette: “It runs in the family.”

Eric: “Checkmate.”
Talbot: “I’m bored. Take off your clothes.”

Standout music: Iron Horse’s “Night On The Sun” and Otep’s “Head”.

Sookie: “I’ve had vampire blood. Lots of it.”
Debbie: “Oh me too. Your boyfriend’s yummy.”

Chronology: Directly from where “Hitting The Ground” left off.

I actually loved this episode. I’d even go as far as to say that “Night On The Sun” is the best one from the season so far but truthfully, I don’t think Raelle Tucker’s written a duff on yet. It also feels like most of the storylines are advancing even more as well but the Jason/Crystal plot needs more attention on it.

Rating: 10 out of 10.