True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 This week's True Blood was literally gushing with excitement. Suspense pumped through every vessel of Bon Temps. The episode was bleeding tension. I’m out of puns for this, who’s got a better one? “If you could take off your shirts for me, that’d be great.” At this purely gratuitous mandate Alexander Skarsgard is like, “I have appeared nude in multiple Swedish films. This is not a problem for me.” Thankfully for viewers.

True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 Tara. No one is more surprised than us to find out we are actually on board with this story line. We appreciate that the newly-turned vamp went to Sam for help, a nod to their relationship from an earlier season, and Lafayette as a result gets some pretty great lines: “He put my cousin in the [expletive] freezer,” for example, True Blood Season 5 Episode 8  in the incredulous yet disdainful way only he can do. Unable to conceive of herself as a monster, Tara glimpses her reflection in a car window and lets the human go before draining her. We finally get the first most truly disturbing imagery of the season: her attempted suicide-by-tanning-bed. Call us overanalytical literature majors (guilty), but Tara’s struggle reminds us of the monster’s in

True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 “Frankenstein,” who felt condemned by his very existence. The maternal instinct suddenly ablaze in Pam, meanwhile, will make for an interesting next episode.

Speaking of Pam, hooray for turn-of-the-century girl power. No wonder she’s not the biggest fan of Bill. We especially love the line, “And $500 for every girl that you drained.” True Blood Season 5 Episode 8  The pillow talk between Eric and Pam was genuinely sweet, and Eric telling Pam “her profession is more honest than most” points to the depth the show has always hinted at.

Andy and Holly. The two have a barrel of problems and they couldn’t be happier. Good luck to ‘em.

Hoyt. Is. Wearing. Eye. Liner. He looks like Joel Madden. Pam is right that masochists come to Fangtasia; this appears to be Hoyt’s version of acting out. HE IS ALSO WEARING A MESH SHIRT. Oh boy. The faeries are here! The faeries are here! Best Line of the Episode: “The human bible is better than US Weekly.” Apostles, they’re just like us.

What the Show Needs to Work On True Blood Season 5 Episode 8  Jason, in general. Dredging up the prototypical seduction-before-he-was-ready seems to be too little, too late. We like that he’s admitting to filling a hole with meaningless interactions, but a teacher as the culprit seems to be too-ripped-from-the-headlines to work.

True Blood Season 5 Episode 8  Lafayette, magical edition. Oh look, the scary mask is back and Lafayette dumps bleach into a cauldron of gumbo. We think perhaps the special effects need to be amped up to make this look less 80s cheesy horror flick.

True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 Readers, what were the high and low points of the episode? Tell us in the comments True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 Last week on True Blood, Tara became a vampire. Emma was revealed as a tiny little wolf cub. Eric and Bill made deals with the Authority. And Alcide didn’t want to be packmaster.

Things we learned last week: There’s a vampire Bible, how Eric and Pam meet and Jason’s ass is hard enough you could chip a fang on it.

(Need to catch up? Episode 8.01 | Episode 8.02)

In the third episode of season five, there’s much more nudity, another Pam/Eric flashback and some conniving folk within the Authority.

HIGHLIGHTS

   True Blood Season 5 Episode 8  Tara being able to resist a kill as a new vampire without anyone there to help her. She’s never been my favorite, but I was impressed.
    Russell Edgington as a poster boy for the Sanguinista movement. Really, I think Russell as the “poster boy” for anything would be a highlight. But making your sociopathic friend the rallying point for the cause? Ohhhh-kay.
    Can I just say how much I love Chris Meloni on this show? (Because I do.) Also, Roman is crazy quotable.
    Steve Newlin is “the new Nan Flannigan.” Cue me laughing loudly enough to get my husband’s attention. Admittedly, he does have the skill set for politics, but hearing Roman describe him as the new Nan killed me.
    True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 Pam speed texting. Are we more impressed with her skills or does Franklin Mott still hold the title? I mean, do you remember how quickly he could type “***”?
    Sookie going all fairy super power princess on Pam. It’s the first time we’ve seen Sookie use her power purposefully when not in a life-or-death situation. Possibilities here.
    How come that Authority lady gets to tell Steven Moyer Bill and Alexander Skarsgard Eric to take off their shirts? And they do it? I want her job.
    I’m just as frustrated as Arlene with Terry keeping secrets. I know it’s part of the whole “anticipation” thing, but mostly it just irritates me. True Blood Season 5 Episode 8
    PAM AND ERIC FLASHBACK!! Sorry, I love the backstory of these two enough it makes me break out the caps lock. All the women in the brothel want Eric, but he’s come to visit Pam, the madam.
    And we get to see Bill and Lorena in the flashback, too!
    It gets better: Eric gets to stop Bill and Lorena from draining the woman and mocks both of them simultaneously. One more reason to love Eric.
    Debbie Pelt’s parents are on the search to find her. The interaction with Alcide was telling. They look saner than Debbie, but if this follows the books, they aren’t any less nuts.
    Salome is intriguing. True Blood has taken a Biblical character and given her a different story. I hope we see more of her. Also, she’s sneaky and sleeps with everyone for power purposes. True Blood Season 5 Episode 8  I love the chemistry of Pam and Eric. In a flashback, we hear him give an earnest explanation of why taking on the role of maker is a large responsibility. She pleads and he explains. It’s heartfelt and engaging.
Sookie finally confesses to Alcide about Debbie. It doesn’t go well, but great acting from Joe Manganiello.


When we last left Tara (Rutina Wesley), True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 she was fleeing into the night after lashing out at Sookie and Lafayette for turning her into a vampire. With her dumb luck, she accidentally set off Sookie's anti-Russell defense system, spraying her face with searing silver mist.

As she makes her way through the forest, her undead healing factor kicks in and she's momentarily astounded by what her heightened senses can pick up - from the swirling cosmos above her to a juicy squirrel hiding in a nearby tree.

True Blood Season 5 Episode 8 Her spiritual moment is cut short by the sound of her former friends pursuing her, so Tara hightails it deeper into the forest. By the side of a road, she comes across a woman trying to change a flat-tire. Tara bares her fangs.

"I got no problem with vampires, in fact I'm on your side," the damsel-soon-to-be-in-distress says. "I think you should have the same rights as we do."

Tara believes she has the right to dinner, slamming the poor motorist to the hood to feed.

We have to wait until the end of the opening credits to find out that Tara returns to her senses when she catches her vamped up reflection in windshield and realizes what she was about to do. "I'm sorry," she says to her almost-victim before she flees into the night.again. True Blood Season 5 Episode 8