You'll Be the Death of Me (23 Nov. 2008)

With Jason in jail for Amy's murder, he tries to prove his innocence, while Sookie thinks that the killer is someone that they are close with. Meanwhile, Maryann bails Tara out of jail and ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Ball

Writers:

Alan Ball (creator), Charlaine Harris ("Sookie Stackhouse" novels by),

Stars:

Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Paquin	...	Sookie Stackhouse
Stephen Moyer	...	Bill Compton
Sam Trammell	...	Sam Merlotte
Ryan Kwanten	...	Jason Stackhouse
Rutina Wesley	...	Tara Thornton
Chris Bauer	...	Andy Bellefleur
Nelsan Ellis	...	Lafayette Reynolds
Jim Parrack	...	Hoyt Fortenberry
Carrie Preston	...	Arlene Fowler
Michael Raymond-James	...	Rene Lenier
William Sanderson	...	Sheriff Bud Dearborne
Alexander Skarsgård	...	Eric Northman
Lynn Collins	...	Dawn Green
Lizzy Caplan	...	Amy Burley
Lois Smith	...	Adele Stackhouse

Storyline

With Jason in jail for Amy's murder, he tries to prove his innocence, while Sookie thinks that the killer is someone that they are close with. Meanwhile, Maryann bails Tara out of jail and lets her stay at her posh mansion. Tara is wary about trusting Maryann, but enjoys living in her luxurious home. Tara likes it even more when she meets a temporary resident, Benedict Talley, who is nicknamed Eggs. But it is secretly revealed that Maryann and Sam Merlotte have a connection. The identity of the serial killer is finally revealed as Arlene's fiancé Rene, who now sets his sights on Sookie to kill her for her association with Bill. The charming Rene, formerly known as Drew Marshall, is actually a psychopath bigot who kills women who have ever associated themselves with vampires and he ends up chasing Sookie to the local graveyard near Bill's house. After hearing her screams, Bill risks his life by going out into the sunlight to rescue her, while Sam turns into his dog form to help. While ...

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Plot Keywords:

cemetery | murder investigation | hit with a shovel | fake accent | cajun | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Center Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Your Face Goes Here Entertainment, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

53 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Rene Lenier: [shouting] Get back here you fucking bitch!

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Connections

Features The Little Princess (1939)

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Soundtracks

"Blame It All On Me"
(uncredited)
Administered by Bob Mair

User Reviews

Season 1: Trashy, gaudy, steamy and engaging stuff – lacks the depth I expected but enjoyable on its own terms

I came to True Blood with this sort of expectation that I knew what it was. What with it being from Alan Ball I had equated it to Six Feet Under, while it being from HBO made me assume that it would be intelligent and complex in the way that fare such as The Wire, Sopranos, In Treatment and other of their shows are. Of course I know this is not all the shows that HBO do, but these are the ones I watch and I had forgotten that they also do Sex & The City and other comedies. So I came to True Blood expecting this alternative world of vampires being "out" to be layered with subtext, commentary and insight. While it has some of these in small measures in season 1, what the show actually comes over as is a wonderfully trashy and colourful soap opera set in the Deep South. It contains drug use, romance, murders, forbidden love, physic abilities and small town politics and it is a lot more engaging than I expected.

It took me a few episodes to be into it and it took me most of season 1 to really put a finger on why I liked it, because at times it is all very silly and trashy, with the plot devices and twists being far from those that I would expect in the shows that I have already mentioned. I think it took me a minute because I had expected something else but once I got the taste of it, it made sense on its own terms and I got interested in all the various threads and characters. Setting it in the Deep South is a key reason that it works for me in a way that perhaps it would not have done had it been in a major city. The humidity and heat of the location is really well conveyed and, along with the small town and the accents, it compliments the hot and rather gaudy nature of the material. Once you get into the trashy rather overblown nature of some of it, there isn't much of it that doesn't engage. Whether it is the central romance or the murders, Jason's drug use, the internal politics of the vampire world, Tara's personality struggles or the colourful character of Lafayette, all of it just seems to work. It maybe trashy but the professional and thorough delivery keeps it far away from being disposable or silly – it is just wearing the sheen of trashy drama. The show is funnier than I expected as well because of this trashy aspect – it uses it to have fun, to not be too serious or full of itself and the effect is positive.

The cast certainly seem to get this. Paquin is great as the central character – never out of shorts and quite the Southern lady, she plays well to the more interesting stuff below the surface while keeping her sexual and brave character strong. Moyer is a lot more sturdy and he works well with her. His weird way of speaking took a minutes to get but otherwise he is charming and charismatic while also able to keep our interest with just hints of his struggle to mainstream and other pains. The supporting cast tend to scene-steal though. In particular Kwanten is much better than his cut-out-school-jock character starts out as and I look forward to see where he goes with season 2. Wesley had impressed me in How She Move – not a great film but she engaged me. Here she does a similar turn hidden behind a character who is at first a bit too "feisty black woman". She is very good at letting her eyes and face soften before toughening up – very good at it; only problem I had was how often she did it versus doing anything else. I like her a lot though. Ellis braves comparison with equally colourful character Omar from The Wire but is quite different. His character is important within several plot threads but is also just plain old good fun at times. I liked Trammel a lot more as the season went on and am interested where season 2 goes with him as well. Support outside of these main roles is generally very strong, with Skarsgård, Porter, Preston, Sanderson, Bauer and others all doing good work.

Overall True Blood is not the show that I expected it to be with my assumptions based on Sopranos, The Wire etc kicking round in my head. While it is different though it is actually very good if you come to it for what it is. It appears to be trashy, passionate and explicit like some cheap novella or alternative-reality soap opera and indeed it is (and fun with it), but the plot threads and characters are all engaging, making the show work very well indeed. Not to all tastes but it is a very entertaining show.