Beautifully Broken (20 Jun. 2010)

Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi, concocts a plan to consolidate his power; Eric remembers his past; Sam tests the strength of his family bonds; Tara finds an ally in shady vampire Franklin Mott.

Director:

Scott Winant

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
Kevin Alejandro	...	Jesus Velasquez
Marshall Allman	...	Tommy Mickens
Chris Bauer	...	Andy Bellefleur
Kristin Bauer van Straten	...	Pam De Beaufort
Nelsan Ellis	...	Lafayette Reynolds
Todd Lowe	...	Terry Bellefleur
Mariana Klaveno	...	Lorena Krasiki
Denis O'Hare	...	Russell Edgington
Jim Parrack	...	Hoyt Fortenberry
Carrie Preston	...	Arlene Fowler

Storyline

Bill comes face to face with his kidnappers and the vampire King of Mississippi, who has an interesting proposition for him. Bill is not keen on the proposal but refusing may put Sookie in danger. Back in Bon Temps, Sookie learns more about the symbol she saw on the neck of one of Bill's kidnappers and subsequently sees a rather ominous looking figure lurking around. Eric offers to protect her, but he clearly wants something else from her. Tara survives her suicide attempt and meets a new vampire at Merlotte's bar. Sam meanwhile has tracked down his biological family who confirm what he already suspected. Jason is growing irritated at the amount of publicity Andy Bellefleur is receiving over shooting Eggs. Jessica meanwhile turns to Pam for advice on being a vampire and on how to dispose of a body.

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Plot Keywords:

mentally ill mother | birth mother | bathrobe | flashback | bare butt | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swedish German

Release Date:

20 June 2010 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

56 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The exterior of Russell Edgington's mansion is actually the antebellum estate Longwood (aka Nutt's Folly) in Nachez, Mississippi. The estate, which is built in the shape of an octagon, was commissioned for cotton planter Dr. Haller Nutt in 1859 and designed by Samuel Sloan, but work was halted by the Civil War and then by Nutt's death in 1864. Only nine of the 32 planned rooms in the residence were completed.

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Goofs

While talking with Andy in Merlotte's, Jason sticks his fork backwards into his sandwich. In subsequent shots, the fork disappears and reappears.

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Quotes

Detective Andy Bellefleur: [after the press conference] Hey, what are you doing here, Stackhouse?
Jason Stackhouse: Wow. All these reporters... they here for you?
Detective Andy Bellefleur: [sarcastically beat] No. It's 'cause of me winnin' the Miss America pageant. Thought I told you to lay low.
Jason Stackhouse: I need your help with something.
Detective Andy Bellefleur: Ain't I done enough for you already?
Jason Stackhouse: Hey! I was trying to save your life!
Detective Andy Bellefleur: [hustling him away from the station] Now I'm tryin' to save yours.

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Connections

References Beaches (1988)

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Soundtracks

"Rondeau from Abdelazer"
(uncredited)
Written by Henry Purcell
Performed by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

User Reviews

Exactly how it should be

When I reviewed Ep.1 I hoped that some promising developments should show up soon, and so they did in this IMO extraordinary 2nd episode.

First, a new character shows up, the Vampire King of Mississippi, and he behaves much more like a King, or as a British Lord, than Louisiana's Queen. I felt that the producers and writers had much fun with him, and so I had, because he is not overdone, thanks to the good acting.

Second, the announced Werewolves are introduced. They are surprisingly no match for a recently fed Vampire, as Bill shows us in the beginning, and they are serving the Mississippi King as he wishes.

Third, Bill is introduced to the King's manor, and as the king behaves like an aristocrat, and "lives" in great luxury, there are many opportunities for black humor, near to a black comedy, and also a little bit (likeable) soapy. I had a small impression of my youth's Denver Clan ....style.

A little setback is Sam finding his new and deranged family with a young brother, also a shape-shifter. This part of of the story seems to be reserved for a continuous amount of family problems, maybe kinda needless, but watchable. The setback in my eyes is that there is a great opportunity given away (to create a mystery and follow it adventurous to its source) - as we all know where Vampires and Werelves come from, but not shape-shifters. A deranged family we already had with Tara's, and in this episode we learn that Lafayette also has, and that there is maybe a mysterious reason why both their lives went wrong. But Sam's story will probably lead to common conflicts, in which I'm not very interested here with True Blood.

Some parts of Erik's past during WW2 are shown in flashbacks, together with Godric, they were searching for a secret society of Vampires and Werewolves during a long time. There are two big and intense scenes with Eric and Sookie, and they have both some very good lines and, which is very important, a tangible chemistry (take care, Stephen!). Especially Skarsgard shows his good handling of quit scenes.

Concluding, the episode is one of the best when not the best. True blood always scraped on the brink of a (sexual and violent) soap opera with all those intrigues and small dangers, but I think it now can play with the genre as things are evolving faster and deeper and characters are intensified. Its a small improvement, but noticeable.

I also noticed a reduction of explicit sex scenes, what may please some people in the US; in return the amount of black humor and dry lines increased, which pleased anon me.

I gave 9 stars, which is slightly overrated, but we have no 8.5, so I rounded up.