Authority Always Wins (17 Jun. 2012)

Bill and Eric face the Vampire Authority.

Director:

Michael Lehmann

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
Alexander Skarsgård	...	Eric Northman
Christopher Meloni	...	Roman Zimojic
Chris Bauer	...	Andy Bellefleur
Kristin Bauer van Straten	...	Pam De Beaufort
Lauren Bowles	...	Holly Cleary (credit only)
Valentina Cervi	...	Salome Agrippa
Nelsan Ellis	...	Lafayette Reynolds
Scott Foley	...	Patrick Devins
Janina Gavankar	...	Luna Garza
Lucy Griffiths	...	Nora Gainesborough

Storyline

Tara is having more than a little difficulty accommodating herself to being a vampire. Sookie takes special measures but Lafayette is at his wits end. Reverend Newlin visits Jessica in the hopes that she will let him go after Jason. Terry Bellefleur continues to walk in his sleep and display violent reactions to the simplest things. Arlene has just about had it. Jason tries to make peace with Hoyt Fortenberry but he won't have anything to with him. Alcide takes responsibility for killing the pack leader but refuses to take on the leadership himself. Luna has something of a surprise at home. Eric and Bill are imprisoned at the Authority headquarters. They are tortured and questioned but neither of them will break. It appears they will both be killed but Bill has a proposition for them.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Details

Release Date:

17 June 2012 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story of Lilith and her connection to vampires begins thousands of years ago, although it is not made explicit until modern times. The Hebrew word in Isaiah ("lylyth") sometimes translated as Lilith does not refers to any single entity but rather a type of demon. The earliest reference to a Lilith appears to date from 2400 BCE. A list of Sumerian kings identifies a "lillu"-demon (or incubus) as the father (not the mother) of Gilgamesh. The feminine form was "lilitu", a class of demoness figures which included "ardat lili" (handmaidens of Lilith) and "Irdu Lili" (thought to mate with men at night). The vampiric qualities of the "lillu" and "lilitu" is found in our earliest extant records in that they were believed to "drain" their victims, albeit not their victims' blood. In later Jewish traditions the figure of Lilith solidified. For example, in the Talmud (BT Sabbath 151b) she is said to be responsible for the erotic dreams of men. More importantly, the Rabbinic commentary on Genesis and its account of Eve's creation includes remarks (cf. Midrash Rabbah 18:4) about two "Eves" in an apparent attempt to correct what was perceived as the implication of two creations in the Hebrew text. Later, in medieval writings such as the Zohar and the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, Lilith is specifically said to have mated with Adam and produced a demonic offspring of some kind. The combination of such Jewish folklore or legendary accounts and the vampiric quality of the demon Lilith whom (according to these accounts) Adam mated along with the resulting "demonic" offspring enabled the modern conceptions of Lilith as the original creator of vampires.

User Reviews

"Long live the King."

Boy to I love a flashback episode. Considering that this is not officially dubbed a "flashback" episode, I'm glad that the writers decided to finally write in the back story to one of True Blood's most complex and interesting characters, not to mention they set it in the 2nd most popular Vampire era, the early 1900's, the Civil war era being the first. From the looks of it, if Pam wasn't just a "Working girl," she was the main proprietor of a whore house. Admitting that she was used to seeing dead bodies (this of course after seeing Eric literally behead a local rapist) it solidifies her very strong personality. There were only a couple flashbacks, but they helped make the episode better, considering that the writers have only put in several flashbacks throughout the whole series (One being Bill in the 80's last season which was a treat). Meanwhile, we see Vampire Bill and Sheriff Northman being tortured by the authority. Bill is being interrogated by Dieter Braun, played by Christopher Heyerdahl, whom I find fascinating. Dieter has I.V.'S connected to Bills veins that have silver set and ready to be injected. It's here where we're introduced to the Vampire Bible, which was written before the actual Bible. Dieter explains that VAMPIRES were created after God's image, not humans, and he also tells Bill the "true" meaning for Adam and Eve. After Bill explains that he does not believe in the Vampire bible, he is injected with the silver. Meanwhile Eric is going through the same torture. To be honest, I'm glad that Alan Ball decided to write in the Vampire creationist storyline. I have not read any of the novels, so I cannot confirm or deny if this is ANYWHERE near the original plot line, but so far I'm enjoying what I'm seeing.

After denying the murder of Nan, both Eric and Bill are brought before what seems like the head council. They perform a Vampire communion, which is very intriguing. Once sentenced the true death, Bill speaks up and exchanges their lives for Russell Edgington, whom of course has been rescued from his cement graveyard. I am very curious to find out how this plot line turns out, considering that the last scene shows Edgington surrounded by mutilated bodies, finally growing stronger, with a reassuring grin on his face. In the mean time, it shows the comical Sookie and Lafayette scenes trying to take control of Tara, who has now officially been turned into a crazy, bloodthirsty vamp, who also confirms that she will never forgive her best friend or cousin for what they have done.

So far so good, I am very excited to see what comes next, let's keep it up!