She's Not There - Part 1 of 2 - Breathers

Episode synopsis: Sookie finds herself in Fairy Land with her Fairy Godmother, Claudine, and a bunch of other white-wearing yuppies, but something rotten is going on, and Sookie quickly discovers the fairies' true faces (ugly) and true aim (to 'harvest' the humans that carry Fae blood from the human world and take them away to the Fae lands to keep away from vampires and the like). Sookie meets up with her Grampa, but he dies upon re-entering the atmosphere, and Sookie realizes she's been Rip Van Winkled: twelve months have passed since Bill betrayed her and Claudine took her away. Her brother Jason is now a sheriff, Lafayette and Jesus are dating and hanging out with a witch coven led by a woman called Marnie (played by FIONA SHAW!), Jessica and Hoyt are living together, Sam is grumpy but has new shapeshifter friends, Eric and Pam are still running Fangtasia, and Bill is a public figure... and KING of the vampires?! WHAT?!

Okay, so seriously? Cocktail Waitress Fairy here in the foreground has kind of a cool semi-flapper dress goin' on... but can we talk about the Dancing With The Stars couple to her left? What is that all about? It's kind of like the costumer raided a dance shop for flowy-flashy-unusual stuff and threw it together in a weird way. Totally not how I thought fairies would look.

Sookie always has a look of youth, innocence, girlishness, and naïvité about her. Usually it's pulled off with style and even here, she looks fabulous.

You can see the dress a bit better here. Great color, great cut, great length. And her hair is smooth and simple.

However, I disagree with the heel type she chose with this outfit. A cutoff denim mini and basic tank from Delia's are best paired with flip-flops or sneakers. Not fun yellow slingbacks. Her somewhat ornate hairdo is on the same page as the shoes. Sookie, did you get distracted, or what?

Here she's even more done-down: easygoing plaid and a side braid. Still cute and girly but in a low-maintenance way. We've also got everyone's favorite doofy/hot brother, Jason, wearing a super-standard Bon Temps Football shirt. He has four thousand of them. His collection rivals Finn's collection of American Apparel hoodies on Glee.

He's now a sheriff and is rockin' a uniform and some facial hair instead of the usual careless, boyish stubble. Goodness!

Plaid: you must own it to live in Bon Temps. The colors are nice on Jason, though.

And here's Tara! Except, l'OMG, she's calling herself Toni now, and she's a cage fighter and a LESBIAN. (That's her girlfriend Naomi on the left.) So many questions, Tara. Like what's with the stonewash denim jacket? And the less-than-expert weave?

Ladies and gentlemen.... Arlene. One of the few constants in the consistently variable world of True Blood. She's got a fresh hue of red on her hair, cleaned up makeup, and animal print somewhere on her person. She's in business. Season four, woo hoo!

I was gonna skip over Portia Bellefleur (new character to the series, presumably related to Andy Bellefleur, ex-sheriff) but she looks SO MUCH like human-form-Ursula from The Little Mermaid that I had to point it out...

...SEE?!

Leader of the new witch coven, Marnie (played by the infinitely talented Fiona Shaw) is kind of dumpy. Like. Really dumpy. Actually, a bunch of those witches were kind of style-void. But we'll see more of them later on in the series, so I'll wait on judging just yet...

When we first see Lafayette this season, I got scared, because boyfriend is sporting a pretty hardcore mohawk right now. But he's punked out and rocking it here, so I let him pass...

...and this is more like it!!! YES, Lafayette, YES. So much sass. So little time.

Again, more like his usual self. Pink pleather cropped moto jacket? Mmmmmmmmkay.

She's Not There - Part 2 of 2 - Bleeders

Now for those characters on the show who walk the otherworldly side of the plot. Let's start with Bill Compton. Once upon a time, everybody loved Bill because he was so damn well-mannered and mysterious, and Sookie was in lurve, so it was all good. Then it came out that Bill was actually LYING about pretty much everything, and so, obvs, he's no longer Mr. Popular with our heroine Sookie...

On Sookie's return, he actually shows up on her doorstep wearing denim (I think??? For a second I worried they were velour trackpants...) and a boring dark shirt, with a weird variation on his traditional haircut. Awkward reunion of the exes? I think so.

But later he cleans up pretty dang well in a fine three-piece (I SPY A WAISTCOAT UNDER THERE!) suit at the opening of the retirement home (wah wah) he's opening in honor of his long-dead wife Caroline. Like... wait, vampire Bill gives a damn about the community!? I really do feel betrayed. Who IS he?!

...and wait a hot second, he's also the KING now!? The vampire king of Louisiana?! End of last season, he was about to beat the crap out of Queen Sophie-Anne because she forced his relationship with Sookie into the ground. It was a kind of is-he-or-isn't-he-lying situation... Looks like he won, though. Daaaang.

Eric Northman basically wears the same thing every time: a black wifebeater and black denim and black leather. But -- I know I'm not alone, here -- he looks GREAT. For a former Viking, he translates really well into the post-modern motorcyle-riding alternative dude.

The long-suffering Nan Flanagan, spokesperson for the American Vampire League, usually dresses in biz-cas and here, while filming a PSA to encourage the living to embrace their undead neighbors in the community, she wears a basic gray sheath dress with a slight cowl neck. Her eyeliner is always too much, and her pallor pretty effectively dead-ish. Maybe Nan Flanagan will get a nice new haircut? This blunt bob is not doing it for her.

Eric's offspring, Pam, the undead queen of deadpan, looks hysterically out of character in nude pumps and a pink tweed skirt suit. They were clearly trying to make her out to be an All-American Sweetheart. Which Pam is very, very obviously displeased about.

Ah, that's better. Pam is clearly is more in her element with nylon, spandex, leather, and vinyl. She looks fierce and ferosh and even her basic ponytail is effective. Well done, Pamsicle.

Jessica, everyone's favorite whiny teenager (wait...) looks really cute in a rose-patterned top. The neckline is complimentary and the colors go well with her uber-pale skin and bright hair. Also, she matches Hoyt a bit. What a couple.

On "Date Night" at Fangtasia, she opts for a really (not) subtle red summer dress with white detailing... super cute, super hippie-chic with her long tousled mane. She can be a little whiny, but she's got a good heart, and she's just trying to find her place in the world... besides, her trends are a bit more hip than some of the other vamps, so it's a nice change.

Maybe next week we'll have some hot-blooded, manly werewolves to add to our TB recaps.... I'm waiting on you, Alcide. Time's a-wasting!

Mini Recap: She's Not There

It always sucks when your fairy godmother turns out to be evil.

Plaid Shirt Count = 5

Country-Girl Chic of the Week
Sookie's pale blue cotton, yellow flower print sundress was too cute for words. Perfect for a country fairy girl who moonlights as vampire food/drink. Bonus points go to Jessica's red and white ruffled dress worn for "date night" at Fangtasia (I am pretty sure they will let anyone in that place if they are wearing red. Or leather.)

Philosophy ala Vamp
"People are far dumber than they realize" - Nan Flanagan, spokesperson for the American Vampire League

Best "Uh-Oh" Moment
Eric bought Sookie's house so that he could have a permanent invitation into her bedroom and walk in on her naked any time he wants. He wasted no time in doing so in typical-Eric fashion, although personally, I only care about when he gets naked. 

Biggest Shocker
Tara is now a cage-fighter? AND a lesbian? Actually, considering the amount of rage and man-issues that girl has, this seems like her destiny. But her girlfriend thinks her name is Toni and that she is from Atlanta, and apparently that Lafayette is her father. I do not see this relationship going far considering it is based on that many lies. Well, actually all lies. 

Take the full journey into fairy-land on Wednesday, when Alyson will be here with the full recap!