Authority Always Wins - Introducing the Power Vamps

Soooo Tara's back from the dead -- against her will -- and is a super-violent-super-strong baby vamp. Sookie and Lafayette are wondering if they did the right thing to bring her back, and Pam is so worried about Eric still being gone, she starts having flashbacks from when she first met him. Alcide tells the pack to go sniff out a new pack leader, Luna kicks Sam out, then finds her daughter has turned into a Siberian husky wolf pup. Jason is still confused about the friends-with-benefits arrangement with Jessica, who is busy throwing house parties for local college kids at Bill's house. Terry's bad dreams continue, so Arlene confronts Patrick about the problems, but Terry intervenes before any answers are given. Reverend Newlin tries to buy Jason from Jessica, but Jess kicks him to the curb. Meanwhile, Eric and Bill are in the clutches of the Authority and undergo really creative vampire torture before attending a Board Meeting of the Undead featuring a really wicked old vamp named Roman... throw in some religious stuff and some very ominous power suits, and I'd say we've got a lot ahead of us this season.

Starting off with our Sookie-rejected vamp fellas Eric and Bill, I find that Bill's relaxed and inconspicuous henley shirt with jeans is a nice throwback to Season 1 Vampire Bill: a little rugged but soulful.

Also, they were in handcuffs. I know.

Eric is back to his usual emo-rocker self, complete with nondescript graphic tee and leather bracelets. (Please note that the difference between Eric and Bill, besides hair color and height, is that Eric wears v-necks.)

Poor Pamsicle is having Major Feels about her maker Eric gone missing, especially because they were fighting right before he vanished. She is so upset she starts having flashbacks to San Fransisco circa 1905, when she first met him.

Raise your hand if you are surprised to learn that she was a lady of the night? Anybody? Nobody? But DANG she looks good! I'm a sucker for corsets.

And doesn't Eric look DAPPER??? Sigh. I love flashback sequences.

Ginger is maybe the one constant on this show. She's not dead yet and she's still totally unaware of how to dress herself. It's amazing.

 

Oh, I spoke too soon. Arlene is definitely competing with Ginger for most constant confusion of costumes, but her hair and makeup appear to have calmed down somewhat. Granted she's still wearing skirts too short for her, but we'll keep working on that.

Luna is still leggy and gorgeous, but boy is mama angry right now. I am crossing my fingers that she and Sam make up so that she can teach Sam how to dress.

Speaking of leggy and gorgeous, Jessica is still rocking the house parties, but apparently she's also revisiting her brief punk-goth phase from right after she was made.

That's okay though, her shoes are super cute! What I want to know is how vampire chicks acquire the PERFECT shade of lipstick to go with the blood motif. It can't be easy.

Saucy new lady-vamp Salome is pretty gorgeous, despite working for the Authority and therefore currently occupying the role of A Bad Guy. This purple ensemble is stunning and her silhouette brings to mind the lovely Joan Harris of Mad Men -- though infinitely less curvy.

 

More True Royal...

She also seems to favor silk blends. I love this green color on her, and I think her messy I-just-threw-this-together hairstyle is cute. Salome isn't the only big baddie this season though; in fact, she seems to be one of several baddies.

 

Roman is called the Guardian, and sits at the head of the table when the Committee of Vampire Bigwigs meets in the basement of the Authority building.

You can tell they are bigwigs by their fancy outfits and the fact that Roman gives them vampire communion from his own blood with a fancy knife-straw.

Apparently, Roman is related to Lilith the first vampire. You know, from the Bible. Oh, hey, Religious Overtones, I didn't see you there. Come on in, join the party!

And When I Die - Part 2 of 2 - Saints

I just wanted to take a minute to appreciate the fact that for the first time in three seasons (flashbacks notwithstanding) we got to see Gran -- albeit in a nightgown with dirt in her hair, on Halloween, for the purpose of dispelling Marni's effed up witch-spirit. Poor Gran was the first emotionally significant casualty of the whole series, way back in season one. Sigh. Sookie still isn't over it, really.

Whoops, I guess I should have warned against gratuitous multiple-vampire feeding... Sookie looks superfierce though. The denim is nice, the floral T is sweet, and the leather jacket! Be still my heart, Sookie, you've finally graduated from Delia*s hoodies?! That's my girl.

And can we talk about Sookie's awesome knotted bun? Casual but feminine. And super hot. A+!!!

They went to some pains to make Tara look sweet and loving in this episode, even though this girl has been through Hell and back multiple times (do not pass "GO," do not collect $200) and has a lot of anger and crazy pent up inside of her to show for it. Unlike Sookie, who tends to have crazy stuff happen to her and then she carries on somehow, Tara has shown a lot of signs in the last season or two of real wear and tear on her sanity. But her hair looks lovely here, and I like the pink top on her...

...but not the denim suit. The wash is too light and the two items are the same wash. Tara, honey, what happened to your cagefighter leather and combat boots???

Oh, poor Sam. No family left (poor Tommy!) except the hope of building new family with Luna and Emma now that all the bad nasty people are dead (the Mickens, Marcus, etc). Sam looks sharp in a suit, you gotta admit.

Even when he's the only one at his brother Tommy's funeral other than Maxine Fortenberry....

...who, although sporting her usual over-the-top fabrics and styles, looks really nice in spite of it all, and genuinely loved Tommy (even though he was a conniving little cuss). Her words of wisdom are actually even comforting to Sam, and it is possible that Hell also froze over while she was making her speech about family and life. Who knew she had it in her?!

Luna and Emma show up to the funeral at the last moment, looking equally lovely in funeral-appropriate darks, but with a splash of pattern from Luna, who is also a contender for Bon Temps' Most Fashion Forward now that Sookie has lost all of her sundresses.

Although Holly's devastating Halloween costume is beyond anything I could ever have imagined her in, she did a lot of good deeds this week so I'm putting her on the saints list anyway.

Besides, the costume itself is actually almost impressively awful.

And of course, since it's Halloween suddenly (what?) Arlene and Terry show up to work at Merlotte's dressed as zombies. Extremely PG-rated zombies. (Also, shout out to Arlene's kids, who are dressed as an alien/monster and Teen Mom. Kudos, kids.)

Poor Jesus. Poor, poor, POOR Jesus. I can't even stand it. He was such a wonderful character.... on so many levels.... one of them being that his eyes matched any blue or green item of clothing he ever had on, and his hair was so ruffly and friendly.... Oh, that, and he had lots of juju to save people with. But. Yes. Erm. Sadface dot com slash bye hottie.

In conclusion, all I really have to say is that we're in for a regular good old fashioned revengefest next season. There's a whole heap of trouble happenin' in Bon Temps and our unfortunate heroes (Sookie and... well... whoever else, I guess) are going to have their work cut out for them. I am thrilled that we were able to recap this season, though, and I look forward to the next one, even if there are zombies a-comin'.... See y'all next summer!

Soul of Fire - Part 2 of 2 - Shifters vs. Werewolves (and some other supernatural peeps)

Is this not the most awkward pose/outfit (if you can that at all an outfit)? Who sits like this on a made bed with their pants off while...

...the male in the room is fully dressed and looks like this: 

Seriously Debbie?? How could you possible even consider touching that scraggly-haired dude when you have Alcide...hot, hot Alcide...with muscles bulging out of his skin...  ::off to dreamy land::

As Kim pointed out, Luna has the most "delish caramel leather jacket" on. Where does the True Blood wardrobe department find their leather? It's ALWAYS perfect. 

Since we had a major lack of wardrobe changes this week, I just had to include little Emma. How adorable is she! You can totally tell she's Luna daughter from the denim vest. But she's still a normal little girl with the pink tee and bead earrings. No wonder Sam is smitten with this fam; they're so perf!

Perhaps the most gag-worthy moment in all of television. I will pause to appreciate this Morella chick's intricately detailed, blush pink gown. But once she gets on top of Andy, I had to avert my eyes. Thank you baby Jesus we didn't have to see them with their clothes off. 

Another Bellefleur, another gag moment. Oh Arlene...she always seems to choose odd outfits. This pink is totally making her look like a walking Valentine. 

Rose are red
True Blood is too.
Just one episode left...
Oh no! Boo-hoo!

Spellbound - Part 1 of 2 - Team Denim

Episode Synopsis: Wow. OK. SO MUCH HAPPENED THIS WEEK! Jason saved Jessica from the world's worst sunburn and then they totally made out. So then Jess dumped Hoyt, who hates her now, and fled to be with Jason, who also kicked her out. Harsh! Sookie and Eric drink each others' blood and spend most of the episode in a V-induced Valhalla winter wonder-sex-land. Lafayette is possessed by the Princess & the Frog ghost, who it turns out had her baby taken from her back in the day, and Lafayette/ghost steals Baby Mikey. Bill tries to compromise with Marnie/Antonia, but neither of them really meant it, and then everybody fights everybody! (Except for the werewolves, who decide to stay out of it). At episode's end, Bill saves Tara, Marnie/Antonia has Eric in her thrall, Sookie gets shot, Alcide saves the day and Debbie is totally going evil on us, I think.

So! Let's start this week with poor, poor Jess. Things don't go so well for the good-hearted strawberry blond vamp teen. Luckily, she has a number of cute outfits, starting with these adorable flats!

I also like her cuffed-up skinny jeans. She spends most of the episode in denim, actually. For the first little bit, she's wearing the same cute button-down that got last week's outfit of the week pick. And golf claps for her shiny, shiny hair. 

Also of note is her nail polish. It's like a dark bronze-grey that looks kind of goth, but kind of sweet - not unlike Jessica herself.

OK, it might be distracting to see her bleeding face, but just focus on the polish for a sec. Cute, right? (Note: as a fellow pale-skinned redhead, I'd like to mention that this is what I'd look like if I ran around outside without SPF 60. Practice safe sun, kids!)

After getting help from a blood "donor," Jess cleaned up and headed home to break up with Hoyt. In another pair of jeans, flowery tank (very Sookie-esque) and a cropped jean jacket.

Waaaait a minute. Shiny, gorgeous hair? Cropped jacket? Is Jess trying out for a role on Pretty Little Liars? You know, I think she'd fit in pretty well over in Rosewood. It might serve her well to get away from Bon Temps for a bit.

Also channeling PLL style this week is Lafayette, with his single feather earring!

Oh, Lafayette. #that'ssoaria

Lafayette, poor guy, is settled in for a sofa snooze in his bright blue Snuggie, when suddenly Princess Tiana appears! He's like, "Oh, hell no!"

That being said, once he was possessed by the ghost of Princess T, his pink boat-neck top and headscarf seemed fairly appropriate.

So ladylike!

Luna was also cute in jeans this week. Luuurve her flowery top (darker colours than Jessica's tank, but the cut and shape of it is still so Sookie. Maybe there aren't a lot of shopping options in Bon Temps).

Speaking of Sookie, well, as Kim noted in the mini-recap, she spent a lot of time naked this week. The first clothing-ish thing she changes into is... well... a fur blanket.

And Eric, of course. He's always an excellent accessory.

Sookie's khaki green jacket is ready for action later on, though, when she and her BF sign up to help the vampires fight. I would fight for this jacket:

(We're not going to discuss Eric's corduroy-collared jean jacket. Just focus on the pretty.)

Over in the land of Possibly Evil Babies, Terry and Mikey were rocking matching camouflage shirts this week:

So sweet! (Pay no attention to the Possibly Evil Doll lurking over Mikey's shoulder.)

Arlene was wearing her usual Merlotte's uniform (with a tragic pink fannypack that we also don't need to talk about). Her hairclip was... interesting... I guess?

I think it's like a grapeleaf shape. In tortoiseshell, this would have gone great with her red hair. In blueish purple? Not so much. But I'm going to cut her the usual amount of slack, what with the Possibly Evil Baby and her recently-burned-down-house. Girlfriend has had a rough time of it this season.

Jason was also in uniform for most of this week. But he spent a few memorable moments in this undershirt and jeans.

Other than Eric's romp in Drug-Induced-Siberia, this was the show's only other display of male upper body strength. BRING IN THE SHIRTLESS ALCIDE, SHOW! I mean, um... let's move onto Team Leather!

I Wish I Was the Moon - Part 2 of 2 - Moonshadow

So, we've looked at this week's baddies. This week's heroes were kind of grey, too. It's reached that point of the season where it's hard to tell who's a good guy and who's a bad guy.

Well, we know Sookie's always a good guy. She started off the episode having the pretty yellow sundress from last week ripped off by Erik, but they were sadly interrupted. She then changed into this cute pink hoodie and jean shorts for the rest of the episode.

I like her red sneakers here, too. Did they cast Anna Paquin for her ability to look fabulous in shorts, or did they start dressing her in shorts because Anna Paquin looks so cute? This is a chicken and egg scenario, and I don't suppose we'll ever know.

Tara was also wearing bright pink this week... and no pants.

It's really quite bad-ass of her to grab a gun and answer the door without first putting on a pair of pants. But when it turns out just to be her girlfriend visiting from New Orleans, it all works out OK.

Especially because Naomi's zebra-print top kind of fits in with Lafayette's leopard-print decorating scheme.

I LOVE Naomi's bronze nail polish. What, isn't that what you were looking at when they started making out? ... Just me?

Check out Tara and Naomi, being a functional couple in their complementary outfits! This is the most normal relationship Tara's ever been in, right?

I don't love Lafayette's look here, but he's well outside of his comfort zone in Jesus' Abuelo's Mayan magic shack. I do love that Lafayette is still wearing false lashes. I think he'd feel naked without them.

But we don't have to see that track jacket or those jeans or the yellow bandana again. Ever. OK? Thanks.

Note: this is Sam, not Tommy-pretending-to-be-Sam. I know it can be confusing, because Real Sam is not wearing plaid this week. I can't hate on him too much, though, because he looks really good in these cowboy shirts and jeans. Carry on, shapeshifter.

To anyone who says that the men of Bon Temps all dress alike, I present to you, Alcide. Take note, Jason and Hoyt and Sam and Tommy: this is called a henley. They look especially great on men with extremely muscley torsos.

And if you're going to wear a plaid shirt? Try it with a retro 1970s-inspired brown leather jacket. Yum.

Now, I don't know where Terry and Arlene got these jackets after their house burned down, but I love them. Terry in this Member's Only jacket, comforting his pet armadillo? Priceless. And Arlene's crocheted hoodie looks nice and cozy, the sort of thing you'd want to wrap yourself up in after your possibly-demon-spawn burns down your house.

Poor Luna. She finally decides to take the plunge and date Sam on the exact same day that the role of Sam is being played by his psychopath brother. When she was like, "I know this isn't a mistake!" could she hear the True Blood fans around the world shaking their heads and saying, "Oh honey."

I agree with Kim's call on this as outfit of the week. It's totally my #2 pick and was really cute, for the 0.5 seconds that she was wearing it. Poor her.

Not much to report about Jessica's outfit this week, since the only thing she wore was her Merlotte's uniform. I just wanted to point out how pretty she is. Look at her hair! She is GORGEOUS! That is like, Pretty Little Liars hair! And, considering she was possibly the only waitress at Merlotte's that night (Arlene and Holly busy with their house fires and Sookie fired), she seems remarkably composed.

And Eric wore the sleeveless hoodie and board shorts for the 50000th time in a row. I still love him, even if his outfit is tragic and his haircut is borderline tragic. Look at the puppydog eyes! Even the vampire king couldn't bring himself to kill such a cute little guy.

So Bill's a bad guy... or maybe not? And Eric's a good guy... for now. By next week, I predict that some of these roles will be even harder to differentiate, especially if Marnie starts necromancing all of the vampires.

Can't wait!