Archive for August 2010
Since he removed poor Jerry’s spine, I have been saying that Russell Edding is batshit crazy, but I was sorely mistaken. I had forgotten about The Shock Doctrine.
While Bill practices the SD on a personal level, Russell admitted to a being political practitioner on a national, if not global, scale. He spilled the beans to Sookie when he explained the chain of events that his act of terrorism set in motion.
Terrorism–>Fear–>Social Disorder–>Anarchy–>Russell Edgington, the strong man who restores order
Talbot’s death didn’t send Russell off the deep end. Talbot was the one person who was restraining Russell’s megalomania. Russell never eviscerated anyone on television before because he didn’t want to have to deal with Talbot’s reaction, just like he didn’t want to face Talbot after beheading the magister.
Thought to be extinct for most of the 20th century due to over logging, recent sitings give hope that the the ivory billed woodpecker, code named Elvis by birders, still lives in areas of remote wetland forests. Fairy Lake, on the border between Texas and Louisiana, is one of the prime candidates for finding hidden pockets of this elusive creature.
I don’t now what they say about it in Louisiana, but on this side of the border, Fairy Lake is known as the only honest lake in Texas since it’s the only natural one in a state the size of France. That’s notable because the only honest character in True Blood goes there to meditate, but Hoyt calls it by its more common name, Caddo Lake.
Is it just me, or does the shape of the lake bear a resemblance to the Chinese dragon on the shirt Lafayette wore the day that Hoyt was at Fairy Lake and the day after Sookie discovered she was a fairy? Have I mentioned that Chinese dragons are associated with control over water, rain, and flooding?
Historically the area was a no man’s land, providing a buffer zone between English and French, then American and Spanish/ Mexican settlements and a haven for criminals, swindlers, rustlers, revolutionaries, societal outcasts, and a racially mixed population referred to as redbones. The shenanigans that were going on there led to a feud known as the Regulator-Moderator War, which I’ll mention again later. Promise. Basically, enough law abiding citizens finally got fed up with the lawlessness in no man’s land to form a vigilante army to keep order. Another group of vigilantes formed to keep the first group in check, and as you can imagine, the two didn’t see eye to eye on very much.
No one seems quite sure how Fairy Lake got its original name, but the spelling was changed to Ferry by the Corps of Engineers and later renamed for the Caddo Indians, a confederacy of farming tribes who were part of the mound building Mississippian culture. Even though they lived in the area for over a thousand years, the Caddoans’ relationship with the lake is difficult to understand. They only discovered the largest body of fresh water in the South in the 19th century. Tribal legend says that it was formed at that time during the New Madrid earthquakes. However, it’s now thought that the lake was formed centuries ago from flooding due to the the Great Raft, a thousand year old 160 mile log jam in the Red River, which prevented the river from draining into the Mississippi and rendered it impossible to navigate. Tree rings indicate Fairy Lake has existed at least for the past six hundred years.
At the dawn of steam power, riverboat captain Henry Miller Shreve, who became famous for boldly going in his steamship, the Enterprise, up the Mississippi River, where no man had gone before, designed a steamboat for clearing log jams. He was ordered by the US government to use his new steamboat, the Heliopolis, to disassemble the Great Raft, a task that took over 5 years. When the Red River was finally opened to boat travel, Shreve advised Congress to appropriate funds to keep the river clear of debris. They ignored him and in only three years, the river was again closed to shipping and the second Great Raft had to be disassembled to reopen it.
To take advantage of new commercial opportunities, a township formed on the Red River in Caddo parish at the head of where the Great Raft had once been; it was named Shreveport in honor of the captain who had made the town possible.
Today the metropolitan Shreveport-Bossier area straddles Caddo and De Soto parishes. The latter is named for the first European to explore the area. Hernando De Soto brought death and disease with him that decimated the native population. Oh, the irony! Remember De Soto’s Pharmacy on the way back from Mamaw’s Mud Bugs in Keatchie? It was the place of employment of Nancy Lavoir, a.k.a Ms. Jeanette. Tara lost her peace of mind there, and Lettie Mae didn’t get the relief from her physical suffering that she expected from a pharmacy. Remember kiddies, nothing good will come from an encounter with De Soto, so don’t believe all the false promises!
From the ridiculous, to the sublime. As unfitting as it is to name a pharmacy after Hernando de Soto, the city of Shreveport is ideally suited to Eric Northman. The word ‘shreve’ is an old form of ‘sheriff,’ so the vampire entrepreneur and lawman is based in a city named ‘Sheriff’s Port’ situated on the bank of the Red River that was founded on crass commercialism. That’s just so giving I’m not sure whether to point out that the Red River is a metaphor for the blood Eric survives on or that Fangtasia is a metaphorical port where tourists and fangbangers flow in, empty their pockets for the port authority, and flow out on a river of blood. How could it be more perfect? What if the lifeless looking brown river could only appear beautiful and glamorous it the moonlight.
While the removal of the Great Raft gave life to the Red River, it threatened to turn Fairy Lake into a swamp. A dam was built to preserve and protect what nature had created. However, liquid gold was soon discovered in the lake, and it became the site for the first underwater oil drilling operation in 1911. The lake was immediately exploited; derricks sprang up all over it. Howard Hughes, Sr., who made the family fortune with his rock eating drill head, tested it during the drilling at Caddo Lake.
The oil industry moved on and left the lake, but the battle between those who wished to protect Fairy Lake and those who wished to exploit it continued. Further ecological damage occurred when the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant was built on its shore, just outside of Karnack, Texas, the home of first lady and nature lover Ladybird Johnson. The exploitive nature of her relationship with LBJ was recently discussed at TBU.
Fairy Lake is the setting of the real life story of Harriet Moore Page Potter Ames. Her memoirs were fictionalized in Love is a Wild Assault. Soloman Page, Harriet’s first husband, left her and their two children to starve on an isolated Texas farm while he joined the Revolution.
After surviving on wild plants and selling nearly all of her prossessions, she and her children were rescued by the Secretary of the Texas Navy, Robert Potter. He lied to her, abducted her, and conned her to marry him even though she was still married to her first husband. He promised to introduce a bill into the state legislature that would make her first marriage invalid, so that she would not be a bigamist. They built a house on Fairy Lake, and Harriet had two more children.
For the second time, Harriet was left by a husband hell bent on fighting a war. Potter left his family to get involved in the Regulator-Moderator War. Unlike her first husband, he managed to get himself killed. When his newly made will was read, Harriet discovered that it made no mention of a wife or children and left their homestead to another woman. Harriet was referred to in the will as Mrs. Harriet Page, even though Potter had always assured her that Page had never been her legal husband. After years of litigation that went to the Texas Supreme Court, Harriet was eventually dispossessed of her beloved home on Fairy Lake.
Harriet’s story and the one of Fairy Lake and the ivory billed woodpecker seem especially evocative of season 3 of True Blood with Sookie just starting to realize Bill’s treachery, visiting the fairy pond, and learning that she is the rarest of all creatures and the object of a maniacal hunt.
*Photo of Caddo Lake courtesy of Crip’s Camp. **Caddo is one of the few lakes to have escaped development and is a UN protected wetland, but is far from the pristine wilderness it appears. Snakes found at Fairy Lake have the highest levels of mercury ever recorded in living wildlife. ****There is a long history of Bigfoot sightings at Fairy Lake. ***As the native populations dealt with the effects of colonization, the Caddo tribes found themselves on the wane. Remnants of other Mississippian tribes migrated into the area. The Choctaw, a subject of the TB Comic Books, were just such a reformulated tribe who, by the 19th century, had spread throughout Louisiana and Eastern Texas, including the area around Fairy Lake.Synopsis
Bill tries to earn back Sookie’s trust, but ends up bringing her face-to-face with fresh dangers. Knowing he’s no physical match for the King, Eric tempts Russell with the “ultimate vampire dream.” Jason tries to wrap his head around Crystal’s revelation. Sam embraces his dark side, alienating everyone except Tara. Hoyt and Jessica take their romance to the next level; with Holly’s help, Arlene puts her future in the hands of a goddess; post V-trip, Lafayette struggles with new demonsWritten by Nancy Oliver; directed by Daniel Minahan.
Parallels
They are few and far between in this episode.
Predicted by Artemis
2.11 Jessica and Hoyt break up.
3.11 Jessica and Hoyt get back together.
Predicted by TalkTrueBlood
2×11- QSA offers to share Hadley with Bill as a nice gesture to her guest.
3×11- Eric…share[s] Sookie with Russell as part of his plan.
Other Parallels
1.11 Amy manipulates Jason by saying that she’ll go on the last V trip alone
3.11 Jesus manipulates Laffy by saying not to make him go on another trip alone.
3.11 Crystal manipulates Jason by saying she’s going to Hot Shot with or without him.
3.0? Eric can’t help Sookie deal with her mess because he has to save Pam.
3.11 Jason leaves the mess that Crystal has dumped on him by saying he has to go look for Sookie.
1.11 Sam is looking for Tara and leaves a message on her phone.
2.11 Lafayette is looking for Sookie and when she answers warns her to get out of the house before MA returns.
3.11 Jason is looking for Sookie and leaves a message on her phone.
2.11 Maryann plans for a birth.
3.11 Holly plans for an abortion.
s1, 2, and 3 Sookie overlooks the murders Bill commits because his love is what gives her life meaning.
3.11 Hoyt isn’t interested in Jessica’s past, only that her love saved him.
2.11 Eggs is a lifeless shell until Tara returns to Maryann
3.11 Hoyt says that when they broke up it felt like someone cut off his arms and legs and he couldn’t do anything without Jess.
1.11 Sookie tells Sam that when this is over she’s going to rent a convertible and go to the Gulf.
3.11 Sookie and Bill fantasize about starting fresh when this is all over.
3.12 Tara drives away in a convertible to start fresh.
1.11 Sookie talks about not being able to count on Bill.
2.11 Sookie talks about not being able to count on Bill to help them rescue Tara from MA.
3.11 Sookie talks about not being able to count on Bill.
Tarot Parallels
10. Strength
The iconography depicted on this card is that of a young maiden with a lion, and it expresses the concepts of strength, courage, and self-discipline.*
S1 E11: In a shocking display of a lack of self control, Bill attacks Sam when he sees Sam and Sookie engaged in a kiss. Sookie has the inner emotional strength to rescind Bill’s invitation, thus saving Sam’s life.*
S2 E11: After being freed of MA’s influence regaining her self control, Tara courageously (and rather foolishly) attempts to rescue Eggs.*
S3E11: Sookie rescues Bill from Pam.
*Pennyddreadful
‘I Smell A Rat‘
Synopsis
Sookie is warned about the dangers she will have to deal with. Dark memories surface for Sam. Arlene must ask Holly for help while Jason faces unexpected dealings with Tara and Crystal. Jesus’ interest in V’s qualities is aroused. Russell vows to inflict punishment on his enemies. After precautions, Eric satisfies a wish.
Parallels and Predictions
I’m late with parallels for the last 3 episodes, but I haven’t forgotten them. I’m hoping to get one published each weekend.
Sunny predicted that Bill would lie about the character of the fae to cast them in a negative light, and he did make Sookie believe that they are rapists.
Enjoying predicted:
Eric will not get help from the NAN
Sam will give in to his dark side and be a bad a** for some time .
Holt and baby vamp Jessica will get back together .
Tara and Sam will get back together[.]
Bill and Sookie will break up but she won’t be with Eric[.]
The queen is going to be up set at Bill.
The queen is going to be up set at Bill
Predicted Parallels by TalkTrueBlood
2×10- Sookie dreams of comforting Eric with a kiss.
3×10- Sookie actually comforts Eric with a kiss.
2×10-Sookie and Jason have a conversation.
3×10-Sookie and Jason have a conversation.
2×10-Bill meets with QSA.
[3x12]-Bill meets with QSA.
2×10-Hoyt is turned off by Jessica’s aggressive nature.
3×10-[Hoyt accepts] Jessica’s aggressive nature.
Predicted Parallels by Artemis
2.09 Eric tells Godric to fight back.
3.10 Pam tells Eric to fight back.
2.09 Godric appoints Isabel as his replacement.
3.10 Eric leaves his assets to Pam in his will.
2.09 Nan Flanagan deals with the PR mess after the bomb.
3.10 Nan Flanagan deals with the PR mess after RE’s TV appearance.
2.10 Jason learns that Sam is a shifter.
3.10 Jason learns that Crystal and her family are were-panthers.
2.10 Sam is a victim and hunted down by Maryann.
3.10 Sam is a perpetrator and aggressor in his dark past.
1.10 and 3.10 Parallels
1.10 Amy tells Eric’s doppel, Eddie, that withholding is lying.
3.10 Sookie tells Eric’s doppel, Jason, that withholding is lying.
1.10 Sam sleeps in Bills bed, wears his clothes, and reveals to Sookie his true nature.
3.10 Sam becomes Bill’s doppel, stealing, and murdering in cold blood, and revealing his dark side to everyone at Merlotte’s.
1.10 Sam explains what shifters are to Sookie.
3.10 Bill explains what faeries are to Sookie.
1.10 Sam and Sookie fight because he hid his true nature from her.
3.10 Bill and Sookie don’t fight because he doesn’t tell her that her blood allows vampires to daywalk.
1.10 Ms. Jeanette makes a counterclockwise circle around Tara during her exorcism.
3.10 Holly makes a counterclockwise circle for Arlene’s abortion.
3.10 Winnie and Mae make a clockwise circle around their bed for protection.
Since magic harnesses the power of nature, magic circles are made in a clockwise direction. It’s not effective to try to go against the sun.
1.10 Sam is on a ladder to prepare for Arlene’s engagement.
1.10 Ms. Jeanette is on a ladder preparing a display at De Soto’s Pharmacy.
3.10 Maryann is on a ladder to prepare for Sam’s sacrifice and her wedding.
1.10 Sookie wears a blue top with yellow flowers after fighting with Sam.
3.10 Sookie wears a blue dress with yellow flowers after fighting with Bill.
1.10 Lettie Mae sleeps on the sofa.
3.10 Sookie sleeps on the sofa.
1.10 Arlene says that it looks like Christmas with the red and green lanterns too close together.
3.10 It looks like Halloween at Fangtasia with skulls and skeletons everywhere.
1.10 Terry and Sam talk about family history.
3.10 Bill tells Sookie about her family history.
1.10 Sam’s Heineken Light is stored under a table. (Don’t hide your light under a barrel.)
3.10 Eric’s Heineken Light is stored on the top shelf with True Blood next to it.
1.10 Sam revealed himself to Sookie.
2.10 Sam revealed himself to Jason and Andy.
3.10 Crystal revealed herself to Jason.
1.10 Sam is naked in front of Sookie.
2.10 Sam is naked in front of Jason and Andy.
3.10 Sam is naked in front of the couple who betrayed him.
1.10 Jessica prays the 23rd Psalm. (The Lord is my shepherd…)
2.10 Laffy and Lettie May pray Psalm 103 (Bless the LORD, O my soul…)
(Both psalms speak about the soul being restored, and the Lord watching over and caring for those who are his.)
3.10 A shepherd’s crook is shown behind Eric as he makes out his will so that Pam will be taken care of.
2.10 and 3.10 Parallels
2.10 Jason and Bill have a man to man exchange about saving the town.
3.10 Jason and Bill have a man to man exchange about protecting Sookie.
2.10 Laffy feels bad about kicking Tara out on her birthday.
3.10 Jason isn’t happy to see Sookie at his house, but he lets her stay.
2.10 Possessed Tara gleefully announces that Dionysus is going to kill them all.
3.10 Terrified Tara tells Sookie that she’s going to do whatever she has to survive.
2.10 Maryann prepares for a fertility ritual to bring forth a demon.
3.10 Holly prepares for a ritual that will destroy the demon in Arlene’s womb.
2.10 An egg has been broken over the birdlady statue as part of Maryann’s fertility ritual.
3.10 Laffy and Jesus watch Tia Luca perform a fertility ritual with an egg.
2.10 Sookie discovers MA has invaded her house.
3.10 Jason discovers that Sookie has invaded his house.
2.10 Sam has resigned himself to dying for the greater good.
3.10 Eric has resigned himself to dying for the greater good.
2.10 Like Eric, Sam selflessly gives himself up to the frenziers to save those he cares about.
3.10 Like Bill, Sam is shown to be a thief and a cold blooded murderer in a flashback.
2.10 Hero Jason secures Merlotte’s, but the frenziers break in.
3.10 Hero Jason protects Sookie, but she leaves.
2.10 Andy takes an important personal step when he says that’s the last drink he’ll ever take.
3.10 Andy takes in important personal step when he confesses to Tara about what happened to Eggs and his inadequacy.
2.10 A distraught Tara tells Sookie she’s crazy.
3.10 A distraught Tara tells Jason that she’s fucked up.
2.10 Sookie comforts Tara by telling her, “It wasn’t you.” (Yes, it was.)
3.10 Bill excuses his attack on Sookie by telling her, “It wasn’t me.” (Yes, it was.)
2.10 Bill leaves Sookie behind and runs off to ask the queen about serial killer and maenad Maryann.
3.10 Sookie leaves Bill behind and runs off to ask Eric about serial killer Bill.
2.10 Sookie has to stay away from her home because of MA.
3.10 Sookie has to stay away form her home because of RE and Debbie.
2.10 Sookie wakes up in a dream when Eric goes in for a bite. Jason is present.
3.10 Sookie wakes up in a dream when Eric goes in for a bite. Jason is present.
Other Parallels
2.12 Jason and Andy cover up Eggs’s murder.
3.10 Jason and Tara cover up Franklin Mott’s murder.
1.10 Sam revealed himself to Sookie.
2.10 Sam revealed himself to Jason and Andy.
3.12 Sam revealed himself to Tara.
3.10 Jesus says Laffy must have a plan for saving Calvin.
3.12 Eric tells Bill that he has a plan for saving Sookie.
(Traumatized Crystal being told by Jesus to trust Laffy’s plan parallels traumatized Sookie and Bill who has to trust Eric’s plan.)
3.10 Bill goes outside into the darkness.
3.11 Eric goes outside into the daylight.
3.10 Holly tells Sam she gives people remedies. He doesn’t want any.
s2 Tara tells Sam that MA gives people advice. He doesn’t want any.
3.10 Arlene confesses to Terry that the baby isn’t his and she doesn’t want it.
3.10 Jason confesses to Tara about the death of Eggs.
3.10 Skeletons are all over Laffy’s house and hallucination.
3.10 Skeletons are all over Fangtasia.
3.10 Abuela’s green ring and necklace glow as she preforms magic.
3.10 Tia Luca’s green ring glows as she preforms magic.
3.10 Holly wears a large green ring as she performs a Wiccan ritual, but it doesn’t shine.
3.12 Green Mardi Gras beads shine as they dangle from the rear view mirror of Laffy’s car, waiting for Tara to claim them.
3.10 Sam confesses to Tara what he is after an affair with her.
3.10 Jason confesses to Tara about killing Eggs before letting her get physical.
3.10 Sookie leaves a note telling Jason she’ll be back soon, but she won’t be.
3.12 Tara tells Sookie that she’ll be back soon, but she won’t be.
3.0? Sam’s parents camp out in their van.
3.10 The couple that betrayed Sam (and look like a young verson of his parents) camp out in their El Camino.
3.10 Jason withdraws his invitation to Bill.
3.12 Sookie withdraws her invitation to Bill and all vampires.
*Steve sits in a grandiose version of Eric’s s3 throne.
*Hoyt’s beat up old truck is a doppel for Sookie’s house. It will get restored in the course of the series like her house will.
*Bill and Sookie both have blond eyebrows.
Tarot Parallels
10. The Wheel of Fortune
Fortuna’s ever spinning wheel represents those things that are beyond our control. It is blind undeserved luck (either good or ill) pure and simple.*
S1 E10: Trapped in a car trunk and surrounded by vampires, Jessica has the very bad luck of being turned against her will.*
S2 E10: Trapped in a walk in freezer and surrounded by zombified townspeople, Sam has the very bad luck of being Maryann’s intended sacrifice.*
S3 #10: Trapped in the dungeon, Sookie has the bad luck of being of a gift for Russell Edginton.
*Pennyddreadful
He’s a long time resident of Bon Temps and the narrator of the new True Blood comic book.
Ted is an interesting guy. He drinks blood like a vampire, reads minds like a telepath, and shifts into a creature with an extended lower jaw like a wolf.
He may not be a vampire or a werewolf, but we’ve met his kind before. Remember Liam?
He was no more a vampire than Ted is a human. While Jason thought he was seeing vampire porn, he was watching something all together different.
This is what he saw.
The distortions in this picture are not due to filters or vamp speed. Prosthetics on Graham Shiels’s chest and back pop out while he’s having sex with Maudette.
Liam’s tattoo reveals what he really is, a shapeshifting parasitic tentacled creature.
Like Ted
Sam says that the local Choctaw worshiped spirits like Ted. Lala knows that they fed on souls with evil thoughts. Eric gives them a name. Ted is an Imp Shaloop.
Ted has an agenda that involves bringing all the characters in the principle cast together on a dark and stormy night. He’s seeking vengeance. To find out what for, we’ll have to read the next issue.
Before realizing that Imp Shaloops can read minds, a cool thinking Eric formulates a plan that involves offering Sookie’s telepathic services to Ted so that he can identify who done him wrong and leave everyone else in peace.
Hotheaded Sookie cast aspersions on Eric’s honor though. He retorts that there’s a difference between being honorable and being stupid and adds that she and her vampire should learn the difference.
That’s about when Bill arrives…late. Ted is squashing rednecks and ho’s like they were bubble wrap, but Bill feels the need to offer an excuse for his rear entry into Merlotte’s; he had to go around back because the rain washed out the main road. The subtle homosexual cues that are associated with Bill in the show become overt in the comic book.
Ted immediately notices that Bill is no ordinary vampire and thinks, “It’s true. There is something different about this vampire.”
Could Bill’s uniqueness have something to do with his transformation into a beast that has been discussed at TBU? It’s difficult to see the transformation in the screencaps, but when Bill bites Sookie’s arm in Alcide’s van, his normal wavy locks transform into a mat of short spiky fur, like a bear’s. When he flips Sookie over, he again transforms, and his head and shoulders are that of a beast for a few frames. The same thing also happens during the false memory of Gran’s murder. In slow motion, for a few seconds, it is a dark shadow that attacks Gran, not a man, and the outline of that dark shadow looks much more like Bill’s profile than René’s.
Comic Book Bill wants to know, “Do you know me?” but Ted just tells him that he gets around. Did Liam inform Ted that Bill was more than just a vampire? Did Liam feed on Bill’s dark soul? Is Ted seeking pay back for Liam’s death? Time will tell.
After Bill finally shows up, his grandstanding expands to comic book proportions; he informs Ted that he’s killed enough and that the living are now under his protection. Predictably Ted makes fast work of Bill and asks if Bill ever gets tired of being so obnoxiously noble, to which Bill deadpans, “I do not.” Issue number one ends with Ted tightening his tentacles around the near to bursting Bill, and the great man, choking out, “I love you, Sookie.”
Almost as interesting as the story is the promos that were chosen at the end of the comic book. They cover touch on all the territory that has been explored at TBU and TAP as part of the subtext in TB.
Dungeons and Dragons Resurrected In Comic Book Form
The Man with the Getaway Face
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper
It, the Terror from Beyond Space
Strange Science Fantasy–Witness a world filled with car-worshiping grease monkeys that’s literally speeding out of control!!!! These are the strangest lives you’ll ever know! Scott Morse (who wrote and illustrated the Buffy comicbooks) takes us on a six-issue sojourn that will make you question your own sanity!!!!
After last night I thought it was time to revisit the Psycho post. I changed the name from Down the Rabbit Hole to something more relevant.
Note: This is an extra special post for Kitten who just finished watching s1. It is redacted from the first post in the series on Eric and Jason to eliminate spoilers. The original has been updated and photos have been added.
True Blood is blessed with two charismatic blond alpha males. One is human, the other vampire. Both are the desire of all women and the envy of all men. They are lovers and fighters and rock stars in their little worlds of Bon Temps and Fangtasia. They don’t hide or make excuses for what they are. As Amy said, “With Jason, it’s all on the surface,” and Sookie will eventually learn the same could be said of Eric because these two characters are doppelgangers or doubles.
The connection between Jason and Eric is established early in season 1 when we see them each at work. Jason is introduced first as the foreman of a road crew. He wears a yellow and orange safety vest over his bare chest, a nod to Eric’s first appearance in Dead Until Dark when he wore a leather vest without a shirt underneath when he met Sookie.
Jason is isolated from his workers. As they toil in the sweltering sun, he finds as much comfort as possible in the shade. He relaxes in a folding chair lined with a towel, oblivious to his crew. He’s on the phone trying to keep his mind off the murder he thinks he committed.
Jason is attempting to make a date with Merlotte’s waitress Dawn Green. Although it is clear that she intends to go out with him, Dawn plays hard to get and makes him work for the privilege. Before Jason can close the deal though, the police interrupt their conversation. Bud and Andy want to question Jason. He promises to call Dawn back.
When Eric is introduced three episodes later, an eerily similar scene is played out at Fangtasia. He sprawls under the spotlights in an antique fur lined chair to keep himself warm in the cold dark club, a reverse image of Jason’s summer environment with its bright sunshine and relentless heat. Eric’s inhuman stillness is also a counterpoint to Jason’s animated features. The alienation between worker and boss that was depicted on the road crew is repeated at Fangtasia. Eric sits isolated on a dais and ignores all but his second in command, Pam. Similarly, Jason only interacted with his second, René.
When Eric develops an interest in another waitress from Merlotte’s we might expect a flirtation to parallel the one that Jason had on the phone with Dawn, but the roles have switched. Sookie is not the available sex partner Dawn was. She is an investigator asking Eric questions similar to the ones Bud asked Jason before he was taken into custody. We learn that like Jason, Eric holds a low opinion of Maudette, but views Dawn as worthy of his attention.
Once Eric has answered Sookie’s questions, he invites her to take a seat so that he can charm her. Is her disinterest as phony as Dawn’s was when she was on the phone with Jason? Eric’s encounter with Sookie is interrupted just as Jason’s was with Dawn, by the police intruding into his business. Notably, in both cases the men are innocent of the crimes the police suspect them of and victims of circumstance.
If Eric’s first appearance mirrors Jason’s, missing is a cell phone and a failed attempt to make a date. However, when Eric appears again later, he is enthroned once more at Fangtasia, but this time he is futilely texting Bill on his phone to arrange a meeting with Sookie. Now there is a parallel to the unconfirmed date made over the phone. Eventually Eric will go to Bill’s house to ensure a second meeting with the woman who has captured his interest, paralleling Jason’s unexpected visit to Dawn’s house after the police release him.
Jason was trying to run away from his fears; Eric is dealing with the boredom of living a thousand years. Their coping mechanism is the same–sex. What they don’t realize is that their sexual pursuits will trigger existential crises. Dawn launched Jason on the path to personal development when she made him realize that he cannot compete sexually with vampires, and Sookie will do the same for Eric when he starts to rediscover his humanity.
I’m totally out of my element talking about chess, but I’m not going to let that stop me. ;~)
Chess is particularly apropos for Eric to be playing at this point in the plot because the object of the game is to capture the king, rendering him powerless, which is exactly what Eric needs to do to Russell somehow.
Talbot’s chess set is based on Greek mythology and loaded with meaning. Zues and Aphrodite are king and queen, and Asklepios, the snake wielding god of healing, is the bishop. The centaur is the knight, and Pan the pawn.
First Eric leads with Aphrodite the Goddess of Love, but Talbot captures her replaying Eric giving up his queen to Russell.
Then he checkmates Talbot with a bishop, Asklepios.
In addition to being a healer, he is the son of Apollo, the Greek god most closely associated with the Hebrew god because of his association with truth, light, knowledge, healing, and prophecy. This is significant because Eric is frequently portrayed as both a healer and the Son of God.
Petulantly Talbot wiped the board when Eric’s win was a foregone conclusion. However, several of Eric’s pieces are left standing. Is there any significance in them? All that is left on the board is Zues, a rook, and 3 pawns in the form of Pan, the god associated with panic.
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