Here are the Top 10 Highlights from Episode 1, Nothing But The Blood:
#10 Sookie’s abusive great uncle dies and leaves everything to her. Guess who killed him?
#9 Maryann Forrester shows Tara a famous statue in her backyard called “Pan and Maenad”. See True Blood Maryann Forrester Mystery - What The Heck Is A Maenad? for more information.
#8 Sam remembers a weird sexual encounter he had with Maryann when he was young. He’s having a hard time getting past what he knows about her. He’s become withdrawn from Sookie and those around him.
#7 Jason sees the error of his ways and is now a new follower of the ultra-radical group, The Fellowship of the Sun. He’s even sworn off loose women.
#6 Sookie is pissed off at Bill for creating baby vamp Jessica.
#5 Speaking of which, Bill has his hands full with Jessica. Her thirst for human blood continues. She’s not really a fan of TruBeverage, the synthetic blood beverage.
#4 A new waitress shows up at Merlotte’s. She looks a lot like that chick from The Fellowship of The Sun . . . .
#3 Tara and Eggs get closer. I think Tara should be careful around him.
#2 Sam attempts to pay tribute to Maryann Forrester by giving her money but that’s NOT what she wants . . . .
#1 LAFAYETTE IS ALIVE! He’s a prisoner of ERIC’s, stuck in a dark dungeon. There appears to be something wrong with Eric though.
And here’s the Episode 1 Question of the Week:
“What the hell was wrapped around Eric’s head - aluminum foil?” Tell me what you think in the Comments section.
 |
 |
Get the True Blood Books! Get the low-down on Sookie, Bill, Eric and Sam. Start with the first 2 books. |
9:06PM EST - Late Breaking News:
The dead body in the back of Andy Bellefleur’s car IS NOT Lafayette. It’s Miss Jeanette (the phony witch doctor).
Hurrah!
Now, where the HELL is Lafayette?
More to come. Got to get back to the show!
Pan and Maenad
If you’ve read the Sookie Stackhouse books you know that the creature chasing her is a maenad.
So What Is A Maenad?
If True Blood follows the book a maenad is a creature that requires offerings (or tributes) from other supernatural creatures who serve alcohol. If they’re not properly honored they tend to get angry and cause madness in people (supernatural and human) or even kill them. In the book the maenad attacks Sookie as a way of sending a message to Eric, the owner of Fangtasia (a bar that serves alcohol). This is the maenad’s way of telling Eric that he has to pay her a tribute. Eric knows all too well how vicious a maenad can be - several years earlier he’d experienced a maenad who caused madness in a vampire. The vampire went on a crazed rampage and eventually had to be staked.
Here’s how the maenad is described to Sookie in the book Living Dead in Dallas:
| Bacchus was the god of the grape, of course, so bars are very interesting to maenads. In fact, so interesting that they don’t like other creatures of darkness becoming involved. Maenads believe that the violence sparked by the consumption of alcohol belongs to them; that’s what they feed off, now that no one formally worships their god. And they are attracted to pride.” |
Here’s more:
|
“What’s she gonna do if you don’t pay her tribute?” Sookie asked. “Send her madness.” Bill sounded worried. “Into the bar? Merlotte’s?” The vampires eyed one another. “Or into one of us. It has happened. The Halloween massacre of 1876, in St. Petersburg.” They all nodded solemnly. “I was there,” Eric said. “It took twenty of us to clean up. And we had to stake Gregory, it took all of us to do that. The maenad, Phryne, received tribute after that, you can be sure.” |
In the books, the maenad travels with a large hog. Sound familiar? Yes, we’ve seen Maryann Forrester with a hog more than once in True Blood Season 1.
That’s why Sam (a bar owner) is so spooked when he sees Maryann Forrester. Remember the scene where he takes money from his safe, as if he’s planning to leave? In all likelihood, he’s planning to give the money to Maryann (the maenad) as a tribute.
And that’s your Maenad 101 lesson for the day!
In the last episode of True Blood Sookie, Andy Bellefleur, and Tara discover a dead body in the back seat of Andy’s car, parked outside Merlotte’s. We, the audience, only see one dead foot. An African-American foot. With red nail polish. There are only 3 possible candidates: Lafayette, Tara’s mother, and Miss Jeanette (the phony witch doctor). Let’s look at the evidence:
Exhibit A:
Can You Identify This Foot?
Let’s look at Exhibit B:
Remember when Lafayette was painting his toenails while off duty at Merlotte’s? There’s clearly a reason why this scene is important. I believe Alan Ball, the director and creator of such hits like Six Feet Under, deliberately showed this scene to throw us off. My proof? Read the following excerpt from recent article in TV Guide:
“Since the season premiere picks up right where we left off, the victim’s identity is revealed in short order. As you might have already guessed, Season 2’s first casualty is related to Tara, but not in a way that you will guess. At first blush, the significance of said death will not be apparent, but just wait! Also, a minor character’s drinking problem will resurface — hilariously.”
Does that sound like Lafayette? I think NOT!
If I put on my CSI hat and examine the two feet side-by-side I believe Lafayette’s toes (Exhibit B) are shaped differently from those of the dead person’s.
My conclusion: LAFAYETTE IS NOT DEAD! THE FOOT BELONGS TO TARA’S MOTHER. OR MISS JEANETTE.
Reason for killing Tara’s mother: it allows Maryanne Forrester to remove all of Tara’s family ties.
Reason for killing Miss Jeanette: it may serve to knock Tara’s mother off the wagon since she believed that the witch doctor cured her alcoholism. If Miss Jeanette dies and Tara’s mother starts drinking again Tara will probably distance herself from her - remember she’s still mad that her mother didn’t bail her out of jail.
Bottom line: the dead person in the car is somehow tied to Maryanne Forrester, who has a dark hidden agenda.
But that’s just my opinion. Tell me what you think.
You can run but you can’t hide . . . .
For over a year Corine has been keeping a low profile. She’s been hiding away in Mexico City hoping to start a new life and forget her past. You see, Corine’s got a special gift. When she touches a magically charged object she gets visions of where it’s been, who last held it, and what the owner was doing when the object was last in their possession. She sometimes even gets glimpses of the owner’s future.
But not without paying a painful price.
Before fleeing to Mexico Corine and her boyfriend Chance made their living by putting her talent to good use. They became pretty good at finding missing persons and helping the police nab criminals. Life was okay until their last case almost cost Corine her life. For Corine, that was the tip of the iceberg. She packed up her belongings and disappeared, leaving her old life behind. She now owns a pawn shop and appears to be moving forward with her life.
Until now.
Chance just walked back into her life. He needs her help finding someone that’s dear to both of them: his mother Min. Although Corine wants to tell him to hit the road she’s taken aback when Chance shows her his mother’s pewter Buddha statue, something Min always kept on her person. Touching the object shows Corine that Min was violently abducted and driven away in a white van. Because she developed a close relationship with Min she can’t deny Chance’s request for help.
Thus begins Corine’s dangerous journey into the dark and dangerous world of the supernatural. In order to locate Chance’s mother they must face demons, witches, sorcerers, ghosts, and zombies. Corine thought dealing with gangsters was bad - she’s totally unprepared for battling powerful creatures that have been using black magic all of their lives. She’s completely out of her element and in over her head when dealing with supernatural beings of this magnitude.
And that’s why I love Corine’s character so much. She’s a regular, down-to-earth gal. Does she have super powers? No. Does she have special martial arts training? No. Is she the most beautiful woman on the planet with an athletically-toned body, able to eat anything without gaining weight, and usually seen wearing black leather jackets, skin tight leather pants and stiletto boots with knives and guns strapped to her arms and legs? HELL NO. She’s much more comfortable wearing simple and functional clothing. She’s an average woman who never asked for the “gift” her mother bestowed to her on her death bed.
Don’t get me wrong, I loves me some Rachel Morgan, Anna Strong, Zoey Campbell, Anita Blake (pre-nympho stage), Cassie Palmer. But it’s refreshing to read about a human female heroine who isn’t afraid to admit she’s, well, afraid.
Likewise, Aguirre does a fantastic job fleshing out Corine and Chance’s characters and their relationship to one another. Because this is a first in a new series a significant portion of the book is devoted to getting to know the characters and their past, which helps explain some of their motives and actions. As such we understand why Corine has such a hard time trusting Chance; we accept the internal conflicts that Jesse (a potential love interest for Corine) undergoes when he pits his heart against his value system; and we get it that Corine and Chance’s actions are sometimes counterproductive because their emotions get in the way.
Aguirre’s pacing is another strong point in the book. The world building is refreshingly subtle and allows us to gradually learn about the supernatural world as the story progresses. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of action in this book and a fantastic climax, it’s just not presented in an “in your face” manner.
Overall I found Blue Diablo to be a well written and appealing urban fantasy book. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series. Blue Diablo can be purchased in paperback format or in ebook format from online etailers.
