Drake Lelane,  Jul 12, 2009

True Blood may have taken the 4th of July weekend off, but "Snap and Fingerpop" had plenty of fireworks to make up for it. This week's orgy was -- gulp -- orgy-er; Lafayette is back to his catty, furniture-humping self; and Jason's Light of Day storyline is finally crossing paths with the rest of the fun.

If there was a theme here, it was folks finding themselves in over their heads. Tara is watching a news piece on the Pamploma Running of the Bulls at one point, and it's the perfect analogy for her with MaryAnn's lot, Jason with the Light of Day wackos, and even Lafayette with Eric. The Eric/Lafayette linking, in particular, brought a smile to my face. In fact, there were three specific things that made me especially excited for upcoming episodes.

Right off the bat, Sookie and Bill decided to take Baby Vamp with them to Dallas, ensuring that scenes with only Bill and Sookie will be kept to a minimum. Deborah Ann Woll has been a revelation as Jessica, and even her off-screen dialogue stole scenes involving Bill and Sookie. Whether from inside the travel casket ("How do I get this thing open?!") or from the adjoining room ("I'm on the PHONE!" -- no doubt with Hoyt), having Baby Vamp as teenage daughter is perfect comic relief.

Jason became further entangled with Steve and Sarah, in what is surely the oddest threesome one could imagine. Jason is really running with the bulls here, falling hard for the Madonna/Whore thing that Sarah (played with campy sweetness by the aptly named Anna Camp) is orchestrating. That barbe-cutie even made me like country music (Sammy Kershaw's "Louisiana Hot Sauce") kind of, sort of.

The other thing that has me excited is the aforementioned Eric-Lafayette pairing. How can you not be pumped to have your favorite two characters be forever linked via Lafayette ingesting Eric's healing blood? Lafayette may be running now with his own bull, in the devilish Eric, but at least it will be incredibly entertaining. After Lafayette got his "taste," that furniture-humping dance to Cazwell's "Watch My Mouth" was sure hilarious, especially Alexander Skarsgard's dry reaction as Eric: "How nice for you ... I must fly".

I was tickled to see Lafayette watching the classic The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, as the Ray Harryhausen animated films were a staple in my household growing up. Harryhausen's breakthrough work with stop-motion model animation, in this and later films, was inspiration to special effects masters like Dennis Muren, multi-Oscar winner and long-time head of George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. Here's video of that scene (and if it weren't already enough, it's scored by legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann):

More notes and other thoughts:
• While I didn't find the previous orgies all that orgyish (like I'm some kind of expert), this week's took on a more "earthy" tone. I "dig" how MaryAnn is dirty, dirty, dirty.
• Jason's "dumbisms" can be tiring at times, but his answer to Luke's "God will make sure that evil gets punished" B.S. was pretty funny. "Oh yeah, then explain Europe to me?"
• Meanwhile, he also has a point about Jesus being a vampire. Just saying...
• Alexander Skarsgard was again delicious with his dry delivery in the Eric/Bill exchange. "How mature of you" and "That's Texas."
• If Godrick is twice as old as Eric, then he is older than dirt.
• Daphne says "I know what you are" to Sam, and then Sookie kind of does the same to the bellhop. If these exchanges are as parallel as I think they're meant to be, does that mean Daphne is a shapeshifter?
• For those who didn't catch it, here are the titles for the hotel pay-per-view bloodsucking Adult films: Intercourse with the Vampire, His First Fangbang, Co-Ed Chowdown.

In attempts to get True Blood posts up the night of airing, these playlists will appear a tad incomplete until updated on Monday. UPDATED!

Playlist: True Blood - Episode 2.04
1. "Beni Beni (Acoustic)" - Niyaz: Tara informs MaryAnn she's moving in w/ Sookie
2. "Wrong Path" - Stock music from 5 Alarm Music: discussing Miss Jeanette's autopsy
3. "Walkin' in the Shadow of the Blues" - Little Charlie & the Nightcats: Tara checks in on Lafayette
4. "Rhythm Bound" - Steve Byers (via HDMUSICNOW): Sookie finds out Sam is leaving through Terry
5. "Louisiana Hot Sauce" - Sammy Kershaw: Jason fantasizes Sarah dancing
6. "Nowhere to Go" - Stock music from Black Toast Music: Sam cuts Andy off at the bar
7. "Shake and Fingerpop" - Junior Walker: Sam shows up at Tara's birthday party
8. "Dig" - Headbone ft Tense Young Man: Tara's birthday party revs up
9. "Wellness Farm" - Saafi Brothers (from album Midnight Children): Bill & Sookie check into hotel
10. "The Duel With The Skeleton" - Bernard Herrmann (From The 7th Voyage of Sinbad - YouTube): Lafayette watches TV/Eric at window
11. "Finale" (From The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) - Bernard Herrmann: Lafayette feasts on Eric's blood
12. "Watch My Mouth" - Cazwell: Lafayette dances after Eric's blood takes affect
13. "Aqua Dub" - Peyote Sound System: Bill & Eric talk in the hotel lobby
14. "Dig" (reprise) - Headbone ft Tense Young Man - closing credits

Previously: "Scratches": Control Issues

drake lelane
curator of the music/soundtrack blog thus spake drake
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