True Blood - S3e2 - Beautifully Broken - Recap

Welcome back to Bon Temps, y'all. Hope I didn't keep you waiting on this recap too long. Without much further ado, let's get into it.



Beautifully Broken begins from precisely where we left off last week. Bill is covered in wounds and blood and in the middle of an imbroglio with the werewolves. Bill tears the ear off a werewolf and grits down, ready to battle another wolf. Several naked werewolves, reverted to their human form, lie badly injured around the forest clearing. As the wolf prepares to lunge, a well dressed man orders it to heel as he rides in on horseback. Bill addresses the man as "Your Majesty;" as we meet the Vampire King of Mississippi. He addresses the remaining werewolves, telling them he ordered escort service for Bill. The lead werewolf, Cooter, calls Bill an animal and threatens to make him more dead. Bill can't help but laugh at his name. The King defends Cooter's sensitivity over his sobriquet and the unfortunate evisceration of his friends. The King reprimands Cooter for improvising on the plan; when he gives an order, he wants it followed to the letter. Bill is incredulous; the wolves work for The King? The King apologizes that they do, but not as well as he hoped, for which he apologizes. Bill is angry; he was abducted by werewolves, dragged across state lines, had silver taken to him, and they fed on his blood. The King is not very happy at this revelation; he draws a pistol, aims it at Cooter, and then shoots his accomplice. The King orders Bill to join him back at his home, extending a gloved hand to aide him onto the back of his horse. The two ride off.

♫ I wanna do bad things to you... ♫

Lafayette busts down the bathroom door to get to Tara. He sees her choking down pills and forces her to the toilet and urges her to vomit out the pills. He accuses Lettie Mae of "being too busy praising Jesus to notice she's about to move in with him, permanently." He throws Lettie aside as he prepares to take Tara to the hospital.

Over at Fangtasia, Eric is looking at a drawing of the symbol Sookie and Jessica found on the dead werewolf. She explains that it stands for Operation Werewolf, some sort of Nazi werewolf organization. Sookie is convinced they must be supernatural if they were fast and strong enough to get Bill. Eric denies any knowledge of the symbol, claiming to have never seen it before. Sookie accuses Eric of blowing her off, and he sends Pam and Jessica away so he can talk with Sookie. Alone together, Eric shares what he knows about werewolves with Sookie. There is a reason they have remained a myth for years, they are territorial, ferocious, vicious and pathologically secretive. Eric accuses Sookie of being so singularly focused on Bill's return, that she is likely to draw too much attention to herself; either drawing unnecessary attention, or getting herself killed. Eric says it is because she is HUMAN, and Sookie says that is an underestimation of who she is. Eric tells her that she is the one underestimating herself, as her value is more important than she lets herself believe.

In the ladies' room, Jessica ask Pam some vital vampire questions. "When feeding on someone, how do you prevent from killing them?" Pam is surprised that Jessica hasn't gotten the 'talk' from Bill, but as Jessica tells her, Bill doesn't want her feeding on real people. Pam tells her it is in the heartbeat... when it starts to slow, stop feeding. Jessica wants to know HOW to stop, and Pam tells her to think of something gross; dead babies with soggy diapers or maggots work for her. What if you did kill someone, how would you get rid of the body?

Eric tells Sookie that she has no connections in the were-community, and they won't answer her questions. Sookie appeals to Eric, invoking Godric's name. Eric gets upset and tells Sookie that Bill is no Godric. She starts to cry, hoping to get Eric's sympathy. Pam and Jessica come out from the ladies' room, and Jessica tells Sookie she needs to get home before dawn.

We cut to a close-up of Eric's eye as he has a flashback. He and Godric are hiding in the shadows of a farmhouse during World War II. They witness a soldier enter and he finds a naked women, cowering in a closet. The soldier offers her assistance and his coat. The woman transforms into a wolf and attacks the soldier, tearing apart his face. Eric and Godric appear, she leaps in attack, but Godric reacts quickly, grabs the soldiers rifle and stabs her in the arm with a bayonet. She turns back into her human form, pinned against the wall by the blade. She yells at them, telling them they are on the same side. Eric pushes her hair back with the blade of a knife, revealing her Operation Werewolf marking. He tells her they are not on the same side, and stabs her in the other arm.

Back in the dark forest, Bill and the King approach a lavish estate. Upon entry, a man tells The King he is late, and The King addresses him as Talbot while he introduces Bill Compton. Talbot welcomes Bill to Mississippi, apologizes for not being dressed to entertain, since he was expected the day prior. He offers to show Bill to his room, newly redecorated and including a bed that once belonged to Countess Elizabeth Bathory, Hungary's legendary serial killer. He is shown to his room, a well-appointed, light tight suite. The doors are without internal handles, and are 100% Sterling Silver. He is told that he is being attended to, and anything he needs, he shouldn't hesitate to ask. Bill accuses them of holding him captive, which is not the way to get off to the right start. The King tells him that once he hears his proposal, he will be free to go if he so wishes. Talbot excuses themselves from the room, leaving Bill to rest. As he and The King walk away, The King remarks that he thinks he will need to bring in the girl.

Tara insists that she vomited all the pills and doesn't need to go to the hospital. Lafayette pulls the car to the side of the road and reminds her that she attempted suicide. Tara did it on a whim, she didn't plan it. Lafayette didn't need that sort of bad juju, he'd blame himself for her death if he doesn't take her to the hospital. Tara insists a hospital is no place for her. They'll lock her up in a padded room, pump her with drugs and force her to tell them the truth. Once she talks about Eggs and Maryann they will think she's crazy and throw away the key. Lafayette tells her Eggs would have wanted her to live, and she denies that, reminding him that Eggs is dead and can't want for anything anymore. She cries about how her happiest time was under a spell. Lafayette invokes Buddhist teaching, "Life is suffering." He pledges to drag Tara through life kicking and screaming if he has to, but she doesn't get to leave him behind. Lafayette starts the car, and Tara asks what he's doing. He's planning on getting some food in her before showing her something.

Sookie brings Jessica back to Bill's house. She offers to stay with her if she'd like, but Jessica reminds her that as a vampire, she doesn't need a babysitter. Off in the shadows, Hoyt is waiting for Jessica with a 4-pack of True Blood, B-Positive. Jessica tries to brush him off, but he insists he has to be there for her. He claims to understand her hunger, equating it to seeing people wearing hamburgers on their necks. She tells him it isn't like that, it is in her nature. He tells her that running back to his mama is in his nature, and he's working to change that. He wants to fight nature together. Jessica enters the house and shuts the door in his face. She cries, and he kicks at the door. She walks inside and goes to the crawlspace and checks on the body. She exhales loudly, sniffles and climbs to ground.

Sookie returns home. A noise in the kitchen startles her and she kicks out, hitting her brother in the family jewels. "It's 5am, what are you doing eating my chicken in the dark?" Jason couldn't sleep, and he was concerned over how Gran would be upset over the state of her house, so he came to clean up a spell. He tells Sookie he assumed she'd be with Bill, and she starts crying. A few hours later the Stackhouse kids are still scrubbing away in the kitchen. Sookie is telling Jason that werewolves exist and he asks about Bigfoot and Santa Claus. Sookie tells him to focus and he asks what he can do to help; she tells him nothing, which is what she is expected to do as well. She says she keeps expecting him so show up and call her name. Jason offers to talk to Andy on her behalf, claiming the two made a connection during the whole Maryann thing. He claims to not remember it, and tells Sookie not to read his mind neither, he wants to forget it all. He asks her if she heard about Eggs, and she tells Jason she doesn't think Tara will ever talk to her again after she was the one that helped him remember.

Sam is asleep in his truck when Tommy approaches and puts the butt of a rifle in his face. He orders him not to move and to exit the vehicle. Tommy walks him inside and wakes his parents. He introduces himself to the Mickers, and Tommy tells them he is the one that was asking the questions. They ask if he's from collections, claiming to have mailed the check one day prior. The mother makes the connection as to who Sam really is, as does the father. Tommy doesn't know.

Sookie arrives at Merlotte's, dropping her keys as she exits her car. She hears some thoughts, and when she looks around, notices someone in the trees. Terry startles Sookie, and she asks him if he saw anyone just then, in the trees. Terry leads her into the woods where they find some boot tracks, size 10, that abruptly end, almost as if he flew off. Sookie asks about wolf tracks, and as Terry begins to tell her there are no wolves in these parts, spots a set of wolf tracks. Sookie finds some clothes folded up behind some trees, including a pair of size 10 boots.

Lafayette drags a screaming Tara into a mental facility. She protests that he promised not to commit her, and he says he did, but her screaming might change someone's mind. He asks the receptionist for Ruby Jean Reynold's room, his mother. Tara and Lafayette meet Jesus, Ruby's caretaker. Ruby is racist, offensive and pretty much full on crazy. She told Jesus that he son was dead because he's a faggot, but he keeps coming back. Ruby stares at Tara and says God has killed her too. Tara replies almost.

Andy is outside the Bon Temps Sheriff's Station, giving a statement to the willing reporters. Jason appears in the background, and Andy passes off a question to Sheriff Dearborne to answer so he can go off and talk with Jason. Andy and Jason talk, and Jason insists on making things right. Andy takes him away, inquiring about a second lunch.

Back at Merlotte's, Sookie goes through the clothes she found in the trees. Terry offer to help her out, but Sookie says she has a Vampire Sheriff on her side, so she's ok for the moment. She asks him to keep it quiet, since this is the one shot at finding Bill. Arlene comes in carrying a box of containers, saying she was yelling for help for a while, but she'll just do it herself. Terry asks Sookie to put in a good word for him with Arlene. She tells him it would be better coming from him directly. He gives her a gun and asks her is she knows how to use it. She opens the chamber, spins it and reloads the revolver. She tells him she 'ain't that blonde.' He tells her that he always liked her, and he'd miss her if she got killed, so be careful.

The Mickers sit in their living room telling Sam about their past. She was young when she got pregnant, and they couldn't raise him. She said she had a chance of giving him a good life by giving him away, and asks if he had a good life. He said it was good until he was 15. Tommy asks what happened when he was 15, and Sam says he thinks they all know. He asks if that was why he was given away. Mother says she wasn't sure it would happen, as his father is regular. The father tells him he should be proud of being special. Sam says he walked the world alone, not knowing what he was, and why he was the way he was. Tommy gets upset that no one bothered to tell him he had a brother as he walks out.

Back at the hospital, Tara asks Lafayette why she didn't know about this. Lafayette says he kept it secret because Ruby asked him to, and that he works 2 legal jobs just to pay the bills for this hospital. He tells Tara that there is some darkness in the family, and that they need to fight it together. Lafayette tells her that if she tries anything stupid like she did earlier, that he'd put her right in here in the room next to his mother, and he's make sure her caretaker wasn't hot like Jesus.

Sam approaches Tommy as he works on a car, a 1958 Plymouth Fury. He tells Tommy that was the car in Christine, the Stephen King horror movie. Tommy knows the movie, and the book. He tells Sam he does know how to read. Tommy accuses Sam of having a better upbringing and going to fancy ass schools. Sam admits that his adoptive famiy walked out on him when he started shifting. Tommy at least had the advantage of knowing what was going to happen to him. Tommy says Sam only knows his parents a few hours, he's only seen the good in them so far. He concedes to Tommy the more fucked up life contest. Tommy says he's going for a run and Sam asks to join him. As Tommy removes his shirt, we see his back covered in scars, the result of lots of fights he says. Sam shifts into the same dog we've seen before, Tommy into a pitbull.

Back at Bill's house, Jessica sprays a can of Lysol while on the phone with the Hardware store. She asks if they sell chainsaws, and when told they cost $268.22, she asks about renting one; they're only $49.99. She takes the wallet from the corpse to get some money and sees a family photo. She takes the $22 he has and tosses the wallet back in the hole.

At an opulent table at The King's estate, Bill joins The King and Talbot for dinner. He is served a glass of chilled carbonated cruelty-free blood. The blood is donated, not taken. Bill is thankful for the hospitality, and jokes that his Queen will consider that before deciding to stake him or not. The King says that if staking Vampire royalty was an option, Bill wouldn't be sitting where he was. Bill asks why is he there, and the King offers him the job of Sheriff of Mississippi's Area 2. Bill asserts that he wasn't just brought there to be offered a job. The King tells Bill state lines will soon cease to exist. Bill accuses The King of waging war; he scoffs. He says while vampire politics are medieval, but he is not. Talbot excuses himself to prepare the second course. "Carlos, bring me that Thai boy." The King tells Bill that he plans on marrying Sophie Ann, and that is what he needs Bill's help for.

Back at Merlotte's the crowd watches Andy on TV. The crowd applauds his heroics, and Jason climbs upon a table to toast Andy. Jason feels bad that Andy is getting all the recognition. Jason thinks he belongs in jail, as everything he does to help people usually results in hurting them. Andy reassures Jason that he could do something good, and he believes in him.

Sam and Tommy, as dogs, run wild through the woods. Tommy runs into the middle of the road and stops. Sam runs to his side as a truck comes down the road; Tommy shifts into a bird and flies away as Sam very nearly gets run over by the truck. He returns to human form as he rolls to the side of the road.

Back at Bill's house, a mysterious figure in motorcycle boots searches through his files. He finds a drawer with a false bottom, and riffles through the pages contained therein. We catch a brief glimpse of the pages which contain a detailed family tree of the Stackhouse family. Sookie's name is circled, as is that of Earl Stackhouse. We also see some old newspaper clippings (Sookie Stackhouse Spelling Bee Champion) and photos of Sookie.

Sookie sits in her living room, clutching the gun in her hands. She hears a floorboard creak, and looks around with the gun drawn. Eric is outside her door, knowing that a werewolf already came for her. She asks if that is why he is there, and he tells her that he lied to her. We have another flashback sequence, continuing from where we left off earlier. Eric tries to get answers from the pinned werebitch. She offers to talk in exchange for his blood. Godric reminds Eric that the blood is sacred, but Eric bites his wrist and offers her his blood. She drinks heartily until Eric shakes her off and asks again, where is her master. She grins and tells him it is one of his kind. She knocks him down and goes to attack, at which point Godric snaps her neck. Godric tells him a vampire should never be at the mercy of his emotions, he should be in control of them. The flashback ends, and Sookie asks if he and Godric were SS. He says they were hunting the werewolves, and the symbol is far older, it is ruinic. He tells her that they are more than ordinary vampires, they are organized, well-funded, and feed on vampire blood. Eric also tells Sookie that his loyalty is not to Bill, and in many ways, it would be advantageous if Bill were never found. He tells her that the wolves are after her, and he owes her. He is there to protect her. He asks her to invite him in, so he can protect her, or have hot passionate sex with her; or both. Sookie says she won't be distracted by nasty talk. She asserts that she is still Bill's, he sees her ring and agrees.

Back at The Estate of the King, the next course is served; warm blood bisque, infused with rose petals. The King talks highly of Louisiana, liking the music. The King says he is tired in his sandbox and praises Sophie Ann. Talbot calls her mad, and The King tells him not to say all he thinks. The King thinks that Sophie Ann is wasting her talent, sending Bill to Bon Temps. He is one of the most capable young vampires in the country, he tries to sweet talk Bill into working for him, offering him the Area 2 Sheriffdom again. Bill makes a snide comment about The King's intelligence being gathered by werewolves, which gets a catty "Ouch" from Talbot. Bill denies having any of the secrets or knowledge that The King needs. The King threatens Sookie, and Bill bears his fangs threateningly. The King tells Bill that he is still in his house, and that he can put his fangs away.

Lafayette takes Tara to Merlotte's so he can make his shift. He doesn't trust Tara enough to leave her alone. Terry catches Arlene as she comes out of the Doe's Room. He presents Arlene with a list of reasons she should be able to trust him with her kids. As he starts reading the list, she gets ill and runs to the bathroom to vomit. As she vomits, he continues reading the list through the door to her. A British man approaches Tara at the bar, and makes small talk for her. Tara says she's trying not to kill herself, and he asks how that's going for her. When she replies that she is still alive, he says that makes one of us. He asks if they sell True Blood, and she says all they have is B+, and the microwave if broken. She asks is he's a friend of Bill Compton's; he says no, and asks her the same question and gets the same reply. The camera pans down to show us he is wearing the same boots we saw in Bill's house.

Back at Bill's house, Jessica comes home with her rented chainsaw. She opens the crawl space and finds the body is missing. Fuck!

Outside Merlotte's Jason is insisting he is ok, that he can walk like a arrow. Andy insists on driving him home. He puts him in the front seat of the cruiser. As they get in the car, they get a call for a 586. Andy tells her that is the code for illegal parking. Rosie corrects herself saying they are busting a meth lab, whatever the code if for that, and Andy invites Jason along. As they get to the scene of the crime, Kenya approaches the car and asks them while he is there, and Andy tells him it is in his town, so it concerns him. Calvin Norris comes from the house and asks if there is a problem. Kenya tells Calvin they have a warrant to search the property. In the distance a light comes on, and Andy brings it to Kenya's attention. Calvin starts yelling at the cops, while Jason sees someone sneaking off in the distance. He gets out from the cruiser and follows after. He comes across a crying girl in the woods. He asks her if she's alright before she runs off. Behind him he hears a noise and sees someone running. He makes chase and tackles the man to the ground, pinning him down.

Tara sits outside Merlotte's, a bottle of Wild Turkey her companion. As she drinks, some drunk rednecks come from the bar. They come across the spot where Eggs was shot, start talking shit, and pissing on the spot. Tara runs over and knocks the crap out of one of them. Franklin arrives, and holds the man so Tara can wail on him. As she draws blood, his fangs come out and he makes growling noises.

Talbot presents Bill with a bowl of blood gelato. Bill tells The King that Sookie is innocent. He and Talbot acknowledge his love for her, and knows that he's killed for her once, and would again if he needed to. Lorena enters, chuckling about being in time for dessert. Bill hurls a propane lamp at her, engulfing her in flames. She falls to the ground, ablaze, screaming in pain.

At Sookie's house, Eric mocks her sense of love and devotion. Eric reminds her that she will die eventually in the relationship. Sookie doesn't understand Eric, he goes from generous and selfless to nasty and cruel. Eric hears something and insists Sookie invites him inside. She denies until the fangs come out. "Mr. Northman, will you please come in?" She heads inside, fangs out to see a werewolf in the shadows. Sookie fires her gun, and the credits end.

As an added bonus, following the episode was the debut of Snoop Dogg's video for "Oh Sookie." For your pleasure, I've included the lyrics here:

Oh, Sookie
by Snoop Dogg

♫♫♫
I wanna do bad things with you
I wanna do real bad things with you

What’s happenin’ Sookie
It’s Snoop Dogg
I’m only in Bon Temps for one day
Come close baby
I’m the Dogg that don’t bite
Woof, woof

Oh Sookie
Let me get in your head
Oh Sookie
We can lay in the bed
Oh Sookie
Choose a player like me
Do it in the daytime with the D-O double G
Oh Sookie
Can I take you away
Oh Sookie
You ever been to LA?
Oh Sookie
Come and play on my team
We’ll do it in the daytime
Bill won’t know a thing

Oh sookie
Take this mary jay cookie
And roll with the Dogg, vampires can’t hook me
You outta Bon Temps
You need a Bon pimp
A real Don Juan
You might get whipped
Yellow cars ain’t fly
So hop in my jet
Try to read my mind
You might get wet
Choose big or lose big
I know all the spots
Then order you a gin and juice at Merlotte’s

(Chorus)

Leave a stain on my brain
Can a dog get some love
Won’t trick you like Eric
And make you drink blood
Sookie Stackhouse but Snopp he stack a grip
Sam ain’t a man he done turned into a bitch
Bill ain’t for real
He ain’t True blood
Snoop is a G
I smoke true bud
Wanna be a vampire
Gotta listen up
I hit you with a glamour
I think you wanna suck these nuts

(Chorus)

See Sookie
You should come try some of this
You know I get more pussy than your brother
Oh yeah and bring a friend
Matter fact bring your best friend, Tara
I got some real eggs for her to eat
And these eggs come with a whole lot of cheese and greens