TV Geek Out 166: True Blood, "Frenzy"

TV Geek Out discusses the penultimate episode of True Blood's second season, "Frenzy." Jessica and Hoyt's relationship is on the rocks after she feasts on his mom, but when he later learns some disturbing secrets about his father, he has second thoughts about forever being a mama's boy. Meanwhile, Bill meets with the queen of Louisiana, but she forces him to pseudo-sunbath and play Yahtzee all day before telling him what he wants to know about maenads. Jason and Andy go to the sheriff's station for weapons and later have a highly entertaining bonding session. Sam finds Arlene's kids, who haven't been well cared for lately, and they go to see Eric for help. Tara is so determined to save Eggs that she manipulates her mother into freeing her from Sookie and Lafayette, who then go after her to the now-demented Stackhouse home. Maryann tells Tara she summoned Maryann to Bon Temps during her exorcism ceremony, and Tara is slapped into re-zombiedom. When Sookie shows up, she has to deal with a house of horrors before making her way upstairs to find Tara and Eggs destroying Gran's things to make a nest for a giant egg(!), and then gets accosted by a zombified Lafayette -- nooooo! TV geeks Heather and Dana had mixed feelings about this episode, from the pacing to the disappointing introduction of Evan Rachel Wood as Queen Sophie-Anne, but there was a lot to love about it too. Eric flies and coins the term "teacup humans," so it can't be all bad! Listen in as they discuss the pros and cons of this crazy episode here.

(Please excuse the audio quality on this recording; it's below our normal standards, but the conversation is still well worth checking out!)

TV Geek Out 165: Mad Men, "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword"

It's another super-sized Mad Men discussion, but then "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" was jam-packed with plot and subtext. This episode took on so many of the show's main themes -- the generation gap, the battle of the sexes, what people want versus what is expected of them -- some with a direct approach, others so subtly that they were revealed only after multiple viewings. But perhaps the most surprising, and satisfying, thing about "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" was that people really opened up to each other. Both of the Drapers, so practiced at keeping their secrets safe, finally got a lot off their chests. Don confided in Faye, learning firsthand that people do feel better after they've talked, while Betty revealed more than she realized to an honest-to-goodness psychiatrist (that Dr. Edna was a child psychiatrist was all too appropriate for this poor little rich girl). Compared to the episodes surrounding it, this was one of season four's more lighthearted installments, allowing Don one of the moments of eleventh-hour genius that used to come so easily and Peggy to drive around in circles on a groovy little Honda. Yet it also had downright cringe-inducing moments, both physical (Betty slapping Sally) and verbal (Roger insulting the Honda executives). So much conflicting information! We talk about it all here.