TV Geek Out 237: True Blood, "Cold Grey Light of Dawn"

TV Geek Out's Heather and Dana discuss episode 7 of True Blood's 4th season, "Cold Grey Light of Dawn."

(Note: This is not an episode from the currently airing season five. We're playing catch-up on some backlogged discussions; we'd still like to share them with you despite them not being current.)

TV Geek Out 217: True Blood, "I Wish I Was the Moon"

Named for the devastating Neko Case ballad that closes the episode, "I Wish I Was the Moon" wraps up the first half of True Blood's fourth season with possession, transformation, that old black magic, and a long-awaited love scene. Marnie is finally fully possessed by the spirit of spurned and burned witch Antonia, and her first act is to make the formerly fearsome vamp Luis her slave. Meanwhile, Lafayette and Jesus get more than they bargained for when they reconnect with Jesus' brujo grandfather, and Tommy does more harm than he intended when he shifts into Sam, officially making him a skinwalker. And while Jason isn't going to be a werepanther, his feelings for Jessica are changing under the light of the full moon. We also get another clue as to what's going on with Baby Mikey and the creepy doll, and -- last but definitely not least for fans of the Southern Vampire books -- Sookie and Eric finally consummated their budding relationship. Even a relatively quiet True Blood ep is pretty action-packed, and Dana and Heather discuss it all here!

TV Geek Out 216: True Blood, "Me and the Devil"

TV Geek Out covers the fifth episode True Blood's 4th season, "Me and the Devil," which opens with Tommy killing both of his parents; Sam ends up helping his brother dispose of their bodies in the swamp, but not before they have a close call when they're pulled over by a V-addled Sheriff Andy Bellefleur. Meanwhile, Arlene and Terry have Rev. Daniels and his new wife, Lettie Mae, come to their home to perform an exorcism on the house, but it doesn't seem to work; Lafayette and Jesus set off for Mexico to see his brujo grandfather for some magical help; and Sookie visits Moon Goddess and gets an unusual psychic reading from Marnie. Also, Jason has a sexy dream about Jessica, with a special appearance by Hoyt(!), while Eric has a disturbing dream in which Godric urges him to drink from Sookie, but in the real world he resists, and by the end of the episode, the two are kissing passionately! In other events, Bill imprisons and questions Marnie, Sookie pisses Tara off yet again, and Pam spills the beans about Eric's location. Listen in as TV geeks Dana and Heather discuss all this and more here!

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TV Geek Out 215: True Blood, "I'm Alive and on Fire"

TV Geek Out covers True Blood's fourth episode of season 4, "I'm Alive and on Fire," which opens with Eric totally drunk on faerie blood and very randy. When he runs off, Sookie enlists the help of Alcide to track him down. Meanwhile, Jason is still tied up in Hotshot, being gang-raped for his "ghost daddy" seed, but with a little help, he escapes, and takes out Felton when the werepanther chases after him. Back in Bon Temps, Bill finds out that Portia is a descendant of his and breaks off their romance. Proving they might be the worst parents in Louisiana, Melinda Mickens lures Tommy to meet her and then Joe Lee ambushes him and chains him like a dog. Elsewhere, Sookie grows closer to Eric and tells a big fat lie to Bill when he comes to her house intent on searching it for Eric. Jason rejects Crystal and is in really bad shape until Jessica heals him with her blood. And the episode ends with Marnie shockingly casting a rotting spell on Pam! Listen in as TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss all this and more here!

TV Geek Out 214: True Blood, "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?"

The title of season four’s third episode -- “If You Love Me, Why am I Dyin’?” -- could have been screamed by Jason Stackhouse, tied down on a bed in Hotshot by Crystal to be the “ghost daddy” to all of the town’s women of breeding age (who appear to be as young as 12 -- ew). Nothing else is quite as creepy as Jason’s violation, but a childlike Eric, robbed of his memories, is getting to know Sookie all over again. Jessica betrays Hoyt’s trust by glamoring away her confession of feeding on another man, and Tommy aims to swindle Maxine Fortenberry’s natural gas rights from right under her nose. Meanwhile, Lafayette, Tara and Jesus deal with the fallout of Marnie’s memory-stealing spell, Alcide and Debbie are back in the picture, and Andy falls deeper into his V addiction. And what’s with that spooky doll that keeps popping up at Hoyt and Jessica’s?  TV Geek Out’s Dana and Heather try to cover all the bases of this action-packed episode. Listen in here.

TV Geek Out 213: True Blood, "You Smell Like Dinner"

After the faerie fantasia and catch-up with Bon Temp's residents in season four's premiere, True Blood got down to business on "You Smell Like Dinner." And business is good: We got not one but two flashbacks that revealed how Bill became involved with the American Vampire League (featuring Mr. Compton in full London punk regalia) and what happened in his stand-off with the Queen of Louisiana (short answer: Bill ends up wearing some of her). Meanwhile, Sookie catches up with Tara, Jason gets uncomfortably close to the panther people of Hotshot, and Arlene remains convinced that Baby Mikey is a bad seed. However, the most exciting development -- especially for fans of the Southern Vampire book series -- is Eric's amnesia, brought on by a showdown with the surprisingly powerful head witch of the Moon Goddess coven, Marnie. In some ways, this felt more like the start of season four than the premiere did, and TVGO's Dana and Heather cover it all here!

TV Geek Out 211: True Blood, "She's Not There"

TV Geek Out begins our coverage of True Blood's 4th season with this discussion of the crazy season premiere, "She's Not There." The episode picks up right where things left off, with Sookie arriving in faerie-land and running into not only Barry the bellboy, but her long-lost grandfather! She quickly sees through the utopic illusion, though, and the scene devolves into a hectic battle as she runs for her life. When she escapes back to Bon Temps, she finds that things are not at all as she left them, as more than a year has passed -- while she feels like it was less than a half hour. The rest of the episode is spent catching up with all the people, and vampires, in her life -- a well as introducing a bunch of new characters. Jason is a cop, Andy's a V addict, Arlene's baby is possibly evil, Tara's a lesbian cage fighter, etc., etc. There's also Jesus' introduction of Lafayette to a witches' coven headed up by a woman named Marnie. However, the BIG developments are that Bill is now the king of Louisiana, and Eric has bought Sookie's house in a bid to make her his! Listen in as TV geeks Heather and Dana chat about all the bat-shit craziness here!

TV Geek Out 209: True Blood, "Evil Is Going On"

TV Geek Out covers the season 3 finale of True Blood, "Evil Is Going On," which brought the season to a close in a very open-ended way and continued the show's tradition of less than satisfying finales. Among the episode's many events, Sookie rescues Eric and Russell from death-by-sunlight, Jason loses Crystal to a V-crazed Felton, Lafayette learns that Jesus is a witch, and Eric and Bill bury Russell in wet cement. Sookie also learns some heartbreaking truths about Bill and leaves with Claudine to the fairy realm -- one of several cliffhangers. Others included Tara leaving town, Bill engaging the queen of Louisiana in a battle to the death, and Sam shooting at Tommy as he tried to run off with his money. Listen in as TV geeks Dana and Heather discuss all this, bitch about Godric visions, wonder why half the characters aren't acting like themselves at all, and more here!

TV Geek Out 208: True Blood, "I Smell a Rat" and "Fresh Blood"

TV Geek Out covers the two episodes of True Blood's third season leading up to the finale, "I Smell a Rat" and "Fresh Blood." In "I Smell a Rat," the season's tenth installment, lots of secrets are being revealed -- Sookie finally learns what she is; Jason tells Tara the truth about Eggs' death and learns an unexpected secret about Crystal; Lafayette and Jesus go on a crazy V trip and uncover their ancestors' connections with witchcraft; and flashbacks reveal some very dark secrets about Sam's past misdeeds. Also, Sookie and Eric finally kiss in real life, but then he throws her in his dungeon! In "Fresh Blood," the 11th episode of the season, Lafayette gets creeped out by some scary V "aftershocks"; a drunken Sam alienates everyone at his bar, including his brother, and sleeps with Tara; and Eric saves himself by telling Russell that he can offer him the sun. Meanwhile, Bill battles Pam, and Sookie and Bill briefly escape before Russell and Eric drag them back to Fangtasia, where the two eventually feed on Sookie and go outside to walk in the daylight, which Eric has revealed to Bill is a trap to kill the vampire king. Listen in as TV geeks Dana and Heather discuss all of this and much more here!

TV Geek Out 207: True Blood, "Everything Is Broken"

TV Geek Out covers the ninth episode of True Blood's third season, "Everything Is Broken," which saw the pinnacle of the season in its final scene of Russell Edgington shockingly killing a newscaster on live TV and delivering a harsh polemic about the superiority of vampires over humanity. Lots of other blood is hitting the fan as well, though. Nan Flanagan and the V-Feds show up at Fangtasia and force Eric to deliver a statement via web-cam to the Authority about the recent events, Jason gets into more trouble with the people of Hotshot, Sam beats the crap out of Crystal's dad, Calvin, and Jason kills Franklin after he reappears and attempts to take Tara's life. Among the less alarming developments, Jesus and Lafayette enjoy the afterglow of their first night together and Bill unintentionally travels to the strange realm that Sookie recently visited and meets Claudine -- who tells him what Sookie is!! TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss all this and much more here!

TV Geek Out 206: True Blood, "Night on the Sun"

TV Geek Out covers the eighth episode of True Blood's third season, "Night on the Sun," in which many characters are either gettin' busy or kicking butt -- or sometimes both. After Sookie ends things with Bill at the hospital, he tries to release Jessica from his control, but she refuses and they bond while he teaches her some fighting skills. Lafayette's mom runs away from the mental hospital and pays him a visit, bringing Jesus back into Lafayette's life when he comes to get her. Crystal shows up at Jason's having left Hotshot and Arlene hires a new waitress, but the big events are the knock-down, drag-out brawl between Sookie and Debbie in the Stackhouse home (as well as Bill's and Jessica's werewolf battles downstairs) and Eric's shocking murder of Talbot! TV geeks Dana and Heather discuss all this -- and Bill and Sookie's seeming inability to ever truly break up -- here!

TV Geek Out 205: True Blood, "Hitting the Ground"

TV Geek Out covers "Hitting the Ground," the seventh episode of season 3, in which both Lorena and the Magister shockingly meet the true death, and Sookie and Tara complete their daring escape from Russell's Mississippi estate. Unfortunately, during the getaway, a famished Bill ends up overpowering and nearly killing Sookie in his thirst for blood; then, while at the hospital, she visits a fantastical-seeming realm and meets a strange woman named Claudine.... Elsewhere, Sam infiltrates a dog-fighting ring and rescues Tommy from his family's clutches, and Eric learns the truth about what Sookie is (but we don't!). Listen in as TV geeks Dana and Heather discuss all this and more here!

TV Geek Out 204: True Blood, "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues"

TV Geek Out covers the sixth episode of True Blood's third season, "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues," in which Sookie and Tara are both being held against their will in Russell Edgington's Mississippi mansion, Lorena is ordered to kill Bill for his attempt to help Sookie, Eric and Russell pay a not-so-pleasant visit to the Queen of Louisiana, and Sam gets some disturbing insight into the hold his parents have on his brother, Tommy. In other words, almost everyone has a reason to sing the blues in this episode, which also sees Jason and Lafayette running into snags in their respective romances. Listen in as TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss all this and more here!

TV Geek Out 203: True Blood, "Trouble"

TV Geek Out covers episode five of season 3 of True Blood, "Trouble," in which there certainly is enough trouble to go around, and then some! Sookie meets Alcide's frightened werewolf packmaster; Eric pays a visit to Russell Edgington in Mississippi, prompting a flashback to his Viking days; Jason has a crappy first day working at the sheriff's office... until he meets Crystal from Hotshot; Lafayette and Jesus get to know each other; and Franklin makes a frightening proposal to Tara. Listen in as TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss all this and more here!

TV Geek Out 198: True Blood, "9 Crimes"

TV Geek Out discusses the 4th episode of season 3 of True Blood, "9 Crimes," which opens with Bill coldly dumping Sookie over the phone. Though he's giving in to his baser nature, he tells Lorena he will never love her (and punches her in the face!). Sookie has a good cry, but she still wants to find Bill, so she and Alcide go back to Lou Pine's (with her in bad-girl disguise courtesy of his sister); Russell shows up there and feeds his blood to the werewolves, Debbie is branded into the pack, and Sookie has to make a quick exit when they all start to turn. Back in Bon Temps, Franklin is holding Tara captive on his motel toilet, Bud retires and makes Andy the new sheriff, and Sam hires Jessica as a hostess. Sam also makes the questionable decision to put his trashy family up in one of his rentals, on the condition that they stop drinking and stealing (riiiight). Lafayette gets into trouble in Hotshot when he tries to sell V to the dealers there, but Eric comes to his rescue and closes the deal. Eric's got bigger problems back at Fangtasia, though, when the Magister shows up, finds his V stash, and tortures Pam. Meanwhile, Russell makes Bill procure a stripper for them and Lorena, and they chow down on her as the episode comes to a close. None of that is as fun as Eric's big lovestruck night-dream about Sookie, however, and TVGO's Heather and Dana geek out about that and more here!

TV Geek Out 191: True Blood, "It Hurts Me Too"

TV Geek Out covers "It Hurts Me Too," the third episode of True Blood's third season. Eric takes out a werewolf in Sookie's home, but only after she's heard him think "Jackson," which they soon figure out means the city in Mississippi. She's determined to go there in search of Bill, so Eric sends the (good) werewolf Alcide to watch over her and help her in her mission. Elsewhere, Tara has a steamy one-night stand with a mysterious vampire in a seedy motel. She and Sookie later make up when Sook pays for Eggs' funeral service. Sam returns to Bon Temps, but unfortunately for him, his birth family follows him and starts to cause trouble. Meanwhile, in Jackson, Lorena recovers from her burns, and Bill gives in to the king's wishes in order to protect Sookie. In a dream, he flashes back to the last time he saw his human wife, after he'd become a vampire; the experience was so traumatic for her that he had to glamour her into forgetting it. Bill's so forlorn in the present day that he has extreme hate sex with Lorena, leading to perhaps the show's most disturbing moment ever! In other events, Jason wants to become a police officer, Arlene is indeed pregnant, but with Rene's baby(!), Lafayette's got a new Bentley, Sheriff Bud Dearborn quits, and much more. TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss all the crazy goings-on here!

TV Geek Out 188: True Blood, "Beautifully Broken"

TV Geek Out covers the second episode of True Blood's third season, "Beautifully Broken." After Bill's bloody battle with the werewolves, he meets the king of Mississippi, Russell Edgington -- the vampire behind his abduction. Russell whisks Bill off on horseback to his mansion, where we meet the king's charming partner, Talbot. The next night, over an extravagant meal, Bill finally finds out what the king wants -- his help in convincing Queen Sophie-Anne to marry him and join their kingdoms into one. When Lorena shows up, an enraged Bill throws an oil lamp at her, setting her afire! Back in Louisiana, Sookie goes to Eric for help regarding the Operation Werewolf symbol, and we get a flashback to Eric and Godric in WWII, dressed as SS officers and hunting down werewolves (yay!). Meanwhile, Lafayette stops Tara from ODing, and takes her to the psychiatric hospital where his mother is a patient, showing Tara that they are the strong ones in their family. He also meets a hot nurse named Jesus. As for Tara, she ends the episode getting picked up by a dangerous English vampire, who encourages (and helps) her to beat the crap out of some racist rednecks outside Merlotte's. Elsewhere, Sam finds out his birth family kinda sucks and Andy and Jason's misadventures lead them to Hotshot, where Jason glimpses a beautiful but mysterious woman and busts a drug dealer. The episode ends with another werewolf/vampire standoff, this time plus Sookie! TV geeks Heather and Dana discuss all this and more here.

TV Geek Out 183: TV News Discussion

The TV Geek Out geeks get together to chat about the latest news in TV-land, from ratings to cancellations/renewals to what we've been watching lately! Despite being as timely as possible, there's already been at least one more casualty between this recording and its posting -- J.J. Abrams' struggling spy show Undercovers. Listen in as we try to keep track of all the current procedurals and who's on them, realize that we don't really watch ABC at all anymore now that Lost's gone, and discuss the recent controversy regarding Mike & Molly here.

TV Geek Out 181: True Blood, "Bad Blood"

TV Geek Out returns to our True Blood coverage with this discussion of the third-season premiere, "Bad Blood." Events pick up right where they left off, with everyone in a bad state. Sookie is distraught that Bill's gone missing, and frustrated by human law enforcement's lack of interest in his disappearance. Jason's freaked out that he killed Eggs, and in one of the episode's best scenes, Andy tells him he has to act like his normal self if their cover-up is going to be believed -- "Conscience off, dick on!" Tara is beyond consolation over Eggs' death, and winds up locking herself in Lafayette's bathroom and downing a bunch of pills. Bill's stuck in a speeding car full of V-loving dudes, who set a new low for trashiness on the show as they greedily drink from him; he easily outwits them and escapes, but they eventually track him down and surround him -- in wolf form -- for the big cliffhanger! Meanwhile, Jessica's not dealing well with the fact that she's "accidentally" killed a trucker, and Hoyt fails in his attempt to reconcile with her and moves in with Jason. Sam's off in search of his birth parents and has an awesome sexy dream about Bill, Jason can't perform when he picks up two chicks, and Eric can apparently perform for six hours straight in his multipurpose dungeon. Add in a visit from the queen of Louisiana and the Magister, and TV geeks Dana and Heather had plenty to geek out about! Listen in as they discuss all this and much more here.

TV Geek Out 169: True Blood, "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"

TV Geek Out covers the finale of the second season of True Blood, which sees the demise of the evil maenad Maryann. Her twisted sacrifice-wedding ceremony combo is undermined by a clever plan hatched by Bill and Sam, and with the help of Sookie's distracting powers. After the death of Maryann, Eggs is "tragically" killed by Jason (in defense of Andy), Sam heads out to look into his roots, Hoyt tells off his mama, Jessica chows down on a sleazy truck driver, and Bill takes Sookie to a fancy French restaurant and proposes... but is mysteriously kidnapped shortly thereafter. Oh yeah, and Eric also plays some Yahtzee with the queen. TV geeks Heather and Dana had mixed feelings about this somewhat underwhelming finale. Listen in as they talk about both the good and the bad here.

Also, stay tuned for TVGO's coverage of the latest season of the show, coming soon!