‘True Blood’ 5.08 Recap: “Lilith Wants Me to Eat a Baby”

Allow me to thank our readers for setting me straight about last week’s episode of ‘True Blood’. I had misinterpreted a plot point that readers Aaron and Nicholas saw right through. Even if I’d had any lingering doubts, this week’s episode clears them right up.

Yes, the appearance of Lilith at the end of the previous episode was a vision. She was not, as I had assumed, resurrected to take over as the primary villain of the season. I think that this is a good thing. As I’ve said, I enjoy Russell as the “Big Bad.”

Episode ‘Somebody that I Used to Know’ starts with a major WTF moment. In her hospital room, Luna has some sort of fit or attack of something and shifts into… Sam. Wha…?

I’m having trouble remembering some of the show’s mythology. In order for a Shifter to assume the form of another person, don’t they have to have killed their own parents? That’s why Sam’s brother could do it, right? Was it established that Luna had done this? As I write this, I have a vague memory of an episode where she told Sam that her mother died in childbirth, which was enough to qualify. In any case, this is still very bizarre.

Luna thinks so too. Worse, she can’t change back. She escapes from the hospital to find the real Sam, who’s weirded out by the whole thing (as is Andy, who’s in the room when she arrives). Sam eventually gets over it, and cradles her lovingly when she gets really ill and seems to be dying. For a moment, it looks like Sam is about to kiss himself, which is really disturbing. Fortunately, Luna inexplicably shifts back to her original form at the last second.

As for the vampires, most of them remain in ecstatic glee about being “in the presence of God.” They start to formulate plans to reclaim the world for vampires. Eric politely begs off. Later, he tells Nora about his vision of Godric. She’s unimpressed, and disparages the name of their vampire father. Eric also tries to pull Bill to his side. A flashback to 1910, at which time Bill refused to curse his then-elderly daughter with vampirism, suggests that Bill will agree. However, by episode’s end, Bill suggests to the council that they should bomb Tru Blood factories, thus forcing mainstreamed vampires to feed on humans. Unlike the other vamps on the council, Bill is not motivated by religious fervor. He merely sees this as a political opportunity.

Other Stuff That Happens
  • Jason convinces Sookie to stop purging her fairy “luminescence.” Together, they ask the other fairies to help identify the vampire that killed their parents. Via some fairy magic gobbledygook, Sookie is able to enter her dead mother’s memories and see the attack. Unfortunately, she doesn’t get a clear look at the vampire. However, she learns that fairy Claudine showed up to stop the vampire, and that Claudine seemed to know the vampire as “Warlow.” Halfway through, Sookie switches p.o.v. and sees things from the vampire’s perspective. The fairies are perplexed by this. My current theory is that Warlow was Bill.
  • The rednecks kidnap Jessica and chain her up with silver for Hoyt to finish her off. Of course, he eventually sets her free and lets her kill one of the rednecks. He claims that he’s still done with her; he just didn’t want her to die.
  • Lafayette returns from Mexico. He finds a small vial of V that Jesus apparently left for him. This heals the wounds in his lips quickly. By the time he gets home, Lafayette seems to be back to his old sassy self as if nothing had happened.
  • Pam has returned to her original hairdo, thankfully. While Tara is still dressed up in S&M fetish gear, her outfit is less unflattering this week. When a former frenemy pisses off Tara at Fangtasia, Pam glamours the girl into being Tara’s blood slave.
  • Alcide has wolf sex with his new girlfriend. To determine the new packmaster, J.D. kidnaps a college kid and sets him running like a ‘Most Dangerous Game’ competition. Whichever wolf hunts the kid down first winds. Alcide refuses to participate. When J.D. chases the kid anyway, Alcide tries to stop him. Pumped up on V, J.D. wins the fight and nearly kills the kid until Martha intervenes.
  • Arlene and Holly recruit Lafayette to act as a medium and pretend to channel the spirit of the dead Iraqi woman who cursed Terry and Patrick. They hope that they can fool Terry into thinking that the curse has been lifted. This plan backfires when the real spirit communicates to Lafayette and offers a devil’s deal. She will only lift the curse if Terry kills Patrick, or vice versa. One of them has to die at the other’s hand.

I like the idea of an all-out vampire/human war. That sounds like a promising direction for the rest of the season.

5 comments

  1. cxdx

    “I’m having trouble remembering some of the show’s mythology. In order for a Shifter to assume the form of another person, don’t they have to have killed their own parents? That’s why Sam’s brother could do it, right? Was it established that Luna had done this? As I write this, I have a vague memory of an episode where she told Sam that her mother died in childbirth, which was enough to qualify. In any case, this is still very bizarre. ”

    in the first season sam said hed shifted into another human before. so you logic is flawed with the having to kill their parents thing.because had sam killed his parents there would be none for his brother to kill.

    they said numerous times that they can shift into anything theve come in contact with, the human shape is more difficult for whatever reason. they never explained why they could lose 75% of their mass to turn into a bird,but couldnt turn into a human as effectively.

    i love the show and am kinds getting bored with sookies whining and constant complaining, the whole scene with jesus’ uncle and his wife makes no sense (hopefully theyll clarify it in a later episode), eric is the reasonable one and bill in the egotistical one now? really? i know bill is just trying to save his own ass knowing hed be killed for disagreeing but really hes done a complete 180 this season and its like “blah”

    the ifrit… plot line to drag me to hell anyone?

    and dont get me started on how much like a transexual tara looks now that shes a vampire.

      • cxdx

        after revisiting season 2 i stand corrected. allow the flaming to begin.

        the other “skin walker” as the wiki puts it is daphne from season 2. she recounts being angry at one point and shifting into another person. i had originally thought it was sam, telling the story but i was wrong.

        the wiki states they have to kill a shifter family member. not necessarily a parent to become a skinwalker.

        its been 3 seasons easy to mistake a few details :-X

  2. Aaron

    I think the vampire/human war is the direction of the SERIES. I always thought that world governments would obviously begin to plan on how to eradicate vampires (I’m assuming simultaneous, daylight strikes across the world on vampire havens). But when mainstreaming began, they gave it a chance to work.

    Roman was right on this. If vampires become too wild, humans will rise agains them and numbers are on their side. I think the logical direction of the series is the introduction of truly ancient vampires (I’m talking 5,000 years or more) to either stop the war or participate. I’d love the ending of the series be the near extinction of vampires with a lot of our favorites dying in the war. Think of all the cool human characters that can be introduced to fight and the eventual storylines of betrayal and redemption (I’m sure vampires have infiltrated the military and intelligence organizations.)

    I hope they end the show after two more seasons and I think this looming war is a great direction.

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