S07.E05: Lost Cause

[annlaw78]

 

Alternatively, you could explain it as "if you've slept in this house or had sex in it" that would fit to- Jason lived there when he was growing up. Coot did it with Debbie in Alcide's apartment, Sarah Newlin had just had sex with Jason when she rescinded Jessica's invite... But really, I think it's just simply a human in the house can invite/dis-invite.

But Sookie couldn't un-invite Eric when his name was on the deed, right?  You're right -- the rules keep getting changed and really make no sense other than "the rules service the vagaries of the plot on a scene-by-scene basis."

Edited July 23, 2014 by annlaw78

[roctavia]

But Sookie couldn't un-invite Eric when his name was on the deed, right?  You're right -- the rules keep getting changed and really make no sense other than "the rules service the vagaries of the plot on a scene-by-scene basis."

 

When Eric owned the house, wasn't a human home... even if Sookie was staying there, a vampire still owned it. So that fits with the canon we've always known. They didn't both own it, just Eric owned it. But the other places where a human can invite/un-invite have all been owned by humans.

 

And Franklin told Jessica in S3 that vampire owned homes can be entered by any vampire.

Did Eric not also have Hep V all over him when Nora died in his arms? I thought his face was totally pressed into her body.

Yeah, Jason should be infected if all it takes is a bite. I guess Violet got saved by a plothole.

If Hoyt is being brought back for Jessica that makes me worried for Jason for some reason. Also, if the idea is to end the show with a bunch of characters being neatly paired off *eyeroll* I don't know who that leaves Jason with. Violet is unappealing for the reasons stated by others; Jessica works but I'm inclined to agree that they must've brought the actor who plays Hoyt back for more than the brief scene where he finds out about his mother's death; Willa...I can't recall them ever having interacted much. I can't even recall if they interacted during this party---maybe he helped during the Lettie Mae insanity?; Adelyn is too young although it could be fun if Jason ended up being Andy's son in law.

 

I suppose we could fanwank that they hadn't yet drank enough tainted Trublood to be infectious yet, and once Violet was taken away, they were only drinking from Jason and not drinking more TruBlood. They didn't really explain why the one vamp was so sick already in the morgue drawer, since no one else was showing symptoms yet... but I assumed it was because this was supposed to be like prison and he was older so he was taking other people's food, thus getting a much more concentrated dose of hepV.

 

 

 

As for Hoyt/Jessica- as sweet as they were when their relationship was working, nothing has changed that would make them a better match now than they used to be. I mean, Jessica has probably changed some, but not in a way where settling into a suzy homemaker life is going to make her happy. So she and Hoyt still wouldn't be a good pair and she already has admitted that she had fallen out of love with him.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Jjrmt

[Insomnia]

I would argue that things like this do happen in other towns; we're never shown how Nicole and a group of her friends find out about Sam to breeze in and try and tell them to come out too. And also, another town's population was completely obliterated by vampires, So Bon Temps isn't the only place, it's just the only place we see because it's the focal point of the story. And Nicole graduated from high school like a minute before she met Sam and got pregnant, so we can't really say we know what her life experience is compared to that. We had a jump of six months since then so we have no idea what Sam told her, but considering on this show no one ever talks to anyone else, I can't expect he told her much about what's out there, or in how much detail.

 

As to the party itself, it's not the same thing that happened at the bar. At the bar there were lots of people outside, easy for the vampires to grab. At Sookie's they were at a private residence. In contrast there were vampires outside watching over the house except when they weren't in the car getting fucked. Hep V vampires wouldn't do something like set the house on fire because they are after the people inside for food, so a gathering is a pretty safe bet. Probably safer than people just being at home alone without protection as getting into a home is pretty easy; we've seen that even though Eric is sick he can still glamour people, as Bill did when Jessica nearly killed her family. It's not like the rules on how vampires can even be invited in because Cooter was able to invite the vampires in to Alciede's apartment. Since then I've always assumed it wasn't so much a human had to live there, but had to have fucked there, (Huh, I wonder if the driveway counts) on top of being owned by  a human.

 

My only guess about infections and who is and how long and why is maybe the age of the vampire when they bite and infected person, maybe? Nora was injected with a full un-diluted needle. That would explain why if Jason is infected Jessica might have gotten it from him if he was infected at the prison and Violet hasn't shown any signs (to the audience) of it yet. Even though Jason took the bloodtest to see if he was a carrier and presumed to not be since you would think it would have been mentioned otherwise. (Alceide and Sookie both got tested and said they were free of it to each other, and neither of them were being fed on by a vampire, so for Jason to not bring it up if he was wouldn't make sense.) Eric was indeed covered by Noragoo, so even though he was reckless and thought he got infected later but really already was.

 

But all of this, especially the last two paragraphs rely heavily on the show making sense, and consistently adhering to it's own logic and rules, not not distracted by boobs and hot encounters. I mean, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if the writers suddenly decide Hep V has mutated and can now be transmitted by air, despite vampires having no reason to breathe. Or it's communicable only on days ending in y, because that makes about as much sense as magical fairy vaginas.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Insomnia

[roctavia]

Jessica hasn't fed from Jason yet that we know of... at least not since vamp camp- she didn't bite him while they were doing it... though it was mentioned last season that hep V could be transmissible via sex.. but I would guess they want it to work like HIV where it's not certain that you will become infected... and aside from Bill, it seems like the infection takes a while to incubate.

 

Where did someone see Jess infected? Are you sure she's not being confused for Sarah Newlin's sister Amber? She was in the promo attacking Sarah Newlin.

 

I guess my point is that given Violet's been feeding on him for 6 months, and as was just mentioned- he was tested for Hep V, I don't think Jason is infected. It would make sense that the vampires who had just drank the tainted blood like that day- which had a very small amount of infectious material, wouldn't necessarily be infectious to others just yet.

 

I think it's the Sookie/fairy blood thing that made things work faster for Sookie/Bill.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Jjrmt

[Insomnia]

Okay guys, I have to admit it; I actually write for True Blood. I wasn't supposed to say anything because the show is still airing, but it's almost over. So I will answer any questions that you have. I won't need to though, because I can actually answer everything with one simple explanation.

 

Flashback: Boobs and hot naked guys!

 

We actually have a show bible to maintain continuity, but that is rule number one. Since while the show has witches, her don't have a wizard to blame anything on, our policy is to just throw more nipples the problem to see what sticks. Deborah Ann Woll gets a pass on the nipples because everyone loves redheads. And if that doesn't work, we throw in more hot naked guys. In fact the Eric in the water scene came about because we couldn't show her nipples and needed to distract the viewers.

 

So there you have it, the real story. If a fan questions who can invite into a house, throw some boobs at it. Sex sells. It doesn't have to make sense. Sometimes you have to go extreme and be creative and have things like magical glowing fairy vaginas, but that's only because people have become desensitized by just boobs.

[annlaw78]

 

Okay guys, I have to admit it; I actually write for True Blood. I wasn't supposed to say anything because the show is still airing, but it's almost over. So I will answer any questions that you have. I won't need to though, because I can actually answer everything with one simple explanation.

 

Flashback: Boobs and hot naked guys!

Could you please then stop trying to make Lettie Mae happen?  It's never going to happen. 

[Mattipoo]

Jason and Jessica are my favorite characters by far, so I am glad they are back together. Screw Violet, hope she meets the true death soon. Love Eric and Pam at the Republican benefit, and Ginger! We need more Ginger! Otherwise pretty boring episode, and like many others, I hated the Bill flashbacks , and would in fact have preferred a flashback to Kevin and Rosie's wedding. Anything but another Bill flashback! Also, now that supposed villains are gone, i.e. the Yakuza are dead, and Sarah Newlin has been captured by Eric, what is the rest of the season going to focus on? I really don't see any point to this season as it is so unfocused and there doesn't seem to be any real "big bad" antagonist to stir shit up. Please put this show out of its misery already.

[Amethyst]

You're right about the spoiler, Jjrmt.  I took a closer look and it wasn't Jessica.  So nevermind about that theory.

[Izeinwinter]

I doubt the writers are creative enough for this, but I really want Violet to put the boot in on Jess and Jason without resorting to anything so crass as force. 

 

"Hoyt!. I heard so much about you -  Far more than I wanted, in fact.  So much angst. Anyway, lets have a look at that noggin of yours. Look into my eyes? And thanks.. Remember, Remember, Treason and Plot. From this day, in you own mind, you are sovereign, now and forevermore." ... ... ... "JASON STACKHOUSE, YOU MASSIVE DICK!"

 

"Adilyn! It would appear I am now single, and also the only vampire around these parts with enough control to not eventually eat you all up in a bad way. So. Would you like to see Vienna? In fact, lets make it a grand tour of the old world. We can send your friends a post card from Stockholm."  (9 months later: It's a photo of a wedding.) 

Edited July 24, 2014 by Izeinwinter

[darkestboy]

Not as good as the previous episode. The Bill flashbacks in particular were pretty boring to watch.

 

Other than that, some great moments here though.

 

I liked the idea behind the party - celebrating life but I could see where Nicole was coming from by her meltdown with everyone.

 

Lettie Mae is head wrecking and stabbing Willa - there's a no no for me.

 

Sookie and Arlene's conversation over losing loved ones was nice. I'm start to believe in them more as friends now than ever before.

 

Bill having Hep V - I was a little surprised by that. Does that mean both him and Eric will be goners by the series finale?

 

Eric and Pam's Republican look was pretty comical as was the way the former nearly had Sarah in his grasp.

 

Glad Jessica/James broke up, even if Lafayette was a little hypocritical by giving the former some home truths. Jessica sleeping with Jason and Violet overhearing has to have some consequences later on.

 

Nice proposal scene with Andy/Holly. 8/10.

[glitterpants]

But the new James character is very different in ways besides being gay or bi.

 

Yeah, he's hotter. More seriously, IA with the poster who said James wasn't that developed last season anyway, and I didn't notice anything about the new James that contradicted what was established earlier.

[sjohnson]

Yeah, he's hotter. More seriously, IA with the poster who said James wasn't that developed last season anyway, and I didn't notice anything about the new James that contradicted what was established earlier.

If the superiority of the new James is that the actor is hotter, then the personality doesn't matter, does it? (And the old actor could indeed have been "fired" and he'd rather BS about why he didn't come back than admit it?) There would be no point to disagreement.

 

But for the record, if a vampire who was turned after being gay-bashed to death is ordered to engage in intercourse with Jessica, claiming to be gay to try to get out of it would be pretty natural. Or making a pacifist speech without ever also saying anything like "I'm bi and I know something about what it's like to be afraid of a bigger partner who starts acting out and getting rough." So, no, I don't really think there's no contradiction. 

 

Also, new James is a big time doper. I have been privileged to know dopers (big-time and small) and none of them are political, not even in the vague pacifist sort of way. They also are not stand-up people. They neither defy oppressors nor exercise much discipline over their own urges. The old James had a committment to ideals whereas the new James likes to get stoned. So yeah, I think there's an obvious difference there too. 

 

Lastly I think the old James with his committment to voluntarism in personal relationships would either mesh with Jessica's effort to atone, or Jessica would feel unworthy of him. But Jessica is one of the stars, so when she pulls away it is, as stated, because she doesn't care that much for him. So where is the old James' support? To me it seems very clear the old James and his dreary pacifism have been retconned away. How convenient for the new characterization there's a new actor!

[roctavia]

If the superiority of the new James is that the actor is hotter, then the personality doesn't matter, does it? (And the old actor could indeed have been "fired" and he'd rather BS about why he didn't come back than admit it?) There would be no point to disagreement.

 

But for the record, if a vampire who was turned after being gay-bashed to death is ordered to engage in intercourse with Jessica, claiming to be gay to try to get out of it would be pretty natural. Or making a pacifist speech without ever also saying anything like "I'm bi and I know something about what it's like to be afraid of a bigger partner who starts acting out and getting rough." So, no, I don't really think there's no contradiction. 

 

Also, new James is a big time doper. I have been privileged to know dopers (big-time and small) and none of them are political, not even in the vague pacifist sort of way. They also are not stand-up people. They neither defy oppressors nor exercise much discipline over their own urges. The old James had a committment to ideals whereas the new James likes to get stoned. So yeah, I think there's an obvious difference there too. 

 

Lastly I think the old James with his committment to voluntarism in personal relationships would either mesh with Jessica's effort to atone, or Jessica would feel unworthy of him. But Jessica is one of the stars, so when she pulls away it is, as stated, because she doesn't care that much for him. So where is the old James' support? To me it seems very clear the old James and his dreary pacifism have been retconned away. How convenient for the new characterization there's a new actor!

 

 

I guess I just disagree- they were in a vampire camp and forced to do who knows what, surely no one would give a shit if he tried to say he was gay or bisexual... His sexual orientation doesn't actually have anything to do with why he would refuse to rape someone, so him volunteering that to a stranger would have seemed more out of place to me. Jessica isn't some wilting flower, she is a vampire and though James is older- it's not by much so I don't think Jessica was afraid in the sense of "big strong man was gonna hurt me" so him needing to comfort her based on that in the short period of time they had in the white room wasn't necessary. And later, he was talking about vampires in general, that he doesn't believe that they have to be violent etc. again, that doesn't have anything to do with sexual orientation.

 

As for him being a doper, whatever that means, maybe I'm wrong, since I didn't live through it, but wasn't that sort of part of the whole hippy schtick in the 70s? Smoke some pot, protest the war, get your groove on. It was political and anti-violence.   I also think in the 10 minutes of screen time old james had, we weren't given enough information to know how much committment he had to those 'ideals', and though this season James pulled some BS by cheating on Jessica- he didn't at the first opportunity. He refused Lafayette's initial advance a few episodes ago. And he hasn't started raping people out of the blue. He has been supportive of Jessica and her process in dealing with the fairy girls, but if she won't take his support there is only so much he can do... he cared about her well being and wanted her to eat...

 

Like I said, I don't think we saw enough of James last season to know him that well at all or say that he's changed sooo much this season.  But that's just how it looks to me...

[sjohnson]

Well I don't know if you can really say orientation is irrelevant here? If a sadistic scientist were to randomly tell some guy to have sex wtih another guy, wouldn't he try to get out of it by saying, "Hey, I'm not gay," meaning I'm not up for that? Maybe it is just me but when forced into that kind of sexual situation volunteering some information is fairly appropriate. 

 

The antiwar movement was dominated by the Student Mobilization (strongly influenced by the Socialist Workers Party,) and SDS. SDS famously split between the Weathermen side (yes, they developed into Weather Underground as well as Prairie Fire Organizing Committee,) and what was called PL-SDS. The PL came from a Communist Party split called Progressive Labor Party, which was pretty Maoist. If this all sounds very exotic, the most prominent of modern anti-war movements is ANSWER, which is now influenced by the Party for Socialism and Liberation. It's parent party, the Workers World Party, was a left split from the Trotksyists back in the late fifties but it still runs the International Action Center which is more or less the think tank of antiwar, more influential I think than even Institute for Policy Studies. If none of these sound very hippie-ish, you are quite correct.

 

The real difference in how we read the old James, though, might be the much greater weight I attached to James' actions, especially under duress. I never put so much stock in characters talking about their feelings or even in the voice and demeanor, but in the choices they make. Their character is what they do (or do not do.) In that sense the old James seemed to me to be sharply and deeply etched (so to speak) and it's the new James whose character hasn't been revealed. Insofar as it has, embarrassing Jessica at a party and refusing to embarrassJessica under threat of torture or true death still doesn't seem like the same person. Happily I doubt that James will be prominent enough that any problematic characterization will make much difference.

[GaT]

The real difference in how we read the old James, though, might be the much greater weight I attached to James' actions, especially under duress. I never put so much stock in characters talking about their feelings or even in the voice and demeanor, but in the choices they make. Their character is what they do (or do not do.) In that sense the old James seemed to me to be sharply and deeply etched (so to speak) and it's the new James whose character hasn't been revealed. Insofar as it has, embarrassing Jessica at a party and refusing to embarrassJessica under threat of torture or true death still doesn't seem like the same person. Happily I doubt that James will be prominent enough that any problematic characterization will make much difference.

I don't think that old James wouldn't have sex in the prison because he didn't want to embarrass Jessica, I believe he didn't want to rape her. He saw she didn't want to have sex & refused to force it. It's a very big difference between that & having sex with a very willing Lafayette at a party when you're high.

[Blakeston]

 

Also, new James is a big time doper. I have been privileged to know dopers (big-time and small) and none of them are political, not even in the vague pacifist sort of way. They also are not stand-up people. They neither defy oppressors nor exercise much discipline over their own urges. The old James had a committment to ideals whereas the new James likes to get stoned. So yeah, I think there's an obvious difference there too. 

 

There are plenty of people out there who smoke pot regularly who don't fit the stereotype you've described. There's nothing contradictory about James refusing to give in to oppression last season, and smoking some weed this season.

[DollEyes]

  While I rewatched Nicole's tirade, something occurred to me-that Bon temps isn't far from New Orleans, where anyone who's ever lived there (or watched Treme') knows that funerals are as much about celebrating the departed life as mourning their death. People don't just play music at a NOLA funeral, they dance in the street. They even dance all the way to the cemetery, in various states of sobriety, so Nicole's attitude, upon further viewing, came off short-sighted to me. The party may have rubbed salt in Sookie's wounds about losing Alcide and Tara, but since their deaths were her fault, I not only don't care, the more guilty she feels, the better, as far as I'm concerned.

 

 

I just realized Ginger is a Renfield. I feel like she'll be the one who saves the day with an Uzi in the last 10 minutes for some reason.

 

  I don't. As fried as whatever passes for Ginger's brain is, these days, she can't even spell Uzi, much less use one.

 

 

And I think Lafayette should be called on his behavior. If you don't want to be the clown, don't act like one.

 

  I agree. I heart Lafayette, but to be honest, his image problem is his own fault. Drug-dealing hustlers/mediums aren't exactly known for their gravitas. However, by the same token, teenage girls like Jessica aren't exactly known for their maturity and hippies like James aren't known for monogamy. Just because how Lala made his point was wrong, that doesn't mean that the actual point was.

 

 

I find Violet really interesting as a character. She's grown on me since last season--the actress is gorgeous....and to me plays her with an interesting edge. She's blunt and brutal and she's one of the few characters on this show who truly succeeds in making me believe she's centuries old. Her bluntness is intrinsic, like it comes from a medieval place, so I like that. I feel the same way about Godric (first and foremost) and for some reason enjoy Bill's courtliness and Eric's brutality and romanticism. (I've never quite bough that Pam was a Victorian, but I love her too much to care. )

 

     I respectfully disagree.  IMO, Violet's not just blunt, she's rude, a bully and batshit crazy. The only thing Violet (who's no Godric) is committed to is controlling Jason.  Treating a character like a possession isn't romantic-like Bill's repeated declarations in past seasons that "Sookie was [his]"-it's psychotic. Violet may loosen Jason's leash, but she never takes it off. Even when Violet let Jason console Jessica after she caught James and Lafayette and took Sam and Nicole home, chances are she super-sped  back to the house to check on Jason in record time. I have never found anything good about Violet and now that she knows about Jason and Jessica's booty call, I think she's more unstable and dangerous than ever.

 

 

 

Just like they're pushing Sookie/Bill, they're really pushing Jason/Jessica as endgame. That's my theory, anyway.

 

I agree, I think we've seen the last of Hoyt.

 

I don't. As long as Jim Parrack's name is still in the opening credits, Hoyt's going to stick around.

Edited July 26, 2014 by DollEyes

[roctavia]

I don't. As long as Jim Parrack's name is still in the opening credits, Hoyt's going to stick around.

 

 

I do think Hoyt is going to be around in future episodes, though for how much exactly, I'm not sure... That said... I still can't see a reconciliation for him and Jessica.

 

It wasn't crazy circumstance that pulled them apart like we've seen many times in other relationships on TB... but it was just the two of them not happy as a couple... Or Jessica at least wasn't happy with him, which is why she broke up with him.

 

I loved their romance, it was sweet and beautiful and all of that, but it ended up not working. The 'true love' just wasn't there IMO. (since this is TV, which often runs on the concept of "true love" )   I don't think either of them have changed enough to suddenly be happy and in love with each other again, even more so if Hoyt gets unglamoured and remembers all of the pain and hurt that he wanted erased.

 

I kind of hope they end with Jessica on her own... but I have a hunch that's not where things are going.

[Nonlinear]

How did Eric get so powerful all of a sudden when he is at stage II?

[roctavia]

How did Eric get so powerful all of a sudden when he is at stage II?

 

My fanwank has been that stage 1 is very debilitating, but once you get to stage two, you sort of get a little bit of second wind- some of the energy comes back, even if it's not full what it should be.

 

Or he's been finding a lot of random people to drink and that's helping too.

[Nonlinear]

My fanwank has been that stage 1 is very debilitating, but once you get to stage two, you sort of get a little bit of second wind- some of the energy comes back, even if it's not full what it should be.

 

Or he's been finding a lot of random people to drink and that's helping too.

 

Thank you. :)