****SPOILER ALERT! DON’T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS EPISODE YET! BUT DO COME BACK WHEN YOU HAVE!****

“What a difference a year makes.”

Well, after a looooong wait we are finally rewarded with the first episode of season 4. TrueBlood kicked off tonight with a clash and ends with sizzle. It was intriguing, exciting and very, very delicious. If you weren’t hooked before, you definitely will be now. There were a couple WTF moments, some hilarity and a lot of changes. Things are very different in Bon Temps and it’s gonna take Sookie — and us — some getting used to. Buckle up folks. Season 4 is going to be a wild and witchy ride. Enjoy the preview for next week too!

Sookie arrives in faery land with her, and get this, her faery godmother Claudine. All seems well, but as is usually the case if it looks too good to be true it most likely is. Sookie looks around her and runs into Barry the bell boy. Faeries are walking around with plates of glowing fruit. Knowing what I do about the fae, I kept thinking, “DON’T EAT THE FRUIT! DON’T EAT THE FRUIT!” Luckily Sookie is a clever girl and she hesitates. She looks around her at the glimmering, pillared ballroom filled with faeries and people all lustily eating the fruit and she realizes that something isn’t quite right.

She sees her granddaddy Earl who had mysteriously disappeared 20 years earlier and she pulls him aside so they can talk and catch up. He is flabbergasted at the fact that so much time went by when to him it only seemed like a little while. Sookie tells him that Gran is gone, sparing him the grisly details, and that her parents died in a flood.

Right about now, Sookie begins to see through the fae glamour and she warns her granddaddy that it is a trap. Even though she uses her telepathic abilities to communicate with him, Sookie’s warning is over heard. An authoritative voice calls out, “A trap?”, echoing Sookie’s thoughts. The crowd parts, revealing an ominous and powerful Queen Mab, who even though she is trying to appear disarming it is plainly obvious all around her are intimidated supplicants.

It isn’t long before Sookie figures out Mab’s diabolical plans for her and Mab is trying to force Sookie to eat the enchanted and rotten fruit. Good ol’ Sookie gives Mab a light blast and Mab’s glamour, everyone’s glamour for that matter, is busted and the true colors of this fae bunch is revealed. Sookie and Grandpa Earl make a run for it and Mab and her cohorts give chase.

Sookie gets some unexpected help from some rogue faeries who do not agree with Mab’s plan to cut off the human realm from the fae realm. As Mab starts closing the portal, Sookie and granddaddy Earl jump off the cliff to escape. Mab gives them a dire warning, that they will die if they try to leave, but of course you know Sookie isn’t going to listen to a thing that woman says.

After the jump, Sookie and her grandfather end up in the Bon Temps graveyard. As soon as Sookie enters the human realm, Eric is awakened, sensing her presence immediately even thought it is daytime. Knowing he is going to die, Earl gives Sookie a golden pocket watch to give to Jason, and it isn’t long before Earl dies and vanishes in a puff of ash and smoke as if he never was, leaving Sookie sobbing and alone.

Sookie goes home and is astonished to see it restored to it’s former splendor. In fact, workmen are still working there and they try and dissuade her from “trespassing”. Sookie blows them off because it’s her house, isn’t it? As promised, the workmen call the law, and who should arrive? It’s none other than Jason Stackhouse, chin beard and all dressed to the nines in the outfit of a policeman.

He’s shocked to see Sookie and then we are shocked to find out Sookie has been gone for 12 1/2 months. Everyone thought she was dead and gave up on her, even Jason, hence his decision to sell Sookie’s house, hence the workmen. Sookie is determined that she will get her house back.

At exactly 6:35pm Bill Compton zooms up to the house, elated that Sookie has returned safe and sound. He had thought she was dead. Even he gave up on her. Forgetting their state of affairs for a moment, Bill goes to embrace her, but Sookie reminds him that things are still the same. Moments later, Eric appears and succinctly tells Sookie that out of all the people who claimed to love her, only he and he alone never gave up on her. Now here’s the weird part. Bill orders him to leave, and Eric complies, but not without a cryptic parting statement for Sookie. “Nice paint,” he says before he departs as quickly as he arrives. I didn’t get it at first why he would say something so inane, but Eric never does or says anything without a reason, that much I do know.

Andy arrives, blustering and mad as hatter once he realizes that Sookie was fine the whole time and cost him an award in the form of a wall plaque. When he asks where she’s been all this time without a word to a soul, Bill steps in and  says she was on secret vampire business. Coincidentally, Bill had been accused of killing Sookie, and with her sudden appearance in Bon Temps it seems Bill is in the clear. Now Andy is normally a bit of a loud mouth, but his sudden outburst was reason for pause. Jason comes running out of the house at the sound of all the ruckus Andy’s making and corrals the older cop into the squad car. Funny isn’t it that Jason and Andy seemed to have changed roles. It makes sense though when we discover that Andy is hooked on V.

And sorry, all of you who are rooting for a loving Bill and Sookie reunion complete with fervent hugging and passionate kissing — it just not going to happen in this episode, or maybe even this season. It’s obvious that there is still intense feeling between them, but it’s highly doubtful that things can go back to good between them since Bill deceived Sookie and broke her heart so thoroughly.

Lafayette and Jesus are a devoted couple now and it seems that Jesus has been trying to get Lala to accept and embrace his witchy nature. Lafayette (check out that new hairdo!) is having none of it and doesn’t appreciate Jesus dragging him to yet another witchy pagan gathering. They enter a shop called the MoonGoddess Emporium where a group of witches are sitting in a circle holding hands holding a friendly wiccan meeting. Holly and Katie greet Lafayette and Jesus, but no amount of familiarity is going to get Lafayette to take this group seriously. Marnie, the greatest witch ever, is in a trance and beckons Lafayette over. She has a message for Lala from Eddie who has a rose for our favorite Merlotte’s cook. Sufficiently freaked out by her knowledge of private things, Lafayette leaves and Jesus follows.

Arlene and Terry (and Renee…) have had a beautiful baby boy named Mikey. He’s managed to rip the heads off a bunch of barbie dolls which makes an already  extremely worried Arlene even more worried. We find out that Tara has taken Sam’s advice and has made a whole new life for herself in New Orleans. It looks like she is finally happy too. She’s taking out her frustrations in the octagon, channeling her anger into winning and she’s a champion. She also has a new name which is Toni, and a new relationship with the woman she was so aggressively fighting in the ring. Jess and Hoyt are experiencing not so domestic bliss and are fighting over something which seems to be quite the hot button issue for them.

Over at Fangtasia, Nan Flanagan is trying to tape a vampire PSA with Pam. It’s not quite working out, so Eric steps in and gives one charming and convincing performance. He’s selling the “vampires are not a threat in the post Russell Edgington world” spin.  A world where Bill is a politician?

Sookie’s having a reunion with the staff at Merlotte’s and has asked Sam for her old job back. Though he’s pissed at her for taking off without a word, he gives her the job but only part time. She also finds out from Lafayette that Tara has moved away from Bon Temps and no one ever sees her though she does write Lala every now and again. Andy accosts Lafayette in the kitchen, hassling him for some V saying he needs it for some undercover work. Jason comes to the rescue again and covers Andy’s butt, smoothing things over with Lafayette with cop innuendo.

And enter the big WTF moment. Maxine barges into Merlotte’s ordering people around like she owns the joint and guess who’s with her? Why, it’s none other than Tommy! He’s got a limp and a leg brace and a whole new prayerful demeanor, though he does subtly taunt Sam. Finding out what happened there should be interesting. Back in New Orleans, “Toni’s” idyllic new life is disrupted when she gets a text from Lafayette telling her that Sookie is back. Toni tells her girlfriend Naomi it’s her dad in Atlanta. Tara/Toni decides she’s not going home, not even for a “funeral”. I wonder if the lure of Bon Temps and Sookie will prove to be irresistible. Something tells me it will.

Sookie meets with Portia Bellefleur about getting her house back. Sookie hears Portia’s thoughts and the lawyer is obviously crushing on Bill. Jessica and Hoyt are having a date night at Fangtasia and Jessica is getting hit on by a fangbanger. Pam is watching avidly and she follows Jessica to the bathroom where she laughs at Jessica for pretending her relationship with Hoyt is enough. Jessica defends her choice of life but Pam is no where near convinced. And neither I’m sure is Jessica.

Sam has joined an anger management group… for shifters where they drink wine, shift and go for night time runs as horses no less! Jason has been taking care of the people in Hotshot like Crystal asked him to, hence the change in his maturity. He brings them much needed food but when his back is turned he’s hit on the head and is tossed and locked into a freezer.

Jesus has convinced Lala to go to another wiccan meeting at MoonGoddess and once again they are sitting in a circle but this time they are doing a spell. And it is a spell that Marnie has tricked them into doing too. She orders Lafayette to join the circle and when he joins his hands to theirs a jolt of power so intense goes through the group and it gives “life” to the spell. The pet bird Marnie was trying to bring back from the dead flies off the little altar briefly and falls to the floor. I think Marnie knew all along that Lafayette is powerful and that she will try to harness that power, don’t you?

And Katie, well, though she seems sweet and innocent she is in the employ of one Bill Compton. I wonder what tales she will have to tell him? And BTW, does Katie look familiar to you? Or is it just me? Oh, and the biggest WTF moment of the night? Well that would be this, Bill Compton is the king of Louisiana.

But the best scene of the night is between Eric and Sookie. Eric suddenly appears in Sookie’s room as she is dressing after a shower. And no, this is no dream sequence. Dangling a key infront of her, Eric reveals that he is the owner of the house which is how he got in. You see, unlike everyone else, Eric never gave up on Sookie. He knew she’d be back and when she returned he wanted power over her. Own the house, own Sookie. Looking at Sookie with intent, he advances on her and annunciates every word strongly as he says, “Sookie…you…are…mine.”

And then he drops fang.

Simply delicious. I like Bill and Sookie together, but I can’t wait to see Eric and Sookie together. Aren’t you curious to see where their relationship will go?

What was your favorite scene of the night? What was your biggest WTF moment? Do tell. 😀

If you are one of the unfortunate ones (like me 🙁 who doesn’t get to access HBOGO because we live in Canada) here’s a preview of next week’s show!

Episode 4:2 – “You Smell Like Dinner” – Sookie adjusts to Bon Temps’ new realities; Bill reveals pieces of his past; Eric crashes a witches’ meeting; Jason gets his wounds licked; Andy struggles with his addiction; Sam learns of Luna’s special talents; Jessica satisfies her blood cravings; Arlene witnesses strange behavior from her family.

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