The Price of Bliss: Life, Death, and What Lies in Between on "True Blood"

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become." - Buddha

You had the chance to read my advance review of this week's episode of True Blood ("I Will Rise Up"), written by Nancy Oliver and directed by Scott Winant, but now that the episode has aired, we can finally talk specifics about this heartbreaking and profound installment of the Southern Gothic series.

It's rare that a series can manage to surprise you, much less make you laugh, cry, and shudder all in the same episode. Yet that's just what True Blood managed to do this week, pulling off a death-defying blend of sex, sacrifice, and salvation.

The notion of sacrifice has lurked beneath the surface of Season Two of True Blood in several forms: we see both the frenzied need for human sacrifice from maenad Maryann and her crazed disciples, the misguided zealotry of Luke which leads to his silver-laden suicide bombing at Godric's nest, and the sacrifice that Godric makes not once but twice.

I had a feeling there was something going on between Godric and the Fellowship of the Sun. I never imagined, however, that Godric willingly offered himself up as a target for their hatred and fanaticism. He claims that he did so because the humans would come for one of them eventually and that he made the first move, turned the other cheek, was willing to die for their sins and blood-lust.

But that's not entirely true either: Godric had a death wish. Or rather, he wished for a way out of his eternal prison, an opportunity to cast off the final remnants of his mortal coil and join the infinite. His immortal existence had become a burden to onerous to carry any longer, a cross too heavy to bear.

Godric's self-sacrifice standing in the first rays of morning light was exquisite and in keeping with his role as a Christ figure in the story. That he would be redeemed by Sookie's tears and her human presence at his very end was as touching as it was gut-wrenching. Several characters alluded to being alone in this episode yet Godric wasn't alone at the end as Sookie was there to see him burst into blue flames and become one with the universe.

That it was a human who witnessed his final moments was important and spoke to the message of love and compassion that Godric understood towards the end: there is more to life than kill and survive, there is a higher morality, a sense of right and wrong. There is the potential for love and understanding between these two ancient enemies. That Eric would want to die with his maker underscores the bond between them but it's not his time to "die," and so Godric commands him to leave. But it's Sookie's rather than Eric's tears which symbolize his final benediction.

I knew he would likely die by his own hand before the season was out but never imagined that I'd care for Godric as much as I did after just two episodes (and one dialogue-less scene). Credit goes to Danish newcomer Allan Hyde for turning Godric into a painfully human and complicated figure whose ultimate end is shockingly memorable.

The scene on the roof between Eric and Godric was absolutely heartbreaking. Despite his duplicity earlier in the episode (more on that in a bit), it proved in no uncertain terms that Eric does have a heart, is capable of love, and does feel something other than malice. When Godric said, "Father. Brother. Son," I lost it and I knew that Eric would as well. How does one go on when one's maker cannot? What does immortality matter, if you are alone? Suffice it to say, Alexander Skarsgard was sensational and this scene between he and Allan Hyde should be included on next year's Emmy nomination reel. To say that Skargard's performance was heartrending is a massive understatement.

Contrast this heartbreak with Eric's mercenary behavior after the bombing at Godric's nest. Despite the fact that he willingly shields Sookie with his own body (perhaps even knowingly sacrifices his own safety for hers), he uses the chaos and confusion to take advantage of Sookie's good-nature, compelling her to literally suck the silver out of his chest as he claims to be dying. But it's all just a clever ruse: he was never in any real danger and could have healed himself and pushed the silver out of his wounds. Instead, it's a manifestation of the threat he poses to Bill, an excuse to get Sookie to unwittingly drink his blood and forge a connection between the two of them.

Those stolen moments--which represent a real evolution of Eric's designs on Sookie--forever transform their relationship. As Bill promises, there are sexual feelings developing between Eric and Sookie as a result of her drinking his blood... desires which become all too clear during a haunting dream in which she and Eric lay in bed naked together. Just what will this development mean for Sookie and Bill's romantic relationship? And for Sookie's own future? Just how long can she fight these feelings?

Sam escaping Maryann by transforming into a fly? Genius. Sam Trammel is playing Sam Merlotte pitch perfectly, managing in a look, a shudder, a turn of the head, to convey a palpable sense of absolute mortal terror every time he is on screen. More than anything, it's his morality that's betrayed when he finds Daphne in the walk-in and he can't come to grips, despite his own preternatural abilities, that he lives in a broken world where callous and brutal murder would be possible.

That Sam would have to turn to Andy Bellefleur as his only possible ally in the battle against Maryann (and turns up at his motel stark naked)? Brilliant. I can't wait to see just what this twisted partnership leads to... but I am very worried for Sam Merlotte. After all, a god's vengeance is raining down upon his head and there seem to be very few who can withstand Maryann's spell. Do he and Andy have a snowball's chance in hell of stopping Maryann? I shudder to think.

I loved the scene between Sookie and Jason at the hotel, in which they finally expressed their love and support for one another. These two siblings have been through so much in the last two seasons yet haven't ever sat down to talk about the death of Gran, what happened with Eddie and Amy, and their own recent, uh, troubles with the Fellowship of the Sun. Anna Paquin and Ryan Kwanten effortlessly pulled off a completely genuine sense of sibling camaraderie in their touching scene together, infusing it with the deep sense of familial love and also a sense of humor. (Kick his head in a bucket around the yard indeed.)

As for Hoyt and Jessica, there is another huge speed bumps to their relationship this week in the form of the spiteful Maxine. I couldn't believe that Hoyt stood up to his bigoted mother (and walked out with half of his grilled cheese and potato chip sandwich) and that he still wanted to introduce Jessica to her even after her reaction. While the encounter at Merlotte's could have been stereotypical--overbearing mother, eager-to-please girlfriend, and Hoyt in the middle--the end result was brutally blunt as poor Jessica, egged on by Maxine, comes to the depressing realization that she can't give Hoyt babies. Deborah Ann Woll's plaintive expression when Jessica realizes this was profoundly agonizing.

The Lafayette-Tara-Lettie Mae-Eggs confrontation had me on the edge of my seat. I love Tara and I hate seeing her being pulled deeper and deeper into the darkness by Maryann. I'm hoping she finds the strength to throw off her influence, though judging from this week's episode, Maryann has her claws sunk pretty deep into Tara. That she could push Tara into a frenzy so easily, send her strangling Lettie Mae without blinking an eye is terrifying. And I'm more than a little worried about what it means that Lafayette and Lettie Mae took Tara... and don't really have a means of calming her down. There's going to be hell to pay... and from the terrifying visage of Maryann at Merlotte's--"a god demands his sacrifice"--there's one hell of a showdown in store for Bon Temps.

Best line of the evening: "I hate your hair." - Sarah Newlin (Anna Camp) to Nan Flanagan (Jessica Tuck)

Ultimately, I thought that this week's installment of True Blood not only ramped up the tension and set in motion a final showdown in Bon Temps but also transformed this seductive supernatural series into something deeper and more profound, pushing it from the darkness into the territory of the divine.

Next week on True Blood ("New World in My View"), Sookie, Bill and Jason return to Bon Temps; Sam and Andy find themselves attacked by a group of bloodthirsty revelers at Merlotte's; Bill discovers that traditional vampire techniques don’t work on Maryann; Hoyt and Jessica try to keep a lid on Maxine’s madness; Sookie tries to push through the darkness consuming Tara.

Next on True Blood: Episode 22: