True Blood kicked into high gear last week and didn't slow down one bit with "Hitting the Ground." All the setup of the first half of the season is finally paying off in a big way. The episode flew forward, advancing the main plot in gory fashion and ending with even more blood.
The first couple minutes are a bloody, glorious mess. Lorena explodes after Bill grabs her and Sookie impales her, leaving guts and blood everywhere. It's hard to stomach the disgusting matter lying on the ground, but it's entrancing at the same time. Debbie comes in to stop them, but Tara's quick action (hooray!) allows her, Sookie, Alcide, and Bill to get away. Unable to resuscitate Bill in the back of the van through normal means, Sookie feeds him some blood--bad choice. Bill comes around, and in his haze, nearly sucks the life out of her, an animalistic instinct which rears its head on occasion.
Tara, again, takes matters into her own hands, knocking Bill out the back of the van and brings Sookie to the hospital. The doctors, however, can't find a match for her blood--another indication she isn't normal--and all seems lost. Sookie enters a classic Alan Ball dream sequence. A woman named Claudette shows Sookie the place--a mystical garden where people dance and drink from a special pool of water. Then, the dark comes and Claudette warns Sookie, telling her not to let him take it from her. Does anyone think Bill has bad intentions and wants to steal her powers? I doubt a dream will do much to dissuade Sookie. We learn more about Sookie's family, this time via Sophie Anne's plaything Hadley, who is revealed to be Sookie's cousin.
The final 10 minutes of the episode was all about Russell and his grand plans. Confronting the Magister in the dungeon Fangtasia, he quickly lays waste the Magister and all the rules. The "Authority," as the Magister calls them, has some kind of dominion over all vampires, but Russell doesn't care. Either he believes they won't move against him or he thinks he can defeat them which is a scary prospect for Eric if he ever wants revenge. It also gives him more incentive to investigate Sookie's powers. Possibly, she could be the only one strong enough to defeat Russell.
Despite my continued displeasure over the use of Jessica--or non-use in this week's episode--Bon Temps was sent to the background where it rightfully belongs. Jason's still poking around for information on Crystal, and the criminal he tackled a couple episodes earlier turns out to be her cousin, and he'll spill information once Jason brings him meth. Lafayette, however, is done helping Jason with drugs and Sookie's condition interrupts everything before a resolution can be made.
Sam's story was the most exciting it's been, but still not to par, ending with Sam saving his brother from his evil parents, after letting the other dogs loose and raising the alarm. His father vows payback, but what more is there to tell? The Mickens are shapeshifters and Joe Lee is useless, evil SOB who everyone hates. Sam has Tommy now, so it seems the story is wrapped up.
After a bland start to the season, the past two episodes have been what we've been waiting for. Everything (minus the pointless Bon Temps) is coming together and the second half of the season looks to be as good as the series has ever been.
Score: 9.4/10
