True Blood’s Marnie and 1980’s Bill Compton

This week on True Blood, we finally get an explanation of how Bill Compton ascended to the throne as King of Louisiana, and how he met Nan Flanagan. We also watch as Marnie (Fiona Shaw) casts a terrible spell on Eric, causing him to loose his memory and gain some insight to the world of shifters. Again, there was a lot going on in “You Smell Like Dinner”, but it is the above three points that I particularly wish to comment on.

Let’s look at Marnie first. Some odd things happen when her coven gathers, and at times it seems as though she is being possessed by someone else. Her eyes begin to glow and we see another woman’s face overlaying hers. We know from all the spoilers and casting information that we read during the hiatus, that Marnie and Hallow Stonebridge were one and the same. Here again we have Alan Ball departing from the books, and he’s doing it brilliantly. It looks as though whatever Lafayette’s unknown and untapped power is, it is enough to generate enough power for Hallow to put in an appearance during a meeting.

Check it out: when the group was trying to ‘send the parrot on to another plane’, it was only when Lafayette finally completed the circle that the bird suddenly and shockingly returned to life. In ‘Dinner’, Eric bursts into the room and threatens Marnie if she doesn’t stop her meetings, finally attacking her. The group begins their chant but Lafayette hesitates. That is until his cousin, Tara, comes under fire from Eric after she tries to stake him to save Marnie. Then he quickly steps in and closes the circle, firing up the chant which results in Hallow’s power being released through Marnie. interesting, no? Eric leaves very quickly and without all of his marbles, it seems. This is powerful stuff and I can’t wait to find out more about Marnie, Hallow and Lafayette. By the way, brilliant acting by Alexander Skarsgard as we watch the spell take hold of him.

The next thing that was so interesting to me was the flashback to the ’80s with Bill Compton, punked out in a rough and rowdy bar in London. I loved that Stephen Moyer was able to use his own accent in this scene. We find out that Nan Flanagan has been watching Bill for some time, and apparently due to his feeding habits, i.e. leaving his dinner alive and happy, she recruits Bill to sow dissension among the vampire hierarchy, opening the door for mainstreaming among humans. So Bill Compton is the vampire version of a spy, working for Nan, who in turn is working for a higher vampire authority. Who it that? We have another mystery, folks!

Finally, we are lead inside the world of the shape-shifters. Sam and Luna have a moment where Sam tries to draw Luna out and get to know her more. She holds back until later in the show, when the shifter group meets again and she finally reveals that she is a skinwalker. Becoming a skinwalker means you must kill another shifter first. this allows the shifter to become any form of animal, including humans. So she has shifted into her mother, who died giving birth to Luna. This opens the door to some possible storylines later in the season. What will she do with this ability? Will she use it for Sam, against Sam, or some other way?

Like I said, another loaded episode, leading us deeper into the supernatural town of Bon Temps. I didn’t even touch on Jason’s story with the were-panthers, the cubby that Eric had installed in Sookie’s house, or the fact that Jessica fed on a human again. Fallout from all of this is coming.

Watch True Blood every Sunday night at 9/8 central, only on HBO.