True Blood Review: “Cold Grey Light of Dawn” is Epic!

Last night’s episode of True Blood, “Cold Grey Light of Dawn”, fired on all cylinders. It was well written, well acted and moved the various storylines along in a way that delighted fans.

Sookie – Pretty much spent most of the episode in bed with Eric, but I didn’t hear a single complaint.

Bill – Delivers the story of Antonia in detail and devises the only way he knows of to keep the vampires under his rule safe from her curse. Antonia, accompanied by her circle of witches, invokes a curse that brings vampires out into the sun. To withstand this curse, Bill orders all his vampires to go to ground wrapped in silver. Painful, but they’ll heal and survive. When we see the power of this curse, it seems to me that Bill had the right idea.

Eric – Spent most of the episode in bed with Sookie, but there were some precious pillow-talk moments where the couple  discuss what’s to happen if Eric gets his memories back. Eric tells Sookie that if it means she will no longer love him, he doesn’t want them back. Sookie recalls the times before his memory sweep, when he actually did do some selfless, random acts of kindness, even for her. Perhaps, when Eric is curse-free, he will retain at least some of this lovable Eric? Fingers crossed, because I love him.

Jason – I love when Jason is in full cop mode, uniform and all. I’m beginning to think that he’s not so much simple-minded, it’s more that his mind works differently than anyone else. Dumb things may come out of his mouth, but I usually get what he’s driving at. Hoyt and Jason are having a chat at Jason’s house, and Hoyt begins to tell his bestie some of the girl problems he’s having with Jessica. Jason, guilt-ridden because he’s got some feelings for her now, decides it’s best to make some Sloppy Joes. Who knew Jason could cook?! Then, when Antonia casts her curse and Jason finds out about it, he goes running off to save Jessica. He has that blood bond thing going on and he feels her danger. I loved it! I hope he gets to her in time.

Sam and Luna – What a great scene for those two! It was fun watching them put things together and discover that Tommy can now shift into anyone or anything. Luna was mortified, and I didn’t blame her one bit. Sam was just pissed. He’s definitely had enough of family.

Tommy – Reaps the consequences of shifting into Sam and acting on it. His reward: Sam kicks him out of his life. Is this all we’ll see of Tommy? I hope not. I hope we see a redemption for that poor boy.

Tara – Well, we were told just before the season began, that Tara was going to be happy – for a while. Her moment of happiness is over. After Pam almost kills her, she sends Naomi packing in a scene that clearly showed us a Tara that is sick of running and won’t do it anymore. She’s going to fight for herself or die trying. I can’t say that I blame her. Although, I think I might have waited until Naomi had taken me home first. Now Tara has to find her own way home and who does she run into but Marnie/Antonia. Antonia and Tara discover a kindred spirit (no pun intended) when Antonia reminds Tara that all vampires have done throughout the ages was rape and feed off of humans. Uh, Franklin Mott anyone? Tara will do what it takes to survive and Antonia offers her a friendly hand.

Baby Mikey – Arlene brings Mikey to work with her in a baby backpack strapped to her back. Hilarious, and only Arlene would do that! However, things get really interesting when the mysterious woman appears in the kitchen and begins to sing a lullaby to him. Weirder still is the fact that Lafayette can see her! Even she is surprised at this. I love this part of the story.

Lafayette and Jesus – Jesus, in telling off his grandfather for almost killing him, lets slip that Lafayette is a medium. There’s that mystery solved. I love it! Lafayette, a medium. This is going to be good. By the way, wonderful acting done by Kevin Alejandro. His fans should be very pleased and not surprised.

Andy and Holly – I’m thinking that Andy needs to conquer his addiction before he tries to pursue any kind of relationship with anyone. He shows up at Merlotte’s with flowers for Holly, but as they are talking, his need for V kicks in and he ends up leaving – with the flowers. Well, Arlene did warn Holly about the Bellefleurs. I kind of don’t care if they get together, but I do like Holly and her part in the witch story.

Debbie and Alcide – After being initiated into a new pack, the couple go in search of Sookie to make sure she is alright. They stumble upon her and Eric in the clearing. Oopsies! Later, they have troubles in bed as Debbie tells Alcide that she knows he has feelings for Sookie, and this is what’s blocking their, erm, pleasure exercise. Alcide reassures Debbie that he only loves her, but one is left with a question about his honesty. In all the confessions and soul-searching we see, his is the one that rings empty. I think Alcide needs to be honest with himself and admit that his feelings for The Sook run deeper than he’s letting on. Here is a relationship that will not end well at all.

Marnie/Antonia – I saved the best for last. This is one powerful spirit, and she’s had over a hundred years to feed her hatred and bitterness against vampires. I don’t blame her. She was tortured, raped and finally burned at the stake by them. She died, spewing that curse that brought the vamps out into the sunlight. She found a very willing vessel in Marnie to come back and finish the job. I loved how she takes control of the very vampire who raped her, Luis. She is powerful enough to glamour a vampire! Luis ends up staking himself after delivering a message to Bill that she has returned. And during the “Curse Session”, she actually levitates! She is a scary spirit.

I have to say without any surprise at all, that Fiona Shaw is once again blowing us all away with her acting. I love this woman. When she is on the screen, she dominates. If she doesn’t return for season five, I will miss her. I like Marnie/Antonia because of Ms. Shaw.

This episode allows us once again to examine the characters, up close and personal. The father/daughter moment between Bill and Jessica was so bittersweet, I wanted to cry. Bill was so effected by how brutal the guard was in wrapping the chains around Jess, that eh finally took over the job himself, talking her through the whole thing and reassuring her that she will heal. She, in turn, tries to encourage Bill. “I’ve learned more from my time with you than all the time spent with my real parents.”

Eric doesn’t want to go back to the vampire he was if it means losing Sookie. Sookie displays her affection in an act of tough love as she climbs on top of Eric to keep him from obeying the pull of the curse.

I’m still reeling from the wonderful acting done by the entire cast, in this episode. The cliffhanger at the end leaves us all breathless as Jessica escapes her bonds and crawls to the front door and opens it to the bright sunshine. The screams of “NO!” resounded throughout cyberspace. We’ll have to wait for next week’s episode to find out the baby vamp’s fate. they gave nothing away in the previews for “Spellbound”. Grr!

Watch next week’s True Blood, “Spellbound”, next Sunday night at 9/8 central, only on HBO and HBO GO.