"Never Let Me Go" s2 ep5 recap

[Crashdown mommy]

Jason continues to impress his brainwashers with his promise, most significantly the delightful Sarah Newlin. Lafayette is back at Merlotte's, which Maryann has turned into a wasp's nest of discord in an effort to get back in Tara's good graces. In Dallas, Sookie hopes that fellow telepath Barry will help her in her plan to find the 2,000-year-old vampire Godric — a plan that will unwittingly reunite her with her brother.

AT JESUS CAMP

Jason starts boot camp for the Soldiers of the Sun, and as we previously saw, he has a real knack for blind devotion. When The Lukenator has trouble getting over a fence, for example, he helps him save face with Sarah, who is kind of like a cheerleader for the new recruits, and the oddly religious drill instructor (the meanest thing out of his mouth is "sinner!").

Speaking of, that guy and Rev. Newlin are hatching some nefarious plan that Sarah thinks "goes too far." It's looking like Sookie and her brother are going to cross paths soon, so it's a fair assumption that it has something to do with the missing vampire Godric. For the time being, The Rev. shrugs off Sarah's concerns and brings Jason to the basement to show him his scary, extensive munitions bunker.

This humiliation does not sit well with Sarah, who recovers by joining Jason while he's in the bathtub. She offers him some very thorough loofah-ing and a little storytime about Mary Magdalene bathing Jesus as a sign of her devotion. "Let me reward you, Jason," she says. "Let me help you find your way back to joy." But! Instead of drying his feet with her hair or whatever, she gives him the modern version of the tale: Let's call it the "laying on of hands", like below the water line in the bathtub. Sweet Jesus!

AT MERLOTTE'S

Hey guys, guess what? Daphne is a shape-shifter too, her animal of choice: a doe that bears a striking resemblance to Ashley Jones, no? The trusting Sam appears to dig their new secret kinship, which only makes me more suspicious that Daphne is actually a plant, sent to Merlotte's by Maryann to keep an eye on Sam. Am I crazy?

Arlene and Terry are still enjoying the afterglow of their Maryann-induced hookup, and Lafayette is back! He remains mum on the details of his disappearance, but it's clear that he is a changed man. So for like 30 minutes or so, everything is hunky-dory at Merlotte's.

That is, until Maryann and Eggs pull up outside the bar. Maryann stays in the car and with a few squinty concentration faces, suddenly everyone inside the bar has a serious case of the Mondays. As the insults, accusations and judgments fly, it's clear that Maryann is able to spread discord as well as euphoria. (Remember what Michelle Forbes said about chaos?) Also, did anyone notice that whatever Maryann was doing to Tara, Sam, Arlene and Terry appeared to have no effect whatsoever on Lafayette?

Oh, also: Sam and Daphne totally do it on the pool table, but first they exchange eye-roll-worthy billiards puns about her "rack" and his "balls." Groan.

AT SOOKIE'S

So here's something weird that happened: Maryann, Karl and Eggs have moved into Sookie's house, uninvited. Apparently, the Home for Wayward Cajun Youth was a loaner, and now the bizarre trio is homeless. Naturally, Tara balks at this idea, as she herself is a guest in Chez Stackhouse. But Maryann does her best impression of my mother when I tell her I'm not coming home for Easter and lays the guilt on thick, like with a trowel.

After having a really bad night at Merlotte's (see above), Tara comes home and tells Maryann, who is now incongruously wearing an apron and dressing the part of the mother Tara so desperately needs, that she and her merry men can stay for now. "You know why I'm good to you?" Maryann asks. "Because you need it so much, and because it makes you bloom like a flower."

IN DALLAS

After her fortuitous meeting with also-telepathic Barry the bellman (Chris Coy) at the vampire hotel, Sookie is excited to meet someone who shares her gift. Barry is not as chuffed, as he sees it as a burden. In fact, he's had to surround himself with vampires to silence the voices in his head. Sookie so spooks him that we find out later that he quit his job at the hotel, and is now missing.

Bill is (what else is new?) upset that Sookie has revealed her gift to someone else, as her safety is paramount. He's also cranky about Jessica having ordered a man on which to feed from room service. His mood is momentarily lifted as Sookie suggests they have sex. With Fake Mommy and Vampire Daddy off fang-banging in the other room, Jessica calls Hoyt, and they have a sweet conversation in which he tells her about the comic book he's reading.

Sookie, Bill and Eric meet with Isabel (Valerie Cruz) and Stan (Ed Quinn), high-ranking officials in the Dallas vampire hierarchy. They are chic and acid-tongued, and I love their particular brand of insouciance. Sookie points out that only Isabel and Stan knew that Sookie, Bill and Jessica were coming to Dallas, so there must be a traitor within their organization. (Aside: Is it me or is Sookie's wardrobe getting weirder and weirder?)

I like seeing the interaction among Isabel, Stan, Eric and Bill, as it underscores the fact that some vampires are good and some vampires are not. And just like humans, their relative merits and drawbacks all exist in shades of gray. Eric is visibly incensed that their squabbling is distracting them from their mission: finding Godric. Bill picks up on his excessive concern, which propels us into a 1,000-year-old flashback, in which we learn that a young Godric was Eric's maker.

Sookie volunteers to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun to find out if they're involved in Godric's disappearance. Bill (what else is new?) resists the idea, but eventually agrees to it. While Bill and Sookie celebrate the 105th time that they have played out the exact same scene by having sex yet again, a mysterious woman comes traipsing down the hotel hallway, listens in at the door, and exposes her fangs.

Now. Who is she? At first I thought it was Isabel, but a quick TiVo check seemed to indicate otherwise. Then I had a crazy theory, did a little research, and I think I figured out her identity. It's a bit of a spoiler though, so only click this link to the actress who plays said mystery woman if you're OK with that. Suffice it to say that her presence is not incidental.

OUTRO

Forgive me for being such a music nerd, but I'm loving the show's clever outro tunes. This week it's "Never Let Me Go" by Kallie Webster, from which the episode takes its title.

So, what did you think? Again, what is Maryann's endgame? And does Daphne have anything to do with it? What's up with Lafayette? And how will Sookie's mission be compromised once she discovers that Jason is the Fellowship's head vamp staker?
True Blood Episode Recap: "Never Let Me Go" - TV Show Recaps | TVGuide.com