TRUE BLOOD Season 2 Finale: "Beyond Here Lies Nothin" - Review
|
|
 |
Another season of "True Blood" in the books. The second seasoned concluded with "Beyond Here Lies Nothin", an episode which in typical "True Blood" fashion, brought the good, the bad, the ugly, and the weird, and...the shocking. If you recall, in the episode before this, which was two weeks ago, Bon Temps looked doomed as Lafayette had fallen under Maryann's influence, and Sookie discovered an ominous-looking egg upstairs in her house. But in the season finale, we learn that the egg was far from what most believed it to be. And in fact, that what the vampire queen Sophie Anne said about Maenad's, and Maryann in particular was right. |
Maryann's wedding to her "god" goes as planned, and Bill even makes it easy for her by bringing Sam to her during the ceremony, in which Jason and Andy too end up falling under Maryann's black-eyed influence. Bill and Sam though had formulated a plan prior to Bill bringing Sam to Maryann. A very risky plan, but a plan nonetheless. However, while the plan does work, and Maryann does get defeated, there's two problems with how this all goes down. First off, considering the sequence of events the first time Bill and Maryann met, I found it a tad bit unbelievable that Maryann would just fall for Bill and Sam's rouse as easily as she did.
I mean they really suckered her in, and I dunno, maybe it was because Maryann was so ready to get "wedded" so to speak, that she had let her guard down too much. Thus Bill and Sam were able to pull a fast one on her. Second, how Maryann dies is just fucking weird. It involves Sam using his "gift" which leads to Maryann's ultimate downfall. But the scene is so non-dramatic, odd, and quite hilarious. For such a dastardly, powerful, wicked, and evil villain as Maryann was this season, I did not expect her to bow out in such oddball and cornball fashion.
Oh Maryann's death was definitely vintage "True Blood" with it's strange twists and puzzling events, but I just thought it would be as super-dramatic as last seasons big battle where Renee chased-down, and almost killed Sookie and it took Bill and Sam to ultimately save her. That was fucking dramatic, exciting, and intense all in the same breath! But Maryann's downfall was just one huge hoot. It was so bizarre and out there that instead of feeling relief, that this evil had been vanquished, I couldn't stop laughing for 4 whole minutes. I am not saying Maryann's untimely death was shitty writing by the series penners, but I'm just saying it wasn't as serious-toned and dark as I had hoped and expected.
|
|
 |
Then again, an arguement could be made that this season has already had it's fair share of darkness and maybe they wanted to makes Maryann's final scene a bit more light-hearted? Possibly that, or to prepare us for a very dark ending to the season finale overall? At any rate, Maryann's death puts everything in Bon Temps back to normal, but no one remembers anything. And despite Andy's protests of what happened, the townspeople just laugh at him. Andy though gets his job and his badge back, so it looks like in season 3, Andy is back on the job. |
The season finale isn't all sunshine and rainbows though. We do find out some lurking secrets, like who directed Eric to put Lafayette back into the "V" blood business, and Eggs has a total breakdown over the murders that he's committed while he was under Maryann's influence. This leads Eggs to some very dark places, and ultimately, he doesn't get a very happy ending when all is said and done. And this of course connects to Tara, who after making up with Sookie, and being freed from Maryann's influence, once again gets hit with a face-full of bad news.
So this leaves us with Sookie and Bill, who after defeating Maryann, decide to have a night out. And another couple, Jessica and Hoyt, who just can't seem to get their shit together for a variety of reasons. It seems in the case of Jessica and Hoyt, things are gonna head down a dark road. Hoyt learns some disturbing info from his mother about his father, and he once again leaves his mom to go make up with Jessica. But Jessica it would seem is done with love, and based on a scene late in the season 2 finale, has now turned towards her more "predatory" nature. So it looks like my prediction about her eventually killing Hoyt might be just a matter of time?
We'll have to wait until season 3 to see for sure though. Sookie and Bill meanwhile have a romantic night out at a restaurant which Bill rented out for the evening, and Bill decides to ask Sookie and huge question. Sookie at first doesn't give an answer right away, and actually leaves Bill to go mull over what he's just proposed to her. But as she's gone, Bill is spirited away, or simply put, vampire-napped by someone dressed in black with a silver necklace-like weapon which they use to subdue him. Sookie meanwhile finally has an answer for Bill, but by the time she gets back to the table, she sees broken dishes and the door hanging wide open to the restaurant. Signaling Bill is gone. Of course, early on in season 3, she will think he left in anger, but eventually it'll come out that he's been snatched...but by whom? So that's how they leave season 2 hanging. Prepare for season 3 next summer, aka...."The case of the missing Bill Compton."
Social Bookmarking
| | | |
