*** Warning Major Spoilers In This Review ***
Talk us through it"Don't you feel sorry for yellin' at that snoopy old bitch. She's been stickin' her nose where it don't belong for years" - TaraWith her grandmother becoming the latest victim of the serial killer stalking Bon Temps Sookie is left dazed and confused and unable to handle the situation. She is unable to block out the thoughts of those around her and knows the locals are blaming her involvement with Vampire Bill as the cause of Adele Stackhouse's death. Both Bill and Sam are there to help here but are circling each other, though Sookie clearly prefers Bill to Sam. However Bill can only be there at night, which is going to be kind of hard as he has already deduced that Sookie was the intended target. Meanwhile Jason is of course doing what he does best, shagging the nearest available female and being the last to find out what happened the previous night. It doesn't help that Jason is suffering from "V juice" withdrawn symptoms and is not operating at anything like his normal gormless capacity. Sookie makes a scene at both the cemetery and her house as she loses it completely and the full impact of Adele's death hits her. Thankfully for Sookie both Tara and Lafayette are at hand to offer comfort. A surprise speaker at Adele's funeral will turn up the latest twist in the plot, we're talking demonic possession here kids. And before I forget Bill and Sookie finally consummate their passion, which sort of coincides with lust over Bon Temps as things get steamy.
ReviewSurprisingly, for a show about vampires and serial killers, True Blood has been pretty prim and proper in depicting the sharp end of the stake. Kills happen off screen and are pretty sanitised even for a television audience. With Adele's death either Director Nick Gomez is taking off the gloves and pointing to a far more blood splattered second half to season one or, as I surmise, he is underlining the unexpected murder and making a point. Either way the claret is running in rivers in the Stackhouse house and that's got to be one of the messier clean ups you are ever likely to throw a bucket and mop at. This review is likely to take something of a scatter gun approach as there's a multitude of things to talk about after catching Cold Ground. Script writer Raelle Tucker has gone for multiple POVs, advanced previous ideas, and thrown in some new hunting grounds for True Blood devotees. So excuse me if this review seems slightly surreal, hopefully normal service will be resumed next review. Through the first half of the episode Sookie is simply unable to comprehend her grandmother's death, with everyone involved simply nailing the trauma and the share numb feeling people have to sudden violent death. I've had experience of this in my own life and I got to say the feeling of numbness is exactly what you feel followed by the wanting to blame someone as Jason does when he lashes out at Sookie here. Regardless if Sookie was the intended target, it's not her fault that Adele was butchered in her own kitchen that would surely the fault of who ever our deranged Norman Bates is. I think it was a nice touch when Sookie tells Jason, late in the episode following Adele's funeral, that they have nothing as a family. Jason has crossed a line and that's going to take a lot of humble pie and fence mending to get back from. Incidentally the use of Adele's last ever baked pecan pie as a metaphor for Sookie accepting that Adele has finally gone was handled wonderfully well and simply lifts Director Nick Gomez work to a higher plain. The Director and his cast nail the emotional aspects of the episode bringing what has been a pretty wild ride thus far back to earth. Regardless of what future revelations the show has in store for us this season the characters are real people. It's the ability of the script writers to juggle multiple story arcs, hit the bad romance angle, and put people in extra ordinary situations yet ground them in the everyday, that makes the show standout. The start of a new plot arc happens surprisingly at the grave side and I have to say I don't know quite where this one might be headed, no have ruled out serial killer overtones already it would make zero sense. Lettie Mae, Tara's alcoholic mother who had previously been seen crowning Tara with a gin bottle, gives a little speech that actually seems quite heartfelt surprising both Tara and Lafayette who had been expecting the worse. Tara confronts her mother, and we learn Lettie Mae needs money for an exorcism and she believes her alcoholic condition and subsequent actions are due to a demon possessing her. Like Tara I'm slightly sceptical as there was no evidence of pea soup, heads spinning through 360 degrees, or levitation. Thankfully there wasn't a cross handy as that could have been a real social embarrassment at a funeral. Where this is headed is going to be interesting as Tara is clearly on a path to reconciliation toward the end of Cold Ground. 
Jason is on the edge and strung out due to his recent "v juice" habit, we can tell this by the sudden brighter scenes and camera shenanigans in use during Jason POVs. I actually blame Lafayette for this, as clearly Jason simply can't control himself. Anywise Jason not only hits Sookie, but pushes Detective Andy against a car with some force. The Detective was hitting the wrong buttons there and deserved what he got. Ladies are in for a treat here as they get themselves a full disclosure of the Jason gym built body work, but dudes can rest assure that Randi Sue provides some visuals worth looking at. Jason's addiction is clearly going to be of increasing relevance during the second half of the season, once again I'm not quite sure where they are taking the story arc. Talk about sex it up high, the whole township seemed to descend into a bit of horizontal action as things hit melting pot. Damn I wish I came from the Southern U.S! Not only is Jason getting some of that wild thing from Randi Sue, but Tara and Sam are after their second dose of the sweet stuff, and to top off this crème caramel of sugary goodness Sookie and Bill finally indulge in a bit of hide the not so undead sausage. Add your own staking joke right here folks, that would be way too easy a target for yours truly. And before you ask, yes the Paquin boobs make their first appearance to no doubt increased tissue sales. Personally, and no offense to Ms Paquin, I don't find Sookie that hot to be honest, even with the increased cleavage we are getting and the decreasing pant size. When Sookie decides to make her dash for virgin breaking action, happens naturally at night, the clear reference is to all those old Hammer and United Artists vamp movies, you know the flowing white virginal nightgowns that are just so impractical to get blood stains out of. On a side note, and raised by one of the gals in the team, just how many flowing nightgowns does Sookie have in her closet, seems she brought out Sears at some stage. Since we are getting to the midpoint of the season speculation is rising about who the serial killer might be, the team have all discounted Vampire Bill, Sam, and the ever on hand Jason. By our calculation that leaves, no matter how improbable, Hoyt (cross remover and kind thought person), Detective Andy, Terry (the shell shocked ex vet), and Royce (who has an issue with Vamps and apparently Gay chiefs). Also coming into consideration are a few characters that seem to be there about every episode who haven't thus far had major exposure. Tara's mother Lettie Mae (unlikely), Arlene (highly unlikely), Lafayette (not making any connection there), and Arlene's boyfriend Rene (not a local judging from the Cajun accent). The only agreement the team have reached is the killer has had some serious air time and it won't be a left field discovery. I'll keep regular readers up to date with our deductions as things progress through the next few episodes. Possibly one of the minor details that people may miss with this episode is that Vampire Bill for sure knows there's something different about Sam. Bill's comment that Sam was "marking his territory" is highly unlikely to be a coincidence, I've still got my fingers crossed that Sam might have a bit of lupine going down. Should also mention that Bill's assertion that he'll know if Sookie needs him, episode two right after Sookie did some blood sucking of her own, is delivered upon once again proving we are dealing with a very tight script here. 
Right touching bases with the track listing here, as promised last review, and we'll wrap it folks. AC/DC get a look in with "You Shook Me All Night Long", Hem deliver an excellent version of "We'll Meet Along the Way", Linda Harmon "Softly and Tenderly", the much maligned Dixie Chicks "Lullaby", Lisbeth Scott & Nathan Barr "Take Me Home", Cat Power, not to be confused with The Cat Empire, "Half Of You", and Rusty Truck knock out "Cold Ground". Chris Bauer (Detective Andy Bellefleur) is another of the "local colour" actors. Bellefleur wants some respect around town but doesn't realise he's not earning it. Bauer is exactly right for the role and gets a huge thumbs up from my side of the sofa. I would like to see the character get some more air hang time during the rest of the season, fingers crossed scout troop.
Summary ExecutionAnother excellent episode in this captivating series from HBO had me for one wanting to catch the next instalment sooner rather than later. Just how complex can they get things before some of the plot arcs have to be realised and put to bed? No idea, but there's still new things coming at us and never a dull minute comes to mind. Okay am going to admit it, am well and truly hooked here this is my sort of a television show.News to hand with season three about to kick off in North America is that additional Kiwi actors have been added to the cast. Sorry no interweb access as I write this so will touch bases with who, what, and where next review. If you are not yet grooving to the Bon Temps beat then you seriously should check your pulse, this is television as it should be full of surprises, shocks, and damn fine acting. Sautee with a hint of garlic and lap it up kids.
ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ... It just keeps getting better.
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