True Blood 2x12 - "Beyond Here Lies Nothin" (Spoilers)

[OmahaStar]

Tonight is the second season finale for True Blood.

zap2it -

Maryann prepares for her ultimate bestial sacrifice; Sophie-Anne warns Eric; Hoyt gets sick of Maxine's insults; Sam must put his trust in an unlikely ally.

TV Guide -

Episode Synopsis: In the second-season finale, chaos still reigns in Bon Temps as Maryann drafts Sookie to play an important role in her grand ceremony of sacrifice. Meanwhile, Sophie-Anne has strict instructions for Eric about Bill; Hoyt is tested by his mother's behavior; and Sam's next move is a matter of life or death.

[OmahaStar]

Daaaaamn. That was a mixed bag, if I ever saw one.

Among the highs - no, the highest point - was seeing Charlaine Harris herself in the bar.

Among the lows - Everything with MAF. It went on way too long, and the solution was the punchline of a bad joke.

That was a quick and easy way to get rid of the Eggs character, but what followed was the single worst bit of acting from "Tara" in the two years of the show. It was just appallingly bad.

I wonder where this Sam and not-parents thing is going.

One of the lines here was True Blood's answer to the "get this cheese to sickbay" line from Voyager: "You killed our sacred egg!"

Seriously, wtf was up with that? lol

But then we get a ridiculously hilarious line to follow: "You might have your faults, Andy, but at least ya got yer pants on."

Nice to see Miss Jeanette again.

Jessica, Jessica, Jessica. Oh, this could be really bad for Hoyt. Poor Hoyt. Finally gets his head on straight, then this ... sad.

Overall for the season, I would estimate about 15-20% of the season was taken from the book, the remaining 80-85% is new for the show. While not following it directly, they at least give you an idea of what the book is about.

Oh, and for those thinking about picking up the books, I hear Walmart's running a special, the first seven books in paperback, in a collection for just 28 bucks.

[MeanJoePhaser]

I'm gonna be harsh. 3 stars.

The first 10 minutes or so were exposition heavy and felt forced. Sookie having a conversation with Maryanne?

Jason and Andy's little story arc wound up being pathetic (which says everything about the two of them) and mostly filler.

Why was Sookie immune to Maryanne but Jason not? Why did Andy take so long to turn?

Notice that Eric never showed up, even though HE HAD TO KNOW SOOKIE WAS IN DANGER! What was up with that? His post-Dallas usage now feels like filler, too.

Why did Bill assume his blood would heal a shifter?

And then, I knew it, they'd just dispose of Eggs and that was ridiculous.

Good riddance, Maryanne (they should've burned her corpse...not resurrections!). That was the best part. Thankfully no ancient god appeared.

Sam's story was good here, redeemed part of the episode. They were wise to wrap up the Maenad saga half-way into the episode and move on.

I'll be there for next season. Still a good show.

[MeanJoePhaser]

OmahaStar wrote:

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Among the highs - no, the highest point - was seeing Charlaine Harris herself in the bar.

I was wondering if that was her.

One of the lines here was True Blood's answer to the "get this cheese to sickbay" line from Voyager: "You killed our sacred egg!"

Seriously, wtf was up with that? lol

But then we get a ridiculously hilarious line to follow: "You might have your faults, Andy, but at least ya got yer pants on."

Last episode's most memorable line was "Why do you let him put his dead pecker in you?"

[Checkmate]

This episode was kind of meh. Not good, not bad. Kind of failed as a season finale as a result, though. I blame that largely on the entire Maryanne storyline though. The last half of it, once she started taking control of people, was God-awful. It seemed like they just wanted to make Tara more important to the overall story, but they even failed at that considering how little she had to do in resolving it.

And why did they feel they had to just kill off Eggs? He was a pretty decent character and I certainly liked him more than I did Tara. They could have done something with him. Just felt like a waste.

[Obiwanshinobi]

i agree, the finale was a bit anticlimactic after a kickass season 2, ew.com did an interview with Alan Ball, and he revealed some info about the finale and some things in store for next season. Those interested can read it here http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/09/...all/#more-2707

[BigFoot]

This was definitely a very disappointing finale.

Best line of the ep goes to Jason (as usual): "It's like if a tree falls in the woods it's still a tree, ain't it?"

[Ryan]

They definitely should have rolled this one in with the previous episode and cut the filler out. It definitely felt lacking with a big build up and an extra week of waiting.

Still, season 2 has been excellent overall.

[Danny99]

Decent season finale, not as bad as some say.

Did no one realize Bon Temps was cut off from the rest of the universe? Like say for example the guy who delivers the beer to Merlotte's? Wouldn't he know something was up?

The whole middle of the show after Maryanne's death was just superfluous. But I seem to recall we had the same bits of stuff in the Season 1 finale after they got rid of Rene.

Looking forward to season three and Eric as a possible villain!

[MeanJoePhaser]

canadaboy_32 wrote:

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Decent season finale, not as bad as some say.

Did no one realize Bon Temps was cut off from the rest of the universe? Like say for example the guy who delivers the beer to Merlotte's? Wouldn't he know something was up?

Like the small town in Children of the Corn, or Sunnydale in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the town is just evacuated and that's it?).

I wanted them to call up the FBI's bureau of supernatural affairs, and SPECIAL GUEST STAR...I dunno...Hellboy?

Still no explination as to why Andy was immune to Maryanne for so long.

Tara's mom and Hoyt, plus the kids, were the only recurring townspeople unaffected.

[OmahaStar]

canadaboy_32 wrote:

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Did no one realize Bon Temps was cut off from the rest of the universe? Like say for example the guy who delivers the beer to Merlotte's? Wouldn't he know something was up?

Maybe, maybe not. The whole season takes place in the span of, at most, two weeks, and the rest of the town being taken over didn't happen until the last 2-3 days.

There are rural towns which only get mail and other deliveries once or twice a week, and it may very well be that no one from outside noticed anything was going on while it was happening.

This is Bon Temps, an itty bitty town that wishes it was as big as Mayberry.

[Candlelight]

MeanJoePhaser wrote:

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Still no explanation as to why Andy was immune to Maryanne for so long. Tara's mom and Hoyt, plus the kids, were the only recurring townspeople unaffected.

Maryanne only really took interest in someone if it suited her. It wasn't that they were immune, just it wasn't to her benefit. PLUS she said she peeled away their inhibitions and let them run free. Considering Andy was drunk for much of the season, his inhibitions were pretty much stripped away already. The kids were, well, just kids - what's inhibiting them? As for Tara's mother - she had found devout worship in God; maybe Maryanne thought that was enough...?

The season finale was a bit iffy. Maryanne's demise was quick and wrapped up too fast. The vampire queen is still a terrible actress. Bill is still the most boring actor on the show, and I don't blame Sookie for turning him down!

Three stars.

[Candlelight]

OmahaStar wrote:

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The whole season takes place in the span of, at most, two weeks, and the rest of the town being taken over didn't happen until the last 2-3 days.

Not quite. Lafyette says he was held captive for three weeks in the basement, and he isn't released until episode 3. Then you have the whole Dallas storyline to get through.

I'd say it's more like a couple or three months.