‘True Blood’ Season 4 Episode 8 Recap: “Spellbound”

Deborah Ann Woll in True Blood
Deborah Ann Woll in 'True Blood' - © HBO

“I come in peace” – no, aliens have not been added to the ever-increasing cast of creatures in True Blood. It’s Stephen Moyer who utters that line in what now stands as the best episode of season four. True Blood‘s totally back on track with episode eight, ‘Spellbound,’ as the writers are bringing all the major plotlines together into one big cohesive ball of True Blood goodness as the series heads into the season’s homestretch.

Here’s a recap of what happened in episode eight. Don’t read on unless A) you’ve seen the episode or B) you won’t get a chance to watch it before next weekend’s episode. It’s a recap, so it’s loaded with spoilers – and you’ve been warned:

Jason (Ryan Kwanten) saves Jessica’s life as she’s stepping into the sun to meet the final death due to a compulsion spell by the witch, Antonia (Fiona Shaw), and her coven (which includes Tara). They know they shouldn’t but can’t help themselves and kiss, which Jason will soon regret but which leads Jessica to decide breaking up with Hoyt’s the only thing to do.

In a clever twist, we get a dream sequence of Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) telling Hoyt (Jim Parrack) that it’s over, which doesn’t go well and ends in Hoyt’s death. Later, we see the true break-up sequence and it’s devastatingly heartbreaking, as is the scene where Jason tells her that just because she’s no longer with Hoyt doesn’t mean they can now be together. Poor Jessica – she has a really rough episode.

Sookie (Anna Paquin, who’ve I’ve got to say has never looked better than she does this year on TB) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) grow ever closer this week – with lots of naked action. For those who’ve read the books, Alan Ball and company tease us with what looks like the shower scene from book 4 but actually evolves into a fairy tale-ish dream sequence involving a bed, a forest, and snow. However, while Sookie and Eric provide the episode with quieter, more romantic moments, it’s all leading up to one of the biggest fight scenes in True Blood‘s history. But more on that in a bit…

Alcide (Joe Manganiello) and Debbie (Brit Morgan) party with the wolf pack, but Debbie’s jealousy over Sookie just continues to grow. She makes Alcide promise to stay away from Sookie and anything to do with vampires, and Alcide tells her he will. And speaking of the wolf pack, Sam (Sam Trammell) goes over to Luna’s (Janina Gavankar) house to play with Barbies. Well, he didn’t go for that specific reason, but that’s what he winds up doing while Luna’s cooking dinner. Their meal is interrupted by Alcide’s pack leader, Marcus (Daniel Buran), who it turns out is Luna’s ex and the father of the Barbie-loving kid Sam’s been growing closer to. Marcus threatens Sam, but Sam’s not one to back down.

Back at Merlotte’s, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) is still seeing dead people, including the ghost who’s been talking to Arlene (Carrie Preston) and Terry’s (Todd Lowe) baby boy. Later in the episode, Lafayette has a dream which explains why this dead woman is so obsessed with the baby. And then it all gets really freaky when the ghost possesses Lafayette and he heads to the Bellefleur home, where Arlene and Terry are staying after a mysterious fire burned down their rental unit. There, he quietly picks up a gun and heads into the bedroom where Arlene, Terry, and the baby are sleeping.

Elsewhere around Bon Temps, Jason has to keep Sheriff Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) from sucking up dead vampire blood off the sidewalk. Gross. Tommy (Marshall Allman) steals clothes and personal items from Hoyt’s mom and shapeshifts into her to fool the oil man who is willing to pay for the use of her land.

And, finally, Bill arranges for a meeting at midnight in the Bon Temps graveyard with Antonia. Although they’ve both agreed to come alone, both actually are backed by their loyal followers (including, on the vampire’s side, Eric and Sookie). After the shortest-ever attempt at negotiating a peace deal, all hell breaks loose and both sides take to fighting. During the melee, Pam (Kristin Bauer) has her shot at killing Tara (Rutina Wesley), however, Bill commands her to leave Tara alone – forever.

The combination of smoke/fog and the lack of lightning make it difficult to tell who’s winning, but during the fighting, Sookie is shot and Eric is put under another spell by Antonia. Oh, and Alcide breaks his promise to Debbie and shows up to rescue Sookie.

Can’t wait to see what happens next week!