True Blood (season 2)

True Blood (season 2)

DVD cover art
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 12
Release
Original network HBO
Original release June 14 (2009-06-14) – September 13, 2009 (2009-09-13)
Season chronology

The second season of the television series True Blood commenced airing in the United States on June 14, 2009, concluded on September 13, 2009, and contains 12 episodes. It is loosely based on the second novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Living Dead in Dallas.

The second season explores telepath Sookie Stackhouse's relationship with her vampire lover, Bill Compton. It also introduces a number of sub-plots involving the anti-vampire Fellowship of the Sun church and Jason Stackhouse's indoctrination into the church by its leaders, Rev Steve Newlin and his wife Sarah. It also expands the role of Maryann Forrester, a powerful supernatural creature, who slowly gains control over the people of Bon Temps. Sookie and Bill travel to Dallas to help Eric find his maker, a two-thousand-year-old vampire named Godric, who has gone missing and is believed to have been kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun.

The second season aired Sundays at 9:00 PM in the United States. The season finale aired on September 13, 2009.

Plot

Anna Paquin returns as the main character Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with telepathic abilities. Stephen Moyer plays her love interest, vampire Bill Compton. At the beginning of the season Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård), the Sheriff of Area 5, recruits Sookie and Bill to find his maker, Godric (Allan Hyde). In Dallas, Godric's lieutenants, Stan Davis (Ed Quinn) and Isabel (Valerie Cruz), argue over the direction the vampires should take following Godric's disappearance. Christopher Gartin portrays Isabel's turncoat human boyfriend Hugo, who betrays the Dallas vampires to the Fellowship of the Sun.

Ryan Kwanten returns as Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's brother, who was recruited by the Fellowship of the Sun at the end of the previous season. He travels to Dallas to join the church, and Reverend Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian) and his wife Sarah (Anna Camp) both take a shine to Jason; Steve is impressed by his strength and Sarah is impressed by his looks.

In Bon Temps Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), the owner of Merlotte's bar, resolves to leave town but is persuaded to stay when he meets Daphne Landry (Ashley Jones), a fellow shapeshifter and lousy waitress. Maryann Forrester (Michelle Forbes) reveals herself to be a supernatural being, a maenad. She uses her powers to control the people of Bon Temps, starting with Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley). "Eggs" Benedict Talley (Mehcad Brooks) becomes closer to Tara, and he kills Daphne while under the influence of Maryann.

Arlene Fowler (Carrie Preston) and Terry Bellefleur (Todd Lowe) also become involved while under the influence of Maryann.

At the beginning of the season, Tara's cousin Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis) is imprisoned at Fangtasia with Royce Williams (Caleb Moody). After Royce is killed by Eric, Lafayette attempts to escape and is shot. He is later healed by Eric and ordered by Pam (Kristin Bauer) to resume selling vampire blood.

Jim Parrack returns as Hoyt Fortenberry Jason's co-worker. He meets Jessica Hamby (Deborah Ann Woll) and begins a relationship with her, much to the disgust of his mother, Maxine Fortenberry.

After being wrong about Jason Stackhouse, Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) begins drinking heavily and is stripped of his badge. Despite this, he continues the search for Miss Jeanette's killer, later revealed to be Eggs under Maryann's influence.

In the last two episodes, Evan Rachel Wood is introduced as Sophie-Anne LeClerq, the vampire Queen of Louisiana.

Lettie Mae (Adina Porter) also returns, as does William Sanderson as Sheriff Dearborne.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Guest Cast

Special guest cast

Episodes

No. in
series		 No. in
season		 Title Directed by Written by Original air date U.S. viewers
(million)
131"Nothing But the Blood"Daniel MinahanAlexander WooJune 14, 2009 (2009-06-14)3.70[1]
In the second season premiere, the shocking and brutal murder of Miss Jeanette – Tara's fake exorcist – has the entire town of Bon Temps reeling. Tara is reluctant to tell the police she knew the deceased for fear that her ex-alcoholic mother will find out about Miss Jeanette's deception and relapse. She eventually comes forward and is interrogated. Her worst fears are realized when her mother, Lettie Mae, shows up at the police station and is told everything. Tara is eventually released, and Maryann has some harsh words for Lettie Mae when she arrives to give Tara a ride. Meanwhile, Lafayette has been kidnapped and is being held in a basement somewhere with others – including Royce, one of the rednecks who earlier burned three vampires to death. Sookie and Bill's relationship is put to the test with Bill's newly made vampire charge Jessica's impatient ways, even when Sookie attempts to bond with her. Jason impresses Steve and Sarah Newlin, the leaders of the Fellowship of the Sun anti-vampire church, at a luncheon, and he is offered a place at a leadership retreat, where he will learn to serve God. Sam is troubled by the presence of Maryann. He has flashbacks about their sexual encounter when he was seventeen and stole one hundred thousand dollars from her. He also takes on another young waitress, Daphne. Tara becomes closer with Eggs. Sookie and Bill are put on even rockier ground when she discovers that he murdered her sexually abusive Uncle Bartlett. He tells her that he did it because he loves her too much to let him get away with what he did to her. Sookie forgives him and the two passionately make love. It is revealed that Eric is the one keeping Lafayette captive and the episode ends with Royce trying to escape and Eric feeding on and tearing him apart, spraying Lafayette with blood.
142"Keep This Party Going"Michael LehmannBrian BucknerJune 21, 2009 (2009-06-21)3.41[2]
After making up with Bill, Sookie suggests that he take it a little easier on Jessica as she is just a teenager. Bill tries to convince Sookie that a vampire as new as she is not capable of controlling her impulses and that she could be dangerous. En route to the Light of Day Leadership conference, Jason becomes fast friends with an anti-vampire zealot named Luke. However, after Jason makes a good impression on Steve Newlin, and Sarah Newlin in particular, Luke's good-natured friendship turns to bitter jealousy, and he tells Jason that he doesn't belong there. Eric approaches Bill and demands that he and Sookie help in finding a vampire sheriff named Godric, who has gone missing in Dallas. Meanwhile, Tara finds out more about Eggs' past as a criminal, and he makes it clear that he is interested in her. After a failed attempt to escape from the basement of Fangtasia, Lafayette is shot. He asks Eric, Pam and Chow to turn him into a vampire rather than kill him. Fangs bared, they ferociously bite him. Jessica realizes she misses her family after seeing her parents, who think she has just gone missing, on TV. She asks Sookie to take her to see her family and Sookie agrees, on the condition that Jessica stay in the car. Although she agrees, when they arrive at the house, Jessica cannot resist meeting with her old family. When her father comes home, he angrily accuses her of putting the family through hell. Even though Sookie tries to stop her, Jessica attacks her father and threatens to kill him for all the times he beat her. However, Bill shows up and glamors his way into the house just in time. The episode ends on an ominous note, with Bill throwing Sookie out of the house barking at her that he has to "clean up her mess".
153"Scratches"Scott WinantRaelle TuckerJune 28, 2009 (2009-06-28)3.7[3]
After glamoring Jessica's family and beginning the drive back to Bon Temps, Bill and Sookie argue fiercely about the night's events, and Sookie storms out of the car. As she walks off, she is viciously attacked and poisoned by a mysterious creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man. Bill rushes to Eric for help and, with the assistance of a goblin woman named Dr. Ludwig, Sookie is saved. At the Light of Day camp, Jason confesses his true feelings about vampires and bonds further with Sarah Newlin when he lets out some of his grief over his Gran and Amy's deaths. She reveals to him that she used to be a vampire sympathizer but now suspects they murdered her sister. At Merlotte's, Jessica and Hoyt take a special interest in one another. Sam warns Tara to stay away from Maryann and later, after snapping at Daphne, decides to take off for a while. At Fangtasia, Sookie takes Bill's blood to heal and then discovers that Lafayette has been held in the basement. She manages to arrange his freedom in exchange for helping locate the missing vampire Godric in Dallas. Tara and Eggs' relationship hits a rough patch at one of Maryann's parties when the guests become strangely sexual with one another, including Eggs and another girl. Lafayette returns home and cries. Bill and Sookie walk in on Jessica and Hoyt making out. Sam and Daphne make peace with one another. The episode ends with the revelation that Daphne appears to have been attacked by the same creature that poisoned Sookie.
164"Shake and Fingerpop"Michael LehmannAlan BallJuly 12, 2009 (2009-07-12)3.9[4]
Bill throws Hoyt out of his house, much to Jessica's dismay. She storms off, and Sookie invites Jessica to accompany them to Dallas. Bill reluctantly agrees. Tara agrees to move into Sookie's house, and Maryann appears supportive. Jason becomes the victim of a cruel practical joke but winds up having the last laugh when he is invited to stay with the Newlins in their lavish mansion. The attraction between Sarah and Jason becomes more intense, and Steve offers him a position in the Soldiers of the Sun – Steve's "elite spiritual army." It is revealed that Miss Jeanette, the woman found in Andy Bellefleur's car, was murdered by the same creature that attacked Sookie. Sookie arrives in Dallas with Bill and Jessica. A limousine driver attempts to abduct her, but Bill manages to prevent the kidnapping and learns, after glamoring the abductor, that he was sent by the Fellowship of the Sun. Meanwhile, a traumatized Lafayette is paid a visit by Eric, who offers him some of his blood to heal. Lafayette suspiciously drinks Eric's blood to heal his leg. Sookie, Bill and Jessica arrive at the lavish Hotel Carmilla, which caters specifically to vampires. Back in Bon Temps, Tara spends her birthday alone until Maryann shows up with Eggs to throw her a surprise party. Sam shows up with a gift to Tara from her mother and connects with Daphne, who reveals to Sam that she knows "what he is". Maryann throws Lettie Mae's gift for Tara away. As the party grows more and more wild, Maryann performs an incantation which fills the entire party with an intense sexual energy. Maryann turns into a beast once again and Tara and Eggs have sex. Bill and Eric meet and discuss the missing vampire sheriff Godric and what this means for their safety. Sookie encounters a bellhop named Barry, who is also able to read minds.
175"Never Let Me Go"John DahlNancy OliverJuly 19, 2009 (2009-07-19)3.85[5]
Tara's birthday party is still in full swing as Sam follows Daphne out into the woods, where she reveals to him that she is a shapeshifter too. They start to make out, but are interrupted by Terry and Arlene and Daphne wanders off. In Dallas, Sookie chases Barry, and he tells her that if any of the Dallas vampires find out about his abilities, it would mean serious trouble for both of them. After Bill reprimands her for ordering a young man off of the Carmilla Hotel menu, Jessica calls Hoyt and the two share a conversation about comic books. At the Light of Day Institute, Jason and the others are put through an intensive training course by Sarah and a very demanding drill instructor. When Luke has trouble completing one of the exercises, Jason helps him out and is commended for being a real soldier of God. Meanwhile, Sookie tries to connect with Barry one more time and learns that he is ashamed of his abilities and cannot control his telepathy the way she can. Even though she offers to teach him, Barry tells her to leave him alone. Maryann continues to stir up trouble in Bon Temps after trying to move into Sookie's house with Tara, who rebuffs her. She casts her spell upon the patrons of Merlotte's, turning them all against Tara and making her feel isolated and alone. Eventually, Tara invites Maryann to live at Sookie's house with her. In Dallas, the Louisiana gang come a step closer to solving the mystery of Godric's disappearance when Sookie offers to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun by posing as a convert in order to see if they are the ones holding Godric. Bill disapproves of the plan until Eric reveals that centuries ago Godric saved him from death by turning him into a vampire and becoming Eric's maker. After walking in on Steve and Sarah having an argument, Steve shows Jason the seriousness of their mission in the form of a bunker full of serious weapons. Sarah later approaches Jason in the bath tub and "rewards" him for his hard work by giving him a handjob. Lafayette is given his job back as the Merlotte's cook. Sam and Daphne have sex. Sookie is sad to learn that Barry has quit his job, and Bill tries to comfort her. As they start to make love, a woman appears in the hallway outside their room. It is Bill's maker, Lorena.
186"Hard-Hearted Hannah"Michael LehmannBrian BucknerJuly 26, 2009 (2009-07-26)4.00[6]
Godric's minion, Isabel, drops in on Bill and Sookie with her human boyfriend, Hugo. He and Sookie prepare to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun. Eric, meanwhile, has summoned Lorena to the hotel in order to drive Bill and Sookie apart. While there, Lorena ruminates on her and Bill's violent past together. Sam and Daphne continue to grow closer, both physically and emotionally. During one of Maryann's errands, Eggs senses something familiar about the environment, and leads Tara to a remote spot in the woods. The two suspect that something bad happened there. Hoyt tells his mother that his girlfriend is a vampire. Andy interrogates Lafayette about his disappearance and threatens to lock him up. Lafayette then has horrible flashbacks of being locked up and collapses into a ball. He is comforted by Andy's cousin Terry. Luke and Jason are summoned to the Fellowship Church to build a crucifix platform for a ceremony called "meet the sun," in which a vampire will be tied to the cross just before dawn and left to burn in the sun. While talking with Luke, Jason somewhat hesitantly decides to practice abstinence. Sookie and Hugo are greeted at the church by Sarah, who introduces them to Steve. It doesn't take Sookie long to find out that the Newlins have a vampire locked in the basement. After meeting Gabe, the drill instructor, Sookie reads Steve's thoughts and finds out that someone has tipped off the Fellowship about their mission. Both Sookie and Hugo are captured and dragged into the basement while a teary-eyed Sarah watches helplessly. Pam visits Lafayette and orders him to start dealing V again. Sam and Daphne go on a shape-shifting run together, with Daphne shifting into a pig. They are chased by Andy, who thinks he recognizes the pig from one of Maryann's parties. Lorena drops in on Bill who tries to resist her, sensing Sookie is in grave danger, but Lorena, also knowing that Sookie is in danger, overpowers him. Hoyt drives all the way to Dallas to visit Jessica. Tara and Eggs return to Sookie's house, where following a trail of clothes they find some of the townspeople taking part in an orgy organized by Maryann. Tara witnesses Maryann in her blurry supernatural state. At the church, Sarah turns to Jason for help, saying that they were meant to be together. Jason tries to resist, but she convinces him that it's God's will and they end up having sex on the balcony. Daphne tries to lead Sam towards the orgy, but he is hesitant about the drum music. Two people jump out of the woods and grab Sam, dragging him to the orgy, where he sees the ritual (which now includes Tara and Eggs, also in trance-induced sex) taking place. Daphne helps Maryann into a bull's head mask and Carl approaches with a sacrificial knife.
197"Release Me"Michael RuscioRaelle TuckerAugust 2, 2009 (2009-08-02)4.27[7]
Still drunk, Andy chases the pig through the woods and stumbles upon Maryann's orgy. He fires his pistol partially breaking the trance Maryann has induced and giving Sam the opportunity to escape. Andy breaks up the orgy, but his arm is broken by Terry, who is still under Maryann's influence. In the basement of the L.O.D.I., Sookie realizes someone must have tipped off the Fellowship about their mission. While at the hotel, Lorena will still not allow Bill to go to Sookie's rescue. Flashbacks show Bill tired of killing innocents, and he asks to be released from Lorena. She reluctantly complies after he threatens to stake himself. Outside the church, Eric asks Isabel what she likes about being with a human. She says it is because their mortality makes everything exciting, but that it is also a sort of science experiment to see Hugo age. Isabel accuses Eric of coveting Sookie, which he denies. Jason convinces Sarah not to tell her husband about their affair, and she agrees to wait. Hoyt and Jessica decide to be each other's first time. Stan confronts Eric about not dealing with the Fellowship more directly, and Eric accuses him of murdering Godric to claim his place as Sheriff. The next morning, Tara and Eggs wake up on Sookie's couch and neither can remember how they got there. As Steve and Gabe interrogate Sookie, a claustrophobic Hugo desperately reveals that her last name is Stackhouse. Deciding that Jason must be a vampire sympathizer, Steve tells Gabe to take care of it, but Jason manages to overpower him. Later, Sookie reads a weakened Hugo's mind and discovers he is the traitor. Sam confronts Daphne and she explains to him that Maryann is a Maenad, an immortal creature from ancient Greece that is a follower of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and revelry. They have immense power, and Daphne likens her to both God and Satan. Church goers arrive at the Light of Day church for a "lock in." Arlene admits that she blacked out too, which causes Tara to become suspicious of Maryann. Andy tries to confront Terry at Merlotte's, raving about "devil-worshipers" and "devil-zombies" who turned Bon Temps into an "orgy from hell", but Sam is the only one who knows he is telling the truth. At the hotel, Hoyt and Jessica consummate their love. As Jason is fleeing the L.O.D.I through the woods, Sarah shows up and shoots him with an unknown weapon. At the stream, Maryann thanks Daphne for her services, then makes Eggs kill her. Sookie reaches out to Barry telepathically, and he shows up at the hotel with her message. Eric overhears and races for the church. Gabe bursts into the basement, beats up Hugo and attempts to rape Sookie, but at the last second he is pulled off by none other than Godric.
208"Timebomb"John DahlAlexander WooAugust 9, 2009 (2009-08-09)4.43[8]
Under Godric's orders, Eric and Sookie struggle to leave the Fellowship compound without bloodshed, but they are surrounded by Steve Newlin and his followers. At the Carmilla hotel, Bill escapes from Lorena and orders the amorous Jessica and Hoyt back to Bon Temps. Jason overpowers Sarah Newlin, and along with Bill, he creates a stalemate with Newlin's mob. The mob is overwhelmed by Stan and the Dallas vampires, but Godric appears and orders a peaceful end to the conflict. Meanwhile in Bon Temps, Sam Merlotte is lured to his bar to find Daphne murdered. The police arrive and jail him with Maryann's revelers despite Andy Bellefleur's outlandish corroboration. At Sookie's house, Maryann feeds Tara and Eggs a meal made from Daphne's heart, which drives the couple into a violent and sexual frenzy. After they arrive at the Compton manor Jessica and Hoyt's lovemaking is interrupted by the realization that Jessica's hymen has regenerated to its virginal state. At Godric's Dallas nest, the vampires and Stackhouses recover from the conflict with the Fellowship of the Sun. Godric shares his nonviolent ideals with Eric and banishes Hugo out of mercy. Lorena stirs trouble between Sookie and Bill. She is then banished by Godric. Bill tells her that they will never see each other again, but she believes that she will see him because of their immortality. A mysterious intruder is revealed to be Luke, who has a suicide bomb wrapped in silver chains and bullets. He pushes the detonator.
219"I Will Rise Up"Scott WinantNancy OliverAugust 16, 2009 (2009-08-16)4.46[9]
Eric, wounded in the explosion protecting Sookie, convinces her he can't heal himself with silver lodged in his body. Sookie sucks out the bullets, ingesting some of his blood. Bill reveals that Eric will now be able to sense her and she may become attracted to Eric sexually. Back in Bon Temps, Hoyt tells Jessica he wants her to meet his mother. Tara and Eggs awake badly bruised and discuss blacking out again the night before. Maryann tells them the importance of losing control and the necessity for chaos to be closer to their god. Back in Dallas, Sookie heads to Jason's room, where they find the Reverend Newlin and his wife on television bickering with Nan Flanagan (leader of the AVL). The Newlins reveal that Godric volunteered to be taken by the Fellowship of the Sun. Sookie and Jason end up bonding over being the only remaining members of their family. Eggs and Tara go to Merlotte's, and Lafayette accuses Eggs of causing Tara's bruises. A fight ensues between Lafayette and Eggs. Hoyt argues with his mother telling her what a hateful person she is and that she's going to meet Jessica. Sookie begins dreaming of Eric and exchanging sweet conversation while in the background Lorena is saying Sookie no longer cares for Bill. At the end of the dream, Eric whispers, "This is the beginning." Maryann arrives at the jail looking for Sam but he shifts into a fly and escapes. Jessica meets Hoyt's mother, who belittles her causing Hoyt to tell his mother he won't be coming home, ever. Later, Lafayette and Lettie Mae show up at Sookie's house to find Eggs, Tara and Maryann. Lettie Mae pleads for Tara to come with her. Tara eyes turn black and begins attacking her mother. Lafayette quickly grabs Tara, and he and Lettie Mae take her away from Maryann. Sam, as a fly in Sookie's house, witnesses all of this. In Dallas, Eric and the vampires defend their actions to Nan Flanagan who berates Godric and fires him from his Sheriff position. Eric grows irritated with Nan's demeanor and pleads with Godric to fight against the bureaucracy. Godric agrees to the demotion and apologizes to everyone swearing to "make amends". Eric, visibly upset, is approached by Bill stating that "they have a score to settle". Bill punches Eric in the mouth, which Eric shrugs off, and he goes to meet Godric. Sam arrives at Detective Bellefleur's door naked. Sookie tells Bill she must go and help Godric. On the roof as Sookie watches, Eric breaks down and begs Godric not to go first in English, then in Swedish. Godric tells Eric he is ready to go and commands Eric to leave the roof. Sookie promises Eric she will stay with Godric for "as long as it takes". Godric dies while Sookie watches in tears.
2210"New World in My View"Adam DavidsonKate Barnow & Elisabeth R. FinchAugust 23, 2009 (2009-08-23)5.33[10]
Sookie consoles Eric for the loss of Godric, which leads to the two becoming intimate. This turns out to be a dream which is the result of her having drunk Eric's blood. Sookie, Bill and Jason return to Bon Temps to find the town in chaos. They return to Bill's house to find Hoyt and Jessica tending to Maxine, who is under the effects of Maryann's power. Sam is hiding out with Andy Bellefleur, but he is tricked into coming to Merlotte's via a desperate call from Arlene. Once there, the townsfolk trap both of them in the walk-in fridge. Jason arrives at Merlotte's armed with power tools. He convinces all the citizens to leave by threatening to take Arlene hostage and shoot a nail-gun into her head. Jason goes to help Sam, but the townsfolk quickly recognize his deception and return to try to recapture Sam. Jason, wearing a gas mask, pretends to be the God Who Comes, while Andy holds up a tree branch to give him the appearance that he has horns. He pretends to smite Sam (who turns into a fly – seemingly vanishing). This seems to satisfy everyone and they all leave Merlotte's. Sam re-appears, and Jason and Andy are stunned at what happened. Meanwhile, Bill and Sookie go to Sookie's house to find Maryann, who attacks Sookie. Sookie learns that Maryann is the creature who attacked her in the woods. Bill attempts to bite Maryann but finds her blood is toxic to him. Maryann seems intrigued with Sookie, who puts her hand up to push Maryann away, and finds that a burst of light shines from her hand, knocking Maryann backwards. Sookie and Bill flee while Maryann gleefully ponders what Sookie is. They go to Lafayette's and see Tara is still under Maryanne's spell. Together, Bill and Sookie use a combination of his glamor and her telepathy to break the spell over Tara. Tara expresses her desire to go rescue Eggs, but her family prevents her from leaving. Bill recalls reading about Maenads and their worshipping of the god Dionysus many years ago and understands that Maryann is one. He goes to seek the vampire Queen of Louisiana, the one person who might know how to destroy Maryann, but when he arrives he finds a bloody foot dangling from the throne. Meanwhile, Maxine continues to insult both Jessica and Hoyt until Jessica's anger gets the better of her and she begins to feed on Maxine.
2311"Frenzy"Daniel MinahanAlan BallAugust 30, 2009 (2009-08-30)5.19[11]
Bill walks in on Sophie-Ann, the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, feeding from the femoral artery of a young girl. Bill asks her advice on how to defeat Maryann, but Sophie-Ann makes Bill reluctantly spend the entire day lounging with her and playing Yahtzee before she will tell him what she knows. She eventually reveals to Bill that Maryann is waiting for her god to come and bring her "true death" and that she can be killed only when she believes her god has come for her. Bill departs for Bon Temps, running into Eric on the way out. He threatens to reveal to Sophie-Ann that Eric is making Lafayette sell vampire blood unless he stays away from Sookie. Hoyt takes his mother Maxine away from Jessica after seeing her more violent side, and says he should have listened to Bill's warnings about her. Jessica, heartbroken, screams in rage and hurt. Tara proves difficult for Sookie, Lafayette and Lettie Mae to handle as she insists on going after Eggs. Tara manages to convince her mother that God wants her to let her go. Lettie Mae holds Sookie and Lafayette at gunpoint while Tara makes her getaway. Sookie and Lafayette manage to liberate themselves from Lettie Mae and go after Tara, who goes to Sookie's house and finds Eggs in the kitchen. Tara shows Maryann that she can no longer be convinced through words and also that she refuses to let herself be influenced by Maryann's "vibrating" energy, so Maryann resorts to punching her in the face which has the effect of once again putting Tara under her influence. Sam finds Coby and Lisa Fowler – Arlene's young children – wandering around the woods hiding from their mother and the rest of the townspeople. Sam takes them in and feeds them lunch as they tell him they have not eaten in a couple of days. Jason and Andy, meanwhile, decide to take action against Maryann and, ignoring Sam's advice that Maryann cannot be stopped with violence, they go to the police station to arm themselves. All of the staff at the police department are under Maryann's influence and behave obnoxiously and dangerously, but Andy and Jason still manage to arm themselves with plenty of guns and ammo. Jason and Andy put aside their differences and decide to work together to defeat Maryann. Sam takes the kids to Fangtasia and reluctantly asks Eric for help. The Viking vampire agrees to ask Sophie-Ann's advice about stopping Maryann. The townspeople tell Maryann that the god came and smote Sam, but Maryann deduces that the mob has been tricked by Sam's shape-shifting and angrily orders them out. Hoyt tries to deal with Maxine on his own, but she continues to insult him and even reveals that his father killed himself because he was weak, and that he was not shot by burglars as Hoyt believed. Sookie and Lafayette arrive at her house and, while Lafayette distracts Terry and Arlene with drugs, Sookie sneaks inside. After a brief and disturbing encounter with Mike Spencer, she makes her way upstairs. Lafayette runs into Maryann and Carl. He attempts to shoot Maryann; however, she effortlessly deflects the bullet into Carl who dies as a result. Sookie finds Tara and Eggs in her Gran's old room, building a large nest on the bed in which sits a large, unhatched egg. Sookie screams for help as Lafayette, now also under Maryann's influence, advances on her.
2412"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"Michael CuestaAlexander WooSeptember 13, 2009 (2009-09-13)5.11[12]
In the season two finale, Maryann has decided to appoint Sookie as the "Maid of Honor" at her sacrificial ritual, much to Sookie's disgust. Maryann asks Sookie to repeat her "electric" touch, but Sookie fails to do so. She is restrained by an entranced Lafayette. Jason and Andy Bellefleur try to advance on the crowd with an arsenal of weaponry, only to become quickly entranced themselves. During Eric's meeting with Sophie-Ann, it is revealed that she's the one who ordered him to have Lafayette start dealing V again. She does not like the fact that Bill knows what Northman is doing, but Eric promises to take care of him before he can figure out that Sophie-Ann is in fact behind it all. Bill finds Sam at Merlotte's and orders him to come with him to see Maryann. Bill offers Sam to Maryann in exchange for Sookie's safety. Sookie strongly objects to this, but Bill asks her to trust him. Eggs stabs Sam and offers some of his blood to Maryann, who rubs the blood on her body. Sam has not died, however, and tells Sookie to destroy all of Maryann's ritual offerings, which Sookie does. This angers Maryann who pursues Sookie with her poisonous claws, but she is stopped by a bull whom she believes to be the God Who Comes. Offering herself to the "God", the bull stabs her in the chest with its horns, and as Maryann starts to die, the bull transforms back to Sam, who finishes the job by removing Maryann's heart. Bill reveals to Sookie that he allowed Sam to drink his blood so he could recover after being stabbed. Bill also thanks Sam for his trust and for helping save the town of Bon Temps. Hoyt learns that his mom was not lying about his dad having committed suicide. Deeply disturbed by this, he walks out on her again to go find Jessica. When he arrives at Bill's house, nobody is there. Jessica, after telling Bill she is going to apologize to Hoyt, instead goes to a gas station and feeds on an unsuspecting truck driver. Sam goes to visit his adopted parents. His adopted mother cries and still can't accept that Sam is a shapeshifter, while his adopted father who appears deathly ill writes a response to Sam's request, to know who his real parents were, despite his step-mother's warnings that they were bad people. Eggs is deeply disturbed by the recent happenings and begs Sookie to help him uncover his actions during his blackouts. With her help, he learns that he was the one who murdered Miss Jeanette, Daphne and was also the one who stabbed Sam. Incredibly distraught over the things he'd done with Maryann, he holds Andy Bellefleur at knife-point begging to be arrested. Andy tries to explain that all of his actions were not of his own free will, but Jason, seeing the hold-up from afar, does not realize what is happening and shoots Eggs. Jason is afraid after realizing he has killed Eggs, but Andy takes his gun, wipes it off and tells Jason to leave and that "he was not here and he didn't see anything." Tara arrives along with many others to see Eggs shot and dead, and she breaks down in tears. Bill takes Sookie out to a French restaurant and proposes to her. Sookie is initially confused and afraid because of all of the recent happenings in her life. Excusing herself to go to the bathroom, she takes a moment to compose herself and decides that she does want to marry Bill. However, Bill is captured with a silver chain and kidnapped. When she returns, she finds that Bill is gone and the place is in disarray.

Production

Crew

Series creator Alan Ball returned as executive producer and head writer. Gregg Fienberg, who worked on HBO's Deadwood, joined Ball as executive producer.

Chris Offutt left the writing staff at the end of the first season and was recruited onto the Showtime dark comedy Weeds. Brian Buckner, Alexander Woo, Nancy Oliver and Raelle Tucker all returned from the first season. Along with Ball, all writers authored two episodes a piece with the exception of Woo, who wrote three including the finale. Script co-ordinator Kate Barnow and writer's assistant Elisabeth R. Finch co-wrote the tenth episode.

Daniel Minahan, Michael Lehmann, Scott Winant and John Dahl returned to direct multiple episodes. Michael Ruscio, the senior editor on the series and long-time collaborator with Ball, made his directorial debut with the seventh episode. Adam Davidson, who directed a fifth season episode of Six Feet Under shot episode ten while Michael Cuesta, another Six Feet Under alum directed the finale.

Buckner and Oliver were the co-executive producers with Woo serving as supervising producer and Tucker as producer. Christina Jokanovich served as associate producer along with Luis M. Patiño. Bruce Dunn joined as co-producer and Mark McNair joined as producer.

Reception

The second season received a generally more positive reaction than the first. The New York Post acclaimed the violence in the second season: "I'm happy to report that this season, there's More Blood! More Torture! More Killing! and More Intrigue! than last season."[13]

New York Magazine praised the series: "It's really located at that dirty crossroads HBO discovered long ago, smart enough to be uninsulting, but obsessed enough (and graphic enough about) sex and wildness that it is addictively watchable, not so much a guilty pleasure as a binge food. Cable catnip, in other words."[14] and Newsday described the second season as: "Silly, gross, soapy, mysterious, intriguing, exotic, erotic True Blood is fun. Even more fun this season."[15]

By the end of the second season, True Blood scored 74, indicating favorable reviews, on Metacritic, an aggregator of critical responses, 10 more than the 64 scored by season one.

Accolades

This season was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, but lost to Mad Men. The show was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series and Anna Paquin was nominated for Best Actress – Television (Drama). It won Favorite TV Obsession at the People's Choice Awards, which it was also nominated for Favorite Sci-Fi Fantasy Show, Best TV Drama Actress for Anna Paquin, but lost to Supernatural and Katherine Heigl respectively. It received nine nominations at the Scream Awards for The Ultimate Scream (the highest award), Best TV Show, Best Horror Actress for Anna Paquin, Best Horror Actor for Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgård, Best Supporting Actor for Sam Trammell, Best Breakout Performance – Female for Deborah Ann Woll, Best Ensemble for the entire cast and Most Memorable Mutilation. The series won Best TV Show, Best Actress for Anna Paquin, and Best Actor for Alexander Skarsgård. It was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, but lost to Mad Men.

Ratings

The second season premiere of the series on June 14, 2009, was watched by 3.7 million viewers, making it the most watched program on HBO since the series finale of The Sopranos. The total number of viewers for the season premiere, including the late night replay, was 5.1 million.[16] The tenth episode of the second season (August 23, 2009) was seen by 5.3 million viewers, a new record for the series, with an overall weekly second season average of 11.5 million viewers including repeats.[17][18]

United Kingdom

All ratings are taken from the UK Ratings website, BARB.[19]

Episode number
(Production number)		 Title Original air date Total viewers
on FX		 Total viewers
on FX+		 Total viewers Rank on channel
13
2-01 		Nothing But the Blood February 26, 2010 TBA TBA TBA #TBA (FX)
#TBA (FX+)
14
2-02 		Keep the Party Going March 5, 2010 467,000 108,000 575,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
15
2-03 		Scratches March 12, 2010 555,000 94,000 649,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)
16
2-04 		Shake and Fingerpop March 19, 2010 558,000 106,000 664,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)
17
2-05 		Never Let Me Go March 26, 2010 522,000 95,000 617,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)
18
2-06 		Hard-Hearted Hannah April 2, 2010 484,000 43,000 527,000 #1 (FX)
#7 (FX+)
19
2-07 		Release Me April 9, 2010 390,000 89,000 479,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
20
2-08 		Timebomb April 16, 2010 466,000 90,000 556,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
21
2-09 		I Will Rise Up April 23, 2010 464,000 102,000 566,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
22
2-10 		New World In My View April 30, 2010 520,000 112,000 632,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
23
2-11 		Frenzy May 7, 2010 530,000 151,000 681,000 #1 (FX)
#1 (FX+)
24
2-12 		Beyond Here Lies Nothin' May 14, 2010 558,000 88,000 646,000 #1 (FX)
#2 (FX+)

Soundtrack

List of Season 2 Ending Credits Songs in order.[20]

  1. Randy Travis—Nothing but the blood (of Jesus)
  2. Chuck Prophet—You Did (Bomp Shooby Dooby Bomp)
  3. Debbie Davies—Scratches
  4. Thievery Corporation-The Forgotten People
  5. Katie Webster – Never Let Me Go
  6. Dolly Kay—Hard-Hearted Hannah (the Vamp from Savannah)
  7. Bad Livers – Death Trip
  8. Beck- Timebomb
  9. Lyle Lovett – I will Rise Up
  10. Sister Gertrude Morgan & King Britt – New World in My View
  11. Screamin' Jay Hawkins – Frenzy
  12. Bob Dylan – Beyond Here Lies Nothin

The official soundtrack was released on 25 May 2010 in the United States.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "The Closer, WWE RAW and Royal Pains lead cable, True Blood makes top 20". TVbytheNumbers. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  2. ↑ Kissell, Rick (2009-06-23). "Cable fills Big Four's post-NBA void". Variety. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
  3. ↑ "HBO's Sunday huge with Hung premiere". Broadcasting & Cable. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  4. ↑ "True Blood ratings: Still not sucking!". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  5. ↑ Kissell, Rick (2009-07-21). "Fox in TV ratings double play". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  6. ↑ "True Blood draws 4 Million Viewers, Plus Entourage, Hung ratings". TV by the Numbers. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  7. ↑ Kissell, Rick (2009-08-04). "Reality Rules the Roost". Variety. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  8. ↑ "True Blood sets another series high with 4.43 million viewers". TV by the Numbers. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  9. ↑ "Updated: True Blood bites off another new Nielsen high with 4.46 million viewers". TvbytheNumbers. 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  10. ↑ "'True Blood' ratings: They're huge!". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-08-25. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  11. ↑ "True Blood: Not a record, but 5.185 million ain't bad...". TV by the Numbers. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
  12. ↑ Seidman, Robert (September 15, 2009). "Cable Ratings: USC, VMAs, iCarly and True Blood finale...". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
  13. ↑ Stasi, Linda (2009-06-12). "'TRUE BLOOD' IS MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO SEE". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  14. ↑ "Bloody Good Show". New York Magazine. 2009-07-02. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  15. ↑ "HBO's 'True Blood' is erotically appealing". Newsday. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  16. ↑ Levine, Stuart (2009-06-16). "Ads help auds bite into 'True Blood'". Variety. Reed Elsevier Inc. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  17. ↑ "Updated: True bloody momentum for True Blood: 5.3 million and another record!" Retrieved on 2009-08-25.
  18. ↑ "Another you-know-what for 'True Blood'". The Live Feed. 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  19. ↑ "BARB Website Ratings".
  20. ↑ Music Season 2 - True Blood". TrueBloodWiki.HBO.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  21. ↑ "True Blood Season 2 Soundtrack Details". DreadCentral.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
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