Now you see the little teapot, along with a sugar bowl, just in front of the printed cardboard box..
Now Sookie doesn’t. The teapot and sugar bowl have been replaced by the hair brush.
Now go back up and look at the first picture. We, the audience, can also see a glass bowl and cup, just in front of the little porcelain doll, that is entirely missing from Sookie’s point of view. From the audience’s perspective the little porcelain blue bird is just to the left of the praying hands, but as Sookie looks down on Gran’s collection, the blue bird is just in front of her and to the left of the box. It has also sprouted what looks like a winding stem.
Do we know why the birdie sings?
Just in case we missed the point, the camera pulls back again and drives it home:
We can see the items suggestive of food but Sookie cannot. From her pov they have disappeared altogether. At the same time items suggestive of grooming such as the hair brush, the porcelain powder box, lotion bottle, kleenex box, jewelry tray, and make-up brushes have all moved closer to Sookie, taking prominence in her line of sight. A sewing kit fills the box when Sookie looks at it, but from the audience pov the box seems to contain nothing but a few random papers.
The little porcelain doll is helpless to do anything but lay there in her pink crocheted bonnet and gown.
Is Bill a magic man? TAP thinks so and I agree. How else to explain how she went from the Sookie we see above to this:
How else to explain why from that point forward we haven’t seen a morsel of food pass her lips? This doesn’t count:
..because we never see her put the chocolate mousse into her mouth, and remarkably she didn’t need to dab her lips with her napkin when she was done. Has Bill cast a spell to make Sookie thinks she’s eating food when she’s not? Does food of any kind interfere with the flavor of her delicious fae blood? I’ve read book spoilers that book Bill demanded Sookie stop eating garlic and taking supplements for this very reason.
The season of the witch is coming up but True Blood has yet to introduce a concept or plot point out of the blue. There are always clues, a set-up that the audience can look back on and recognize in light of new information. As has been discussed exhaustively at TAP there are clues all over the place that Bill has been using dark magic spells on Sookie for various purposes, spells that require a blood sacrifice to activate as indicated by the ritual performed by Holly for Arlene. In 3.01 Trucker Hank died in Bill’s house almost the very moment Sookie walked in to question Jessica on Bill’s whereabouts. Directly afterwards Sookie’s obsession with Bill at the expense of everything else in her life was manifest.
Did the death of Ms. Jeanette just the day before the disappearance of the teapot result in Sookie’s lack of interest in food and her transformation into Stepford Sookie? Who else has to die and how much worse will her transformation become as a result? How many of the deaths on True Blood can be attributed to sacrficial rituals performed by Bill to activate spells against Sookie? To anyone paying attention, it is not possible to believe that Bill will allow Sookie a choice in whether she wants to be with him after what she has learned recently. He has yet to allow her real choices where he is concerned. It is impossible for me to imagine the Bill I’ve come to know simply stepping aside and allowing the source of untold power and invulnerability–daywalking and possible immunity to silver– to slip from his cold dead hands. If Bill really is a magic man who utilizes the black arts to keep Sookie in line, to make her forget about food, how is it possible to believe he has the ethics required to prevent him from casting a spell to make her forget what she’s found out about him recently?
Russell Edgington to Sookie: Who knows what your blood can do?
I’d bet good money Bill knows all about it and has known for some time.
A vampire queen would make a powerful sacrifice, yes?
For those who are about to die we salute you.




Your powers of observation never cease to amaze me! I agree wholeheartedly that there is no way Bill is going to let Sookie go. There is no reason why he won’t continue what he’s done up to this point–use lies and magic to manipulate Sookie into doing exactly what he wants.
It’s interesting that in the first and last images of Gran’s things, the birds’ red chests are visible, but from Sookie’s prospective, the one that is visible appears to be all blue. TB uses blue to denote deception and lies.
Thanks Renee!
but from Sookie’s prospective, the one that is visible appears to be all blue. TB uses blue to denote deception and lies.
Excellent point! I wish I could identify the exact type of bird because some birds are classified as passerines, having the ability to mimic others, including human voices.
I think they are blue birds.
http://www.birding.com/topbirds/6275eb.asp
Bluebirds are a type of thrush and thrushes are passerines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrush_(bird)
Faaaaantastic! Thank you so much.
This is great, Sunny
! Looking at the red-breasted bird, is that a Robin? I was thinking it could be a symbol of Gran watching over her, fighting the “deception and lies” (as Renee mentioned) of the blue bird. I looked up a few things and found this to be very interesting, since we know TB Sookie is still a looooooong way from heightened spiritual awareness – poor thing….
From this site:
http://www.shamanicjourney.com/article/6081/robin-power-animal-symbol-of-growth-and-renewal
“The red colour on the robins chest is linked to the kundalini in man. This is the life force that resides coiled up within the base of the spine. When sufficient spiritual growth has been reached, it uncoils and moves up the spine to create heightened awareness. This will enhance psychic vision and leads us to enlightenment. If robin is your guide, you will most probably be a dedicated spiritual seekers. Although growth can be slow and testing, with patience, compassion and proper focus spiritual ideals will be fulfilled.”
I love it Skarlove, thanks!
Holy smoke! I NEVER would have noticed those details. Thanks Sunny. The not eating is becoming a concern. Humans need food. I understand that Bill is probably feeding her his blood more often than we have seen, and her statement that she is half way to being a vampire, but I don’t think his blood can sustain her. Someone has to notice and soon that she must be losing weight, doncha think?
QSA, yes if her blood is spilled is going to be a very potent sacrifice. I wonder if the age of the sacrifice, or supe status makes a difference to the strength of a spell. Logic says it should, but what do I know. Alas poor QSA, we knew her……
Yes, logic says it should and so did MA, who only used supes in her rituals. She refrained from vampires only because their hearts, which is what she was after, don’t beat but Bill is primarily concerned with the blood.
You find such amazing details. I love it!
I have a request, sort of…I’d like to see a sort of outline pointing out things that you should look for when rewatching each episode. I’ve wanted to rewatch and look for the things you and TAP have mentioned, but things from each episode appear in multiple posts, so it’s hard to remember everything. I don’t know, there might be so much that it wouldn’t really be possible. Just a wishful idea.
Hi Missus T!
The main thing to keep in mind, that encompasses a most of what TAP and I talk about, are the lookeys. Lookeys are items or bits of dialogue that are out of place or out of context. This clues the audience that there is something wrong within the narrative, that we should be looking for a deeper subtext. It’s like a riddle to solve.
The concept of lookeys comes from Lars von Trier:
“For the casual observer, it’s just a glitch or a mistake,” he tells industry website Screendaily.com. “For the initiated, it’s a riddle to be solved. All Lookeys can be decoded by a system that is unique.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/dec/08/filmnews.film
He described Lookey as a “basic mind game, played with movies as game boards.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6161593.stm
True Blood as Mind Game film:
http://sunnynala.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/true-blood-is-a-mind-fck-or-im-crazy-but-its-all-good/
Thanks, Sunny. I shall watch again with my “Lookey glasses” on. LOL
OMG this was amazing, really and truly Sunny… but I really hope AB doesn’t make Sookie forget the real Bill unless it turns out to be a joke on him because she ends up falling for Eric during the time she forgets her identity. Al though I think if she finds out he messed with her memory later on, that would be the straw that broke the camel’s back but it will be maddening until then.
It is so funny that you mention that the uninformed calls these things glitches, lack of continuity, or mistakes…I have been getting into Dexter and as I read the boards people are screaming about the “errors” and I’m just thinking…these are mistakes pay attention!
I agree Jerron. If all of these ‘glitches’ are unintentional this show would be an unwatchable mess.
Have you ever watched the show “24″? Did you ever see Jack Bauer or Chloe or any of the characters eat one meal during the entire 24 hours? I hate this phrase, but I’m gonna use it: just sayin’….
And I’m just sayin’, this ain’t 24. Never watched it, never mentioned it on this blog. Not my cup of tea, as it were.
In any case, there are an incredible amount of instances on TB of people shown eating, not to mention the vampires who are constantly eating, especially Bill. So much so I think we can add gluttony to his list of deadly sins. Just off the top of my head, in season 1 Sookie was shown eating breakfast twice–literally putting the food in her mouth and chewing. In one instance she waxed rhapsodic over the flavor of the sausage Gran served up. And then we saw her eat an entire pie! In the season 3 finale Sookie and Tara sat down to a meal of soup and sandwiches, but while we watch Tara eating her food Sookie sat there fiddling with her spoon. And then you have Maryann in season 2 who practically did nothing but eat when she wasn’t smoking pot, slapping the butler, or sauteeing hearts for Tara and Eggs to tear into with gusto. just sayin’…
Sookie not eating is definitely part of her post-Bill characterization. TB is unusual for having Jason physically eating or drinking in almost every single episode. They wouldn’t make RK do that unless it was important to contrast his normal human behavior to Sookie’s.
Right! And then you have Tara whining to Franklin that she’s hungry and it’s only been what? 24 hours since she was kidnapped? We’ve never once heard Sookie say she was hungry despite never eating.
I wanted to add that I think MA’s preoccupation with food does indeed indicate that we’re supposed to view Bill as a glutton.
I agree it’s way too big of a supposed coincidence to ignore.
Eating is a theme on this show and it’s practically featured in every episode.
There was also the emphasis on Talbot as a gourmet and the way they gorged on the stripper that Bill procured for Russell. Sam owns a bar/restaurant ofc and Ginger is constantly talking about making Sookie something to eat. Arlene was shown discussing food with her children on the phone and the first thing they asked Sam for was food during the Maryann crisis. Joe Lee and Melinda grilled in Sam’s parking lot when he wasn’t feeding them..
really the list goes on and on ofc….
I always chalked up the lack of eating in humans around vampires to what Ginger said about “forgetting to eat around vamps,” and that was something that is shown when humans slowly develop the vampire characteristics when they are around them more than humans but I really like your theory Sunny.
“Forgetting” to eat is quite a telling phrase. Clearly Ginger eats or she wouldn’t have food around to offer Sookie.
Tara’s time with Franklin showed she didn’t eat either. Ginger made a comment about losing weight because she would forget to eat around the vampires. Seems to be a common theme for humans to not eat while hanging around vampires no matter what the situation. I doubt that it would be any different if Sookie was with Eric.
As I mentioned above, Tara made a point of reminding Franklin she needed to eat, that she was hungry. We haven’t seen anything like this from Sookie. As for Ginger, for someone who forgets to eat she sure is preoccupied with feeding Sookie, who always turns her down.
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Interesting twist. I think this theory myself.
We haven’t seen bill even a glimpse of Bill doing black magic.. yet I don’t dismiss your argument. I think Bill is well aware of the Fae blood , and what it can do..this is why Eric told Sookie ‘he only is interested in his own gains, not you’ Bill is familiar with the legends of the Fae. And he knows Sookies genealogy to the letter..and most likely he was the one who killed her parents not the water as the fairies told Sookie.
Bill is nothing more then a Scalawag. You see we heard of Lorenas maker. he was pure evil, Lorena passed this evil on to Bill, 70+ years together Bill subconsciously became this creation. he hated it, and he wanted to free himself, but he is this. A monster, and now he wants to have supreme power, and he has that chance via Sookie.
Bill is similar to the 1930s Dracula. He spells bounds his victims into trances, via drinking and sharing blood. Bill not only did this but with Sookies blood he was able to see her thoughts and fairyland, thus manipulating her more. Into thinking he was in fairyland, when in fact it was more lies, he just got into sookies unconsciousness.
Hi CY, welcome!
We haven’t seen bill even a glimpse of Bill doing black magic
This is because Bill more or less controls the narrative, usually through his control of narrator Sookie and what she knows and is allowed understand. As you say, he does this by manipulating her through his blood. But sometimes when Sookie ‘loses her voice’ through shock or trauma he takes direct control of the narrative,(as have other characters at various points) as he did in the bullet sucking scene. Most people think the narrative of TB is third person omniscient but if it was we would have seen and known about Bill’s part in the Rattray’s beating of Sookie from the beginning.
However, f you keep a sharp eye out for the ‘lookeys’, the subject of this post, those anomalies that make a scene look or feel strange, you can discern the truth of a scene. Bill always makes a mistake that clues us in. Lookeys allowed me to predict the Rattray reveal well in advance:
http://sunnynala.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/i-smell-a-ratt/
when in fact it was more lies, he just got into sookies unconsciousness.
He certainly did. His blood in her forms a psychic connection that allows him to literally invade her mind. Eric’s does as well but he let’s her know he is there and doesn’t try to hide it from her and he doesn’t try to manipulate her thoughts and perceptions as Bill does.
Apropo to this post: As TAP pointed out, it looks like the theme of Sookie not eating is being carried over to season 4. At Sookie’s house the table in the little sewing room behind the living room has disappeared:
http://www.ancientpythoness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/sookie-and-tara1.jpg
It makes you wonder if we’ll ever see the kitchen or dining room in s4.
“It makes you wonder if we’ll ever see the kitchen or dining room in s4.”
I almost wish we could go back and take the ‘kitchen only’ scenes and put them in a time-line. It feels to me that what was once a place of warmth and comfort – sookie and gran talking and bonding – has morphed into a place of violence (gran’s murder, tara’s shooting) and perversion (mike spencer groping sookie).
maybe i’m just being maudlin. as a southerner, my own ‘gran’ was prominent in my life and is pretty close to sacred in my heart and memories. so when i see the show and see what’s happened to ‘the heart of the home’ – which, let’s face it, that’s what ‘grans’ are all about, they are often the ‘heart’ of the family – it really gets under my skin.
maybe i’m just being maudlin. as a southerner, my own ‘gran’ was prominent in my life and is pretty close to sacred in my heart and memories
I feel exactly the same way about my Maw Maw, who pretty much raised me because of how much my mother worked. We lived with them and my fondest memories of Maw Maw are of her in the kitchen cooking something delicious.
I think Gran’s house will benefit from a spiritual cleansing, but such a ceremony would do no good so long as Sookie has no idea why all of this horrible stuff has happened to her and the people she loves. This is where I think the book concept of an ‘ectoplasmic reconstruction’ might come in, at least in regards to Gran’s murder.
This is where I think the book concept of an ‘ectoplasmic reconstruction’ might come in, at least in regards to Gran’s murder.
OMG! YES-YES-YES!!! that would be perfect…fingers crossed.