'True Blood:' Season finale has real bite

"YOU'LL BE THE DEATH OF ME" (Episode 1.12): In the first season's finale, Sookie announces the link to the murders in front of the wrong person. Tara dives into her fresh start with a little help from Maryann. Jason finds a new calling. Vampire Bill gets hot under the collar during an attempt to save Sookie. An old friend visits Sam. Lafayette goes missing.


THE BON TEMPS EXAMINER: The cat and mouse game between the killer and Sookie is indeed edge-of-your-seat, nerve-wracking excitement. Sam's bravery kicks into hyperdrive when he sniffs the work vest left behind at the bar and recognizes the scent from Dawn's bed. (So that's what he was doing there, rolling around in the sheets of a dead girl! Color me slow, but it didn't dawn on me that Sam Dog was trying to pick up the killer's scent at the crime scene. Duh.) Sam Dog tackling the killer, as he stands poised to murder Sookie, is great. Vampire Bill's bravery is equally thrilling. Romantic tangent: It might be an odd public display of affection, but a vampire walking into the sunlight to save a human is the ultimate sacrifice and illustrates how much Bill truly loves Sookie. Here's hoping they get their happily ever after.

Does Rene (or Drew) have issues or what? Sookie's peek into his mind allows a series of memories to play out like flashbacks that provide a lot of answers. Gran was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and Drew's sister, his first victim, got a little too cozy with a vamp. The shovel to his head is a triumphant moment for Sookie; the shovel through his neck is a triumphant moment for all. Goodbye, Rene/Drew. Say hello to the devil for us.

Other developments:

>> Vampire Eric returns Jessica to Bill because she's a pain in the neck. My guess is Sookie won't be happy with the new living arrangements.

>> The other young Stackhouse finds Jesus, sort of. Good for you, Jason, just don't drink the Kool-Aid.

>> Tara enjoys her new digs and chomps at the bit to start her life over. But that Maryann plays with wild pigs in the yard ... oh and has wicked tremors ... oh and knows Sam's secret. This can only mean trouble in season two.

>> Andy enjoys his moment in the sun after he believes he has the killer locked behind bars, but can't handle being wrong when the true killer is revealed. Final conclusion on the Bon Temps authorities: They make Mayberry look like Scotland Yard. Case closed.

(By the way, Andy makes a drunken reference to his family once owning the town. Jump back to one of the first few episodes when he's introduced to Vampire Bill. Bill pauses, repeats Andy's last name, Bellefleur, and clearly has history with the family.)

THIS WEEK'S CLIFFHANGER: OK, there were lots of little cliffhanger moments in the finale's last 20 minutes. But the big one: Lafayette's dead. At least that's where the evidence is pointing (the vamp-like attack behind Merlotte's; his disappearance; the perfectly pedicured man foot hanging from Andy's car). Hopefully, Lafayette's just passed out in the backseat and will be back next season because Nelsan Ellis is one of the brightest points of the ensemble cast.

After the episode, HBO assures its "True Blood" audience that it's already hard at work on season two, which will premiere in Summer 2009. It can't get here fast enough. The break does, however, give folks time to catch up on the books.

"True Blood" airs on HBO. You can catch up on episodes on your HBO OnDemand service or rent the DVDs when they hit the shelf (sign up be notified when the DVD release date is announced). You won't be sorry.

Read last week's "True Blood" recap here.

Read Mary Colurso's featured story on the music of "True Blood" here.
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