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walked away, he called her a skank. When Jason tried to take some V, he kicked him out, calling him a bitch as he watched him walk away. He’s not attracted to Eddie but it’s a means to an end. If we look back, it becomes clearer that Lafayette makes his way seeking people on the down-low, servicing closeted, self-loathing senators, vampires, and addicts. He’s the thing they want. He’s attractive, out, and, by all appearances, trustworthy if only because he keeps all their secrets. He may have a conscience. He asks Eddie why he doesn’t try the bars, risking his source, but he’s ultimately a dealer who takes advantage of people who aren’t strong enough to belong to themselves. He may be a self-made man, but sooner than later, we all have someone to answer to.

Sam and Tara are loners who have given up on fitting in. Their way out is sex, but Tara is unable to connect, and is always the first to leave. When her mother makes her breakfast, Tara’s face dissolves into such an expression of gratitude, it’s as if she’s a child again — trusting, safe, and enjoying the simple pleasures. So it’s a nice twist that after being raised by a reluctant alcoholic Tara would take the first “step” toward recognizing she is powerless and that her life has become unmanageable, voluntarily seeking out Miss Jeanette.

Heading into future episodes, the groundwork laid here is sure to draw repercussions. The characters are more estranged from one another than ever, but it gives us the chance to see a broader range from all of the actors, and more screen time for Lizzy Caplan as Amy Burley (even though that storyline is the weakest) and the fearless Stephen Root as Eddie.

Highlight: Sam [about an alligator head Terry offers to him]: “We’ll put it over the bar. Drunks like talkin’ to the animals.”

Nightcap: For the scene in which Bill Compton’s hand comes out of the dirt to grab Sookie, Stephen Moyer had to sit in a box underground that was covered in plastic. When it came time, he had to punch through the plastic. Much has been said about the sex scene. In the books, the rough sex is not played down. Stephen Moyer has been widely quoted as calling it rape during one interview, something that most believe was an unfortunate choice of wording. But even Alan Ball has described it as a “major lady porn/vampire seduction fantasy.”

Location, Location, Location: The vampire’s nest that was set on fire was located in the Ledbetter Heights neighborhood in Shreveport, Louisiana. Rumored to have been a brothel at one time, the scene caused a local controversy over whether the building had historical value. (We know who won.) The building had been scheduled for demolition when the production bought it for $100. Alan Ball says, “It may have been historical at some point, but for years it had been a crack house.” The location itself is also blocks from a series of other buildings seen in the show’s opening credits, notably Lucky Liquor.

Encore: “The Fourth Man in the Fire,” performed by Johnny Cash, plays as Jason and Amy wait outside Eddie’s house. The song was written by Arthur Smith, and covered by Johnny Cash on his live storyteller album Strawberry Cake. Smith was a textile mill worker who became well known for his instrumental compositions, including the now infamous banjo duet “Dueling Banjos” heard in the film Deliverance (1972). “The Fourth Man in the Fire” tells the story of the fiery furnace from the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. In it, three men — Shadrach, Meshach, and Azariah — refuse to bow to the self-erected statue of King Nebuchadnezzar. He condemns them to death, ordering the furnace to be heated seven times hotter in response to the men’s conviction that they will be saved. They are thrown in the fire where Nebuchadnezzar witnesses them walking through the flames along with a fourth man “like a son of the gods.” They emerge unscathed, upon which Nebuchadnezzar addresses them as “servants of the Most High God.” The song is an apt companion to an episode in which it’s revealed that Bill did not perish in the vamps’ nest fire, saved