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the world, and ended with Bill having to face the reality of his own world. In this episode, characters are forced to witness things they’d rather not, or they weren’t ready to face, violently transporting them from the reality they once knew into another one entirely. Sam’s secret revealed, he can no longer hide who he is from Sookie. Tara learns Miss Jeanette’s real identity, but her convictions are tested once again later in the evening when she sees the naked woman and pig. Meanwhile, there’s no mistaking what Jason’s been party to when Amy stakes Eddie. It’s right under Jason’s nose, if not all over his face. Even Sookie, unready to face Sam’s true identity, is forced to move past it when she stumbles upon the Bon Temps killer in Merlotte’s, his past murders rushing into her head. It takes a tribunal to force Bill back into his true nature as a vampire. Each scenario sets the stage for the inevitable. All are shocking, but none are a surprise. The more we change . . .

Tribute: Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica Hamby)

“[Deborah] is absolutely extraordinary . . . I’m sure if Bill had dreamed of a way to get his children back, it wouldn’t have been in the form of a bratty or virginal psychopathic daughter. That’s one of the great things about Alan. He doesn’t give his characters what they want. He creates conflict.”

— Stephen Moyer

Beauty and a geek: how can you not love Deborah Ann Woll? She’s a gamer who watches Mystery Science Theater and showed up at the 2009 Comic-Con early so she could visit panels before appearing on her own! “One of the wonderful aspects of Comic-Con is that it provides the opportunity for groups of people who may feel ostracized from so-called normal society to come together and feel part of a nonjudgmental community,” she said.

Deborah brings this empathy to her portrayal of Jessica Hamby, a precocious 17-year-old from a strict, conservative household who Bill is forced to sire as punishment for killing another vampire. Jessica appears from the trunk of a car, her perfect porcelain skin offset by long, strawberry-blonde hair. She’s young and innocent . . . until she discovers her newfound freedom, and Bill finds himself with a strong-headed spitfire in his charge.

Deborah Ann Woll, for all the surly, sassy, sexy life you inject into Jessica Hamby, I give you tin Hershey bars out of tin.

Where you’ve seen Deborah Ann Woll: ER, CSI, My Name Is Earl, The Mentalist, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

1.11 ~ To Love Is to Bury

Original air date: November 16, 2008; Written by: Nancy Oliver; Directed by: Nancy Oliver

Sookie [to Bill]: I rescind your invitation!

Bill fulfills his punishment, turning a young woman with surprising results. Jason suffers another loss. Sam and Sookie grow closer. And when Tara’s mother kicks her out, a mysterious woman steps in to help.

This episode sets up everything we’ll need for one doozy of a season finale! Pam supervising Bill as he prepares Jessica’s “grave” is a personal favorite, funny but not crass; absurd but not surreal. Yet it’s two vampires arguing the ethics of turning innocents while one digs a grave for the limp body beside him. It could be farcical but it’s as real as it gets for vampires. This is the day-to-day of how vampires are made, and the scene is carried out like a married couple bickering while washing dishes. It all comes down to Pam’s commanding presence. Until now, she’s rested on the sidelines, but we finally get to see the Pam who knows how to get down to business. How can a sentient person disagree with Bill’s logic that everyone will turn against Jessica after she becomes a vampire? Yet Pam waves his comments off as if he’s a petulant child, rising to the occasion in pumps no less, tipping Jessica’s body into the grave like a bored teenager who’s grown tired of tipping cows. Pam’s character is the sleeper of the series. She seethes with sexuality and sin.

With all that Sookie and Bill have been through, it was a tremendous shock when she rescinded Bill’s invitation to enter her home. We know that he would