True Blood: Mine

"When vampires live in a nest they become more cruel... more vicious. They become laws unto themselves."

- Bill Compton

"Mine" is the third episode of season one of the HBO television series True Blood and first aired on September 21st, 2008. Foiled in their attempts to "glamour" Sookie, the vampires Malcolm, Liam and Diane make a hasty retreat after Bill lays claim to the waitress. At Merlotte's, Sam seeks a short-term remedy to his long-time loneliness, while Tara seeks respite from her mother's alcohol-fueled rage. Spurned by Dawn for lack of performance, Jason turns to Lafayette, Merlotte's short-order cook, for help with his problem.

House guests
Sookie arrives at the Compton house and is greeted at the door by three disreputable vampires named Malcolm, Diane and Liam. They try to use their glamour on her, but are startled to discover that it doesn't work on her. From a room inside the house, Bill commands them to let her in. Bill is sitting in the back of the parlor in the shadows. Also in the room are two of the group's "fangbangers", Jerry and Janella. Sookie stands nervously silent as the three vampires eye her like a piece of meat. Diane is prepared to bite Sookie on the throat, when Bill finally intercedes on Sookie's behalf. "Stop..." he commands. "Sookie is mine." [Scene cuts to opening theme song]

The vampires acquiesce to Bill's wishes, but these are not people used to taking orders. They dismiss Bill's concerns and entertain themselves with their human followers. Malcolm lovingly embraces Jerry while Liam glamours Janella into fellating him in front of everyone in the room. Malcolm offers Bill the use of Jerry to satiate his hunger. Although Compton is "mainstreaming", the taste of human blood is difficult to resist. As he leans down to bite the man's throat, Sookie picks up Jerry's thoughts. Jerry has Hepatitis-D and plans on giving it to as many vampires as he can. This is his way of getting revenge for losing a former boyfriend named Marcus who was hooked on v. Sookie shouts a warning and Bill pulls away. Jerry flies into a rage and lunges at Sookie, but Bill pulls him off, breaking his wrist in the process. Malcolm knocks Jerry out and slings him over his shoulder, stating that they have clearly overstaid their welcome. Diane wants to know how Sookie knew about Jerry, but Bill convinces her that Sookie is still too shocked to speak.

As Sookie regains their composure, she asks Bill about the vampires. He tries to explain that the three of them share a nest and that vampires tend to become more "evil" the more time they spend outside mainstream society. He also explains that Hepatitis-D is the only blood-borne pathogen that can harm a vampire. Sookie expresses her distaste for Bill's claims that she "is his". Bill apologizes and explains that it was necessary for him to project the idea of ownership or else the others would consider her fair game for feeding. Sookie is completely disgusted and cannot remain in the house any longer. She gives Bill the information he requested about the contractors and leaves.

Lonely hearts
At Merlotte's, Sam closes the bar for the evening. Tara and he drink a beer together and discuss elements of their personal lives. Tara is concerned about Sookie's growing fondness for the vampire. She brings up the fact that Sam is in love with Sookie, but is too tight-lipped with his emotions to do anything about it. Sam reveals that Compton cannot hear Sookie's thoughts. Realizing how refreshing it would be for Sookie to find someone whom she doesn't have to guard her mind against, Tara chuckles and tells Sam "You don't stand a chance".

Meanwhile, Dawn Green returns home. She giggles as she enters her bedroom, expecting to still find Jason Stackhouse tied to her bed where she left him. A man wearing a black mask leaps on her and begins whispering in Dawn's ear. He indicates that he is a vampire and that he has killed Dawn's boyfriend. Dawn tries to pull away and begins screaming, but the masked man reveals himself as Jason. He is getting her back for leaving him tied up to the bed.

Sookie gets back to her house and finds Bill waiting for her on the front porch. She is still extremely angry and asks him some pointed questions about vampire physiology. Learning about vampires only serves to frustrate her even more. She tells Bill that she thinks it would be a bad idea for them to continue seeing each other. She asks Bill to leave then goes inside.

A short time later, Sam and Tara continue their drinking out front of Sam's trailer. Tara talks about how difficult it’s been for her living with a violent alcoholic. She asks Sam if he is lonely and he tells her that he is extremely lonely. They both lament the fact that it has been several months since either of them has been intimate with someone. Tara suggests that the two of them should sleep with one another. Sam thinks it’s a terrible idea, but Tara insists that it would only be a one-time deal -- just to satisfy an itch. Sam is concerned that having sex with Tara might adversely affect their working relationship, but in the end, he agrees.

Meanwhile, Jason and Dawn have sex as well. During their escapade, Jason sees a flashing image of Liam - the vampire he had seen on Maudette Pickens' videotape. He tries to shake away the imagery, but it forces him to lose his erection. Dawn asks Jason what's wrong and he confesses that he cannot tolerate the notion that she has had sex with a vampire. This offends Dawn, who defends her actions by saying that it was the best sex she has ever had. Jason continues to berate her and Dawn loses her patience. She tells Jason to leave, but when he refuses, she pulls a gun on him. Jason still doesn't get up, so Dawn fires two warning shots into the floor. Jason scrambles out of bed and runs out of the house with his clothes.

Aftermaths
Back at the Stackhouse residence, Sookie has a fantasy about Bill Compton. She begins pleasuring herself, but stops when she notices her cat watching her.

At Sam's trailer, Tara wakes up next to Sam. He is still asleep and notes that he barks in his sleep.

Jason goes home and watches televsion. No matter what station he puts on, everything seems to be about vampires. One program features Steve Newlin, the son of slain anti-vampire preacher Theodore Newlin.

In Monroe, Malcolm, Diane and Liam return to the house they share together. They have already killed Jerry and dismembered his remains. Bill Compton comes over and he is not in a pleasant mood. Diane tries to make a play for him and Bill pushes her into a closet. He warns all three of them that Sookie is not to be harmed. Malcolm reminds Bill that he is his elder, but Bill retorts by saying that there are higher authorities. He goes on to say that they all need to moderate their behavior now that vampires are out in the open. Malcolm, Liam and Diane don't agree with the "Great Revelation" and have no intention of "towing the party line". To prove their point, they show how Janella has made the ultimate sacrifice. Her body is suspended in the kitchen upside down; her blood draining into a pail. Bill warns them of the consequences of flaunting their ways and leaves.

The following morning, Tara returns home. Her mother, Lettie Mae, heavily inebriated, smacks her across the head with a Bible, accusing her of spending her entire night sinning. The two argue, but Tara still tries to help her up. Lettie Mae repays her kindness by cracking her in the head with a whiskey bottle. Tara is in shock. She tells her mother that she is on her own and leaves the house. She drives over to her cousin Lafayette's house. Lafayette gives her some Vicodin and a joint to help take the pain away. One of Lafayette's house guests, a state senator calling himself "Duke Smith" exits the bedroom fastening his pants. He greets Lafayette and Tara, takes a hit off a joint and then leaves. Tara looks at Lafayette and asks if he is into prostitution now. Lafayette defends himself by saying that working on a road crew by day and working as a short-order cook by night simply isn't getting the job done.

At the Stackhouse farm, Sookie is up early and mowing the lawn. Gran comes out to tell her that breakfast is ready. She comes inside and asks her if she thinks its a good idea for her to continue seeing Bill. Adele says that Bill appears to be a nice and polite man, but Sookie must follow her own heart. She believes that God has a purpose for everything, and that when the time is right, that purpose will reveal itself.

Jason's quick-fix
Jason stops by Lafayette's and asks him for some Viagra. Lafayette laughs at him, noting that Viagra is legal. Instead, he recommends something even better. He opens a refrigerator and withdraws a vial of v-juice. Jason doesn't like the idea of drinking vampire blood, but Lafayette garantees that it will yield the best sex he has ever had. He warns him however that he should only drink one or two drops at a shot or else things might get a little "intense". Jason agrees to buy it, but doesn't have the six-hundred dollars that Lafayette is charging. To compensate, Jason is forced to wear a Laura Bush mask and dance in his underwear in front of Lafayette's video camera. While Lafayette films him, Tara secretly looks in on their activities. She whispers to herself, "What the fuck?"

Meanwhile, Sookie goes over to Bill Compton's house. It's still early morning and Sookie knows that he isn't available, but she takes comfort in sitting on his front steps. Sam telephones her and asks her to drive by Dawn Green's place to wake her up. She is late for work. Sookie drives over and knocks on the door, but nobody answers. She knocks again and eventually lets herself in. She hears an alarm clock buzzing from the back room. She walks back there and finds Dawn lying dead on her matress. Sookie lets out a scream.

Notes & Trivia

 * The vampire that bit Dawn Green is identified in "Escape from Dragon House".


 * First appearance of Steve Newlin. Steve becomes a major character in season two.


 * One of the films that Jason flips through on the television is Horror of Dracula starring Peter Cushing.


 * Allusions are made to someone named Eric and an elder female vampire. Eric Northman is the vampire sheriff of Area 5 and the woman Malcolm refers to is Sophie-Anne Leclerq, the vampire queen of Louisiana. Eric is introduced in the next episode, "Escape from Dragon House", while Sophie-Anne is not introduced until the season two episode "Frenzy".


 * Sam makes reference to Buffy and Blade, two fictional characters known for being expert vampire killers.


 * This episode suggests that Sookie's telepathy might be a hereditary trait. Adele mentions that her late husband, Earl, had the gift of "knowing things" that he shouldn't have known about.


 * According to Lafayette, vampire blood sells for $600.00 per quarter ounce.


 * "Duke Smith" appears next in "I Don't Wanna Know".


 * Lafayette makes reference to the vampire that supplies him with his v. This vampire is later identified as Eddie Gauthier, who is introduced in "The Fourth Man in the Fire".


 * Charlie Robinson's "Good Times" is played during the closing credits.

Quotes
"Stop! Sookie is mine!"

- Bill Compton

"Did you know he actually owned slaves? Least he could'a done was apologize to me."

- Tara Thornton

"We're all kept alive by magic, Sookie."

- Bill Compton

"Believe it or not, Jason, the world does not revolve around your dick."

- Dawn Green

"Yeah, you heard me. Your neighbor's a crazy bitch!"

- Jason Stackhouse

"Honey, if we can't kill people, what's the point in being a vampire?"

- Malcolm

"If you insist on flaunting your ways in front of mortals... there will be consequences."

- Bill Compton

"Jesus wouldn't set foot inside this house... not with the way you smell."

- Tara Thornton

"Aww, damn. White folk is all fucked up."

- Lafayette Reynolds

"And to think just five minutes ago you were telling us how you were living mainly on synthenic blood. You big poser."

- Malcolm