IMHO "True Blood" (2.5): Never Let Me Go

After four stellar episodes, the fifth show of the second season of HBO's True Blood isn't quite at the same level, but there's still plenty to recommend it, including a look at when Eric was turned (here's a hint: he was a Viking, and not one from Minnesota), and Jason getting a helping hand while bathing.

Look below for the top ten reasons why this week's episode earns an up arrow.

10. - Hoyt and Jessica continue their sweet Pleasantville-esque courting. We learned a couple of things about Hoyt in this episode including the fact he moves his lips when he reads, and he wears pajamas (I'm not sure, but they may be Garanimals).

9. - I feel bad for Jason. The poor guy wants to do what's right, and he has a good heart, but his innate stupidity and hot body always betray him. He helps out arch-enemy Luke, which only seals the deal with the predatory Sarah.

8. - I have to give the actors props for getting through that bathtub scene with a straight face. When a trembling Sarah sat down next to Jason's bathtub, grabbed a loofah, and said "Mary Magdalene washed the feet of Jesus, and dried him with her hair ... isn't that lovely?", I literally choked on my laugh.

7. - "Let me reward you, Jason. Let me help you find your way back to joy."

6. - I'm so glad that Lafayette is healthy again, but he's obviously not the same guy he was before he was chained up in that dungeon. I hope he gets his spark back soon.

5. - In what comes as not much of a surprise, we finally find out Daphne's secret is that she's a shapeshifter  just like Sam. We know because she transforms into a doe (a deer, a female deer), which shocks the hell out of Sam. So what about the scratches on her back? Is she being controlled by Maryann? Hmm ...

4. - Speaking of Maryann, she continues to manipulate Tara. She invites herself to move in to Sookie's house (because the mansion wasn't really hers, it belonged to a "client"), and when Tara tells her to get lost, she shows up at Merlotte's that night and uses her Maenad power to force everyone to dump verbal abuse on Tara. So not only can Maryann get the party started, she's also that one girl who gets drunk too soon and pukes in the punchbowl thereby ruining the party for everyone.

3. - When Tara comes home, exhausted and weak from all the crap flung at her, Maryann is at the kitchen table, dressed like Gran (the whole thing was very Big Bad Wolf), and comforts her til Tara breaks down and tells her she can stay.

2. - Back in Dallas, Sookie is by turns horny, defiant, and annoying, as she tries to reach out to fellow telepath Barry. He's scared to death of the Dallas vampires finding out his secret and when later she asks about his whereabouts, we learn that he up and quit. We also meet Dallas vampires Isabel and Stan, and Sookie (whose outfits are just getting more hilarious each week) offers to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun to find out what their plan is.

1. - By far the best scene in this week's show was Eric's flashback to when he was turned. We knew Eric was old, but it turns out he was a Viking (I wonder if he enjoyed some Sverhoeven Krispies with his cocoa after a night of raping and pillaging. My undying love to whomever gets that reference).

We learn that his maker is the much-discussed, missing-in-action Godrick, who looks like civilization's first emo kid. That's why Eric is so adamant about rescuing him.

Speaking of makers, Bill is about to be re-introduced to his, as the final scene in the episode shows the Civil War-era vampire who turned him, now modern and out for his blood.

This was definitely a good episode as it answered some important questions, but somehow it just didn't flow as well as the previous outings.

What did you think? Are Godrick and Eric more than just maker and ... mak-ee (or is that just wishful thinking)? Is Lafayette going to be in more trouble when Pam shows up at Merlotte's next week? Will Jason "find his joy"?