Escape From Dragon House
True Blood | Season 1 | Episode 4

Escape From Dragon House

TV-MA | 50 MIN

Directed by Michael Lehmann
Written by Brian Buckner

nSookie stands in Dawn's apartment, shocked and terrified as she looks at her friend's limp body. The sound of breaking glass startles her, and she turns to find Jason in the doorway, standing over a broken bottle of booze and holding flowers. Jason tries to comfort Sookie, but they're both interrupted by Faye LeFebvre, a neighbor who witnessed Jason's argument with Dawn the night before. Jason insists the fight - and gunfire - had nothing to do with her murder, but as the police arrive and a crowd gathers outside, things aren't looking so good for him.

Andy and Sheriff Dearborn arrive and take a statement from Faye about the incident, while Sookie's horrified to hear thoughts ranging from the coroner's appraisal of Dawn's breasts to Jason's worrying that there's "no way they're gonna let me walk again." Sure enough, Andy cuffs Jason, leads him to a waiting cruiser and locks him in the backseat, where he quickly remembers he's carrying a flask of vampire blood. Digging the vial from his hip pocket, Jason quaffs the contraband.

Sam, who happens to be Dawn's landlord in addition to her boss, pulls up and walks over to check on Sookie. She assures him he should open the bar - on a day people will need a stiff drink - before he has to rush off to open Dawn's storage area for the police.

By the time Jason arrives at the police station for questioning, the vampire blood has kicked in, giving him an unnaturally vigorous erection. With Andy grilling him from across the table and trying to cast him as a murderous necrophiliac, all Jason can think of is escaping to the men's room for relief. Bud gives him permission to "pee," and the sight of himself is horrifying. While he struggles to deal with the problem quietly, Tara shows up outside and demands that Bud and Andy release Jason from custody. She knows enough to be sure they can't hold him without charges, but ends up having to lie, anyway, telling the police that she'd been with Jason the previous night and asked him to keep it a secret. The plan works, though, and Tara and Jason head over to Merlotte's.

At the bar, Sookie is following Gran's advice and using her "talent" to try to find clues to the murders. Mostly, she just hears perverse and mean-spirited opinions of Dawn. When Tara and Jason arrive, Sam wants to talk to her about the night they spent together, but she warns him not to tell a soul about it because she's Jason's alibi. At the moment, however, the prime suspect is far more concerned about his penis than his legal troubles. He hustles to the kitchen, hoping for a cure from Lafayette, but the cook tells him only time can tame the effects of V.

Later, Tara finds Jason in the walk-in cooler, holding a steak over his crotch. Assuring him it can't be that bad, she tells him to show her. "You're not the first ex-jock to overdo the V and wind up with an acute case of priapism," she says. But when he removes the meat, she gasps in disgust and takes him to the hospital, where the doctor asks him whether he's been taking any drugs. Reading between the lines of Jason's denial, the physician refuses to give him any sedatives or anesthetics then breaks the news that the only treatment available is to drain the blood from his penis with a (very large) hypodermic needle. Tara turns to leave, but Jason begs her to stay. "I ain't never gonna be the same after this," she says, taking his hand.

Sookie's investigation out in the bar isn't going anywhere, so when Bill shows up, she asks him to take her to a vampire bar called Fangtasia. after work so she can find some answers. When Bill picks her up, he worries that she's dressed as "vampire bait" and reminds Sookie that he promised her grandmother he'd look after her. She accepts the strange compliment, though when they arrive at Fangtasia, she understands that the danger is, in fact, real. A bartender named Longshadow agrees to look at photos of Dawn and Maudette, except he refuses to provide any specifics aside from admitting to seeing them at the bar.

Across the room, sitting on a throne, a Nordic vampire named Eric takes notice of Bill and his guest and invites - more like commands - them to join him. Eric and his associate, Pam, take a brief look at the photos and tell Sookie that they've seen the women - and Eric has "tasted" Dawn. Sookie tries to thank them and leave, but Eric tells her he's not finished with her yet. But just as he starts to "catch up" with Bill, an image appears in Sookie's mind: A female vampire is feeding on a man in the bathroom, while an undercover police officer across the room waits anxiously for a raiding team to arrive. Sookie warns the vampires of the danger, and no sooner can Pam and Eric start to question her than the police barge through the door. "Follow me," Eric tells them, and with Sookie in tow, the vampires fly out through a secret door. Outside, before they part ways, Eric tells Sookie that it was a pleasure meeting her and that she will come again. It's not a request.

Sookie asks Bill for a few minutes of silence to collect herself as they drive home, but her peace is interrupted when a cop pulls them over. Aiming his flashlight in their eyes, the officer asks whether they were at Fangtasia, but when he asks to check Sookie's neck for bite marks, Bill loses his temper. He glamours the officer and asks him to hand over his gun, which he does gladly. Bill terrifies Sookie by aiming the weapon right between the cop's eyes and warning him to have more respect for vampires he pulls over. "And I'm keeping your gun," Bill says before driving off. The officer watches Bill's car go, a stream of urine trickling down his leg.

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