Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (True Blood)
Encyclopedia
"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" is the 12th and final episode of the second season of True Blood
and the show's 24th overall. The episode, which was written by Alexander Woo and directed by Michael Cuesta
, originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 13, 2009. Like the first season finale, the episode is divided almost in half structurally; the first half focusing heavily on Maryann and her attempts to bring new life to the god Dionysus
by sacrificing Sam Merlotte in a strange ritual, while the second half deals with the aftermath of those events and how Maryann's presence in Bon Temps has affected their lives. The episode received generally positive reviews and received an Emmy nomination.
Bill finds Sam at Merlotte's and orders him to come with him to see Maryann. Bill offers Sam to Maryann in exchange for Sookie's safety. Sookie strongly objects to this, but Bill asks her to trust him. Eggs stabs Sam and offers some of his blood to Maryann, who rubs the blood on her body. Sam has not died, however, and tells Sookie to destroy all of Maryann's ritual offerings, which Sookie does by using her powers to push to the ground the large tree-like totem. This angers Maryann who chases Sookie with her poisonous claws, but she is stopped by the appearance of a large white bull who she believes to be the God Who Comes. Offering herself to the "God", the bull stabs her in the chest with its horns, and as Maryann starts to die, the bull transforms back to Sam, who finishes the job by removing Maryann's black heart. Bill reveals to Sookie that he allowed Sam to drink his blood so he could recover after being stabbed. Bill also thanks Sam for his trust and for helping save the town of Bon Temps. Bill comforts a visibly disturbed Sookie.
The next day, Hoyt learns that his mother was not lying about his dad having committed suicide. Deeply disturbed by this, he walks out on her again to go find Jessica. When he arrives at Bill's house, nobody is there. Jessica, after telling Bill she is going to apologize to Hoyt, instead goes to a gas station and feeds on an unsuspecting truck driver.
Sam goes to visit his adopted parents. His adopted mother cries and still can't accept that Sam is a shapeshifter, while his adopted father, who's bedridden and appears deathly ill from an unknown terminal illness, writes a response to Sam's request; to know who his real parents were, despite his step mother's warnings that they were bad people.
Back in Bon Temps, Eggs is deeply disturbed by the recent happenings and begs Sookie to help him uncover his actions during his blackouts. With her help he learns that he was the one who murdered Miss Jeanette, Daphne and also the one who stabbed Sam. Incredibly distraught over the things he'd done with Maryann, he holds Andy Bellefleur at knife-point begging to be arrested. Andy tries to explain that all of his actions were not of his own free will, but Jason, seeing the hold-up from afar, does not realize what is happening and shoots Eggs. Jason is afraid after realizing he killed Eggs, but Andy takes his gun, wipes it off and tells Jason to leave and that "he was not here and he didn't see anything." Tara arrives along with many others to see Eggs shot and dead, and she breaks down in tears.
Bill takes Sookie out to a French restaurant and proposes to her. Sookie is initially confused and afraid because of all of the recent happenings in her life. She takes a moment to retreat to the ladies room to recompose herself and decides that she does want to marry Bill. However, when she returns, Bill is gone and the place has been ransacked. Bill is captured with a silver chain and kidnapped by an unknown character.
, which was written and recorded by Bob Dylan
for his 2009 studio album Together Through Life
. In the episode, the song is used over the end credits. The song was also used in several promos for the second season. The original title for the episode was Before the Night Is Over, which is the name of a Jerry Lee Lewis
& BB King song playing during the scene when Sookie and Bill share a dance in the French restaurant.
The title is similar to an ancient warning to sailors: Non Plus Ultra, ("Nothing Further Beyond"). which was said to have been enscribed on the Pillars of Hercules
to warn sailors against exiting the Mediterranean Sea
into the Atlantic Ocean
and towards the edge of the world.
and Mehcad Brooks
. Charlaine Harris
has a cameo
in this episode as a patron at Merlotte's.
, who had previously directed numerous episodes of Alan Ball
's other HBO series Six Feet Under, including that show's penultimate episode. Charlaine Harris
, author of the series of books upon which True Blood is based, makes a cameo appearance as a Merlotte's patron in the second half of the episode.
Ball said of the finale, "...the first part of the season we had a lot of different storylines taking place in different places and then we wanted to bring them all together ... where everyone was fighting the same fight for the last episode." He also commented on the scene in which Jessica feeds on a truck driver, "She's still a fairly freshly-made vampire. Bill hasn't been much of a maker and she just had a really emotional experience with Hoyt walking out on her. It's part of her instincts as a vampire and her need to feed ... she's just got rage."
awarded the episode 8.8 out of 10 and felt the "second half of the episode wasn't interesting, but it felt like a bunch of random scenes clunkily thrown together", however she did praise the way the episode "set up some interesting plotlines for next season". Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
praised the episode saying it "made good on most of the stories it told this season". Phil McCall from BSC Review also praised the episode, describing it as "definitely worth the wait" and praising Maryann's death scene in particular, saying it "was pure genius on the part of the writers." Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
thought the finale "satisfyingly tied up the season-long plots in the demented first half, and then suggested new mysteries for next season in the quieter second half. It wasn't a full-on amazing hour, but it did the trick for me." The episode received a negative review from The Wall Street Journal
's Michelle Kung, who called it "underwhelming" and said "the structure of the episode was a bit of a mess", comparing it to the "unnecessary final hour of the Lord of the Rings
trilogy."
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
and the show's 24th overall. The episode, which was written by Alexander Woo and directed by Michael Cuesta
Michael Cuesta
Michael Cuesta is an American film and television director. Cuesta co-wrote and directed the 2001 independent film, L.I.E.. He has directed and produced television series including Six Feet Under, Dexter and Blue Bloods.-Biography:He received a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in...
, originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 13, 2009. Like the first season finale, the episode is divided almost in half structurally; the first half focusing heavily on Maryann and her attempts to bring new life to the god Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
by sacrificing Sam Merlotte in a strange ritual, while the second half deals with the aftermath of those events and how Maryann's presence in Bon Temps has affected their lives. The episode received generally positive reviews and received an Emmy nomination.
Plot
Maryann appoints Sookie as the "Maid of Honor" at her sacrificial ritual, much to Sookie's disgust. Maryann asks Sookie to repeat her "electric" touch, but Sookie fails to do so. She is restrained by an entranced Lafayette. Jason and Andy Bellefleur try to advance on the crowd with an arsenal of weaponry, only to become quickly entranced themselves. Meanwhile, Eric meets Sophie Anne who has heard through her guards that Bill knows that Eric is having Lafayette deal Vampire blood. It is revealed that Sophie Anne is the one who ordered Eric to have Lafayette start dealing again. Eric assures her that Bill is not aware of the connection between them and promises to take care of him.Bill finds Sam at Merlotte's and orders him to come with him to see Maryann. Bill offers Sam to Maryann in exchange for Sookie's safety. Sookie strongly objects to this, but Bill asks her to trust him. Eggs stabs Sam and offers some of his blood to Maryann, who rubs the blood on her body. Sam has not died, however, and tells Sookie to destroy all of Maryann's ritual offerings, which Sookie does by using her powers to push to the ground the large tree-like totem. This angers Maryann who chases Sookie with her poisonous claws, but she is stopped by the appearance of a large white bull who she believes to be the God Who Comes. Offering herself to the "God", the bull stabs her in the chest with its horns, and as Maryann starts to die, the bull transforms back to Sam, who finishes the job by removing Maryann's black heart. Bill reveals to Sookie that he allowed Sam to drink his blood so he could recover after being stabbed. Bill also thanks Sam for his trust and for helping save the town of Bon Temps. Bill comforts a visibly disturbed Sookie.
The next day, Hoyt learns that his mother was not lying about his dad having committed suicide. Deeply disturbed by this, he walks out on her again to go find Jessica. When he arrives at Bill's house, nobody is there. Jessica, after telling Bill she is going to apologize to Hoyt, instead goes to a gas station and feeds on an unsuspecting truck driver.
Sam goes to visit his adopted parents. His adopted mother cries and still can't accept that Sam is a shapeshifter, while his adopted father, who's bedridden and appears deathly ill from an unknown terminal illness, writes a response to Sam's request; to know who his real parents were, despite his step mother's warnings that they were bad people.
Back in Bon Temps, Eggs is deeply disturbed by the recent happenings and begs Sookie to help him uncover his actions during his blackouts. With her help he learns that he was the one who murdered Miss Jeanette, Daphne and also the one who stabbed Sam. Incredibly distraught over the things he'd done with Maryann, he holds Andy Bellefleur at knife-point begging to be arrested. Andy tries to explain that all of his actions were not of his own free will, but Jason, seeing the hold-up from afar, does not realize what is happening and shoots Eggs. Jason is afraid after realizing he killed Eggs, but Andy takes his gun, wipes it off and tells Jason to leave and that "he was not here and he didn't see anything." Tara arrives along with many others to see Eggs shot and dead, and she breaks down in tears.
Bill takes Sookie out to a French restaurant and proposes to her. Sookie is initially confused and afraid because of all of the recent happenings in her life. She takes a moment to retreat to the ladies room to recompose herself and decides that she does want to marry Bill. However, when she returns, Bill is gone and the place has been ransacked. Bill is captured with a silver chain and kidnapped by an unknown character.
Title reference
The title is taken from the song of the same nameBeyond Here Lies Nothin'
"Beyond Here Lies Nothin" is the opening track of Bob Dylan's 2009 studio album, Together Through Life. The title is a quote from the Ancient Roman poet Ovid...
, which was written and recorded by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
for his 2009 studio album Together Through Life
Together Through Life
Together Through Life is the 33rd studio album by Bob Dylan, released on April 28, 2009, on Columbia Records. The album debuted at number one in several countries, including the U.S. and the UK...
. In the episode, the song is used over the end credits. The song was also used in several promos for the second season. The original title for the episode was Before the Night Is Over, which is the name of a Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
& BB King song playing during the scene when Sookie and Bill share a dance in the French restaurant.
The title is similar to an ancient warning to sailors: Non Plus Ultra, ("Nothing Further Beyond"). which was said to have been enscribed on the Pillars of Hercules
Pillars of Hercules
The Pillars of Hercules was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. The northern Pillar is the Rock of Gibraltar in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar...
to warn sailors against exiting the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
into the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and towards the edge of the world.
Cast
The episode marked the final appearance of Michelle ForbesMichelle Forbes
Michelle Renee Forbes Guajardo , known professionally as Michelle Forbes, is an American actress who has built a career of work in television and independent film and has acted in productions in both the United States and in the United Kingdom...
and Mehcad Brooks
Mehcad Brooks
Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks is an American actor and former fashion model.-Early life:Brooks was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he attended L.C. Anderson High School...
. Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing mysteries for over twenty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area of the United States. She now lives in southern Arkansas with her husband and three children...
has a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in this episode as a patron at Merlotte's.
Production
"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" was the fifth episode of the series to be written by Alexander Woo and the first to be directed by Michael CuestaMichael Cuesta
Michael Cuesta is an American film and television director. Cuesta co-wrote and directed the 2001 independent film, L.I.E.. He has directed and produced television series including Six Feet Under, Dexter and Blue Bloods.-Biography:He received a BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in...
, who had previously directed numerous episodes of Alan Ball
Alan Ball (screenwriter)
Alan E. Ball is an American writer, director, actor and producer for film, theatre and television.-Early life:Ball was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Frank and Mary Ball, an aircraft inspector and a homemaker...
's other HBO series Six Feet Under, including that show's penultimate episode. Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing mysteries for over twenty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area of the United States. She now lives in southern Arkansas with her husband and three children...
, author of the series of books upon which True Blood is based, makes a cameo appearance as a Merlotte's patron in the second half of the episode.
Ball said of the finale, "...the first part of the season we had a lot of different storylines taking place in different places and then we wanted to bring them all together ... where everyone was fighting the same fight for the last episode." He also commented on the scene in which Jessica feeds on a truck driver, "She's still a fairly freshly-made vampire. Bill hasn't been much of a maker and she just had a really emotional experience with Hoyt walking out on her. It's part of her instincts as a vampire and her need to feed ... she's just got rage."
Critical response
Michelle Zoromski of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
awarded the episode 8.8 out of 10 and felt the "second half of the episode wasn't interesting, but it felt like a bunch of random scenes clunkily thrown together", however she did praise the way the episode "set up some interesting plotlines for next season". Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
praised the episode saying it "made good on most of the stories it told this season". Phil McCall from BSC Review also praised the episode, describing it as "definitely worth the wait" and praising Maryann's death scene in particular, saying it "was pure genius on the part of the writers." Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
thought the finale "satisfyingly tied up the season-long plots in the demented first half, and then suggested new mysteries for next season in the quieter second half. It wasn't a full-on amazing hour, but it did the trick for me." The episode received a negative review from The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
's Michelle Kung, who called it "underwhelming" and said "the structure of the episode was a bit of a mess", comparing it to the "unnecessary final hour of the Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
trilogy."
Ratings
When originally broadcast, the finale gained a total of 5.1 million viewers, more than double the audience for the season one finale. When additional broadcasts, on-demand viewings and DVR numbers are factored in, an average of 12 million viewers saw this and other episodes in the second season.External links
Beyond Here Lies Nothin' at Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...