True Blood Comic 5: Lafayette Parallels Bill or Coming Out of the Coffin and Coming out of the Closet
True Blood Comic #5 was released today. The story picks up with Jason finishing his story to the Imp Shaloop, and then it’s Lafayette’s turn. I have had suspicions that Lafayette’s story would parallel Bill’s in some ways. My suspicions were confirmed in this issue.
Recall Bill’s flashback in S3E03 to his return to Caroline. Watch the video here.
Upon seeing Bill, whom she thought was dead, Caroline says, “I prayed for you. I pleaded for your return.” Bill presents himself as human initially, but is unable to mask his true vampire self when his blood tears stream down his face after seeing that Thomas, his son, has died from Chicken Pox.
When Caroline sees Bill for what he truly is, she is horrified. She accuses him of being a demon and reaches for the shotgun. After shooting him and realizing that the wound caused no harm, she tries to run away but is intercepted by Lorena. Lorena says to Bill, “This is your doin’ I assume?”
After Caroline is glamoured, she asks Bill if Lorena will hurt her. Bill says that he won’t let Lorena cause her any harm. To this, Lorena laughs and replies, “You’ve hurt her enough for two lifetimes, William. I warned you. There is our world and theirs. Between lies only suffering.” Caroline begs for death and Lorena instructs Bill to, “Make her forget. Go on. You brought this upon her. You must undo it.”
As Bill buries Thomas, Lorena asks, “The only way to show your love for a human is to stay away. Forever. Do you understand now?” It is assumed that (at least in Bill’s memory) Caroline has been glamoured and Bill will never again reveal himself to anyone he cares about. Lorena looks over Bill and supports him as he sobs.
Enter True Blood Comic #5
In this story, we learn that Lafayette blames himself for making his mother, Ruby Jean, crazy. Lafayette explains that his mother catches him cross-dressing and it sends her over the edge. She’d been known as eccentric before, but there was something not right with her, mentally. He believes that she was manageable up until the moment that she saw him for what he truly is: gay.
Notice the outstretched hand? This position looks very similar to Bill’s reaction to Caroline seeing his blood tears.
Lafayette explains that his mother tries to “scrub the wickedness out of me,” by bathing him with what appears to be a wire brush, drawing blood. Lafayette thinks, “Too bad for her it [the wickedness] ran too deep.” This drawing of Lafayette’s blood parallels Caroline’s shooting of Bill. Bill’s blood splatters against the wall the in that scene, but Bill remains unmoved. The wound Caroline drew heals instantly.
Lafayette then explains that he is going to, “play butch,” to try to protect his mother. In Vampire terms, Lafayette is going to mainstream. However, Lafayette comes to understand that he cannot hide his true nature. So, he makes the decision to have Ruby Jean put into long term care.
The guilt of all of it weighs heavily on Lafayette. As Ruby Jean is led away, Alastair (Lafayette’s boyfriend) is shown comforting him, similar to the manner in which Lorena comforts Bill. By having Ruby Jean committed, Lafayette has removed himself from Ruby Jean’s life. He knows he cannot hurt her if she cannot see him the way he is. Effectively, Lafayette has made the decision that Lorena urges Bill to make: If you love someone, do not let them see your true nature.
