We’re really in the homestretch now, and True Blood isn’t going to be letting up anytime soon. With plot threads coming to a close and a few new ones still remaining wide open, does this penultimate episode do enough to prepare us for next week’s season finale madness? In all honesty, the answer is a resounding…kinda.
Let’s get all the small stuff out of the way first. Alcide is living in a trailer with his dad, who was exiled from his pack for stealing money from them. One of the old man’s friends from the pack comes by to warn them about an influx in baby vamps running around, shedding some light on the effects of the True Blood shortage caused by the authority on those who aren’t fangers. Later that night, Alcide and his father fight off a pack of vampires who were tormenting a neighbor, hopefully setting up for some kind of all out war between vamps and everybody else.
Andy has a brief run-in with Maurella, the faerie he had a one night stand with last season, who is now fully pregnant only one week after their time together. He tries to ditch her so he can salvage his relationship with Holly, but she brings up some pact that he unwittingly made with her, basically letting him know he’s damned if he helps her and damned if he doesn’t.
Sam and Luna are still searching for Emma in the Authority’s base, and as soon as they find her they are imprisoned as tasty vampire treats. Upon hearing that Bill is looking for breakfast, Sam volunteers to go, hoping to talk some sense into Bill.
The chances of this happening are slim to none, as Bill has gone completely off the deep end. Throughout the episode, visions of Lilith have haunted Mr. Compton, although her intentions are unclear as she has made a few appearances to most of the other vampires in the Authority as well. Upon finding out that another one of the chancellor’s has seen Lilith, Bill freaks out and karate chops his head off. Is her plan to turn them all against each other and end their revolution? Or are these visions simply aftereffects of their consumption of her blood? At this point, everything is still up in the air, but it is clear that the Authority as a whole is beginning to crumble.
Eric, who faked his way into their good graces, is still planning an escape, bringing Nora along as she has finally seen that following Lilith might not be the best idea. During a visit from a human military ambassador, Eric snaps his neck, using this distraction as a way to get out of the base with just Nora and a few guards. Of course, the guards last about a minute before they’re killed and Eric and Nora fly away. By the way, apparently they can fly now. I don’t know if I missed that earlier in the show or if they just pulled a Neo, but yeah…they can fly.
Holed up at the Authority base and hating it, Jessica hatches a plan to get out by telling Bill that she wants to get out and turn Jason into a vampire. Bill calls her bluff and sends her to do it with some guards watching the whole time. Her and Jason find a way to kill these guards too (leading to questions about the Authority’s security), and she warns Jason that Russell Edgington is out looking for Sookie and the rest of the faeries. Loathe to go back to the base and Jessica hides out at Fangtasia, telling Pam where Eric is in return for her protection.
Remember how the new sheriff of Bon Temps lasted about a day before Tara beheaded him? Well the Authority wasn’t too happy about this, but when confronted about it, Pam lies and says she did the deed, meaning she’s now been arrested. That makes one more character stuck there, making it the perfect place for a showdown (or so we hope).
Sookie enlists the help of an elder faerie, whose mind is warped beyond the point of help. Just as she is about to reveal the truth behind Warlow, Jason warns the faeries that Russell is searching for them all. A tentative plan is hatched, and Jason leads Russell and our favorite Reverend back to the nightclub. The elder, who is of almost no help at all, tries to stop them on her own before being drained by Russell. Filled with faerie blood, he can now see the portal to the faerie world. His smile is the last image of the episode, and one of the most chilling in the entire series.
So even though not much happened again, the past few episodes have all hinted that True Blood is about to explode in a big way. Vampires are on the rise, and now that the human ambassador is dead, there’s a good chance that humans will be ready to rise up against fangers. Things are about to get very heated, folks.
Be sure to check back next week for our review of the season finale!
