'True Blood' recap: Bill's dark side emerges in 'Somebody That I Used to Know'
Also, Alcide gets frisky, Jessica's in chains and Sam sees double
Alexander Skarsgard and Stephen Moyer are still stuck at the sucky Vampire Authority in 'True Blood'
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"True Blood" has already passed the point of no return to salvage this season. We're stuck with the storylines we've got, and most of them are lemons. But at least now that we're heading into the final four episodes the writers will be forced to stop dragging their feet and start delivering some payoffs.
That was sort of the case tonight, as we saw some real progress in Terry's ghost story and Sookie and Jason's investigation into their parents' murder. There was also a bit of closure for Jessica and Hoyt, the return of sassy Lafayette and a good old fashioned "True Blood" sex scene (something that's been surprisingly rare this season).
Let's break it down:
The Good (What worked)
— After Jason stopped Sookie from burning through her fairy powers they shared a sweet scene where he pointed out the good things she's experienced because of her abilities (Bill's "real love," the chance to talk to Gran after she died, a closer connection to their parents). I'm still not particularly wrapped up in the Stackhouse siblings' detective work (the boring fairy characters aiding their quest don't help), but the amount of screen time Anna Paquin and Ryan Kwanten have been sharing is one of the season's few pleasures. Less focus on Sookie's love life has led to more focus on Sookie's family life and it's no surprise that two of the show's most appealing actors and loveable characters work so well together. (I realize not everyone loves Sookie, but I do, even when I don't really love "True Blood.")
— This week in token Pam and Tara scenes: While tending bar at Fangtasia, Tara gets a visit from a bitchy former classmate who drops racist lines like "Now you're a member of two minorities!" and calls Tara "lazy" and "uppity." At first Pam seems pissed when Tara chews out a paying customer for being such a poorly written cliché, but later she gives Tara the "gift" of this woman tied up and glamoured into believing she's Tara's personal slave/snack. Also, Kristin Bauer van Straten kills the line "My mad face and my happy face are the same." Remember when it looked like Pam might dominate the season? If only it were true.
— Honestly I don't know whether to put Sam Trammell's bizarre "Parent Trap"/"Ringer"/"Multiplicity" act in the good or the bad column, but it definitely wasn't boring. Which is more than you can say for most of Sam's scenes this season. It's not that surprising that Trammell had more chemistry with himself (even if it was creepy chemistry) than he does with Janina Gavankar. I don't want to be too hard on the actress, but the lengths they're going to to keep Luna on the show are unbearable. Every time she breaks into a hysterical fit it's only hysterically funny. One way or another, I really hope they finish her off this season -- and I hope the ways the writers have found to limit Luna's screen time (stuck in a hospital bed, morphing into Sam) are a sign they understand the problem.
— Bill's flashback to his daughter Sarah's death didn't have much emotional impact, but it gave us one more piece to the puzzle of Bill Compton. Except, I'm not sure if it was supposed to convince us of his "turn" to the dark side, or increase our doubts about his behavior. He may have fooled Eric, but I'm not buying the "new" Bill. Since the flashback was a reminder he has always viewed being a vampire as a curse, it's not likely Salome is suddenly going to get him to believe vampires are superior to humans. Not our Bill.
The Bad (What didn't work)
— What was the deal with Lilith's dramatic resurrection last week? Apparently it was just a hallucination, the same way Eric hallucinated Godric. Or maybe that really was Godric. Or Godric is Jiminy Cricket, Lilith is the Blue Fairy and once Eric proves he's brave enough he'll turn into a real boy. Really, nothing would surprise me now.
— We've spent way too much time with the Vampire Authority and too little of it has even made use of the show's ridiculously large cast. The entire arc has been a major drag on the season, and even though it's raised big issues like vampire religion, the possibility of a war over mainstreaming and the true natures of Bill and Eric, almost all of the drama has remained within the limited confines of Authority headquarters. If the biggest problem with season five has been too many scattered storylines, the primary offender has been this claustrophobic time suck. Let's finish it up, fast.
— This is why Russell came back? To flirt with Steve Newlin? No, "True Blood," no.
— Oooohhh, who's gonna be the leader of the wolf pack!?! JD??? Or Alcide?!?! Does anyone, anywhere, seriously care?
— I think the only person who didn't already understand that Jessica fell out of love with Hoyt was Hoyt. Now, I guess he understands too. So good for Hoyt, and too bad for us this hate group stuff is still going on. (And it seems that Hoyt's mama -- the show's designated voice of anti-supernatural prejudice -- may be involved.)
The Nasty (The week in sex and violence)
— Whoa there Alcide, you and Rikki are going at it like animals! And in just a single scene Joe Manganiello and Kelly Overton win the nudity prizes for the whole season. (They don't have much competition.)
— Creative violence was at a minimum this week, but we did see how the Stackhouse parents died and very briefly met their vampire killer. His name is... Pazuzu or Nilbog or something. Sookie didn't recognize it, but does that mean we'll meet another new vampire soon? Oh joy.
What did you think of this week's episode?
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Comments
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJdaman1972
July 30, 2012 at 5:49AM EST Reply to CommentWe're enjoying the season very much thank you. A lot of story lines happening but works well. Just wish it went longer. Show over to quick for me
Veronica
July 30, 2012 at 7:35AM EST Reply to CommentThis season is way better than last season.
theo2011
July 30, 2012 at 9:16AM EST Reply to CommentI just want to see one "Shiva Blast" from Sam...Shivakamini Somakandarkram !
Biddle
July 30, 2012 at 9:20AM EST Reply to CommentHighlights for me -
Sookie and Jason working together
Tara and Pam's (too brief) scenes.
Lafeyete's moment with Jesus
Guilty pleasure moment -
The sex scene with the two werewolves, that wolf chick is fiiiine.
Lowpoints -
The none John Locke smoke monster storyline.
Alcide's struggle to lead the pack
Sam cradling Sam, my wife is out of town so I was watching the show alone. When it looked like Sam was going in for a lip lock on himself I was saying outloud "No, really? Don't do it!" Are they going to explain why Luna morphed into Sam. I have to admit Trummall did pretty good work acting like Luna.
I agree that other then a few sound bites Russell is wasted.
So bored with the "Authority drama"
Over all feelings -
This show needs to purge some characters and tighten the storylines.
Put Jessica and Jason back together, they work well together.
More Pam and Tara.
Biddle Whoops I hit enter too soon.
July 30, 2012 at 9:24AM ESTYeah, the shocker of Bill "evolving" was probably one of the show's weakest closing moments in i;'s history. No one who has been watching the sow long enough believes that Bill suddenly went anti-mainstream. He's got some kind of trick up his sleeve.
bitchstolemyremote
July 30, 2012 at 9:30AM EST Reply to CommentCompletely agree with your take on the Authority storyline. They might be able to pull it together now that things are getting towards the end, but I'm not sure I care. With that said, I think Russell and Steve Newlin are hilarious. It may not be a good excuse to bring back O'Hare, but he's working it!
All the wolf stuff is so blah. I thought they'd use it in contrast with the Authority stuff to highlight the distinction between the two species, but nope...just wolfie battles over teen track stars in the woods. Ugh
Enjoyed the Sam double (I hate Luna!), Sookie and Jason and everything Lafayette, Tara & Pam. Overall it still feels like a mixed bag, but it was funnier than it's been in awhile
Our take: http://wp.me/p1VQBq-1eA
mcspinelli
July 30, 2012 at 2:22PM EST Reply to CommentThis show is close to being good again. All they need to do is KILL OFF at least 10 characters in this show. If they could get back to the stories revolving around 3 main characters with powers/abilities (Sookie, Sam, Lafayette), the amount of poor writing and ridiculous story lines would decline sharply. This is how they constructed Seasons 1 and 2, which were both fun and entertaining.
They need to create a central villain that forces everyone to work together (like the maynad in Season 2). There are plenty of mythical creatures. All they need to do is pick one and find a really good actor/actress to play evil like Michelle Forbes did in season 2.
Someone needs to inform the writers that nobody cares about the Belflours or Arlene. The Holly character is useless. Tara should've died at the end of season 2. The entire Vampire Authority plot has been a horribly written mess. When Alcide isn't working/hooking up with Sookie, his story lines also tend to suck, so less about wolves.
Amy P.
July 30, 2012 at 7:08PM EST Reply to CommentI don’t care if the show has jumped the shark a little. For all its absurdity (enough with the smoke monster already!), I loved this episode –Luna shifting into Sam was hilarious (thanks to Sam Trammell’s physical comedy chops). Bill’s going bad (and that’s when he’s his most interesting); Eric’s the good guy. Lafayette is back (kind of). Pam & Tara’s interactions were so satisfying (points for Kristin Bauer van Straten's deadpan delivery). All is right in my world, so I’m still hooked – plus I was excited to see a new cover of the opening song “Bad Things” this week - http://youtu.be/vm88RbRNq7w The music on or inspired by this show is so good. This is the summer of True Blood (for me at least).
Beth No way! that's Katrina parker from The voice. best cover yet of 'bad things' love it!
August 6, 2012 at 1:49AM EST