The season six finale of True Blood, while oddly disjointed, was still quite satisfying. Loose ends were tied up, old problems resurfaced, and time seemed to pass in a blink of the eye.
Since the vamps are all safe now Sookie asks Ben/Warlow whether they could date before he turns her, as there is no urgency anymore. He gets angry and reveals his true colours as the monster we saw in season five, ties her up, and starts feeding from her. Bill (who is Bill Compton again and not Billith after his substantial blood-loss, thank goodness!), realises he still has feelings for Sookie (not again), and enlists the help of Jason, Violet, Andy and Adylin to rescue Sookie from Ben/Warlow. Just when it looks like Ben/Warlow might win, Niall comes back from the plane he was on, Warlow is staked, and all is well.
... for a few seconds anyway. Since Ben is gone, so is his fairy blood, which means the vampires can no longer walk in the sun. This is fine for most, since they are all indoors, except for one: Eric. He is in the middle of nowhere, in broad daylight, so he bursts into flames. The scene cuts before we see whether he lives or not. It seems Eric’s future on True Blood is hanging in the balance, but if that is the way they kill him off, I just... he deserves better than a two minute sequence where he bursts into flames, it’s so anti-climatic. Ben/Warlow’s death was pretty anti-climatic, but I was expecting it since they wouldn’t make Sookie a vampire and had to dispose of him in some way. I know they’re trying to leave Eric’s ‘death’ open so they can make up their minds later/Skarsgard can do other work, but they can’t kill him like that, he’s a centuries old vampire who used to be a viking! Not to mention he’s a fan-favourite who has been around since season one (unlike Warlow). If they want to write him out, let him live... This leaves open the possibility of guest appearances later...
Six months pass, and some things have changed: Sookie and Aclide have been dating; Jason and Violet are still together; Bill has written a book about his time as Billith; Adylin seems to have stopped aging; Sam is now the mayor of Bon Temps; Nicole is still pregnant; Merlotte’s is now ‘The Bellefleur Bar and Grill’ and is owned by Arlene. The biggest change is one on a global scale, and that is the worldwide outbreak of Hep V. Gangs of infected vamps have been roaming the countryside to feed, focusing their attention on small towns. Due to this, Mayor Sam, Bill, and the reverends of the local two churches have gotten together and decided the best course of action is for humans and vampires to create an agreement wherein one vampire will offer their protection to a whole family in exchange for some of their blood. Of course this is met with outrage, but it seems this may be the best course of action for many. In terms of the shows structure this means the main characters should have more interactions with one another if they are confined to certain pairings.
At the ‘pairing’ meeting Jessica offers Andy and Adylin her protection, but Andy wants nothing to do with her. Tara’s mother, Lettie Mae, comes to her and apologises for all of the wrongs she has done to Tara in her life. Lettie Mae offers Tara her blood, which she accepts. This does not sit well with me, because even though her apology seemed sincere, she could be up to something. Lettie Mae hates vampires, and has never seemed to love her daughter, so I wouldn’t be surprised if her mother had become a carrier of Hep V to harm Tara. Or perhaps I’m just paranoid.
Meanwhile, as Bill is trying to offer is protection to Sookie (who needs Bill when you have Alcide?), a horde of infected vamps approaches and surrounds the pairing meeting...
True Blood is known for it’s cliff-hangers at the end of every episode, but the cliff-hanger at the end of this one just didn’t seem to have the same sense of urgency that others have had in the past. Maybe they were trying this for a change of pace, or maybe I’m just optimistic that Hep V will be cured and all will be well once again... before the next big bad announces itself, that is. Anyway, True Blood seems to have pulled itself out of the hole season five created, and season seven has been setup to see the show return to what it once was with fewer story-lines and more focus on the core characters. Here’s hoping that it will.
Review by Heather Bale.
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