Well that was terrible.
I don’t get it; True Blood had an outstanding penultimate episode – one of the show’s best ever – and they follow it up with this dull mess? Seriously?
Let’s start with Warlow. For over a year, the writers went to great lengths to build him up as some sort of insurmountable threat that was going to be the end of Sookie and the world as we know it. And then, strangely enough, he became yet another love interest for Miss Stackhouse. I was curious; would the writers actually take the bold step of turning Sookie into a faerie-vampire? They didn’t – and on top of all that, Warlow turned evil again and got offed by Jason of all people with a freakin’ stake! Really? And what about Sookie’s faerie bomb? Why build up that monumental weapon and not even have her use it once? It needs to be stated: as much as True Blood has improved this year (and I stand by my views that this was a superb year), some flaws have yet to be rectified. A finale is supposed to pay off the year in spectacular fashion, and not end the season on a sour note.
And what about Eric? Our favorite viking got two seconds of screen-time in which he got burned to a crisp while sunbathing in the nude. It’s already been confirmed that Eric will be back next year, so what was the point of that highly ineffective cliffhanger? The only bright spot: Pam will probably be the one saving Eric, which should do wonders for their relationship.
Furthermore, the six month time-jump was incredibly jarring (and not in a good way). In fact, it felt like an excuse to reshuffle the decks simply because the writers didn’t have any cards left to play. So now Bill is a published author, Sam is the mayor (who’s proposing monogamous relationships with vamps), Arlene owns Merlotte’s (it’s now called Bellefleur’s Bar and Grill), and Sookie and Alcide are finally together after a zillion years. All of these tidbits were intriguing, but they felt completely void of the thrill factor a finale should have. Even the final moments with the Hepatitis V vamps arriving like a wave of zombies fell flat on its face because True Blood is not the kind of show that’ll kill off any of its core cast members (and no, useless Terry does not count).
On the bright side, Grandpa Niall is back (why did they write him off again?), and believe it or not, I kind of love Violet now. She didn’t leave much of an impression in her last few episodes, but she was genuinely fun to watch this week – particularly with her jealousy of Jessica and her protectiveness of Jason. And the fact that she still won’t allow Stackhouse to have sex with her six months later? Genius.
I’m trying as hard as I can to maintain a positive impression of this very entertaining season, but when a finale is this much of a flop: that’s an undeniably challenging task.
Bloody Bits
– Beautiful visual: Sookie staring at all the vamps as they day-walk and have sex on the grass.
– Jason’s response to Violet locking lips with Sookie? “She’s European”. Ha!
– Do my eyes deceive me or did Pam just hug Sookie?
– I know I must sound totally evil, but Warlow punching the hell out of Sookie was extremely satisfying to watch. She’s just become very unlikeable this year.
– I admittedly laughed when Violet smacked Jessica with the volleyball in the face and then straddled Jason.
– The highlight of the hour: Violet screaming at Adelina to harness her “fucking power”,
– I want to say Tara’s mom apologizing to her daughter was touching, but the scene went on for far too long and didn’t move me in the slightest.
– The best proof that this was a weak hour? There aren’t any quotes to include in the True Quips section this week. None of the lines stood out.
Conclusion
Radioactive was an immensely underwhelming and slow-moving finale from True Blood. I’m beyond disappointed.
Nad Rating
D
Also posted on Critical Myth.
I think I get why it wasn't good. They had to resolve the horrible Warlow plot, a character that I think was destined to be a failure. He could have been better and scarier, but I don't think he would of ever amounted to aything, so I'm glad the writers didn't drag him into next season, even if it was a lazy resolution. Same with Lilith, which resolved without really being resolved, but I'll let that pass since neither the viewers or the writers understood the logic of Lilith. The idea of Hep V vamps sounds a little stupid, but hey, at least the story is back in Bon Temps, and at least all the character are together like they were on the first season. This is what Brian Buckner alluded to at comic-con, saying he wants everything back under one story, and put the focus back on the relationship between vampires and humans. He's admitted in post-finale interviews that the show has suffered from a too many stories problem, and even acknowledged how horrible the werewolf story was and how we are done with them. I'll give next season a chance.
Very true Ramon. Glad to see you didn't like it as well (I was afraid I was being too harsh it). Here's hoping Buckner sticks with that notions and gives us a great season because this finale was such a terrible disappointment.