I’m honestly surprised at how effectively True Blood has managed to turn the ship around so close to the end. The season’s opening hours were enormously weak, and yet for the third week in a row, the show has managed to capture my attention and secure a little optimism in the process.
Of course there’s still plenty of flaws; does anyone on Earth care about Lettie Mae and Lafayette’s quest to communicate with Tara? When the latter was killed off in the beginning of the year, I was tremendously relieved. But if we’re going to be subject to more of the same visions, then I’d much rather we spend time on a subplot that’s actually entertaining. In addition, while Violet is a suitably amusing psychopath, I don’t think the show’s final season should be giving her this much screen time. Will she murder Adelyn and her brother/boytoy? Do I ever care? Questions to ponder dear writers.
But Karma got a lot right and it deserves props for that. Everything involving Eric, Pam, The Yakuza and Sarah Newlin was supremely engaging. That storyline has injected the season with a true sense of purpose, and it culminated beautifully with the reveal of Sarah Newlin being the cure. Not only does this twist make one of my favorite characters an integral part of the final stretch, it pretty much ensures that Bill and Eric will survive at the end. Suffice to say, I can’t wait to see how this is going to unfold.
Bloody Bits
– Awesome single take with Eric kicking ass until Pam’s capture is revealed. The whole shot is masterfully staged and executed.
– Violet giving Jason a blowjob in a romantic setting is so very classic True Blood.
– God James is annoying; his special brand of sleep-acting is especially bothersome.
– My favorite scene of the hour: Madeline trying to extort Bill who unsuccessful tries to glamour her before stabbing her to death with a pen and blowing up another vamp as he struts away. Badass.
– Sadly, I had no empathy for Jessica potentially losing Bill. Maybe it’s because I know the writers would never kill him off? Him and Sookie seem pretty endgame, and that’s disappointing.
True Quips
Pam: I imagined my death many times but I never thought I’d meet the sun in someplace with wall-to-wall carpet.
Pam: Sarah Newlin’s gonna be having the last fucking laugh, shopping at Barney’s and having her manicure if you two can’t stop measuring your dicks and strike a fucking deal.
Bill: I don’t have that kind of time. I’m dying.
Lawyer: Have you looked outside? Everybody’s dying.
Must Download Tune
Karma by Lady
Conclusion
An exciting hour that manages to overcome its flaws with some brilliant developments.
Nad Rating
B+
I still don't like what they are doing with Violet and Jason. It looked like at the beginning, they were getting somewhere with giving Jason a woman who challenges him and gets him grow up a bit. Now it's like the show is saying: go hell with the new relationship! Let's bring the old ones. Bill and Sookie. Jason and Jessica. However, I'm interested in seeing how the storyline involving Eric, Pam, and Sarah Newlin is going to unfold after the twist about the cure.
It's funny how much the writers realized they wanted to go back to the those two original pairings after exploring other alternatives. It's a bit forced isn't it? Thanks for your comment 🙂
And here's hoping Sarah Newlin makes it out of the season alive (doubtful).
Ok let's see:
– Sarah Newlin is actually the cure! I didn't see that one coming… Although this might cause some issues for Eric. What will he do now? Will he keep her alive? and what about the Yakuza?
– I really wish the writers would kill Bill. Him and Sookie being is the endgame is truly disappointing.
– I don't really care about Lettie Mae and Lafayette, but if they go the old house and we find out that Tara is alive I am gonna be pretty pissed!
– I believe Violet will kill Adelyn but it has to be in a way related to Jessica. I mean in the end the person she wants to hurt is Jessica.
– The most useless scene was Nicole telling Sam that she wants to leave! Like who cares?
Btw everytime Sarah Newlin gets some screentime I remember you, given how much you loved her character ever since she became the badass of the show.
Karma by Lady is just beautiful!
My God Nicole. I totally forgot to mention her as she's so horrendously useless. Stop reminding me how useless these writers can be Tag!
And the song… WOW! Can't stop listening to it!
BTW, Nadim, were you behind the Critical Myth blog? Because a number of your reviews sound very similar to the ones that were on the blog.
Nope it's run by my friend John and he reposts several of my reviews on there 🙂 Sadly Critical Myth closed down and the reviews are now posted on this site http://www.vognetwork.com/live/ which I believe John still helps run.
Thanks for the information, Nadim.