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| Seriously... how do you really feel about Russell, Eric? Photo credit: chevronone.com |
By SDMattchew
I was lucky enough to attend (and live blog) True Blood's Comic-Con panel yesterday. In it, we got a taste of the remainder of Season 5. If it's anything like the sizzle reel they showed us, we're defininitely headed for a no-holds-barred, ass-kicking finale.
"Hopeless" appeared to start us down the path to greatness with a few satisfying action sequences and some fantastic one-liners. One of the most memorable: Eric's feelings about the whole Lilith/religious thing when he told Bill, "Enough of this religious bullsh!t already. Lilith can f@cking blow me."
We saw plenty more of Russell Edgington, who I admit that I liked a whole lot better after this week's show.
All in all I'd say my confidence in this season has been restored... for the most part. Find out why after the jump.
Alcide
I start with Alcide's storyline this week because 1) I got a chance to see him and all of his tallness at Comic-Con and 2) for the first time in the history of him being on this show, he actually had a memorable moment. This happened when Eric glamoured him in the beginning of the episode just after they all cornered Russell and decided not to kill him. (I know...I know. Whatever.) Alcide's reaction when Eric tells him to keep his hands off Sookie "romantically speaking" was priceless.
Duh... okay.
After Sookie returns his memory to him... yes, we made out... yes, I puked on your shoe... he confronts his wolf pack and announces his interest in being packmaster. Understandably, this doesn't go over too well with the self-proclaimed packmaster. For whatever reason, Alcide walks away from a fight with him even though the guy is two feet shorter than he is. Also, a female werewolf (future love post-Sookie love interest, no doubt) stands up for him and says she'd be his "second."
What are you doing, Alcide? Man up! ...or wolf up.
Sookie
Sookie spent the first few minutes of this episode helping Eric and Bill get Russell Edgington into silver bondage. Then she switches gears and goes to fairieland with Jason. There they get some yes, indeed confirmations that their parents were killed by a vampire. And that vampire was after Sookie's blood after smelling it on a used Band-Aid.
Hmmm... who might that vampire be?
Tara
Tara continued her little squabble with Jessica from the end of the last episode. Pam broke it up, but...
Just me or was Tara actually doing most of the ass kicking?
Sam and Luna
(SPOILER ALERT: LUNA SURVIVED) Wow. Big surprise. Luna's alive.
In the hospital, Sam has a chat with Sheriff Andy about the people who shot him. They're human. They hate shifters.
Andy's reaction: "A hate crime? Are you serious?"
What followed was another moment that I wasn't sure was meant to be intentionally funny. But there was something amusing about Sam in a hospital gown explaining to Andy how he has the ability to shift, that he has heightened senses, and that he could help him with his police investigation.
I'll give it to Sam, though. He came through with the help and even saved Andy's life by taking out an NRA type with a crossbow.
Terry
With his road trip with Patrick to South Dakota at an end, Terry's finally back in Bon Temps. What's the first thing he does? Tell Arlene all about his trip! And this includes some details about an evil smoke monster hunting him down. Not surprisingly she suggests he check himself into a hospital and get back on his meds.
Good idea, Terry!
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| The all-new and improved Hoyt Photo credit: popcitylife.com |
Hoyt
As of this episode, Hoyt has officially gone off the fangbanging deep end. He tries to convince Jessica that she's still in love with him and then, when she practically laughs in his face, gets a vampire to suck him dry in an alley. In the middle of all of his alleyway fun, the van behind the Sam and Luna shooting roars up, screams "Die fanger!" and shoots Hoyt's new guy with a wooden bullet, saving Hoyt in the process.
The shooter seems to know Hoyt. Hmmm...
Lafayette
In a somewhat amusing, but not really all that compelling scene, Lafayette visits his mother in the hospital. She, like Lafayette, has been seeing Jesus' head with the sewn-shut lips. Somehow Lafayette's mother knows Jesus isn't at rest. Somehow she knows that this is all Lafayette's fault for making him drink the goat's blood sometime back in Season 4.
So you got your big clue tonight, Lafayette. Now figure this Jesus thing out so you can get back into the central storyline. Your character's better off there.
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| After we stake Russell, how about 9 holes of golf? Photo credit: HBO |
As far as the Authority is concerned, we still don't quite know where Salome stands... was she really giving Russell Edgington those silver injections or not? But we got a big clue that Russell's escape had nothing to do with Nora, who told Eric that she didn't free him. Sis is off the hook, it seems.
Roman was all too happy to execute Russell. He commemorated the upcoming staking by pulling out the "good stuff" from his liquor cabinet. The good stuff being 18th Century Austrian Hemophelia.
When it came time for the staking, they dragged Russell into the Authority chambers wearing a nightshirt and a stake bomb. Roman is rattling off this religious quote and that. Everyone's raising their hands. And there's Russell, talking over Roman, spouting off about how he honestly feels about killing people. Plenty of clever expletives.
Too bad that iPhone app that controls the stake bomb wasn't working. Doesn't Roman watch out for low battery warnings?
Russell leaps up, grabs the stake, and stakes (?) Roman?
Well, his head swells and there's blood spatter anyway. No Roman explosion, though.
So what happened then?
OVERALL: Loved the episode. However - really did not like that last scene, which was essentially the same, cheap "character kill off cliffhanger" they pulled last week with Luna. And how did she come out? Just fine.
I'd give Roman equal odds.
Bonus:
Did you see Alcide at Comic-Con? We did, and we've got the pic to prove it!
