Any of us who are old enough to watch True Blood know that love sometimes hurts. Fictional and supernatural love is no different, apparently. I didn’t expect to be affected by the Bill and Sookie breakup scene (if I want serious drama, I get it from Mad Men), but it had some real pathos. Good work for both actors–not too many people are willing to give themselves as wholeheartedly to the “ugly cry” as Anna Paquin, and though his tears were CGI, Stephen Moyer was right there with her.
Sookie’s tragically empty “Bill and Sookie” photo album made me realize just why the two of them–despite being appealing actors playing interesting characters–bore me so much when they’re together. It’s because their relationship (Bill and Sookie, that is, not Anna and Stephen who are doubtless a lovely couple) is predicated on nothing but danger. To see them happy together is to see all the boring stuff that presumably goes on in Bon Temps during a normal week. What a snore.
Judging by that raunchy only-on-cable-TV ending, though, their breakup is a moot point. Wonder if the invitation is still open for Alcide to visit her sometime? Surely Sookie’s wondered now and again what it would be like to have a boyfriend who isn’t room temperature.
There are some issues that made this episode seem hastily thought out. As much as I enjoyed seeing Bill teaching Jessica how to be a vampire, she’s still a baby, Bill told Russell. If even a baby vampire can so easily wreck a werewolf, why does Russell bother supplying them with “V” and keeping them around? During Sookie’s scene with Debbie, why did Debbie face Sookie in human form? Wouldn’t her ability to shift into a wolf have given her an edge in that fight? Was Jason really going to blast a hole in Bill using his old Fellowship of the Sun tools of the vampire-killing trade, then stop by the local Popeye’s and pick up some chicken for Crystal?
While we’re on the subject of Crystal, am I the only one who hopes the show soon gets off the subject of Crystal? Good for her for getting away from her abusive family and her job as a “cook.” But she doesn’t seem to be adding anything to the show’s themes that we aren’t already getting from watching Tommy Mickens and Sam. In fact, she seems to exist only as a foil to allow Jason to do another really dumb thing like driving over to the bad side of town and telling off a bunch of toughs.
Jason wondered aloud in tonight’s episode what kind of hold Crystal has over him. I couldn’t help but wonder the same thing. Whenever she’s on the screen, I find myself thinking more about whether I want to make popcorn or have Cheez-Its instead. (I opted for popcorn.)
King Russell, on the other hand, remains one of the most fascinating characters on the show. I almost wish that weren’t the case, because it means bad things for him on True Blood. Considering that the big bad villain gets obliterated at the end of every season, it bodes ill for Russell. Poor Talbot already paid for the King’s viciousness; I’m sure that Eric will make Russell pay much more before the season is done.
Hard to believe that the season is over halfway finished already. Though tonight’s True Blood offering was uneven, it’s a sign of just how good the show’s become that every week’s episode flies.
