A few episodes back we watched Jason rummaging up his old Fellowship of the Sun devices. Tonight, he got to use those wooden bullets on Franklin. Anton Chekhov would be proud. But who will pull the trigger on the grief-stricken monster that is King Russell now that he’s revealed himself as an enemy of the vampire Authority and of the human state?
Russell is magnificent in his madness. Having declared war on pretty much the entire world, though, means that Eric will likely get some official help in taking out the King. As much as I’ll be sorry to see Denis O’Hare off the show–and really, there’s no other direction for Alan Ball to take with O’Hare’s character now–I’m sure the battle to destroy him will be epic.
As old and powerful as he is, Russell’s made a mistake in declaring such open war. Surely he’s old enough to have heard the sentiment that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend?” Humans and vampires alike will want him to die the true death after his televised display; he could be the best thing to happen to vampires’ rights since the invention of Tru-Blood itself. He got the evening’s best line, too: “And now for the weather. Tiffany?”
For all the malice and menace that Russell exuded, Nan was the opposite. She sucked all the menace her words should have had away, and her line delivery was so wooden that it could’ve been made into the bullet that killed Franklin. I hadn’t noticed any deficiency in Jessica Tuck’s acting ability in previous episodes, but in this one, she was more zombie than vampire.
Back in Bon Temps, Sookie and Bill had perhaps their most realistic and mature conversation in the history of their relationship. Why yes, Bill, maybe Sookie would consider a nice quiet evening on the couch watching television preferable to cleaning bodies off her grandmother’s best parlor rug. Again. Good for Sookie for outright telling Bill that she’s a person and not an object in need of protection!
It’s clear that they aren’t out of the woods yet, especially as Bill has found himself in Sookie’s enchanted grove (no, that’s not a double entendre even though it sounds like one). Maybe next week he’ll actually get around to telling her all about those reports he kept for the Queen and about his meeting with Claudine in Sookie’s forest.
Bill and Sookie weren’t the only pair to have a reunion, but fortunately Tara’s visit with Franklin was brief. From talking with a friend of mine, I gather that some people actually liked Franklin; good grief, why? Tara’s reaction to him should’ve been all that anyone needed to see that he was a sadist, albeit an entertaining one to watch thanks to great acting and writing. Tara’s got a hell of a spine to stand up to him (more than that hapless news anchor that King Russell met, certainly).
I am completely over crazy-ass Crystal and her dirty meth-soaked family. Sadly, I doubt the same is true of the show’s writers, so we’ll undoubtedly be treated to more of her alternating between wanting Jason to save her and vilifying him to her family. Is she a were-critter? Is she a witch? Is she supernatural? Who cares–right now, she takes up time and space that should be going to meatier story lines and more interesting characters.
If it weren’t for Jessica and Pam, I would wonder if the writers didn’t have it in for female characters, turning most of them into shrews, crazies, or victims. It looks like we can add the new waitress Holly to the list of women worthy of respect, too; the way she handled Arlene’s breakdown and convinced Tara to get some much-needed counseling was barely short of magical.
In fact, though, I hope Holly isn’t magical. I enjoy the non-supernatural characters too and don’t feel they all need to be “super” to be special. That includes Lafayette, too, no matter how much his nutty mom may say he has power. Supernatural or no, she’s an interesting addition to the cast. Maybe Sam will finally have a reliable, stable waitress on hand at Merlotte’s.
Only three more episodes of True Blood left–can that be right? Time flies when the season’s this good, and tonight’s episode was no exception.
