True Blood, Episode 1: "Jesus Gonna Be Here"
Oh True Blood. We're coming to the end of our journey. For a long time, this show did a great job of riding that line between batshit crazy and compulsively watchable. Around season 5, with the introduction of The Authority (How terrible was that? Seriously, you have Christopher Meloni, he of one of the greatest asses on any man on the planet and no nudity at all?! I'm obviously still not over that), and then the whole Billith thing, it was not a huge surprise to learn that this would be the final season. Let's take a look at the season premiere and speculate on whether the show will finish strong or limp to the finish.
In classic True Blood fashion, the premiere felt jam packed and it also felt like nothing happened at all. It picks up right where the finale left off. H-Vamps are getting ready to attack the mixer set up by Bill and Mayor Sam at Bellefleur's. Shit gets real and real crazy fast. Infected vamps are munching on town folk and our heroes are working valiantly to stop them. Sookie is hand flashing vamps, Tara is actually going out of her way to save Lettie Mae, Alcide has wolfed out, Jason is doing something, but they don't have much luck. The H-Vamps get awa with Holly, Arlene and Sam's pregnant wife. Oh and the gang finds Lettie Mae covered in Tara's sticky body blood. It turns out that Tara's fight with the H-Vamp didn't go too well. Listen, I like Tara just fine, but if anyone had to die to show that stakes are high in this final season, I'm ok with it being her. Out of all the characters, Tara is maybe the most unchanged and the most changed. The way she's changed the most is, she became a vampire, but it hasn't really changed her at all. The vampire Tara that ends up a bloody, slimy mess is the same Tara who cursed out her boss in season one. So, R.I.P. Tara. I'm not convinced we've seen the last of you.
After that, everyone goes their separate ways. After sitting in Merlotte's and hearing the thoughts of the townspeople calling her a "whore" and a "fangbanger" and basically blaming her for every bad thing that has ever happened in Bon Temps, Sookie is at her lowest point. When she hears Alcide echoing what the others have said she takes off.
Once everyone scatters, the pace of the episode slows to a crawl. Jason and Violet head off and find a group of vamp hating townspeople led by the not Mayor. They also include that doctor who got shot in front of Bailey on Grey's Anatomy. They somehow make it to the building Jason and Violet were sent to check out first. Violet helps in the vamp/human relations department by declaring Jason hers and threatening to kill the humans. Well done, Vi. Jason manages to calm down the situation and send Not Mayor aka Vince and his cronies away. On their way, Jason and Vi have it out. He is sick of this. His balls are so blue they are purple and he's had it. They are fucking. Right. Now. Which apparently is what Violet has been wanting all along. Jason and Violet bang agains the hood of the car. Man. It doesn't matter how many times I see it, I will never tire of seeing Ryan Kwanten's ass. Yes. Beautiful. Sights like that make me think maybe there is a god. Ryan never do another movie or television show where you don't get naked. Seriously. Just be naked all the time.
Jessica is still standing outside the Bellefleur house offering her protection to Andy's lone surviving daughter, Adilyn, the one she didn't kill. Andy is not in a forgiving mood, but once he hears about the carnage at Bellefleur's, he has to leave, giving Adilyn firm instructions not to invite Jessica in. As soon as he uttered those words, you knew that before the episode was over, Jessica would be inside that house. Even though Adilyn should be terrified of Jess, she seems to be fascinated by her, and through the window the girls chit chat about boys until an H-vamp shows up, drawn by the intoxicating scent of Adilyn's fairy blood. Jess and the H-vamp stand-off lasts until sundown, until Adilyn finally invites Jessica in. There is a tense moment between the two, before Jess ends up in the attic and the H-Vamp meets the sun.
Pam is on the hunt for her immolated maker, obviously not believing that he could really be gone for good. Does anyone believe that? She engages in a tense game of vampire Russian Roulette which entails pointing a gun loaded with one wooden bullet at your chest, pulling the trigger and hoping for the best. The enlightened vamp tries to taunt Pam by pitting his God against hers. He doesn't realize that Pam is searching for her god and her conviction in this is stronger than anything. The other vamp ends up blood in a bucket and Pam gets a clue on her quest. It leads her to a man named Nayat who offers Pam his uninfected daughter, Pam declines but acknowledges that she looks delicious, instead she gets some sort of weird map.
Unlikely partners, Bill and Andy go searching for everyone who got kidnapped. They check out some abandoned warehouse where they find decomposing bodies drained of blood and Not Mayor Vince and his band of hillbilly vampire hunters. They are going to kill Bill, but Andy fakes 'em out, gets a gun and gets them to go away. I can only imagine that these guys especially Not Mayor Vince will factor in some big way somewhere down the line. Why else would they feature these guys twice? I hope that's going to happen. Now, even though Andy saved Bill's bacon, they aren't going to be bosom buddies. I like alliteration.
My favorite part of the premiere was the scene between Lafayette and James. First off, digging the re-casting of James and I'm digging that they seem to be setting him up as a love interest for Lafayette. Sorry Jessica. People want you to end up with Jason anyway, so it'll be fine. Lafayette is rattled after the whole thing with the mixer, so he decides he needs to alter himself before he lets James feed on him. James tells a really poignant story about how he became a vampire that involved Vietnam and getting beat by his friends maybe lovers? dad. The connection between them was awesome, and I re-wound the scene and watched it a few times. I'm really hoping that this ends up happening because Lafayette deserves it.
Back to our heroine. After Sookie leaves Bellefleurs she walks home alone and tosses her phone into the woods. Smart. She sits in the kitchen and gets wasted until Alcide comes home. He is pretty miffed that Sook took off without saying anything, but she kind of reads him. She doesn't apologize for reading people's mind, she can't help it and people should recognize. Alcide goes to bed angry, but Sook coming to bed naked helps smooth things over. The next day, Sook and Alcide heads to church where the rest of the town is and when she tries to console Lettie Mae, Lettie Mae unleashes on Sookie, giving voice to what everyone else is thinking. Sookie leaves, but before she does, she reminds the town that she may be partially responsible for al this, but that also puts her in the best position to help. The episode ends with Sookie literally begging the townspeople to allow her to help them.
For a show that is known for it's cliffhanger endings, this was kind of an anti-climactic way to end. I feel like I was maybe a little harsh on this episode, but I liked it. It sort of reset everything and re-focusing on the town can only help this series finish strong.
What did you guys think? Are you sad? Are you ready for the end? Let me know in the comments.
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