This review contains spoilers.
5.11 Sunset
You’ve gotta love it when a plan comes together – it’s the penultimate episode of this year’s dose of True Blood, and everything, absolutely everything is in place for what could well be one of the finest finales ever...
Let’s start with the Oscar-worthy I’m a Believer performance given by one Eric Northman – thankfully, never one of the Lilith obsessives, and finally free to start the fight back. Unusual family mediation sessions aside, clearly Godric did something right with these two, even if it took his dying twice to get there. Now that Eric and Nora are making damn sure that the vamp/human war is inevitable – it’s the only way to get rid of the Authority – all hell is about to break loose. Ordinarily that would be a tantalising prospect – humans vs vamps, with Eric on the humans’ side – but Sunset was such a packed episode, full of fantastic stuff, that it just barely scrapes into the top five. Yes, once again TB came into its own on the home stretch and it was breathtaking.
In an almost complete contrast to Eric and Nora’s change of heart, Bill Compton has totally lost his shit. Believing the hype is never the best idea, but Compton has taken that belief to Elvis-sized proportions. If he starts deep frying human beings, opera can’t be far behind. Anyhoo, Compton has something that Elvis didn’t – bear with me – absolute proof that he is not in fact chosen. For anything. Except possibly death. Having stumbled upon another ‘chosen one’ Bill’s immediate execution of the competition serves only one purpose, because if you truly are chosen, there is no competition. Bill is clearly very comfortable with his ‘chosen’ status; add that to the ‘nest’ mentality that Pam is so fond of, and there’s no way he’s letting anyone get in his way, and that includes Salome. Of course, Bill as always, has underestimated the power of the Northman – looks like the once-promising bromance is about to end with one hell of a fight. And we all know who’s going to win...
At least we will, as long as say, the newly invincible Russell Edgington is as far away as possible. Russell’s Faery buffet dream has finally come true, thanks in large part to the half-assed Faery plan to kill him. Much like Salome, these people clearly have no idea who they’re dealing with. It was almost too easy, but it did give the amazing Denis O’Hare the chance to chew as much scenery as he could possibly handle. Always at his best when fulfilling his batshit potential – insulting Jesus and feeling up Jason – with a Faery inside him, Russell can also fulfil his feeding potential. In addition to the Faery vision, the ex-King is now a daywalker – meaning Bill, Eric, Sookie and pretty much everyone else are in a world of trouble right now. As much as the prospect of a bloody showdown is as worrying as it is exciting, you wouldn’t be blamed for being just a little bit smug about the Faeries...
One development that may not have made everyone’s top five, given Tara’s immense popularity, was the short but very sweet screen time shared by Pam, Tara and Jess. It was a long time coming, and while hasn’t quite yet hit the kick-ass heights that it’s capable of, the seeds of a very interesting trio have most definitely been sown. Fingers crossed Bon Temps get its very own gang of female vamps – in every sense of the word - in the near future.
Sunset was once again a return to the frenetic tension that characterised the beginning of the season; so much was going on that there was barely time to draw breath between what are clearly important events. From Pam being arrested for protecting her progeny, who by the way, is most likely in love with her, to Jess and Jason’s fake turning and Jess’ very real declaration, then there’s Andy’s baby mama drama, and Robert Patrick is a thieving wolf... That’s before we get to Sam, Luna and Pam being at the underground lair just in time for Bill’s big breakdown, with Eric miles away and unaware of the situation any of them are in, and the fact that the mysterious Warlow is all but guaranteed to make an appearance.
This is in no way a criticism; in fact, this season, the multiple storylines - Ifrit and Hoodoo possession notwithstanding - have been one of the show’s strengths. Even though this was the penultimate episode, so many of the strands are still active that even with one episode to go, it’s still anyone’s guess as to what the finale actually has in store. One thing is for damn sure though – it’s going to be kick-ass!
Read Emma's review of last week's episode, Gone Gone Gone, here
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