Recap – True Blood Season 5 Finale Ties Up and Moves On … NOT!

If you were on the edge of your seat waiting to see how True Blood would wrap up the whole Authority arc, bad news.  It didn’t.  At least not entirely.  Let’s talk about what did and did not get a wrap up on True Blood.

Russell Edgington

I was really excited to get another season of Denis O’Hare, and was convinced that he held a bigger role in the doings at the Authority.  For a while it seemed like a deeply layered mystery;  just what role did Russell really have in what was going on at the Authority?  I reveled in the triad of religious zealotry represented by the Authority, the Atheism represented by Russell, and the Agnosticism represented by Bill and Eric, and couldn’t wait to see how this wildly differing angles on Religion would play out in this story of an emerging Theocracy that I was positive was a thinly veiled metaphor for the radical right.  Alas, Russell ended his run as just another loose cannon, ultimately being staked by Eric while high on Fae blood. Not one of True Blood‘s best character pay offs.  I suppose we could try to bolt some artificial meaning to it all, but nothing quite befits the defeat of the most powerful Vampire to ever walk the show on such a self-indulgent playing field.

Who Killed Sookie and Jason’s Parents?

It seemed in the penultimate episode of True Blood season 5 that the answer to this question might have been Russell, but it would have been kind of difficult to retrofit that to the last three seasons.  Ultimately we got sort of a bait and switch with the mystery being left for another season.  The question is no longer: who killed Sookie and Jason’s parents;  it is now: why does Jason see his and Sookie’s parents.

Luna Emma and Sam

This was all resolved very mechanically with Sam figuring out that Bill wasn’t going to help and ultimately concocting a plan where Luna would Skinwalk as Steve Noonan and abscond with Emma in puppy form.  Rosalyn caught up with Luna as Steve and would up putting her on a live TV feed where she promptly returned to her Luna form and told the world what the Vamps were up to at the Authority, bunker, blood slaves, and the whole nine yards.  Winning the award for Best True Blood decapitation of a Vampire. Ever. is Sam, who flys into Rosalyn’s mouth as a fly and turns back into human, popping her top and killing her in the process.

Alcide … with a bullet 

Alcide goes back to take on JD one more time after he finds out the new pack master is forcing the wolves to take dangerous amounts of V.  Like the Russell tie up, this one goes completely off message with Aclide’s dad giving Alcide his secret stash up souped-up Vamp blood so he will have the power to destroy JD.  So the take away kids is that if your opponent is taking drugs to win, take better drugs.  Or as I call it:  the Lance Armstrong defense.

And the Chosen One is

Eric, Nora, Tara, Jason, and Sookie went to The Authority to rescue Pam and Jesse, and to try to save Bill.  Bill ultimately drank the Lilith blood and exploded.  After pausing long enough for the audience to say “OMG!  I can’t believe they killed Bill!”, bill re-emerged from his own puddle of blood and growled at Eric and Sookie.

That’s All Folks

Aside from the Sheriff now having four Fae baby to raise on his own, that pretty much brings this season of True Blood to an end.  I was more pleased with the overall season than I have been with recent seasons of True Blood, and that noted it feels a little odd to say I was pretty disappointed with this finale.  It really felt like they left some of threads open that weren’t all that exciting, like Sheriff Andy’s Fae babies… hence it did not get it’s own segment here.  On the other hand, the closer we got to the finale the more it felt like we didn’t really have enough time to tie everything up neatly.  Denis O’Hare’s brilliant performance as Russell saves his untimely and rushed demise from feeling like too much of a cheat.  I’m going to guess they only contracted him for one season and his purpose just ultimately fell by the wayside.  Hats off to O’Hare for at least giving Russell a sense of meaning.

As for Bill, Sookie, and Eric, not at all the ending I was hoping for.  I’ll basically spend the time between now and True Blood’s sixth season wondering if Bill has returned as basically the same Religious zealot he was before he drank Lilith’s blood.  I suppose the suggestion is that he is something else, but the closing didn’t really express that. On the positive side, Nora survived so hopefully we will see more of her next season. Until then, though, we have what we have in this True Blood finale.  All in all, a good way to spend an hour on a Sunday evening.