“Prove to your father that you’re not a monster”–Eric Northman
I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that True Blood is delving into political beliefs. This is, in fact, a season where one of the major figures is a governor. So as Eric Northman turns Willa and sends her back to her father as the thing that repulses him to the maximus, it seems manifest that this was intended as a metaphor for the United State’s evolving values on the issue of gay marriage, particularly the recent crop of publicly elected Republicans who–after finding out that their kid is homosexual–became pro gay rights.
My personal views on these types of tropes are murky. First, I should make it clear that I am an outspoken gay rights enthusiast. However, there is part of me that thinks that such a metaphor is creatively lazy. It’s too topical at this moment to be husbanded in a truly interesting way. Moreover, I don’t need True Blood to validate my views on gay marriage. I’m still interested in this storyline and they certainly could have done this in a more blatant or inept way (to their credit, this doesn’t feel shoehorned in, or out of step with the political climate of Bon Temp), but it does slightly detract from this arc.
To continue our theme of homosexuality, after Ben nurses Jason back to health via blood, Jason starts having homoerotic dreams about him. He and gramps deduce that it must mean that Ben is a fairy vampire: Ben is Warlow. Warlow later explains to gramps that they grew up in the same town and when Warlow was turned into a vampire, he killed grandpa Stackhouse’s parents and spared his life “so that [their] line could continue.” He purportedly spares him again by hurling him into a void.
Sookie determines that something is awry with Ben after finding blood on her floor. She ascertains its vampire blood by some kind of fairy chemistry and concocts a plan to ensnare Warlow. She lures him in with a home cooked meal, but she sprinkles the food with some substance. As they are subsequently making out on the couch, she intones, “Get the *** off me or die, Warlow!” We then get a wide shot of Sookie with her fairy supernova brandished at Warlow.
“Oh my gosh, that is so cool. I mean, I hate having a name. You know, I always got to be like, ‘Hey, my name is Jessica.’ How lame is that, right?”–Jessica Hamby
The best thing True Blood has going this year is the goings-on of Bill and Jessica. Jessica is yet again stellar in this outing, as she glamours the clerk at the store and talks the newly aged Bellefleur kids to party at her place. She makes a point to conduct this without Bill, fearful that Bill might lose control of himself and kill the fairies now that he has Lilith’s blood coursing through his body.
Bill coyly collects the blood of two of the girls and consults Takahashi. Takahashi explains that there is something anomalous with the blood: It decomposes into regular human blood within an hour, making it problematic to discern the genetic sequences. Meanwhile, Jessica attempts to assuage the Bellefleurs but they are getting bored. They make a move for the door en masse and Jessica frantically fangs. “You smell like honey,” she says bemused and then proceeds to suck them dry. It’s still ambiguous whether they are alive or not.
From the best to the worst, Sam tells Lafayette, who is possibly the coolest wheelman of all time, to scram so he and Nicole can run away to safety. No, Sam! Don’t tell Lafayette to go! He is the only good thing to come out of this storyline. Sam shifts into a horse and he and Nicole ride away together. This eventuates in them making out in a hotel room.
This has not been a very subtle development. Ever since Nicole ambled into Merlotte’s, we knew this would occur. There was never any doubt about that. The other side of this is Alcide and his pack on the hunt looking for Emma. Again, I’m not that interested in this either because I don’t give one jot about Emma.
But there have been similar duds in previous seasons of True Blood. And there is plenty that still works with the show.
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