TV REVIEW: True Blood “Fire in the Hole”

Damn, True Blood, what are you trying to do to us!?

Not even halfway through the season and we’ve already been met with two very big deaths. First Tara and now Alcide? And how can we forget Mrs. Fortenberry? I don’t know if I can handle anymore. So let’s talk about last night’s episode filled with death, sex, more death, and even more sex!

If you’ve been wondering where the effervescent Sarah Newlin’s been hiding, look no further. Our vivacious Christian had hidden herself well, where no one would dare look for her: at a yoga retreat in California.

Over in France, Pam was trying to uncover answers as to how Eric fell ill with Hep-V and why he was so blasé about living all of a sudden. Finally acknowledging that she had felt Tara meet the True Death the night before, Eric’s only remark had been over his jealousy of Pam getting to play the “bucket game” in Morocco.

We were finally granted another flashback into Pam and Eric’s long history and why Eric had chosen France as his hideout. Turned out that in the 1980s Eric had fallen for a French girl named Sylvie. Unfortunately, Eric and Pam were cornered by the Authority to comply with their rules or else. Eric had opted for or else, which escalated into a standoff where Eric was forced to choose between saving Pam or Sylvie’s life. Unsurprisingly, Eric chose Pam, leaving Sylvie to be executed.

It seemed as if Pam was stuck at a crossroads. How would she convince Eric to return to the states with her and fight for his life? The answer: revenge. Filling Eric in on the simple fact that Sarah Newlin was still alive and kicking would revive Eric’s thirst for living.

Back in Louisiana, James and Lafayette were bonding big time as James lamented that he felt a distance between him and Jessica. The flirting continued all through the night and James admitted that he was having some deeper feelings for Lafayette.

Image © HBO

Jessica and company were busy being held up by the entire town of Bon Temps. The big casualty of Team Bon Temps turned out to be Hoyt’s mama by an irritated Violet.

Sookie, on the other hand, had taken off on a suicide mission with Bill. Her reasoning was that she could help find Arlene and Holly if she used herself as bait for the Hep-V vampires. Bill reluctantly went along, knowing that putting up a fight against Sookie was useless.

It didn’t take long for Alcide to notice Sookie was missing and that she had gone to Bill. It all culminated in the woods; the Hep-V vampires had found Sookie, Bill, Alcide, Sam, the rest of the gang had caught up, and the residents of Bon Temps were stalking out in the woods, waiting for a good shot. The gang quickly rid of the Hep-V vampires, freeing Holly, but it wasn’t enough. The residents of Bon Temps started shooting, fatally hitting Alcide in the process. His naked body fell to the ground instantly. Jessica offered for one of them to turn Alcide but Sookie had been down that road before. It was farewell to another major character.

Quick Thoughts:

Alcide’s death felt pretty anticlimactic. A powerful wolf taken out by a hillbilly in the woods? Something just didn’t seem right. Accordingly, his death also seemed like a big service just to push Sookie back towards Bill.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about Violet until this episode. Her equating Jason wanting kids and a family to “being a girl” was absolutely absurd. Run, Jason, run!

“Which one of you thinks she’s Harry Potter?”

In dull as dishwater plotlines, The Reverend rescinded Willa’s invitation to help Lettie Mae stay on track with her addiction.

New James can stay.

Vampire’s can’t swallow….pills.