Truly, Madly, Deadly_ The Unofficial True Blood Companion - Becca Wilcott [102]
The episode begins with Luke detonating a suicide bomb, delivering His message — Steve Newlin’s. The nest crumbles in on itself, taking Stan, who we never really got to know very well for such a strong personality. Godric wanders the house taking in the carnage. Only moments before Godric had denounced the savage behavior of vampires, yet Luke, a human, devalued his own life and the lives of his kind.
Godric seeks to establish order in chaos, but it looks hopeless. What use is it to deliver edicts from his chair? And what does it mean to be “alive” for a vampire who won’t feed? He inhabits the same world as Maryann, who conversely believes we cannot evolve without chaos. The jail cells of Bon Temps are packed. How long would it take to process each case, let alone understand the alleged crimes? How much effort do we expend to maintain order? When do we change the order? And how much longer before another Luke straps a bomb to his chest to maximize the damage? Eggs acted as Maryann’s suicide bomber, taking Daphne’s heart as Maryann thanked her for her service. Even as Eric put himself on the cross for Godric, the lines between true purpose and blind devotion are blurred.
Bill remains ineffectual, arriving late to the explosion as he did the church. For one of the most humane vampires, it’s odd that he shows so little concern for other humans, barrelling past wounded bodies to find Sookie under Eric. Bill has some of the worst luck on the show. Even if Sookie takes the brunt of it, she emerges stronger after each battle, while Bill tries to sleep off the hangover of a miserable existence with Lorena and now the reality that his lover contains a booster shot of his nemesis. It’s a shame to see Lorena leave so soon. She’s dangerously seductive and petty. While there’s more than enough to suggest she’ll be back, we could have sacrificed one or two orgies, if it meant more scenes with her.
In the war for humanity, Sookie pulls out her best weapon, honoring the memories of those you love. Godric is perhaps too old to remember who or why he would keep fighting, but Jason and Sookie are surrounded by recent loss. Ryan Kwanten delivers his strongest performance to date, a boy finally struggling to become a man. He’s always shown leadership skills, but by his sister’s side he realizes that it’s when he shares himself that he finds the connection he’s been looking for. Like when he helped Luke up over the fence at the Light of Day camp, he’s learning that when we link up, our bonds become stronger. Whether it’s grief, or all out war, we order the chaos by navigating it together. (A conclusion that Sam also arrives at, reaching out to Andy to have his back.) The inclusion of the Newlins bickering on a television interview is hilarious.
Anna Paquin is spectacular in this episode, proving yet again that she has more range when she’s not stuck in bed with Bill, talking about what a great guy he is. Her scenes with Eric continue to be among my favorites. Maybe it’s because Eric towers over her, but she’s a pint-sized fireball around him, going into the mouth of the lion whether she’s berating him, offering heartfelt compassion, or a heartpounding kiss. Stephen Moyer, unfortunately, has been shackled to a character that has changed drastically in tone from the books, with the show writers emasculating Bill in exchange for a feistier Sookie and to set Eric up as more layered than a glorified goon. (Bill doesn’t even get to go up on the roof. And when he hauls off on Eric, there’s no satisfaction, whatsoever. Eric was so numb, he didn’t feel it. A bit of a low blow.)
As Maryann would like people to give in to their ecstasy, uniting with their god, Godric arrives at a similar destination, giving up on self-knowledge in favor