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By Root 534 0

of the unknown. Put simply, he’s done. Godric has many answers, but in the end he chooses one question. What awaits? He greets the morning, escorted from this world by what Steve Newlin called the greatest weapon of God, the sun, a 25-year old waitress as his only witness. Eric’s farewell to his maker is heartbreaking. Eric bargains at the feet of a once-child, each so weary that it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see Eric join Godric in his suicide. We never saw Godric turned, or much about his life before or after, so we’re left to assume that his fatigue with this life, and his resolution to give himself over to a new one, is evidence enough that he’s witnessed the worst that humanity has had to offer. He’s left as much an enigma as when we first met him. Had the performances been left in lesser hands, we wouldn’t have felt the weight or implications of Godric’s decision to effectively euthanize himself. It’s a touching moment, one that makes us hope for future flashbacks so we can glimpse the world alongside these fathers, brothers, sons. They’re, by far, the most interesting maker/progeny team. Even as we mourn Godric, Eric begins to evolve in front of Sookie, shedding the past with his tears as Jason did earlier. Vampire and human connected through grief. There may be hope yet. Eric’s devotion plays in stark opposition to Bill’s farewell with Lorena, which was tinged with darkness and threat.

Although we’ve lost Godric, we’ve gained Nan Flanagan and Maxine Fortenberry, matriarchs who don’t hesitate to hand down sentences, judgment, and one-liners. It’s nice to see Nan “Just Try to Mess with Me” Flanagan step out of her good citizen television persona to remind us she’s a bad-ass undead. And Maxine, one of the scarier humans around, is spot-on as a controlling mother, unwittingly giving Hoyt the best gift a momma could, the final straw it takes for him to man up and leave. (Go, Hoyt! Go, Hoyt!)

Speaking of manning up, Lafayette and Lettie Mae barge in on Tara’s card game with Eggs and Maryann, stealing her off into the night. It doesn’t feel in character for Lafayette, but it could be in response to his time in the dungeon. Terry has to live with haunting war memories, whereas Lafayette is able to make right what he can, right now. Leave no man behind.

This episode succeeds on many levels, at once a study in existential despair and cautious hope for the future. It also carries us into the final episodes of the season, one graceful man down, and one evil woman running the show. What kind of faith, retrieved from how many beliefs, is going to keep Bon Temps from erupting into one big hell hole?

Highlight: Godric: “A human with me at the end. And human tears. Two thousand years, and I can still be surprised. In this, I see God.”

Relationship Crypt Falls: Even though Sookie has drunk a bucket of Bill’s blood, she’s surprised to learn that only a drop or two of Eric’s blood will affect her. Again, I wonder what these two talk about in bed that he’s never brought up his maker or told her exactly how vamp life works. It’s exposition for the audience, we can’t learn it all at once, but it weakens their connection, not to mention that it’s difficult to believe he has only her best interests at heart when he hasn’t given her a cheat sheet on the Dos and Don’ts of vampire relations.

Paging Dr. Creepy: While Sookie fellating Eric’s chest was clearly good for him, I’ll never get used to the gushing blood wounds on this show. It is, however, a big step up from the probing tongues of feeding vamps who have to look both menacing and sexy while they negotiate tricky dental work.

Location, Location, Location: Godric’s death scene was not shot atop the Sofitel Hotel, which stands in as Hotel Carmilla, but further east at 1000 Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles, California, next to the Harbor/Pasadena Freeway. For shooting, they added a “Hotel Carmilla” logo to the center of the helicopter landing pad. The scenes looking east toward the sun show the Dallas skyline, indicated by a large clock tower.

Suzuki Sets the Scene: