True Blood giveth, and True Blood taketh away: it’s unfair and unfortunate, but hey, at least we’re back on the Remotely Watchable train as its final season plods along
Now that Sookie’s got a second to breathe and she can head home with only a normal amount of fear in her heart—this is Bon Temps, after all—it finally hits her that Alcide won’t be walking through the door. She then realizes she’s not alone, that Alcide’s dad and Lafayette have come to check on her and pay their respects, and she’s overcome for a minute: “My house feels so empty.” She lays down for a second, which turns into a whole day, and before she knows it, she’s waking up to a house full of people. Lafayette listened when she said her house felt empty, and he, James and Alcide’s family opted to fill it up with food and friends to celebrate life and surround Sookie with those who love her—something Alcide absolutely would’ve wanted. She’s hesitant about the impromptu wake at first, but Bon Temps deserves a good time after all the death and destruction they’ve seen, and what the hell. Sookie knows better than to even think about proving Lafayette wrong, anyway.
The party’s a refreshing burst of energy, a deserved break for both the characters and the viewers, quite frankly: it’s fun to see Jason and Violet dancing, Lafayette snapping in Z formation, Arlene and Holly downing shots of tequila and dancing to terrible music, with Sam teasing them like a softly-scolding chaperone the whole time. It’s great, and a welcome reprieve. A particularly moving moment happened over drinks, or soda, in Lettie Mae’s case: Tara’s mom comes by to pay her respects, Sookie offers her a chance to say some words for her gone baby girl, and the crowd in the kitchen makes for a touching service for the character’s we’ve lost this season, with Alcide’s dad delivering the line of the episode: “You can’t die a hero without having a righteous cause.” It’s a bit much for Sookie once she realizes that Andy, equally busting at the seams with a different kind of feeling, is proposing to Holly in the middle of the party, and she and Arlene retreat to her bedroom for a minute so that Sook can cry in peace while her friends celebrate life downstairs.
They talk about how to get over a lost loved one—spoiler alert: you can’t—and Sookie and Arlene eventually wipe away their tears and their fond memories of Terry and Alcide before skipping down the stairs to get back to the party, which is in the process of getting kinda … nuts.
When James pulls Jessica aside to talk her into heading home to Bone Town, she drives him straight into the arms of Lafayette, who’s obviously been carrying a torch for his brooding and ambiguous bud. Jessica shortly walks outside to find them in the throes of passion—in the backseat of her and James’ car, no less—and justifiably freaks out over her boyfriend cheating on her, let alone with one of her friends, let alone with one of her guy friends. This, in turn, hurls a beside-herself Jessica in the arms of a willing and able Jason, who defends her by rescinding James’ invitation, kicking him out of the house and away from Jess. Jason runs upstairs to comfort Jess, and the two are interrupted by Lafayette, who’s come upstairs to apologize. Jess spits venom his way, but nope, Lafayette’s got something to say: “If you don’t love him, let him go. And I will take over from here.” Lafayette delivers some truth to Jessica, drawing attention to the fact that he deserves happiness and love just like anybody else, and when he slams the door and leaves the party, Jason and Jessica hear him. And then they promptly start screwing themselves. Violet, who’s done nothing but glint her fangs and fawn all over her “property” Jason, sees red when she overhears Jess and Jason about to climax behind closed doors, but she walks away—and we know that’s not the last we’ll see of this conniving vamp. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Especially when that woman prefers A Positive to oxygen.
Elsewhere, Eric and Pam are off in search of Sarah Newlin, and they find out that the vampire hater and attempted slayer ironically has a vamp (and Hep V-infected) sister of her own, Amber. Eric and Pam head to Dallas and meet Amber with no resistance. If anything, Sarah’s flesh and cold blood is ready to see her burn, just as much as Eric and Pam are. She tells them that Sarah’s also in Dallas and likely seeking out her parents for refuge, and her parents are attending a Ted Cruz benefit at the George W. Bush Library. Eric and Pam put on their Rhinestone Cowboy best and head to the benefit, and they track down their prey successfully, only there’s a slight hitch in the plan: the Yakimoto Corporation has sent the Yakuza after Sarah, and they’ve followed her to the benefit, shooting up the place one Stetson at a time as they make their way towards the bitchy former blonde. We’re left with Eric ripping out the Yakuza henchman’s jaw with his bare hands and strangling Sarah right before he makes short work of the mob men, but who knows: it isn’t like Eric and Pam to just kill a person without making them suffer first, and Sarah needs to suffer for Sylvie, Tara, and most importantly, Eric. His Hep V only continues to spread, and our favorite Northman is a ticking time bomb.
Oh! And throughout all of that? Bill’s lurking in the background, having brought flowers for Sookie to the party, offered her an arm and friendship when she desperately needed both and provided a slew of flashbacks to his Antebellum days, back when he learned what the meaning of “hero” was after he tried to desert his post in the Confederate Army. The hero trope is strong throughout “Lost Cause,” from Alcide’s eulogy to Bill’s flashbacks and newly reestablished friendship with Sookie, but it’s all for naught. Our anti-hero, Bill, comes back from the party, takes a bath, and takes a long, hard look in the mirror only to see a dark and sinister vein sprouting from his chest. He’s got the virus. The only question left for us to figure out is who gave it to him—and which righteous cause will ultimately redeem Bill Compton.
The final season of True Blood has been overwhelmingly disappointing in so many ways, an unenthusiastic end to what started out as a wonderful, weird drama oozing with sex appeal and supernatural intrigue. Things my have calmed down in Bon Temps for now, but “Lost Cause” is that one glowing ember that could flicker off and start a forest fire—and that kind of tension, disastrous though it may be, is an exciting, dangerous thing, one that could breathe life back into True Blood before it meets its own true death.