Written by Craig Chester
Directed by Simon Jayes
Airs Sundays at 9pm EST on HBO
On this week’s True Blood, Sookie seeks fairy assistance to cure Bill, Pam and Eric question Amber, Andy and Holly search for their missing children, and Hoyt returns to Bon Temps.
True Blood‘s final season has been excellent thus far–the writing’s tight, the story line’s are cohesive even when they branch in various directions, and the acting’s been lovely. After so many solid episodes, there was bound to be a dud–“May Be the Last Time” is, arguably, the weakest contribution to the series’s final season.
Up until now, the action and the emotional resonance have been evenly-balanced; for every Hep-V vampire attack, there were a handful of character moments showing just how affected the townspeople were by the tragedy. But the action’s been on total hold since last week’s episode, and the episodes are beginning to feel off balance.
The episode is filled with character reunions that are unfortunately tarnished by poor directional moves, particularly Hoyt and Jason’s. What could have been a sequence of beautiful and heartfelt moments were brought down by Jason’s immediate obsession with Hoyt’s new, and very attractive, girlfriend. It’s not immediately clear why the show chose to go this route, especially after the character growth Jason has gone through since Hoyt left. Is it really necessary for Jason to constantly check Hoyt’s girlfriend out (even when Hoyt was crying over his dead mother)? Honestly, all of Jason’s interactions with Hoyt and Hoyt’s girlfriend feel cheap and out-of-place.
Another, and less important, reunion takes place in the form of Niall and Sookie. Though it makes sense for Sookie to literally seek magic to cure Bill, Niall’s presence on the show has always been a ridiculous one. It makes it hard to take the series seriously, even during such a death-filled final season, when Sookie runs around graveyards calling for her “fairy godfather.”
Meanwhile, Bill is still having flashbacks to the beginning of his relationship with his wife and the birth of his first child. True Blood‘s always been a fan of flashbacks, but these ones aren’t telling us anything new. By now, the audience knows Bill’s had a full life–flashbacks to human family are unnecessary. Maybe they’re hints suggesting Bill’s life really will be ending–the show could be trying to show the full circle of Bill’s life. At this point, it’s still unclear whether True Blood has the gall to kill off their leading man. We’ll see.
Lastly, Sarah Newlin was a lackluster villain and is now barely more than a periphery character–enough is enough, True Blood. Kill her or use her but her hallucinations are flat-out ridiculous and a waste of precious screen time. Luckily, True Blood seems ready for a confrontation between her and Eric.
Only three more episodes left!
Bonus: The end credits song is “May Be the Last Time” by Ndidi Onukwulu
Ashley Laggan