Monday, July 02, 2012

My Review of True Blood's 5x04: "We'll Meet Again"


Written by Alexander Woo
Directed by Romeo Tirone

Sookie: “We did so many terrible things. The only way to crawl out of this hole is to start doing right. It’s how Gran raised me. If you do the right thing, it’ll be okay.”
Lafayette: “Oh yeah, baby, you survive, you always do but goddamn, do you leave a trail of bodies behind. You know what, you the fucking angel of death?”

Oh, Lafayette, you do realise that you are just as much to blame for Tara being a vampire than Sookie, if not more. I mean, it’s not like I don’t see where Lafayette is coming from but this whole ‘everything that goes wrong must be Sookie’s fault’ mentality has kind of getting old. Yes, the girl’s knack for attracting trouble has reached new heights but it’s not like everyone has been innocent either.

Tara’s fate may not be the one that she wanted for herself but it’s a hand she’s been dealt with and I think it might be one she can adjust to as well. Her conversation with Bill indicated that she knew that she was going to have to make peace with being a vampire at some point, even if she couldn’t hold back her resentment towards Sookie as well.

And then there were her scenes with Pam. Pam might need to brush up on her skills as a maker but so far, she’s not doing too bad a job of it. She managed to get Tara to stop killing herself and also trained Tara into eating from a human (something which Tara didn’t like) without killing them, both of which are practical for any vampire.

I liked seeing Pam in maker mode with Tara and her whole towards the volatile Miss Thornton was definitely different too. Pam was softer, even more patient with Tara than she normally would’ve been and whether or not it was a response from being released by Eric, I’m unsure but it was certainly interesting to watch.

I also liked that Eric managed to quickly figure out that Pam wasn’t responsible for Russell being dug up out of the ground that he released her for her own good. It was actually a relief to see Eric and Pam make amends but overall, this was actually an incredible episode for makers and progeny.

Bill and Jessica had some of their best scenes as well. Instead of being disappointed she had a party in his absence, he shrugged it off and realised that he had done good in making her into a vampire. Jessica did earn her stripes in this one by getting Andy to back off over the Debbie Pelt debacle and she also showed some sympathy to Sookie in an episode where nearly everyone was less charitable towards her.

I felt bad for Sookie in this episode. Lafayette yelled at her and perhaps caused her to crash her car thanks to his demon, Tara wouldn’t forgive her and the whole of Merlottes seemed to be gossiping about her as well. In fact, apart from Jason and Jessica stopping Andy from putting two and two together with the Debbie situation, the only other person who was kind to her this week was actually Alcide himself.

Alcide didn’t have to lie to Barbara and Gordon about how Debbie really died (and it’s likely he’ll pay for that in later episodes) but his reasoning behind it made enough sense and even I enjoyed the moment where him and Sookie got hammered on a Tara Special and kissed. Then again, I actually want to see these two crazy kids as a pairing, so I wasn’t overly pleased to see Bill and Eric spying on them. Why is it that they can have sex with Nora and Salome uninterrupted but Sookie can’t do the same with Alcide?

Speaking of Nora and Salome, I enjoyed the girls’ scenes together with Roman and I also enjoyed the reveal of child vampire being a Sanguinista supporter and getting promptly staked by Roman for good measure. There was no way I could’ve tolerated that vampire for another episode but all in all, the Authority storyline does need to step up a gear already and soon.

Last but not least – the Andy and Jason in fairyland stuff was amusing enough too. I liked the reappearance of Maurella and Hadley but I was a bit bummed out that we didn’t get to see Claude again. I also like the fact that we’re clearly going to learn some more about what really happened to the Stackhouse parents as well. Perhaps this fairyland stuff will be better than expected then?

Also in “We’ll Meet Again”

Anyone else think Holly was being a massive bitch during her thought moments with Sookie? Also a hypocrite considering what she was willing to do with Marnie/Antonia last season.

Sookie (to Jason): “I’m sick of it. I’m sick of lying and covering and ruining peoples lives.”

Tara was wearing one of the Fangtasia t-shirts during her conversation with Bill. At least she finally changed into something else.

Eric (re Tara): “Why is she here?”
Pam: “Oh, she’s mine. I, um, made her vampire while you were gone. Congratulations, you’re a grandfather.”

Tara (to Bill, re Sookie): “How many of us have nearly died to save her sorry ass? Well, I did them one better.”

Sam and Luna’s shifter pals, Suzanne and Emory came back and were mysteriously killed. I think I know who did it.

Jason: “You’re a good friend to have.”
Jessica: “I know.”

Nora (to Roman): “You have seared and sliced every inch of my body. There’s nothing left to say.”

We got flashbacks with Terry and Patrick in Iraq with a crazed Eller, who we then met in the present day as he pointed a gun at Terry and Patrick. It was the least interesting bit of the episode.

Maurella: “I’m so happy to see you.”
Andy: “I thought that was a dream.”
Maurella: “It wasn’t a dream.”

Standout music: Um, Sookie’s hilariously drunk rendition of Rupert Holmes “Escape (Pina Coloda Song)”. Sookie should get pissed more often.

Pam (to Tara): “This is who you are now, the top of the chain. No human can hurt you any longer.”

Sookie: “I killed your ex-girlfriend and you’re still speaking to me.”
Alcide: “I’m mainly here for the drinks.”

Chronology: From where “Whatever I Am, You Made Me” left off.

Not as brilliant as the previous episode but “We’ll Meet Again” definitely had it’s moments with the fairyland stuff, the maker/progeny storylines and a rather drunk Sookie. I still like the Authority plotline but we need Russell pronto to give it some semblance of a purpose at the moment though.

Rating: 7 out of 10

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