Written by Mark Hudis
Directed by Michael Lehmann
Roman (to Bill/Eric): “We are the Authority. I am the Authority.”
Ever since he left Law And Order: SVU (the only show from that franchise I watch), I was hoping that Christopher Meloni would be back on our TV screens pretty soon and as Roman, the leader of the Authority, this might be the perfect platform for him to gain a whole bunch of new fans.
I’m not gonna lie about Roman – I sort of need to see more to form a better impression because while this episode certainly gave him a decent introduction, it didn’t feel as magnetic as the debuts that characters such as Maryann, Russell and Marnie have all had but it was better than Rene’s debut.
Roman seems to be of the belief that human and vampire co-existence is a necessity due to the fact that humans outnumber vampires in a pretty large way but I have a feeling that there’s a massive difference between what Roman might agree with as the leader of the Authority and what he actually feels himself. In other words, I wouldn’t be all that shocked if Roman’s attitude towards humanity mirrored Russell’s in more ways that one.
Roman wasn’t the only big vampire to make his debut in this episode as well. Aside from Nora, we had a group of Authority members who seemed conflicted on whether both Bill and Eric should live or die and then there was the duo of Salome and Dieter, who got to interrogate Bill and Eric for good measure.
I have to admit out of all the new vampires introduced in this one that Dieter stood out more than both Roman and Salome. His interrogation of whether Bill believed in the literal interpretation of the vampire bible (humans as cattle) was more fun that Salome’s slight attempts of flirting with Eric before injecting him with silver (something which Bill also had to endure).
Sadly though, there wasn’t really much of Nora to savour in this episode. Her loyalty of Eric was still endearing to watch and it was nice that both Eric and Bill tried to protect her as well but apart from being slapped by Salome and denied her right to take part in the Vampyr version of Our Father, she didn’t get much of real interest to do.
Also disappointingly enough, Tara’s transformation into a vampire felt less chaotic than it should have. Trashing Sookie’s house is a bit old school at this point in the series and even attacking both Sookie and Lafayette seemed to lack a certain finesse too. That being said though, Pam’s unbridled glee when Tara took a bite out of her best friend was actually pretty amusing though.
As for Tara’s declaration of not forgiving either Sookie or Lafayette – she’s got a right to be angry at both of them. She didn’t get a choice in being made as a vampire and unlike Steve Newlin, I’m not entirely sure that Tara is going to be embracing being a member of the undead either. It especially didn’t help that Pam couldn’t wait to get out of there after she had instructed Tara not to harm either Sookie or Lafayette either.
Speaking of Pam – it’s nice that we got some flashbacks to her and Eric’s first meeting back in the early 1900s but it would’ve been nicer if it had been more than two tiny scenes. I’m guessing due to the stuff we’ve seen in the trailers for this season that we will get some more on them, especially given Pam’s current anxiety over Eric not returning any of her calls.
Keeping with anxiety – Jessica managed to have the most fun out of the vampires in this episode until Steve gate crashed her party and tried to buy Jason off her. I did enjoy the almost childish ‘scrap’ between Jessica and Steve though and it’s also nice that even if Jessica isn’t ready to commit to Jason, at least she’ll protect him from Newlin anyway she can.
As for the last scene with Russell being alive and well – I was expecting a scene like that but I thought maybe in another few weeks time but either, I am happy that Russell is back on our screens but at the same time, I also get the impression that Roman and company have something to do it and that’s not going to end well for Bill and Eric, is it?
Also in “Authority Always Wins”
Alcide has become the pack master of Shreveport but he doesn’t want the job and Emma is a wolf while Luna and Sam fought because of Martha.
Lafayette (re Sookie/Tara): “Do something.”
Pam: “I am. I’m laughing.”
Added to the opening credits this week were Christopher Meloni (Roman), Valentina Cervi (Salome) and Denis O’Hare (Russell).
Martha: “Our son was not perfect but he deserves respect.”
Alcide: “I disagree.”
Ginger: “”Why are you all dirty?”
Pam: “I was in the ground. What’s your excuse?”
Even I don’t fancy Eric, even I’ll admit that he looked rather dapper in the flashback scenes with Pam, who was a brothel madam in her past life. Eric saved her from being murdered.
Sam (re Martha): “She just lost her son.”
Luna: “She just ate her son, fucking lunatic.”
Lafayette (re Tara): “I turned her into the thing she hates most.”
Sookie: “We didn’t have a choice. She was dead.”
Lafayette: “And I should’ve left her dead, Sook.”
Why didn’t Bill, Eric and Nora try to hide under their beds when they were being given the UV light treatment in the cells? It might have been a good idea to have tried it. Also, Tara got some alarm silver spray in her face as well.
Andy: “Jason Stackhouse, have you slept with every woman in this town?”
Jason: “I don’t know. Close I guess.”
Eric: “You’re not afraid?”
Pam: “I’m not a stranger to dead bodies.”
Jason and Andy discussed their sex lives in this episode and they discovered Debbie’s car in this one too. Oh and Terry/Patrick talked about a former army buddy of theirs who might have started the fires on both of their places.
Salome: “It’s wonderful to be a vampire, isn’t it?”
Eric: “Generally yes, right now, not so much.”
Jessica (to Steve): “Look at you – fang boner and real boner. You are pathetic. Jason is my friend. I do not sell my friends. Get the fuck out of my house.”
Standout music: Bosco Del Ray’s “The Authority Song”.
Tara (to Sookie/Lafayette): “I will never forgive either of you.”
Roman (to Bill/Eric): “Co-existence with humans is not an option, it is a necessity. It is merciful, it is just, it is vital, not to mention they outnumber us a thousand to one.”
Chronology: From where “Turn!Turn!Turn!” left off.
“Authority Always Wins” was a bit of a letdown compared to the previous episode. Not really a bad episode but at the same time, it didn’t feel like a whole lot really happened either and I’m still not sure where the show can go with the Authority but I’ll be interested in finding out though.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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