Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 5, Episode 11 of HBO's "True Blood," titled, "Sunset."
I'm moderately surprised at what little happened in "Sunset," the penultimate episode. Usually the second-to-last hour of a season is chockfull of high octane twists and turns, leaving the finale to pick up the pieces and set up for the next season. But this hour was actually pretty tame save for some few compelling scenes.
Over at the Authority, Lilith is basically trolling everyone at this point. First she tells Bill that he's the chosen one to lead the vampire revolution. Then she says the same thing to Kibwe, who Bill beheads upon hearing the news. And finally, she appears to Salome, who I've determined is probably the most boring villain in the history of the show. These visions of Lilith are all probably a direct result of withdrawal. But were they actual visions? I'm just posing that since her blood was found on the blood vial case and Bill's lips. I don't get it, and I frankly don't care.
Sookie, in fairy land, meets with The Elder, an extremely old and eccentric fairy. "Is this a joke?" may or may not have been the question on my mind during this entire scene. It was so comical and just plain weird that it kind of felt out of place, as do most of Sookie's scenes. I really can't find the words to describe my feelings about this exchange between Sook and the Elder. I was too dumbfounded by what I was watching. A Ke$ha shout-out, I figured, would be the last thing I'd see on "True Blood." I was wrong. And we still don't know who Warlow is, so thanks, Elder.
Back at Authority HQ, Jessica tries to manipulate Bill to allow her out of headquarters in order to warn Jason that Russell and Steve are loose, desperately seeking Sookie. This backfires and Bill forces Jess to go out and turn Jason, and to make sure she does this, she's accompanied by two security guards. Once she finds Jason, she pretends to suck him to the point of death, and as they are being buried, Jason shoots the two guards with wooden bullets, allowing them both to escape. There was a small part of me that was actually worried Jason would become a vampire, but then I was like, "That would absolutely be the end of 'True Blood' as we know it."
Jessica makes her way to Fangtasia and asks Pam if she can hide out there. After Jessica says she knows where Eric is, Pam budges and allows it. As Jess keeps cover in the basement, she shares a little pow wow time with Tara. Jess asks her if she likes Pam, and Tara immediately denies it. I didn't forget quite that Tara likes women, but I definitely didn't pick up on any romantic vibes between Tara and Pam. Maybe that was just me. Tara can have a crush on her, but if anything actually happens, then the show would be totally jumping the shark, so let's leave it at that.
Later, Rosalyn shows up asking to see her progeny, Elijah (the sheriff that Tara beheaded with a sword in last week's episode). Pam takes the fall for Elijah's death, and her and Jessica are whisked away to Authority headquarters. Tara has to be the one to save the day. She's had a great season, so it's only right that she ends it with a bang (like, literally, she might die saving everyone).
Jason runs to the fairy field to warn Sookie and the rest of the clan of Russell's intentions. They come together and decide the best thing to do is to fight back when he ultimately arrives. They come up with a plan that will include Jason being glamoured into leading Russell and Steve to the fairy field and them being ambushed by a multitude of light-wielding fairies. But when the time comes, the Elder decides that she'll face them on her own. However, Russell is too quick for her, and he sucks her until she withers and dissipates. The influx of fairy blood in Russell's system then allows him to see the entrance to the fairy Moulin Rouge, where all the fairies are congregated. Denis O'Hare was grotesquely perfect in this scene. I was so grossed out, but I also loved every second of it.
"Sunset" wasn't a bad episode, but it also wasn't up to the standard set by the last two installments. As Deborah Ann Woll has said, this finale will be the bloodiest of them all. As I was watching the episode, I was thinking, "...Could Pam die? ...Could Jason?" Just the fact that the possibility exists is both worrisome and invigoratingly exciting.
Extra Bites
Alcide performed manual labor while shirtless. That's what I got out of his scenes. And that hungry baby vamps are running wild all over the place. But mostly that he was shirtless, again.
Luna and Sam make it into the Authority and find Emma but then are caught by guards, and Sam is taken to Bill as lunch. I used to really dislike Luna, but she's been growing on me lately. I wonder if she'll make it out alive after next week.
"Look! We've got ourselves a hunk sandwich." - Russell
Related: Russell brushing Steve's hand off of Jason's arm was subtly hilarious.
So, Bill is all weird because he's now a part of a nest, which is a group of vampires that feed on each other and become "sadistic and crazy." And because they're drinking Lilith's blood, it's a whole new level of crazy.
The conversation between the chancellors and the General was really interesting, but not completely noteworthy. What you need to know is that the human government is ready to strike if there's a vampire uprising. We're talking complete vamp elimination.
Andy is going to be a dad! Just not with Holly, but rather with Morella, who he had sex with at the end of last season (so, like, a week ago). And she's already about to pop.
Related: Andy and Holly are one of my favorite couples on the show. I really hope they don't break up because of this.
Lafayette only had one line in the entire episode and it was still good enough to be GIF'd.
I don't know why I'm just realizing now that Nora and Eric aren't actually related. They're only related by Maker. I felt so uncomfortable during their sex scenes until I had that much needed epiphany.
I'm getting so sick of blood-soaked Lilith. Girl needs to go.
"She doesn't really sing, does she? She talks. I suppose that makes her some sort of poet. But that's alarming, because her spelling is atrocious." - The Elder fairy on Ke$ha.
Sookie is against John Cougar Mellencamp and for Boys 2 Men. And she's not familiar with the work of Ke$ha. Vital info here, you guys. Extreme character development!
"Don't play games with me, you little ginger bitch." - Pam
