Note: Do not read on if you have not yet seen Season 6, Episode 8 of HBO's "True Blood," titled "Dead Meat."
Everything has finally fallen into place. Or not, if you're Bill. And especially Sookie.
So let's start with her: Sookie's going all in. When she goes to Warlow to ask him to help Bill and her crew, Warlow cuts a hard deal. She has to become his fairy-vampire bride if she wants him to let the vampires feed on him.
I really felt bad for her as she made her rounds asking for help in making a decision: Bill shows his monster side and tells her it's a small price to pay; Jason can't answer his phone; and Sam has his own problems and can't be her backup plan.
The monologue at her parents' graves was the best Sookie I've ever seen. Don't let the pigtails fool you: She'd "rather walk the earth as a corpse" than think of her parents, or anyone but Jason, maybe, again. She's defiant and determined and manages to choose a dress worthy of her turning.
But Eric foils that plan for now. There's no way we were going to get Nora melting last episode and Sookie turning this week. Eric's mad at Bill for taking too long with Warlow's blood and letting Nora die. He finds Andy's daughter getting drunk with Holly's boys and uses her to get to Warlow in fairy-land. It's almost like Sookie got left at the altar. Drama ensues.
The vampires' last hope is on hold for now. It's a shame because things are getting seriously crazy inside the camps. Like a game of whisper down the lane, Jess tells James who tells Steve not to drink the tainted Tru-Blood. Of course, wimpy Steve Newlin spills the beans and the male duo is put into the white room. I felt like a traitor because torturing Steve on the hamster wheel was a good trick, even though it came from loony Sarah Newlin.
Violet, the hot "medieval badass" vampire, has claimed Jason as her own. She feeds off of him, while Pam and the girls plot to get him away from her: 1) Because they know and like him. And 2) They're hungry. When Violet claims that she doesn't need Tru-Blood in the feeding line, Pam steps in, protests too much, and now all the girls are in the white room, too. This is the beginning of their end.
Some may think it's too easy, but it's nice how the writers have set the story up this season. I find it to be soothing knowing that we're headed to Bill's vision, yet, there are enough twists to keep it interesting.
Twists and turns. Even crazier than Sookie saying her goodbyes and succumbing to the idea of vamp-life was Sarah Newlin bashing in the head of the Tru-Blood CEO. She shows up in a fit looking for Burrell and tries to stop her to cover her plan, chasing her around the prison. When the woman's heel gets stuck in a grate above the male section of the prison, Sarah uses the shoe to finish her off. It was as comical as it was disgusting, watching the vamps trying to catch her blood like raindrops on their tongues. Basically, it was the kind of scene that makes you remember why you love this show.
Also, the lame-brain plots of Arlene and Sam finally worked to move the main action forward this week. Adeline gets upset at breakfast when she listens to Arlene react to Lafayette's news about the life insurance policy -- that makes her available to Eric, while Arlene and Andy fight about carnations and funeral tunes.
Alcide returns Nicole and her mom to Sam after being challenged by Ricki. But Nicole's pregnant, as far as Sam can sniff, and that means he can't let Sookie in, or be bothered with her new dilemma.
I almost wish this were the last season ever, if only because it seems like all the pieces are finally tucked into their places. They just need to be snapped into place. But that would be too easy. I don't know if I'm ready for a fairy-vampire wedding, though.
"True Blood" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
