Goddamnit. Right after True Blood course-corrected after a lackluster season premiere, it goes and backslides with an episode like “Fire in the Hole,” which besides being predictable and disappointing, had some weird racial moments that I’ve never noticed in this show before.
First of all, there’s a Japanese guy who says things like “arive” and “Sarah Newrin.” And Lafayette was a caricature tonight, saying things like “I is a professional” and “excape.” Nelsan Ellis deserves better. Furthermore, what’s with the race card that Kenya keeps playing in every scene? Sam tells her, “You’re a cop, and I’m your mayor,” to which someone replies “Translation: you black, he’s white.” The fuck? That’s not at all what that means. Did Spike Lee write this scene?
And does director Lee Rose have a foot fetish or something? It seemed like every male character was barefoot. Now, as an adult I am aware that people often elect to go without shoes, but when it’s happening so much on screen that I feel compelled to comment on it, that’s when it goes from being a stylistic touch to a weird problem.
Anyway.
“Fire in the Hole” picks up where last week’s “I Found You” left off, with Pam having tracked down Erik in France. Erik has Hep-V, which means that a cure for Hep-V is coming because there’s no way True Blood will kill off Erik. He seems weirdly resigned towards death, and when Pam presses him, he admits that he still blames himself for the deaths of Godric, Nora, and Sylvie. Uh, who? I mean, I know those first two, but no matter how flashbacks are awkwardly shoehorned in, I’m not going to buy the narrative impact of a character who I’ve never heard of until SEASON SEVEN.
Sylvie was a vintner’s daughter whom Erik fell in love with when he and Pam lived in France in the 80s (I’m convinced this is so female viewers can be treated to Alexander Skarsgaard speaking French). The Authority and the Yakimono Corporation killed her to force him to mainstream like the rest of the vampires. So Pam is able to light a fire under Erik’s ass by telling him that Sarah Newlin is still alive (which she is, hiding out in California, calling herself Noomi and having an affair with her guru. She also seems weirdly frightened by blood, seeing as how she drove a high heel stiletto into a woman’s skull last season).
Sookie has a plan to infiltrate the h-vamps’ headquarters by sitting in a clearing and complaining to Bill about Alcide. When she says “I think he loves me more than I love him,” you just know an affair is coming, but, in one of the few surprising developments of “Fire in the Hole,” Alcide is actually killed by scared, angry townsfolk. Gotta say, I didn’t see that coming.
My problem with “Fire in the Hole” is that it’s business as usual. “I Found You” was so promising, but if this episode is any indication, True Blood mainly wants to get everything back to its weird version of status quo.
A Few Thoughts
– Oh yeah, RIP Maxine Fortenberry, I was very glad to see you disemboweled by Violet
– Speaking of Violet, I’m not a fan. All she does is bust Jason’s balls over everything he does or says, and even in one scene, that shit got old real fast. And this whole rivalry with Jessica is already groan-worthy
– Not sure how to feel about this James and Lafayette subplot. I guess it makes as much narrative sense as anything else, seeing as how James and Jessica (a couple, remember) haven’t shared the screen all season
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