What a relief. After last week’s stillborn episode “Almost Home,” I thought True Blood was content to spend the rest of its farewell season shitting itself, but luckily for me I was wrong, because “Love Is to Die” was a pretty damn good episode.
There wasn’t a ton of plot going on tonight; rather, the episode was more about characters’ relationships to each other, and True Blood is often very good at exploring that (one of the benefits of never killing off any characters). It worked in the same way as this season’s superlative “Death is Not the End,” even if it didn’t approach that episode’s level of quality.
Sam finally says goodbye to Bon Temps, as he takes Nicole’s advice and decides to decamp to somewhere that has less crazy bullshit going on. So they pack up and go to Chicago and – wait, fucking what? Nicole thinks Bon Temps is too dangerous, so they move to Chicago? The city with over 5,000 deaths annually, with a level of violence so extreme that it’s earned the nickname “Chiraq”? Yeah, great idea. Ugh, get the fuck off my TV, Nicole.
I think this episode might have been written by Ricky Ricardo, because everyone had some ‘splaining to do.
First up is Bill, who made a seriously boneheaded decision last week to not drink the hep-V cure. As he explains to Eric, in an incredibly well-acted scene, he’s dying for Sookie. She is drawn to his darkness, just like he is drawn to her light, and his death will serve to free her. Granted, it’s not the best justification, but Stephen Moyer sells the hell out of his monologue, and if True Blood is determined to make Bill a good guy again before he dies (as his frequent flashbacks can attest to), this is as good a way of doing it as any.
Hoyt gets the 411 about his relationship with Jessica – and with Jason. After a tearful Bridget calls Jason, asking him to come get her, Jason shows up and is immediately decked by Hoyt. Jason and Bridget repair to Jason’s house, and he details everything that happened. This is another exquisitely edited sequence, as Jason’s words play in the background of a tender, emotionally raw sex scene between Hoyt and Jessica. This might be Ryan Kwanten’s best acting all season. Jason and Bridget end the night in bed together, but they don’t have sex. Coming off the heels of Jason admitting that he wants kids (and likes pink!), he’s grown up more in this season than in the entire series up to now.
I’m officially optimistic about next week’s finale (last week I was dreading it). This season has had its ups and downs, but for the most part it’s done a good job of reminding us why we’ll miss this silly-ass show. Episodes like “Love Is to Die” do that very well.
A Few Thoughts
- I loved Sam’s letter to Andy: “Sheriff Bellefleur: I resign. Sam Merlotte.”
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Eric and Ginger’s sex scene was at once funny and tender. Really glad the show followed through on that
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Mr. Gus knows that Sookie knows about Ginger. I’m not worried; True Blood isn’t the kind of show that would kill off its main character in the last episode, especially since a good 60-75% of each episode involves characters talking about how great Sookie is
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Why exactly did Pam dye Sarah’s hair? Was that just to give her something to do?
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