True Blood, for the most part, has been firing on all cylinders this season. “May Be The Last Time” is another solid entry, although it’s not without its problem spots. Come on, guys, it’s True Blood, what’d you expect?
Sookie continues to be the least interesting thing in a show where she’s the main character. Good stories happen around her, not to her, and to prove that point, tonight sees her bringing back two characters who haven’t been on the show in quite a while. The first is the diminutive Dr. Ludwig (Marcia de Rousse), last seen in season four’s “Cold Grey Light of Dawn.” She shows up blasting heavy metal in a Hummer and attempts to cure Bill of his hep-V. We all know that’s not going to happen, but Dr. Ludwig gives the proceedings a real shot in the arm (groan-inducing pun not intended).
The second character to pop up for the first time in a while is Niall Brigant, Sookie’s fairy godfather, so to speak, last seen in season six’s “Radioactive.” As played by Rutger Hauer, Niall is a welcome paternal presence in Sookie’s life, but he doesn’t do what she needs him to do, so she tells him to fuck off, basically. Tears in rain, Niall. Or something like that.
So it looks like Bill’s hep-V is here to stay, unless Eric, Pam, and Mr. Gus Jr. are successful in apprehending Sarah Newlin. Never mind what I said about Mr. Gus Jr. last week, because I am totally on board now. Will Yun Lee (The Wolverine), in just two episodes, has made his mark on what could have been a very stock character, but his Fremont Street cowboy getups and shitkicking patois make Mr. Gus Jr. memorable and engaging. They catch up with Sarah at the old Light of Day institute, where she’s seriously freaking out and having visions of her ex-lovers telling her that she’s going to die (hi, Steve Newlin!)
Surprisingly, the meatiest material tonight goes to Arlene, who dreams about bumping uglies with the vampire Keith. Which is a good thing because 1) she needs to get laid, and 2) as pretty much the last holdout bigot in Bon Temps, she was going to wear out her welcome real fast. Keith does indeed come to her at the end of the episode, and she tells him that she’s hep-V positive, so sex is out of the question (and so are condoms for some reason). She and Keith end the night by just dancing, and it’s seriously sweet as fuck. Carrie Preston has gotten better material this season than she has for the entire series.
It’s with Jason Stackhouse that “May Be The Last Time” really stumbles. Hoyt comes back to Bon Temps to identify his mother’s remains, and his and Jason’s scenes together don’t carry the emotional weight that they should. They don’t come anywhere close to the heartbreak of their phone call from a few weeks ago. Moreover, Hoyt brings his gorgeous girlfriend Bridget along with him, and Jason can’t stop eye-fucking her, even right in front of Hoyt. Most of the time, Jason is a charming if oblivious cad, but this is straight-up scumbag behavior. It’s not amusing, and there’s no “Oh, that Jason Stackhouse!” here. It’s just a dick move.
Also we get more Bill flashbacks awkwardly inserted into the narrative. True Blood seems to want us to forget that he was a bad guy recently, which tells me that he’s going to die, even if Eric and Pam get the antidote. At least the show has the courtesy to let Stephen Moyer go out with dignity, as opposed to the dismissive, almost insulting deaths given to Tara and Alcide.
A Few Thoughts
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Violet lets Adilyn and Wade use her sex chamber. Did anyone not think that Violet was going to feed on Adilyn?
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“I got this strap-on in Zanzibar in the 19th century…”
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Eric in bondage pants is, of course, amazing
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This show has no idea what to do with Sam anymore. If he’s not on screen, I honestly find myself forgetting that he and Nicole are even on this show
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More Dr. Ludwig, please. “Oh, a cemetery, how spooky”
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