This review contains spoilers.
5.4 We'll Meet Again.
So, four episodes into the new season and, alongside the several medium-sized revelations it’s thrown at us, We’ll Meet Again threw us a whopper that that knocked the rest of episode’s multiple shocks into the dirt...
Originally this review was going to start with something along the lines of Eric’s release of Pam being the end of an era, as well as being one of the show’s most touching scenes to date. It still is, but now that we know the truth about the untimely demise of Ma and Pa Stackhouse – namely that some vamps needed a Faery fix – even Eric’s incredibly sweet speech can’t quite match the unleashing of a shitstorm of that complexity and magnitude. If vamps were indeed responsible for the draining of Ma and Pa S, what are the chances that we already know the vamps in question? That in itself could lead to some interesting/violent vamp/Stackhouse/Faery clashes; but the entire situation raises other questions, and this is one of them: if Ma and Pa Stackhouse are Faeries, why the big freak out that Sookie can read minds? Plot holes aside, this was a superbly timed thunderbolt – despite the rather convenient appearance of cousin Hadleigh – and whatever the Faeries have planned for the luckless Jason, it’s clear they’re going to be around for the foreseeable. Whether that’s good thing or a terrible thing remains to be seen.
Back at what was the original starting point of the review, the ending of Eric and Pam’s maker/makee relationship was indeed very well handled, but Pam’s less-than-smooth transition into the role of Mommy is a tantalising prospect. With Tara’s new vamp incarnation still the best thing that’s happened to her in four years, the only conceivable way it could be better would be for her to learn at the feet of the always beautifully booted Pamela. And she is always beautifully booted – she even sleeps in them. That’s shoe-commitment that most women cannot conceive of. If she’s even five percent as dedicated to her progeny, Eric’s granddaughter, Tara cannot fail to be kick-ass. Lord knows it’s time.
Although the episode’s official title was We’ll Meet Again, the sub-title was most definitely Everybody Hates Sookie – she’s gone from reasonably well-liked to pariah in a week. From Tara and Laf to the vamps who loved her, Sookie has used up her last drop of goodwill. Except of course, where Alcide is concerned – as she herself pointed out, Sookie just blew his girlfriend’s head off and he’s still talking to her. He’s either the stupidest wolf in the village, or the most loyal. With Sookie’s adoring army down to a paltry one, Bill and Eric’s new scheme to use her in the search for Russell added to whatever the hell the Faeries are up to, Alcide is going to be a very busy wolf indeed. First job: Move the body as far from Sookie as possible, for God’s sake.
Because if Alcide doesn’t do it, there’s a very good chance that newbie Angel of Death Laf will do it for him – by burning the Stackhouse lot and its environs to the ground. This Jekyll and Hyde 'you won’t like me when I’m angry' thing that’s currently blighting the chef’s usual fabulous self is starting to feel a little superfluous. Of all the myriad strands, this one stands apart as being outlandish even for True Blood. This is a storyline that needs fleshing out and quick, or it’s in danger of becoming parody. Anger magic is one thing, haunted cars is quite another.
Always a show of extremes, We’ll Meet Again veered from near-parody to ultra high drama in the shape of the Authority. The Vamp church and its machinations are still the most interesting storyline of the season so far, thanks in no small part to Chris Meloni’s performance – that man does intense like no one else. As it turns out he also does fanaticism incredibly well too – he may well be dressed in the most expensive suit respectability can buy, but with his 'my way or the highway' rant Roman has been revealed to be as batshit crazy as Russell in own way. Given his tyrannical attitude, it’s fast becoming clear that a coup may well be on the cards. Guardian Eric anyone? Despite the Sheriff’s gloomy prediction that his end is well and truly nigh, there’s no way Northman is letting that sort of opportunity pass him by – no matter how parental he has become.
And as if all that wasn’t enough, we’re now adding the mystery of who’s shooting the shifters, when Arlene started doing political comedy, and how the hell Bill got cool to the already very full mixing pot. If you’re wondering, we’re glossing over the sub-Gen Kill Iraq scenes – let’s just see where it goes... There’s so much going on, you’ve got to wonder what’s going to fall by the wayside as the season progresses, and as yet, there’s no way of knowing what’s important. That unpredictability is fantastic, and one of the reasons why, despite those who say the show has lost its way, it remains unmissable TV. If you’re after predictability, there’s always NCIS...
Read Emma's review of last week's episode, Whatever I Am, You Made Me, here.
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