This review contains spoilers.
5.8 Somebody That I Used To Know
After the excitement of last week’s Authority coup, Somebody That I Used to Know saw the Sanguinistas start work in earnest, with a new convert, and one very cynical Swede – it comes to something when Eric Northman is the most level-headed and reasonable vamp in the room...
Yes, the vamps are well and trulye in charge in True Blood’s latest episode. While the Authority storyline has been running since the start of the season, now that the coup has taken place, the Sanguinistas are season five’s front and centre, leaving tangled offshoots all over the shop. Bill’s alleged ‘evolution’ put a swift end to the burgeoning bromance with Eric, which is a damn shame – hopefully they’ll be able to rekindle their ‘ship post-finale. On the other hand, given that Eric is about as anti-religion as it’s possible to get, it’s altogether likely that regardless of who is on the winning side, neither will be particularly forgiving. It also raises the delicious possibility that Bill has reverted to his old ways – we all know that vamps are way more fun when they’re bad; it’s why Eric is so popular. At least, it was, pre-Diet Eric. And, let’s face it, Bill could do with some fun.
The vamps over at the Authority aren’t the only ones causing a superb amount of trouble this week. Pam’s continued remaking of the newly kick-ass Tara in her own image remains a joy to behold. Eric clearly taught Pam well, and she’s fast becoming the best sire in the history of forced-siring. It’s also fantastic for Tara, who finally gets something fun to do – in the form of feasting on an old school frenemy – after four years of horror. As has been said many times in these reviews, the only way this gets better is if the duo becomes a trio and Jess is allowed to join the gang. Because, God knows, she clearly could use the help. She’s incredibly lucky that Hoyt is who he is... Which is handy, because so far, being who he is has been anything but lucky for Hoyt. That poor boy just cannot catch a break!
With the Point Break Vigilante gang pretty much decimated, Sam and Luna’s quest to destroy them must surely be at an end; added to what appears to be the end of the Laf hoodoo nonsense in the lowest-key way possible, and a solution to the fire monster rubbish in sight, these storylines have a sudden whiff of padding about them; the séance – while it’s lovely to see Laf back to his abrasive self – definitely didn’t sit well; the same could be said for the abrupt and almost completely silent end to the Don Barolo/Jesus’ head story. Having said that, let’s just be thankful they’re pretty much out of the way.
With Bill’s ‘evolution’, Eric’s mission, Sam’s investigation, and now Alcide’s return to the were-side, for the first time in almost five years, Sookie is completely and totally man-free. Which is an interesting turn of events – given her propensity for flitting between any one of three supes at any one time, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was against the natural laws of the True Blood-verse for the girl to be single. How long she’ll stay that way is anyone’s guess, but wouldn’t it be lovely if, for once, Sookie rescued herself from the clutches of whatever is coming her way next? Just a thought...
Admittedly, Sookie could look to the Faeries for help, but considering that they’re bloody useless – not much point turning up after the parents are dead – their presence would appear to be mostly tactical. Clearly, giving Sookie some much needed instruction in the uses of light magic and whatnot is about all their good for. After that, if they could just leave as quickly and quietly as possible, we’d really appreciate it.
So, with four episodes to go, the Vamps have once again the only show in town. Whether in the form of Sanguinistas, Pam and Tara, Eric and Bill and even the mysterious parent-killer, the fangs are back in charge of the True Blood-verse. Which after all, is exactly as it should be. Wolves, Faeries, shifters, whatever, it’s the vamps that we came for, and that’s why we stick around. With so many possible vamp combinations and outcomes, the next four episodes will be nothing if not interesting. Will the Sanguinistas prevail? Will Eric be able to stop them? Will the Ex-Rev Steve end up sharing a jar with Talbot? Will the parent-killing fang make good on his threat? The answers to these questions and many more are coming our way in a veritable fangfest in the next few weeks – as hopefully, will a brand new Russell breakdown. It’s been way too long since he was off the leash...
Read Emma's review of last week's episode, In The Beginning, here.
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