Its still Full Moon; weirdness still abounds! For example Jesus and LaFayettes journey seems to have set them up to become quite important in the series second half. The big revelation of their trip is that LaFayette is a Medium hence him channelling the spirit of Jesus dead uncle. Hes also evidently developed the power to teleport! Bon Temps to Mexico and back again in one day? Really? Anyway, LaFayettes swallowing of Tio Rosa makes him powerful The only one other than Marnie, Jesus pointedly mentions, who can connect with the dead. I suspect this means that they will, finally, move into the limelight and have an important role in defeating Antonia. This being the mid-point in the series, it seems that all (well, most) of the characters who have been treading water so-far are being positioned, like chess pieces, for the end game. Take Tara. As the episode begins, shes furnishing us with more girl-on-girl action, although this time its Zombie Pam on Tara and Naomi, giving the kick-boxers a workout. But, again, humour cuts through the tension at the moment of climax, leaving Tara as paranoid about Pam as LaFayette is about Old Eric. The best line of the episode is said of Pam during this sequence. Worth the price of admission alone! Suddenly Marnie/Antonia is all scary, ruthless and returned and pounces on Taras fears to bring her back on-side. They have a bond they have both been raped and fed upon. Together they can exact retribution. You do sympathise with Antonias motivation, but you know that this wont be a simple case of retribution There will be a cost and Tara, typically, will be paying it. As Bill reminds us - Antonia is the only known human to have wielded power over vampires and thats why her return is so dangerous. She wants to burn all vampires and, since its his watch, he has to protect his people - so issues an unprecedented order: Vampires have to magically produce heavy silver chains from Their secret silver chain store And weigh themselves down in their coffins and cubbies. Silver will weaken them sufficiently that her spell will not make them rise and walk out into The Sun. Of course, the silver burns them so every single vampire spends the day smoking and suffering Im sure this thought pleases Bills inner masochist! Still, at least all this distracts him from thinking about Sookie making the hunka-chunka with Eric. In his cubby, Eric The Puppy-Dog whimpers about whether Sookie would still want him if he changed back to Old Eric and she, the old romantic, tells him she doesnt know. Well, she better, cos if he doesnt start slicking his hair back soon, the fan-girls are gonna start leaving the show in droves! In other matters, Sam, once again, fails entirely to justify his third-billing position in the credits, as he still continues to be oblivious to the main story going on all around him. Having forgiven Tommy (again) he learns that his brother has betrayed him (again) so loses his rag (again) Before letting Tommy go (again) However, Old intemperate Sam keeps peeping out from behind the easy-going foppish-haired front we have known for three years. How much longer is it going to be before he does something a simple sorry wont solve? Meanwhile, back at that main plotline All the vamps lay there, sizzling at sunrise. This enforced togetherness means that Bill and Jess get to spend the day together, smouldering, which gives them time for a heart to heart. Ditto Sook and Eric. There is a lot of introspection and character development here Yet, even with this stillness, the episode feels quite pacey, mostly because we are finally starting to see some narrative drive. Marnie/Antonia gathers her followers, forms the circle and casts the spell Tearing at every vampire Revealing the truly, pathetic, self-destructive nature that lives just beneath the skin of them all. And, as the spell reaches its crescendo, there is no humour cutting through the drama this time, rather we get a surprising and truly nail shredding cliff-hanger ending which lifts what was already a pretty damn impressive episode to the status of Best Episode This Year. The bar is now set Lets see if the remaining six episodes can exceed it!
TRUE BLOOD 4.7: Cold Grey Light of Dawn Writer: Alexander Woo Director: Michael Ruscio Main cast: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgård, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll, Marshall Allman, Kevin Alejandro