“F**k the Pain Away”
(Editor’s Note: Spoilers ahead)
We pick up right where we left off in “F**k the Pain Away.” Sookie is pinned under Warlow missionary style about to zap him with her atomic ball of destruction, of course nothing ever goes right for Sookie and this worked as well as that colloidal silver she smothered his dinner in. Poor Sookie. She’s in for an even bigger shock when Warlow reveals his true intentions.
In a compelling turn of events, love sick Warlow intends to have Sookie as his immortal princess bride, he claims to have saved her from the parents that wanted to kill her so long ago. This is an interesting twist. Warlow may actually be one of the good guys! Accusations like this against her already acknowledged (in episode 4) “imperfect” parents call for an investigation: enter Lafayatte.
In her quest to discover the “truth” Sookie enlists the help of Lafayette, always eager to please Lafayette does his best, but somehow it all goes wrong. I was thrilled to see more of Lafayette (at long last!) even though things take a turn for the worse when he calls upon the spirits of Sookie’s parents. Lafayette gently reminds Sookie, “Ignorance is bliss for a reason.” Like that’s going to dissuade her. Big surprise, the spirit of Sookie’s father takes over Lafayette’s body to save his cursed little girl from life as a vamp. Pops would rather have her dead than gifted with immortal life. I think she’s old enough to make her own decisions without Pop’s interference. After all he’s been dead for quite awhile he no longer has a say about Sookie’s life.
For a smart guy, Eric has been making consistently dumb decisions and this episode is no exception. Tara should know better, she’s a smart cookie, but blindly follows her elder which isn’t like her usual rebellious self. They, along with several other vamps, land in some hot water, which is where they’ll stay for a while stewing in their misery. The humans have the upper hand so far, but how long can this go on, what will the tipping point be, and will we see it next week?
What is Warlow? Is he good, bad, or other? The flashback to 3500 B.C. shed some light on why Warlow isn’t a black and white character. I can see why he is at war with himself, not knowing if he is good or bad with the guilt of destroying his own people weighing him down.
In the previous episode I suspected Andy’s Fae daughters would be turned into vamps and save the day with their blood, well perhaps I was only slightly wrong, and it’s Warlow’s intoxicating blend that will do the trick.
Papa Andy’s life just got a little less complicated, he no longer has to worry about how to raise four daughters since he’s down to just one. How well his only daughter will recover has yet to be seen, though the vamp blood he poured down her throat sure helped. Ironic that a vamp brought her close to death and yet she’ll also recover thanks to a vamp. Luckily goodhearted Holly is there when Andy needs her most. When tragedy strikes it’s always helpful to have a female love interest to numb the pain.
Vamp tolerance is at an all time low in this episode, as so many of our favorite characters find themselves locked up at the experimental vamp camp. It’s fun to see Pam in therapy, she was the perfect character to send to a shrink. Though I am doubtful that Pam was being honest with the therapist, there is more to her than meets the eye and all he got was her rough exterior. I wasn’t thrilled to see Pam and Eric pitted against one another, stakes in hand. Obviously a cruel vamp camp experiment to see who will kill whom first. Logically speaking I think Pam would be the younger and therefore weaker one, so Eric would have to choose to die in order for Pam to live. Guess we’ll find out who loves whom more.
Dumbfounded that Eric registers even the slightest bit of shock when he discovers Willa is also in the vamp camp. C’mon Eric, you should have seen this coming, you turned a fledgling loose among humans with zero supervision. I almost feel sorry for lost little Willa who seems to be at the mercy of everyone, first it was Eric, then it was her own father and now it might be the prison guards who take turns receiving sexual favors from female vamps. Too bad Governor Daddy couldn’t see past her newbie bloodlust, Willa had a brief opportunity to make a difference and she blew it.
Not much new going on with the werewolves and Sam. Same old song and dance at this point. I like Alcide less and less, as this season progresses I keep hoping he’ll revert back into the good guy he once was, but the writers seem hell bent on transforming this character into an antagonist. Confusing how Alcide has gone from sweetheart to jerk so quickly, it would have felt more acceptable if it had happened gradually.
It seems all women want the hot-bodied male Stackhouse the way vamps want Sookie, so it’s no surprise when Sarah shows up on Jason’s porch for a romp in the sack. This is the first place Sarah lands when things don’t go her way with her own lover, which just goes to show what kind of woman she really is. I laughed out loud when Sarah said to Jason Stackhouse, “I truly believe God wants me to fuck you,” spoken like a true religious nut. She makes a bigger splash in this episode from her interactions with the governor to her role at vamp camp. She’s kind of growing on me, but I can’t decide if I like her or not.
Still quite pleased with the guilty pleasure that is True Blood’s sixth season. Plenty of sex, blood, and mystery to keep the show fun, and still no unforgivable plot points. Bring on the second half!
Episode Rating:
[Rating:4/5]