Well aren’t I the lucky recapper, last night’s emotion filled rollercoaster of an episode “Death is not the end” was without doubt the best of the final season so far (although that wouldn’t exactly take much). Why? Because Eric Northman was back in town and Bon Temps needs him to be there just as much as his audience does. WARNING: This is a heck of a long recap and it includes an excitable game of “he says / she says”.
We began with the first of many heart-wrenching scenes. Sookie was calling Alcide’s dad and Jason was calling Maxine’s son, to tell them the terrible news that their loved ones had gone. Poor Hoyt lamented that his mother told him she would die if he left, and Jason even called him “Bubba”.
Post credits, and we are all on board a jet plane with Eric and Pam. Eric is feeding from the willing air hostess (and it’s not from her neck). After he has finished his dinner he lets the poor girl know that she is now a Hep-V carrier, she is gutted as she will lose her job. Eric doesn’t care. Eric wants to return to Shreveport to see Willa before he dies. Pam pouts (for the first of many times), why does he care when he released her?
Flashback No.1 and we find that in the aftermath of the infamous “French vagina” incident Eric and Pam were brought to Shreveport by the Authority so that they could open a video/porn store and Eric was made the reluctant sheriff of Area 5.
Over in present day Bon Temps Sookie, Sam and Jason go round to the Bellefleur mansion, and after Sookie takes a short detour to tell Arlene’s kids not to give up hope, they all end up in Holly’s bedroom, where Sookie convinces her to open up her mind and remember where the other hostages are. It’s quickly established they are at Fangtasia. Andy doesn’t know what to do when they leave and Sookie tells him “We like to be held”. Andy obliges and holds on to the woman he loves. Don’t worry Sookie, someone very special is going to be holding you very soon!
Sam wants to go to Fangtasia right now to get Nicole and his baby back. Jason has to use his gun to get Sam to turn around and wait for their vampire allies at nightfall. Over at Compton Manor Jessica is still in pain and James is getting a little bit pissed off as she is refusing to feed. James calls Bill who can compel her to do it, but it is Sookie who arrives and gives Jess a tough love talk – so what if the fairy girls are dead, most people Sookie loves are dead, Sooke needs Jess to help her get her friends back. Jess agrees to feed but not from Sookie. Sookie asks James to call his human donor to do the job.
Flashback No.2 and it’s 1996. Ginger comes into the video/porn store to rent some cool vampire movies, but she doesn’t actually think vampires are real, until …………he walked in the room.
He kisses her hand and she applies for a job. I freaking loved this scene.
Jason and Sam continue to bear bad news and visit Rosie at the home she shared with Kevin to tell her that Holly has confirmed Kevin is dead. Rosie calls Sam a “freak” but then hopes he will make them all pay for what they did. Sam lets slip that they plan to attack the Hep-V vamps at Fangtasia that night.
Bill and Sookie hatch Plan No.2. Let’s just hope it’s a lot better than Plan No.1 which was the worst plan ever! Bill will ask all the vampires he knows to help them as he owes Sookie everything. All together now, one, two, three…..
Sookie offers to feed him so he as at his strongest for the battle to come. She tells him “it’s just lunch”. At this point I would like to sincerely thank the editor of True Blood for cutting short this scene so I didn’t have to suffer Bill making gurgling noises whilst sucking at Sookie’s neck.
The ever splendid Lala answers James’s distress call and convinces Jess to feed off him. He tells her he’s as fucked up as she is, he killed the man he loved.
Flashback No.3, it’s 2006 and we discover it was actually poor Ginger’s brilliant idea to open a vampire bar called Fangtasia, and it was she who bought Eric his precious Viking throne. Because as Ginger so rightly said “Sex sells, and Eric Northman is nothing if he is not pure fucking sex on a throne”. Pam thinks her idea is surprisingly and completely excellent, in fact it is so excellent that Pam steals it, glamours Ginger and tells Eric she thought it all up. Pam relays this to Eric in present day on board the jet. Eric tells her she is “such a bitch” but he will always love her.
Night-time in Bon Temps and the attack-pack are gathered at Bill’s house. He obviously doesn’t have many vampire friends because apart from the usual crew, only James’s band-mate Keith has turned up. But then there is an ominous knock on the front door.
Eric Northman is back (and Pam is sulking behind him). Eric tells Bill that Pam said he wrote a book where he says he is not an asshole any more. Bill asks Eric how long he has had Hep V, but the boy talk is cut short because Sookie Stackhouse wants to know who is at the door and comes running over to give the big bad Viking a great big hug.
Yep, I was as surprised as you were, I expected their reunion to be much more tentative, especially on her part.
She sees the veins on his chest. She says “no”. He says
Despite Pam’s latest pout, Eric and Sookie are given some time alone. He asks her what kind of trouble she has got herself in, she tells him that he’s one to talk. (my body becomes a meaningless vessel full of all the world’s Sooric feels ). She tells him “You can’t die on me”. (and somewhere on high above the clouds someone saw the angels weep). When Sookie confides that Alcide was her boyfriend and he is dead, Eric is a little put out as he gave her the house back so she could get back to a normal life, she doesn’t want to have that talk right now, Alcide only died this morning. and then it’s another big hug……He’s sorry. She asks him where he has been (and I’m wondering if I am still actually watching True Blood or just having one of my frequent dreams?). He’s been home to Sweden but he started an avalanche that killed a whole town so he had to leave. He went to South America, Africa, Spain and France. That’s a lot of places, she says. He wanted to see the world one more time, and with that he wipes a tear from her face.
Of course they are always interrupted and this time it’s Willa. She wants to talk about being deserted by “ass-wipe”. Eric tells her they will talk later as Sookie needs their help. And so the gang set off for Fangtasia, but not before one last pout from Pam, who calls Sookie “a fucking fungas”. Can I just say at this point that I do love Pam, I just find this whole Pam hates Sookie/Willa/Nora/whoever a little tiring and KBVS is a great performer, please give Pam a little bit of something else to do. If she is to be Eric’s soul-mate at the end, she needs to woman up!
Plan No.2 begins in earnest. There’s a secret way into Fangtasia and Eric is going to smash open the wall to let them in. Except he can’t do it, he doesn’t have the strength, he’s seriosuly ill. Another heart-breaking scene as the proud Viking has to reluctantly let Bill do it for him. (I’m not mad about this, it’s not to show Bill’s strength, it is to show how incredibly weak Eric has become). Pam asks Eric to wait and save what strength he has left, whilst she goes with Bill. There follows a strange little scene where Pam tells Bill not to try to be the hero as he and Sookie won’t ever happen (at least I think that’s what she said). I’m not sure what that was all about??? The plan comes unstuck as the Hep V vamps have taken Arlene upstairs for their dinner. Bill is wondering what to do next (never the sharpest tool in the plan-box), when there’s a kock on the Fangtasia door.
Eric has the disease, he needs refuge and he’s brought his own human. His fellow sufferers don’t have much inclination to help him until they smell Eric’s dinner and let them in. Eric tells them Sookie is his but he will share. “What are you” asks one particularly hungry vamp. “I’m his” is Sookie’s reply. Another less polite vamp tells Blondie to spread her legs. Blondie fairy says “fuck you”. Blondie vampire says that she is his and they need to treat her with respect. Just as things might get a bit sticky for the golden haired duo the cavalry arrives and in no time at all there’s a rumble going on in the car park and the human vigilantes are on their way (including Rosie). A very weak Eric has stayed inside with Sookie and is about to get staked. Bill turns up and saves his life, and even has time for a little quip “See, I’m not an asshole any more”. Because obviously the entire audience will like him again because he saved their precious Viking’s life!
Arlene is close to death and halucinates that her beloved Terry is calling her. (Carrie Preston is amazing in this scene). Sookie asks Eric to get them a healthy vampire to heal her. Eric is very, very weak but eventually goes. Keith the drummer arrives just in time and as he gives her his blood, the Terry in her head tells Arlene that she should stay where she is and “be happy”. Arlene meet Keith, Keith meet Arlene.
Back outside in the aftermath of the battle. Everyone is accounted for except Eric. Pam is frantic but locates him in a car feeding off a very soon to be very dead ( if not already very dead) Rosie. He needed to feed – he is terminally ill remember – and the Hep V vamps need to feed very regularly.
Inside Fangtasia Sookie is holding onto Arlene. She sees Eric enter and the two of them just look at each other sadly and longingly, and then he leaves. It’s a beautiful and sad end to the episode.
Some have already speculated that this was their final goodbye, I’m not so sure, it didn’t seem like “resolution” to me, I think there could well still be more emotion to come.
When I see that “look” between them I understand why I have shipped them so hard. Alex and Anna both knocked it out of the park in this episode. And if their ship has sunk, then I’m going down with it, it will be my submarine, gliding endlessly along the ocean floor. They can give us more in one “look” than all Bill’s proclamations of love and devotion, or all Pam’s helpless obsession, have given me in the entire series. We may not get our HEA but I will never be ashamed that Sooric will always be my OTP.
and I’m done!
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Credit to these incredible gif makers: youhadmeuntiltroll.tumblr mametupa.tumblr sihamdalila.tumblr