Love is to Die

Photos by HBO and screencrapsrus, gifs ImHereforSookie, CanadianBeaver

E9 Love is to Die Director, Howard Deutch, Written by Brian Buckner SUNDAY, AUG. 17 
Bill alienates Sookie; Hoyt remembers the past; Eric faces a dilemma. Update:

Sookie retreats in confusion. Sam makes a choice (the character was put in a corner with a brat and now who cares?). Jason exercises uncharacteristic restraint, while Eric faces a dilemma after being caught in a lie. Edit: does the lie put Pamela in jeopardy? Spoilers scroll to the bottom for the recent ones on Love is to Die, Castings

Onto Recaparamaville, go to the links to read the whole articles. TVLine's nip of a review- “AAAAT LAAAAST” | Of course, my favorite part about this episode (and potentially this season) was the long-awaited sex scene between Eric and the ever-thirsty Ginger. Finally immune to Hep-V, Eric was free to fulfill Ginger’s series-long wish of a romp with the vampire viking god. And while Eric and Ginger’s rendezvous was a major no-no from an HR standpoint — not only is he her boss, but they did it at work — it was a much needed break from the weight of this penultimate hour. It was also surprisingly short-lived; after all that build-up, I think she got about seven or eight thrusts before Ginger literally orgasmed herself unconscious. Did it go exactly as I anticipated? No. But was it an incredible experience only Ginger could provide? Hell yes.

Collider has a recap if you missed the show-Many have died, and logic left the building a long time ago, but True Blood still has to power to glamour us in even the worst of times.
Take, for instance, this sudden reunification between Jessica and Hoyt. As I mentioned last week, Jessica and Hoyt’s relationship was probably the most genuine and sweet relationship the show ever had, and there’s nothing wrong in returning to it. Jessica and Jason were set up later as being true loves, but the show rightfully set them back on a path that made more sense. Now that Hoyt suddenly doesn’t want children (whatever), and Jason really, really does, they did a girlfriend swap. Jessica came clean to Hoyt about the mistakes of the past, and that whole situation, told from both Jessica and Jason’s viewpoints, was re-hashed and course-corrected (also, Hoyt has gotten a lot better at sex).

Brian's recap/review is, as always spot on, a must read at the link- Okay, now comes the only halfway decent scene of the entire episode: Ginger (Tara Buck) and Eric finally… do it? Even if the mechanics of it were a bit off, it was glorious to behold. And all to the dulcet, coma-inducting strains of Mazzy Star. KILL ME NOW. Eric rips off Ginger’s panties and they bang (?) on the throne and Ginger instantly starts orgasming on the floor, like when Jeff Goldblum touches Geena Davis’s cat in Earth Girls are Easy. He mumbles, “Night, Ginger” as he walks away, but she’s already asleep on the floor. ATTA GIRL TIMES INFINITY.
Why is Pam chained to a table under a heavy, hanging stake? Is this The Pam and the Pendulum? Gus is mad because Eric let people visit Sarah. Eric admits that Sookie knows about Sarah, putting her in danger just for old time’s sake, and we cut to Sookie sitting at home listening to some truly awful goth music as Bill knocks on her door.
SCENE.
Wait, that’s the big cliffhanger? Bill knocking on her door? But… she invited him over. He’s expected. She’s literally waiting for him. That’s like having a cliffhanger about the UPS guy showing up between 11 and 3 when you actually scheduled a delivery window of between 11 and 3. It is the OPPOSITE of suspense.
First, it was nice to see Deborah Ann Woll and Jim Parrack in a scene together again, because they have always been one of the show’s stronger couples – until the show completely ruined them, of course. But at this point pretty much everything feels like a consolation prize. Hoyt comes back and all is forgiven because why not. Eric finally has sex with Ginger because why not. Jess gets a happy ending despite just breaking up two relationships in as many days, because why not. It’s hard to write about a show where everyone involved has clearly just thrown up their hands and called it a day. Because if I throw up my hands, it’s hard to type.
But hey, Pam speaking Spanglish to the yakuza was pretty funny.

NYTimes ArtsBeat, -The good stuff in the episode, titled “Love Is to Die,” was happening elsewhere. With several nice scenes, fans of Jessica and Hoyt got their wish. After making up with her former vampire boyfriend, James — who, in another of the episode’s grace notes, said he was now happy with Lafayette — Jess went to find Hoyt and tell him the true story of their past. (Lived together, she was unfaithful, he asked to be glamored.) Given an ultimatum by his girlfriend, Brigette, Hoyt chose Jessica, following her into the night and telling her: “I want you to see if you can catch your breath. And once you’ve caught it, I want you to tell the story of us.”
The disconsolate Brigette called Jason, who rushed to the scene but arrived too late to keep Hoyt from finding out about his past betrayal. Hoyt delivered a one-punch knockout (reminiscent of his past beating of Jason), and Jason woke up in his squad car, being driven away by Brigette. She wanted to take him to the hospital, but he scoffed — “I’ve had a lot of concussions” — and told her to drive to his place. But he warned her: “We ain’t gonna have sex tonight. All right? Hope you understand.” When she said, “What makes you think there’s any world in which I’d want to have sex with you tonight?” he replied, “Trust me, Brigette, it needed to be said.” (while Jason was not his self mostly, he was still a hoot.)

Sam departed with that harpy, off to a life of misery living with her family of complainers. No way she got that way on her own. Sam left when he hooked up with that college spoiler brat a minute after Luna died so it was almost a relief but what a lousy end for a longtime character.

Eric seems to be talking to her like she is 5, the usual.

Screencrush's bit of a review-We feel like a broken record at this point, but with only one more hour remaining after tonight’s installment, compounded by the sheer time it took for the final season to shed itself of some of the more extraneous narratives, we’re not expecting the last few drops of ‘True Blood’ to provide any real salvation for the ailing series as a whole. We’d doubt even if the finale could reach the emotional resonance of some of the stronger episodes at the series’ peak, but we keep invested to see what ‘True Blood’ makes of the limited material remaining. This isn’t ‘Dexter’ after all, and we’ve accepted far earlier that camp is camp, and won’t necessarily provide its audience with any true measure of closure.
And to that end, the limited focus continually works in ‘True Blood’’s favor, with tonight’s episode giving a rather specific, if baffling* conflict to play between Sookie, Bill and Eric. Deborah Ann Woll too gets some fine material to play with her anger and agony over Bill’s defeat, though much more of the hour lends to her relationship with Hoyt, so we’ll table that for the moment. At the very least, “Love is to Die” plays well off the complicated history between Sookie and her two leading men, putting aside any petty squabbles in favor of the larger grief for Bill’s impending end.

Call me when she's a blonde, I'm outta here, harumph!

Beel we done had a bouncing baby void!

                                 3 slaps you're out, damn Sookie is all over the place weekly.

EW's much longer recap at the link-Eric goes looking for Pam and finds her in the basement. Mr. Gus and the Yakuza have Pam silvered to a table with a giant stake dangling above her. The Yakuza cut two of the three ropes keeping it from ending Pam's undead life before finally, Eric admits that Sookie knows about Sarah. Mr. Gus' next question: Where does Sookie live? We don't see Eric answer, but we do see Bill arrive at Sookie's front door. What happens next? Eric has to tell them where Sookie lives and then somehow find a way to get there in time to help save her, right? Will Bill die in the struggle, so his death truly is for Sookie? Will (gulp) Eric die protecting her and Bill? Will Pam die after Eric, or in place of Eric?

oh please it never was believeable except when Eric had the brain of a 4 yr old.

Zap2it's- The penultimate episode of "True Blood" Season 7, "Love Is To Die," certainly made it seem like there's no happy ending for the relationship at the center of the show. Bill managed to convince Eric that turning down Sarah Newlin's blood/the cure for Hep-V was the right decision for Sookie. The episode closed with Bill about to level that same explanation on his blonde Achilles heel.
But the episode also closed with Mr. Gus Jr. seemingly learning where Sookie lives from Eric after discovering Sookie knows Sarah is the cure. Assumedly Mr. Gus Jr. will try to kill Sookie in next week's series finale to keep his Nu Blood secret a secret. Either Sookie's two vampire saviors will rise to her defense, or she'll meet her maker.
Bill seems pretty sure that a life without him is the only way Sookie can have a fulfilling one. But considering she's a walking death magnet, maybe one final near-death experience will convince him it's actually better if he stays by her side. Just writing that line gives me a serious case of deja vu, because "True Blood" fans have definitely found Bill and Sookie in this situation before. Maybe this will be the time their fated romance will stick.

HollywoodLife's rerun- Bridget was still super pissed that Hoyt didn’t want to have kids. This was apparently NOT a part of her plan. Hoyt didn’t entirely say no, he just didn’t know if that was “where he was at.”
Then, Bridget got jealous. She asked about Jessica. The very-glamoured Hoyt had no idea who she was. Bridget asked where he was while she was packing up the house. Initially, he lied, but then opened up about his little trip to Bill’s.
Hoyt basically told Bridget not to read too much into the situation, but she was exactly right. Hoyt just didn’t know that yet. They had totally made up, but then Jessica knocked on the door. (Bad timing much, Jess?)
Jessica dropped a bomb on both Hoyt and Bridget by telling them she knew Hoyt, but he didn’t know her. She came to tell Hoyt about their relationship. She confessed that they had lived together and they were so happy. Bridget was totally confused and upset. She wanted to Jessica to leave, but Hoyt couldn’t help but listen.
That’s when Bridget gave him an ultimatum. He either stayed with her or left with Jessica.
He chose Jessica.
Jessica told Hoyt about Bill refusing the cure. She was angry, like we all would be, about Bill turning down the chance to stay alive. Jessica admitted that the only person she wanted to talk to was him. “You were first man that I ever really loved,” she said. (AW!)
After Jessica had calmed down, he wanted her to tell him their story. This might produce some major tears.

 Good girl, she  was wanting J&L to be happy.

Oh no Lala might have to stake a bitch, nah, it all good.

So Hoyt gets his memories back? Speaking of memories-

I'm ignoring this, and then knock knock, who's  there? The love of your life, Jessica.

The love scene would have been a gazillion times better without the Jason talk-over. Will Hoyt have Jessica turn him? 

Hitfix has some funny thoughts on this next to last episode-Bill’s decision to slip away into the void seems to have something to do with accepting his “fate” and not fighting his “destiny”. It’s as if George Lucas were guest-writing his scenes. Why he couldn’t accept fate back at the house instead of letting his friends break into a building guarded by gun-toting yakuza is not made clear. Jessica is so fed up with his malarkey that she demands that he release her, and he agrees. Then he tops himself by telling her, “I never wanted to make you vampire. Turning you was punishment for taking the life of one of our own.” He says this the same way Bill says most things, as if he were racking up more tortured-nobility points with every syllable, but it sure sounds to me like the vampire equivalent of “You were an accident.” Then he tops himself again when Eric asks him to reconsider for Sookie’s sake, and Bill says that Sookie will “learn to love someone else, but not while I’m on the planet.” Eric speaks for all of us when he says, “Get over yourself, Bill.” Come to think of it, Hoyt speaks for all of us when, in a different context, he says, “I’m confused.”

From ChicagoNow-We have seven years of drama to wrap up and yet this hour barely spent time on the major plotline of the season or the major characters of the series. While a main (albeit uninteresting) character like Sam merely got a voiceover letter to tie up his arc, we spent more than half the episode with Hoyt, Jessica, Jason and Bridgette only to end up exactly where we knew we would. And while the scenes between Hoyt and Jessica were sweet and provided some closure, having Jason’s moment of self-discovery come at the hands of a woman he’s known for all of a day and half felt lazy.
Meanwhile, all we got out of Sookie was some moping around Bellefleur’s. Eric and Bill had a touching moment made all the more confusing because at best they’ve only ever tolerated each other. But their love of Sookie has them working together to convince her that Bill dying will be the best for everyone. And thats probably true, but Bill might not have the chance to explain it all to her because the Yakuza are headed for her because of… reasons.
Look, I’m trying really hard to overlook the vagueness of this season’s big bad, but they’re not making it easy for me. After being introduced as a shadowy, mega powerful organization, the Yakuza have quickly reached super-villain territory, complete with elaborate vampire killing mechanisms.
Yes, no one was supposed to know about Sarah, but this is supposed to be a multi-billion dollar company. How much trouble could one waitress in a small Louisiana town really cause? They could crush any rumors she might spread a lot of ways without resorting to hunting her down and causing a big violent scene. But hey, we need a finale so I guess we know which path they’ll choose.

I wish I could blame this on Sookie but damn Mr Gus and those Yakuza using Pam to get to Eric. What could have happened between her dying twatlips hair and this dilemma? Now they have Eric by the balls too.
                                 “Yeah, whorehouse they understand.” — Pam

                 The hair mussing was a Tara Buck touch, a hidden gem for 7 seasons.

From EW's PostMortem with Tara Buck-
EW: When did you find out Eric was finally going to have sex with Ginger? Did you know when you shot the throne flashback in episode 4?
BUCK: The writers sort of teased me a little midseason. I think I had already shot the flashback. Around episode 5, they started like, “Oh, maybe Ginger finally has a sex scene with Eric,” but they didn’t know what it was gonna be. I almost thought they were kidding. There were really no details at all. I think a couple episodes before [we shot it], Alex actually was like, “Tara, you know we’re actually having that scene.” And I said, “We are?” [Laughs] “Yeah.” “All right. Bring it.”
I heard through the grapevine that originally, the writers thought the punchline to the scene was going to be that Eric was a bad lay—not that Ginger comes almost immediately. Were you aware of that?

Yes! I heard that, too. I think that’s actually the first thing the writers said [to me]: “You finally get to have sex with Eric, and it’s terrible.” I mean, that’s really funny. I was like, “Oh my god.” [Laughs] But I love the way they ended up doing it.
Was there any discussion on set about whether it could really work that quickly for a woman, even with Eric?
No, there was not like, “Is this physically possible?” [Laughs] We just decided that Ginger’s more of a dude than anybody expected. That’s where the joke is: Who knew that Ginger would actually turn out to be the dude in the relationship? I actually think there’s something hilarious about the fact that maybe she’s still a virgin, that she saved herself for Eric. [Laughs] I suppose if it can happen for men, why not? I guess it can happen for women, right? Maybe that’s why.
What was the toughest moment to keep a straight face?
There was a lot of laughter, as there often is, with Alex. Alex is so funny, and he’s really very cool and down to earth. So there’s always that kind of giggling. I don’t know how much of this actually ends up in the episode, but there were a few takes—one in particular—where I totally messed up his hair.
There’s a bit of that in there.
It was crazy, like Einstein hair. Everybody was just howling. I had a foot in his face at one point, and all kinds of very strange things.

The show is in 2 hours so taking this out of spoilers, Ginger is in heaven in her own head. Alex looks like is trying not to crack up. I am so happy for Ginger, that Tara Buck is up for any role, she's fantastic, as Russell would say. Eric was more engaged than this scene would show, and why didnt he hear anything going on in the basement with that vamp hearing?