Fire in the Hole Re-Running

...and now he's dead.

From HBO's TRUE to the End blog-

Last week's 'True Blood' began with a surprise face popping up from downward-facing dog:Vamp Camp. When HBO.com spoke to Anna Camp about a year ago, Camp hypothesized about Sarah's whereabouts after Vamp Camp. "She's underground somewhere, plotting," Camp said. "I see her turning into a weird zombie of a woman." Camp's words read especially prophetic now, considering her character's reappearance: "I think being sent away will make her more powerful in a sense. She'll shut down and become a robot for God." According to Camp, Sarah's great escape a year ago was "just another sign from God that she's doing the right thing." Camp added: "It's just more fuel to her fire: 'I am right. I am God's tool. He's speaking through me.' It's another notch in her belt of craziness."

That's right: She's back! Sarah Newlin's return comes one season after Jason Stackhouse let his former lover escape herformer lover Governor Burrell's year ago was "just another sign from God that she's doing the right thing." Camp added: "It's just more fuel to her fire: 'I am right. I am God's tool. He's speaking through me.' It's another notch in her belt of craziness."Camp also foretold Sarah's biggest nightmare – a juicy tidbit, since we know now that Eric is searching for Newlin. "Getting turned vampire would be the cruelest punishment for her," Camp asserted. "I believe if she were turned, she'd commit suicide. She'd crawl to the top of a church and have the whole town there or something. And while she's frying, scream, 'Death to all vampires!' Getting turned and living forever would mean that they won. Taking that away from them, even if it meant killing herself, would be a win for the humans." more

Brian (the Backlot) always says it like it is, you have to go to the link to read it all -
Over in France, Pam (Kristin Bauer Van Straten) asks Eric (Alexander Skarsgard)how long he’s been sick. He says a month. Pam says she felt Tara meet the true death, so I guess that confirms it once and for all. Eric says that he has finally given up, mostly because of Sylvie. Wait, who? Ah – we haven’t met her yet, but she was apparently a tall bottle of pinot noir he banged back in the ’80s and who meant EVERYTHING to him despite the fact that no one has once mentioned her, ever, until this very moment.

Sookie is upset that the vamps aren’t coming for her, and asks Bill if he’s ever been to Six Flags. I’m a little tired of the monologs tonight, folks. As is Bill, who flashes back to having his family portrait taken before the war – by none other than Julian Fortenberry, who is a total hunk. He snaps back from his daydream because Sookie cuts herself on purpose.
Notably Dead: Alcide, Maxine, Matt, Sylvie, a dozen Hep vamps
Notably Absent: Half the characters only had a second of screen time before someone else launched into a full-page monolog, but I think pretty much everyone was there.

So where was the fire and who was the hole? Will Hoyt make a quickie appearance in Bon Temps, will Maxine get a funeral, will anyone? Just lay them all out at Bellefleur's and have dranks. Was Sara's fake name numnuts, she was ok when she was Jason's side piece, now I don't give at all, kill her.

I agree Mr Northman.

Why are we seeing this much Lettie Mae AFTER Tara is dead? Adina is a good actress but just no...we have 7 hours left and we waste so much on side characters that were only there to flesh out the main ones. The Rev. Daniels scenes were more time wasters to me. Are we really seeing more fucking Authority members, the Yakuza branch? How did the rednecks all get wooden/silver bullets? There will be more flashbacks coming, I need a Tuinal and Russell to clean this mess up! I am hanging in till the end, because I must, where the hell else would I go after so long?

Ok, more recaparama with EW's traditional long reviews, read in full at the links-
If Lafayette would have overdosed, which James fears when he can't wake him, fans would have broken their TVs. But James' reaction—and the tenderness with which he heals Lafayette's puncture wounds—is meant to show Lafayette and viewers that James does care about him. In fact, James confirms Lafayette's not misreading the situation, but he's with Jessica—for now—so James is being faithful. How soon can they act on that?

Less Lettie Mae, please: Maybe Willa will get interesting again now that the Rev. has kindly kicked her out of his house. After Willa leads a tripping Lettie Mae into the church, the Rev. takes Willa home and feeds her. She must suck slower than a baby because she feeds on him for the duration of his long story about his wife cheating on him after they lost a child and him losing faith and his will to socialize—until one day, he just got dressed and ended up at the boarded-up church in Bon Temps. He found Lettie Mae on the steps, and they saved each other. Nope, still don't like Lettie Mae, but the Rev. is redeeming himself. Bottom line: He has to protect Lettie Mae, and he knows she'll continue to trick Willa into giving her blood because that's what addicts do. So he has to ask Willa to leave. God will keep him and Lettie Mae safe, he says, echoing his conversation with Sam in the church.
Will the Rev. and Lettie Mae be the next to go? Will we go to hell if we say, "Fingers crossed"?

Baltimore Sun's -Eric, who contracted Hep-V about a month ago, is impressed that Pam found him -- and maybe a little shocked that she looked so hard. Not sure why. He’s been the only living creature Pam’s truly been devoted to for years. Well, him and Tara, whose death Pam sensed while she was in Morocco.

Eric doesn’t apologize for her loss, but instead asks her if she played the “Bucket Game” (vamp Russian Roulette), which makes her ask the question all of us have been screaming at our screens: “What is wrong with you? You are Eric f---ing Northman!”

But he’s given up. He lost Godric, Nora and someone named Sylvie, who we meet in a 1980s flashback of Eric in a Rhone Valley vineyard. Sylvie, a brunette French woman, is having sex with Eric under the moonlight when Nan Flanagan (!) interrupts them.
Turns out, Eric and Pam failed to register with their local sheriff or pay taxes, making the Authority very unhappy. Nan’s most upset that Eric was risking exposure by biting and having sex with Sylvie out in the open. Tru Blood was on its way and with it, mainstreaming was about to become a reality. Eric snarks at the news, but Nan assures him that the Authority and the Yakanomo Corporation, the makers of Tru Blood, mean business and will demand their compliance. Pam tells Nan that she understands, but Eric is defiant.

The WSJ's Speakeasy- As Bill and Sookie wait for vampires to take the bait, there’s more talk, Sookie says she loves Alcide, and Bill remembers having photographs made by Julius Fortenberry in 1862 of his family before he went to war. The man took two photographs (too bad the close up of the family one is not sepia and is clearly a contemporary black and white photo). Tired of waiting, Sookie stabs her own arm. The Fangtasia vampires, led by Holly, take the bait. A Mighty fight and shoot-out with Bill, Alcide, Sam and H vampires.

The Japanese corporation that makes True Blood surrounds Eric and Sylvie, and give him a Sophie’s Choice between Pam and Sylvie. He asks them to kill him, but they say the authority wants him alive. He chooses Pam and they stab Sylvie. Flashback over, Pam begs Eric not to give up. But he releases her even as she cries bloody tears. Wondering when we’ll see Sarah again? So is Pam. That’s her trump card when she tells Eric that Jason let her live. Eric stands. “Let’s go find her, shall we?” he says.

                                                          Eyerolling Eric, I feel you.
People Mag's TV Watch - Sookie is eventually found by Holly (Lauren Bowles), who is being used by the pack of infected vampires as a snack while they hunt for more humans. But along with Holly comes the infected pack. Bill attempts to intervene but is held back by silver chains and is about to be staked when the four-legged cavalry arrives in the form of Sam and Alcide.
With the infected vampires dealt with, the group turn their attention to caring for Sookie, who is covered in infected blood. While Violet helps her wash off in a nearby brook, gunshots are heard from the clearing and Sookie returns to find Alcide shot by two members of the human mob.
Jessica offers to turn Alcide into a vampire but Sookie declines and simply holds her werewolf boyfriend as the rest look on.
Just like that, Sookie has lost yet another loved one. And this final season isn't even half over.

AV Club - Stray observations:

Vampires can’t swallow pills? I do not understand vampire physiology at all.
What was the point of Bill’s flashback? There was no point.
Eric’s flashbacks, at least, had that fantastic feathered ‘80s hair and introduced us to the Yakuza branch of the vampire hierarchy, which tied into Sara Newlin’s return. Sara Newlin is a hilarious character, but this whole thing seems highly ridiculous.

It looks like Eric actually does have Hep V. His story with Pam might be touching if they hadn’t already hit these same relationship beats between the two multiple times in the past.
Jason tells his psychotic vampire lover he wants to have children with her. Jason Stackhouse is not an intelligent person, and Violet’s constant stumping for masculinity is tedious.
See ya, Ms. Fortenberry. You should have been nicer to Hoyt.

ArtsBeat from the NYTimes- The comments on these recaps have brought out some “True Blood” haters, to whom I would say relax — if you take the show on its own terms, a comic book crossed with a Harlequin romance, it’s fun. That said, “Fire in the Hole” wasn’t the show’s finest hour. Several characters were introduced as plot conveniences, with targets on their foreheads — well, on a French woman’s midsection and a fraudulent guru’s neck — and were gone before the closing credits.
Worse — major spoiler alert — was the slapdash way in which the show killed off one of its more well-liked characters, the steadfast werewolf Alcide. Sure, he’d been a pill lately, always lecturing Sookie — in fact, that’s what he was doing when he died. And I did predict in Week 1 that he was on his way out. But he deserved better than to be shot without warning or buildup, in the most anticlimactic way possible, as if the producers were resolving a contract dispute.

The focus now would seem to be shifting to Eric, and his own Hepatitis V infection, with its heavy overtones of AIDS. (Pam: “Did you contract the virus on purpose?” Eric: “No, but did I go about my dealings with a devil-may-care attitude? Absolutely.”) The entire 1986 story line, about Eric’s being punished by the Vampire Authority for carrying on too publicly with humans, was a back-fill job to give him a reason to hate the Yakimono hatchet man, Hiroki (Louis Ozawa Changchien). To give the two of them something to fight over in the present, Pam revealed to Eric that Sarah Newlin — the tainter of Tru Blood — was alive, giving him a revenge motive and raising him from his suicidal lethargy.

Sophie's choice TB style, it really sucked balls, wouldn't Eric have killed them all as soon as he got the chance?

TVGuide talks to Joe too-How do you feel about the way in which Alcide was killed off?Manganiello: Getting shot in the head by some nameless, faceless hillbilly, dying naked in the woods on the ground and then being in Malibu when it was about 30 degrees out and try not to shiver? [Laughs] That's not exactly how I saw it going down, but I guess it's better than giving one of the vampires the bragging rights.