True Blood: Let's Boot and Rally

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

If Eric Kripke hadn't already created a TV series called Supernatural (and an awesome one at that), it would have been a more apt title than True Blood the way things are shaping up lately here. An ever enlarging cast with each new season True Blood somehow manages to tip the ratio of humans & supernaturals in favor of the 'supes', while also expanding their paranormal lore. If you thought the show couldn't get any crazier than fairies or brujos just wait until you see the Ifrit.

If just seems fair after last Sunday's quiet and somewhat grounded episode that this week got a little zany. And boy did it ever. Eric and Bill get their deadline shortened to dawn to find Russell, forcing them to interrupt Sookie and Alcide's late night encounter. The four of them, with help from Doug the one who was glamoured at the construction site in question, go and track down Russell. Meanwhile Terry and Patrick have a rough run in with their former servicemen and discover the source of all the fires. Jason and Andy, still recovering from their fairy hangover, come on the scene where Sam's friends Emory and Suzanne were killed and begin an investigation. Tara starts working for her maker, Pam, at Fangtasia and also begins befriending Jessica.

Even though the search for Russell was arguably the main story-line within the episode "Let's Boot and Rally" did a pretty good job allotting screen time to all the other side plots. Tara and Jessica's new found friendship got a fair sized amount of attention and opened up some new opportunities down the road. Factor in Hoyt and his new disposition to vampires this could lead to some very screwed up romantic situations. Terry and Patrick's firestarter search also got a good chunk of the episode. It took a couple more flashbacks, like the ones from last episode, but the Ifrit is revealed. Yes an 'Ifrit' is an actual supernatural being (you can Google it like Terry's old army buddy said) and it just adds to the stock pile of crazy True Blood has amassed in their own little universe.

I'll get to the whole Russell moments in a bit, but for me the most interesting story within this episode had to do with Sam's shifter friends' murders and Jason & Andy investigating it. The fairy blast Jason & Andy got after being thrown out of their secret club actually was an eye-opening experience for them. Andy has already started to see things more clear, but for Jason it is a whole new sobering feeling for him. Jason seems to have a vengeance streak against vampires growing and it's hard to tell where that will lead. With both of them coming at this shooting investigation at a supernatural angle Jason & Andy actually don't feel like the comical bumbling fools audiences have grown to love. They both come across as extra committed for some reason now. Near the end of the episode, where Sam and Luna are shot by masked men in the back of a pickup truck, all signs look to be pointing to that redneck hunting store clerk Sookie bought that silver spray for Tara off of. Now it's just a matter of time before Jason & Andy catch them or they piss off/target the wrong supernatural. As for Sam and Luna's fate, I can't see the show writing off Sam Trammell's character Sam, but it didn't look good for Janina Gavankar's character Luna. I've always enjoyed Sam and Luna's rocky relationship, so fingers crossed she stick around.

Now on to the meat of the episode yet, again. With time running out for Eric and Bill you would think that they would be the ones to break up Sookie and Alcide's moment in the bedroom, but funny enough its Sookie's light weight drinking the ruins the mood. After Sookie finishes regurgitating all her peach schnapps she drank on top Alcide's feet she still has enough of a buzz to agree to help Eric and Bill find Russell. Running on some liquid courage Sookie acts as a de-glamour interpreter on Doug, giving Eric and Bill and step-by-step road map to Russell. As Sookie does her think we at home get to see blurry bites and pieces of what she sees and it looks like the shadowy female vampire helping free Russell. The way the episode cuts back and forth to Nora, still locked up and tortured at The Authority`s headquarters, I think the audience is made to believe it was Nora that freed Russell. Personally I find that a bit too obvious to be true so my money is on Salome, considering she is the only other female vampire that's fits the description, and even that feels too obvious for me. The only questions now are how did Salome know about Russell if it is in fact her? And why did she leave Doug alive so he could eventually lead someone back to Russell?

Correcting last week`s mistake regarding the lack of a cliff-hanger ending True Blood gives viewers multiple ones to mule over till next week. Russell makes his first notable appearance this season and then Alcide, Eric, and Bill get jumped just after. Tara and Jessica fight over Hoyt's blood, while Sam and Luna are left for dead loosing theirs. I have a feeling something bigger is coming soon but if this season follows this pattern of late it might not come for another two weeks or so.

Also correcting from last week's episode "Let's Boot and Rally" delivers some quality one-liners. There were three hilarious ones but my vote for True Blood 'quote of the week' has to go to Andy after Jason breaks the news to him about there being another supernatural he didn't know about:

"Those ladies are fairies? I f***ed a fairy? .... F*** it. I don't care if those ladies are fairies, or Leprechauns, or frecken Ewoks. I've got a good thing starting up with Holly and I ain't goin' to let Morretta and those sexy fairy friends mess it up for me...."

Tags: True Blood, Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Ryan Kwanten, Eric Kripke, Supernatural

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Andrew Burns loves film and comics, and can be found writing about when those worlds converge. You can follow him on Twitter at @myAndrewBurns.

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