'True Blood' Review/Recap: “Fire in the Hole”

Adam Reynoso ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

And with only seven episodes left after this week’s, another major character bites the dust and it’s clear that no one’s safe in Bon Temps. And while some of the Hep-V vamps have been dealt with, it seems like things will come to a head next week between the Bon Temps residents and the Hep V vamps hiding out at Fangtasia. In addition to the Hep-V threat, it appears that a group of Japanese men possibly working with the company that manufactured Tru Blood share a past with Eric Northman and have unfinished business with the lovely Sarah Newlin.
Picking up where last week’s episode ended, Alcide followed Sookie’s scent to Bill’s house and then went out to find her. On the road, Sookie sets out with Bill to set a trap for the Hep-V vamps and takes some of Bill’s blood so her plan can work. Sam runs into Vince and realizes that he’s told the town about his shifter status and flies off as a hawk to escape them. James and Lafeyette continue to get closer as they get high and there’s some flirtation going on. And Eric and Pam reflect back at their time in Paris, where Eric had grown attached to a woman named Sylvie. But because he was openly feeding (among other things) on her, the Authority sent Nan Flannigan (a welcome reappearance) to have him register with them and take care of his responsibilities. As a result of his defiance, the Japanese men showed up and forced him to decide who would die between his progeny, Pam and his lover, Sylvie. He chose his progeny and watched them stab Sylvie.
Starting with Eric and Pam, this flashback showed why Eric chose where he went to presumably die as he reflected on the decisions he’s made in his thousand years as a vampire. It also showed how long he has kept Pam by his side and how important she really is. Some of the highlights of the series has always been these two characters’ relationship and how well they are together. So whenever the series has shown flashbacks detailing their time together, it’s always a treat. And knowing that his days are numbered, it’s understandable that Pam wants to keep him alive and active for as long as possible, despite his willingness to give in. It was also nice to have Pam finally acknowledge Tara’s death and show how alone she is in the world now. And now that Eric knows that Sarah Newlin’s alive, he has a renewed purpose and where that story goes, it’s going to be satisfying to see their paths cross and whether he will get his revenge.

While her appearance was brief, Anna Camp‘s presence as Sarah Newlin was welcomed and missed. Although, she’s going by the name Noomie and is sporting a darker hair color, it’s clear she’s in hiding after the outbreak and truth about what her camps were really doing with the vampires. And now, it seems that the same people who killed Eric’s lover are coming after her. Sarah’s always been at her best when she’s gone off the deep end, but seeing her try to begin again and recreat herself, it’s only a matter of time before she falls back into her old ways. And here’s hoping she has at least one more encounter with Jason.
This week, the audience continued to see Sookie take action and try to rescue her friends. One thing this season’s been consistent with is how the writer’s are treating her character. She’s continuing to want to help save her town and this week, she was willing to be live bait. While doing so, she spends more time with Bill and they seem to be coming to terms to who they both are now and where that puts them in each other’s lives.
But once the infected vamps arrive, her trap doesn’t work exactly as planned. While they do find Sookie, alone and willing to be taken, they weren’t the only ones. Jason, Andy and others arrive, as well  as Alcide and Sam. All seems to go well after they kill the vamps…until the vigilante hillbillies show up and shoot Alcide…twice…while he’s in the buff.

Sookie is of course seen tearing up at the end of the episode, as the audience is left to take it in as well. Almost as swift and out of nowhere like Tara’s, but at least he was able to have an on-screen death.
After last week’s uneven episode, this week returned stronger and didn’t hold back at all. Sookie is continuing to grow and with Alcide’s death, there’s more than enough material to continue driving her  character forward. And with the Bon Temps group finally confronting the Hep V vamps next week, it leaves one to wonder whether Vince and his vigilantes could be the last big bad Sookie has to go up against, besides the Hep V infection itself.
Overall Episode Grade: B+