True Blood - Recap: The Desire to Be Devoured

Season 6 Episode 7, “In the Evening,” might have been my favorite episode of what has turned out to be a satisfyingly thrilling season. What became increasingly clearer during this week’s True Blood showing is that the mid-season offing of Governor Burrell has been not only a blessing to Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and his posse of vamp enthusiasts, but to us as viewers. I had yet to realize this during the episode prior, but we now have Sarah Newlin (Anna Camp) at the forefront of the evil government-run vampire concentration camp, and that Jesus freak is even freakier than we’d imagined. All it took was a kiss on the lips of Burrell’s bloody severed head for me to realize that we should be in for a thrill ride. Remember, Season 6 of True Blood has been shortened, as Sookie’s Anna Paquin was pregnant during filming. Meaning, the bloody goop was destined to hit the fan sooner and faster. Here is the Recap and Review of True Blood Season 6 Episode 7, “In the Evening!”

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From mind-blowing faery/ vampire sex to a quick shot to the morning after, Episode 7 opened with Sookie and new beau (?) Warlow (Rob Kazinsky) snuggling up in the grass of the secret faery realm cemetery. Warlow seems to be taking any semblance of attention from Sookie as an agreement to get hitched, when Stackhouse, admittedly, has been merely looking to own her uncanny ability to fall in love with danger. The conversation was cut short, as a grieving Arlene (Carrie Preston) prompted Sookie to head back to reality, where she was quick to offer a shoulder to cry on for her fellow Merlotte’s waitress. Honestly, these two have been through hell and high water together, wouldn’t you say? It was fitting to see Sookie reminding Arlene that she’s survived five prior seasons’ worth of tragedy in Bon Temps, and she’ll survive the loss of Terry as well.

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A devastated Arlene was also quick to jump on Lafayette back at the Bellefleur residence. Holly (Lauren Bowles) and Andy (Chris Bauer) attempted to help Arlene sift through Terry’s affairs and get through the arduous task of informing her kids of their father’s death. Meanwhile, Lafayette was hesitant to even take a peek inside of Terry’s safety deposit box. Luckily, the unflappable Ms. Stackhouse was in tow to help Lafayette decode what he’d discovered. Terry’s life insurance, a whopping sum of cash for Arlene, had been issued mere days prior. Thus, they were essentially alerted to Terry’s secondhand suicide.

In the meantime, Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and his ladies attempted to navigate the halls of the camp in disguise. With the help of Willa (Amelia Rose Blair), Northman escaped with ease, Nora (Lucy Griffiths) in his arms, leaving his progeny behind to inform Pam (Kristen Bauer van Straten) of the infected Tru-Blood supply. One thing I’d like to point out; I loved the chemistry between Eric’s “children.” We were led to assume that Pam would loath Willa straight out the gate, but I felt like I got some unlikely older sister vibes from her. I also saw what seemed like pride beaming off of Willa, as though she were truly happy to be a part of the Northman vampire family. If you follow my reviews, you know I love me a baby vamp, and Willa is no exception!

Northman ran straight to Bill with a dying Nora, pledging his allegiance to Compton’s cause if it meant saving his only sister. One thing I’m loving about Season 6 is the constant motif of religion and God. We know that Bill isn’t God, even Lilith has reminded us of that, but that doesn’t stop him from playing into his role as a divine icon. Nora initially refused the blood of Billith, but a little begging and persuasion from Eric was enough to entice Bill to try. When Bill’s blood failed, Eric’s last bit of faith would lie in Warlow, who was, of course, nowhere to be found.

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From within the camp, Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) continued to play double agent, disguised as a guard, and made good on his promise to aid Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), who was essentially imprisoned due to his beef with Sarah. Jessica, in truth, has been struggling with her own faith since murdering Andy’s children. Rather than fighting to escape, Jessica has spent her days in entrapment coming to terms with her looming doom. In the end, it was a moment with the mysterious James, the vampire who’d been punished for refusing to barbarically screw Jessica in front of an audience, that gave Jessica what she’d needed. Thanks to a private encounter set up by Jason, Jessica would end up, ironically, having willing sex with the man who taught her that vampires still have control over the fate of their souls. James had lost a fang for protecting Jessica, proving that humanity is not something so easily lost to corruption. Funny how a broken vampire fang symbolically stands for humanity, huh?

Unfortunately for Jason, no good deed goes unpunished. Sarah Newlin had discovered Truman’s decapitated corpse at his compound. I very much enjoyed the scene in which Sarah had a conversation with Burrell’s severed head, promising to keep his legacy alive in the name of God before kissing his cold lips one last time. We’re starting to see that Sarah Newlin is more than mere “church camp” crazy, as she’d seemed during the show’s second season. Season 6 Sarah has only just begun to reveal her over-zealous insanity, if I had to make an educated guess. Newlin orchestrated a cover-up of Burrell’s murder, deciding that she’d play governor as she sees fit from Episode 7 out. Jason would be the first casualty to suffer, as the leverage of their tryst disappeared with one decapitation. No more Burrell means no more power, and Jason was dropped, bleeding, into a room full of hungry female vamps. Luckily, Tara (Rutina Wesley) and her mysterious new lady friend were there to call off the buffet… at least, this week.

True Blood’s unknowing comparison between the perpetual virgin, Jessica, and the queen of sex, Pam, was also certainly something to watch. Pam, using the government’s psychiatrist to her advantage, banged her way from solitary to the gen-pop room, but not before another great couple of minutes of dialogue surrounding sexuality and the human “need to be devoured.” Pam uses sex as power, so it has no control over her.

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Sam (Sam Trammell) and Nicole (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) said their goodbyes with a steamy shower scene. Sam, having caught wind of Terry’s death through Lafayette, decided to risk a trip back to Bon Temps to grieve for his friend properly. Isn’t it interesting that in a show so full of death, the loss of Terry, the lovable bar cook, still stirs up such sentiments from this group? I’ll miss Terry too, Sam. Unfortunately for Nicole, and for Alcide (Joe Manganiello), things would not go so smoothly. Alcide had, if you remember, decided to let the pair go following Sam’s decision to hand Emma over to her grandmother, Martha; however, Alcide’s father might have the right idea when it comes to his view on this pack mentality. Alcide hasn’t been even remotely the same character since becoming the pack master, and the little lie he told his fellow wolves to cover Sam's tracks would come back to haunt him. They’d captured Nicole and her mother, and Alcide will be held to blame come Episode 8.

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Episode 7, “In the Evening,” had plently of moments deemed “my favorite,” but I especially enjoyed the scene between drunken Arlene and Vampire Bill at the Bellefleur home. Compton had made his presence known, in the daytime hours, in order to convince Sookie to help save their friends from vampire death row. It seems like the seeds have been planted in Stackhouse’s mind, but I think this scene was more important because of the suspense between Bill and Andy. Remember, Andy hasn’t come in contact with Bill since the murder of his girls. I guess shaking hands and bonding (?) over the loss of their young children was enough for Andy to put this behind him, although it did seem a bit quick to me. Granted, Bill is a scary vampire, but I was certain True Blood was going to drag out some sort of a vengeance/ atonement storyline between the two. I guess Jessica’s first post-camp encounter with Andy is what we’re supposed to be waiting for.

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The final scene of Season 6 Episode 7 of True Blood was a true tearjerker. Man, this show is handling the deaths of these beloved characters well this season. Bill would not make it back to the Compton home in time to save Eric’s much-loved sister, Nora. After a flashback to the days of the bubonic plague, to the moment when Eric first met a sick and dying yet utterly resilient Nora, she would bid her brother adieu before slowly decaying into vampire ooze in his arms. We’ve seen angry Eric Northman. We’ve seen enraged Eric Northman. This Eric, though, we have yet to behold. I can only imagine what kind of a stellar explosion is coming in the next few weeks.

Eric needs to call Arlene. The two need to hit the bottle together.

What did you think of True Blood Season 6 Episode 7, “In the Evening”? Are you sad to see Nora go? Are you enjoying how the show is handling the mourning process for Terry? Wasn’t Carrie Preston’s work as Arlene this episode some of her best yet? Are Sookie and Warlow heading down the aisle? Are we done with this werewolf arc? Are you enjoying the chemistry between Jessica and James? Will the dynamic duo of Bill and Eric end the War on Vampires in their favor?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of True Blood Season 6 Episode 7, “In the Evening”!