True Blood Watch: Season 5, Episode 11 - Sunset

For many a drama series, the second-to-last episode of the season is the set up for something big. It's the prime time to kick the momentum up a few notches in anticipation of the grand finale. While True Blood's fifth season stalled numerous times over the course of the summer, "Sunset" did leave us with a couple of little cliffhangers leading into next Sunday night's finale.

God is a vampire.
That Lilith sure does get around, doesn't she? Tonight the fabled first-vampire appeared to more than one Authority member, claiming she's chosen them, and wants them to drink all of her. Bill went to the blood and found Kibwe there. And when he claimed he was chosen, Bill killed him. Since Salome had a similar vision, a showdown between Bill and her seems to be a likelihood, and the Authority is probably ripe for a proper implosion.

It's worth noting that Bill's religious fanaticism has turned him into kind of an a-hole. He's so blinded by his obsession with Lilith that he's pushing Jessica around and forgetting every other priority in his life. He's also making some really foolish calls, like thinking that sending a couple thuggish vampires along with untrustworthy people is enough to keep them efficiently looked after. He sent two guards with Jessica when she suggested turning Jason to protect him (an obvious ruse in an effort to get to Jason to protect him, and Bill saw right through it). With a little help from Jessica, Jason managed to kill both of them with wooden bullets. And then later, Bill sent guards along with Nora and Eric, and those two guards also got killed, courtesy of Eric. (Did anyone else think the windshield splatter was a bit reminiscent of Marvin's death in Pulp Fiction?)

Speaking of Eric and Nora, it seems Nora's back on board with Eric after the vision featuring Godric and Lilith. Apparently, seeing her maker get his neck scratched open was enough to convince her that this Lilith thing is BS. Nora and Eric get the prize for the steamiest moment of the season, which gets points for managing to create an intense, emotional and sexy moment with minimal nudity and very few words spoken. (And extra points for avoiding overuse of the brother/sister ick-factor we saw the last time Eric and Nora went at it). The bedroom scene emphasized their connection perfectly.

Other Authority issues…
Eric killed a military general in an effort to create a way for him and Nora to leave, claiming they needed to go on a glamour campaign to cover up Russell and Newlin's frat-house mess.

While some people were breaking out of the Authority, Luna and Sam had broken in and got themselves caught there, though it seems the guards thought both of them were merely part of the naked food supply being held captive, so they're more in danger of being eaten right now than anything else.

Pam was also arrested and brought to the Authority due to the Sheriff's murder. She commanded Tara to keep her mouth shut about it, so it seems Pam's going to take the fall. Or she'll be bait to draw Eric back into the situation. This season's had some great Pam moments. Being a maker suits her and in general, her character's developed a bit more this season, beyond just being Eric's progeny. So I really hope she manages to make it out of the Authority alive.

Faerie Elder
Erica Gimpel (Veronica Mars, Fame) guest starred tonight as a pop-music-pondering elder faerie with some cryptic answers for Sookie and a body full of turbo-charged faerie blood ripe to be drained by Russell. After giving Sookie vague answers about Warlow, including a comment about Sookie being "tested" and her life being intertwined with the vampire, Elder rallied the other fairies to fight Russell, let Jason use himself as bait to get them there, and then attempted to zap them to death. Only it didn't work, Russell drained Elder dry and is now all filled up with turbo-charged fairy blood.

It looked like Jason got hurt during the altercation, but that seemed to be up in the air. And the episode ended with Russell able to see the fairy burlesque so the buffet is basically open. Not good.

In other news
Andy and Holly seem to be in a good place, and Holly made her sons apologize for putting Andy's butt on Facebook. But now it looks like Morella's carrying Andy's baby, so it's just a matter of time before that comes out. And Holly's a witch, so that might be a problem for Andy if she doesn't appreciate him getting a fairy pregnant. He sure knows how to pick his girlfriends.

Finally, there are baby vampires forming packs out there and attacking people. Alcide and his father Jackson, who's been outcast from the pack due to some kind of theft situation, teamed up to fight some of the new vampires. Alcide was nearly on his own in the endeavor, "playing the hero" in the situation, but when he nearly got his neck snapped by a new vampire, his father showed up in the nick to turn two of three of them into goo. Go Robert Patrick!

And that wraps it up for the week. The two biggest cliffhangers seem to reside with Bill vs. Salome and Russell vs. the Fairies. We'll have to wait until next week to see where the story goes. It's hard to imagine the finale redeeming the season over all, but I'm predicting some kind of big Warlow reveal. And I might be wrong to think this way, but I'm sort of hoping Russell will survive, because he's so much fun to watch.