by Sarabeth Pollock:
True Blood Recap: “Radioactive”
Original Air Date (HBO): Sunday August 18, 2013
Season 6 Episode 10
Where did Eric vanish to?
Sookie watches the gravediggers pour the final dirt on Terry’s grave. Alcide stayed behind to offer her a ride to the Bellefleur Mansion. He offers to accompany her on a walk, and while they’re walking she expresses sadness that Jason wasn’t there. He hints that some guys are never there for you, and he assures her that death will always pull the rug out from under you, but life goes on. He wishes he was telepathic, too, so that he could get inside her head. Alcide has changed a lot since his pack turned on him. And it looks like he’s still smitten with Sookie. Just as he connects with her, he picks up the scent of vampires. They follow the trail to Bill’s house, where a bunch of vampires are making their way through the daylight into the yard. Once they arrive, the clothes come off and the vampire orgy begins as some vamps start getting it on while others just enjoy the feeling of the sun on their skin. Pam lies in the grass while Jason gives his lady vamp a ride on his shoulders. Sookie realizes that Bill was right, and she starts to go off toward the house. Alcide tries to stop her but she assures him that she’s a survivor, too.
The vampires cast off their clothing and throw it in a fire pit. Some younger vamps suggest a Target run to get a volleyball set. Jason and Violet (aka Crazy Bitch Vampire) are exchanging blood in a tree. He thinks the time has come where he wants to have sex with her, but Violet doesn’t agree. She gives Jason her blood as Sookie rushes over to him and demands to know what is going on. Violet doesn’t take kindly to the interruption and wonders why Jason never mentioned a sister. When they convince her that it’s the truth, Violet says that Sookie is her sister, too, and she kisses her. “Sook, meet Violet. She’s European,” Jason offers. Uh, yeah. She leaves the siblings to catch up. She warns Jason not to fall for the forever thing. Pam rushes over to give Sookie a hug, telling her that she’s actually happy to see her. Tara tells her to back off so she can hug Sookie. Bill watches from afar as Sookie says goodbye to Jason and leaves.
Sookie returns to Faery to find Warlow preparing a maypole. He explains the ancient ceremony that will make them husband and wife. Sookie confesses that things have changed in the four hours since she’s seen them. Now that her friends and family are safe, she doesn’t think they need to rush off to get married. She wants them to date so she can see how well they fit together. Warlow points out that he upheld his end of the bargain, and he doesn’t really see himself as a movies and bowling guy. Besides, who would she introduce him to? Certainly not Bill and Eric, who “chained and drained” him. When she asks for more time, he strikes her across the face and demands to know who she thinks she’s talking to. Somehow I think the hearts and flowers stage are over.
Back at Bill’s house, volleyball net is up and Jason is having an Iceman/Top Gun moment. He and Jessica are getting a bit too flirty for Violet’s liking. Violet serves the ball so that it smacks Jessica and sends her to the ground, apologizing that she’s a bit rusty. Yeah, there’s a little tension here. James is just happy to be there. Pam is standing back in the trees watching the game. She’s wearing a cute purple jacket, which is much better than the Yellow Kitty sweat suit she wore on Tara’s birthday. Tara notices her brooding Maker and wants to know what’s wrong. Pam asks if Willa has noticed that Eric is gone, and Tara immediately suspects that Pam is going to go after him. She threatens to release Tara if she gets in her way. Before she leaves, she asks Tara to watch over Willa. Tara tells Pam that she and Eric are the worst Makers ever.
Bill is also brooding. He’s in his office with the lights out and he’s playing with a glass. Jessica interrupts him and the glass shatters. He tells her that as he has healed, he has stopped feeling Lilith’s powers. He confesses to Jessica that all of this came at a huge cost, namely Sookie. In order to save them, he made it possible for Sookie to run straight into Warlow’s arms in exchange for Warlow’s blood. He pushed her away, and now she’s going to become a vampire. Jessica tells Bill that the Bill Compton she knows would walk through fire to save Sookie. He asks Jason for help, but Jason can’t believe that Sookie would willingly go with the vampire fucker that killed his parents. Their only hope is to get into Faery through the portal, but they’d need Faery blood and the only other Faery is Adilyn. Jason offers to go get her, and Violet goes with (eyeing Jessica, she adds that he’ll never be alone again). What Jason doesn’t know is that Adilyn is at her Uncle Terry’s wake….
In the meantime, Bill pushes Takahashi through the woods. Takahashi apologizes that he couldn’t synthesize the blood and thinks Bill is going to kill him. However, Bill glamours him so that he doesn’t remember what he saw, and he gives him a bag of money to take home to his family to make up for his absence.
Jason and Violet arrive at Andy’s house. When Andy gets to the door, he wants to know where Jason has been. He sees Violet, but when Jason says he needs to invite her in, he yells for Holly to take Adilyn upstairs. Violet assures him that she’s 800 years old and though his daughter smells good, she’s in no danger. When Jason says that Sookie is in danger, Adilyn stops and wants to hear him out. Jason says that he’s sorry for what happened to her sisters, but he’s about to lose his sister to the same monster who killed his parents. Andy tells Jason that he can’t put his daughter at risk, but Adilyn insists because Sookie is the only other person like her in Bon Temps. Andy reluctantly agrees, but they have to go in heavy. And heavy is the only way Jason rolls. Together they lay out an entire arsenal of ammunition to get ready for their battle.
In Faery, Warlow secures Sookie so that she can’t get away. He tells her that he was never supposed to be a vampire, and he would have had a great life and Lilith robbed him of that. Sookie points out that she can’t replace that for him, but he isn’t worried about that. When she conjures her magic ball of light, he laughs because he knows she won’t use it on him, but she points out that she could use it to rid herself of her Faery side, and then he’d just have a vampire bride instead of a Faery-vampire bride. He restrains her even more, and, leaning close, he tells her that her instincts were right, and at the most basic level he just wants to fuck her and use her for blood. And now it’s nighttime in the real world, so he bites her.
Jason, Violet, Andy and Adilyn arrive at the cemetery. Bill is there waiting for them, and he thanks Andy for helping them. Warlow is feeding on Sookie, and Adilyn is able to contact her telepathically. Sookie tells her that she doesn’t want to be a vampire. It’s happening, Adilyn tells the group. Poor Adilyn is only two weeks old so she doesn’t know how to harness her power. Violet manages to scare it out of her, and when they land in Faery, a whole lot happens all at once. Bill distracts Warlow so that Violet can grab Sookie. Once she’s safe, Bill tells them all to leave and get Sookie to safety. Bill manages to land the maypole in Warlow’s chest but it isn’t enough to kill him. Meanwhile, the gang takes Sookie back to her house. Jason invites Violet inside and tells Andy that Adilyn will be safe in the cubby hole.
Warlow brings Bill back to the real world and flies away to Sookie’s house. Of course, Bill follows. Andy is patrolling outside and thinks he shot Warlow, but he didn’t. Warlow grabs Andy and knocks him out, and then he blasts Violet and locks Jason, Adilyn and Andy in the cubby. Then he goes off in search of Sookie. Sookie is hiding in the bathroom where she first saw the apparition of Warlow in the mirror. When Warlow moves to attack her, Niall pops out of the portal and restrains Warlow, and then he calls for Jason to finish him off. (Adilyn was able to use her power to get them out of the cubby) Jason drives a stake through Warlow’s heart, and he cracks and starts to bleed before becoming a pile of goo on the tile. Jason and Sookie help pull Niall out of the portal. Meanwhile, every vampire that has had Warlow’s blood finds that the magic is wearing off. It’s nighttime in Bon Temps, but Eric is sunbathing in the nude in Sweden when the magic wears off. He starts to burn…and burn…and…what the fuck? Did Eric just die?
Six months later.
News reports discuss the effects of Hep V as scientists try to figure out how to combat it. That’s when they introduce the New York Times bestselling author of And God Bled, William Compton. Bill has written a book about the experience. The reporter asks if it’s true that he ripped Governor Burrell’s head off. That makes the book a confession. Bill wrote the book to reestablish the trust. In Bon Temps, Sookie watches as he talks about his intentions. That’s when a shirtless Alcide comes to get her and bring her back to bed. Huh? At Jason’s house, Jason is busy servicing Violet, and when she’s in her happy place, he starts to undo his pants when she stops him. It has been 178 days since he’s had sex, he complains, and yet he has taken care of her needs. She reminds him that she never promised to make it easy for him. He reminds her that he built a girly house for her, and he hasn’t looked at another woman. “In due time,” she laughs. And she asks for him to go again.
Sookie and Alcide arrive to church while Andy and Sam have a conversation about church and state. The people of Bon Temps don’t know who is in charge anymore and it feels like they’ve been abandoned. The church is the only place that is still sacred to them. Inside, Sookie finds Jason and they submit to blood tests to see if they are carriers of Hep V. Jason pushes Sookie in front of him. After all they’ve been through, she sighs, this is the least of their concerns. During the service, the pastor hands over his pulpit to Terry’s favorite Reverend Daniels. Sam and Andy are seated on the stage. They have merged congregations to encourage people to get to know each other and inspire togetherness. Reverend Daniels talks about the bands of vampires that are out to kill the humans. They need to come together. He calls upon the mayor—Sam Merlotte—to explain what the blood tests are for. Sam tells people that infected vampires are not as strong as healthy humans. Sam and Bill have come together to host a party at Bellefleur’s Bar and Grille (Arlene smiled) so people can get their results. He is also asking for these people to consider becoming monogamous feeding partners for healthy vampires. Every human needs a healthy vampire friend.
At the party, James sings while Jessica watches him proudly. Lafayette dines on some good food. Jason and Violet seem to have some tension between them. Some people are tense, but most of the people are enjoying the fraternization and the food. Arlene has outdone herself with all of the food. Alcide and Sookie get their test results and they’re all clear. They agree to stay at the party for one hour to say hello, and then they’re leaving. Bill hasn’t shown up yet. Tara and Willa eye the potential feeding partners, and Tara’s mother shows up. Willa introduces herself and Lettie May asks if she can convince Tara to speak with her. Her mother wants to apologize to Tara for everything she has done over the course of her whole life. When Tara’s father left, it destroyed Lettie May and she let the hurt get in the way of her relationship with Tara. She confesses to forgetting to feed Tara for days at a time. She wants Tara to feed from her to make things right. She begs Tara to feed as a way for them both to heal. “Let me nourish my baby girl!” she sobs. Tara pops her fangs and feeds from her.
Andy and Adilyn are at home during the party. There is a knock at the door and Andy brings a gun to answer it. It’s Jessica, and Andy levels his gun at her. Jessica wants to protect his family. She wishes she could bring the girls back, but she can’t. So instead she offers her protection to keep the family safe. Andy shuts the door on her and Jessica walks away. She stands guard outside anyway.
Alcide and Sookie return to their car. Bill is in the parking lot, wondering if they’re leaving. He asks if he can speak to Sookie privately. Alcide won’t leave, so Bill tells them both that she needs a vampire in her life. He assures her that his intentions are noble, and that she can trust him. Sookie tells him that even at his best, she could never really trust him. That’s when Bill and Alcide pick up a scent. In the distance, scores of hungry infected and/or unruly vampires descend upon the party like a twisted version of Walkers from The Walking Dead. Oh, crap.
And that was it.
I’ll be honest with you. I was afraid of this episode because it could go so many ways. Here are my thoughts:
- I’m glad Warlow is dead.
- Niall—welcome back. Where have you been?
- Eric. WTF??
- Where did Pam go?
- Mayor Merlotte? How did that happen?
- We needed more Lala tonight.
- I’m so glad Alcide is back on the right side. It figures that he’s with Sookie now. Is it me, or did that just kind of happen all of a sudden?
- The “every human needs a vampire” thing is cute.
- Eric. Still asking WTF?
- What was going on with Jason and Violet?
- If Willa is all right, then maybe Eric isn’t dead. Maybe he’s just crispy.
- Where o where is this show going??
As you know, True Blood was renewed for a seventh season. There is talk that it might be the last season. At this point, the door is open again for the plots to be fluffier and less intense than they have been the past few seasons. If the show runners can recapture that light side again, the show might be able to go another two or three seasons. But maybe it would be best to end on a positive note.
So, what did you think about tonight’s episode? Is Eric dead? Post your thoughts and comments below.
See you next summer, fellow Truebies!
Sarabeth Pollock is a contributor for Dark Media. She covers The Walking Dead, True Blood, Doctor Who and American Horror Story, as well as the True Blood comics and whatever movies and books happen to catch her fancy. This fall she will also cover the new NBC series Dracula, premiering this fall. She’s an avid writer, reader, and pop culture fan, with interest in everything from Star Trek to Anne Rice to Deborah Harkness. She’s also a nerd who loves the color pink. Follow her on Twitter at @SarabethPollock and check out her blog at http://sarabethpollock.wordpress.com
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