‘True Blood’ Season 4 Episode 6 Recap

Anna Paquin and Alexander Skarsgard in True Blood Season 4
Anna Paquin and Alexander Skarsgard in 'True Blood' Season 4 - ©HBO

How many big storylines can True Blood squeeze in during one season? The answer is apparently five more than necessary, judging by what was packed into the sixth episode of the 2011 season.

Episode six found Jesus and Lafayette searching for a creature to sacrifice in order to be protected from vampires, Arlene and Terry surviving a horrifying fire while baby Mikey laughed on the lawn at a figure only he could see, and the full moon sending Jason into a panic over the prospect of becoming a werepanther.

Meanwhile, Jessica was feeling all protective of Jason after giving him her blood to heal, and she’s still feeling guilty over cheating on Hoyt. Jason finally opened up to his sister, Sookie, about what happened in Hotshot, while Sookie continued to have major league vampire problems of her own after being caught nearly naked with Eric by her ex-vampire lover/now the King of Mississippi Bill Compton. Eric, still suffering from amnesia as the result of a witch’s spell, attacked Bill before bending his knee to his king and being taken away to die.

Pam spent the episode doing her best Wicked Witch of the West impression as her flesh continued to melt away at an alarming rate. Tara’s lover arrived to confront her with her lies, while Sam’s little brother Tommy freaked out in front of a mirror and unexpectedly shapeshifted into Sam. That storyline allowed actor Sam Trammell the chance to stretch his muscles and act like Marshall Allman as Tommy would act if he was inside Sam Merlotte’s body.

While all the shapeshifting was going on, Sam’s new girlfriend Luna showed up and Tommy as Sam never let on he was not his brother. And speaking of shifters, Debbie Pelt and Alcide argued over whether to join the werewolf pack and helped Sookie out with a were question.

On the witch front, Marnie went into a trance and witnessed Antonia being fed on by vampire priests. Once again we got to see Antonia tied to a stake with the fire ready to consume her, but this time the scene expanded to show Antonia casting a spell to call out the vampire priests into the sun to meet with their true deaths.

And, finally, we return to the most important storyline of True Blood – the Bill/Sookie/Eric love triangle. Bill asked for and received permission to kill Eric after telling Nan that Eric could be used as a powerful weapon against vampires by Marnie or whoever she’s channeling. But, seriously, did anyone believe Alan Ball and HBO would kill off Eric? No, not unless they wanted to put a quick, unsatisfying, and totally ridiculous end to the show.

Killing off Sookie’s fairy godmother was one thing, but to kill off Eric would have drained the blood from True Blood and there was no way that was going to happen (Alan Ball’s contract has already been renewed for season five). Instead, Team Eric members (yes, I’m an Eric fan) were finally treated to the scene we’ve been waiting for years to enjoy. It wasn’t the same as what happens in book four of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series, but considering how incredibly far from the source material True Blood wanders, it was satisfying in its own way.