Two factions gear up for battle in the latest episode
HBO
Anxiety overtook the usual sources of humor this week on True Blood. The funniest moment is at the beginning, when Sookie and Eric apparently crawl home on all four knees in what somehow manages to seem like an orgy with only two people involved. After that, Bon Temps is split by two rival gangs, each probably not alike in villainy, but each certainly terrified of the other and bent on revenge for past attacks—and bent on extermination to prevent future ones. It all comes to a head rather quickly, considering vampires and humans have been living together in Bon Temps for several years now without this level of upset. PR firms could use this example as a horror story to convince prospective clients of the importance of good public appearances. If only Bill hadn’t gotten so power-happy and had used more subtle methods to push the Wiccan group away from necromancy, maybe they could have staggered along in relative peace. But he did get power-happy, and the Wiccans dragged up a spirit with a score to settle, and now the town is suddenly immersed in gang warfare.
Antonia’s speech about the triumph of the human spirit seems to be hitting notes right on that line where freedom fighters transition into terrorists. It is cut and dry, us or them—great pre-battle rhetoric. She declares human spirits to be immortal, while vampires have only emptiness. As most rallies do, this leaves a lot of questions hanging in the air unasked—does it mean every vampire lost their human spirit at the moment of transformation? Does said spirit just get extinguished or does it float around in the ether the same way the spirits of the dead do? What do spirits DO all the time they’re floating around? Apparently not much, because it certainly didn’t distract Antonia during the last 400 years, but you’d think inquiring minds would want to know, just for future reference. For a small group of people about to take on a bunch of vampires, the situation of the afterlife seems like a pretty urgent question—but they hardly ask any questions at all, swept along by panic and Antonia’s oratory.