True Blood keeps the exposition coming in episode 7, “This May Be The Last Time”

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A tender moment. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO
A tender moment. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

It’s another episode full of story set up and a ton of talking this week on True Blood, the HBO vampire romance-drama that’s now seven episodes into it’s final season.

The plot moves inexorably on toward some sort of conclusion, but seems to be more of an exercise in arranging characters so that they can fall in love and have sex with each other. Eric and Pam continue their search for Sarah Newland, Holli and Andy keep looking for Adilyn and Wade, Sookie still holds out hope that there will be a cure for Bill, who she infected with the Hepatitis-V virus her own darn self.

Here’s hoping that the endless plot devices slow down and merge into a series finale we can all be excited about in the next three episodes before it’s all over and done with.

Keep reading to see all the spoiler-y detail of this week’s episode of True Blood.

Eric, Pam and the head yakuza cowboy have Sarah Newland’s sister tied down to a bed frame. They try to get her to tell them where Sara, now Numi, is hiding out so they can get the antidote to the Hep-V virus. After some back and forth, she lets slip that Sarah is in fact the cure herself. She refuses to tell them where Sarah is, so Eric gets pissy and stakes her through the heart.

The credits roll.

Season 7, Episode 7, “May Be the Last Time”
Written by Craig Chester
Directed by Simon Jayes

Jessica and Sookie are moping over how fast Bill’s infection is happening. Maybe it’s because Sookie is a fairie. Bill gets a phone call from Andy, who wants to talk to Jessica, who can tell them if Adilyn is in danger.

Bill’s condition continues to advance rapidly. Sookie refuses to accept that there is no cure. Bill and Jessica go down for the night in Bill’s bed. Jessica questions Sookie’s resolve to not accept Bill’s death. Sookie says that she’s counting on a miracle.

Hoyt shows up with a hot girl in tow at Bellefleur’s restaurant. It’s apparently the only place to eat. Bridgette is Hoyt’s new microbiologist girlfriend who lives with him up in Alaska.

Group hug. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO
Group hug. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

Jason shows up to talk to Hoyt, but ends up mooning over Hoyt’s hot girlfriend. Bridgette, for her part, insists Jason sit down and have breakfast with them. He takes them to the morgue, and Hoyt wishes for one more guilt-trip. Jason can’t seem to keep his eyes off of Bridgette, even as she asks Jason to comfort Hoyt about his dead mother.

Violet leads Wade and Adilyn to a big gothic cobwebby house, full of polar bear and tiger trophy kills. She leads them to the crazy sex dungeon with dildos, strap ons, nipple clamps, and the like. “Have fun fucking,” she says, on her way out to take a vampire nap.

The kids hop into bed, stripped to their undies, while they try to figure out all the sex toys and lubes. Neither one of them are really into the crazy toys, and they express this out loud. Then they have sex without the toys.

That night, Violet wakes up in her coffin, evil smile on her face. She heads to the room with Wade and Adilyn, and proceeds to tie the fairy down to the bed, tossing Wade off the bed. Jessica feels Adilyn’s fear.

Andy and Holli spend a ton of time not finding the two teenagers, and they take a moment out at a lakehouse so Andy can cry a bit and wonder why he lives in such a crazy town. Holli promises Andy that this story will have a happy ending, because she’s a Wiccan and super intuitive.

The doctor is in. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO
The doctor is in. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

Bill has a dream flashback to Bon Temps 1855. Bill’s father says Bill will marry Caroline Shelby so that the lands of the two families will combine. Daddy Compton is dying, and wants to protect his family after he’s dead.

Bill goes to a garden party with his parents and meets the Shelby family, and then Caroline herself. They’re smitten at first sight. Caroline is pleased that Bill isn’t as rotund as his father. The two take a walk and then Bill is woken up by the dwarven Doctor Ludwig.

A massive jeep pulls up to Sookie’s house, death metal pouring out from the windows. Out hops a tiny little old woman using a cane, carrying a medical bag. The dwarfish Dr. Ludwig is dressed in floral medical scrubs, and tells Sookie that she fears nothing and no one, and has no natural enemies.

Dr. Ludwig freaks out, though, when she hears that Sookie is related to Niall Brigant, Sookie’s grandfather. “I’m fucking out of here,” she says, noticeably frightened.

Sookie heads to the cemetery and the Compton headstones. She calls out to her fairy grandfather Niall for help, though he doesn’t appear. Sookie’s running out of miracles, and she heads back to her house, only to find Niall gathering ingredients for a spaghetti dinner. Niall says that dwarves are afraid of fairy royalty, since the fairies killed a bunch of dwarves back in the day.

Niall and Sookie head back to the Compton place; Grandpa veers off to channel “nature’s memory.” The two fairies channel Bill’s memory of having a baby with his wife. Sookie’s not impressed about the baby. Niall tells Sookie to grow up – love, birth, death, forgiveness: these are all miracles.

Niall goes on to tell Sookie that Bill can’t be cured with magic, and he’s sorry. Ugh – so much talky talk in this episode.

Numi starts seeing things. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO
Numi starts seeing things. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

Sarah Newland pulls up to the building where the church of the New Sun used to be. She starts hearing inspirational singing, ball games, and then she sees Jason Stackhouse playing football. He tells her she’s going to die alone. “Your number’s up,” says this angry vision of Jason.

LaFayette and Lettie Mae are digging holes in some front yard.

Sam is ambivalent about moving away from Bon Temps, his home. Nicole wants to leave, Sam loves her, but feels like leaving Bon Temps is treasonous. Arlene, now the owner of the bar Sam used to own, asks him to decide if he wants to run to something or from something. Arlene says that she’s been faking it.

This is all the screen time these two stories get all episode.

The bar owner and the bassist. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO
The bar owner and the bassist. Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO

Arlene turns out the light at her bar, Bellefleur’s, and boom, there’s a scary vampire waiting for her in the dark. He came to see her home. It’s Keith the bassist vampire. After some protestation, Arlene kisses the hell out of Keith. She’s suddenly a fang-banger like the rest of the Bon Temps team. They go at it, full-on missionary on the pool table, until Arlene wakes up. Hah! Fooled you, it’s another vampire blood dream, just like Jason’s of Eric back in episode one.

Later, vampire Keith shows up at Bellefleur’s to meet Arlene. She’s not dreaming; he heard her pain. Arlene tells Keith that she’s Hep-V positive, so they can’t have sex. Keith is super sweet. “Then, let’s just dance,” he says.

Pam and Eric argue over Eric losing it and killing Sarah Newland’s sister. Pam reminds Eric that Sarah can no longer be killed, since she’s the magic cure. The head Yakimono corporation guy, Jackie, offers Pam and Eric 49 percent of the “Nu Blood” company that Sarah Newland’s blood will engender.

Why do they want Eric? Well, because Eric is handsome and can become the Nu Blood spokesperson.

The Yakimono corporation finds Numi on the baseball field via their special satellite. They head off to capture her, but head corporation guy lingers over a video feed of Eric and Pam – “You can find another vampire,” says a lackey. Apparently, this CEO’s word is not “oak,” as he promised several times in an earlier scene.

Eric wakes up, sees the house is stripped, and thinks the Yakinomo corporation has fled the scene. He and Pam rush out the front door, only to find Jackie, the CEO, waiting for them. His word, I guess, was actually good.

Back at the church, Numi is praying rather frantically in the chapel. She has a vision of Steve Newland, her guru, and the head of the mayor of Bon Temps, who she’d slept with as well.

Steve says there’s still time to save her soul. The Guru says there’s no heaven or hell, just now or emptiness. Sarah chooses neither Christianity or Buddhism. She chooses herself. “I am the messiah.” A vision of Jason shows up, telling her that the sound of the cars rushing to her location is death coming for her.

Pam, Eric, and the head of the Yakinomo Corporation pull up, and get out of their cars.

Cut to Sookie, rushing to Bill’s house at night, clad only in a nightie. “I’m not going to leave you,” she tells him. They kiss.

Bill Compton and Sookie Stackhouse make beautiful love together in front of the fireplace. Bill’s Hep-V veins are in full view, along with the rest of these characters’ naked bodies. Fade to black, with the sounds of Ndidi O’s “This May Be The Last Time, I Don’t Know” to take us out.

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