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Ohhh, Daphne “Thank you for your service” indeed! Now some might say that Daphne got just what she deserved by the hand of the forgiveness for frailty impaired Maryann, and they would be right. In fact, I had guessed that this week may be Daphne’s last appearance on the show. However, what does it say about me that I am bummed that Daphne was killed just as her character got somewhat interesting to me? In fact, I may have been happier had she been stabbed in the heart two weeks ago when she was still the bumbling silly “new girl”. At least then, there may have been some emotional impact, some emotional consequence involved. Now it just feels like the bad guy delivered her message then “got what was coming” which is not quite as interesting, as moving or as impactful.

Alternatively, a character I do feel more and more emotionally invested in each week is Hoyt. He is for me, the heart of the show right now.  The actor manages to ground the characters sweetness in an simple, honest reality that removes any danger of slipping into the saccharin or insincere. He is the sole representative of the truly loving, the truly accepting. He makes his choices and he accepts with grace and ease, the choices of others. “There aren’t any sluts really, just people trying to connect with somebody.” Now he may be naïve, and blind to the very real dangers around him. Or he may be quite brave and a man who chooses happiness over fear. In terms of emotional consequences, one of the bravest choices that this show could make at this time is to deepen Jessica’s relationship with Hoyt and the audiences’ relationship with him and then have her kill him by accident. Perhaps in a moment overcome by these new vampiric impulses, desires, urges that we have heard so much about. We would feel his loss, her anguish and would be faced with the reality (as it stands in the world they have created) that vampires are not people and cannot be held to the same standards as human. That would increase the stakes, the tension for every relationship on the show, and would have me, as the viewer truly on the edge of my seat and unaware of what may come next. As it stands now, I can sometimes barely tell the difference between the vampires and the humans on the show.

Now some people may not have loved it, but I really enjoyed the exchange between Eric and Isabelle. Firstly, I really like this actress, I find her portrayal of this character, understated, interesting and in some ways – I just like the sound of her voice. Additionally, it touched on what I have talked about in terms of illustrating the differences between vampires and humans in terms of the way they see and experience the world and “life” such as it is for them. They necessarily must experience differently that we do – when as human beings our mortality or perpetual state of decay, of movement of impermanence plays into every moment of our all too brief lives. Consciously or subconsciously our impermanence, our “lack of time” motivates us, worries us and to some degree frees us in a way that could never apply to an immortal creature. One frozen in a particular state of being, when our state is inconstant movement, constant flux. Now add to that that we are their food! It is in many ways like humans with animals, some of us are more closely connected to animals that others, but almost none of us feel that they are on an equal playing field with us. FYI I do. In the world created – the difference is of course that vampires were once humans, but that does not change the fact that they no longer are.

Oh poor Jason. Looks like he had no clue what he was doing when he bedded a church girl in a church! Of course Jason almost never knows what he’s doing really. Far as she’s concerned they’re pretty much married. The post coital scene between the two of them was one of the funniest moments of the show for me – and a great example of emotional consequences to actions for both of them. I was surprised that the Newlans had had no clue who he was in relation to Sookie, but the turn of events was an interesting one. Sarah will have to face a tough choice now. Her set up life, or her genuine morals when Jason finds out that they have his sister.

“The devil is a pretty Sunday bonnet” mmmhhhmmm Lafayette, speaking the truth. And Andy Bellefleur is playing the role of the divine fool to perfection, the only one who sees the truth, but too much the fool to be believed. But here’s the thing about the devil.  Each of us comes to the devil or comes to the divine of our own free will. And we often choose differently at various moments of our lives, and the choice, when it really counts, is almost never an easy one. The show right now seems to be taking some of that will from its characters. Things are becoming ever more polarized, and the characters more and more black and white – good or evil. Even Maryann, her character in the book is not at all this powerful or this controlling, she feeds off the lusts and violence and excesses that people choose to engage in of their own accord. This is far more true and real to me, more emotionally engaging than turning them into mobile sex zombies. Last year’s murders were more human, more felt – A) Because we really knew and cared about the victims and B) we knew and to some degree cared about the perpetrator. He was not forced to do it – he simply allowed himself to be overcome by his own hatred, his own fear, his own prejudice. The only people really walking a complex moral line right now are Jason, Lafayette and to some degree Eric. Though they are not allowing him as much complexity as I would like. The only people going to the “devil in a pretty Sunday bonnet” of their own accord are the members of the Fellowship of the Sun.

Now the Bill and Lorena flashbacks this week. I was – disappointed. I know many of you may disagree with me and honestly I’d love to hear your point of view. For me, this was a storyline that could have taken some patience, been explored with some depth to reveal levels to Bills character and his journey. Instead the show set us up last week by showing us a side to Bill we could scarcely have imagined existed and then backed right out of it this week with an oversimplified explanation for his behavior. In essence “she made me do it.” I think this character deserves more than that and deserves better. I am fine with the show veering away from the book in new and interesting ways that add to the world. As they did last season with development of Tara and Lafayette and the addition of the Amy Burley character who was great because she was as interesting and smart as she was a thieving “V” addict – as loving as she was depraved. However, if the changes take away from what is interesting about this world, from what was interesting about the world and the characters that were created last season by diluting them down to “moral good guy” and “immoral bad guy” respectively – then we have all lost out on something really good. Something fun, and fresh and lively and engaging and dynamic – something that stretches the boundaries the characters and keeps us interested in their growth, their development and their relationships. When I think of the characters in epic romances that I find the most engaging it is the Rhett’s and the Scarlett’s, the Heathcliff’s and Catherine’s. Deeply flawed people who are none the less passionate in their pursuit of themselves and each other. I would love to see more of the er, human element in these relationships a deeper exploration of love as an acceptance of what is imperfect, less as a characterization of what is. Now I’d love to hear from you guys so please post comments below here on the site my review or here on YouTube. Subscribe to our ThinkHero YouTube account, Follow us on Twitter at @ ThinkHero and @jrothc and for all the latest True Blood news, visit The Vault – trueblood-online.com which you can follow on twitter @The_Vault.