It seems a sure bet that True Blood's season five will go out on a very bloody note though despite solid acting turns by both the featured cast and the guest actors, Season 5 will not be remembered as the show's finest 12 hours.
As has been oft-repeated, there were just too many sub-plots with minor characters that made the overall feel of the show choppy and made viewing an exercise in patience, waiting for 'something' to happen to move the plot forward.
Even when the main plot, which was the goings on of the Vampire Authority, was front and center there seemed to be a great deal of dithering. We watched as the weeks progressed, vampire Authority members picking one another off (or in the case of Salome (Valentina Cervi) having Russell Edgington (Denis O'Hare) do the deed for her). Implausibly, Salome maintained that 'only Russell' could take out the 500-year old Authority leader 'Roman' (Chris Meloni) (who was featured for less than half the season), despite being 2000 years-old herself in order to further her 'Sanguinista' agenda of reverting to feeding on humans and discontinuing 'mainstreaming' altogether. It actually became tiresome when one realized that yet another scene was about to go down in the drab Authority meeting room.
So what to look forward to in the True Blood season 5 finale? The promo spells it out: Who will survive? but one could add 'with showrunner Alan Ball departing'? Ball doesn't do things in a small way--so will he finally 'release' one of his main characters? I have to come down on the side of 'no.'
I think that Russell will consume more faeries, that the remaining Authority members, Rosalyn (Carolyn Hennesy) and Salome will die at the hands of Bill and Eric and that Eric's sister, Nora (Lucy Griffiths) will be collateral damage and die as well. I also think Holly's (Lauren Bowles) son's are going to bite it via the hand of Maurella (Kristina Anapau), the spurned faery carrying Andy's (Chris Bauer) child.
I do not think Sam (Sam Trammell) is going to die but there's a 50-50 chance of Luna (Janina Gavankar) buying it. I notice Joe Manganiello ('Alcide') is listed as having 'guest star' status on the show so perhaps he'll die as well but more likely his old man, played by Robert Patrick will die in the course of saving his son, with whom in episode 11 he redeemed himself.
I'm on the fence regarding Russell's chance of surviving season 5, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the U.S. military/government takes him out since they've already stated that they are well-prepared to decimate the vampires. I'm pretty sure vampire headquarters is going to go up in smoke as hinted by both the title of the episode and Eric's urgent request that Bill leave the building.
So there's really no need to kill off the series' stars when the show is crammed to the brim with characters that were wedged into season 5.
Season 5 was a ho-hum season despite some stand-out performances, most notably by fan favourites Kristen Bauer van Straten ('Pam') and Deborah Ann Woll ('Jessica'). The reliably great Alexander Skarsgård (Eric) and the appealing Ryan Kwanten ('Jason') were also put to good use. It's hard to believe that Bill (Stephen Moyer) could become any more dour than he already was but he pulled it off. I like Moyer but I think his character was nearly insufferable in the second half of this season.
It would be nice if season 5 could go out on a high note with a well-crafted, season 1, 2 or even 3-caliber episode. Keep your fingers crossed.
True Blood Episode #60: "Save Yourself" Season 5, Episode 12 Episode Synopsis:
In the fifth-season finale, Eric makes one last attempt to thwart the Authority and save Bill from losing his humanity. Meanwhile, Alcide prepares for another battle with JD; Sam and Luna try to escape the Authority; and Andy deals with the fallout of a pact.
Original Air Date: Aug 26, 2012
Guest Cast Lucy Griffiths: Nora Louis Herthum: JD Valentina Cervi: Salome Joe Manganiello: Alcide Herveaux (via HBO)
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