HOLLYWOOD—How much heartache can one heroine take before it becomes too much for one too handle? Who knows, but in Sookie’s (Anna Paquin) case, death is something that has become apart of her life. Reeling from the death of her lover and friend Alcide (Joe Manganiello), Sookie made it her mission to locate the H-vamps that have taken her friends hostage in “Death is Not the End.”

 

Jason (Ryan Kwanten) had to break the news to Hoyt that his mother had passed, and he blamed himself for it. Sookie was also forced to break the news to Alcide’s father of his son’s passing. Sam (Sam Trammell) interrupted the bonding moment between brother and sister, as a new mission came to fruition. Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) was back in full form as he convinced Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) to take a trip back to

New Orleans. The audience was given the scoop on how Pam and Eric came to run Fangtasia back in 1986; surprise, Eric was once a sheriff! It became quite apparent that Pam and Eric have been watched by the Vampire Authority for years.

Sookie was a bit hesitant about making a promise to Arlene’s (Carrie Preston) children about their mother’s safe return. This meant Sookie, Jason and Sam doing their best to breakthrough to a memory loss Holly (Lauren Bowles) about where she was being held captive. Sensational acting on Bowles’ front! Jason was forced to pull his weapon on Sam to prevent him from attempting to save Nicole and the others, without the assistance of vampires.  

 

Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) grappled with her inability to heal, just as James (Nathan Parsons) asked for assistance from Bill (Stephen Moyer) regarding her intervention. Sookie arrived to the house to have a little girl talk with Jessica about not feeding, and gave the harshest dose of reality ever, which forced Jess to snap out of her bad mood.

 

Sookie and Bill continued to bond, as she allowed him to feed off of her. He was a bit hesitant at first, but gave into temptation. Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) did his best to convince Jess to forgive herself over her past transgressions, and she fed off of her friend. I must admit the continuous flashbacks between Eric and Pam were a bit of a bore; not much really transpired. I felt as the flashbacks were implemented to take up space for the episode.

 

Everyone gathered at Bill’s place to devise a plan to rescue those still being held captive and was surprised to see Eric and Pam join the clan looking for Willa, but Sookie’s charm immediately grabbed Eric’s attention.  He was none too pleased to hear about Alcide, and his former flame’s predicament. Eric and Pam revealed to the gang another entrance into Fangtasia, where Sam snuck inside to let everyone know help was on the way, but the H-vamps were bound to take another, as they begin to feed on Arlene. The plan was intact, but the humans decided to impact the ambush which created a bit of chaos. Sookie panicked as she did her best to keep Arlene alive, but Eric and Bill were no where to help her. Sookie saw Arlene slowly slipping away and she begged her friend to fight to survive.

 

Wow, this is an emotional episode to say the least.  Terrific acting from the entire cast to say the least! I seriously thought Arlene was a goner for a moment, but the writers decided not to take another fan favorite so soon.  In the midst of the entire melee, the episode concluded with a happy moment shared between Eric and Sookie.

 

Next week looks promising as Eric and Pam begin their mission to locate Sarah Newlin. Until next Sunday “True Blood” lovers!