Close To The End: The Racialicious Roundtable For True Blood 5.7

The summer heat is closing in, and this season drags on. Each week, we lose more roundtable members. For episode 5.7, “In the Beginning,” only Joe, Tami, and Alea are with me to share their thoughts on an increasingly dull season.

Sookie’s Fae PowersJoe: Half fae? That’s a marked increase from the books of about 30%.

Alea: There has to be something else that makes her special. Just being half-fae doesn’t seem to be enough.

Latoya: Be interesting if the vamp who killed her parents was Bill. Or maybe Eric.

Joe: It will be. That’s the only reason they aren’t showing the face. She’ll find out as her and Eric have sex up the stairs again, cue crying, woe-is-me stances, and the like.

The Hate Group, Revealed

Joe: “Lamestream media?” I’ll take “Go-to GOP Satiric Phrases” for 100, Alex.

Alea: This whole scene feels like such a cheap shot at rural Southern folk, a group the writers seem to think of as “real racists.”

Joe: This hate group seems like a bunch of whiny idiots. And they don’t even know why a hate group is called a hate group. I really hope they aren’t going to attack Jessica.

Latoya: Let’s discuss this hate group a bit more. Because WTF. What did they do, watch a couple old eps of Jerry Springer and pull together a plot arc around it?

Joe: Yes, lets. I love how they stuck in a token black guy (I see you, Damien from Harry’s Law) so that the hate group doesn’t read “racist” but “supernaturalist”. P.S. I’m totally claiming the supernaturalist.tumblr.com.

Alea: Token black guy, token hapa-looking guy. We finally get to see two types of PoC in a room together and they’re exercising their agency by being in a hate group [that’s all about love]. Clayton Bigsby they are not. Can the title of this roundtable be “O Hai, Shark! I’m Jumping You: Alan Ball Has Lost His GD Mind”?

Alcide Prepares Joe: I take one year of werewolf combat training, please.

Latoya: Guess Alcide is a part of the “the best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody” school of thought.

Alea: Ugh. Pardon while I feel around the floor looking for my eyes. I rolled them so damn hard at this hackneyed and utterly unsexy drivel that they seem to have popped right out of my head. I’ve seen better chemistry on General Hospital.

Latoya: Well, we all know nothing compares to Sook. “It’s been seven hours…thirteen days…”

Damn ArleneLatoya: This scene with Arlene watching the wedding video is oddly touching. I think this was what Kendra was saying–the normalcy actually does make things better.

Joe: I would agree with you there. There was a bit of homegrown simplicity that the show has been missing lately. They need to strike more of a balance.

Tami: The True Blood cast really has fantastic chemistry. We haven’t had a chance to see enough of that mostly due to the volume of plotlines. It was nice to be reminded that these folks are a community.

Alea: Eh, overly long and too self-consciously folksy. And I guess I don’t understand why she’d be watching her wedding tape at work? Not that anyone who works at Merlotte’s operates at the pinnacle of occupational professionalism.

Where’d Lafayette’s Common Sense Go?Joe: OMG, Laffy, it looks like a scene out of that VHS movie. Why did you not bring backup?

Latoya: Right? At this point all of Bon Temps should be on a buddy system.

Alea: Sookie even referenced that earlier this season. “Never split up when walking into an abandoned hospital” is pretty much the same idea as “never walk into a psycho brujo’s house alone.” Writers, we all know Laffy’s way too smart for this type of rookie mistake. And why would his inner brujo pour bleach in gumbo over getting the side-eye from Arlene, but not come out when that nutter was sewing his lips shut?

Joe: I’m 400% sure I’m not going to want to see what’s going on with this pregnant lady. There are some scenes (like this) where I find the closest magazine and attempt to listen to what’s going on. If I didn’t do this roundtable I’d go get a sandwich right now. What you gonna do, I guess.

Latoya: See, now would be the time for a strategic possession. Marnie, Mavis, anyone else floating around out there? Jesus? Anyone? Oh wait, never mind–wifey handled it.

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