3.7 Hitting The Ground

The superb True Blood was back again this week with Hitting The Ground, possibly the most bloodthirsty episode this season. Death was everywhere, from the opening scene to the closing credits, but, to be fair, all the deaths were richly deserved.

Starting with the vile Lorena, who was finally mercifully dispatched by Sookie at Bill's behest, the head Nazi were soon followed, put down with more than a little satisfaction by Alcide, with a fantastic head shot.

Unfortunately, the happy occasion of both Sookie and Alcide's revenge was marred somewhat by the presence of said were's ex, and Cooter's betrothed, trampy Debbie. Having witnessed the whole thing, she swears vengeance, but as she's currently locked in a shed, Alcide needn't worry too much just yet.

Back in Louisiana, the deaths weren't supernatural, but canine. Sam's Trojan Pit Bull plan to infiltrate the local dog fights and rescue Tommy went surprisingly well. Not only did he save his brother from being fed to a particularly mean Rottweiler, he also managed to rescue all the dogs that hadn't been shot. Turns out Sam is, in fact, the Dog Whisperer.

The awkward family encounter leaves the Mickens, now officially the most despicable family in Louisiana, down two sons and one pair of trousers, but they're unlikely to let their meal ticket go without a fight. We'll see them again, no doubt, but please, God, let Joe Lee be wearing at least one pair of trousers next time.

Besides being bloodthirsty, Hitting The Ground also finally saw His Majesty both reveal and set in motion his grand plan. Confronting the Magister at Fangtasia, amid talk of cardinal sin and a higher authority, the Mississippi vamp faction officially throw down the gauntlet to their superiors, forcing the Magister to marry His Majesty and Queenie, before beheading the sanctimonious official, just because he felt like it.

Russell's megalomania is becoming more pronounced, and whoever the ‘higher authority' may be, they're in for something of a fight.

Fun as it was to see the Magister get a taste of his own medicine, what was more interesting was the talk of sin and higher authority. The hierarchy in the vamp world was hinted at in previous seasons, and Russell's grand plan will, hopefully, give us the opportunity to see a little more of it, including (fingers crossed) this mysterious authority.

While the show is great at blood and gore, sass and sex, it also has a tendency to be a little soapy. It's difficult to not to be melodramatic in that heat, but Hitting The Ground at times sounded a little too like a bad episode of Oprah. With trampy Debbie's admission that she's trampy because Alcide wouldn't give her a baby, to Sookie's coma-induced warning that Bill will steal her light, it seems the True Blood writers have been adding a little too much Living to their TV diet.

Even the usually ridiculously male Jason Stackhouse is starting to sound like he just walked straight out of Dawson's Creek, mooning over a woman he barely knows and proclaiming that Hoyt's needy one night stand will make a great grandmother because she cooks a mean biscuit, all uncharacteristically soppy for the man-whore we know and love from previous seasons. Having said that, he does think that giving an imprisoned drug addict drugs in exchange for information  is a good idea, so he hasn't changed that much.

Death-filled it may have been, but Hitting The Ground also gave plenty to mull over, particularly Sookie's lack of blood type, and strange nymph-filled dreams. Also, what, exactly, did Hadley tell Eric? Whatever it was, Bill is clearly way ahead of everyone else, and it seems Sookie has good reason to be afraid of him right now...

Read our review of episode 6 here.