True Blood season 4 episode 5 review: Me And The Devil

Sookie’s just made her life a whole lot more complicated, and the vamps are worried in this week’s True Blood...

This review contains spoilers.

4.5 Me And The Devil

If the last few weeks of True Blood were all about the cloud of ick currently permeating Bon Temps, then this week was without doubt about secrets. Secrets, lies and revelations, which would have made a reasonably apt title for the episode. As it turns out, Me And The Devil was equally apt.

Poor Pam. Poor foul-mouthed, rotting Pam. Not only is her face a dripping mess, but the loss of her most prized possession has clearly had an effect on her long-dead brain. Having been so insistent that King Compton not find out about Diet Eric, there’s something of a delicious irony in her vanity being directly responsible for what Bill is about to walk in on. The cat is well and truly out of the bag, but let’s hope Bill’s timing is good enough that he doesn’t have to see it.

Ad – content continues below

Clearly, Sookie’s attachment to tortured vamps is becoming something of a habit. Lying to her clearly spooked ‘best friend’ to protect a man that most likely won’t even exist in a few weeks says much about Ms. Stackhouse’s true character. Yes, Diet Eric is very sweet, but he’s really only been that way for about a week. As Tara rightly pointed out, Sookie should hate Sheriff Northman, and a few days worth of compliments and wide-eyed innocence shouldn’t really change that.

If Sookie was just looking for an excuse to give in to her attraction to Eric, there are infinitely better reasons than the fact that he thinks she’s got pretty hair. Surely Godric’s presence in his dreams should be warning enough. Clearly, Eric’s true character is fighting to be heard, so it’s unlikely Sookie will be safe for long.

That is, of course, providing Marnie doesn’t throw an ancient wiccan shaped spanner in the works first. Thanks to Bill’s human conquest/wiccan spy, Marnie is comfortably secure, a guest at His Majesty’s pleasure. Sadly lacking in anything close to knowledge, her incarceration brings the vamps no closer to reversing the spells cast by the new big bad. The big bad that, we now know, is responsible for the deaths of an unspecified number of vamps way back when. While the revelation that vamps were members of the Catholic Church back then is a shock, the fact that they now populate Fox News won’t come as anything close to a shock to anyone who’s ever had the misfortune of watching Fox News. Those people clearly have no souls.

Speaking of soulless types, the redneck mess that is the Mickens family is now two members short. Never again will we have to bear witness to Joe Lee in his grundies, thanks to Tommy’s accidental double homicide. Still, at least it gives the Mickens boys that common bonding ground they’ve been looking for. The family that dumps the bodies of their parents in the swamp together stays together.

Over at Arlene’s house, the familial bonding is of an altogether different nature, namely, ridding themselves of their very own ghost daddy, or Rene, as he’s otherwise known. Turning to religion, and the clearly sound judgement of Tara’s mother, was never going to do any good. Rene was a bad, bad man, and unlikely to be frightened off by an impromptu concert and the brandishing of sage. Maybe Jesus’ gramps can help them out? They’ll have to hide the pets, though.

Once again, the latest episode of True Blood has come through on an epic level. Adding yet another layer to the already incredibly complex Eric/Sookie/Bill triangle, Me And The Devil brings that Bill vs Eric confrontation ever closer. As fabulous as that would be, reversing the spell, rather than removing Eric altogether, would be the smart, kingly move here. Sookie’s attachment is to Diet Eric, so having the real thing back would put paid to that little dalliance. Probably. Having said that, how Bill will react when faced with, not only Sookie’s barefaced lie, but her obvious affection for Diet Eric is anyone’s guess.

Ad – content continues below

And, while it’s nice to have Jason back as the comic relief this week, it’s looking like the full moon is going to be an interesting one, not just for him, but possibly for Alcide as well.

Always at its best when the tension is slowly racking up, season 4 is now officially in full swing, and getting more interesting by the minute. It might not be as action-packed as season one, or as naked as season two, but for character development, storyline content, and general fabulousness, season 4 is easily winning. Miss episode six at your peril.

Read our review of episode 4, I’m Alive And On Fire, here.

Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here. And be our Facebook chum here.