“True Blood” Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 11 by Mark Blankenship

I liked several things about “Soul of Fire,” but since I want us to leave in a good mood, I’m going to save them until the end. First, I’ve gotta deliver some tough love…
I hart True Blood, but this entire season has been based on a bogus conflict.

For eleven episodes, we’ve been watching the Witch-Vampire war, and we’ve been told the war is important because it could result in vampire extinction. Martonia has been determined to obliterate the fangers, and the vampires have been afraid she could actually do it. Scenes like Jessica’s slow crawl to the sun have suggested the vampires are this close to getting wiped out, and we’re obviously supposed to be worried about it. By extension, we’re also supposed to worry for Sookie. In this episode, when Martonia surrounds her in a burning ring of fire, we’re supposed to think that she could die for trying to help the vamps.
But we know it’s just a tease. True Blood is a vampire show, and on a vampire show, the vampires are never going to lose. Meanwhile, Sookie is the lead character, so even though she’s not a vampire, she’s not going to die, either. Therefore, all this witch vs. vampire stuff is just a waste of our time. Instead of getting wrapped up in it and wondering how it will end, I get bored and frustrated, waiting for Marnie’s inevitable defeat.

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