“True Blood” Sucker Punch: Episode 9

From Mark Blankenship [http://www.thecriticalcondition.com]

Welcome to Sucker Punch, the only blog post that ranks the gaudiest moments on this week's episode of True Blood

Warning: This post contains spoilers

What can I say? I wasn't feeling it tonight. "I Will Rise Up" has a few Sucker Punches, but it mostly functions as a placeholder, as though the series is clearing its throat before it gets down to the serious business of wrapping up the season.

This episode's biggest event is Godric's suicide-by-sunlight, but as turning points go, it's not that powerful. The dude's only been around for a few episodes, meaning we've heard about his greatness more than we've actually seen it for ourselves. And since we haven't had time to connect to him, it's hard to care about his death.

Plus, actor Allan Hyde has given a bloodless performance. His mopey take on Godric's spiritual fatigue has slowed the show down, making it even harder to fret that he's gone.

And sure, sure. I wrote last week that Godric's willingness to compromise with the Fellowship was intellectually interesting, and it was. But that was the problem, you know? Godric was an interesting concept who never became a fully engaging presence.

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