Marnie is finally defeated, and the residents of Bon Temps try to move on with their lives.
The way this episode started out did not impress me at all. I have seen way too many season finales that started off with everyone picking up the pieces from the previous episode and trying to get on with their lives. There are too many strings dangling to pretend that one or two more crazy things are going to happen.
Case in point: the inevitable showdown between Jason (Ryan Kwanten) and Hoyt (Jim Fortenberry). From the beginning, we all knew there was only one way that could end, with Jason getting punched in the face. Now they can move past it and go back to being bros.
I’m usually a fan of spooky Halloween episodes but it seems to me that in a place like Bon Temps, dressing up like some kind of monster would be pretty passe. I mean why dress up as a witch or a zombie when you might actually meet one while trick or treating?
I like a vampire bonfire as much as the next guy and Grandma Adele’s (Lois Smith) return was cool but I could have done without Marnie’s (Fiona Shaw) intervention. Are we to believe that all the problems she caused were due to a troubled past? Since when did True Blood go so deep? I thought it was made clear long ago that we are all who we are, be it vampire, shapeshifter or werewolf, and nothing can change that.
Seeing Rene (Michael Raymond-James) made me long for the days when True Blood was about a serial killer and not a soap opera. It also made me miss my favorite show of last season, Terriers, so it was a bit of a lose-lose for me. Clearly, his appearance and the appearance of Patrick Devins (Scott Foley) are related but I’m guessing that’s a story for next season.
I can only assume that somewhere there was an outcry for True Blood to live up to its title and have more gore than ever in the season finale. With the staking of Nan (Jessica Tuck) and the murders of Tara (Rutina Wesley) and Debbie (Brit Morgan) there was plenty of crimson to go around.
Personally, I found this finale to be lacking in quality and loaded with cookie cutter writing. The return of characters who were assumed dead, the shocking killing of a main character and the tidy ending to the season’s main storyline all made for an unimpressive season finale.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.