Arlene with Terry was a snooze even though I was happy she did find a man who did truly love her and wasn't evil.

Terry took so much nurturing and concern that we never did get to see Arlene unplugged. And she does have depth as a stand alone character.

She plays my favorite periodic guest character.

She was in one of my favorite episodes of "Sex and the City" (2nd season 'The Chicken Dance'). She was really good in that show (ironically Carrie Bradshaw, the lead character from SATC is now married and her married name is Carrie Preston).

It's just that those storylines with Terry and Arlene seemed so forced, especially in season #4 and season #5. None of them were really connected to the vampires so they came across more like time fillers then something anyone was really interested in doing. If they found a way to connect her to the main storylines like Season #1 with the Serial Killer (it was her fiance Rene) or season #2 with the Maenad (Arlene hooked up with Terry this time and they seemed like the leaders of the humans under Maryann's control) then those storylines worked.

But the rest was just ho-hum hit the fast forward when watching!

in the woods sets three or four of the main characters on a quest to find out who she is.

Lafayette says, no, no, no.

The discovery of bodies on ice in Sam Merlot's freezer sets everyone in major mob mode. They're taking the wooden legs from the chairs with the intention of getting rid of their vamp problem. I presume that includes all the vamps. Good and bad.

She has managed to connect with her emotionally, appealing to her human side. Hopefully it pays off.

the four-five main characters reach her town. It's an eerie ghost town. Hand painted signs are everywhere. Reminiscent of the Katrina days.

Sookie turns the corner on a building and finds a massive grave with dead bodies.

Just seconds after the fairy girl and her male friend make it to warn the deputy that they're coming. The mob convinces the deputy to take their side. They succeed and the fairy girl and her male friend are incarcerated.

Meanwhile, Jessica gets the vibe that she's in trouble, but it's daylight hours. Jessica tries reaching everyone through cellphone, but can't reach anyone.

They find the dead woman's home. Lots of family pictures on the mantel to confirm they have the right house.

Finds eerie similarities between the girl, whose diary reveals that she fell in love with a vamp and had a rendezvous with him at Fantasia. This reminds Sookie of Vampire Bill. She thinks of him in a fond way. The diary continues and talks about disappearances in the town. (That seems to be the new sci-fi ploy. Unexplained disappearances.)

Goodness. She is intentionally hurting herself to ask Willa for more Vampire blood. She's addicted.

In a drug induced state, Tara's mom sees Tara. She's up on a crucifix with an albino boa wrapped around her shoulders. Something about finding an answer.

Can't believe the writers would have added this without using it as groundwork for something.

So, the old school marm goes down into the basement with the intention of freeing the women, but says she needs fresh blood. So, she takes it from Arlene through her femoral artery! And then, the school marm disintegrates!

or what? I got confused there lol. Was it just the teachers time to go from the HepV or was there something about Arlene's blood or is it still just an unexplained thing we have to wait for?

to save the fairy girl.

And Sookie waits for her wolfman guy to take a shower to sneak out to see Vampire Bill. (That must be one hell of a long shower!)

The same dark veins that showed up on the school marm before she disintegrated are on Eric's chest. Presumably, Eric has a virus.

And that's the cliff hanger.

My guess is that she knew it was an area highly infected for Hep V.

It also explains why she was refusing human blood from a child.

It was like a going away present from the writers. How those guys could keep a straight face during that I will never know.

I think the whole thing with Lettie Mae and the V blood connecting her to Tara may generate something interesting. What DOES happen to vamps who are staked? Is there an "afterlife" for them? That could also tie in with the Russian roulette scene and the devout Muslim talking about getting right with God. All this, that is, if Tara really was staked.

So Eric's infected with Hep V -- I wonder if the writers have the nerve to kill him off. Or kill off ALL the vamps, kind of an "our time is over" thing like with the Elves in The Hobbit.

I am almost -- ALMOST -- tempted to not watch until the very last episode and then do a binge watch.

But he'll go out with a bang. As consolation, the show will end with Sookie reunited with Bill and Tara reuniting with Pam. I understand that the book had Sookie and Sam together at the end, but I just don't see that angle developing. He's too much of a trust worthy brother type.

And yes, the opening was a major hook, if ever I saw one.

I think after season 4 they stopped pulling any storylines from the book

You think about all the people who have used V-blood just for healing purposes. Sookie, Jason, Hoyt, That WerePanther guy - they all healed and they had enhanced senses & strength. But it never seemed that any of them hallucinated. It almost seemed like if you took the blood to heal then that's what it did. The only time the V gave you hallucinations was when you used it as a drug. So I found it odd that Lettie Mae has taken the blood twice now and yet she seems to be going on V-trips even though both times were to heal something that was busted.

Oh and as for Jason, he's done it both fun and 4 times for healing (2 Jessica, 1 Warlow and 1 Eric and maybe a 5th with Violet). When it was fun he hallucinated. When it was healing he didn't (but had sex dreams)

introduce something with this development. They are going to an awful lot of trouble to set something up -- Tara's "staking", revisiting Lettie Mae's addiction (something totally unnecessary), her tripping about Tara -- something is certainly afoot.

I remember seeing him burn up while sunbathing in the snow when his protection with Lilith's blood wore off.

First half of the season they'll clean up the infected vampires. Then the second half will be a rush to try and save Eric from infection. My guess is Pam is going to insist on that favor that Sookie owes Pam for turning Tara and that will be to give her fairy blood to Eric to see if it can save him.

That would work, I think.

That one is really something I can relate to. I've dated the Violet type before. It's unforgettable.