'True Blood' recap: 'Death is not the End'

True Blood isn’t at all a stranger to killing beloved characters, as we’ve already lost two favorites within just three episodes. So when episode four aired and it looked like Arlene, one of the show’s strongest characters, was going to be a vampire meal, it really was a genuine scare.

Yet the highlight of tonight’s episode seemed to be the emotional reunion between Sookie and Eric, which more than likely contributed to saving Arlene’s life.

The episode starts off with Sookie and Jason making depressing phone calls notifying Hoyt of his mother’s death, and Alcide’s parents of his tragic death. Immediately, I thought another character would bite the dust but I wasn’t sure who. And when Sookie visited Arlene’s two teenage children promising she would get Arlene back, I was terrified that Arlene would be next.

Eric takes a plane back to the U.S. with Pam at his side, and the last place she wants to stop in is Shreveport. But since Eric demands to see Willa, Pam goes along. (But come on, who did Eric really want to see, Willa or Sookie?)

Sookie, Bill, Jason, Jessica, and all the others are devising a plan to break into Fangtasia and save Arlene and pregnant Nicole, after Sookie reads Holly’s thoughts and learns the Hep-V vamps are keeping humans in the basement. (I'm sorry, but, did Sookie really need to pick apart Holly's tortured memories to figure out the Hep-V vamps were keeping the humans captive at Fangtasia? Isn’t that the most obvious place?) Eric and Pam show up at Bill’s door and Sookie and Eric have an intense reunion moment with lots of hugs and longing eyes. She is shocked to learn that Eric carries the Hep-V disease, AKA Eric is dying and they are forcing us to watch.

Despite Pam’s fuss, Eric decides to help Sookie get Arlene and Nicole out of the Hep-V dungeon of Fangtasia, and she of course, goes along. During flashbacks, we see a young Pam and Eric turn a monotonous video store into the trendy nightclub that is Fangtasia via the help of an over-eager vampire lover who happens to be young Ginger. Even though Pam credited the idea to be hers, we see it was really Ginger’s all along (typical Pam).

A weak Jessica, who hasn’t fed in months, finally feeds off Lafayette and gathers her strength along with a small army Bill created to get the humans back. Sam, frustrated that his girlfriend Nicole is rotting away in the dungeon and could be vampire bait any minute, turns into a rat to help form an escape plan for the vampires.

Meanwhile, as Sam promises to help them escape, the vamps bring up none other than Arlene to feed off of. As they attack her, Bill, Pam, Eric, Jason, Sam, Sookie, and a couple other vampires burst in and have a hell of a bloodbath, taking down most of the Hep-V vamps. But as the fight goes on, Arlene is slowly dying and she even sees Terry calling her name in heaven. Sookie holds her and prompts Bill to give her his blood, but he is distracted when he must save Jessica. Eric is there next to Sookie the whole time, but unfortunately Arlene needs healthy blood. Just as she’s about to go to Terry, a new healthy vampire gives her his blood and she heals.

Thank god.

Arlene is one of the most grounded characters, and is one hell of a strong woman, even just as a human. The show would be nothing without her. I felt the same relief Sookie felt when she started to come back to life.

Now that the Hep-V vamps are officially out of Fangtasia, will Pam and Eric take over again? Will Eric’s condition worsen?

Check out the trailer for next week’s episode below, and be sure to tune in next Sunday.

Image via Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com