‘True Blood’ Review: “Let’s Boot and Rally”

‘True Blood’ season 5 investigates its fifth episode of the year, as Bill and Eric recruit Sookie to help find Russell Edgington, while Jessica helps Tara adjust to life as a vampire, and Terry and Patrick learn the secret of the monster that's stalking them for their time in Iraq.

Last week’s ‘True Blood’ episode “We'll Meet Again” saw Sookie looking to turn herself in for the murder of Debbie Pelt, while Bill and Eric began their search for Russell Edgington, the Vampire Authority sniffed out a traitor, and Jason and Andy found a mysterious new club. So what will the latest episode of ‘True Blood’ bring?

Read on for your in-depth recap of everything you need to know about ‘True Blood’ season 5 episode 5 “Let's Boot and Rally!”

Sookie and Alcide continue their hot and heavy make-out session, taking things all the way upstairs, but before things can go any further, Sookie winds up puking on his shoes, to the great amusement of Bill and Eric!  Sookie doesn’t think she’ll be able to help them find Russell, their best option being  to have her read the mind of a glamoured construction worker who helped excavate the vampire. Still, as the supernatural never seems to leave her alone, the waitress agrees to give it a shot.

While Lafayette returns home concerned about the demon inside of him, Jason and Andy both wake up in their homes completely naked, Jason having woken from a dream of seeing his parents gushing blood from vampire bites over breakfast. Meanwhile, Tara glams herself out and takes a bartending shift at Fangtasia, but the moment she tries to feed on a nice, willing woman, Pam rebukes her for doing so in public.

Sookie and the boys pay a visit to Doug, Alcide’s worker, who can’t remember what happened, but is able to be read by Sookie. Doug just barely remembers a vampire woman being the one to uncover Russell, wearing a bat pendant that signifies members of the Authority. Bill suspects Nora, though Eric insists that makes no sense given how she helped them escape custody. Meanwhile, Nora continues to chant in her cell as Salome oversees, and deciding Bill and Eric haven’t made enough progress, decides to have their iStakes activated at dawn.  Salome takes her concerns to Roman, who stands overlooking a vial of blood reportedly of Lillith, and refusing to compromise on the Sanguinistas.

Out at the crazed man’s camp, Patrick and Terry attempt to reason with Eller, who has come to believe that a fire demon named an Ifrit has come after all of them, after one of the dying villagers from their Iraq incident cursed them with it. Back in Bon Temps, Andy and Jason take a statement from Sam Merlotte, who called to report the death of his shifter friends. All the while, Jason can’t help seeing their wounds as vampire bites, and worrying about what happened to them after the Fairy club the previous night.

Over at Fangtasia, Jessica offers a sympathetic ear to Tara, bonding over the transition from human to vampire, and reminding her that they’re going to live forever. Back with Sookie, Doug leads the group to an abandoned hospital, their time running low as Bill and Eric get the call that their iStakes are to be activated at dawn. Though they’d prefer her to wait outside, Sookie insists on entering the hospital and sticking together, lest people wind up dead. Alcide observes that werewolves have been there when the group finds a host of human, drained bodies.

Back at Fangtasia, Hoyt encounters Tara and offers himself to her as a fangbanger, though she doesn’t seem to have much interest. Much more interesting, however, is when Patrick and Terry manage to get the upper hand on Eller, Patrick doubting the plausibility of his fire demon story. When they head outside to discuss it, the smoky monster forms, and burns Eller alive! Freakier still, Lafayette awakes to find the severed head of Jesus screaming at him through his mouth sown shut, while his mother Ruby Jean wakes to the same sight, unfazed by it!

Sam breaks the news to Luna of their dead friends, but upon leaving her finds himself shot down by a pack of rednecks wearing Obama masks. Luna too finds herself struck down, but her daughter manages to get away.  Back at the hospital, Sookie and the others find a bunch of live humans strung up and waiting to be fed upon.  Jason visits his parents’ graves, while Jessica busts in on Tara draining Hoyt and the Vampire Authority kneels before the blood of Lilith.

Meanwhile the group in the hospital finally happen upon a re-formed Russell Edgington, who invites them to try and kill him when Alcide is suddenly dragged off by an unseen figure!

It's certainly nice to have things moving along more swiftly, with Patrick and Terry getting to the bottom of their own troubles as Russell Edgington finally makes an appearance. Still, once again it's all too disconnected as Tara works through her newfound condition with petty jealousy from Jessica, and now public tide seems to be turning against all the supernaturals of Bon Temps. Hopefully, the second half of the season will allow the stories to dovetail a little more convincingly, and contain less "WTF" moments like Jesus' stitched-shut head.

Did you get your fill of fang-banging ‘True Blood’ action? What did you think about the episode? Join us next week for an all-new episode recap of ‘True Blood’ season 5 episode “Hopeless” on HBO!