True Blood Recap: “Soul of Fire” Smokes Out a Witch and a Demon

This week’s episode of True Blood, “Soul of Fire”, was so packed with greatness that I’m still reeling from it two days later. I think one of my favorite scenes has to be Alcide “abjuring” Debbie Pelt. Fantastic acting done by Joe Manganiello and Brit Morgan.

Since there was so much going in this episode, I think it would be easier for me to break this down character by character. We’ll start with Jason Stackhouse. Jason had a fantastic moment when he stood up for his sister to two, powerful vampires, Eric and Bill. Those two, along with Jessica and Pam, were about to blow some serious fire power into The Goddess Emporium, where Sookie, Tara, Lafayette, Jesus and the witches were being held by Marnie. Jason stops them at the last moment and tells them that Sookie was in there and that they couldn’t blow the place up. Bill and Eric show their frustration with The Sook, but Jason has had enough of their lack of graciousness where his sister is concerned, and goes toe-to-toe with both of them, reminding them of all that Sookie has done for them. I have to admire Jason’s gumption here. It didn’t matter to him that these vampires could snap him like a twig and never blink an eye. He was tired of them feeding off of her like she was “their own personal soda fountain”, as he says to Bill. When he reminds Eric of how Sookie took him into her home, Eric had the audacity to say, “Technically, it’s my home.” Really Eric, you pompous jerk? Jason takes care of him though. “F U, chump!” he says. It was at this point that I literally jumped up off my couch and gave a great ‘Huzzah!’ And the great thing about that scene was that Bill and Eric didn’t rip Jason’s head off because they knew he was right.

Another great Jason scene was when Marnie begins to invoke a spell which draws the vampires into the shield surrounding The Goddess Emporium, burning them to cinders. Jason, bless his human heart, tries to hold them back. I love how this character has grown. Inside the Emporium, Sookie is able to read Jason’s thoughts and when she discovers what is going on outside, her fae powers kick in and it breaks the spell, releasing the vampires. Unfortunately, Pam can’t stand to see her Maker endangered any more, grabs the bazooka and fires. Of course, due to the shield, it backfires and Jason is badly hurt. Jessica to the rescue! She feeds him her blood and saves his life again.

Pam, however, has incurred her Maker’s wrath. Eric, angered over her disobedience, tells her to get out of his sight. Ouch! Exit Pam. Man, she’s had a tough season! She needs a piece of great jewelry. Oh wait, she got one! She took the designer original necklace off of the female vampire who was under Marnie’s spell, just before Bill throws her into the shield. Ah, Pam.

Meanwhile, inside the ‘Emporium’, Marnie has another confrontation with Antonia, who is very unhappy with Marnie’s actions, especially after Marnie kills one of the witches who was trying to get out. Antonia tells Marnie that she is not the woman she thought she was, but Marnie forces her back inside herself. Lafayette witnesses the whole thing and translates it all to Sookie, Tara and Jesus. Jesus figures out a plan and approaches the dead girl, announcing that she still has a pulse. He then asks Marnie if he and Lafayette could try saving her. Marnie agrees and they take the girl off to another room.

Lafayette quickly discovers that Jesus was lying and Jesus tells him his plan to get them all free of Marnie. He warns Lafayette that it requires that he summon the demon inside himself. As he begins his own spell, Marnie, angered by Sookie, surrounds her in a circle of flames which is closing in on Sookie. The vampires can’t help her because of the shield and Sookie doesn’t have enough control over her own powers yet to save herself. The demon inside Jesus breaks out and removes Antonia from Marnie. Antonia disappears and all of Marnie’s powers are gone. The circle of fire is gone as is the shield around the shop.

As the vampires burst in, guns drawn, fangs out, Sookie cautions them not to kill all of the witches because they were all imprisoned by Marnie. Roy, however, stands in front of Marnie in a feeble, ridiculous attempt to shield her. Eric rips his heart out, then (and this part was too gross for me to watch) starts sucking on it in front of Marnie. This is the act of a Viking warrior. Bill then opens fire on Marnie, killing her. What a marvelous scene; edge of your seat action and so intense. Loved it!

As Eric and Bill have a private discussion, Sookie watched the two of them, and I’m thinking she is trying to figure them out. She’s both disgusted and grateful for their actions. They were both willing to give their lives for her, yet she witnessed how brutal they are when they kill. It’s a tough think to have to deal with and I don’t think she quite knows what to do. Imagine the war within herself; loving two guys who adore her, yet are themselves deadly. I wouldn’t want to be in The Sook’s shoes.

Now we move to the oddest moment in the show: Andy meeting a fairie in the woods. Maurella, makes love to him, but first he has to swear to protect her. From what? What did Andy just promise to do, really? What hold does Maurella have over him now? Will this come into play next season in a fae war, perhaps? I’m both puzzled and stoked for what it could mean.

Sam dukes it out with Marcus, but it’s Alcide who delivers the killing blow. Then he turns to Debbie Pelt and ‘abjures’ her, in a scene both terrifying and heart-wrenching. The look on Alcide’s face was fearsome indeed. What did that look remind me of? Oh yes, Packmaster! But Debbie is left broken and in tears. It doesn’t matter that she did nothing with Marcus; that she even told him that she loved Alcide and would not go with him. I felt so sorry for Debbie. I can see how this will force her completely back to the dark side.

“Soul of Fire” left us with the ghost of Marnie forcing herself into Lafayette. It’s not over yet, folks! Join us next week for the season four finale, “And When I Die”, which looks like it will leave us breathless and panting for season five.