After a painfully long two days of fighting a powerful witch, both while she was alive and after she had died, Sookie finally returned to her home for some much needed rest. Besides being bone weary, she also was suffering from having cast aside two men she loved intensely. Everything about the moment spoke of denouement. Nothing in the episode even hinted at the cataclysmic event that was about to occur. Then, with only seconds left in the episode, Tara Thornton was shot in the head.
It was a dramatic conclusion to an otherwise lackluster season finale for “True Blood,” made even more dramatic because it wasn’t clear whether she was dead or not. Fans will have to wait almost a year to learn Tara’s fate, but it isn’t too early to speculate.
No, she is a main character – It requires peeking behind the fourth wall, but there is simply no way that Tara Thornton can die. She is on the short list of characters that includes Sookie, Jason, Bill, Eric and Sam, that cannot die or disappear. That truth was hammered home in the very first episode when the show focused on scenes starring Tara that basically had no relevance to the show except that she was in the scene. It is possible that Rutina Wesley has been let go, but it is unlikely because she is one of the faces that fans link with the show.
Yes, she was shot in the head – This wasn’t a .22 caliber bullet hole in her belly. This was a shotgun blast to the head. The scene was very dark, but it looked like brains were showing. Even a glancing shot is almost certain to kill. And, even if she happened to survive, barely, there was no time to get her to a hospital before she died of blood loss. Her only chance is a vampire and Sookie just cast off the two that would help.
No, Sookie is a faerie – Technically none of Sookie’s faerie powers shown so far have anything to do with healing or resurrection, but that doesn’t mean they can’t. Sookie’s powers have constantly evolved to do whatever she needs them to do at the time. You almost need to wonder whether she is a faerie or a genie. Sookie needs a miracle to save Tara, so that is what her faerie powers will give her.
Yes, Lafayette is a medium – When Jesus died earlier in the episode, he returned to Lafayette and reminded him that as long as Lafayette can interact with the dead, Jesus will always be with him. Tara can remain a significant character in the show if Lafayette is able to channel her. As an added bonus it will give Lafayette more air time, which is great because he is one of the more nuanced characters on the show.
No, Pam de Beaufort wants revenge – Pam is by far the most vindictive character on the show. She wants vengeance on Tara, and Tara’s death at the hands of someone else simply wouldn’t satisfy her. How she would know about Tara getting shot is anyone’s guess, but Pam would go out of her way to keep Tara alive, just so she can torture and kill Tara later.
Yes, Tara has lost her prominence in the series – During the first season, Tara was the sassy best friend of the main character and part of the odd love quadrangle also involving Sookie, Bill and Sam. In Season 2 she was central to the maenad plot, and in Season 3 she was the resistant love slave to a psychotic vampire. But in Season 4 her role was reduced to a lesbian sidekick to a witch. Everybody remembers how badly that went for another Tara in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
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