For the people of Bon Temps, what is normal, if not constant attacks and living in fear of the supernatural? This week’s “Lost Cause” has Sookie becoming host to a party that feels very out of the ordinary compared to everything else. This party leads to a series of unfortunate events where almost nothing goes right. Balanced against this is the continuing adventure of Eric and Pam to snuff out Sarah Newlin.

The episode begins with the disposal of the bodies in the aftermath of the battle. Eric and Pam are about to head off, but Willa doesn’t want to go. She’s still pissed at Eric for leaving her, while Tara did a better job helping her adjust to being a vampire. Eric admits he’s been a terrible maker, but he doesn’t regret turning her and he still needs information regarding Sarah’s location.

Willa offers it, but only if Eric releases her. And like that, Eric renounces his dominion over her. Huh. To think, all Willa had to do was ask. Willa spills: Sarah has a sister named Amber, which is not news at all. What is news is that Sarah’s sister is also a vampire. Apparently, Willa overheard Sarah having a phone conversation with Amber at the mansion. Willa couldn’t overhear everything, but she at least knows that Amber called from a Dallas area code. Well, that settles it. Time for a trip to Dallas!

But before that, there’s the matter of Ginger, who doesn’t want Eric and Pam to leave for fear that she’ll never see them again. If Ginger can’t come with them, she at least wants Eric to fuck her. After all, she’s been their loyal slave for so long without getting any from either of them, so it’s the least they can do. And they’re both diseased, so it all balances out!

No dice.

So at Stackhouse Residence, Sookie heads in and finds Alcide’s jacket. She’s not alone, however. James and Lafayette are already there and came by as soon as they heard what happened. Though Sookie wants to do some cleaning, Lafayette orders her to bed.

Time passes and Sookie later heads downstairs, only to find Jackson, his lady friend, James and Lafayette there. The house has been prepped, almost as if Sookie were about to have a party. Guess what? They’re throwing a party for the entire town! What better way to celebrate life after a day of death and sadness?

Oh, and Bill brought flowers because he’s a gentleman.

In Dallas, Texas, Eric and Pam find an infected Amber Mills, played by Natalie Hall. She shares her story with them: she has always been the black sheep of the family. After Amber had been turned by her boyfriend, Sarah freaked out. She’s been paying Amber money to stay in a coffin, all while convincing the populace that her sister had just been taken away by vampires. Family, am I right? Amber needs no convincing to help Eric and Pam, especially when she learns that the two plan to kill her. However, it’s been years since the two talked in person. Sarah did recently call, looking for a place in Dallas to stay. Mom and Dad are attending a Bush Gala for Ted Cruz, so Eric and Pam have a location. Amber warns the two: only assholes are invited to this gala. Clearly, this woman has never met Eric Northman and Pam De Beaufort.

Lettie Mae wants to attend the party. Reverend Daniels says no. While the reverend is conveniently looking away from Lettie Mae and focusing on his food, Lettie Mae spots some allergy medicine. That’s a scene.

The party is in full swing. Bill keeps himself to a corner while Arlene and the rest of the girls celebrate freedom.

We flash back to Bill during the lead up to the Civil War. He speaks with a young man named Minus, played by Gilbert Owuor, before heading to the bar. Inside, Charles Dupont, played by Matthew Holmes, gives a rousing speech about all able bodied men serving in this incoming war against the Northern carpetbagger. These fine, Southern gentlemen shall do all they can to maintain their way of life. And, by God, it is their sovereign right, as the good people of the state of Louisiana, to secede from the Union!

“With what?” is the ultimate question that Bill asks. After all, the North is better equipped, so the men of the South will be crushed! The bar doesn’t take kindly to this carpetbagger sympathizing and the bar’s owner, Louis Bodehouse, played by Brian Patrick Mulligan, orders him out.

After Violet awkwardly tries to cheer Sookie up, Jackson says a few words about Alcide. Though the two never got along, Jackson appreciated that his son was happy when with Sookie. You can’t die a hero without having a righteous cause.

Lettie Mae would also like to say a few words, about Tara: Tara was a hero, too. Mae might not have always been there, but she tried her hardest. And when she wasn’t around to help her daughter, Mae could always count on Tara’s friends to help her.

Not joining in on the festivities is Jessica, who has remained outside while still feeling guilty about Andy’s daughters. Andy comes out and basically tells Jessica that she’s being a buzzkill. Jessica torturing herself keeps the pain alive for Andy, as well. After all that Jessica has done for Adilyn, the least she could do is realize that life’s too short and precious to look back. Yet we’re still seeing flashbacks. Andy needs help from Jessica, specifically a ring to propose to Holly, but Jessica insists that something so precious shouldn’t be done with one of her rings. Why? You’re not exactly using them!

Inside, Sookie gives Andy one of her grandmother’s rings- a ring that was originally intended for Jason. Andy kills the music and gets on one knee before Holly. He’s nervous, and it’s made no better by the fact that Holly says ‘Yes’ before Andy gets a chance to pop the question. When he finally does, she kisses him. She didn’t ‘Yes’ that time, though.

James wants to leave the party, but Jessica tells him not to be a wet blanket and enjoy himself. Really, Jessica? You’re telling him that?

Upstairs, Sookie and Arlene talk. Sookie’s feeling overwhelmed by all of the festivities and finds it hard to miss someone that she can’t fully believe is dead. Arlene tells her that no matter how much you love someone, death is inevitable. Every night, Arlene puts on Terry’s jacket just to feel his arms around her. Arlene, I swear. Arlene believes that you never get over the loss of a loved one- you just learn to live with it. That should be one of this show’s mantras. All healing comes in due time with tequila. A worthy combination.

Out on the porch, James and Lafayette bond. James isn’t feeling his so-called relationship with Jessica. Lafayette poses a question about James’ former friend, Danny: were the two intimate? James confirms that they were. Things are starting to heat up!

Back in Dallas, Texas, Eric and Pam get ready to infiltrate a “Republicunt” stronghold. You know, in the politically charged world that we live in today, where so many feel they must be one way or the other, I wouldn’t be surprised if the term “Republicunt” didn’t originate from True Blood. But I digress. When Eric removes his shirt, Pam sees the veins making their way all across his body, indicating that he’s advanced to Stage Two of the virus. Not one to stop with the plan, Eric simply tells Pam to cover the marks that would be visible.

Despite just calling him a wet blanket, Jessica asks Arlene about James’ whereabouts. Arlene last saw him step out with Lafayette. You know where this is going. Jessica follows the sounds and…

…whoops! Jessica storms off and won’t listen to either James or Lafayette. James goes off to sulk. Jason even rescinds his invitation.

A now confused and distraught Jessica tells Jason about what happened. Jason isn’t entirely surprised. Given Jessica’s description of James, it seems pretty clear that he’d be gay. Jessica just thinks that James may be confused.

In enters Lafayette, one of the last people Jessica wants to see, and she makes it known. The two exchange barbs before Lafayette leaves.

But Lafayette’s not done yet. Even though Jessica caught him and James in a compromising position, Lafayette knows more about James than Jessica does because he actually gave a damn and asked. And if Jessica was honest with herself, she’d see that she and James just do not fit. It’s not a stretch that Lafayette would want some happiness after seeing everyone around him find someone. Nicely done, Lafayette.

Sookie makes her way through the party and overhears the thoughts of citizens that now regret the awful things they said to her before.

Bill thinks back to the time when he, Minus and a group remain hidden from Confederate troops. Just when they think the coast is clear, Charles fires a shot and kills Minus. That shot, Charles tells the group, is a warning to any deserters. All he wants is Bill’s map, but that goes up in smoke.

Back in the present, Sookie thanks Bill for seeing her the way she can’t see herself. As she continues through the party, she hears Lettie Mae’s thoughts, and the lady wants more vampire blood.

So Lettie Mae takes a knife and stabs Willa in the shoulder! This causes a ruckus and although Willa’s wound heals in no time, Lettie Mae manages to bring the party to a screeching halt. Mae tells Lafayette that Tara has been contacting her: she’s stuck and the only way out is with Willa’s blood.

For whatever reason, Nicole is the voice of reason and calls out the absurdity of having a party in the middle of so much carnage. All right, I guess. You’re still new to town, lady.

Jason and Jessica have more girl talk. Jason admits that Violet is just a bit off. Also, it really meant a lot that his grandmother meant for her ring to go to him. He’s unsure now whether that ring would have gone to Violet. Then they kiss. They get to the loving later on, which Violet overhears.

At the gala, Eric and Pam split their priorities: Eric will get Sarah’s father alone, while Pam heads for Mom.

In the ladies room, Sarah surprises her mother, Nancy, played by Bess Armstrong. Nancy lets her daughter know that the world is looking for her. Sarah knows this and wants some powerful help: Laura Bush! But Laura stopped taking their calls. Well, darn.

Eric meets up with Paul, played by Brett Rice, but before the two get a chance to talk for long, the Yakuza pop in to make quick work of the Mills’ parents.

Both Paul and Nancy are killed in the attack. Sarah runs off, but heads straight into Eric. Before Northman can deliver the killing blow, he dispatches some Yakuza.

In Bon Temps, the party is over and everyone is gone. While the people of Bon Temps may have changed their opinions on Sookie for the better, they were still dicks that didn’t bother to help her clean up. Before laying down for bed, she takes a moment to inhale the scent of and put on Alcide’s jacket. Sookie, I swear…

In one final flashback, Bill tells his wife that he doesn’t want to fight. She says not to worry, though. He is her’s.

In the present and after his bath, Bill heads to the mirror and sees that he is also infected with the Hep-V virus.

I wouldn’t call this a bad episode, but it has its fair share of problems. Luckily, the different plotlines were contained this week. We were either at the party or with Eric and Pam. Where the episode suffers, I think, was in characters making predictable and very stupid decisions when they should be smarter than this. More than that, they learn lessons that, given what they’ve been through, should be nothing new to them. At the same time, Eric and Pam’s separate storyline and Bill’s reveal at the end did help make the episode more entertaining.

With True Blood, characters must have come to accept the death and craziness that has plagued Bon Temps, time and time again. What would be out of the ordinary anywhere else turns out to be just another week in good ole’ Louisiana. These people have lost loved ones before, but the grieving process has never been the same, like Terry getting almost an entire episode dedicated to him. The characters can accept death, yes, but they don’t know how to process it.

They’ve been able to come to terms with loss without having a party. It feels like the episode tried to tackle how we grieve after a heavy loss, but I question the execution.

When trying to find happiness, something always gets in the way, making it almost impossible to be happy. Additionally, characters don’t realize how good they have it until the one thing they love is gone, whether that’s Lettie Mae grieving Tara or Sookie accepting that Alcide is not coming back. There’s a time and place for everything, and that doesn’t mean just saying something for the sake of saying it.

It’s fine to grieve, but this season has moved so fast with its murders that raising glasses felt like a half-hearted attempt to get us to care about or remember characters that the show was perfectly fine with getting rid of. The death of Vince and his mob, Kenya, Mrs. Fortenberry- none of them are brought up. I’m not saying the episode needed to reference everyone, but if the show is going to kill off characters we’ve known for awhile, there ought to be a payoff. Otherwise, it makes the deaths feel pointless.

The main issues I find with the episode revolve around character decisions, specifically those at Sookie’s party. Who honestly thought having a party to celebrate life was a good idea? What in the world made Jason and Jessica think it was a good idea to bone then and there, with other people in the same house? And why wouldn’t Reverend Daniels think to keep a closer eye on Lettie Mae, who he already knows is unstable?

Sookie, I feel, mostly existed this week as a background character. Sure, she’s prominently featured throughout the party, but most of what happens has little to do with her. She’s mostly an observer. I’m surprised she was so open to letting Lettie Mae remain at the party, despite Mae blaming her for Tara’s death. Can’t say I buy her sadness for Alcide, given how we know that she didn’t love him with the same affection that he did.

If Jason was so dead set on accepting his grandmother’s ring, why not just accept it and keep it until the time came? I’m glad he showed some backbone to Violet when he told her off about mentioning her many, many boyfriends to Sookie in an attempt to cheer her up. He seems to be at absolute ease when speaking with Jessica.

And really, if he and Jessica wanted to bone, they could have taken it somewhere else. I don’t see Violet taking this lightly. I also don’t understand why he was so quick to rescind James’ invitation, given how what James and Lafayette do really shouldn’t be any of his business.

Speaking of Jessica, I’d like to know why she’s still so upset about what she did. Wasn’t this the entire reason Lafayette came in to have a pep talk with her? And now, it’s as if she’s forgotten all about that. Her emotions are all over the place. First, she doesn’t want to come to the party, and then she chastises James for wanting to leave the same party she didn’t even want to join.

She freaks out when she finds James with Lafayette, but to be honest, Jessica and James don’t have any sort of chemistry. She wouldn’t even listen to James when he mentioned that she hadn’t fed. Even though we’re supposed to believe that James and Jessica are a couple, they appear very distant.

And to be honest, Lafayette has a real point. Throughout the series, he’s watched from the sidelines as others made connections. He was there for support and while he had a relationship before, it didn’t last long. And Lafayette has taken the initiative to get to know James outside of knowing that he’s a vampire. We’ve seen the two interact and grow as a pair, which gives credence to the possibility that the two could form a strong bond.

I’m glad that Arlene has made a full recovery and is ready to move forward, but she could have been a little grateful to Keith. She may be right to fear him since, vampire and all, but he did save your life. Some gratitude would be in order.

While Bill’s flashbacks felt like he just longed for the old days, I get the feeling that they’ll connect with the reveal that he’s infected.

And like Pam and Eric’s flashbacks, we did get to learn some more about his past. It’s a past we’ve seen before, but I hope there’s a payoff to them.

And as before, Eric and Pam had the most entertaining part of the episode, with their search for Sarah. Whether it’s Amber and Pam slowly gaining respect for one another, Eric telling Pam that she must accept that he’s going to die or how disgusted they are at the gala, the two make for some great character moments. Plus, I got a laugh when Eric told Amber that he and Pam could definitely be assholes if that meant it would get them into the gala. Even if the two can be major assholes, they clearly care for one another.

Unlike last week’s battle at Fangtasia, I thought the battle with the Yakuza was well done and much easier to follow. Eric ripping off the face of one Yakuza reminded me too much of the battle between The Mountain and The Viper on Game of Thrones.

All in all, this was a decent episode. While it had characters doing stupid things and somewhat forced drama- seriously, characters like Lettie Mae and Nicole should be killed off- the character moments from Pam and Eric, as well as Bill’s infection, kept me interested for more.