True Blood season finales have not been all that impressive, with the majority of the action earlier in the season, and "And When I Die" follows this pattern to a degree. The big bad of the season, Marnie, is defeated rather easily about halfway through the episode after killing Jesus and almost burning Eric and Bill. It's a largely anti-climactic scene, fitting in with the defeats of previous big bads.
What makes this finale work better than the others, however, is that the large majority of filler content bodes well for the next season. We learn that Russell has escaped, Steve Newlin is a vampire, Bill kills Nan, and Tara gets half her head blown off. No more crying, useless Tara, more supervillains from the past? Sign me now.
I have one last thing to comment on. I'm not one to ask for more True Blood subplots, but I gotta wonder where the fairies and werepanthers went. As pointless as the two groups were, some follow-up would be nice to show their significance. Or we will never see them again--that would actually be fine for me.
Score: 8.4/10
