Lost Cause

"Lost Cause"
Season 7, Episode 5
Air date	July 20, 2014
Written by	Craig Chester
Directed by	Howie Deutch
Episode Guide
previous "Death is Not the End"	next "Karma"

"Lost Cause" is the fifth episode of the seventh and final season of the HBO original series True Blood, and the series' seventy-fifth episode overall.

Summary

Exhausted from her recent travails, Sookie finds herself the unwilling host of a festive mainstreaming party in Bon Temps. In search of an elusive adversary, Eric and Pam head to Dallas and attend a gala fundraiser for the Texas branch of the Republican Party. Andy makes a life-changing decision; Jessica and James reach a crossroads; Bill loses himself in remembrance of human days.

Synopsis

"Oh my God, I'm a Republi-cunt."
― Pam

Eric releases Willa.

Keith and a gasping Ginger carry Kenya's dead body inside Fangtasia, as other helpers clear the area and wash the remains of the rabid Hepatitis-V vampires from the ground. Inside, Willa defiantly refuses to accompany Eric and Pam on their hunt for Sarah Newlin. When Pam tells Willa to obey Eric, she brazenly disowns Eric as her maker, stating that it had been Tara who had looked after her, and denounces both Eric and Pam for having abandoned their progenies. Eric apologizes, conceding that he had neglected Willa at her most vulnerable time, and tells her that he is proud to have her in the family. Unmoved, Willa demands to know what they want from her. Eric replies that she is their only lead in locating their target, as Sarah and Willa's father had been a couple. Willa bargains her freedom for information on Sarah, to which Eric agrees and releases her from his dominion. Willa then tells them that Sarah's older sister Amber Mills, whom Sarah had told the world was dead, is actually a vampire living in Dallas. Willa had overheard a phone conversation Sarah had had with Amber at her father's mansion, warning her never to call the residence again or she would be interned at the Burrell camp. Satisfied with this information, Eric tells Ginger to notify the driver of their imminent departure to Dallas. Ginger vehemently protests; as Eric is now dying, she is worried that she will never see him again. When she begs to go with them, Eric flatly denies her and shows no patience for Ginger's sense of injustice. At this point, Ginger declares that she has been a loyal and willing fangirl for Eric for the better part of two decades, despite the lack of reciprocation on Eric's part. She tells him that if he is going to leave her forever, she deserved to have sex with her idol just once before he dies. When Eric replies that he is diseased with Hepatitis V, Ginger enthusiastically shouts "So the fuck am I!" Visibly disgusted, Eric and Pam proceed to leave Ginger behind, who becomes hysterical and throws herself onto one of the travel coffins as they are being loaded into a waiting truck. The loaders throw a shrieking Ginger off the coffin.

Sookie solemnly enters her house and sees Alcide's leather jacket laying on a chair in the living room. Lafayette and James appear from the dining room, offering their condolences for Alcide's death. In her grief, Sookie tries to distract herself by cleaning, but Lafayette and James insist that she rest and that they will tidy up the house. Lafayette walks Sookie to her bedroom and puts her to bed. When Lafayette turns to leave, Sookie asks that he stay. He assures her that he will be there when she awakes.

Sookie finds out that she is hosting a party.

Sookie awakens the following night to the sound of banging in her front yard. She looks out of the window to see Jackson loading items onto his pickup truck. She saunters downstairs in her robe to see dozens of candles lit, and a banquet of food on the dining room table. Jackson enters the house and tells her that he has packed up all of Alcide's items and, when she was ready, they would sort through Alcide's belongings at a later date. Lafayette, James, and Jenny cheerfully walk in. Sookie asks why they have prepared so much food. Lafayette tells her that they are throwing a celebration party that very night, and Jenny had spent most of the day cooking in preparation for it. Sookie is incredulous that they would throw a party in her house without asking her permission, and especially while she is in mourning. Lafayette explains to her that this party was their way of healing, and that they needed to celebrate life rather than dwell on death. He goes on to say that the rules of the party were that each invitee is required to bring alcohol, and that offering condolences is strictly forbidden. Lafayette, James, Jackson, and Jenny return to the kitchen to continue preparing for the party. At this point, there is a knock at the door; it is Bill, who calls out Sookie's name. Slightly annoyed that she is the last to know about her party, Sookie opens the door to a confused Bill, who was expecting Sookie to be dressed. Sookie replies that she has just found out about her party. Bill states that he has no alcohol, as per the rules of the party, but his gentile mother had taught him never to arrive at a party without a gift, and awkwardly hands Sookie a bouquet of flowers. Sookie accepts the flowers and invites Bill in, and then heads upstairs to get ready for the party.

Amber agrees to help Eric and Pam find her sister, Sarah Newlin.

Eric and Pam arrive at Amber's house in Dallas. Amber is revealed to also be Hepatitis V positive. While sitting in her kitchen flipping through her photo album, Eric listens as Amber relates how she had been rebellious by nature, which led her to start dating her vampire boyfriend/maker Jeremy, while Sarah dutifully married into the powerful and famous Newlin family. Pam enters the room at vampire speed, confirming Amber's statement that Sarah is not there. Amber continues by saying that Sarah has been paying her to keep silent about her identity, as having a vampire for a sister would cause Sarah to lose favor with the Fellowship of the Sun congregants. She describes her life with Jeremy as having been low-key, with the two of them staying home and watching television while drinking Tru Blood. Amber goes on to say that Jeremy has since died of Hepatitis V, and begins to blame herself for not having gone public about who she was. Eric tells her that if she had, Sarah would have her killed anyway, and that she must not blame herself. When he admits that he intends to kill Sarah, Amber readily agrees to help. She tells Eric and Pam that she has not seen Sarah in years, but that she had called earlier that day to announce that she in town and needed refuge; Amber had turned her down flat. She correctly deduces that Sarah would likely then turn to their parents, despite the fact that they were now ashamed of her, too. Amber tells them that they are sure to find their parents at a Ted Cruz gala at the Bush Library that night, but she warns them that they don't look the part of the average attendee of these events. Eric replies that they can impersonate anybody.

Lettie Mae pleads with Reverend Daniels to let her go to Sookie's party. She states that she wants to bond with others who need to say goodbye to their departed loved ones. Reverend Daniels believes that Lettie Mae is jonesing for vampire blood, but she steadfastly denies that she is addicted. He does not believe her, and states that they are staying home that night. He asks her to taste a bit of the chili that he's cooking. Lettie Mae replies that it needs cumin, and goes to the cupboard to retrieve it. She sees a bottle of Benadryl in the cabinet and, while Reverend Daniels isn't looking, quickly snatches it.

Sookie's house is filled with many dancing partygoers, including Wade, Rocky, Adilyn, Jenny, Lafayette, Keith, James, Jason, and Violet. In the kitchen, Arlene, Holly, and Jane Bodehouse are already visibly buzzed and enjoying themselves. Sam remarks on the ladies' ability to recuperate so quickly after such a harrowing experience. Nicole looks irritated, and drinks her soda in silence. Jane suddenly announces that her scare with death has inspired her to turn her life around. Arlene and Holly congratulate her. Jane then slurs "Starting tomorrow." The three women burst out laughing, as Nicole rolls her eyes.

Bill learns that war has broken out.

Bill, playing the wallflower, does not mingle and gets lost in his memories. He flashes back to 1862 at the outbreak of the Civil War. While walking in town, he recognizes his father's former slave, Minus, who is now owned by his old friend, Charles Dupont. Charles tells William that every man in town is enlisting in the Confederacy, and the two of them will surely be commissioned as officers, as they are both from prominent families. William is not feeling the same sense of enthusiasm as his friend. The two of them enter the Bodehouse Saloon, where Charles riles up the local men of the town to join the fight for Southern independence. Eventually, William speaks up, telling the men that they are outnumbered and outgunned by the Northern army, and that war would be suicide because it would end with the destruction of the South. Mr. Bodehouse throws William out for being a "Yankee sympathizer."

Sookie finally joins her party. Jason remarks that she looks pretty. Sookie thanks him and, while looking at Violet, replies "So do you." Jason agrees, now that he has had a chance to bathe and get cleaned up. Sookie tells him that she was, of course, speaking to Violet. Violet embraces Sookie, calling her sister, and violates the party's rule of offering her condolences. Sookie is visibly uncomfortable with the invasion of her personal space, but Violet does not notice her uneasiness. She goes on to "comfort" Sookie by telling her that she's had hundreds of boyfriends die on her, and the first ones were very hard to cope with. Bill rescues Sookie by leading her off to the banquet. Violet looks sympathetically at Sookie as she walks off with Bill, until she notices Jason staring at her disapprovingly. Jason begins to scold her gross insensitivity, but again, she fails to interpret the blaring social cues from her human friends, and believes that Jason is simply being playful with her.

Lettie Mae quietly sneaks out of her house as Reverend Daniels sleeps on the couch; the nearly-empty open bottle of Benadryl clearly accounts for the cause of the Reverend's deep sleep.

Jackson speaks bluntly yet fondly about his son Alcide, as Lafayette, James, Jenny, Sookie, Sam, Nicole, Bill, Andy, Holly, Arlene, Jason, and Violet stand around the kitchen table, listening. Jackson tells Sookie that she was worth the fight that Alcide lived and died for. She nods silently, obviously fighting back tears. Jackson declares Alcide a hero, and raises a toast in memory of his son. Lettie Mae enters the kitchen to join them. Lafayette intercepts her, worried that she will cause a scene, and begins to lead her away. Sookie speaks up and asks Lettie Mae if she wanted to talk about Tara. Lettie Mae first offers her condolences to Jackson for the loss of his son, but tells him that she's happy for him because Alcide died saving people, just as Tara had. She admits that she had been a terrible mother, and the fact that Tara had died protecting her had moved her greatly. She leads a toast in Tara's memory.

Andy tells Jessica to stop dwelling on his daughters' deaths.

Jessica stands outside alone in Sookie's front yard, appearing to keep watch. Andy exits the house and tells her that she should join the party, but she refuses. Having been the cause of the deaths of his daughters, she has no desire to celebrate. Andy tells her that her inability to forgive herself resonates in her behavior, which is a constant reminder of the pain and holds him back from moving on. He goes on to add that Jessica has protected Adilyn and helped rescue Holly, and that there was no need to keep dwelling on the past. He intends to move on with his life, and asks Jessica to help him do so by providing him a ring with which to propose to Holly. Jessica tells him that none of her rings are sufficient for a marriage proposal, and asks Sookie if she has any that might do. Sookie takes them, plus Jason, Violet, and James, to an upstairs bedroom where she gives Andy her grandmother's engagement ring, which had been intended for Jason. Violet remarks that Jason is already hers and that she does not require a ring. Jason looks perturbed by her frequent public declarations that he is her pet.

Andy and Holly get engaged.

Wade and Adilyn are giggling together on the steps. As Andy and the others are making their way down the stairs, he asks Wade where Holly is; he replies that she's in the next room. As Jason passes them, he tells Wade and Adilyn that if they have a romantic or sexual relationship going on, then it was going to have to end. Confused, the two teenagers follow the others into the living room. Jessica enters the room, excited with anticipation. Jason bops into the room, picks up one of the pillows from the love seat and drops it on the floor in front of Holly, although no one seems to notice. Andy enters the room and slowly approaches Holly, looking extremely nervous. Holly asks him what is wrong. Stifled by apprehension, he loudly asks to turn the music off. Jason snaps to it and has the DJ switch off the music. Andy promptly kneels down and begins to stammer out his speech. He tells Holly that he had been waiting for the right time to propose, but with danger at every corner, he knew that the right time was the present. He presents the ring and, before he can actually get the question out, she screams "Yes!" The house erupts with cheers. Adilyn and Wade look at each other, stunned. Sam grins at Nicole, who fakes a smile. Jessica starts off to congratulate Andy and Holly, but James pulls her to him, remarking how happy she looks and suggests that they slip away. She rebuffs him, as their disappearance from the party would appear rude. As the others happily congratulate the couple, Arlene notices Sookie is on the verge of crying, and takes her upstairs to her room.

Sookie admits that all of the happiness going on around her is overwhelming. Unbeknownst to her, Jackson is listening in on their conversation from the hall. She tells Arlene that Alcide had seemed larger than life, and never imagined that anything could so easily snuff him out. Arlene replies that Terry had been killed the same way, and brute strength is no match for a bullet. Sookie asks her how she coped with the sudden loss of her husband. Arlene says that she would often wear Terry's jacket at night to simulate him holding her.

Out on the porch, James confides to Lafayette about his frustrations with Jessica. Lafayette offers a sympathetic ear and assures James that there is nothing deficient about him. He then asks James about the nature of the relationship he had had with his best friend Danny while he was human. James admits that he and Danny had been lovers, confirming Lafayette's suspicion that James also likes men. They begin to kiss.

Eric is now in the second stage of Hep-V.

In Dallas, Eric and Pam are in a room at the Hotel Carmilla. They playfully tease each other about the horrid Texas Republican outfits that each has bought for the other. Eric removes his shirt to reveal that the familiar blood veins have now progressed into Stage Two of the disease. Eric hands Pam makeup and tells her to start covering the veins that will be visible. As she chokes back tears, Eric tells Pam that his death in inevitable and she must accept it.

Sookie and Arlene do tequila shots together, and are both obviously feeling much better. Arlene suddenly catches sight of Keith, who is now making his way over to the ladies. Arlene hides behind Sookie, who greets Keith and drunkenly tells him that while Arlene is grateful to him for saving her life, she is not ready to flirt with the incredibly handsome vampire. Amused, Keith replies that he understands, and that he is patient enough to wait for the most beautiful woman that he has seen in over 300 hundred years. He coyly mentions the sex dreams she will undoubtedly have about him. A very inebriated Arlene informs him that she has to pee because that's what humans do, and walks off.

In walks Jessica, who runs into Arlene and asks if she has seen James. Arlene replies that she saw James and Lafayette outside together some time ago. Jessica makes her way outside and looks around. As she walks toward the several parked cars in the yard, she follows the sounds of heavy gasping coming from her car. As she walks closer, she catches sight of Lafayette and James having sex in the backseat. James looks up and sees her, signalling for Lafayette to stop. She yells at him and turns to run back toward the house. James runs in front of her at vampire speed, trying to apologize. She will hear none of it, runs into the house, and calls for Jason. James follows Jessica, still trying to talk to her. Jessica tells Jason what she has just seen and asks him to rescind James' invitation to the house. Insulted for his friend, he angrily tells James to leave. Distraught, Jessica runs upstairs at vampire speed. Concerned for her, Jason looks expectantly at Violet and begins to ask her permission to console Jessica. She appears to be genuinely sympathetic and tells Jason that he may do so.

Lafayette walks up to James outside and asks him if he is alright. James tells him that he wants to be alone. Lafayette tells him that his door is open if he needs a place to go to ground. James walks off without saying good night.

Lafayette and Jessica argue over James.

Jason asked Jessica if she ever questioned James' sexuality. Jessica is in denial that James may be gay, and suggests that he's just confused. Jason replies that having sex with a man would almost certainly mean that he is gay. Jessica is humiliated. Lafayette knocks on the door; Jessica yells to him to go away. He enters the room anyway, and begins to tell her that he knows that she is in pain. She angrily interrupts him and tells him that he knows nothing about her. He counters that she knows nothing about James. She scoffs at this claim, until Lafayette starts firing questions about James' history at her, none of which she could answer. He points out that this is proof that she's not really into James. And when she implies that James couldn't be right for Lafayette, he becomes indignant and challenges her to consider that he is not just the token gay guy who only likes other queens.

Sookie strolls buzzed and content through her house. Being drunk, her ability to shut out people's thoughts is clearly affected, but, for once, she doesn't mind. She relishes all of the positive and apologetic thoughts that they have for Sookie. Willa enters the house and happily greets Sookie, and asks her if she has seen Arlene lately. Sookie replies that she hasn't, and suddenly asks if Willa has seen Bill.

Bill and his family and Minus attempt to escape to the North.

Bill is outside, standing alone, staring out into space and still lost in his memories of his human life. Minus leads several runaway slaves, plus William and his family, through a ditch on the side of the road. Minus is holding a map, and tells William that there is a safe house up ahead where they can all take refuge for the night, before setting out again for the North. Suddenly, they hear the approach of horses and wagons. William orders everyone to get down. As the Confederate soldier wagons pass, baby Thomas begins to cry. William and Caroline try to shush him. The soldiers pass without detecting the fugitive group, and William announces that it is safe to continue ahead. Minus asks William if he's scared, to which William answers that he is. Minus stands up and starts leading the group again, stating that they need to keep moving, since they've already come so far. He is suddenly shot to death in mid-sentence. The killer is Charles Dupont, who has discovered the group. Angered, William shouts at Charles that he had no right to kill a good man like Minus. Charles counters that he did, as Minus was his property, and demands that William retrieve the map still clutched in Minus' hand. At gunpoint, William takes the map from the dead man. With his back turned to Charles, he begins to burn it. Enraged, Charles cocks his weapon at William. Caroline screams and, while still holding her infant, positions herself in between William and Charles' aim. Charles demands that Caroline step aside, but she begs him to think of her children. Not willing to shoot a woman, a frustrated Charles tells William to let Minus' death be a warning as to what will happen if he should attempt to escape conscription again. He rides off, leaving a shaken William and Caroline on the side of the road with cowering slaves.

Sookie opens the front door, and asks Bill if it is safe for her to come outside; he affirms that it is safe. She cautiously walks down the steps, a hint of uncertainty in her step betrays her intoxicated state. She walks over to Bill, who still looks too solemn for such a festive occasion. Sookie asks Bill if he is okay. He tells her that he is; he is just thinking about past events. She inquires as to why he hasn't mingled when people are certainly happy to see him. He tells her that the guests aren't there for him, but are happy to see her after all of the good things that she has done for the town. He turns her around to face the dancing silhouettes in the windows, and shows her what she has accomplished that he could not: having humans and vampires coexisting in peace. He begins to walk Sookie back to the party, and tells her that he should get going. He admits that the idea of men and women being friends is still a bit new for him. Sookie thanks him for showing her all of the positive things she has done when she usually focuses only on the misery that occurs around her. She hugs him, which slightly takes him by surprise, and then bids him good night.

Lettie Mae stabs Willa.

Sookie returns inside, her head immediately fills with the sounds of all of the happy thoughts about her. That is, until she hears the thoughts of Lettie Mae planning to stab Willa to obtain her blood. Sookie looks around the room frantically and asks random party-goers if they have seen Willa. Meanwhile, an extremely inebriated Arlene is talking with Willa in the kitchen, who asks her for a job at Bellefleur's. Unbeknownst to Arlene and Willa, Lettie Mae sneaks up behind Willa, holding a butcher knife. Just then, Sookie runs up and yells to Lettie Mae to stop, but it is too late. She stabs Willa in the shoulder. Sam tackles Lettie Mae before she can taste the blood from the knife. Aroused by an attack on a vampire, Violet, Keith, and a third vampire bare their fangs, sending Nicole screaming and running away. Sam, who has wrestled the knife out of Lettie Mae's hand, tells the vampires to stand down. Willa's wound has already healed, and she assures them that she is okay. The three vampires retract their fangs, but eye Lettie Mae with heavy suspicion. Hearing the commotion, Lafayette enters and asks what is going on. Jenny tells him that Lettie Mae had just stabbed Willa. Having expected some kind of display of insanity from his aunt, he scolds her immediately. Lettie Mae rushes up to him and maniacally rambles that Tara is trying to communicate to her through vampire blood, and that Tara needs her help. Concerned for her safety, Lafayette decides to get her out of there. Lettie Mae shouts at the group that they only think she's crazy because she used to be an alcoholic. Lafayette yells at her that they think she's crazy because she had just stabbed someone. He leads her out of the house. Nicole, who had been making faces all night, suddenly speaks up in astonishment that they were all crazy for even wanting to have a party so soon after a massacre, reminding them all that she, Arlene, Holly, and Jane had, up until the night before, been chained in a dungeon for days. Sam attempts to calm her down, but she continues to rail against the bizarre events and the choice of celebrating after being horribly traumatized. She then tells Sam to take her home, and walks out. Violet tells Sookie that she is going to follow them to make sure they make it home safe.

Jessica laments her relationship with James, and considers if Lafayette was right about the two of them not belonging together. Jason, who agrees with Lafayette, reminds her of their ambiguous meeting in a prison camp. Jessica gently counters that that is also where he met Violet. Anxious to confide, Jason tells Jessica that while he's attracted to Violet, she's just too weird and inappropriate for him. He adds that he was relieved to see his grandmother's ring end up on Holly's finger, rather than Violet's. While he had hoped to get the chance to propose to a woman that he loved, he would rather see the ring go to another loving couple than feel compelled to give it to Violet. Moved by his sentiment, Jessica tells Jason that he is the sweetest man in the world, and kisses him. She pulls away suddenly, realizing that she shouldn't be kissing him. Jason, however, kisses her back.

Pam and Eric masquerade as Republicans.

Eric and Pam arrive at the Ted Cruz gala. The Republican iconography, including the large photograph of George W. Bush on the stage, is determined to be the most disturbing thing that Pam has ever seen in her 100+ years as a vampire. Eric tells her that this is fun because they are there together, but Pam disagrees and asks to see the photo of the Crabtrees again. Eric retrieves it from his breast pocket, and, from the photo, Pam immediately points out Paul Crabtree, standing with a small group of men. Eric goes off to speak with the father, and tells Pam to locate the mother. As he walks away, she hisses that all of the women look too much alike to recognize her. Nancy Crabtree is in the ladies' room, checking her appearance in the mirror. Sarah peers out from a stall, and calls her mother. At first, Nancy appears relieved to see Sarah, but then suddenly locks the door to the ladies' room to make sure that no one can walk in and see her wayward daughter. She demands to know why Sarah has showed up there. Sarah lays on the compliments thick about Nancy's appearance, telling her how she had forgotten how beautiful her mother was. With great suspicion, Nancy asks Sarah what she wants. Sarah tells her that she is in a lot more trouble than she knows, and that she needs help from powerful people. She then asks if Laura Bush is at the gala. Nancy replies that Laura Bush was not attending the party, and that she has refused to speak with her since the publication of Bill Compton's tell-all book. She insists that Sarah leave before she is seen and the Crabtrees are further disgraced. Sarah pleads with her mother and tells her that the Yakuza is looking for her. Nancy thinks that Sarah is delusional.

Jason and Jessica have sex in the upstairs bedroom in Sookie's house. By this time, Violet has returned and is heading up the stairs when she hears their moans with her vampire hearing. She stops outside of the door to the bedroom, listens, and silently fumes as she turns and leaves.

Sarah and Eric meet again.

Pam walks through the crowd with a fake smile painted on her face, looking for Nancy Crabtree. Eric approaches Paul Crabtree and immediately begins to glamour him for information about Sarah. But before he can begin asking his questions, Hiroki and the Yakuza suddenly storm the Bush Library and begin massacring the guards. At the sounds of gunshots, Pam and Eric retreat. Hearing the gunshots from the ladies' room, Nancy realizes that Sarah was telling the truth. Hiroki locates Paul and demands to know where Sarah is. Shaking with terror, Paul truthfully tells him that he doesn't know. He gets a bullet in the head nonetheless. Sarah and Nancy race through the halls, searching for an exit. Nancy begins to slow down, as she cannot run far. Sarah screams to her to keep up, but Nancy stumbles and tells Sarah to leave her behind. Just then, Hiroki and other Yakuza members appear and shoot Nancy in the back. Sarah runs for her life, and straight into Eric in a scene reminiscent of The Terminator 2: Judgment Day. He grabs her by the throat and lifts her off the ground, intending to throttle the life out of her. Hiroki and two of his men appear, brandishing swords. Remembering Hiroki from Paris, he drops Sarah, bears his fangs, and charges them. He effortlessly kills the Yakuza members, and impales Hiroki with both of their swords. Before he can die, Eric literally rips his jaw out.

Sookie closes the door to her now-empty house; the party has ended, the sun is rising, and she is alone. She walks upstairs to her bedroom to find Alcide's leather jacket laid out neatly on her bed, presumably left there by Jackson. Sookie picks up the jacket and breathes it in before putting it on. She lays on her bed, reaches out for Alcide's pillow, and begins to softly cry.

Bill is Hep-V positive

Bill is lying in his bathtub, eyes closed. Once again, he flashes back to his memories of 1862. Dressed in his lieutenant's uniform, William finds Caroline standing in front of the graves of William Sr. and Margaret Compton, and asks her what she is doing there. Caroline sadly replies that he will soon be buried with his parents. He tells her that he doesn't want to go to war, but there is no way that he can avoid it now. Distraught at being separated by war, William and Caroline reaffirm their love for each other. William promises to survive and return to her and the children when the war ends. The flashback ends, and Bill gets out of the tub. He goes to the bathroom mirror and notices the beginning of a blood vein sprouting on his chest.

Notes

Accolades

• This episode currently hasn’t received any awards.

Allusions

• This episode does not contain any allusions.

Bloopers and Continuity Errors

• There are no bloopers that occur in this episode.

Continuity

• There are no continuity notes for this episode.

Flashbacks

• Bill has a flashback to 1862 when he was informed by Charles Dupont that they would be heading to war. Later, in a saloon, Charles is riling up the people while Bill tells them that fighting against the north in a war would be a lost cause.
• Bill has another flashback to trying to flee from the war with his family, but they are stopped by Charles.
• Bill has a third flashback to just before he leaves for the war, trying to comfort Caroline and telling her that he loves her.

Miscredits

• There are no miscredits that occur in this episode.

Music

• "Lost Cause" - Beck

Production

• Rutina Wesley and Joe Manganiello are credited but do not appear in this episode.

Title

• The episode's name is a reference to the Lost Cause mythology which glorified the antebellum South/Confederacy and claimed the Civil War was fought over states' rights not slavery. It is even alluded to in flashback sequences featuring Bill as a Confederate soldier with his wife Caroline Compton and their slave Minus.

Trivia

• There is currently no trivia associated with this episode.

Memorable Quotes

Willa Burrell: (to Pam) "He may be my maker, but he sure as fuck didn't raise me! Tara did! She was the one who taught me how to feed, how to control my impulses. He left, and then you left her when we needed you most!"

Pamela Swynford de Beaufort: "Like being kicked in the cooch by a wallaby, innit?"

Lafayette Reynolds: "Sook, what did you say last night when you came home? About how this house was feeling so empty? That's why we're gonna fill it up, so we can say 'fuck you' to death, and 'hello' to life. And that's what we're doing. We are motherfucking celebrating life."

Sookie Stackhouse: (to Keith) "Arlene here is super grateful on account of you saving her life last night and all, but she's been through a lot so you might wanna -- I dunno -- dial down your sexy a notch."

Arlene Fowler Bellefleur: "I have to go make tinkle, because, you know, I am a human!"

Lafayette Reynolds: "Everybody else in this fucking town is falling in love and getting engaged and having babies! Has it ever occurred to you that Lafayette -- that queen that makes all you white heterosexuals laugh and feel good about yourselves -- has it fucking ever occurred to you that maybe I want a piece of happiness, too?"

Memorable Dialogue

Sarah Newlin: "Mom, I'm in trouble"
Nancy Crabtree: "No shit, babygirl!"

Ginger: "I have been your sex slave for 15 years, Eric Northman, and we ain't never had sex! Blow job, hand job, nothin'! Do you know what a sex slave is without the sex?"
Pamela Swynford De Beaufort: "A slave?"
Ginger: Now you are taking me with you to Dallas. And if you can't fucking take me, then you had better fucking fuck me before you go."
Eric Northman: "Ginger, I'm diseased."
Ginger: "So the fuck am I!"

Cast

Starring

• Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse
• Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton
• Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte
• Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse
• Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton (credit only)
• Alexander Skarsgard as Eric Northman
• Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux (credit only)
• Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica Hamby
• Karolina Wydra as Violet Mazurski
• Nathan Parsons as James
• Carrie Preston as Arlene Fowler Bellefleur
• Amelia Rose Blaire as Willa Burrell
• Bailey Noble as Adilyn Bellefleur
• Adina Porter as Lettie Mae Daniels
• Chris Bauer as Andy Bellefleur
• Kristin Bauer van Straten as Pam De Beaufort
• Lauren Bowles as Holly Cleary
• Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette Reynolds
• Tara Buck as Ginger
• Anna Camp as Sarah Newlin

Co-starring

• Gilbert Owuor as Minus
• Natalie Hall as Amber Mills
• Patricia Bethune as Jane Bodehouse
• Matthew Holmes as Charles Dupont
• Brian Mulligan as Louis Bodehouse
• Louis Ozawa Changchien as Hiroki
• Jon Komp Shin as Yakuza
• Kellie Aiken as Young Republican Hostess
• Robert Artz as Republican Party-Goer
• Holly Hawkins as Uppity Church Going Woman/Townie Woman

Episode Ratings

Episode #	Episode Title	Viewers (in millions)
#7.05 (75)	"Lost Cause"	3.57

True Blood Season 7
<< Season 4 • << Season 5 • << Season 6
#01 "Jesus Gonna Be Here"	#06 "Karma"
#02 "I Found You"	#07 "May Be the Last Time"
#03 "Fire in the Hole"	#08 "Almost Home"
#04 "Death is Not the End"	#09 "Love is to Die"
#05 "Lost Cause"	#10 "Thank You"