When it comes to last night’s season-ender, TRUE BLOOD was what it always is: a mixed bag. Anyone who wasn’t clued into the “shocking” death of Tara by her and Sookie’s chat in the kitchen earlier in the episode is probably often caught off guard by such things as gravity and noon coming at the same time every day. Even on a show that is about as subtle as a baseball bat to the head, this plot point was telegraphed from a mile away. Other final-moment twists ran the gamut from random (Reverend Steve popping up) to unexpected (the gloriously gory demise of Nan) to intriguing (even a tease of Russell rising from the grave was more interesting than the wrap-up of the witches vs. vampires plot). By the time the episode was over, I realized exactly what keeps me coming back to this series despite a storytelling style that is uneven at best and chaotic at worst: The little things. Andy and Holly’s budding romance. Every heartbreaking thing that Jessica does. Sam’s budding (read: doomed) romance with Luna. These are wonderful beats that often play far better than whatever the big umbrella story of the season happens to be. I may not have cared much for the “journey” Lafayette and his boyfriend were on, but damned if every twitch of Nelsan Ellis’ face when his alter ego is possessed (interestingly always by women) doesn’t do a better job of sending chills down the spine than did those silly masks he and Kevin Alejandro (Jesus) wore. And so, in the end, TRUE BLOOD’s fourth-season finale was like a decent meal in a moderately-priced restaurant: We weren’t exactly bowled over, but we’ll probably come back again the next time we’re in the neighborhood. Grade: C