‘True Blood’ recap: Could Sarah eradicate hepatitis V pandemic?

Fugitive Sarah Newlin (Anna Camp) could possibly rid the world of hepatitis V -- if vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) doesn’t murder her first -- on “May Be the Last Time,” Episode 77 of HBO’s “True Blood.”

Sarah, who helped create and disseminate the vamp-killing virus, swallowed every drop of the antidote. Now her blood contains the cure, making her an invaluable asset for Mr. Gus (Will Yun Lee) and his Yakonomo Corp.

The Japan-based firm took a nosedive when its synthetic “Tru Blood” product was tainted with hep V. Now the firm could rebound by selling “Nu Blood” fortified with Sarah’s lifesaving antidote and hiring Eric as a handsomely paid spokesperson.

But Eric is out for revenge because Sarah injected his beloved sister Nora (Lucy Griffiths) with a fatal dose of hep V. Blinded by rage, Eric kills vampire Amber Mills (Natalie Hall) when she refuses to reveal the whereabouts of her sibling Sarah.

A Japanese satellite, however, locates Sarah at her old stomping ground -- the Light of Day Institute, where militant Christians once honed their vampire-slaying skills. Shaking with fear, Sarah has an ominous vision of her ex-lover Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten).

“You gonna die tonight,” Jason warns. “Eric’s coming for you. And there ain’t no escaping.”

Sarah also has visions of her dead vampire husband Steve Newlin (Michael McMillian) and her beheaded guru Sanbir Dutta (Shishir Kurup).

“I’m here to give you a choice between heaven and hell,” Steve declares, “because there’s still time to save your soul.”

But the Buddhist guru begs to differ, saying there is no heaven, “only the now and nothingness.”

In the midst of this spiritual confusion, Sarah hears a caravan of cars pulling into the institute. It’s Eric, his progeny Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten), Mr. Gus and a band of lethal yakuza.

Meanwhile, teen lovers Adilyn Bellefleur (Bailey Noble) and Wade Cleary (Noah Matthews) think they’ve found a haven when vampire Violet Mazurski (Karolina Wydra) invites them inside an old mansion filled with mounted beasts and antique sex toys.

But Violet’s evil intentions become clear when she hurls Wade into a wall and pounces on Adilyn, intoxicated by the smell of her delectable faerie blood. Vampire Jessica Hamby (Deborah Ann Woll) senses Adilyn is in grave danger, fortunately, and flies to the rescue.

Finally, Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) refuses to believe that vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) will die of a fast-spreading hep V infection.

“There’s a miracle out there just waiting for Bill,” Sookie tells a tearful Jessica. “We just have to go out there and find it.”

First Sookie turns to quirky Dr. Ludwig (Marcia de Rousse), who offers no hope of curing this “nasty, nasty, nasty” disease.

Next Sookie summons her powerful faerie grandfather Niall (Rutger Hauer) and pleads with him to save Bill.

“I am asking you, I’m begging you,” Sookie says. “Prove it. Do some of your magic for me.”

Standing in the Compton family cemetery, Niall conjures an image of pre-Civil War Bon Temps when Bill’s wife Caroline (Shannon Lucio) gave birth to a girl. There’s magic in the ordinary, Niall tells Sookie.

“Birth is a miracle. Love is a miracle. Death is a miracle,” Niall explains. Then he gives Sookie some devastating news.

“There are some things that can be fixed with magic,” he says. “But your vampire friend is not one of them. I’m sorry.”

That night, Sookie rushes to Bill’s house and embraces her former boyfriend.

“I’m not going to leave you,” she promises. “I’m going to stay with you until the very end, OK?”

With that, they passionately make love -- maybe for the last time.