In Defense of Tommy Mickens

There are so many reasons to defend Tommy Mickens this season. I can’t help myself, he’s just a kid! His parents never taught him right from wrong except where it concerned dog fighting, and then it was more like win or lose. Now his own brother casts him off as a hopeless case, good for nothing at all. My heart breaks for this boy.

Marshall Allman plays 'Tommy Mickens'

When Sam first meets Tommy, I think he was kind of happy to know he had a little brother. When it became clear to Sam the type of people his parents were, his focus turned to helping Tommy get out of that house and start making a better life for himself. He provided a home and a job; a good start, I think. But Sam is inexperienced at raising a child or mentoring a youth, and he had some unresolved issues of his own he had to deal with. Bad time to start mentoring someone. Perhaps Sam should have thought things through a bit more thoroughly before inviting Tommy to stay in his home with him. Giving Tommy a job at Merlotte’s would have been enough to start with, providing each of them with some breathing space, should it be required. And it obviously was required.

Tommy certainly couldn’t be blamed for allowing Maxine Fortenberry to take him in as her shiny new ‘Hoyt’. He’s a survivor. Sam had Fired Tommy, kicked him out of his house and shot him! Double-u tee eff!

In spite of all that, Tommy can’t keep away from his big brother. He wants what Sam has and who could blame him? Sam is a successful business man with a beautiful lady who wants him. Tommy couldn’t even have Jessica. Could this kid take any more knocks? Apparently so, because when he tries to impress Sam with a scheme (the only thing he knows how to do), Sam again turns on him.

At this point, we don’t know what will happen to Tommy. If Sam is smart, he will seek out Tommy and patch things up. I suspect that won’t happen though, sadly. So if Tommy turns out to be a villain, as much as I love our Sam, I’d have to lay that blame at his door. Tommy as willing to make a better life than the one he had; he tried to make it work. But with no proper guidance from the one person he looks up to and admires, Tommy doesn’t have a chance.

I’m hoping for the best for this kid, expecting the worst and maybe asking fans for a little compassion?