What I’m Watching: True Blood

True Blood: Season 3, Episode 2 “Beautifully Broken” (B+)

On any other show, having werewolves as an integral part of the plot might seem cheesy at best, if not downright awful. But here, it’s fantastic. You have werewolves who work for vampires, swear like they mean it, and once upon a time even donned Nazi uniforms. The flashbacks of Eric and Godric hunting Nazi werewolves were almost too good to be true, and seeing this darker side of Eric being chastised by a reincarnated Godric is a real treat. I loved the music in the opening scene where the King arrived to escort Bill to his home, and Coot looked genuinely terrified when the King yelled at him and then shot his friend in the head. These vampire leadership figures really are intimidating. Bill being served blood gelato was just one of the intensely awkward and darkly funny moments of his stay, which will likely now be cut short by his rather brutal torching of his maker. There were definitely some lighter, entertaining moments in this episode, like Jessica asking Pam how you avoid killing someone when you’re feeding on them. Hoyt not giving up is very sentimental, as is Terry reading off the list of reasons why Arlene should trust him with her kids and not stopping even when she goes to throw up in the bathroom. Kevin Alejandro appearing as Lafayette’s mother’s Mexican caretaker Jesus was very funny as well. A more serious and impressionable new character is the vampire/werewolf played by James Frain, who upon his entrance reveals that Tara not being dead “makes one of us” and that he is no friend of Bill Compton’s. Clearly, he wants to be a friend to Tara though, helping her get her revenge on the people mocking the memory of Eggs. The ending to this episode was great, with Eric suddenly getting serious and demanding that Sookie invite him in. That last shot of Eric and the wolf charging at each other while Sookie fires the shotgun is a perfect cliffhanger to pick up on next week.