What I’m Watching: True Blood

True Blood: Season 3, Episode 10 “I Smell a Rat” (B+)

As we’re approaching the end of the season, I feel like this show is getting its ducks back in a row, and by that I mean things are still making sense even as they’re getting crazier and crazier. Sookie being described as a fairy is somewhat strange, but the admission that her blood is what made Bill able to go out into the sunlight unharmed is very intriguing. Bill and Eric talking reveals just how little both of them really know. Eric is truly preparing to meet his end, saying that he won’t be around much longer anyway and then saying goodbye by redrafting his will. I loved how Pam interrupted his conversation with Sookie – “blah blah vampire emergency blah” – and Eric’s assertion that her lack of sentiment has always been her most positive quality was amusing and all too appropriate. Eric’s decision to lock up Sookie at the end is a discouraging one, though it’s always possible that he’s just doing it for her own protection so she won’t go and get herself hurt. Sam’s flashbacks are interesting and a bit random, though I do like his motto: “it’s not respect when your employees think you’re a psychopath.” Jason’s decision to confess his murder of Eggs to Tara when she’s at her worst and finally starting to trust someone (him) seems ill-advised and doesn’t do much to help the idea that he’s actually smarter than he tries to appear. His discussion with Sookie about protecting and lying not always being different was one of the more powerful scenes of the episode. Jason getting mad and kicking Bill out of the house was also pretty intense, and a human taking back an extended invitation is one thing we hadn’t yet seen (to my best recollection) on this show. The crazy V trip taken by Lafayette and Jesus doesn’t do much to enhance the show, but it’s not overly distracting and the two actors are both extremely talented, so it’s not too grating. Terry vowing to raise Arlene’s child as his own, surrounded by lots of love, was sweet, and it’s a shame that Arlene immediately thought about how to get rid of the baby. Hoyt just punching Tommy in the face after leaving the bar when Jessica couldn’t say she loved him was quite a surprise, and Tommy’s response was a violent, though hardly atypical overreaction. It’s good to see one couple get happily back together, and now that he’s drunk a good deal of her blood, they’re sure to be closer than ever. It seems abundantly clear than Russell is insane, and in case there didn’t seem to be anything more off-putting than the image of a vampire being staked, it turns out that a human being staked is even worse because they don’t get to immediately move on to the “true death.”