What I’m Watching: True Blood

True Blood: Season 3, Episode 11 “Fresh Blood” (B-)

It often happens that the penultimate episode of a season is merely filler, useful as setup for the big showdown in the final episode and nothing more. While this one did have a pretty monumental event, it hardly felt like one and is also still in the process of occurring. Eric making the ultimate sacrifice by tricking Russell into thinking that Sookie’s blood actually works for more than a minute or two (not exactly clear on the details of that) is intriguing, but it also seems like he could have ganged up with Bill, Pam, and a whole bunch of other vampires to take down the much older Russell. Eric’s sacrifice, while semi-moving, seems hardly necessary considering just how easily the deranged Russell is distracted. Sookie’s livelihood and trust in vampires is also being seriously messed with as Bill and Eric choose to deceive her once again, allegedly for her own good. Tara comforting Sam makes sense, since he’s really off his rocker and she’s never really been fully on hers. Jason’s newfound mission to bring down the steroid user is somewhat interesting, as is Hoyt’s willingness to let Jessica feed on him after she confesses that Tru Blood just isn’t enough for her. Lafayette’s drug trip is getting seriously freaky, and I jumped the first time he saw a terrifying face instead of Jesus’. This show can be really messed up sometimes, and right now I’m feeling like it lacks a cohesiveness that is desperately needed. I highly doubt that next week’s finale will provide any real closure, but that’s what season four is for, right?