Review

Sookie saves Bill, who is near the true death, but he ends up feeding on her which naturally puts Sookie in the local hospital. We learn that our gal doesn't have a blood type. In a coma Sookie visits a garden and meets Claudine, a sort of dream guide who warns Sookie not to allow Bill to steal her light.

Back in Bon Temps Jason is dedicating himself to finding out more about Crystal, and Hoyt is paying the price for dating serial girlfriend Summer. Sam uses some ingenuity to get into the dog fight in order to rescue Tommy, with the long awaited confrontation with Joe Lee going down. And if that's not enough Eric arrives back in Fangtasia to put a stop to the Magister torturing Pam. Along for the ride are Sophie-Anne who confesses to dealing in V, and Russell who has a few home truths he wishes to express. Oh almost forgot Hadley, Sophie-Anne's favourite human, is Sookie's cousin (did we know that already?). Hadley whispers to Eric the truth about Sookie, which apparently isn't what Eric was expecting.

Guess this episode is all about raising interest in just what Sookie may or may not be, which is probably a good thing considering we're into the second half of the season now. We learn that Sookie doesn't have a human blood type, has never been to hospital before in her life (she was a home birth), and that drinking her blood can allow a vampire to survive a short time in the sun. We also learn, and maybe get an inkling of Bill's interest in Sookie, that Sophie-Anne knows what Sookie is. Hadley spills the beans to Eric, who definitely wasn't expecting the revelation. Since we still don't know I've got a feeling this will be a major season ending revelation that might just blow our socks off. Thumbs up to Ryan Kwanten's Jason who brought across his trauma of being exposed to the business end of Sookie's home birth.

The other theme running through the episode was the rejection of friends and family in order to do the right thing. Alcide shots Cooter, he didn't have a choice in the matter, and locks Debbie in the slave quarters in order to help Sookie and Tara escape. Clearly helping fang bangers isn't going to go down well with his pack, though ironically they are enthralled to the Vampire King of Mississippi Russell Edgington. Tommy finally breaks the bonds with his parents after Sam weighs into the domestic situation and shows Joe Lee to be all bark and no bite. In both cases I'm expecting some repercussions as there are nearly always prices to pay for you actions in the dark genre. Which of course leads us to Crystal and her unwillingness to leave her family, though clearly she is attracted to the ever confused Jason Stackhouse. Guess we're talking one of those recurrent themes then, must keep an eye on this through the rest of the season.

I'm left wondering just what Sookie is, and who can stop the meglomaniac Russell Edgington

Director John Dahl sure does fry himself a mess of gore up with this episode. Things get underway with Lorena getting staked by Sookie, Vampires go down in a blooded mess in True Blood, both Bill and Eric get their fang on in fairly blood drenched fashion, Pam is keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of the Magister hitting sterling silver, and of course Russell doesn't like to be left out when the claret starts to flow. So for sure True Blood isn't going all prime and proper, this is a regular kegger in the dark depths of the forest.

I should also point out that a few of the minor plots are bubbling away just under the radar. Andy is still regretting ever having come under Jason's sphere of influence, and for the first time ever Jason is referred to as smart, admittedly by the jailed T-Dub who isn't exactly knocking over University entrance exams himself. And Hoyt is confronted by Summer and her evil baked biscuits, naturally Jason thinks they rock and informs Hoyt that Summer is a keeper. Hoyt may be in trouble here, but Summer could be just the tonic he needs to get Jessica all jealous. Oh dear god I've turned into a chick over here! I need some Predator thrown on the player stat!

The girls get to rock out on the T&A stakes this episode. Jason, Hoyt, and Sam, all show off the gym membership fees weren't a waste of time. Dig on in there Ladies, you deserve it. For the quick eyed amongst Dudes there is a fleeting boob shot, not going to tell you in which scene, check it out for yourself.

There are of course a few problems that will need some sort of resolution by season end. Tara probably hasn't seen the last of Franklin, bashing in a vampire's head simply never works as one might expect. And Lafayette and Jesus must come to some sort of an understanding, too much time already spent on that relationship to toss it on the editing room floor. I've got a feeling both issues will be major turning points for the respective characters by the time we start to wonder when season four might arrive on our doorstep.

So I was rocking onto this episode even though it was moving at such a breakneck pace giving me barely enough time to think about things. There's plenty of depth to the plot and characters, enough horror ingredients to keep things entertaining, and of course the promise of a lot more to come. Season three is definitely gearing toward one hell of a conclusion with Russell taking on the powers that be and maybe the discovery of just what Sookie might be. Another very solid episode that underlines just how good the production values of this franchise are. One of the best shows to have ever aired, and surprisingly American!