“True Blood” Season 3, Episode 2: “Beautifully Broken” Review

“True Blood” Season 3, Episode 2: “Beautifully Broken”

Television Review

by our guest blogger, Julie Lam

After last season’s triumphant defeat of bull-headed MaryAnn, Bon Temps saw its brief return to some semblance of normality. Writers this season are now rousing the show from its post-MaryAnn stupor with razor-sharp bloodletting and tasty cast additions.

The cliffhanger from last week’s “Bad Blood” left us with an unaccompanied Bill surrounded by a sinister band of werewolves. The vamp effortlessly severs and minces the wolf pack, leaving no room for their retaliation. Enter the mounted Russell Edgington, 3,000-year-old vampire king of Mississippi. We find out Edgington employed the werewolves in his servitude, and is responsible for Bill’s abduction. Edgington summons Bill to his living quarters, where Bill is offered delicacies such as “warm blood bisque infused with rose petals” and “blood gelato.” Presentation is half the appeal, and "True Blood" stirred up appetites from eyecandy alone. I already felt hunger pangs after seeing and hearing the first course, which was described as “chilled carbonated blood, cruelty free and willingly donated.” I can easily see these products gaining a cult following.

Thereon, we discover that many other juicy treats are on the slab.

The impetus behind Bill’s kidnapping is Edgington’s desire to marry Queen Sophie Anne. In doing so, the two kingdoms would unite, quite possibly invoking political strife to Edgington’s favor. Somehow Bill shall convince the Queen that the marriage will be a good fit. In exchange, Edgington will make Bill Sheriff of Mississipi, Area 2. Good luck with being Edgington’s wingman, Bill. Your Queen “hasn’t enjoyed sex with men since the Eisenhower Administration.”

Bill’s disposition as the charming and do-no-wrong vampire in the series is questioned as we peer into Bill’s drawer full of Sookie’s dated photographs and clippings. For how long has Bill stalked Sookie? Did Bill really move to Bon Temps to mainstream? Another vampire is clearly in the know, and his name is Franklin Mott. We see him rummaging through Bill’s drawers, looking for the Stackhouse descendant. Later on, he is spotted at Merlotte’s with a grief-stricken Tara. As the official trailer suggests, these two are set for some on-screen sparks.

The ties between Sookie and Eric are strengthened when Eric voluntarily vows to protect Sookie from her new and impending werewolf peril. Eric’s affection for Sookie is beginning to show markedly. With Bill out of the picture, we cannot help but wonder how long Sookie can resist Eric’s magnetism. The Viking and The Barmaid does have a nice ring to it. Plus, Sookie is already bonded with Eric through his blood. I sense that she’ll give in soon enough.

Eric remembers his past connections to werewolves in a flashback from WWII. Eric and his maker, Godric, posed as members of the SS and hunted for Nazi werewolves. Eric viciously interrogates a female werewolf, who says she will not say a word until Eric gives her vampire blood. Godric advises Eric that vampire blood is sacred. Still, Eric feeds the she-wolf his blood, amping her vigor to new heights and causing her to go haywire. If these Nazi werewolves are still around, let’s hope they prove to be true menacing adversaries in contrast to the pups in the opening sequence of the episode.

I’m thoroughly enjoying the departure from the Sookie-Bill trunk plot. The love scenes that exclusively featured Sookie and Bill in past seasons were cute, but were almost too sweetly coated. Bill was too perfect and one-dimensional. Without change, he runs the risk of falling into a static character, and the show may become a farce. Yet the couple’s split is unsurprising and foreseeable. Last season Sookie channeled an unknown supernatural power that has yet to be understood. This is a discovery she has to make alone, and without Bill. Also, we want to hear Sookie’s dead-on impersonation of Bill again and again. Bill would not allow for that.

Where is the dead body? Are Lafayette and Jesus an item? Why does Jason eat fried chicken in the dark? Is Lorena really back? If so, will Lorena rise as season three’s malaise like MaryAnn did in season two? Are werewolves without vampire blood similar to shifters? What else can vampire blood do, and what are the side effects of blood-bonding? These questions give “True Blood” zesty pulp and traction.