Only two episodes left in True Blood season three and the best way to describe this episode is the best way to describe the series as a whole: it sets up a lot! The season so far seems to set up a slew of different threads with nothing really paying off…yet. This week’s episode “I Smell a Rat” resolved quite a few points, namely what Sookie is and Jason confessing about Eggs’ murder, but it also set up just as much like Sookie’s abduction and the were panthers. It’s unknown how the last two episodes will go but expect them to resolve almost everything established, and hopefully provide enough material to keep fans enticed for season four.
Sookie discovered she’s a faerie and goes to Eric to discuss why she shouldn’t trust Bill. Eric prepares for his death at the hands of Russell by bequeathing all his possessions to Pam, but unexpectedly decides to use Sookie for his own purposes. Jason confesses to Tara about Eggs’ while Tara reveals her past with Franklin. Hoyt breaks up with Summer and returns to Jessica, but Tommy doesn’t take it well. Sam flashes back to a jewel heist gone wrong and how it resulted in two deaths. Arlene confesses to Terry about the baby. Talbot continues to go off the deep end by attempting to recreate Talbot’s death with a human.
“I Smell a Rat” was all about confessions and how those we trust can end up hurting us the most. Jason finally confessed to Tara while Arlene came clean to Terry, both of which didn’t do much separately but were wonderful combined. Terry and Arlene continue to be a couple on the fringes of the True Blood universe and this week Terry proved he is a man among men. His love of Arlene and the unborn baby he was going to shower with love, leaving no way for it to be evil, was so sweet and it made things even sadder when Arlene still didn’t want to keep it. Hopefully these two will continue to gain more prominence as the show goes on because they are far more adorable than our main couple. Speaking of Sookie there was actually a lot of fun and humor associated with her this week. From her opening lines of “A faerie, how lame is that” to another one of her sexy dreams with Eric, it was all about Sookie this week! Her dreams with Eric have been sadly missing this season but there’s no denying these two need to hook up and fast. Eric continues to be the best character of the bunch and from his devastating comments to Yvetta to his conclusion to kidnap Sookie he is easily the most unpredictable character in the series. Hoyt and Jessica were also incredibly sweet and it seems apparent that Tommy won’t be going quietly into the night.
While this episode was great there were a lot of scenes that just left me asking “where is that mean to take us?” The weirdest scene had to be Jesus and Lafayette’s tripping on V. We learned about their voodoo pasts but where is that supposed to leave the audience, especially with only two episodes left. It came off as a poorly placed subplot that won’t be getting much attention, or just a reason to include a tripping on V sequence. Another heard scratcher was the burning cross on Jessica and Bill’s lawn. Yes I know it was obviously some type of religious zealot but is it supposed to be someone related to Summer or something? It just seems out of place to include a cross burning for no reason in the middle of the episode. Sam’s flashbacks were well done, by far the best of the season, but as mentioned above why are we learning this now? It’s interesting to learn that Sam has a bit of the Micken’s blood in terms of finding trouble but why throw it in at this point?
“I Smell a Rat” was a revealing episode that literally had confessions flying left to right. While the reveals were solid it’s odd to place them in the context of the story at large, where are they meant to take the audience? With only two episodes to go and a hiatus it seems in between, fans might not get all the answer they want from True Blood season 3 but it’s worth it.
Entertainment News International (ENI) is the popular culture network for fans all around the world. Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!
