TV Detail:
True Blood review. Episode 3—Mine

In the second episode of True Blood, our hero Sookie (Anna Paquin) was visiting her friend Bill the Vampire’s house at night. The show ended with a trio of vampires greeting her at the door, baring their fangs and looking ready to bite. I was all prepared for Episode Three to open with Sookie holding her ground and the vampires having a good laugh and backing off. In other words, I expected them to be wicked, but much more complicated than just pure evil. I was hoping the story would once again mess with stereotypes and reveal nuance and complexity. No such luck.

These vampires nest together, and apparently that’s all it takes to strip them bare of those last traces of humanity. That was one of the many ways last night’s show took a turn for the darker. There was also a body strung up to drain, more casual hookups among the main characters, Tara’s mother beating on her while preaching Jesus, Tara’s cousin adding prostitute to his gig as a drug dealer and a hint that synthetic blood can’t ever fully replace the real thing.

Aside from Sookie’s relative innocence and Bill's struggle to connect to his former humanity, the one bright spot is Sookie’s Gran (Lois Smith), who reckons that God put everything on this earth for a reason, even vampires and Starbucks coffee. Those slivers of light are barely enough to keep True Blood from being completely lost to the night.

Related Links:
True Blood review: Episode 5 "Sparks Fly Out"
True Blood review: Episode 2 "The First Taste"
True Blood review: Episode 1 Series Premiere