In order to help you get prepared for the season finale, I will be moving my thoughts on the episodes to the home page. It will give you a chance to review everything that has led us to this point in the season.
Episode #25: “Bad Blood” (aka 301)
Sookie turns to Eric for help finding Bill; Andy urges Jason to stay the course; Sam reconnects with his past; Tara seeks refuge from her grief. (Written by Brian Buckner; directed by Daniel Minahan.)
My thoughts on Episode 1:
Waiting no longer sucks because season 3 finally kicked off. I liked how it started right where it left off. No time lag between any of the storylines. I forgot how many storylines there were. There was Jason killing Tara's boyfriend, and the cover-up. Tara being a little unstable, and Lafayette having to take care of her. Lafayette forced to sell V for the Vampires, and on and on.
Oh, did I forget an important one? That's right, how could I forget? It didn't take long to find out who took Bill. I thought maybe they would drag this out to at least the end of the episode, but they didn't make us wait too long. We got to see a bunch of guys that apparently took Bill to drink his blood, and not from a cup either. It was disgusting how one guy bit into Bill, sucked some blood out, and spit it into another guy's mouth. Sookie began her quest to find Bill, which didn't go very well for the most part. She finally got a clue when her and Jessica, who was still learning how to be a vampire, found a car flipped over in a ditch. That was where we first hear about an "operation werewolf." I wonder what that is all about?
It was good to see the clever dialogue was back. There were plenty of good lines by several characters. My favorite of night was when Andy told Jason, "conscious off, dick on.” Andy even made him repeat it (lol). He wanted Jason to get back to doing what he does best, but he was having a hard time getting over killing Tara's boyfriend. At one point, he had two women in bed with him, but he can't have any fun with them because he saw them with a bullet hole through their foreheads. I couldn’t believe he then told them he saw the bullet holes in them. Oh Jason, such good comic relief you are!
Of course, I have to remember this show is not just about vampires and blood. They have to show off the guys to the ladies. It didn't take long before they showed Eric's ass. Definitely horror, but not the kind of horror I like. Then there was a weird dream (good job of hiding it was a dream too) that Bill had made it to a house where Sam was staying. He went in, and wanted to take a shower... with Sam! Then they almost kissed before Sam woke up. What the hell was that all about?
Let me get back to some normal vampire stuff. Just take the scene where Eric and the Queen were finishing off their conversation. I know one thing: don't piss off the Queen. She's got some mean looking fangs. The vampires like to show how intimidating they can be. Even when faced with a pack of werewolves, as Bill was at the end, he tried to be the intimidator. He was ready for a fight, which I am looking forward to for sure.
On a side note, in the post show they talked about how they choose to use real werewolves instead of CGI werewolves. They apparently debated it, and I think they made the right choice. Those wolves at the end were plenty scary, and there is nothing like hearing a real growl from a real wolf. It will be interesting to see how they go about the werewolf transformations later, or maybe they won't show any. It didn’t sound like they would, and I think that would be a mistake. If you have werewolves, you have to show at least one good transformation.
Episode 1 was a jump-start for better things to come. With all the storylines that they have, there will be a great deal of excitement to come. Will Sookie find Bill? Will Eric sink his teeth into Sookie? Will Lafayette sell the blood before his blood is spilled? Will Jason get his grove back? Most importantly, someone ring the bell because it is vampire vs. werewolf!!! 
Episode #26: “Beautifully Broken” (aka 302)
Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi, concocts a plan to consolidate his power. Eric remembers his past; Sam tests the strength of his family bonds; Tara finds an ally in a shady vampire named Franklin Mott. (Written by Raelle Tucker; directed by Scott Winant.)
My thoughts on episode 2:
This episode started off right where the last one ended, or almost. After episode 1, I was really looking forward to Bill facing off with the werewolves. To my disappointed, it started off at the end of the fight. It nice to see the blood splatter as Bill ripped the ear off a wolf, but that was it. He killed 3 wolves, and all we got to see was an ear torn off. That was a somewhat disappointing way to start the show.
At the end of episode 1, we had several unanswered questions. Episode 2 answered some of them, but also created more questions. The biggest question of them all was answered for sure, and that was about who took Bill. The Vampire King of Mississippi, who was a vampire that apparently owned werewolves, ended Bill’s fight with the werewolves. This is an interesting scenario as vampires, and werewolves are usually enemies. It turned out that he wanted Bill to come there so that he could offer Bill a chance to be a sheriff. Of course, that would be if Bill would help the King marry the Queen of Louisiana. Bill said no, but to no surprise the King threatened Sookie to help convince Bill. Towards the end of the episode, Lorena entered the room, and was rudely greeted by Bill. My question here was what role does Lorena play in the King’s plan. She definitely won’t make Bill more willing to help the King.
To no surprise, Lafayette saved Tara yet again. Her mom keeps thinking the Lord will save her, but it appears like she only needs Lafayette. He tried to set her straight by taking her to see his mom, who was now in a mental hospital. His mom was one racist woman. She won the foul mouth of the night award. Later, Tara met a strange man at the bar. When he first sat down I thought he was another werewolf, but I was wrong. Tara served him up some True Blood, and soon after he helped Tara beat up two disrespectful guys. Now the question is who is he? I think he is up to no good.
Jessica is not one of my favorite characters, but I like that they have included a character with her attributes. With all these old, experienced vampires around, it is good to see a young vampire who is struggling being a vampire. The older ones are so polished at what they do; it is good to see a character that reminds us of how these vampires got started. Poor girl killed someone by accident, and still can't figure out how to get rid of the body. Actually, the body ended up going missing. Could it be a zombie now? After all, Tara mentioned something about zombies earlier in the episode. Ok, I know hoping for vampires, werewolves, and zombies is too much! It is more likely that Jessica has turned the guy into a vampire.
Sam was a big part of season 2, but his character was not a big part of episode 1. He was on a search for his parents, and he finally found them. I figured he would find them, but I wasn't sure if they would admit they were shape shifters too. Surprisingly his mom had no problem spilling the beans. What was interesting was that his father was not one of them. Hum, could that cause some kind of problem later? Speaking of problems, it doesn't look like Sam's newfound brother was very happy with him. He almost got Sam killed. A sibling rivalry may have just been born.
On the lighter side of things, Jason and Andy continue to be a good comedic pair. I could almost laugh at Andy anytime he speaks. Then there was Jason, who looks like he won the second award of the night, which was for favorite line. In reference to finding out from Sookie that werewolves were real, he asks, "Bigfoot, is he real too... Santa?" Runner up for the award goes to Sookie for her impersonation of Bill saying, "Sookie!" It was good to see the show basically mock itself. I like how there always seems to be a mix of seriousness and humor. I almost forgot, anyone else want to hear the rest of Terry's reasons why Arlene could trust him with the kids?
Besides what happened to Bill, probably the most important revelation of the night was Eric's flashback to 1945 in Germany. It was important for several reasons. The obvious reason was it gave us some background on who these werewolves were. Apparently, they have been around a long time. Another reason it was important was because of the transformations the woman-werewolf made. Yea, we saw a guy do it in the opening scene with Bill, but this was a better display of the transformation. The transformation was another thing I was looking forward to seeing, and I don’t think I am disappointed by it. It was a little weird seeing the transformation happen to quick, almost at command. There was a big difference between that transformation, and the one in say “The Wolfman” for example. I guess it was the right transformation considering their choice to use real wolves. I would be interested in knowing other people’s opinion of it. There was also a surprise in the flashbacks. I thought we saw the end of Godric, but he was an important piece of the flashback. I guess that made sense to use him, and we will probably see him again. The flashback led us to the final scene of the night, which was where Eric was trying to convince Sookie to let him stay the night to protect her. Even though she didn’t want him to stay, he was right because there was a werewolf in her house. She finally invited him in, and the episode ended with Eric and the werewolf about to face off, and Sookie firing a gun. I hope we get to see a good vampire-werewolf fight this time. They better not pull the same stunt they did with Bill, and the other werewolves.
Episode 2 moved us right along, answered some questions, and posed others. It brought us some new, mysterious characters, who we will hopefully soon learn more about. The sexual undertones of the show were turned down, but the great dialogue continued. Most importantly, it deepened the plot of vampires vs. werewolves. Just remember True Blood, I (and others too but I have to be selfish here) want to see a good vampire-werewolf fight, so please don’t disappoint me again!
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