True Blood: I Got a Right to Sing the Blues by Tina Charles

I'm kind of exhausted after watching "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" but in a good way. The episode is fast-paced, has a lot of action and while I'm not into everything that happened it entertains from beginning to end. Tara gets to be so badass I practically screamed "it's about time!" Her character has drifted into the unlikable territory so when she manages to escape Franklin's clutches (more on that awesomeness later) and grab Sookie, I'm quickly loving the character again. We finally get to see more of Lafayette & Jesus although things predictably don't go smoothly. "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" isn't only a great episode title, I think it's something every character in Bon Temps has the urge to shout from time to time. And is anyone enjoying the abundance of red-headed females on this show? Jessica, Arlene and a very strawberry-blonde Queen Sophie-Anne give red-heads a good name.

During the full hour of TV goodness, I asked a lot of questions:

What is Sookie?

Sookie's origin is one of this season's biggest questions. She had to get her abilities from somewhere. We learn that her grandfather also had mysterious powers. Once Sookie's dragged back to Russell's manse, Mississippi's Vampire King tries to find out the waitress' story. There's a real nice scene where they're asking each other questions. They're both being kind of bratty about it. Russell dishes some dirt on Sookie's former BF. He tells her Bill has been keeping a secret file on her and her family and he hands it over. Wonder if she'll confront her ex about the file? Sookie's interrogation yields more and more info about vampires. The girl is gaining a lot of knowledge about both the vampire and werewolf cultures. I'm curious to know what Sookie's deal is. Again, I have not read the books so I seriously have no idea what she really is.

How badass is Tara in this episode?

I've already admired the winning ways of badass Tara, but let's break this down. I think Rutina Wesley did an awesome job trying to clumsily seduce Franklin. She works on getting him to if not trust her, at least untie her. Tara's had it bad this season. She hasn't really even had the chance to mourn Eggs properly before she becomes the obsession of an evil vamp who likes to tie her up and wants to marry her. But her attempts at seduction are at first humorous and quickly turn nasty. When Franklin encourages her to drink his blood, she starts gnawing on him big and bad and he's just getting off on it. Such a gross scene! And then when he's asleep she grabs a weapon and bashes his head in over and over. At which point I wanted to scream at Tara that she was going to have to do better than that. But it worked for the time being. Then she scams her way past a werewolf thug played by Don Swayze (Gus) and convinces Sookie to get the hell out of dodge. After she and Sookie take care of Gus in bold fashion, Tara runs out of the house and into Alcide who's there to help. Sookie goes after Bill.

What's up with Sam's family?

Okay, I have a confession. Sam's probably one of my favorite characters on this show but I'm not totally feeling his Season 3 storyline with his horribly dysfunctional clan. We know they have a big secret, something Joe Lee has been exploiting, which could be anything considering mom and son are shapeshifters. Turns out it could be some sort of dog fighting ring. Very Michael Vick, if you will. I'm kind of anxious to find out what this dog fighting business entails. It can't be good. Melinda seems to be showing her true colors. Was it Sam's adopted family that said his biological clan weren't good people? I can't remember. But his parents are not. They're devious and don't seem to care about anything but themselves and their secret. Melinda as much says Sam's only blood, not family. So I'm rooting for Sam to save Tommy for sure. I'm also worried about him tackling the world of dog fighting since the dog he shifts into seems pretty tame.

How is Eric going to make things up to Sookie?

He's a vampire, he doesn't have to make anything up to Sookie, but for a Sookie/Eric shipper like me (to be fair I'm also a Sookie/Alcide shipper and occasionally a Sookie/Bill shipper) I want him to help Sookie, not hurt her. But I get it. Russell killed his family, he needs to work the revenge angle right now. That Eric is good however. He really makes it seem like he's a true blue Russell follower. I love the way Eric flirts with everyone. He knows what he's got and he flaunts it. He's the most flirtatious character on the show, even more than Lafayette. And I for one love it. I also like the fact he turned on Queen Sophie-Anne. In the back of his mind he's also thinking about Pam, who we don't see for the second episode in a row. Poor Pam, she's off being tortured while Russell makes Eric take care of the Queen with him. Russell blackmails the Queen into marrying him. He's gaining more power with Eric on as muscle.

How much do I love Lafayette & Jesus?

These two are a pretty sexy pair but the road isn't going to be easy. They flirt at Merlotte's; they kiss in the car and then again at Lafayette's place. But once those bullies (from a previous episode) arrive and start bashing his car things go wrong. Jesus finds out Lafayette's a drug dealer and specifically that he deals V. Jesus wants to go home. It's cold shower time for all involved. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for the budding couple.

What's my problem with Jason?

Much like Sam's family, I haven't been feeling Jason this season especially his attempts at blackmailing his way onto the Bon Temps PD and his inability to let go of his golden years (although this is pretty realistic). I will say that his "what am I doing with my life and what purpose do I serve" mentality is definitely something everyone can relate to but the way he's gone about things has almost ruined his character for me a little bit. In "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" he's making out with the mysterious but aggressive Crystal. She definitely has a big secret (I read the spoiler) and it turns out she also has a fiance. But just when I'm about to write off Jason, he says this line that makes him seem extremely vulnerable and then I fall in love with him all over again. He asks her not to break his heart. She ends up getting scared and leaves and then later when he shows up at her place she pretends not to know who he is. I don't blame her since she's standing next to her fiance (is he the guy that was wailing on Lafayette's car?). Jason takes out his frustrations on that stupid high school athelete that's the next big thing. Something's gotta be up with this kid. Wonder when we're going to find out.


Why are we plagued with the being known as Lorena?

I'm trying to love to hate Lorena but I just can't. I'm not buying the character at all. I get it, she made Bill, she's into him. She's insulted he feels nothing for her now. But even though Lorena and Bill are at odds, I'd like to feel that there was once a connection between these two. I'd like to feel like I get why those two were once wreaking havoc on the world together. But I feel nothing when Lorena's on except some contempt. So Bill's maker's told to kill Bill and she starts doing so in such a slow drawn-out manner. She hates that Bill feels nothing towards her. She cries rivers of blood while she's slicing and dicing him. Unfortunately once Sookie finds Bill, Lorena sees the opportunity to get rid of her competition and slams Sookie against the wall and proceeds to bite her and drink her blood. Sookie's in a world of hurt as we see in the previews for next week. If it's even possible, the previews for next week look even more awesome than when I watched the ones for this week.

Random Thoughts

• Russell is seeking world vampire domination. So over-the-top but I'm totally on board with his lofty goals.
• Talbot definitely let us see him sweat when he went off on his VBF (vampire boyfriend) for never taking him anywhere. Together for eons, Talbot is feeling neglected. Go Talbot.
• Where in the world was Alcide? I don't like that we didn't see him the entire episode until the end. But once we do see Alcide, we see a lot of him. I'm not going to complain about that.
• Jessica's continuing to entertain me. Using her bliss to get all the customers to stiff Arlene on tips is genius. And then she got brutal when she drank the blood of the annoying customer. It was creepy and awesome at the same time. Love that Arlene's kind of scared of her too.
  
• We find out more about Jesus. He tells Lafayette he doesn't know his father. In fact his mom was raped and then he was born. So much like Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, Jesus is the product of rape.
• Love this Russell line: "There's a fine line between feisty and delusional and you're in no place to bargain."
• Does Russell realize he killed Eric's family? Or is that just a fact you forget after killing a lot of people?
  
• The Queen likes to scratch and win. Love that she plays the lottery.