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Blogger Kelly Harker gives her verdict of episode five, season three of True Blood. [WARNING: Contains spoilers!]
3.05 “Trouble”
Written by Nancy Oliver
Directed by Scott Winant
Blogger rating:
THE ONE WHERE Sookie and Alcide seek help from the werewolf “packmaster” on how to handle Russell and his werewolf devotees; Eric’s desire for vengeance grows stronger when he discovers a family heirloom on display inside Russell’s mansion; Franklin proposes to Tara. Meanwhile in Bon Temps, Jessica glamours some Merlotte’s Bar patrons; Lafayette goes on a date with Jesus; Jason falls in like with his mystery girl, Crystal.
VERDICT A laugh-a-minute episode thanks in most part to the hilarious dialogue from slightly bonkers vampire, Franklin Mott. Sexy, crazy, funny, sweet, scary, and mysterious; British actor James Frain does a brilliant job as Franklin. If I were fifteen, I’d probably have already scribbled “I heart James Frain” all over the inside of my Math textbook. I’m sure it’s pretty safe to say that Franklin has quickly become one of the most loveable and intriguing characters on the show. And while I still don’t understand his obsession with Tara, I do find his devotion to her admirable. But is Tara starting to really warm-up to Franklin, or is she only faking her affections for him until she finds an opportunity to escape again? I have my suspicions that in the end, Tara will only end up breaking (or staking) his heart.
It was a treat to get to see into Eric’s human Viking past. Seeing Eric’s family being slaughtered by Russell’s werewolf minions; the flashback was very graphic – his dead baby brother lying face down on the ground was shocking – and the scene really explained and justified Eric’s thirst for vengeance. Now that Bill is on the “outs” with the Vampire King (learning that Russell intends to kidnap Sookie), perhaps Bill and Eric will be setting their differences and competitiveness with each other aside, and stand together to fight Russell and his personal werewolf army.
And in a shocker, Sookie uses her hand-glowy powers in defense against Russell’s brutes. It probably would have been cleverer of her to act as though she knew what she was doing, instead of looking so surprised; it would deter her aggressors a bit more, maybe? Hopefully Sookie will learn to develop her cool hand lightning and be able to look after herself when she gets into trouble instead of always needing a beefy protector by her side. I’d like to see her develop on the show into badass heroine and not continue as being a helpless damsel in distress.
LMAO1 Maybe the funniest moment in True Blood history when Franklin shows off his super-speedy texting abilities: “Hey, Tara, see how fast I type ‘motherf**ker.’ Cool, right?”
LMAO2 Franklin’s proposal to Tara to become his “ vampire bride” was hilarious. He might be a bit creepy and possessive, but his sense of humour makes him loveable. As a side note, while watching this episode with my husband, he called me “demented” for openly swooning over Franklin’s adorableness. “He’s psychotic and should be staked”, my husband proclaimed. I sense a bit of jealousy…
LMAO3 After Arlene makes a discriminative remark about vampires, Jessica glamours a few Merlotte’s Bar customers into not leaving Arlene any tips.
TOO SEXY FOR HIS SHIRT Yee-haw! I can’t help but get a little fangirlishly rowdy when they find a good reason – in this case it happened to be to wash a police car – for Ryan Kwanteen to take his shirt off on the show.
LOVE CONNECTION How cute are Lafayette and his mother’s orderly, Jesus, together? Very. Jesus seems like a nice enough guy…
MYSTERY GIRL Lindsay Pulsipher is the actress portraying character Crystal Norris, the mystery girl who has enchanted Jason Stackhouse. So far all we know about Crystal (that is if you haven’t read the book series) is that her family lives on a secluded compound where they cook meth. She also wears a lot of sundresses and likes to walk barefoot in the forest, as Jason so keenly observes: “You’re an outdoor girl. I’ll tell you that for nothin’. You’re happy here in the woods.” It will be interesting to watch this character and her relationship with Jason develop throughout the season.
BEST LINES Tara:“ We need to talk.”
Franklin: “Don't say that. Women say that, everything goes black, and I wake up surrounded by body parts.”
This is a personal review from blogger Kell. What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts about it in the comments section below. Look out for SFX’s review in a forthcoming issue of the mag.
