True Blood - 9 Crimes, S03E04

Despite all the distractions in my life keeping me away from television and timely updates, True Blood still has me wrapped around its little finger and for good reason. The episodes are ever fantastic. Between the constant concern about what is going to happen next and the desire to see beloved characters grow, there isn't a moment which goes by without capturing my attention.

By far, my favourite moment of this episode was when the Magistrate had Pam (Kristin Bauer) tied up and was torturing her. Not because of the torture, but because of Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) and his utter devotion and dedication to her. He is her maker, and unlike the twisted relationship between Lorena (Mariana Kleveno) and Bill (Stephen Moyer), Eric and Pam have a bond based on love and loyalty. Seeing her in pain like that, he may well have thrown away his life and everything else to save her, and she, despite the torture, was still able to provide him with a solution. Particularly after last week's conclusion, it was touching to be reminded of a positive relationship of the sort.

I also loved seeing Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) serving at Merlotte's, and Franklin (James Frain) developing an obsession with Tara (Rutina Wesley). Those moments had a very serious side to them - such as Tara being bitten by a vamp - but were also quite hilarious.

Not so funny was Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Bill's storyline. Bill broke up with Sookie, leaving her desperately wounded in the company of an equally wounded and, at the time, topless (though not equally as Sookie was wearing a top) Alcide (Joe Manganiello). She then got herself in a mess with some werewolves (and looked mighty fine doing it), while Bill gave up a bit more of his humanity by bringing a stripper as a snack to his new King. The hardest part was watching Bill resist running to Sookie's aid when he felt her fear as she escaped the Lupine bar.

The interconnections, the holes characters are digging themselves into, and the desperate attempts of all of them to find happiness boggles the mind. What a show.