WallStreetJournal wrote:Just like the season before, season three’s premiere episode — titled “Bad Blood” — picks up minutes after the events of last summer’s finale. Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is frantic that her vampire boyfriend Bill — whose proposal she’s decided to accept — has been kidnapped, and immediately starts questioning all of her friends and acquaintances as to his whereabouts. She first interrogates Eric (Alexander Skarsgard), whom she finds in the midst of having his way with his bar’s newest dancer, but the Fangtasia owner has no clue where Bill is. He does, however, tell Sookie he’s concerned her boyfriend’s sexual stamina may be “not up to snuff” and that he still wants what is Bill’s — namely Sookie. The bar maid next seeks out her friend Tara (Rutina Wesley), only to be attacked by her grieving pal, who’s upset with Sookie for helping her late boyfriend Eggs realize he killed a slew of people under the influence of last season’s villain, the maenad Maryann. Sookie eventually gets most information from Bill’s “ward” Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), who uses her vampire-y sense to help Sookie track Bill’s car down.
Bill, meanwhile, has indeed been taken against his will, and is being tortured and drained by a bunch of homophobic rednecks tearing down a highway. The kidnappers are living high off sucking his blood; one backseat passenger even sucks from Bill’s body and regurgitates the blood into the driver’s mouth. Ew. Somehow, the incapacitated Bill manages to crash their car, revive himself with the blood of a poor old lady with a respirator (though he does leave her with some cash), and finishes up the episode staring down a pack of werewolves, the latest category of “supes” being introduced into the series. He cautions: “I should warn you — I fed.”
Back in Bon Temps, Sookie’s brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) is as dim-witted as ever and reeling from the fact that he shot Eggs. Detective Andy (Chris Bauer) — who’s taken the shooting rap for his new-found friend — warns him that their story won’t hold up (”Why’d you tell them a story with holes in it?”) and instructs Jason to act normal — which in his case, means bedding a lot of women. “I need to see a lot less conscience and a lot more cojones,” Andy says to his pal, and gives him a new mantra: “Conscience off, d— on.” Afterward, Jason dutifully tries to enjoy a threesome, but scares his partners off after telling them he keeps seeing bullet holes in their forehead (that’s one guaranteed way to kill the mood).
In other Bon Temps news, waitress Arlene is pregnant, Jessica is trying to get rid of the dead man she drained last season, Sam finds out he has a younger brother, and the Queen of Louisiana (Evan Rachel wood) arrives at Eric bar to order him to “move the product,” meaning the blood she’s having him — and consequently fry book Lafayette) sell on the sly. Oh yes, and Tara tries to kill herself by OD’ing on pills after her wretched mother forces her to listen to yet another pastor.
Needless-to-say, the first episode DID NOT disappoint and took up right where last season ended. I like that in a series. It's still very early in the season to try and guess where the story line is going, but I definitely like the direction it's headed.
