Episode Title: "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues"
Written By: Alan Ball
Story: With Sookie (Anna Paquin) in his possession, King Russell (Denis O'Hare) attempts to find out what's so special about the telepathic waitress. Now that his true loyalty stands revealed, Bill (Stephen Moyer) finds himself at the mercy of Lorena (Mariana Klaveno), though mercy isn't exactly in her vocabulary. Tara (Rutina Wesley) figures out a way to get past Franklin (James Frain) once and for all. Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) continues to position himself for an epic revenge quest against Russell. Meanwhile, Sam (Sam Trammell) discovers why his parents are so protective over Tommy (Marshall Allman).
Revelations: As the episode begins, Sookie and Bill are dragged back into Russell's mansion in one of the most powerful scenes in the history of "True Blood." Eric's double cross was particularly enjoyable to watch, though it's clear that the Swedish vampire isn't really planning to sell Sookie down the river — he just needs to buy himself some time before he can kill Russell and avenge his father.
Lorena, meanwhile, is absolutely torn to shreds over what's happening with Bill. Because he betrayed Russell, Bill is sentenced to death, and Lorena is to be the executioner. She takes her sweet, precious time cutting into him left and right throughout the night and well into the day, offering us with the most physically vulnerable Bill we've seen since the end of season one.
But thankfully for Sookie and Bill both, Tara figured out a way to get past Franklin and save the day — she drank his blood and overpowered him in the middle of the night, crushing his head with a mace. Now free from his clutches, Tara has saved Sookie and the two are rushing to find a way off of Russell's property. Alcide (Joe Manganiello) appears with a car to help them escape, but Sookie is sidetracked trying to find Bill — which leads her right into Lorena's fangs at the end of the episode.
Back in Bon Temps, Sam pieces together that his parents are extorting Tommy's shapeshifting abilities so he can win money in dog fights. Tommy has a clear advantage going into such a fight considering he has a human mind inside of a dog's body, giving him all sorts of strategic edge. But it's an absolutely loathsome practice, something that Sam understands straight away — it'll be interesting to see how he saves his brother from this one.
There were some other intense moments in the episode, including Jason's (Ryan Kwanten) up-and-down romance with Crystal (Lindsay Pulsipher) and Lafaytte's (Nelsan Ellis) similarly frenetic fling with Jesus (Kevin Alejandro). Although both relationships seem on the rocks for the moment, there's definitely a lot of potential for both of them going forward.
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