Episode Title: "Evil is Going On"
Written By: Alan Ball
Story: Eric (Alexander Skarsgård) and Russell (Denis O'Hare) face the true death together, but the Swedish vampire is swayed to pursue a better plan—one that nearly causes his own demise. Sookie (Anna Paquin) learns the terrible truth of why Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) first came to Bon Temps. After recent shocking events, Tara (Rutina Wesley) makes some drastic choices. Sam (Sam Trammell) squares off against Tommy (Marshall Allman), perhaps for the last time. Jason (Ryan Kwanten) learns the lesson that sometimes the right thing is the wrong thing.
Bloody Finish: In a season marked by sex and blood, "True Blood" ended its third season in comparatively milder waters. But even though the blood did not spill every which way, there were some massive game changers to behold in "Evil is Going On," the most prominent of which dealt with the secret origin of Bill and Sookie's relationship.
After Bill attempts to do away with Eric for good, the Swedish vampire rears his head once more to tell Sookie the terrible truth about her undead lover: Bill first came to Sookie on orders from Sophie-Anne (Evan Rachel Wood), allowing the telepath to be beaten within inches of her life so that he could supply her with his blood and manipulate her emotions. Understandably, Sookie isn't pleased with the news, leading her to swear off both Bill, Eric and quite possibly the vampire race as a whole.
Sookie and Bill's breakup was the major highlight of an otherwise run-of-the-mill episode, though there were certainly some other worthy moments to behold: like Russell's episode-long status as a veritable walking barbecue, for example, and Jason's brave decision to help Crystal's (Lindsay Pulsipher) disenfranchised family find a new home.
But "Evil is Going On" was also a frustrating affair, leaving several storylines without any kind of resolution at all. Did Sam kill Tommy, or did he find forgiveness for his troubled younger brother? Is Tara skipping town, or has she found some inner peace? What's up with Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) and Jesus (Kevin Alejandro), and what's up with his witch heritage? Does Bill stand a chance in his one-on-one grudge match against Sophie-Anne?
Then, of course, there's the big question: Where did Sookie go when she disappeared with the fairies? Did she cross over into another realm of existence? Did she simply transport to another physical location? Why do we have to wait almost a whole year to find out the answer?!
Waiting certainly sucks, but thankfully Alan Ball did his best to provide fans enough information to make the wait somewhat more bearable. After the credits rolled, Ball addressed "True Blood" fans in a special video message that promised the introduction of witches and other new supernatural creatures, political upheavals in the vampire world, the answer to Sookie's mysterious disappearance and much more for the fourth season.
"It's going to be more and more of what we love about 'True Blood,'" Ball promised, and we certainly hope he's right.
Tell us what you thought of the "True Blood" season finale in the comments section and on Twitter!
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