A Were-Panther?

With two weeks left until the finale of the third season, Episode 11 “Fresh Blood” of HBO’s True Blood has made it difficult to wait that long. Everything is beginning to come together, and the anticipation throughout several of the character’s story lines has progressed to a great degree.

Sam has lost it. From the start of the season he was always the nice guy, the guy everyone can depend on. However, since the manifestation of his trashy drunken family, and his testosterone filled younger brother, Sam has been sent over the edge. After beating down a drug dealer in front of all his friends and family to near death, and continuing that with a long drinking spree, he has alienated everyone that he thinks mistakes his kindness for weakness. For the first time, he kicked everyone out of his bar before closing, leaving him alone with Tara, of whom he decides to sleep with…again. Hopefully sleeping with Tara will have calmed his nerves enough to bring back the Sam we all know and love.

This past episode also brought on a new species within the True Blood series. Jason’s girlfriend Crystal is apparently a were-panther, meaning she can transform from human to panther, similar to how the werewolves can go from man to wolf. What this means for the drug factory she was brought up in is unknown until the finale, but if the police decide to raid they may need animal control instead of the usual militia.

As for Sookie and the vamps, “Fresh Blood” left the viewers with a cliffhanger. Russell and Eric capture Bill and Sookie while they were driving together discussing their relationship. Before suspending the two of them inside Fangtasia, Eric reveals a plan to Bill to save the both of them. Earlier in the episode, Eric discussed with Russell that Sookie’s blood is the key to walking in daylight, and so both Eric and Russell indulged in her gore. Russell demanded Eric to step into the sunlight first, which he did showing that the sun had no effect on his skin, in which Russell joined him. Soon after Russell was outside in the sunlight, Eric handcuffed himself to Russell leaving them to presumably die, as Sookie’s blood is only temporarily effective.

In two weeks everything will all finally make sense, and the Russell saga of True Blood will, probably, come to an end. It will be a long and difficult two weeks to wait, but it will be worth it because True Blood never fails.