Our third visit to Ben Temps proves the age old adage if you go down to Louisiana, don’t have sex with Jason Stackhouse. Not if you want to live to regret it. Just days after Maudette Pickens met her untimely post-coital death, Jason’s latest conquest, Dawn, is murdered in her own home and found by one Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). It appears that for the citizens of Bon Temps, despite the vampires, sleeping with Jason is the most dangerous activity one can engage in. He was, of course, the last person to see Dawn alive, and as the neighbors saw her threaten Jason with a gun, there’s a good chance his immediate future will involve far less freedom than he currently enjoys. Despite all the angsty sexual tension whipped up by her brush with the vile vamps, Sookie just can’t handle all the fangs-can-be-evil revelations, and tells Bill she doesn’t want to see him anymore. Don’t worry, it won’t last long. Elsewhere, Tara and Sam get just a little friendlier after deciding on some no-strings-attached sex. But, when Sam starts barking in his sleep, it’s time for Tara to make a swift exit. After chasing him out of the house at gunpoint (pre-murder, natch), Jason decides he needs help with his… loss. He turns to Lafayette – road crew worker, short order cook and acquisition expert – for some little blue pills. Once Lafayette stops laughing, he offers Jason something far more powerful – vampire blood. The V is dangerous and expensive and the dysfunctional boy can’t resist. However, the only way Jason can pay for the V is by dancing in his underwear for Lafayette’s pay as you… view website. Which is heaven sent for Tara (and the many Internet trolling residents of the town). Having finally walked out on her mom after one beating too many, Tara turned to her cousin for a place to stay, and gets to watch her favorite unattainable man prance about in his knickers from the kitchen. And they say romance is dead. The concept of a vamp democracy is an interesting one, as more often than not they are portrayed as loners who would rather not spend any more time than is absolutely necessary with other vampires. It’ll be interesting to see exactly what shape the hierarchy will take, and how justice is served vamp style. Episode three also continues to flesh out the many secondary characters. Tara’s dialogue and attitude, in particular, are fantastic, but it’s her cousin Lafayette that steals the show. Played with abandon by Nelsan Ellis, and with an appendage in every imaginable pie, Lafayette is the most interesting character prospect so far. His senator-screwing, website-running, drug-dealing diva embodies everything that’s great about True Blood – funny, slightly odd and wholly unpredictable. Unpredictable case in point: Sam barking in his sleep. Or, Jason’s sheer panic at not being able to perform the one service he has a talent for – dumber than a box of hair? You got that right! He might be the show’s punching bag, but Jason’s shenanigans never cease to amaze. Settling nicely into a sultry supernatural rhythm, combining Southern soap opera with soft core porn, Mine is the best hour of TV you’re likely to see this week. Or at least for a week – there are only seven days until the next best hour of TV you’re likely to see, and it’s only going to get better. If you know people who are still True Blood virgins, it’s time to educate them. Check out our review of episode 2 here.
