True Blood: Beautifully Broken

"Oh, I'm not leavin'. You are going to invite me in, so I can protect you or have passionate, primal sex with you. How about both? So, are you going to invite me in?"

- Eric Northman

"Beautifully Broken" is the second episode of season three of the supernatural horror series True Blood and the twenty-sixth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Scott Winant and written by Raelle Tucker. It first aired on HBO on Sunday, June 20th, 2010.

In this episode, Bill Compton fends off an attack by a group of werewolves, only to encounter Russell Edgington - the vampire King of Mississippi. Russell invites Bill to his home and simply will not take "no" for an answer. Sookie Stackhouse is forced to entreat the aid of Eric Northman in order to find Bill and learns about the existence of werewolves. Sam Merlotte has a surprising and uncomfortable family reunion with his birth parents and Lafayette tries to keep his tortured cousin Tara from continued efforts to take her own life.

Notes & Trivia

 * This episode aired on the same evening as the pilot episode of ABC's The Gates; a show that also deals with the subject of vampires and werewolves, but with a lot less profanity and scattered ass.


 * Beautifully Broken was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series.


 * Denis O'Hare, Mariana Klaveno and Lindsay Pulsipher are added to the opening credit lineup for the season beginning with this episode.


 * First appearance of Crystal Norris.


 * First appearance of Calvin Norris.


 * First appearance of werepanthers on True Blood.


 * First appearance of Ruby Jean Reynolds. She appears next in "Night on the Sun".


 * Anna Paquin does an amusing impression of Stephen Moyer's Bill Compton accent in this episode.


 * This episode establishes that Sam Merlotte is thirty-four years-old.


 * This is the first appearance of Edgington Manor.

Allusions

 * The title for this episode is taken from the song "Beautifully Broken" by Gov't Mule, and is featured in this episode.

Quotes

 * Godric: A vampire is never at the mercy of his emotions. He dominates them.

....
 * Sookie Stackhouse: He's... everything to me. (Begins crying.)
 * Eric Northman: Please don't do that. It makes me feel... disturbingly human.

....
 * Terry Bellefleur: Uh, I've always liked you, and I'd miss you if you got killed. Just so you know.

....
 * Jason Stackhouse: There's werewolves?
 * Sookie Stackhouse: Yes.
 * Jason Stackhouse: Shit. Bigfoot, is he real too?
 * Sookie Stackhouse: I dunno, I guess it's possible.
 * Jason Stackhouse: Santa?
 * Sookie Stackhouse: Jason, focus.

Home Video

 * True Blood: The Complete Third Season
 * True Blood: The Complete Third Season/DVD (Disc 1)
 * True Blood: The Complete Third Season/Blu-ray (Disc 2)