True Blood
I Smell a Rat
TV Flash files “I Smell a Rat” as hour 34 of 80 in the TV Flash guide — True Blood (2008–2014) on HBO, season 3, episode 10, aired 2010-08-22, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E10: listed hour 34 of 80 in the True Blood guide, hour 10 of 12 in season 3. It aired 2010-08-22 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Everything is Broken” (S03E09). Next is “Fresh Blood” (S03E11).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A reluctant Bill warns Sookie about the dangers she will face. Jesus is intrigued by the mysterious qualities of V. Sam's recent fit of rage triggers dark memories. Eric takes precautions and fulfills a wish; Arlene turns to Holly for help with a pressing problem; Jason deals with the unexpected, both with Tara and Crystal; Jessica is torn between Tommy and Hoyt. After communing with Talbot, Russell promises to exact vengeance on his enemies.
Viewer FAQ
Where does I Smell a Rat sit in the True Blood guide?
S03E10 is listed hour 34 of 80 — hour 10 of 12 in season 3, season 3 episode 10.
When did True Blood S03E10 air?
I Smell a Rat aired 2010-08-22 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need the Charlaine Harris books?
No. Ball's HBO series is developed from The Southern Vampire Mysteries, but it plays as Louisiana supernatural soap — sex, gore, allegory — on its own fangs.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse falls into vampire politics when the undead mainstream with synthetic blood. Alan Ball's HBO adaptation of Charlaine Harris: Louisiana heat, sex, gore, civil-rights allegory. Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgård — prestige pulp that knew it was pulp.
The first useful image is a bottle of synthetic blood, not a fang close-up. Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse falls into vampire politics when the undead "mainstream" into society with Tru Blood as cover story. Alan Ball developed Charlaine Harris's *The Southern Vampire Mysteries* for HBO; the series premiered September 7, 2008, and ran seven seasons through 2014. Anna Paquin stars beside Stephen Moyer's Bill, Alexander Skarsgård's Eric, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, and Nelsan Ellis's Lafayette. Louisiana…
Filed against
- Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse
Anna Paquin’s Sookie Stackhouse fell into True Blood’s vampire politics as a telepathic waitress — Louisiana heat, synthetic blood, Alan Ball’s HBO adaptation of Charlaine Harris as sex, gore, civil-rights allegory. Prestige pulp that…
- Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton
Stephen Moyer bit True Blood as Bill Compton — the vampire who walks a telepathic waitress into undead politics, synthetic blood as civil-rights allegory, Louisiana heat and prestige pulp. Alan Ball adapting Charlaine Harris for HBO. TV…
- Alexander Skarsgard as Eric Northman
Alexander Skarsgård’s Eric Northman made True Blood’s Louisiana vampire politics look expensive — 2000s catalog pulp, a thousand-year stare, prestige sex-and-gore with a civil-rights wink. Generation Kill and Big Little Lies kept the file…
- Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte
Sam Trammell's Sam Merlotte poured True Blood as Bon Temps bartender weather — telepathic waitress Sookie, vampire politics, synthetic blood, Alan Ball's HBO heat, sex, gore, civil-rights allegory. Prestige pulp needed a shape-shifter…
- Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse
Ryan Kwanten's Jason Stackhouse kept True Blood's Louisiana heat looking like a brother with a pulse — telepathic waitress Sookie falling into vampire politics, Alan Ball's HBO adaptation of Charlaine Harris, sex, gore, civil-rights…
- Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette Reynolds
Nelsan Ellis’s Lafayette Reynolds cooked True Blood’s Louisiana heat into a reason to stay through the gore — Alan Ball’s HBO adaptation of Charlaine Harris, telepathic waitress, vampire politics, synthetic blood, sex, civil-rights…