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"I Smell a Rat"
Season 3, Episode 10
ISmellARat1
Air date August 22, 2010
Written by Kate Barnow,
Elisabeth R. Finch
Directed by Michael Lehmann
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"Everything Is Broken"
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"Fresh Blood"

"I Smell a Rat" is the tenth episode of Season 3 of the HBO original series True Blood, and the series' thirty-fourth episode overall.

Summary[]

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 extract vengeance on his enemies.

Synopsis[]

"If I meet the true death without at least kissing you, Sookie Stackhouse,
that will be my biggest regret."
― Eric Northman

SookieFairy

Sookie discovers she is a Fairy

Bill reveals to Sookie that she is a faerie. While she is mostly human, it is likely a faerie "coupled" with one of her female human ancestors. The reason Claudine thought Bill would take her light is that many supernaturals believe the Fae were wiped out of existence by vampires. A stunned Tara tells Jason they need to bury Franklin's remains. She has him put Franklin's clothes in his truck and she kicks dirt over what's left of him. Lafayette has Jesus carry a near-dead Calvin up to his porch rather than drive another 20 miles to the closest hospital.

Sam returns home after beating up Calvin. He pours some sour mash whiskey on his knuckle, takes a pull and remembers an instance in 2003 when he used his shifting to steal jewelry. While he and a woman celebrated his latest score, a man sneaked in and pointed a gun at Sam's head. The woman had been playing Sam. The man knocked Sam over the head with his gun and they left him on the floor.

EricWill

Eric signs everything over to Pam

Bill tells Sookie faerie blood is intoxicating to vampires and he believes it is the reason he was able to be in the sun without burning. Bill assures Sookie that he loves her, and is not with her only because of her unique blood. Believing he will soon be killed by Russell, Eric updates his will and leaves everything to Pam. Yvetta is furious to learn she is getting nothing and Eric responds that she means nothing to him. Lafayette gives Calvin a tiny bit of Vampire Blood and he is instantly healed. Calvin jumps up and immediately yells at Crystal for allowing Lafayette and Jesus to give him "vamper juice."

Calvin slaps Crystal and walks off. She catches up to him, and he tells her they aren't supposed to mix and Jason would "freak out if he knew what you really are." She is adamant she won't go back to Felton. Bill watches a TV report that vampire-human relations are falling to pieces because of Russell's on-air murder of the TBBN newscaster. Eric shows up at the door and tells Bill he knows Sookie is a faerie. Eric wants to know if Sookie's blood let him walk in the sunlight and Bill downplays its effects.

ArdleneAdmits

Arlene admits the baby is Rene's

Eric says Sophie-Ann will be disappointed to learn faerie blood only temporarily saves vampires from the sunlight. He tells Bill about killing Talbot. Sookie walks up and Eric tells her she shouldn't trust Bill and that he, Eric, "won't be around much longer anyway." Jessica lashes out at Arlene for her continued bashing of vampires. Tommy comes to Jessica's defense and attempts to kiss her after asking about Hoyt, but Jessica pulls away.

While parked in his truck, Summer tells Hoyt that she thinks they should have sex to bring them closer. He looks horrified. Tara and Jason come back to Jason's place covered in blood and find Sookie and Bill there. Tara is angry to see Bill. Bill leaves, beckoning Jason to follow him out. Meanwhile, Tara reveals to Sookie that she was abducted, held captive and raped by Franklin at Russell's, and that Bill did nothing to help her. Tara swears she will not forgive Bill or trust any vampire.

EricSookieKISSGif

Eric and Sookie kiss for the first time (click for animation)

Before he leaves, Bill speaks to Jason on the front porch. He makes Jason swear to protect Sookie during the daytime, and that he must be prepared to confront werewolves. Having witnessed Calvin's fast recovery, Jesus is fascinated by the effects of vampire blood. He wants to try some with Lafayette and eventually talks Lafayette into taking a few drops. The next day, everyone at Merlotte's is terrified of Sam. Holly offers Sam some herbs, black cohosh, to calm him down, explaining that she's a Wiccan.

Sam tells her that he only has two rules in his bar: No dancing and no religion, so she gently backs off. Then he announces to his wigged out staff that Calvin is okay, and that they don't need to be afraid of him. Tommy tells Sam he was proud of his big brother. Arlene tells Terry the baby is not his, it's Rene's. She thinks it will be evil and doesn't want it. After a few moments, he tells her that he will raise the child like it was his own. Later Arlene takes Holly aside and tells her she wants to hear more about the "other ways" that she can take care of her situation.

Jason tells Sookie about killing Eggs. She convinces him he has to tell Tara. Lafayette and Jesus experience V hallucinations and connect on a spiritual level. Together they "see" several people from their past, including Jesus's grandmother, who was a very powerful healer, and one of Lafayette's ancestors, a conjurer. Lastly they see a vision of Jesus's grandfather, who looks very sinister and is putting pins in a voodoo doll.

Jesus reveals that he used dark magic and had big plans for Jesus. His grandfather emits a primal howl that awakens Lafayette and Jesus from their spirit walk. Sookie has a dream about kissing Eric, and wakes up suddenly. Jason goes to talk to Tara. Before he can tell her about Eggs, she thanks him for saving her from Franklin. She says that she can always count on Jason, and the two start kissing. She gets up, convinced that she is an emotional wreck. Before she leaves the room, Jason blurts out that he killed Eggs.

JasonAdmits

Jason admits to Tara that he killed Eggs.

She says nothing and leaves, looking horrified. Jason starts after her, but notices Sookie is gone. Then he sees a note from Sookie saying she has gone out. Someone burns a cross on Bill and Jessica's front lawn. Jessica wants to hunt them down, but Bill convinces her that now is not the time for revenge. Sam has another flashback to '03 where he shifted into a beagle to sneak up on the couple that stole from him. Shifting back to human form, he picks up the man's gun, takes back the cash and the jewelry he stole with the woman's help, and kills both of them.

Panther

Crystal in panther form

Sookie shows up at Fangtasia to see Eric. She wants to know why she shouldn't trust Bill. He responds by telling her his biggest regret would be to meet the true death without kissing her, so he does. They make out for several seconds. She asks again about Bill and Pam comes to the door and deadpans, "Blah blah blah, vampire emergency, blah." Outside she tells Eric they should give Sookie to Russell in order to save Eric. Still carrying Talbot in a jar, Russell picks up a male prostitute who resembles his lost love.

HoytDrinks

Hoyt drinks Jessica's blood

Hoyt comes to Merlotte's and tells Jessica he's broken up with Summer. Hoyt loves her and says that if she tells him she isn't in love with him he'll leave her alone. She says nothing and he walks outside. Tommy walks up to him, antagonizing him, and Hoyt quickly punches him in the face. Tommy turns into the pit bull and attacks Hoyt. Jessica rushes outside and hurls dog-Tommy into the woods. She sees Hoyt has a nasty bite on his arm and forces him to drink her blood. Bill comes in and is furious with Jason for letting Sookie out of his sight.

EricCarrysSookietoDungeon

Eric takes Sookie into the dungeon at Fangtasia

Eventually Jason gets mad at Bill and rescinds his invitation to Jason's house. Bill slides backwards out of the home. Upstairs Jason finds a black panther in his room. The panther shifts form and becomes Crystal. After sex with the male prostitute Russell is talking to him as if he is Talbot. He is upset that he wasn't there when Talbot met the true death. Russell then plunges a stake into the man's chest and, envisioning him as Talbot, says goodbye and curls up next to the corpse.

Eric returns to the office, grabs Sookie and drags her into the basement. Bill senses this and heads to her. Eric places Sookie in a neck shackle as she screams his name.

Trailer[]

Notes[]

Accolades[]

  • This episode currently hasn't received any awards.

Allusions[]

  • This episode does not contain any allusions.

Bloopers and Continuity Errors[]

  • There are no bloopers that occur in this episode.

Continuity[]

  • The existence of Fairies, Witches and Werepanthers are revealed on this episode.
  • Jason finally tells Tara he was the one who killed Eggs.
  • Holly reveals she is a Wiccan (a Pagan religion based around witchcraft).
  • Lafayette and Jesus get high on V and go back in time to see their great-great-grandparents.

Flashbacks[]

  • Sam has a flashback to a moment in his past life in 2003. He was with a girl and had just stolen jewelry. Her boyfriend comes and takes the jewelry, and the girl he was with was part of the plan. Sam later is shown to have followed them and uses their gun asking for the money they had got from selling the jewelry. After the girl's boyfriend taunts him by saying that she would always come back to him after sleeping with him, Sam loses his temper and starts beating the guy. The girl finds a gun while looking for the rest of the money in the truck, and shoots Sam to get him off her boyfriend. Sam fires back out of self-defense and instinct, but his bullet finds it's mark - killing the girl very quickly, much to Sam's horror. Enraged by the situation, Sam kills the boyfriend as well, and then we fade back to a present-day Sam with an empty bottle of whiskey.
  • While cleaning up the remains of the vampire Franklin, Jason has brief flashbacks of killing both Eggs and being involved in the killing of vampire Eddie.

Miscredits[]

  • There are no miscredits that occur in this episode.

Music[]

  • "Trains Gonna Roll" - Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
  • "Supreme Illusion (Nickodemus Remix)" - Thievery Corporation
  • "I Miss You" - The Court Yard Hounds
  • "What You Want Me To Do" - The Heavy
  • "I Smell A Rat" - Patty Griffin

Production[]

Title[]

  • The title of this episode may refer to Sookie's distrust of Bill and Eric's apparent betrayal of Sookie at the end of the episode.

Trivia[]

  • Arielle Kebbel and Daniel Gillies also star in the vampire-based show The Vampire Diaries. They portray as vampires Lexi Branson and Elijah Mikaelson, respectively.

Memorable Quotes[]

Bill Compton: (to Sookie) "Every supernatural I have ever met believes the Fae were wiped out of existence... by vampires."

Eric Northman:

  • (to Sookie) "You know you can't trust Bill."
  • "If I meet the true death without having at least kissed you, that would have been my biggest regret."

Sookie Stackhouse:

  • (to Bill) "I'm a fairy? How fucking lame!"
  • (to Bill) "Oh fuckin' damn it.... I really am an alien."
  • (to Bill) "My people are rapists??"

Memorable Dialogue[]

Eric Northman: "What?"
Pam Swynford de Beaufort: "Blah Blah, Vampire Emergency, Blah"

Cast[]

Starring[]

Recurring[]

Co-starring[]

Guest starring[]

Special guest starring[]

Uncredited[]

Gallery[]

Images[]

Video[]

Trading Cards[]

Episode B1[]

Episode Ratings[]

Episode # Episode Title Viewers (in millions)
#3.10 (34) "I Smell a Rat" 5.39
True Blood Season 3
<< Season 1<< Season 2Season 4 >>Season 5 >>Season 6 >>
#01 "Bad Blood"#07 "Hitting the Ground"
#02 "Beautifully Broken"#08 "Night on the Sun"
#03 "It Hurts Me Too"#09 "Everything Is Broken"
#04 "9 Crimes"#10 "I Smell a Rat"
#05 "Trouble"#11 "Fresh Blood"
#06 "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues"#12 "Evil is Going On"
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