True Blood Episode 2 Season 3

While the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie Ann, played by actress Evan Rachel Wood, may be a bit batty, her male counterpart in Mississippi takes vampire nonsense to a whole new level. King Russell Edgington, played by actor Denis O'Hare, is an English-bred, Southern aristocrat, who has a taste for hound hunting, or at least the riding costume and whip that goes along with it.

The King's young, Hungarian attaché, Talbot, played by Theo Alexander, is an admirer of the 16^th century serial killer, Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Her claim to fame is torturing and bathing in the blood of hundreds of virgins in order to maintain her youthful appearance. Talbot's tastes, however, are much more refined. He prefers "chilled, carbonated blood" and "warm blood bisque-infused with rose petals," all obtained "cruelty free" from willing donors. Perhaps there is some hope for vampires to satisfy their lusty appetites.

Some social roles are reversed as Eric reveals more of his man cleavage, and Pam models feminine vamp behavior for Jessica. Yet, instead of teaching her how to apply lipstick and eyeliner, Pam offers advice on how to stop from draining people and what to do with the dead bodies if you do.

Lafayette Reynolds and Sam Merlotte: Backstories Filled In

More of Lafayette's and Sam's back story is revealed, as both characters' parents, Ruby Jean Reynolds and the Mickens's, are introduced. Sam gets a new running buddy in the form of Tommy Mickens, played by Marshall Allman and a lively, gray and white pitbull, whose shape-shifting abilities may be more advanced than Sam's.

Actress Alfre Woodard offers a spot-on performance as the "clearly deranged" (according to casting call notes) Ruby Jean. Although the scene is disturbingly realistic, Woodard's blunt, uncensored remarks and deadpan way of delivering them commanded a few shocked guffaws from the guests in my living room.

Snoop Dogg's Postmortem: "Oh, Sookie"

In the "Postmortem" commentary following the show, True Blood fan, Snoop Dogg, raps about his favorite female, Sookie Stackhouse. This performance is a followup to the 2009 rap, Gangsta Luv: "It's like true blood, I sink my teeth in."

With a bunch of blond-wigged Sookies getting down in the background, the video is a little much. And isn't Snoop Dogg somewhat past his prime to be fantasizing about threesomes with 20-year-olds, i.e. Sookie and Tara? When my DVR paused on his sharp, grinning face, he looked more like a devil than a pimp, but at least the performance was amusing, if a bit outlandish.

The next episode of True Blood, "Bad Blood,"airs Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 7:00 PM MST.