Love is in the Air in True Blood

Call me crazy, but I'm liking this season of True Blood more than the previous two. It's a bit early to tell whether it will ultimately trump the others, but it just feels, I don't know... tighter? More focused? Only Sam's storyline with his family seems really tangential; everything else connects to something. And True Blood seems to have found a great balance between campiness and nearly-legitimate drama.

But what's really showing through this season is the cast of new characters, particularly those on the vampire side. I've already professed ultimate fandom for Franklin, who continues to be the baddest undead psychopath ever. He easily holds the crown for Best Scene Involving Speed Text-Messaging. He's hilarious and absolutely insane, and reminds me of why I screen my calls. He's exactly the kind of person you hope doesn't invite you out for beers; when he does, you agree to meet him for some reason, then end up in jail (or worse) and at the end of the day, look back on it and realize you had a great time. I hate those kinds of people almost as much as I love them.

But the man who really shone in last night's "Trouble" was Russell Edgington, Mississippi's vampire king. It took a few episodes, but actor Denis O'Hare (Milk) has comfortably slipped into the skin of this scheming royal bloodsucker, and he's becoming quite the scene-stealer.

And that's what keeps True Blood so fresh. It's other characters coming to the top. Eric used to be the show's main attraction, but now he's happily stepped to the side to let others take the spotlight, and the show is better for it. You'd never see stuff like this happen on Grey's Anatomy without some gossip polluting the internet.