True Blood (HBO): Season Three Of Wolves and Crowns

I doubt that there's any grown adult on the planet, who doesn't consider their government to be full of self-serving lunatics.

But when those world leaders are immortal and cannot be voted out of office, that view becomes especially true. What do they have to occupy their time? Other than engaging in petty war against each other, or adding to their own fortunes?

The third season of True Blood explores the question of power and authority. Time and time again, we are reminded that individuals rule only with the mandate of the people.

It doesn't even have to be a democracy for this to be true. Revolutions can and do happen. Trusted advisers might pursue their own agendas. Fealties can shift and undermine everything.

Questions of where true power and authority reside run like a seam through True Blood's third season. However this is an Alan Ball script, based on a Charlaine Harris story. It's all much more complex than mere warring monarchies. Governance has so many more forms than that!

There's the power residing in parents over their children, or employers over their staff. Spouses demand respect and compromises in a marriage. There's the authority invested in law and order, and the politicians who write legislation. Publicity and the media can sway opinion on a massive scale. Peer pressure crushes into us the power of conformity. In even darker hues, a psychopath commands absolute dominion over their victims. The alpha males and females force submission through threats, violence and sheer personality. Love and drugs can direct through addiction.

Given that vampires are involved, the maker can issue orders, which cannot be refused. And blood-feuds can last a millennium.

Then there's the hunt. The pack pursuing a single prey, who may escape only if it's swift or ingenious enough. But what if the hounds were werewolves? Or other were-creatures? What chance does the hunted have then?

True Blood goes all out in this season on such themes. Shakespeare wrote, 'uneasy lies the head that wears a crown'. This series explains why, not just for human society, but for vampires and other supernaturals too.

There were so many sub-plots in the third outing, that things quickly became very complicated.

It didn't necessarily seem so at the time. Alan Ball's skill as a director saw to that. But the scale of the interweaving meant that it took a while for some scenes to resolve.

Every tale had merit. It was all fascinating and kept me asking the key question, 'what happens next?!!' But there were so many of them.

We might be thrilled by an instance with the Mickens. But we'd have to travel through scenes with Jason and his new lover Crystal, then Sookie on the trail of Bill, then Tara in a truly terrifying situation, then Eric recalling the past with mixed loyalties and vengeance, then werewolf pack politics, then Jessica's teenage vampire issues, before we finally learn how Tommy Micken reacts.

I barely cared by then. I was too side-tracked by caring about every other character! But now my interest would be rekindled and off we'd go again.

Season three of True Blood is no longer just about Sookie and Bill. It's best approached as a buffet, rather than a single delicious course. The stories are told on an epic scale, spilling way out of Bon Temps. Our people are spread out across half of the American South.

I loved it, even as I had to put the effort in to keep pace with all of my people. In its sheer complexity, this was True Blood at its best.

Amidst all of the supernatural furor, a Wiccan started working at Merlotte's Bar and Grill.

As a Wiccan myself, I waited and watched to see how this would play out. I'm way too used to television shows getting it wrong. They either make it all much more dramatic than it really is, or else turn us into deluded fluffy bunnies in stick on fairy wings.

True Blood took the middle ground. There was an emphasis on herbalism, which is fair enough. Though it would have been nice if the reason for the decoction was a little less controversial. I also found nothing to complain about in the fact that Holly took Arlene into a forest, then raised a circle.

From the point of view of the storyline, what happened next was nicely done. It wasn't too dramatic. We didn't get the Mother Goddess appearing in all Her glory, nor anything too over the top. It captured the general feel of a Wiccan circle, while serving the purposes of the plot.

But as a Wiccan, I couldn't stop laughing. There was absolutely no understanding about what various tools did in a circle. From the moment I saw Holly trailing salt widdershins, I knew this was not going to be entirely accurate.

My eyebrows raised when words like 'invoked' and 'summoned' were used with the Goddess. I have no idea what was going on with Holly's athame. It looked the part, but she was merely waving it in the air.  You really do not use it to prick your finger for blood. I'm not saying that blood magic doesn't exist, but not with your athame! Nor would it feature in this kind of situation.

As for the repetition of 'Blessed be', I was in hysterics laughing. It quite ruined the solemnity of the scene for me (and probably for every Wiccan watching). It wasn't only used out of context, but in a way which was utterly meaningless.

If you're a Wiccan, beware this scene. It's not offensive, but it is hilarious. Bless them. They took enough Wiccan imagery and tools to make it seem vaguely authentic. Kudos for that. But Alan Ball really should have brought a Wiccan adviser in to help direct it.