With the fourth season of ‘True Blood’ currently being filmed for a summer 2011 air date, it’s important to take a look back at season 3. We’ll follow the main plot between Bill and Sookie and anyone related to their adventure and leave the subplots for another article. Catching up on what’s occurred will ensure we’re ready when True Blood picks back up again this year. Be warned, spoilers are ahead!

The third season of ‘True Blood’ loosely follows the plot from the novel Club Dead (written by Charliane Harris). It starts with the disappearance of Bill, in which Sookie enlists the help of Eric to find him. Bill eventually frees himself from his captors but discovers he’s in the unfriendly territory of Mississippi with no straight route to home. While Sookie and Alcide try to find him, Bill winds up face-to-face with the King of Mississippi (Russell Edgington) and haunted by past images, he declares loyalty to him.

During this time Tara is kidnapped by a vampire named Franklin who keeps her in captivity and promises to make her his vampire bride. Loyal to the Mississippi King, he brings to the mansion both Tara and some family genealogy papers on Sookie’s family that he found in Bill’s home.

Eventually Russell is alerted to the fact that Sookie’s in the area and finds her and Alcide at his apartment. Bill tries to save her, but to no avail. The pair is brought back to the mansion where Bill kills a bodyguard in an attempt to get to Russell. The King orders the torture of Bill by Lorena who does so effectively. Tara discovers a way to escape by smashing Franklin’s head multiple times, and attempts to escape with Bill. Sookie refuses to leave without him but when she tries to unshackle Bill she runs into Lorena, who attempts to kill her.

With Bill’s help, Sookie stakes Lorena, and Alcide and Tara join in to save Bill. Debbie and Cooter come in and try to thwart their plan but Tara concocts a plan in Sookie’s head taking advantage of her telepathic abilities. They successfully create a diversion which leads to the death of Cooter and causes Debbie to vow vengeance on Alcide. They successfully escape the premises.

On the way home, Sookie allows Bill to feed from her but he takes too much and puts her in a coma. While she’s in the hospital it’s discovered that Sookie doesn’t have a blood type. While she’s in the coma she has a vision of being in a magical land where she meets Claudine. Bill uses his blood to save her, and when she wakes up and catches a glimpse of him, she screams. Quickly afterward they break up. Once she returns home to rest, Debbie and two werewolf friends arrive to attack her, but Bill and Jessica successfully protect her from harm. Russell arrives and begins to attack Bill, but Eric, still at Russell’s mansion, stakes Talbot. This successfully draws Russell back to Louisiana and protects Bill and Sookie from harm.

Bill then reveals to Sookie that she’s part fairy. She confronts him about the file he had been keeping on her family. She then goes to visit Eric at Fangtasia but after he kisses her he imprisons her there. Bill rescues her from there while Eric tells Russell that drinking Sookie’s blood will allow him to be a “daywalker.” Eric drinks Sookie’s blood first to encourage Russell to do the same, without telling him that the effect is temporary. They start dying from sunlight exposure after a short time and Sookie runs out and saves both Eric and Russell from certain death. Eric recuperates and he and Bill bury Russell alive in cement. Afterward, Bill tries to do the same to Eric but he breaks loose and tells Sookie the truth: that Bill was originally sent to Bon Temps to procure her for Sophie-Anne and that he purposely allowed the Rattrays to nearly beat her to death so that he would be able to feed her his blood. She becomes infuriated at Bill and demands that he leave immediately. After vowing to kill anyone who knows about Sookie’s fairy heritage, Bill invites Sophie-Anne, the Queen of Louisiana, to his home for a fight to the death. Sookie visits Gran’s grave where she is joined by Claudine and other fairies and transported to their world.

What will season four have in store for us? We’ll have to wait and see what will happen between Sookie, Bill and the others in Bon Temps.

Season 3 trailer: