Image credit: HBO
True Blood pushed boundaries and talked about important issues while having a really good time doing it. Here’s a look at the Top 50 moments from the show.
True Blood was a major hit for HBO at a time when HBO’s original programming was starting to come into its own. In its seven seasons, the show smashed stereotypes and forced conversations about homosexuality, racism, violence, prejudice, and values. Nothing was off limits.
In the middle of all of the issues it discussed, it also had its fair share of sexy vampires, hot werewolves, evil witches and boatloads of drama. And sex. Lots of sex. True Blood was the guilty pleasure of HBO summertime programming. Let’s take a look at the top 50 moments from HBO’s True Blood.
50. Jason Has “God” Sex
Jason Stackhouse can always be counted upon for a good sex scene. His raw and rugged masculinity practically forces him to offer himself to any woman who needs a good tussle in the sheets.
That said, you don’t have to ask him twice when it comes to sex. When Sarah Newlin shows up at his door, he is cautious at first because their initial liaison didn’t go so well when her husband found out back at the Fellowship. But now that Steve Newlin is a gay vampire, Sarah is concerned with saving Jason’s soul as part of her new calling. She tells him she failed him before, and now she knows what God wants. She has been with a “gay guy” and an “old guy” and now she sees that she and Jason were destined to be together.
“God wants me to f–k you,” she says. And Jason does just that, mostly out of a need to reinforce his heterosexuality in light of Steve’s recent revelations. “How’s God doing now?” he asks. “Righteous,” she breathes.
49. Pam Gets Therapy
Only Pam could find herself in therapy in the middle of a vampire internment camp and ask to be reassigned to the copulation studies.
After being captured, Pam is brought to the Doctor’s consultation room. Before she can try to escape, he informs her that they’re surrounded by men with guns, so she has to comply. She demands to know if she’s in therapy. She doesn’t want to talk about her feelings. She wants to go to the room where the vampires were having sex. The doctor patiently explains that the “copulation study” was for level three inmates, and Pam is a level one. They want to understand how she thinks, and perhaps she can work up to that level.
He tells her they will remain there until she responds, and that there is a reward system attached to this exercise: Depending on her response, she will either receive watered down Tru Blood or a live donor. Pam requests a female donor, and once the donor walks into the room, she lies down and the session begins. The doctor wants to know how much value Pam places on human life. His, for example. She says she cares more about the tuna fish he ate for lunch than she does him (this is humorous considering that the actress who plays Pam is a huge animal activist). Because she was forthcoming, Pam is allowed to feed.
48. Andy’s First Father’s Day
After his babies are born, Sheriff Andy realizes that being a father is hard enough, but being a father to an entire litter of alien fairy babies is way more than he even could have imagined.
On his first Father’s Day, Andy is taking a break while Arlene and Terry take care of his litter of “alien babies.” Arlene chastises him for shirking his responsibilities. She has news for him: Life isn’t fair, and “when you stick Mr. Happy into someone’s hoo-ha without a raincoat on, babies come out!” What Arlene doesn’t realize is that poor Andy is having an existential crisis. It’s not that he doesn’t want to raise his babies; it’s that he hasn’t had time to learn how to be a good father. He’s afraid he’ll drop them, or they’ll grow up to hate him. Arlene senses his fears and gives him a pep talk. He will be a great father, and there will be growing pains along the way. Terry gives Andy advice on diapers and diaper rash, while Arlene talks about the wonders of Purell. Andy holds one of the baby girls. “I’m Sheriff Andy Bellefleur,” he tells her, “and I’m going to be your daddy!”
Just a few hours later, Andy awakens from a nap to find his babies are already children, yet another sign that they’re more inhuman than human. Before he knows it he has four teenage fairy daughters, and he has his hands full.
47. Eric Returns Sookie’s House to Her
In the beginning, Eric wanted Sookie because Bill wanted Sookie. And she smelled better than more humans, thanks to her special blood. He also valued and respected her powers. But over time Eric came to realize that he cared for her, and he worked just as hard to keep her from danger.
When Bill is under the influence of Lilith, Eric knows that Sookie will be in danger. He says he has enough money to send her anywhere in the world, but Sookie knows that Bill will be able to find her. He can’t believe that when his life was in danger, Sookie was prepared to stake Bill to save his life.
They reach her house, and he tells her that she’s still the girl in the white dress that came into his bar so long ago. They go inside and he asks for a pen and paper. He dips the pen in his blood and gifts her house back to her. He promises to send the deed in the mail. She thanks him, and then she tells him that she wants to be that girl in the white dress again, which is why she must rescind his invitation to her home. As much as it seems to hurt him, it also looks like he fully understands why she does this. Outside, Nora comments that she now sees that Eric is in love with Sookie. She is his weakness. Eric warns her not to stir that pot.
This was the turning point in Sookie and Eric’s relationship, when Sookie realized just how much Eric cares about her.
46. Tara takes a bullet for Sookie
When Sookie comes home and finds Debbie Pelt in her kitchen with a gun, Tara jumps in front of Sookie and takes a bullet for her.
Lafayette hurries into Sookie’s kitchen after he hears the gunshot and takes in the scene. Before anyone can react, Pam flies in and demands to see Eric because he owns Sookie’s house, after all. She wants Sookie to tell Eric she’s sorry for disobeying him, and she wants to mend their relationship because it’s really annoying her to see Eric pout.
Lafayette asks Pam to turn Tara into a vampire. At first Sookie resists this idea, given how much Tara has suffered at the hands of vampires, but she quickly realizes that having Tara alive — in any state — would be better than losing her. She tells Pam she will owe her one. Pam is intrigued by this idea of having Sookie owe her a favor, but she warns them that turning Tara might not work and she could wake up and be “f**ktarded.” (classic Pam-inology) She agrees to turn Tara provided that Sookie agrees to help mend her relationship with Eric, in addition to owing her a favor. Sookie agrees.
45. Gay Vampire American
Steve Newlin shows up at Jason’s house and professes his love for Jason. Steve doesn’t care about Jason sleeping with Sarah at the Fellowship of the Sun. That’s all in the past. What really hurt him is that Sarah got to sleep with Jason and Steve didn’t.
All of Steve’s confused feelings led him to the violence that Jason experienced at the Fellowship of the Sun camp. “I’m a gay vampire American,” Steve says, “and I love you, Jason Stackhouse.” It’s a classic Jason scene. Jason would be more upset that his Bon Temps High School football record is about to fall rather than be concerned that Steve Newlin is attracted to him. He tells Steve that he’s flattered and that it was the “nicest I love you from any male, female, or otherwise … but this dog don’t bark that way.”
Crushed by Jason’s rejection, Steve tries to force Jason to change his mind when Jessica bursts in. Jason is hers, she says, and given that she’s older than Steve and she’s also the progeny of the King of Louisiana (she’s practically the Queen!), Steve must cede to her authority. He leaves, and Jessica flashes her red lingerie at the befuddled Jason, who is still reeling from all of the excitement.
44. Steve Newlin’s big pitch
As part of Steve Newlin’s new philosophy, God loves everyone. Remember that the church sign in the opening credits reads “God hates fangs,” which suggests that vampires have not been accepted into flock just yet. Steve Newlin wants to change all of that, and in order to do it, he has to change how people think.
Since Newlin was once a televangelist, he goes on television saying that you can be Christian and a vampire. There can be good Christian vampires and universal love, he says. Jesus loves vampires.
At Steve is no longer a member of the Fellowship of the Sun, he denounces their work, because vampires are God’s creatures too, and they are not the enemy. When asked if he has someone special, Steve chooses not to reveal his newfound sexual identity and instead tells the reporter that there is a special someone and she knows who she is. (Jason, who was watching from the police station, breathes a sigh of relief)
43. Eric Interrupts Alcide and Sookie
Sookie and Alcide are getting hot and heavy on the couch, and he picks her up and carries her upstairs. As she tries to get his shirt off, their height difference is so obvious that it’s comical. Alcide’s famous abs go on display, further heating up the room. Alcide kisses Sookie, telling her how long he has waited for this moment and how much he has wanted her. He’s turned on, and so is she. But then Sookie opens her mouth to reply … and promptly vomits all over his shoes.
“Alcide, you sure know how to treat a lady,” comes Eric’s sardonic voice from the doorway. He and Bill are standing there, watching it all. To clear up any confusion on the matter, Eric still owns Sookie’s house and so he can come and go as he pleases. While Eric has entrusted Sookie into Alcide’s care, Eric isn’t pleased to see Sookie with him.
42. Russell Kills Roman
Nothing good can come from two very powerful, very old vampires who have different views on the future of vampires. While it would seem that Roman and the Authority have control of former King Russell Edgington, it becomes very clear that no one controls Russell.
Roman tells Russell that their work in the Authority is all about order instead of chaos, that the balance must be restored in their world so that they can continue to coexist with humans. Russell says that human blood drives him, not working to find balance. Human blood, he says, makes his “dick hard.” Roman takes his iPhone and pushes the button to activate Russell’s iStake (he doesn’t want to get his Nike polo dirty, after all), but nothing happens. Russell lunges at Roman and pins him down, holding the stake over his heart. “Peace is for pussies,” Russell proclaims triumphantly, and he drives the stake into Roman’s chest.
Chris Meloni was great as the leader of the Authority, but in the end he was no match for Denis O’Hare’s Russell.
41. The Vampires Celebrate Lilith’s Rising
Nora and Salome are stunned at what they witnessed as the vampire goddess Lilith appeared. Russell paces excitedly, proclaiming that “God has the most beautiful tits I have ever seen.” He continues to say that he has never been devout, but after watching Lilith rise from that pool of blood while he drank the blood from the bride while “You Light up My Life” played in the background … well, he’s a believer now. “Praise Lilith, praise Jesus, praise Moses’s cock!” he cries exultantly.
Nora calls it all a sign, and it serves as confirmation that Roman was supposed to die. Salome calls for Steve Newlin to procure more humans; they will need food while they plan the next move. Eric bows out, claiming that he had enough fun for the evening. Bill doesn’t follow him.
Lilith’s rising was the moment that Eric and Bill parted ways.Eric became more suspicious of everything happening in their world while Bill embraced it all.This lighthearted celebration was the beginning of the end of the lives that Eric and Bill once knew.
40. Andy Becomes a Father
Andy arrives at Merlotte’s with Maurella, who looks even more pregnant than before. Andy needs to talk to Holly, but before he leaves Maurella he brings her a box of salt, which she drains like it’s a Cajun margarita. Jane Bodehouse is at the bar (trust her to be at Merlotte’s as the world is falling apart … if she stays drunk enough, she’ll never notice what’s going on around her), and she asks Andy if they have ever had sex. This is bad timing for Andy, who is trying to talk to Holly to clear the air and rebuild their relationship. Andy explains that he cares for Holly more than anyone he has ever known. Holly wants to know how many times he has seen Maurella, and as he starts to explain, Maurella screams. Her “light” broke. She’s going into labor.
Holly jumps into action and acts as a midwife as Maurella’s labor hits her hard. The odd thing is that her labor sounds more like an orgasm than hard labor. “Who knew watching an alien give birth could be so comforting?” Arlene muses. Lafayette sips his drink beside her. The weird stuff is always the best to watch, he points out.
Through it all, Maurella is quite calm — this is her 73rd pregnancy, after all. She hits a very high, very long note, and out pops a healthy baby girl, sans umbilical cord. Holly hands the baby to Andy, who beams like a proud papa even though the circumstances aren’t exactly normal. Holly turns back to Maurella, her eyes wide. Hold it — they’re not done.
Arlene and Jane watch the births as if they’re at the Bon Temps High School football game. It’s like a spectator sport. There’s something interesting about Maurella’s moaning, though. Arlene sagely tells Jane that giving birth isn’t like that for normal red-blooded humans. After the fourth baby is delivered — another girl — Maurella sits up, smoothes her dress back over her once-again perfect form, and then she tells Andy that it’s his job to raise the girls, with the hope that at least half will make it to adulthood. Holly casts a stern look at Andy as he tries to grasp his new situation. “You’re a dick,” she tells him.
And that’s how Andy became a father of quads.
39. Organic Vegetables at Merlotte’s
Even though Bon Temps is in the middle of the swamp and quite a distance from Shreveport or New Orleans, the town still got its fair share of out of town visitors. Visitors were always easy to spot because of their strange requests and startled looks when they realized they weren’t in Kansas anymore.
On one such occasion, a group of young people from Los Angeles and Vermont arrive at Merlotte’s. One of the girls asks Arlene if the vegetables on the menu are organic. She replies that in Bon Temps the term “organic” refers to someone who plays piano in church. The young people are stunned that they can’t get organic food in the middle of the woods, but that’s life in Bon Temps.
Merlotte’s prided itself on being what it was: a place to get good food and good drinks with good friends. When Lafayette was in the kitchen it was real ingredients, including lard. Merlotte’s was not a place for clean eating.
38. Vamps and Volleyball
As soon as the vampires learn that they can walk in the sunlight thanks to Bill’s healing blood, however brief that time might be, they escape the camp and bask in the sunlight.
The vampires cast off their clothing and throw it in a fire pit at Bill’s mansion. Some younger vamps suggest a Target run to get a volleyball set. Jason and Violet exchange blood in a tree.
Once the volleyball net is up, Jason has an Iceman/Top Gun moment. He and Jessica are getting a bit too flirty for Violet’s liking. Violet serves the ball so that it smacks Jessica and sends her to the ground, apologizing that she’s a bit rusty.
Watching the vampires having their day in the sun is as fun as Mary Ann’s orgy in season 2. Some of the vampires are recently born, so seeing the sun again isn’t that big of a deal. But for those who haven’t seen the sun in a while, it’s a huge deal. Pam, for example, spends her time stretched on the grass enjoying the warmth.
37. 178 days since Jason had sex
Jason and Violet share a very unique dynamic. He’s totally smitten with the older vampire and at first he doesn’t stop to consider how long he has gone without sex. However, she keeps him feeling good so it’s easy to forget. Until he actually realizes how long it has been.
At Jason’s house, Jason is busy servicing Violet, and when she’s in her happy place, he starts to undo his pants when she stops him. It has been 178 days since he’s had sex, he complains, and yet he has taken care of all of her needs. She reminds him that she never promised to make it easy for him. Violet intends to make him wait until she’s ready for him, but she gives no indication of when that will be. Jason reminds her that he built a girly house for her when she moved in and he hasn’t looked at other women at all since they’ve been together. “In due time,” she laughs. And she asks for him to pleasure her again.
36. Adilyn and Jessica Share a Bonding Moment
After three of Andy’s daughters become dinner for Jessica, he is incredibly protective of Adilyn and won’t let Jessica near her when Jessica has a crisis of conscience and makes it her personal mission to protect Adilyn and her fairy blood.
One night Adilyn spots Jessica outside her bedroom window and she opens the window, which sends her scent down to Jessica, but Jessica can’t come inside because she hasn’t been invited. Adilyn has a lot of questions for Jessica, and she admits that even though she should be upset at her for killing her sisters, she isn’t. She appreciates that Jessica is trying to help her.
Both girls are worn out by their emotions and need some down time. Adilyn asks if the phone call was from Jessica’s boyfriend. She wants to know about him. Jessica is happy to tell her all about James. The two start talking about boys and Adilyn reveals her crush on Holly’s son, Wade.
35. Jason Finally Has Sex with Violet
Jason’s frustration with Violet is hilarious given that he’s never had to wait for sex. There have even been times when Jason has had to hide to escape sex. Little does Jason know, Violet is quite the dominatrix, and she’s been baiting Jason the whole time. And Jason being Jason, he played right into it. She knows she has total control over Jason, so she’s waiting for him to summon the courage to take charge.
Finally Jason reaches a point where he decides he’s had enough, and he throws down the gauntlet.
When Violet demeans him in front of everyone else, he has a meltdown in the car and says that she humiliated him in front of everyone else. She has disrupted every aspect of his life, and he has done everything she asked of him. He takes very good care of her needs, and he’s absolutely done with her nonsense. They are going to have sex. Right then, right there.
“It’s about time, Jason,” she praises. They have sex on the hood of the police car.
34. Jason Gets It on with Eric
It’s nighttime in … somewhere. Suddenly Jason comes upon Eric. Is this real, or is this a dream? Jason has questions, Eric might have answers. Eric mixes a drink and offers it to Jason, and then Eric asks about Violet. Jason can’t get Eric out of his head. Jason figures Eric has heard that line a lot, but Eric replies that he’s only ever heard it twice. Then they get naked. Um, what? And then Jason kisses Eric. Ok, this is definitely a dream. Right? More kissing. Nakedness. A fire in the fireplace. More kissing. Heavy breathing.
And then Jason wakes up in church. He’s breathing heavily.
Sex dreams are part and parcel of life with vampires. One of the fun things about True Blood was that having a show that considered sex an art form allowed showrunners to switch characters around partners fluidly. Jason and Eric, Sam and Bill, Eric and Talbot. The list is endless.
33. Ginger Finally Gets Her Wish
Ginger has been loyal to Pam and Eric from the very beginning. In fact, Fangtasia was her idea. She came up with the whole concept, but Pam stole it from her. In return for her loyalty, Pam and Eric have always watched out for her.
Ginger wants to know if Eric was ever going to tell her that he was dying when he shows up at Fangtasia in the midst of the Hep-V outbreak. He says he was out all night listening to everyone else’s relationship problems, so he wants to make it up to her by granting her fondest wish: having sex with him. “Let’s do this, sweetheart,” he says. He even offers to do it on his throne, no less.
Eric makes her spell out what she wants until she’s completely unwound, and then he bites her. Even though Ginger has been bitten many times, she has a screaming orgasm before he can even do anything. She passes out on the floor, and Eric looks utterly confused for the first time in his life.
32. When We First Meet Eric Northman
Bill brings Sookie to Fangtasia to find information about a “case” she’s helping with. Fangtasia, Sookie says, is what she’d “imagine a vampire bar would look like if it was a ride at Disney World.” Fangtasia is a capitalist’s dream, with a complete selection of merchandise that just so happened to be available to the show’s fans, making it cross promotion at its best. Sookie says all people are thinking about there is “sex, sex, sex.” Bill laughs that it doesn’t take a telepath to figure that out.
We don’t see Eric at first because Bill takes Sookie straight to the bar. It’s early in her relationship with Bill, and she’s dressed in a cute summer dress in the middle of black leather and vinyl, making her stand out even more than she already does. As she sips her gin and tonic, she spots a human man approaching the stage, upon which Eric Northman is sitting on his throne. Sookie asks Bill who he is, and Bill replies he’s the oldest thing in the room. He rolls his eyes at the look on her face, because Eric has that effect on everyone.
Sookie may not realize it at that moment, but this is not the last time she’ll see Eric Northman.
31. Finding out Sam is a Shifter
There’s a murderer on the loose in Bon Temps. Again. And once again, Sookie is tied up trying to find the culprit. Terry and Andy spot Sam running naked through a field. Andy suspects that he was up to no good, but Terry waves it off and says it doesn’t matter. However, Sam’s suspicious activities are enough to gain attention from law enforcement as a possible suspect.
Sam needs an ally to help with his alibi, so he decides that he can share his secret with Sookie. The big reveal comes after Sookie gets home. She hears a noise and ends up hiding in her shower with a loofah for a weapon. She peeks out of the shower to see a dog sitting in her hallway. When she lowers her loofah, the dog morphs into a naked Sam.
Later, once she’s gotten over the shock of thing, Sam explains that he always knew he was different. He has to have another animal present to serve as a model, but he can take on any shape he wants, and the reason he was running naked is that he feels better after he spends some time in his animal form.
30. Jason Takes V for the First Time
Jason is known for being the guy who can have any girl he wants. Men love him too, as we see throughout the show. He’s slept with half of the women in Bon Temps. But when Jason takes V for the first time, he ends up with every symptom the Viagra commercials warn against. No matter what he does, he can’t find any relief. He even wears his hand out in his attempts, earning a big blister in between his thumb and forefinger.
He heads (pun intended) to Merlotte’s to find Lafayette, who sold him the V in the first place. Lala suggests that he try to take care of his needs solo, but Jason admits nothing is relieving the urge. Finally Tara finds Jason icing himself in the freezer, and she rushes him to the ER. Even the ER doctor is shocked by Jason’s swollen member, remarking that it looks “like an eggplant.” The only course of action, he says, is to drain the blood. Jason’s eyes are as wide as saucers. Tara tries to leave the room but Jason stops her, saying she can’t leave him. As the doctor sticks the needle in, Jason screams in agony.
29. Lafayette Throws Down at Merlotte’s
Lafayette may be a total diva, but he knows how to take care of himself. When some rowdy rednecks come into he bar and complain that a “fag” is making their food and putting AIDS in it, he points out that “fags” have been around since the beginning of time, and everything they’re eating and drinking has been a result of their work. The rednecks persist with their insults, so Lafayette says they should have ordered their food with “no AIDS.” He licks the bun and shoves it in the guy’s face, and then he smacks them all down in an ass-whooping for the ages.
“Tip your waitress,” he adds as he walks away. Jason gives him a high five.
This is one of the great moments of the show when the characters tackle major issues head on. In the True Blood world, people fear vampires far more than anything else. But the old stereotypes and prejudices still exist, and it’s fun to watch as the residents of Bon Temps take on the bigots and haters.
28. Sookie and Bill’s First Time
Despite their mutual attraction, Sookie and Bill didn’t come together until the sixth episode of the first season. By that time she knew her fate was sealed and she belonged to Bill, no matter how hard Sam tried to keep her away.
She made up her mind after Gran’s disaster of a funeral, and, dressed in a white nightgown, she runs across the cemetery to Bill’s mansion, where they do the deed in front of a fire. Bill’s fangs pop out, and instead of being afraid, Sookie is drawn to him. She pulls him toward her until he bites her neck.
Later, she and Bill share a bath where Sookie marvels at losing her virginity. He tells her that she’ll need to start taking vitamins to make up for the times he feeds from her.
When Sookie goes to work the next day sporting a scarf, her coworkers notice the pep in her step, and she confesses to Arlene that she and Bill had sex. Unfortunately, Sam yanks off her scarf so everyone can see her neck, and Sookie must contend with hateful thoughts from the diner patrons.
27. Terry’s PTSD
Terry Bellefleur was the town teddy bear. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body, but the time he spent in Iraq changed him. He saw a lot of bad stuff there, and his demons stayed with him even when he was at his happiest.
Given the show’s run during the height of America’s war in Iraq, having Terry there as a reminder of the horrors of war gave the show a unique perspective about its lasting effects. Terry gave people a look at what war can do to someone, which was a sobering reminder of how many people are impacted by war. Andy frequently mentions how different Terry was when they were growing up, and how different he was after the war.
As the show ended its run, Terry was haunted by memories of war, personified by a smoky demon creature. His fellow soliders were also haunted by this creature with tragic results.
One of the highlights was seeing how gentle Terry was with Arlene and baby Mikey. Mikey was Rene’s son, but Terry loved him like his own. Despite all of the evil he saw, Terry was always a good man.
26. Pam’s Wal-Mart sweat suit
Before Carol’s sweaters on The Walking Dead, there was Pam’s yellow sweat suit. After making Tara a vampire, Pam has to bury Tara so she can be reborn. Sookie and Lafayette dig a hole in Sookie’s backyard. While they grumble about doing all the digging, Pam grumbles about her yellow attire: “I’m wearing a Wal-Mart sweat suit, y’all. That’s the definition of team work.”
Indeed, searches for that same yellow sweat suit skyrocketed after the episode aired. Pam was resplendent in a yellow sweat suit featuring a kitten and flowers all over it. But wearing the yellow sweat suit was a much better option than being buried in the dirt wearing her trademark couture.
The effort was worth it, however, when Tara was reborn a vampire the next night. It was a risky move but it ended up saving her life. And even though Pam didn’t really want any offspring, she ended up being a pretty good parent.
25. Sookie and Bill Share One Last Night Together
Sookie goes to Bill, vowing that she’s going to stay with him until the very end. They kiss. They reunite in front of the fire, and now that he’s naked, we can see that the final stages of the Hep-V disease is all over his body. His fangs pop out, and they get it on.
Sookie traces the lines on Bill’s chest. He asks what she’s thinking. He wants to know. She says she has been thinking about the past but she’s afraid to bring up the bad memories. Finally she asks about Sophie Anne and what she wanted so long ago. Bill explains that Sophie Anne wanted to capture all the Fae and seal the portals between the worlds. Then, if Sookie proved to be Fae, she would be bred for her magic blood. Bill also explains that he stopped his mission when he met Sookie and she reminded him of what it was like to be human. Everything else for him was darkness and that was all he could offer her. He could never escape his past no matter how much she tried to help him.
That’s why he made it his own mission to protect Sookie, to atone for the past. Sookie kisses him.
24. Bill Releases Jessica
Bill tries to explain to Jessica and Sookie that he has accepted his fate. The Hep-V is ravaging his body, and he won’t be taking the cure. He won’t be saved. He wants to go to the True Dead. Sookie tells Bill that if he chooses death, he is giving up on both of them. Bill won’t be dissuaded, and he settles on the True Death, so Sookie slaps him. Twice. She’s on to a third time when Eric grabs her hand and stops her, knowing that she’ll hate herself if she says or does something she’ll regret. Eric tells Bill to leave, but before he does, Jessica asks Bill to release her. He doesn’t just release her. He makes an Emmy-worthy speech about righting the wrongs of making her in the first place. Blood tears fall down her cheeks as he releases her, and then he turns and leaves. Eric hugs Sookie and says he’s sorry. Pam embraces a sobbing Jessica, but she tells her that she’s paying for the jacket if there is blood on it.
Most of the seventh season focused on wrapping up loose ends and saying goodbye to beloved characters. Seeing Bill release Jessica made his impending death even more real.
23. Eric and Bill Come to an Understanding
There’s a knock at Bill’s door. It’s Eric. Eric comes inside and tells Bill that when he saw his family die when he was still mortal, he too wanted to die. Eric says that Hep-V attacks the spirit, and while Bill may think he knows what he’s doing, he’s here for Sookie. He wants Bill to see what he’s doing to Sookie.
Bill doesn’t think that Sookie would be attracted to them if not for the fact that she’s half-fae. Bill recounts the dream that he had with Sookie rocking the baby. He says that in the dream Sookie gave birth to death, that the baby was a black void. He says that all they can do is offer her death, and after all he has done to her, she keeps coming back. Bill asks Eric to bring Sookie so that he can explain it to her. It’s the last favor that Bill will ever ask of him. Eric pats his shoulder on his way out.
22. Bill Asks Sookie for One Last Favor
Bill recalls that Sookie’s living room is where he first called upon her. Still stinging from the knowledge that Bill intends to die, she doesn’t think nostalgia belongs with suicidal thoughts. He says the disease is making him feel more human than when he was human, which is something he hasn’t felt in a long time.
When he stopped in the cemetery, he saw his gravestone and realized that he should be with his human family. The gravestone as it stands now is a lie. If he stays with Sookie, he’d be denying her a real life. He has seen her around children, how she lights up around them. Bill wants Sookie to have a chance at children and grandchildren, and that’s not possible for her to have that life if she is with him. Sookie thinks that Bill should just break up with her, since she can’t seem to get away from him, but he loves her too much to do that. He asks her to perform the “ultimate kindness” on him, which would kill him and rid her of the line of vampire suitors who will be coming after her when he dies. If she does this, it will set them both free.
Sookie thinks Bill needs to leave, and she threatens to rescind his invitation. He asks her to think about it, and she says she will. Bill takes one final look at Sookie in the room and leaves.
21. Jessica and Hoyt Get Married
Jessica and Hoyt have always loved each other. With Bill close to death, Hoyt seizes upon the moment and proposes to Jessica so that Bill can be there to see his daughter get married. It’s a True Blood family affair as Andy serves as the justice of the peace and Arlene and Holly are there to witness it. Sookie, Bill and Jason watch as well.
Andy makes a point to say that the State of Louisiana may not recognize their union but in his eyes, they’re a married couple.
Bill gives his vampire daughter away. When he says the words, Jessica hugs him. He goes to sit down next to Sookie, and suddenly Sookie can hear Bill’s thoughts for the first time ever. She hears him think about how much he loves her.
As Jessica and Hoyt exchange their vows, Bill prays for Sookie to choose this life for herself. Jessica babbles through the vows and needs more tissue. Jason, Holly and Arlene look on in pride. Andy pronounces them husband and wife. Everyone cheers.
20. Bill Goes to the True Death
Watching Bill as he succumbs to Hep-V is heartwrenching, especially knowing that he could have had the cure but chose against it. He asks Sookie to be the one to end his life, which shows how much he loves her.
Bill meets Sookie in the cemetery. She hugs him and says she doesn’t want to do this. “It’s time,” he says. They kiss. Tears stream down Sookie’s face. “Thank you,” Bill says. He jumps down into the grave and lifts the lid. Inside is a box. It’s a photograph of Bill with his daughter, the one we saw him take in one of the visions. Sookie cautions that he should get in before she loses her nerve. Bill clutches the photograph and says he’s ready. “Bill, I’ll never forget you,” she says. Bill can’t say the same — he doesn’t know what happens next.
She straddles him and asks if he’s sure he wants to do this. They kiss. “I love you, Bill Compton,” she says. “I love you, too,” he says.
She positions the stake over his heart. She hesitates, and so he helps her to stake him. He explodes underneath her, and she sobs. Sookie is covered in blood when she steps out of the coffin. She closes the lid and sits down on it, crying harder. She climbs out of the hole and starts covering the coffin with dirt using her bare hands.
It was one of the hardest scenes to watch. So many Truebies wanted Sookie and Bill to be together forever, but in so many ways this was the best way to bring things full circle.
19. The Last Supper
In the last scene of the series, the cast gathers around a table for a big family meal. There are lots of familiar faces there to celebrate the occasion.
A turkey is being fried while a very pregnant Sookie gets dinner ready. Jason is prowling the floor with his three kids. Poor Brigette looks exhausted. That would be three kids in three years, if you’re counting. Sam and Nicole show up with his baby girl and older daughter.
The Bon Temps family is gathered around a huge dinner table. Everybody is happy and healthy. Andy. Holly. Wade and Adilyn. Arlene. Hoyt and Jessica. James and Lafayette. Jason and Brigette. And Sookie and … well, we don’t know who he is. But she’s pregnant and happy. It doesn’t matter that we don’t know who Sookie ended up with.The point is that she was with a man who loved her, and that’s what Bill wanted.
It’s a great way to end the series by showing all of the different people — humans, fae, vampires and witches — all living together in total happiness.
18. Eric Northman, Salesman
At the end of the series finale, we see that Eric Northman has developed a new vampire drink to replace Tru Blood. Only his new synthetic blood is called New Blood. This drink is derived from Sarah Newlin’s blood, since her blood contains the cure for Hep-V.They explain in the commercial how they found Sarah and were able to use some of her blood to create New Blood before she escaped. Pam is thrilled at the ability to make so much money, and she’s clearly happy to be back with Eric doing what they do best.
New Blood is a huge hit in the vampire community, and within a few years Eric and Pam go public with the company, ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
However, as we come to find out, Sarah Newlin hasn’t escaped. She’s tied up at Fangtasia and the ghost of Steve Newlin haunts her. In fact, he’s having a wonderful time haunting her. Eric and Pam rule over the bar as they always have, and all is well in their world.
17. Lafayette and Jesus Go on a Trip
Jesus loves Lafayette for who he is, but he also sees a lot more in Lafayette than Lafayette ever realized about himself. Jesus thinks Lafayette is a shaman, or a brujo, and he suggests that they take some V to really experience the full extent of Lafayette’s powers. The result is a mind bending psychedelic love fest between the duo, taking them through Lala’s house and into mysterious places with people who speak to them with Jesus’ voice.
Lafayette is very sweet and loving and loyal to the people he loves, but he’s also street smart and strong. However, his relationship with Jesus takes Lafayette to a different level. This little drug fest allows Lafayette to experience something beyond the psychedelic drugs he’s used to taking. This trip opens Lafayette’s mind. Eventually we get to see Lala’s brujo mask, which is a truly terrifying thing.
Lafayette is very powerful, and before long his powers get the best of him. In the meantime, though, it’s fun watching Lala and Jesus talk to Lafayette’s altar figurines. Who knew the Virgin Mary could dance like that?
16. When Sookie Met Bill
Sookie Stackhouse stands out like a sore thumb in Bon Temps. She’s a good girl, sweet and innocent, but very weird. She can read peoples’ minds and so she is always trying to keep their thoughts out of her head. Meeting vampire Bill Compton changes her life. She can’t read his thoughts, and he’s a gentleman even though he’s a vampire, and vampires are not exactly welcome in mainstream society yet.
He sees in her the purity of an innocent soul, and he wants to protect her from harm. In fact, he saves her life on a few occasions in the early days of their relationship, and this forces him to share his blood with her, binding her to him and making her his. Thus the “Sookie is Mine” saying was born.
Eventually we learn that Bill meeting Sookie was no coincidence, but when he met her he was so drawn to her that he abandoned his mission, ignored his orders, and put himself in a position to protect her at all costs. Even when she shunned him, he was still there watching over her.
15. Alcide and His Abs
In season 3, Eric hires Alcide to accompany Sookie to Mississippi when she decides that she has to leave during the day to find Bill. Alcide is a werewolf, and Eric feels comfortable sending her in his care. At first Alcide is cautious about Sookie’s ability to read minds, but eventually the pair warms up as they get into trouble at a werewolf bar in Jackson.
Sookie becomes entwined with the pack from that point forward, and there are multiple times when she finds herself in relationships with Alcide. However, the pack calls to him, and he’s bound to serve the needs of the pack even when he wants to be with her.
Alcide and Eric are both incredibly attractive, so Alcide’s arrival in the third season turned a lot of heads. At one point, Eric glamours Alcide to care for Sookie but to keep his hands off of her, which drives Alcide nuts.
14. Lorena Turns Heads
Bill has no love for his maker, Lorena. She tricked him into immortality, and he has spent decades plotting his revenge. When she comes back into his life, Bill finally sees an opportunity to get his revenge on his maker for all of the horrible things she has done over the years, not the least of which is terrorizing Bill’s descendants.
During a romp in bed, Bill uses the opportunity to try to kill her. As he’s having sex, he starts twisting her head so that her face is looking behind her. Her neck is completely twisted and yet she still laughs and goads him to continue. Bill screams in frustration.
Lorena’s presence is a direct threat to Sookie’s life, and he can’t risk losing Sookie. He’s willing to lie to Russell Edgington to protect Sookie, a play that could put his own life in danger. Learning about Lorena explains why Bill is the way he is. He doesn’t want to be like her at all.
Ultimately it’s Sookie who stakes Lorena to free Bill from her control.
13. Russell Edgington’s Lavish Life
The King of Mississippi leads a lavish life in Jackson. Denis O’Hare plays Russell with abandon, delivering sharp one liners while basking in the opulence and decadence of his kingdom. Russell has become incredibly ambitious in his old age, and he wants to overthrow Sophia Ann, the Queen of Louisiana. To do that, he must rely upon Bill’s help so that he has an operative on the inside. Russell also uses Bill’s maker, Lorena, as leverage to make Bill comply.
Russell’s equally opulent lover, Talbot, basks in his lifestyle. Russell knows that having a trusted loved one in his inner circles is critical to his success and happiness, even though Russell often has to pander to Talbot’s desires when things go wrong. (Like setting the rug on fire.) He wonders why Bill hasn’t made Sookie into a vampire, because that’s the only real way of saving her.
Later, Eric kills Talbot for his hand in Eric’s family’s murder some 1000 years in the past. A heartbroken Russell carries his dead lover’s remains in a glass jar.
12. Naked Eric sunbathing in the snow
With a belly full of Warlow’s powerful blood, Eric is immune to the sun’s deadly rays. While the other vampires from the Vamp Camp play volleyball on Bill’s lawn, Eric has a decidedly different idea. He heads to the snowy mountains of Sweden, his motherland, and sunbathes in the nude while reading a book. It’s a perfectly Eric kind of move. Instead of being around people, he chose to celebrate his time in the sun in perfect solitude. Not even Pam knew where he was.
It isn’t the first time Eric had been seen in the nude, but it’s what happened when the blood started to wear off that made things interesting. As soon as he realized he was starting to burn, Eric lept to his feet and fled the mountains before he was incinerated. This scene was one to go down in the annals of Trubie history because Eric was completely nude in that scene.
11. Sookie Takes Care of Amnesiac Eric
The witch known as Marnie punishes Eric by taking away his memories. Sookie happens upon him one night on her way home, and she realizes something is very, very wrong with him. Gone is the proud and arrogant Eric. Now he’s sweet and kind and thankful for her help. He apologizes when his fangs pop out, and he wants nothing more than to cuddle with her at night so he isn’t alone.
Sookie can’t believe this transformation, and she has to be very careful when he asks if they were good friends when he had his memory. She tells him that she likes this new version of Eric and that she’s glad he found his way to her.
Eventually Sookie realizes that King Bill is looking for Eric because he broke the law in attacking Marnie, so Sookie has to hide Eric as best she can from her former lover. Once his memory is restored, Eric recalls the kindness Sookie showed him. Their relationship changes from that point forward.
10. Sookie Dreams About Eric and Bill
Who says you can’t have it all? When Sookie has a dream about having both Bill and Eric in her life, at the same time, no less, fans went nuts. Sookie reasons that there’s no reason she has to choose between her vampire lovers. Instead, she muses, they can simply share her.
In her dream, Sookie speaks to Bill and Eric and tells them that she can’t make up her mind, and they’re just going to have to share her. The trio exchanges some passionate kisses on her couch. (By this point Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer were already married, so seeing them with Alexander Skarsgaard in a heated sex scene is kind of funny.) However, Sookie has no idea how challenging it would be to maintain such a relationship, and deep down she knows that eventually she’ll have to make a choice.
Over seven seasons Sookie has relationships with Bill, Sam, Eric and Alcide. That’s pretty good for the girl who had her first boyfriend in the first season.
9. Eric’s Long Hair Goes Short
It might seem strange that hair would make a top 50 list, but just as Jennifer Aniston’s ‘do became a cultural icon and national obsession, so too did Alexander Skarsgaard’s hair when he traded his long locks for a more modern style. Evidently, the change was so popular that he kept the shorter cut for the duration of the series.
While other members of the cast made changes to their appearance, it seems like Eric Northman’s job was to be smoldering hot no matter the scene.
In the second season, Eric Northman takes on a bigger role in the show, and his hair gets a new style as a result. He also changes his style of dress. In season 1, Eric preferred leather and tank tops. Eric keeps his leather jackets and tank tops over the course of the seven seasons but he also dabbles in track suits, business suits and birthday suits.
8. Pam Saves Face
While Marnie punishes Eric by erasing his memory, she punishes Pam by giving her a rotting skin affliction. At one point her ear falls off, along with giant chunks of skin. At first she’s able to hide her affliction with makeup, but eventually she’s forced to wear veils because the sight of her is too hideous, even to other vampires. To Pam, nothing could be worse than having her face melt away. She goes to King Bill for permission to kill the witch, but Pam’s problems are nothing compared to the other problems he has. She says that Eric is also missing, and this piques Bill’s interest because he has been looking for Eric. He immediately wonders if Eric is with Sookie, and Pam can’t help but divulge a few secrets.
Pam’s deliciously deadpan deliveries are always fun to watch, but when she tries to maintain her composure while her face is literally falling off, she’s even better. No matter the situation, Pam can always be counted upon for comedic relief, even when she’s not trying to be funny.
7. Jessica’s Birth and Education
When Bill is punished for killing one of their own kind, his punishment is to make an innocent girl into a vampire. That girl is Jessica Hamby, a teenager who has led a very sheltered life. Bill is wracked with guilt about making her a vampire, and he fumbles a lot when he tries to teach her about being a vampire. Not only does he try to convince her to only drink Tru Blood, but he has no idea how to deal with modern teenagers.
Bill begs Eric for help, and Eric agrees to teach Jessica because he’s amused at the idea of Bill owing him a favor. After a few days, Jessica returns to Bill with a new attitude, a new wardrobe that makes her fit in to the Fangtasia crowd, and a new thirst for human blood.
After some time, Jessica figures out how to navigate the human world, though she still makes mistakes every now and then. Arlene and Sookie help her to fit in by getting her a job as a waitress at Merlotte’s.
6. Maryann Throws a Swinging Party
Maryann’s arrival at the end of the first season signals a huge sign of what’s to come in season 2. Maryann is a Maenad who feeds on emotions to gain strength. She arrived in Bon Temps and lived quietly while she made her plan. First she recruited Tara and a man named Eggs.
Like everyone else who arrives in Bon Temps, Maryann is attracted to Sookie’s energy, and she attacks her one night and leaves her for dead. Bill rescues her by getting her to Eric, who calls upon Dr. Ludwig to remove the Maenad poison. It’s a painful process, but Sookie makes it. Seeing Sookie whole again only makes Maryann more insistent.
She fed off their energy while she plotted to kidnap Sam and offeedr him as a sacrifice during a massive orgy. The entire town came out for the orgy, and they lost all of their inhibitions as they engaged in every conceivable sexual act. Ultimately, Maryann was destroyed, and the good people of Bon Temps returned to normal.
5. Russell Delivers the News
Russell kills an anchorman on live television to interrupt a story about the American Vampire League’s Vampire Rights Act. He puts his fist through the man’s chest and yanks out his spinal cord, then he sits down to address the camera. He says that vampires do share common traits with humans, and they care about things like global warming and endless wars. But what he’s really trying to do is figure out why vampires trying to gain “equal” rights when humans are nowhere near equal to vampires.
Why, then, should humans care about the Vampire Rights Act when humans should really be afraid of their vampire familiars? Vampires are more powerful, and they will eat their children without a second thought.
Nan Flanagan watches Russell’s broadcast with wide eyes. This is going to take a lot of work to clean up. As Russell finishes, he turns to the camera: “Now it’s time for the weather. Tiffany?”
4. Eric Makes Pam into a Vampire
It’s no secret that Eric and Pam share a very close bond. We learn that Eric met Pam at a brothel. She was the madam (this explains her business acumen), and he falls for her wit and charm.
Pam starts to understand that Eric isn’t human, and this doesn’t bother her, which fascinates him. She asks him to make her into whatever he is, and he refuses. He doesn’t want to make a new vampire, but she forces his hand by cutting her wrists and offering her blood to him. If he doesn’t turn her, she’ll die.
She has been loyal to Eric ever since, and she chases after him when he disappears. When she finds him, she discovers that he’s been in hiding because he contracted Hep-V. The thought of losing Eric devastates her, and she’s even more devastated when he pushes her away by releasing her so that she won’t continue chasing after him.
3. “Normal Couples Do Not Do This”
Upon returning to Bon Temps from Mississippi, Bill and Sookie share a shower to get cleaned up. They’re both covered in blood, and they take a few moments to get extra clean.
When Sookie goes downstairs, she finds a dead werewolf on the ground in the living room. Instead of being horrified, she looks to Bill for an explanation. He forgot to mention that one detail to her. She tells him to fetch the tarp in the backyard. Since the man is naked, she drapes her towel over his midsection. Bill comes back in and she helps him get the body wrapped up, admonishing him for leaving the mess in her house. “Normal couples do not do this, Bill Compton,” she tells him. Bill laughs. Since when have they ever been a normal couple?
Nothing about their relationship has ever been normal, but the fact that Sookie isn’t even shocked by the sight of a dead body under her roof tells you how much she has changed over the years.
2. The Authority and Nan Flanagan’s Demise
Everything that happens in the world of vampires is presided upon by the Authority and the American Vampire League (AVL). Even the goings-on of the Kings and Queens are monitored by the Authority for compliance. Eric often pushes the limits of the AVL with Fangtasia, and Nan Flanagan, the AVL spokeswoman, is called in to bring Eric to heel.
When Bill becomes King of Louisiana, Nan continues to make her presence known. He pushes to kill Marnie, the witch who cursed Eric and Pam, but the AVL don’t support his actions. Marnie ends up ruining an AVL event and causing trouble for the AVL, so the AVL decides to kill Nan for letting it happen. Knowing she will die otherwise, Nan tries to join forces with Bill and Eric, but neither one wants her support. They gleefully kill her, making a huge mess all over Bill’s office. In an amusing twist on their relationship, Bill takes a phone call while Eric speeds around the room to clean up the mess and hide the evidence.
1. Fellowship of the Sun
As public opinion rages about the presence of vampires in society, Steve Newlin and his wife Sarah build an empire that preyed upon fear, calling it the Fellowship of the Sun. Their organization uses religion to justify resentment toward vampires. While the Fellowship outwardly promotes religion, the inner circles of the Fellowship include specially trained commandos who go on missions to destroy vampires. It’s interesting to see how the Fellowship mirrors the actions of those religions that do not support gay rights.
Jason decides that the Fellowship of the Sun is his calling after his dealings with V and Sookie’s relationship with vampires. The Fellowship is thrilled to have him there, and he rises through the ranks quickly. Eventually, Jason starts to see that what they’re doing is wrong and he rebels, but not before sleeping with Steve’s wife Sarah, who is all too eager to have Jason Stackhouse in her bed.
Jason’s training comes in handy when he eventually joins the Bon Temps police department and later helps free the vampires from the Vamp Camps.