Spoilers for the seventh season premiere of True Blood, which aired last night, are below. Stop reading now if you haven’t seen it yet and would like to avoid it.
True Blood premiered last night, and it was about the same as I remember it. There were some dumb moments, like every interaction between Sookie and Alcide, but overall it was as highly watchable and entertaining as we’ve come to expect. My favorite scene was an unexpected one, when Jessica’s new Vietnam-era boyfriend, James, shared his story with Lafayette. It was a treatise on the futility of death at a time when Lafayette was reeling from yet another personal loss.
Some of our favorite human residents from Bon Temps were kidnapped by evil vamps, Jason finally got laid by his vampire girlfriend and Sookie finally stood up to the people of Bon Temps.
Of course the big spoiler is that Tara was killed, allegedly, by one of the Hep-V infected vamps who crashed the big mixer party. BUT we only have Tara’s mother’s word to go on, right? I watched the beginning section at the party a couple of times, and there’s no direct view of Tara’s true death. We saw Tara’s mom covered in vampire goo wailing about how her daughter was killed, and that’s it.
EW, which has True Blood on the cover this week, has an interview with actress Rutina Wesley, who plays Tara. (They also have a lot of excellent True Blood companion material, like their exclusive portraits of real life married couple Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin, and Stephen’s photo album from behind the scenes.)
Rutina says that she didn’t learn that her character would be killed off until she was on hiatus, and she sort-of confirms that Tara is dead. She does say it might not be final, though. “[Tara’s] dead. But I can tease that dead doesn’t always mean gone on True Blood.” So does that mean flashbacks, some kind of look into the vampire afterlife or that Tara isn’t really dead? I wasn’t attached to Tara so I can’t say I’ll miss her if she’s really gone.
Unlike Tara, I’ll definitely miss Eric if they kill him off. We didn’t hear much about his fate, but we did see Pam acting all badass in Marrakesh playing vampire Russian Roulette at some kind of rowdy bar. She “won” and got a chance to meet a guy who gave her a map to find Eric. That didn’t make much sense, but I didn’t care because we got to see Pam and there’s news that Eric might still be around. It may be a while before Eric graces us with his presence, in whichever form he’s taken.
I’m not going to do a full recap, you can check out a quick recap on HBO.com, and E! has a briefer recap. (EW’s recap is more thorough if that’s what you’re looking for.) I’m glad another there’s decent show to look forward to on Sunday nights. True Blood may not be as eventful as Game of Thrones but it’s familiar and oddly comforting despite the violence. I’ll miss these characters.
I want to know if Pam felt her progeny die? We didn’t see that part. Also, I do enjoy Sookie and Alcide because I’m Anna’s height and the things I’d do to that man… 😉
Agree. My sister and I had this discussion because she was very upset about Tara. And I’m not buying the whole, her mother is the only witness to her death thing. Maybe the Hep-V vamp bit her or infected her in some other way, so she squished him and took off because she knew what she’d turn into, and she didn’t want anyone to witness that. Or to be a danger to her friends. Or maybe she is really dead, and Pam just didn’t feel her death because she’s too strung out over her worry for Eric and lack of feeding. I think more likely is that she is dead, and she’ll haunt them for the remainder of the season. So many theories.
She is dead. Rating said and confirmed it
Yep – Tara died when she became a vampire. Maybe they are messing with us!
I thought that last night’s ep was “meh”. We all know that Tara isn’t REALLY dead, b/c we didn’t see her die (also b/c I like to think that the writers of this show are better than killing off a major character so easily and carelessly).
And I HATE HATE HATE Violet. Come to think of it, I’ve hated ALL of Jason Stackhouse’s girlfriends! I don’t know why. They’ve just all in my opinion been awful.
I’m with you GeeMoney, I hate Violet too, and ditto the other girlfriends.
I agree about Jason’s girlfriends. Except for his girl in season one, played by Lizzy Caplan who I really like..
I totally agree about Violet. I don’t see how they are going to wrap up Jason’s storyline if all they are doing is making him Violet’s sex slave.
I liked it. Yeah, it’s cheeseball and over the top at times but it’s always entertaining. I’ll be sad if there’s no Eric this season, I still think he’ll show up somewhere.
Never liked her
One more season to get through. I’m committed to seeing it through to the end but like Dexter, I think this show is failing miserably.
Dexter…what a waste of time.
Off and on since last week, I watched the TB marathon up until the premiere last night. I have to say I had forgotten how good the show WAS the first couple seasons and how stupid the last couple have been.
I read recently, where they were trying to go back to the original way the show started as. Last night was, in my opinion, o.k.
Lafayette is STILL the best part of the show, as is Pam and I have a love for Sheriff Andy.
I pray that there will be less of Alcide as I hate Mangiello’s horrible acting and the character in general.
I am sure Tara will be back in some way. My question is, why did Pam not feel anything if Tara had died? Any other time when connected vampires were in trouble or died, they felt the pain.
I am only sticking with TB because I have been there since episode one and if I was able to hang on this long, what’s another 10 episodes to the end?!
My take on Pam not feeling Tara’s true death – Pam was so weak from not feeding she didn’t feel it.
That is a good point.
I’m only here for Eric Northman. The rest, don’t care.
If you’re watching for one character don’t bother you weren’t a fan to begin with
That’s a great point you guys are making about Pam not feeling Tara’s death at all. That didn’t occur to me.
I thought about it but at the same time I was hanging new curtains in my living room so I was distracted.
It seems like the rules apply when they want them to
Pam’s loyalty would be a million times more to Eric than Tara. Maybe she felt it and just decided to go on with her task. If Tara is dead, she is dead. Pam can’t fix that. May as well continue trying to find Eric.
I loved it, but I don’t know if I’m being sentimental and that’s clouding my perception. But I did. I just loved every second of it!
Anna and Stephen are a beautiful couple and the EW pix are great. The show has featured some great characters and a compelling atmosphere especially the first two seasons.
That said, last night disappointed me. The show had become increasingly ridiculous with every season I guess I was expecting more. I find it hard to believe Tara will not be back–certainly the death of such a central character from the first episode on would have been more drawn out and dramatic if it were indeed the true death. Eric’s absence was keenly felt. And now there are a bunch of new townspeople and H vamps no one cares about, plus the newer folks like Violet, James, Willa, and Andy’s daughter that the audience has barely had time to digest let alone care about. Maybe it will improve.
The show has always been ridiculous and over the top,but you could overlook it because was a good show. The fairy story line is just silly. Making Tara a vampire was stupid too. The writing isn’t as good and there are too many characters to keep up with.
“too many characters”
… Are you American by any chance?
I stopped caring about this show after the 3rd season. Idk, I’m just not emotionally invested on it. Since it’s the final season I might start caring again. I hope HBO will have a marathon.
They already ran it from Tues-Sun all 6 seasons.
Whatever season had the stupid Maenad Maryann is when it lost me. That was awful, dragged on too long and completely derailed the show for me. I still sort of pay attention. I’ll catch up on episodes, FFWing to good and important parts, but not really engaging. I just really want to see it through but it’s a total challenge. LOL. Very love/hate relationship with this show. It could have been so much better than what it’s become.
I gave up after season three also. I tried again last season but it was just awful..Sookie doesn’t even have an accent anymore, right? lol
I’m kinda ready for it to end. Sookie makes me want to stick a fork in my eye. I’ve always hated Bill (and since Stephen Moyer did The Sound of Music, I call him Vampire Bill Von Trapp.)
Eric, Pam and Lafayette are the only characters I’m interested in, so this episode was mostly meh for me.
I agree with everything
I know we are supposed to adore Sookie and Bill but for me, they, along with that awful Alcide, have always been the worst part of the show.
I guess they were not wanting to give too much away about Eric’s fate but the season preview looked severely lacking in Eric. That does not make me happy.
I agree! Before I continue, I will clarify I love Stephen & Anna. They are a lovely couple and I wish them well in their lives beyond True Blood. However…
It still boggles my mind how the writers and some fans put Bill & Sookie’s relationship on a pedestal. Bill is an utter and complete douchecanoe! Their entire relationship was built on a lie. He allowed her to be nearly beaten to death so he could get his blood into her. Even if we believe him when he said he grew to love her and we forgive the nearly draining her to death, there is just no excuse for him calling her an abomination, telling Sookie she was dead to him and basically not giving a damn when she came to him for help with Warlow. It was also his idea to blow up the True Blood factories which led to the Hep V mess that somehow we’re supposed to believe is all Sookie’s fault. Even she blames herself. Why?!
Sookie had such potential but the writers have written out every last functioning brain cell and I can trace it all the way back to S4 ep.10 (Burning Down The House) when Eric with his memories tells her he still loves her but she holds back because of Bill. Of course, it was convenient that he’d just given her yet another infusion of his blood. I could rant and rave about how I want Sookie to end up with Eric but frankly, she doesn’t deserve him. So I’ll just wish for a better ending than he got in the books.
Lafayette is one of the best things to come out of the show.
The writers could have done so much with Sookie, but turned her into an emotional teenager instead of a heroine.
The most I’m hoping for is a decent ending for all these characters, because I don’t see how a good one is possible.
I used to LOVE True Blood and last night’s episode barely kept my attention. I thought Tara’s demise was poorly done. To kill off a major character that’s been there from the beginning, it should have had a little more oomph to it. GoT is just so much better that TB just doesn’t do it for me anymore…besides Eric, who wasn’t in the episode. I am really looking forward to The Leftovers though…CAN’T WAIT!
I’m pissed about Skarsgard. Even if they’re gonna eventually bring him back. He’s the only reason I’ve stuck around this long.
Rutina’s been filming, so Tara will be making an appearance, in some form.
If they did give her the true death, it was a rather crappy sendoff, considering how much time they spent with Terry’s death last season.
And Eric will be back in the next episode. Probably in the Jason sex dream sequence and I suspect as actual Eric at the end of the episode. There was a casting call for a French love interest for Eric for episode 2, and the actress cast tweeted about filming with Alex.
Alex was filming a movie in Jan and Feb of this year so he will only
be in bit of Episode 2. I’ve read somewhere though that he is in
the series finale. Can’t wait. I didn’t even bother staying up
late on a school night to watch the first epi in real time. Taped
it.
Loved the first two seasons, then they lost me halfway through the third. I keep meaning to catch up at some point. This post made me want to a little.
Don’t waste your time. The first three seasons are the only ones really worth watching. Season five was ok, season 4 and 6 were awful.
Last night was the worst episode yet. You can tell this show has lost its popularity b/c I haven’t seen any outcry about the Jason/Violet scene the way there was for Jamie/Cersei on GoT. Also, Sookie shouldn’t be able to hear Alcide or Sam.
There have been Tumblr posts about Violet and Jason’s relationship, both in this episode and last season. But I don’t think any critic has really paid attention to how abusive it is.
And no, Sookie shouldn’t really ‘hear’ weres or shifters. Maybe some garbled thoughts, but nothing really clear. I can’t remember whether they adhered to that in the beginning, or like so much else just dropped it.
Sookie can get occasional clear thoughts from shifters if they are thought strongly enough.
Why would there be outcry?
The scene was entirely different……..
She was up for it?
True Blood has become so tedious to me, especially after last season, it killed the love I once had for the show.
If Eric isn’t in this last season, then I don’t even care. I co sign with all the above comments about the hatred for Sookie and Bill. I loathe them. Sookie has literally had sex with everyone on the show, I’ve grown tired of every story line centering around her magical fairy biscuit.
I think the biggest issue with True Blood is they don’t know how to build a climax with all the story lines and sub plots and each new, developing story line is very anti climatic, exhibit: Warlow.
I’m not sure why Sookie still gets labelled a slut. On this show she’s had relationships with Bill, Eric, the sex scene with Warlow, and now Alcide. So, no not literally everyone.
So Sookie gets labelled but anyone else, male, female, supe or human or supe/human with multiple sex partners doesn’t?
This happened with Book Sookie as well, and I really don’t get it.
To be fair, I think her brother Jason is a slut too, but Sookie’s character is just the worst in general. I hate the fact that every central story line is centered around her fairy vag. Not to mention, last season when she came on to Sam at his restaurant, knowing his situation, because Sookie cannot be without a man pining over her.
I just dislike her character in general and Anna’s acting behind it. She’s dumb, uninteresting, impulsive, constantly puts others lives at risk for her own and can’t front a fake southern accent to save her life. Bill is just as bad. His acting is wooden at best and he remains to be just as insufferable as Sookie.
I only read the first book, so I can’t compare the show with the books, but I wonder if their characters are just as hard to stomach in the books as they are on the shows. Bill and Sookie are the weakest links, if it were not for the supporting characters, True Blood would not have half the ratings pull.
Bill basically disappears from the books after number three.
And the books are from her point of view, so when she has sex you know about it.
In the books while there’s sex I don’t think she’s portrayed as having a magic fairy vagina.
In the books she has long term relationships with Bill and Eric, attempts to have a relationship with Quinn (who’s not in the series) and then ends up with Sam.
In a short story Charlaine has her creepy Fae grandfather feeling sorry for her because she’s feeling lonely (she wasn’t in a relationship). He sends a full Fae male through a portal, he basically glamors her and has sex with her. She really doesn’t even remember it.
So, in the books five sexual partners, the last one whom she marries, over a period of about three years.
In the series, four partners over almost two years.
So if that’s your definition of a slut, or a skank, or whatever, so be it. But I think in Sookie’s case, she’s being called that because people don’t like the character.
They should have just stuck to the books. Ugh. There was actually a really decent storyline to them up untill the last two or three.
I was looking forward to the vampire summit that never happened.
No the books are boring. If all bitching and moaning about Tara death news flash it’s the last season there are all going to die sooner or later. Was a good show last night and nothing wrong with violet her and Jason are a good match
I watched about 20 minutes of it with the sound turned low then decided I didn’t care so I turned it off. Might watch it on HBO Go or try to catch a re-run later.
The writers of TB constantly portray Sookie as this ignorant selfish twatwaffle.
I saw a glimmer of the Sookie I want to see when she was hungover and helped Eric and Bill look for Russell or when she kicked Bill out of her life for being a douchenozzle.
Now she’s just a dumb doormat. Her character shines when she’s with Eric. Everyone’s character shines when they’re with Eric though. He’s badass. Where is Eric?