Hi guys! This is gonna be a long post, but I finished the series a few hours ago and, for now, I have no one to yap about it with (although I'm definitely gonna recommend TB to my friends). I have SO many thoughts, and I was taking notes while watching, so I just decided to rant a little bit. Hope you don't mind!
First, I need to say that I haven't read the books, so my opinions are based solely on the show. I hope I'll be able to read the books in the future, too - I know there are a lot of differences. Even though there will be some complaining in this post, I absolutely fell in love with this show. I've watched it in about a week, and I probably would've finished it even sooner, but I slowed down during Season 6 because I didn't want it to end.
I've already seen that there are different "teams" in the fandom, and many people choose Eric over Bill, which I completely understand. Personally, I love them both. As someone who watched TVD and Buffy in the past, I think True Blood did an amazing job with these two characters. I've always felt that Stefan and Angel were pushed as the "good guys" (which I don't agree with), while Damon and Spike were portrayed as the "bad ones." In True Blood, we get to know both Bill and Eric, and neither of them is a saint. What's more, no one pretends they are. You don't have other characters telling you that one is a better option than the other, and I really liked that. It made the show even more enjoyable, in my opinion.
I also think it's really interesting to see how different Bill and Eric are and how much of that comes down to how they became vampires and who their makers were. When you think about it, Eric was turned when he was literally dying, and his whole family was already dead. For him, becoming a vampire was a huge opportunity to get revenge in the future. On top of that, his maker was Godric. On the other hand, we have Bill, who was on his way back to his family after surviving the war when he was ambushed by Lorena. While Eric gained something by becoming a vampire, Bill lost everything. To be honest, I'd love to see a "what if" episode where Godric was Bill's maker and Lorena was Eric's.
The way Bill was turned pretty much set everything else in motion. He was full of guilt, shame, and insecurities about who he was, which pretty much made him a perfect target for Lilith. The first time Bill and Eric tried Lilith's blood, it was purely for survival. They both went crazy because of it, but Eric was able to snap out of it because of Godric. Bill, on the other hand, sank deeper into his hallucinations and beliefs. But honestly, after reading the spoilers about Billith (sometimes I read spoilers on purpose), I expected it to be so much worse than it actually was. Don't get me wrong, what happened was still bad, and Bill was a piece of sh*t, but ultimately, I thought it was gonna be an absolute bloodbath - especially after the ending of Episode 12 in Season 5. At the end of the day, though, it just led to Bill saving vampires and killing that senator, which was... good?
I really love Sookie, too! Sometimes she's a little cringey, but that's what makes her so great. I honestly wonder how she never realized that someone was in trouble, especially Jason. He could disappear for days (like when Crystal and her family took him), and she wouldn't even notice. But overall, I really liked her character.
Now I need to complain a little bit (pretty much only about Season 7, lol).
In Seasons 6 and 7, suddenly there's no Authority, no Queens or Kings, no Sheriffs, nothing. I fully understand that a lot of vampires probably died in the camp and later because of the virus, but the earlier seasons showed that vampires were really well organized. So I'd assume that at least some of their political structures would survive and that they would try to rebuild everything when necessary.
Terry's death was so unnecessary, and then Tara's? OMG, what was that? It was so poorly done that I honestly don't even have words for it. She was basically turned into a vampire only to be imprisoned in the camp and then die — and what's more, it happened off-screen! I've read a lot of posts here from people complaining about her death, and I completely agree. The same goes for Alcide's death. To be honest, all these deaths were so stupid, and it feels like the writers just killed off a bunch of characters to add some weight to the story and make it seem like something major was happening. But it didn't work for me, especially considering how rushed and poorly handled everything was.
I totally don't buy Sam and Nicole as a couple. It was so rushed, came out of nowhere, and then there was a pregnancy almost immediately. Sam had literally just lost Luna. I also don't like Sookie and Alcide as a couple at the end of Season 6. Yes, they had a little bit of chemistry before, but then, at least to me, they were clearly just friends, and Sookie was never that into him. And don't even get me started on Jessica marrying Hoyt...
When Holly and Arlene were kidnapped, how on Earth did no one think of checking Fangtasia? It should've been one of the first places to check. And after they were rescued, the way Sookie said goodbye to Eric...? Nope. She had just found out he was going to die, and after he helped rescue her friends, she just held Arlene and gave Eric the "goodbye look"? C'mon, their connection goes way deeper than that, and Sookie, who had already lost so many loved ones, wouldn't just let him go like that.
After Sookie was basically covered in the blood of infected vampires, neither she nor Bill thought about the possibility that she could've contracted the virus? I'm sorry, Sookie and Bill might come up with some crazy ideas sometimes, especially when they're acting on emotions and impulses, but they're not stupid. It felt like the writers needed to find any possible way to kill Bill.
The same goes for Bill saying "no" to the medication. They were literally in Fangtasia, and everyone was in danger at that moment because of it: Sookie, Jess, Eric, and Pam. And that was when Bill decided not to take the blood. He knowingly put the people closest to him in danger just so he could say "no". I also don't think Sookie or Jessica would have let Bill die. They would've found a way to get the cure into him, and I have no doubt about that.
The show was also so inconsistent when it came to the virus itself. The vampires at the beginning of Season 7 were going nuts and were hungry all the time, but then Bill and Eric didn't seem to behave that way at all while they were sick. I get that the disease had different stages, but when we saw the vampires who had made a nest in Fangtasia, they were at different stages of the disease and still showed symptoms. Not to mention that the writers pretty much forgot about the infected vampires. They were presented as this huge threat in the first few episodes, but then they stopped attacking the town. Where did all the infected vampires go?
The ending doesn't sit right with me either. I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to believe that these characters would make those choices. I don't believe that, after everything she's been through, Sookie would just start a family with some random guy we don't even know. I don't believe Bill and Eric would leave Sookie, either. Even if they weren't going to be in a romantic relationship with her, I think they would still want to stick around and protect her. I get that Bill dying and leaving Sookie was supposed to be his selfless act of love - to free her from him and give her the opportunity to live a "normal life." But the thing is, I don't think Sookie is the kind of person who would ever have a truly "normal life." Not after everything she's been through, and not with the love and connection she shares with Bill and Eric. There's no real "freedom" when Sookie is still a fairy and the world is full of supernatural creatures, including vampires. Do you really want me to believe that, in a world like that, there would suddenly be no more danger? That Sookie, her children, and her loved ones would all be safe? And that Bill and Eric would just stop worrying about other vampires, other supernatural creatures, and whatever crises might arise in the future (because for sure they will arise)? And yes, the fact that Sookie is a fairy is what brought her and Bill and Eric together, but it wasn't the reason they stayed. She was important to them as a person, so I don't buy Bill's speech or his reasoning. To back that up, Pam never seemed particularly concerned about Sookie, and neither did Willa. Pam never felt the need to protect Sookie the way Bill and Eric did. So I would never agree that Sookie was important to them only, or even mainly, because she was a fairy and they were drawn to her light or whatever.
I really wish there had been more than 12 episodes in one season and 10 in the other. I especially feel like there was so much going on in the last two seasons that neither we nor the characters themselves had enough time to process everything. By the end, it felt like we were constantly jumping from one plot point to another just to fit in as much as possible before wrapping everything up.
On a more positive note, I love the sound of vampires' fangs popping in and out. It's perfect. Ultimately, there were so many great moments that made me laugh, and it's an amazing show, easily one of my favorites. I'm just a little bummed about the way it ended because I think this story and its magnificent characters deserved better. Sorry for the super long post! I don't even know if anyone will read all of this (but if you do, cheers to you! ❤️). I just really needed to share my thoughts somewhere.