Last Sunday, True Blood finally reached its end with “Thank You”. I’m still having mixed feelings about this final episode. It wasn’t what I expected, so parts of me were disappointed but I was satisfied with some aspects of the episode, especially regarding Sookie. At least, I got the feeling Brian Buckner finished the story he wanted to tell.
First, let’s sum up what really happened in “Thank You”. It’s quick because not much actually happened during that hour : Bill came to tell Sookie life is for the living, and as he is death, he asked her to kill him with her fairy power magic ball. That way she would be free of vampires in the future and she would live a normal life. She refused of course. Eric and Pam set Sarah Antidote free, so they could kill the Yakuzas and disappeared from the rest of the episode until the end. Bill talked marriage with Hoyt and Jessica, so the next day they actually got married. That was quite weird and wrong, Sookie listened to Bill’s thoughts for the first (and last) time. After many hesitations, Sookie accepted her fairy parts and decided to keep her magic ball. So, she killed Bill with a stake ! That was shocking and so emotional. Then, we jumped time to find Jason is a dad, Sookie is pregnant and everybody is happy and well...
So, let’s start with things I didn’t like in this episode. First : Jessica and Hoyt’s marriage. That was really out of character for both of them. Hoyt knows Jess since two days, he just broke off with Bridget, and just because of what Jess said to him, he is going to marry her.... And Jessica is willing to get married in a hurry to please Bill. If she really had been dreaming of her wedding day since she was a little girl, she would have wanted more time to organize her marriage.
I really wanted Andy and Holly to get married, not Jess and Hoyt. For me, Brian Buckner really screwed Jessica’s character. She is a fucking vampire, she can have a human boyfriend but not a human husband, that’s just silly. They tried to live together and have a human regular relationship and it didn’t work because Jessica isn’t a human.
For the last episode, I really wished they would have given a proper closure to every characters, and also about equivalent screen time. But Sookie, Bill and the wedding were the center of the episode, so Eric and Pam appeared for like 5 minutes in the whole episode. Their last scenes, with the New Blood and in Wall Street were fun but it felt a bit rushed and it was totally different for the rest of the episode. I really didn’t enjoy Eric and Pam being so far from the main storyline.
The worst happened to Lafayette, because he didn’t even get a line in the final episode. It was really disappointing. Lafayette always has been one of my favorite, he always delivers great lines so I expected something for him. But this year, he didn’t have much to do, expect to look for Tara’s ghost.
It really feels like Buckner had no idea what to do with several characters, and so they just stayed in the background (the best example is Willa.). It’s unfortunate because one of the strength of True Blood is its large cast, Buckner exploited it last year in a great way but this year, he focused, maybe too much, on Sookie and Bill and didn’t give much interesting things to do to other characters.
Buckner did a fine job with Bill and Sookie. My favorite part of the episode is actually Bill’s death. I’m glad Buckner actually made Bill died. For a moment, when Sookie was holding her ball, I thought about the theory of Bill turning back into a human, maybe thanks to Sookie’s royal fairy power, and I hoped it wouldn’t happen. So I was happy when Sookie decided to keep her power, if Sookie had lost her power, I would have hugely disappointed. Sookie being part fairy is one the great thing in True Blood, so to have her leave that and become a regular woman would been such a letdown.
For me, True Blood always has been about acceptance. Supernatural beings are a great pretext to tell that story, so I was proud Sookie finally accepted her fairy heritage and her true self; She didn’t waste her power on Bill.
And it was so much more emotional to watch Sookie jumped in the grave with Bill and staked him in his heart. She got Bill’s all over her afterwards. Bill chose his death, he killed himself because his sickness made him realized how much he missed being a human, because it was his true nature.
I know it was a controversial choice Buckner made, and many Trubies aren’t happy about it, specially judging Bill’ suicide but I understood Bill’s choice, and for me it wasn’t weak, or heroic, it was just the choice of a sickness person. And after everything he had lived, I don’t think Bill’ suicide was pointless, and that it destroyed the lives of the people who loved him. The end of the episode showed his death brought some peace to Sookie, she finally moved on, found a nice man (I guess, since we only saw his back) and started her family.
I really enjoyed the last scene, the big dinner with everyone, Arlene and Keith, Willa, Sam and his little girl, Andy and Holly, Lafayette and James, etc. It was nice to watch them happy, laughing all together. It made me a bit nostalgic about True Blood and I realized I will really miss it next summer. True Blood has been a part of my summers since 7 years now, it’s a long time so next year, it’ll be weird not to have Sookie and her friends to watch.
I will miss you, Sookie Stackhouse.
And you, what did you think of “Thank You” ? Will you miss True Blood ? Who will miss the most ? Hit the comments !
Vampires notes :
• I’m still angry at Tara’s death but at least, Buckner gave us a nice flashback of young Sookie and Tara, and Gran too ! I was surprised and touched to see her back. Gran was just a great character, I was so shocked and horrified when she died. And for once, the flashback was quite interesting, Gran always gave the best advice to Sookie.
• I think Sarah Newlin is the character who got the most satisfying end. She didn’t die, she wasn’t turn into a vampire by Pam. I loved how she reacted when that bitch mentioned Tara. So, Sarah ended up being a vampire whore, locked down in Fangtasia’s basement, until the day she died. That is what you get when you create a deadly virus and drink the antidote.
• Eric and Pam quickly killed off the Yakuzas. They were lame enemy. And Eric really has something against them. He burnt Gus to death. That was gruesome, but fun. And he saved Sookie, again. So, even with Bill dead, Sookie will always have one vampire looking out for her.
• Andy inherited Bill’s house and will rent it to Jess. That was interesting to know…
• Actually, I just realized what I missed the most this season : a big villain. The infected vampires were fun for the first part of the season, but I wish Buckner would have come up with a big threat, a powerful supernatural being to fight. (like the maenad, Russel, Marnie, Lilith or Warlow) The last part of the season was quite slow. :(
• Eric, with his bloody face, driving in that bloody car with the music was one of the funniest scene. I will miss Eric Northman and his sexy attitude.
Wish Gran had not been killed off so early in the show -- she would have been really relevant in the fairy story lines. Almost a week later and I still feel the same: (1) that Tara was sadly shortchanged (2) we the viewers were shortchanged in not getting to know the person with whom Sookie would spend the rest of her life --- the story could have easily been rearranged to have her reunited briefly with Bill until his true death decision and then reconnect with a not killed Alcide or at least someone we had gotten to know (3) I loved this show and will miss it and finally (4) one can never have too much Pam and Lafayette in one's viewing life
ReplyDeleteMy alternative review (not that this is a bad one, on the contrary): it sucked.
ReplyDelete'Thank you' for all your Reviews! They were great after the episodes...especially this season.
ReplyDeleteI am also very sad Tara was killed off so suddenly, I really think her death served no purpose - in the end, all she did was lead Lafayette and Lettie May to a gun she buried years ago. That's it. Nothing really significant to the world of True Blood. I think they just killed Tara off for that "shock factor" at the start of the season, and having a limited ghostly Tara for most of the season wasn't enough for True Blood to feel like True Blood. I still enjoyed the season, and the final episode, but overall I was a little let down. I think you're right, the absence of a main villain made the second half of the season slow.
ReplyDeleteBill's death scene was fantastic. I didn't want him to die and I thought his reasoning was a little off because, again, his death is unnecessary but the scene overall was very atmospheric and probably one of the best scenes of the series. Sookie owned it. I will miss Sookie, I love her.
I can understand why Lafayette didn't get much in the finale - his story, I guess, was wrapped up in the episode before and he found his "happy ending" with James and got closure with Tara, so the finale could focus on wrapping things up with Sookie and Bill and those immediately affected by them ala Jessica.
I had a story thought though. Because Bill was feeling pretty human because of the disease as it got worse, and Sookie could start hearing his thoughts, that would mean part of him was becoming human too. What if someone, say Holly, performed a spell to stabilise the human part of him while Sookie used her powers to kill the vampire part of him. That way, with Holly keeping the human part alive, with the vampire part dead, Bill would be human again and the Hep V would be rendered powerless. That way Sookie and Bill could have lived a normal, human life together. Was just a thought, it's probably stupid. Carry on haha.
But I will miss True Blood. I loved it dearly.
Thanks :) It was great reviewing True Blood for its final season. Thanks all of you for your comments :)
ReplyDeleteRight, when Sookie started being able to hear Bill's thoughts I thought the story was going to take a completely different direction than it did -- otherwise his becoming "more human" makes no sense at all.
ReplyDeleteRight! They didn't go anywhere with it, that's what made me think of the turning human idea. Sometimes True Blood would have so much potential with several storylines but never execute them the way you think, which was good and bad depending on the story.
ReplyDeleteIt sucked. :/ The finale, not this review :)
ReplyDeleteGreat Review! I wasn't that much disappointed by the events of the final as I was weird off by the dynamic. It didn't feel like a TB episode, it was to slow to melodramatic. That is something TB never was good at. I had high hopes for the final especially the way S07E09 ended it was a strong outing.
ReplyDeleteWere is Lafayette's closure? He was one major character and he just got that dinner scene?
Eric and Pam I know that they had scheduling issues but I would much more enjoy a goodbye scene with Sookie than that Cure commercial! Nonsense!
Sam overall was a huge let down, he got nothing this year.
Hoyt and Jess's wedding was lovely, but I agree rushed!
Thanks ;) It kinda sucked for a series finale, that's true.
ReplyDeleteMe too Gran was so great and she could have been a great support for Sookie, Tara and Lafayette.
ReplyDeleteI wish they would have introduced Sookie's new boyfriend before, at least she didn't end up with Sam or Eric.
Pam and Lafayette were the best. I'm glad Pam got her scenes with Sarah and Eric, it kinda compensated Lafayette's absence... But I'm still mad Lafayette didn't even speak !
Thanks, I was afraid for a second reading you ;)
ReplyDeleteIt was bad. Not Dexter bad, but bad. Eric and Pam were really the only thing I enjoyed this season, but the yakuza story was brutal. I've complained all season that it made no sense how the yakuza kept catching Pam, and the fact that it kept happening off-screen showed how bad and lazy that was. We all know Eric and Pam could have killed them since the beginning, but the writers had to drag it out, and Pam's character had to suffer for it. She is not a damsel in distress, no matter how hard they force it on us that she is. I'm glad Pam got to kill one at least. Wasn't a big fan of Eric and Pam's ending because I just don't see them being in the public spotlight like this, especially since they hated mainstreaming. I think they would have had been the masterminds behind it, while they would have found someone else to be the face of New Blood and do the talking to the public. They also would have set up a bigger and better Fangtasia someplace else since they hated Shreveport. Must have been budget reasons, or maybe the writers didn't even think about this. Still, they were the only entertaining part of the finale. That's why I'm mostly writing about them.
ReplyDeleteEverything else was a bore. It is quite pathetic how this new character Brigette got more screen time and more lines than someone like Lafayette.
Wasn't a fan of this season at all. It did have one episode I enjoyed a lot, which was the Fangtasia episode, but the rest were meh.
Glad they got the actress who played Gran to return for that flashback.
ReplyDeleteI think I would have felt better about the finale if they ended the episode on Bill's death and given us a whole episode of the characters moving into their happy ending places. For example, instead of just a line of dialog the episode before last of Jessica asking Lafayette if he thought he'd be happy with her ex...Give us a scene or two of them before the thanksgiving dinner ending. How did Jason and whats her face get back together. Did she not get on the plane...did she come back...did he go get her? And yeah....maybe at least the moment where Sookie met the man she married. I wanted more of that kind of thing. I wanted the final ep to be all about happy endings. And Bill asking Sookie to kill him (which just the most selfish annoying.....grrrr thing) wasn't the final tasted I wanted from the show.
Worst. Finale. Ever. *
ReplyDelete*Not named Dexter
I thought it was okay, it wasn't epic by all means, nor it was particularly sentimental nor heroic.
ReplyDeleteIt was the right callback to a community that learnt to be tolerant, vampires that learnt to use modern tools (media, science, marketing, etc.) to protect their species and a girl that learnt to move on from her first love.
Dexter finale was way worst than True Blood's.... I wish Alan Ball would have come back for this episode. His finale of Six Feet Under was extraordinary, it's still the best finale ever for me.
ReplyDeleteI know, I hated that Dexter finale SO MUCH! They shouldn't have killed Debra, it was Dexter that deserved to die
ReplyDelete