The beginning of the end of True Blood is over now that we’ve all seen the premiere episode of the final season. I’m very sad that this is True Blood’s final season, but I do agree with most of the cast that it’s time to end the show. I am hopeful that this season will be a good one so we can all say goodbye with pride and look back with fondness about what this show has accomplished and done for us. It’s absolutely changed my life; but that’s for another time.
With the exception of Season 1, episode 1 which was, in my opinion THE BEST True Blood episode of all, the first episode of every season of True Blood has been a “let’s catch up with what’s happened and where we ended up last season” episode. As a result, a lot of time is spent in the first episode each season finishing old plot lines and starting new ones. Because of this, for me, the first episode is usually the least satisfying one each season. And, this first episode of Season 7 is no exception.
RUTINA WESLEY’S TARA THORNTON BITES THE DUST
Of course, the major death that we saw even before the credits rolled was a shocker for many although there were rumors that Tara might meet the true death; of course, we weren’t sure of that until we saw it.
I think that Rutina Wesley’s portrayal of Tara Thornton can be remembered as spot on! She and Anna Paquin’s Sookie truly were like sisters on the show (and it turns out, also in real life). Rutina had some of the most difficult scenes to play since Tara was thrust into so many bad experiences. I will always remember how great she was in Season 3 with the crazy Franklin Mott. And, her very first scene will always be special to me when she told off her boss and the customer in the “Super Save a Bunch” and just quit her job.
Watch it below:
And, while Rutina’s Tara made a good vampire, I was sort of sorry to see her be turned because she was such a great vampire hater and much more interesting as a human.
Rest in Peace Tara Thornton! We will miss you on True Blood.
THE MAIN THEME OF THE SEASON – VAMPS AGAINST HUMANS
After the initial shock of the opener and the credits have rolled, we see the HepV vampires killing every human they can. They are also kidnapping humens and we see Arlene, Holly, Jane Bodehouse, Nicole Wright and Deputy Kevin Ellis taken hostage and thrown in Fangtasia’s basement in chains. Nicole is pregnant when they abduct her and Sam shifts into a dog to run and find her. Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to be successful because we see him return and shift back to human. Vince who ran for mayor against Sam and lost, has seen Sam shift. He confronts Sam about it but luckily Sam convinces him, for the time being, to keep it a secret until they can get things under control. Bill and Andy convince everyone to pair up, human to vampire and they go out together to look for Holly, Arlene and the others. The two men find a deserted garage where Bill thinks vampires have been nesting. They find it to be true when they discover humans hanging by their feet dripping blood. Just as they see this, Vince with some others storm in and try to get Bill. Andy convinces Vince that Bill is on his side and gets him to give him his gun, but then turns it on Vince and the others. After they leave, Andy explains to Bill that he saved him because he needs him, but Andy replies that nothing in this world can make right what Bill has done to his family. At that moment, we know that Bill is thinking of his own family and past as we are shown a brief glimpse of Civil War Bill saying goodbye to his wife and children.
SOOKIE IS WITH ALCIDE
This season, Alcide and Sookie are a couple and living together at Sookie’s house. I suppose this makes sense for the story, but somehow I don’t feel their domestic bliss is going to last. Sookie is really shattered by the towns people thinking she is the reason for all of their troubles and I know that she will spend the season trying to straighten things out for the Bon Temps folks. I would like to see Sookie go back to Merlotte’s, (sadly, now named Bellefleur’s) and do some normal stuff for a while. However, I know that doesn’t seem too interesting, so it probably won’t happen. In my opinion, Anna Paquin has been the PERFECT SOOKIE! She has played this role the best it could be done and quite honestly, she has taken it to a new level not seen in the books. The scene in her kitchen tonight when she explains to Alcide how she feels was just wonderful. Anna was extremely expressive and conveyed Sookie’s feelings perfectly.
PAM’S QUESST TO FIND ERIC
The first we see of Pam is that she is in Merakesh looking for Eric who, at the end of Season 6 was burning up on a Swedish mountain top. No one thinks he’s dead, right? I sure don’t, but Pam needs to find him and she has left her vampire family to do so. It’s not explained why she thinks she has to go to Marakesh to find him, but in order to get the information she needs she first has to play a game of “Russian Roulette” with another vampire. Pam never ceases to steal the scene whenever she is around and Kristin’s portrayal as Eric’s progeny has been spot on perfect! Pam succeeds in winning the challenge and gets the information she needs to set off in pursuit of her maker, so presumably we’ll see more in episode 2 about where she might even find him.
There has been speculation that Tara might not be dead because, if she was, Pam would have felt it. I don’t think Tara will return in any other capacity than in flashbacks, so it might be that Pam did feel Tara’s death and just chose to ignore it. This is not too suprising because Pam is one determined vampire who has so much love for Eric that nothing will stop her from continuing the search; not even her progeny’s life.
JAMES AND LAFAYETTE
We have a new James because the actor who played the part last year left. He was replaced with Nathan Parsons. I usually dislike it when a new actor replaces one we already know and have enjoyed, but this time I don’t mind one bit. I think the new James is far superior to the previous actor, Luke Grimes. And, the scene with him and Nelsan Ellis in Lafayette’s apartment is by far, my favorite scene in the episode. James has been assigned as Lafayette’s human and they really seem well paired in the scene. James explains how he became a vampire and I found it touchingly stated and to be entirely believable. The dynamic between this new James and Nelsan Ellis was even more exciting than it was when Lafayette and Jesus were paired, in my opinion. I think this bodes well for future scenes and a possible relationship between the two. While we know that James is currently hooked up with Jessica, there was quite an apparent hint that this new vampire might “swing both ways.”
JESSICA AND ADILYN
In the scenes between Adilyn and Jessica we saw two teenagers who would make great friends if they were both human, but as vampire and faery, their relationship is much more complex. Jessica has vowed to atone for killing all of Addilyn’s sisters and therefore, when Andy has to leave to see about all the destruction is Bon Temps, Jessica volunteers to watch over Addilyn. It’s a real struggle for Jess not to drink from Adillyn, and she is doing pretty well on how to control herself when a Hep V vampire shows up wanting to get Adilyn. Jessica does her best to protect her, but as the sun begins to rise, Adilyn who doesn’t want to see Jess burn, invites her in. For a moment, it looks like Jess might loose the battle and feed off of Adilyn, but Adilyn points to the attic and Jessica speeds up the stairs just as the hepV vampire meets the sun.
WILLA AND THE DANIEL’S
I feel very sorry for poor Willa; she is homeless and has no family. Her maker, Eric has disappeared and Pam is off looking for him, her sister, Tara has met the true death, so she is truly alone. Lettie Mae and Rev. Daniels have taken her in and Willa feeds some vampire blood to Lettie Mae to calm her down after she has seen her daughter’s death. Once Lettie Mae falls asleep, Willa opens up that she has no where to stay. The Reverend takes pity on her and shows her their storage room, which is light tight and therefore, good for her to sleep in. I worry that with Lettie Mae’s substance abuse problems she might get hooked on vampire blood. We’ll have to wait and see what’s next for Lettie Mae and how Willa handles the situation.
JASON AND VIOLET
I’m not too excited about the pairing of Jason with Violet and quite honestly the sex scene in this episode, while I’m sure was welcomed and needed to break the tension in their relationship,did nothing for me. I LOVE Ryan Kwanten in the role of Jason, and I sure hope he gets better to do this coming season than what we saw in this episode.
I’m hopeful that future episodes will have more to offer and we’ll get on with the story. We’ve heard that Season 7 will return to it’s roots; let’s hope so because, for me nothing was or has been as good as Season 1. However, I’d love it if Season 7 turns out to be the best season yet.
