In an interview with Parade, Kristin Bauer van Straten (Pamela Sywnford de Beaufort) discussed some of the challenges that await her character in True Blood season 5. She addressed everything from Russell Edgington’s (Denis O’Hare) return to Pam’s relationship with Eric (Alexander Skarsgård), the Authority, and what we’ll learn about the vampire world this year.
Russell Edgington’s return makes many people wonder who let him out and quite a few think that Pam did it. Kristin says that she thinks it’s great people thought out her character first and while she wouldn’t confirm or deny whether that was indeed true, she would like to think Pam is that devious.
Regardless of whether Pam actually did let Russell out or not, by the end of last season the audience was left wondering what would happen between Pam and Eric, especially because she shot an RPG into Moon Goddess and could have killed everyone:
“It really feels like she’s going through some teen rebellion. The Eric and Pam relationship is very paternal. She rushes to him when he gets his memory back but then she finds Sookie there too. He was putting a human before her and that was the first seed of jealousy. People can do all kinds of things that maybe aren’t wise in hindsight because of jealousy. Pam has a code that she lives by and isn’t apologetic or conflicted about being a vampire. Her existence is simple because she only cares about Eric. So with Sookie and this season’s shenanigans with the authority, Pam will still be acting on that code. The circumstances may cause her to do things that are really crazy. She will do anything for Eric and to have a close relationship with him.”
In order to get that relationship back, Pam will end up doing a lot of things that might not make sense. But it’s all going to be in an effort to make things right with Eric. The Authority will complicate things however by affecting the structure that they have lived by. At this point in time, no one knows where Pam’s loyalty lies, not even the actress that plays here!
As for whether this season will focus more on the vampires, Kristin says that it’s always the vampire show to her until she sees her fellow cast mates in the parking lot. But she tells Parade writer Mary Margaret that everyone will have their moment on screen.
And just because her co-star Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse) is having a baby in real life, Bauer van Straten assures readers when asked that there will still be lots of sex of the show still. There have been lots of trips to the gym for everyone since they got cast on the show, more so than average. But what about love for Pam? No sign yet, but Kristin keeps hoping:
“I keep hoping. I heard in the books there is a great romance for her and it just sounded like so much fun. It would be very interesting if she ever has a love. I don’t think there can be a love like Eric but these writers are so incredible that they could find some situation. This year, they put Pam in a dire situation not of her choosing that she’s got to evolve through. I don’t even know how it’s going to come out since we only see the script we’re shooting.”
Pam also has a lot of growing to do and it’s not necessarily going to be easy which Kristin can attest to from personal experience:
“Last season, Pam was really going to war and was really feral. The year before that, we found out how vulnerable she can be. This year, Pam is on unstable ground. They say ‘Everything is at stake’ and that’s what it feels like. She’s like a toddler figuring out how she’s going to deal with this situation and grow. I remember years ago I had my horoscope chart done and he said it was a year of growth. I was excited and then I had the most horrendous, brutal year. And I realized, ‘ah, growth.’ You don’t grow in the good times.”
And what will we learn about the vampires this year? Like in the real world, nothing is black and white. Everything is gray:
“It’s really a great analogy for what we’re going through during the election year. There are factions within the factions within the factions. What’s interesting about this year is that nothing is predictable. Except in hindsight, you go, ‘yup, that’s human nature.’ All of what we’re seeing of humans on the political, global scene, we have a great microcosm of that in the Authority. Russell is pretty edgy and wants to kill humans but then he’ll do a speech and you realize that he’s got a point about some things. It’s not just black and white. There is a lot of gray area.”
Are you excited to see what’s coming for Pam? Tell me in the comments below!
Source: Parade.com- “‘True Blood’ Kristin Bauer van Straten on Season 5: ‘Nothing is Predictable’”
Image Credit: HBO, Inc.
