True Blood the season finale - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly *spoilers*
Wow, 7 seasons and it is all done. I have to admit I'm not someone who gets overly committed to TV series. I can't tell you of any show that I have faithfully watched every episode every season from start to finish. Usually I either get wind of a great TV show after it started or I grow bored after 1 or 2 seasons and quit watching. True Blood was one of those rare shows that I watched from the first episode and was hooked until the very end. It was a really good show that perhaps should have ended before season #7 but even when it wasn't very good I still watched faithfully every week.
What's odd, I never actually heard of the books before I started watching the TV show. I was never one to read books about vampires, especially campy romance novelizations of them and I actually haven't watched any other Vampire shows out there on TV or in the movies. I watched True Blood for two reasons - #1 I was a big fan of Alan Ball and loved his 'Six Feet Under' series so I was excited to see what else he was creating. I figured even if it was a genre that I normally don't watch I'd still be excited to see what he created next. #2 and this I have never told anyone. Stackhouse isn't a common name in the United States but ironically it was my grandmother's maiden name. So I thought it was odd there was a TV series out there where the central figure was a Stackhouse. Yes I know these aren't people related to me, but I was still curious since in RL I am one-quarter Stackhouse.
Like all good things this show had to come to an end. After 7 years the 3 main 'ageless' vampires were definitely looking their age (Bill, Eric and Pam) and I think the writers had run their course with new material. After season #3 the series started to tank in the writing department with season #5 being the most unwatchable of all the seasons (but I stood by it because even as bad as the season was when it was good it was still really good). I saw improvement in Season #6 but to me season #7 was pretty decent.
So here are my thoughts on the series finale which was a good finale but not the greatest.
What I didn't like:
No real closure for Sookie & Eric - Sure Eric was never the great love that Sookie had with Bill and let's face it, she only ever had sex with Eric because he lost his memory for a few episodes back in Season #4. But I still hate to think her last contact with Eric was when he played 'marriage counselor' between her and Bill. Perhaps Eric realized he was never going to matter as much to Sookie as Bill would. I think I saw a bit of defeat in Eric when he first stopped by Bill's house and saw Sookie there in Bill's rob. But it would have been nice to have one final goodbye between these 2 - perhaps after Eric killed off the Yakama (not sure how it's spelled) sent to kill off Sookie he could have stopped in one last time to say goodbye. Oh well.
So little time for Lafayette in the series finale. Lafayette has probably been one of the most important characters in the True Blood TV series, which is ironic because he was killed at the end of Book #1 in the TB book series. But Nelson Ellis connected so well with the audience as he played the over-the-top Lafayette that the writers found a way to keep him and even build a few interesting storylines for him. Yet last night all we had of Lala was a 2 second glance over at the family table at the very tail end. Why couldn't they have invited him to Jessica's wedding or have him give a toast at the finale. I think they could have spared 1 minute for Lafayette to say goodbye to the fans of True Blood.
The Good:
It was good to see Hoyt and Jessica not only unite but to do one final thing for Bill before he met the True Death. I thought that was an adorable 'wedding' (technically it wasn't legal but no one really cared about that) and I liked how Bill talked to Andy about taking care of Jessica after he was gone since technically Andy is Bill's last living relative (although Andy's sister was never mentioned). I liked how they showed that in the end Bill was the most human that he has ever been since being turned vampire. Jessica commented that he was becoming warmer and for the first time ever Sookie was able to hear Bill's thoughts.
I know people have been arguing this on the boards but in the end Bill's death was poignant and it had to be done. There will always been this connection between Vampires and Faeries that would have kept Sookie forever under Bill and/or Eric's spell as long as they were around. Obviously Eric was able to move on but with Bill next door I doubt that Bill could have moved on from Sookie and Sookie move on from Bill. And it seems for the last 7 years Sookie's life has been in constant danger since Bill came into her life. I was glad though, that Sookie didn't take Bill's advice with using the last of her Fairy power to kill Bill. I thought the chat with Rev Daniels was kinda corny but in the end Sookie realized that being a Faery was just something she was and she didn't want to lose what made her special just to kill off Bill. SO instead Bill did meet the true death but via a makeshift stake made from a nearby shovel.
I liked some of the cameos. I thought that flashback with young Tara & Sookie at Grandma Adele's kitchen table was a nice add and also probably reminded Sookie that she should move on with her life. It was also a great cameo with Steve Newlin who might be dead but will be tormenting Sarah Newlin for the rest of her life, where she'll be chained in the Fangtasia Dungeon living life as a Sex Slave.
It was good to see Pam & Eric together forever. I wondered why they waited so long to off Mr. Gus and his goons. A younger Eric would have never left this human push him around yet an older Eric was a bit of a wuss. But in the end didn't Eric and Pam look like they were still dressing like 'Republicans' like they did a few episodes ago when they were tracking down Sarah's parents at a Ted Cruz fundraiser.
And I liked the ending but I think that was a few years ahead - Sam had 2 kids and Jason & Bridgette had 3 kids (I think 2 were twins). When I saw Sookie was pregnant I thought perhaps she was a surrogate for Hoyt & Jessica but in the end we saw her with a faceless husband. I know on many of the boards the viewers were frustrated that we didn't see who Sookie married. But for me I think it was perfect. It wasn't about Sookie finding a husband but Sookie finding happiness, which was showcased at the end. I think if they showed the face of her husband it would have ruined the moment. Fans would have wondered who he was and how did she end up with this unknown person.
So it's done - no more True Blood. *** sigh ***
Edit Note: I don't think I would have cried at the end. I didn't think the episode was strong enough to warrant tears. I know I cried my eyes out at the ending of 'Six Feet Under'. I even cried for 'Sex in the City' and 'Big Love'. But the ending for this was sad but not tear-worthy until they played that song - the actually got a 2nd Led Zeppelin song to be used for the closing (the first was last season with "In the Evening"
and they closed the show with "Thank You", which is one of the most amazing, romantic ballads ever. I think when I heard Robert Plant singing that's when I lost it. In a way the show was thanking the fans for sticking with True Blood for 7 seasons.
