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Tuesday, September 2, 2014 -9A

'True Blood' ends after seven-year run

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Flagship HBO Alan Ball ("American Beauty"),
but like a portion of the show's
eries remains audience, the series' maker
ditched it after season five -
TrueToTheEnd an admittedly too-over-the-top
religious and political allegory
By ALEC STERN which introduced Roman and
Senior Arts Editor Lillith, and reintroduced Rus-
sell Edgington and Steve New-
iler Alert: if you don't want lin. By and large, it was shaky
w how "True Blood" ends, at best. But over the last few
continue reading. years, final season included,
Sunday, August 24th at Ball's replacement Brian Buck-
p.m., "True Blood" met the ner was able to bring "Blood"
Death. After seven years, back. (Maybe not to the soaring
BO series finally resolved heights of seasons one or three,
okie Stackhouse saga, and but to a place where it certainly
t, the love story at its cen- finished its run on the upswing.)
nd it was one hell of a ride. Years in the future, "True
ed on Charlaine Harris' Blood" might still be remem-
ik "Southern Vampire bered for its oft-fluctuating
ries" series, "True Blood" quality, and its series finale
ered quietly in the fall interestingly followed a trajec-
08. But before long, the tory similar to that of its seven
Paquin-led drama became seasons: a strong start, followed
most popular series by a confusing midsection,
"The Sopranos." (It now capped off with a satisfying
omfortably as the third closer. Particularly, Jessica and
watched program in the Hoyt's impromptu marriage -
um cable network's his- which consumed a healthy por-
behind the mafia drama tion of the episode - was the
ntasy behemoth "Game of clear misfire. For a series known
es.") Capitalizing on the for consistently subverting the
000s vampire craze - and ideas of traditionalism, "True
session with supernatural Blood"'s finale was, well, rather
riangles - "True Blood" traditional.
ed in a new era of genre "I might be a vampire, but
in this "golden age of tele- I'm also a girl," explained Jes-
" we are living in. While sica in the episode's most head-
eries might never have scratching scene in which it's
d any recognition from a revealed that Bill's baby vamp
ular Academy (other than has always dreamed of her wed-
technical awards and love ding day, and that Bill himself
unrivaled opening cred- has always wanted to walk his
True Blood" built on previ- daughter down the aisle. Really,
ts like "Buffy the Vampire "True Blood?" As the finale's run-
" and paved the way for ning time clicked away, instead
ess shows. There are trac- of celebrating the craziness or
True Blood" all over tele- the sexiness or, most notably, its
- in wonderful series like refusal to submit to the notions
ibal" and "American Hor- of what it means to be "normal,"
ory," and not-so-wonder- the out-of-nowhere nuptials con-
es like "Hemlock Grove." structed a narrative reminiscent
ue Blood" was hatched of any show other than "True
he mind of Oscar winner Blood" - that a man's only worth

HBO

"Why do you smell so good?"
is in fathering children and that
girls sit around all day gushing
about veils and bouquets and hon-
eymoons.
But like seasons six and seven,
the finale's final act delivered. In
the end, when Sookie chooses
to remain a faerie, she chooses
to finally accept who she is. She
chooses herself. And just like
that, "True Blood" roared back.
Like "Six Feet Under," Alan
Ball's other HBO series, "True
Blood" wisely chose satisfaction
over spectacle, as we were given
a peek into the futures of every
character - Eric and Pam run-
ning both a successful corpora-
tion and Fangtasia, Sarah Newlin
suffering at their hands and just
about everybody else coupled
and happy, with Sookie pregnant

and married. (To whom we will
never know, but that isn't really
the point.)
In its final hour, "True Blood"
was something it never was -
safe. But while "safe" would have
been a deal-breaker for a season
finale, it made for a surprisingly
sweet series ender.
Of course, many will remem-
ber the final scene between Sook-
ie and Bill, in which together the
pair stake Bill, dousing Sookie
one lasttime in vampire guts. The
scene is classically "True Blood,"
and incited the reel of similarly
classic scenes that is currently
playing through my mind like a
greatest hits album - its fantastic
series premiere, Sookie running
through the cemetery for the first
time, Godric's death, Pam turning

Tara, Jason and Jessica's firstlove
scene accompanied by the music
of Taylor Swift. That Sookie-Bill-
Eric fever dream threesome.
Was "True Blood" perfect? Of
course not. It never quite knew
what to do with Lafayette, it
spent an excessive amount of
time focused on werewolf cul-
ture and there was a season five
Iraq war/smoke monster story-
line that is just as bad as it sounds.
But all told, I will always have
a special place in my heart for
"True Blood." As the finale fast-
forwarded through years of the
character's lives, I couldn't help
but think about my own - about
how fast time goes, about the past
seven years and about the people
I've experienced "True Blood"
with. If it sounds like I'm giving

too much weight to a series that
at one point had a secret faerie
nightclub storyline, I probably
am. Or maybe it was the episode's
Thanksgiving-set ending. Or its
title, simply "Thank You." But
in those closing moments, I was
thankful. I was thankful for this
silly, scary, quirky, sometimes-
poignant, always-entertaining
comic book of a show that didn't
give a shit about what it was or
who it was. It was just itself.
So with that, I raise a glass of
O Positive to you. To the vam-
pires and the faeries (and the
shifters, werewolves, werepan-
thers, maenads, ifrits, witches,
Lillith, Billith, demon babies,
Hep-V vamps and everything
and everyone else). Thank you,
"True Blood."

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