History Recap / TrueBlood

Bill, Sookie and Jason, returning, are astonished at the changes. They return to Sookie's house -- Maryann's house, now -- and are confronted with the lady of the manor; Bill tries to bite her, but her blood is toxic to him. When Maryann grabs her, Sookie -- who perhaps [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue borrowed the ability from Captain Marvel]] -- shows the ability to emit light from her palm, driving Maryann back. They flee, while Maryann wonders at who -- or perhaps what -- Sookie is. The two travel to Lafayette's, where Lafayette and Lettie Mae have kidnapped Tara. Using a forceful combination of glamor and telepathy, they free Tara from the mind-control, and learn Maryann's true nature. Bill, therefore, resolves to visit the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq (Creator/EvanRachelWood), the only person who might know how to defeat a maenad. After an episode's worth of stalling, Sophie-Anne explains that maenads cannot die, because [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve they believe themselves immortal]]; the only way to kill one is to get them to lower their guard.

While this is going on, Tara begs to be allowed to return to Sookie's house to free Eggs. Sookie and Lafayette are not so stupid, but Lettie Mae is desperate for a way to show her daughter some love. [[TooDumbToLive Tara is immediately re-hypnotized]], and when Sookie and Lafayette go in after ''her'', Lafayette is captured too. The same thing happens to Jason and Andy as they try to reassert order. Sookie is now held captive, the only one who can resist Maryann's control... but still forced, by sheer dint of muscle, to serve as a bridesmaid in Maryann's upcoming wedding. It's all down to Bill and Sam... So Bill surrenders Sam to Maryann, and he is hung on Maryann's ritual offering where he is stabbed. Sookie, reaching out to Sam, hears him thinking ''really really loudly'' that she ought to cause a distraction by pushing over all the ritual furniture; she does, and Maryann transforms into bull-wearing-a-dress-with-claws form in order to chase her. But Sookie is saved by an ''actual'' bull, whom Maryann immediately begins to worship as the incarnation of her god. The bull gores her with its horns before transforming back into Sam, who rips out Maryann's heart -- the only bit of the plan that was kept offscreen was for Sam to drink Bill's blood to enhance his HealingFactor. The two sides of this LoveTriangle have come to an understanding; and, more importantly, the immortal maenad BigBad of the season is dead.

Bill rents out the entirety of a French restaurant to take Sookie out on a date. As a parting gift, he gives her airline tickets to Burlington, VT. When Sookie asks why they'd need to go there, he takes out the ''other'' part of the gift: [[GrandRomanticGesture an engagement ring]]. But Sookie can't think straight: everything's been crazy, she has no idea if she's even human (Maryann certainly didn't believe she was), and -- if you pay attention to the timeline]] -- she and Bill only met [[WebcomicTime 47 days ago]]. She runs to the bathroom to compose herself. There, she tries on the ring... and the sight of it on her finger tells her everything she needs to know.

Someone sneaks up behind Bill and wraps a silver chain around his neck. When Sookie emerges from the ladies' room to accept his proposal, the entire place is empty.

Picking up immediately where the second season ended, Sookie reports the situation to Kenya Jones (Creator/TanyaWright), one of Sheriff Dearborne's three deputies. Sookie proclaims it a kidnapping, but Kenya is skeptical: Man proposes, woman turns him down and hides in the bathroom, why ''wouldn't'' the man pull a ScrewThisImOuttaHere? Of course, Sookie is correct: Bill finds himself chained and stuck in the back of a car with several {{mook}}s, who drink his blood for the high. Bill manages to free himself, wrecking the car, but finds himself somewhere in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi Mississippi]]. He calls to Jessica -- she doesn't understand it because he's never taught her about it, but a maker can attempt to summon their progeny at any time. At Sookie's urging, Jessica follows the summons, and they find the destroyed car along with the corpse of one of Bill's kidnappers. The corpse has a brand on it, the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfsangel wolfsangel]], a German symbol that was used extensively by ThoseWackyNazis and is also associated with werewolves... Which is exactly what Bill, somewhere else, finds himself cornered by.

We open in Bon Temps, a (fictional) small town in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana Louisiana]] in the (equally fictional) Renard [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parishes_in_Louisiana Parish]], part of the DeepSouth. Events center largely around "Merlotte's," a bar operated by a number of main characters: owner Sam Merlotte (Creator/SamTrammell), cooks Lafayette Reynolds (Creator/NelsanEllis) and Terry Bellefleur (Creator/ToddLowe), bartender Tara Thornton (Creator/RutinaWesley), and waitresses Arlene Fowler (Creator/CarriePreston), Dawn Green and MainCharacter Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie is a socially-awkward 25-year-old woman who nonetheless gets asked out a lot -- she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin -- but has no romantic life, and indeed is still a virgin, because of her {{Telepathy}} and, more importantly, PowerIncontinence, forcing her to perceive every thought her dates have -- many of which are inevitably [[ImAManICantHelpIt lecherous]] (she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin).

''True Blood'' takes place in a WorldOfWeirdness: while Sookie's telepathy is an open secret (all her coworkers know about it, and put up with it to varying extents), a more notable event in the BackStory is that vampires came "out of the coffin" two years ago, declaring themselves to the whole world. This was made possible by the invention of "[=TruBlood=]," a synthetic substitute for human blood, allowing (some of) them to "mainstream" as {{Vegetarian Vampire}}s. The big event of the {{Pilot Episode}}, therefore, is the presence of Bill Compton (Creator/StephenMoyer), a genuine honest-to-God vampire, as a guest at the bar. This ''immediately'' causes problems: in addition to FantasticRacism, vampire blood is a powerful stimulant and hallucinogenic, and two enterprising locals attempt to subdue Bill with silver and then drain his blood for profit. Sookie scares them off and makes first contact with the RomanticVampireBoy, noticing that she cannot detect his thoughts, meaning she could potentially have a normal relationship with him. The OfficialCouple of the show is born.

Sookie lives with her grandmother Adele Stackhouse (Lois Smith), as her parents died when she was young; her older brother, 28-year-old Jason (Creator/RyanKwanten), works as part of the Bon Temps road crew, alongside his best friends Hoyt Fortenberry (Creator/JimParrack), victim of MyBelovedSmother, and RaginCajun René Lenier (Creator/MichaelRaymondJames), and lives in their parents' house. This facilitates his [[ReallyGetsAround numerous sexual conquests]], and he is introduced getting it on with Maudette Pickens, who reveals that she has had sex with a vampire before. (And took video.) During sex, Jason gets rough and inadvertently chokes Maudette to death. Appalled at himself, he flees the scene.

In the denouement, Bill recovers from his injuries. Tara introduces Maryann to her friends; Maryann, privately, asks Sam if he thought she'd never find him; Sam looks appropriately unnerved. Jason is released when the ligatures on Amy Burley's neck match those of Drew Marshall's belt; he's proselytized to by a lawyer working for the Fellowship of the Sun, a Christian hate group preparing for all-out war against vampires, and he confesses to Sookie that he might have found his purpose in life. Lafayette, taking trash out to the dumpster behind Merlotte's, is kidnapped by an unknown assailant. Sookie thanks Bill for risking his life to save hers, and the two reaffirm their relationship with each other. And Andy Bellefleur, drunk over his failures as a detective, is urged to go home by Sookie and Tara. When he finds his car, there's a corpse inside it.

Lafayette is in a torture dungeon somewhere with five other humans. His captors keep taking people away, sometimes returning them and sometimes not. One of his fellow prisoners is a redneck who insulted him at Merlotte's for being gay (only to have Lafayette beat him and his friends up in return). The two bury the hatchet and begin to work on an escape plan, but this is stymied when the redneck melts off to their captors -- none other than Eric northman. They are beneath Fangtasia and Eric is looking into the disappearance of Eddie. Lafayette knows nothing and is eventually released, but only after the vampires feed on him non-consensually -- vampires have often been used as an allegory for uncontrolled sexual expression, so it's perhaps not surprising that Lafayette's actions from here on out treat the incident as though he were sexually assaulted. Terry Bellefleur, the Iraq vet, knows PTSD when he sees it even if he has no idea where it came from. Meanwhile, Lafayette is shaken when Eric's NumberTwo Pam (Creator/KristenBauerVanStraten) visits him and orders him to resume selling V. Vampires have an empathic connection with anyone who drinks their blood, so Lafayette can only assume they are simply using the simplest way possible to track down V users.

Sam isn't the only one finding out he's ''not'' the LastOfHisKind: checking into the Hotel Carmilla, which caters to vampires, alongside Bill and Jessica, Sookie is surprised to meet a bellhop, Barry Horowitz (Creator/ChrisCoy), who can also read minds. However, he's not interested in making friends, and even turns down Sookie's offer to teach him to control his PowerIncontinence. Meanwhile, she agrees to help find Godric by teaming up with Hugo, a fellow fangbanger romantically involved with one of Godric's subordinates, and pretending to be interested in Rev. Newlin's church as a wedding site. Meanwhile, Jessica, who has been taught to glamor, "borrows" a businessman's Palm Pilot and uses it to catch up with Hoyt. The conversation doesn't go well, as Hoyt is being hovered over by his mother Maxine (Creator/DaleRaoul); Maxine ''cancels'' Hoyt's phone plan, on the grounds that a girl who calls him that late is up to no good, so Hoyt jumps in his car and drives to Dallas to see Jessica. Since she's alone, they pick up where they left off, with Hoyt even going out of his way to set up candles and rose petals to make Jessica's first time memorable. Meanwhile, Bill is taken off his guard when his own maker, Lorena Krasiki (Creator/MarianaKlaveno), drops in to visit: vampires cannot harm their own makers, because those are the rules, so Lorena's presence is are the only RestrainingBolt that will stop Bill. "IHateYouVampireDad" is ''very'' present, with {{flashback}}s showing Bill's history as a vicious, sociopathic killer alongside Lorena... and his HeelFaceTurn as he chose to abandon that life. This broke Lorena: AllLoveIsUnrequited, and she has always harbored a thing for her progeny.

Sookie returns to her house, which is being swarmed over by workmen who threaten to call the cops. "The cops" turn out to be Deputy Jason Stackhouse of the Sheriff's Department. When Sookie asks him the date, he explains it's October 21st. Sookie is confused at all that happened in two weeks, and Jason explains that it's not: The faerie realm is one of those "YearOutsideHourInside" situations: it's been ''54'' weeks. Jason sold the house because he couldn't bear to face it anymore, and everyone thought Sookie was dead. Bill covers for her by claiming she was on a deep-cover assignment for him, and promises to publicly take responsibility -- in exchange for having Andy Bellefleur ClearMyName of the murder charge.

* Bill has been working closely with Andy's younger sister Portia Bellefleur (Creator/CourtneyFord), an accomplished lawyer. To Sookie, it's only been an hour since he broke her heart, but he's had twelve-and-a-half months to mourn her, and he starts up a sexual relationship with Portia.

Alcide drives Tommy back to Merlotte's: apparently, the whole skinwalking thing is CastFromHitPoints, and Tommy is dying. He wants to say goodbye to the only person who ever truly looked out for him. Afterwards, Sam goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge: with Alcide's help, he tracks down one of Marcus's {{mook}}s, but the man refuses to give up his boss's location. Sam also gets help from Luna because it turns out that Marcus has kidnapped Emma. That said, Emma finds it easy to get to a phone because Marcus is distracted with other priorities: he's trying to seduce Debbie. In Alcide's bed. (Alcide is momentarily confused when Emma calls Luna from his house.) While Luna escorts Emma out and Alcide keeps Debbie away, Sam and Marcus fight; Sam gets the upper hand, but leaves him alive, knowing that he has already proven how small and pathetic a man Marcus is. Marcus, as though to prove the point, grabs Sam's gun and opens fire. Alcide finishes the man. He then formally severs himself from Debbie, whom he believe has cheated on her. (In Alcide's defense, she definitely put herself in a bad position. In ''Debbie's'' defense, she had clearly declared her intention to stay with Alcide.)

[[folder:Season 4 (IN PROGRESS)]]

Sookie lives with her grandmother, as her parents died when she was young; her older brother, 28-year-old Jason (Creator/RyanKwanten), works as part of the Bon Temps road crew, alongside his best friends Hoyt Fortenberry (Creator/JimParrack), victim of MyBelovedSmother, and RaginCajun René Lenier (Creator/MichaelRaymondJames), and lives in their parents' house. This facilitates his [[ReallyGetsAround numerous sexual conquests]], and he is introduced getting it on with Maudette Pickens, who reveals that she has had sex with a vampire before. (And took video.) During sex, Jason gets rough and inadvertently chokes Maudette to death. Appalled at himself, he flees the scene.

Antonia makes one more attempt to escape, only for Marnie to bind her to her forcibly. However, Lafayette -- himself a medium -- sees it happen. This allows Jesús to solve the puzzle: he drags the follower's corpse back into the bathroom and has Lafayette help him (use it to) cast a spell that will sever Antonia from Marnie entirely. Marnie, meanwhile, offers to negotiate with the vampires, but things go sideways when Pam tries to use a rocket launcher on the forcefield (it doesn't work). Marnie then casts a spell which begins dragging the vampires ''towards'' the forcefield, which will surely kill them. Sookie, not pleased with this, uses her powers to break the circle, and Marnie traps ''her'' in an ever-shrinking ring of fire. This is when Jesús finally succeeds at casting the spell: Antonia leaves forever. Bill and Eric burst in, and Bill puts an end to Marnie with a [=MP5K=]. The threat is over.

Antonia makes one more attempt to escape, only for Marnie to bind her to her forcibly. However, Lafayette -- himself a medium -- sees it happen. This allows Jesús to solve the puzzle: he drags the follower's corpse back into the bathroom and has Lafayette help him (use it to) cast a spell that will sever Antonia from Marnie entirely. Marnie, meanwhile, offers to negotiate with the vampires, but things go sideways when Pam tries to use a rocket launcher on the forcefield (it doesn't work). Marnie then casts a spell which begins dragging the vampires ''towards'' the forcefield, which will surely kill them. Sookie, not pleased with this, uses her powers to break the circle, and Marnie traps ''her'' in an ever-shrinking ring of fire. This is when Jesús finally succeeds at casting the spell: Antonia leaves forever. Bill and Eric burst in, and Bill puts an end to Marnie with a MP5K. The threat is over.

Back at Compton House, Bill has had enough. He declares that he, Eric, Pam and Jessica are going to strike directly at Moon Goddess Emporium and end the threat once and for all -- regardless of [[KillEmAll collateral damage]]. Sookie, hearing this, storms out; she has no intention of letting Tara die. She recruits Jason, Lafayette and Jesús, who volunteers to be the DoubleAgent: he wants to get Antonia out of Marnie and rescue his friend. He is, therefore, both surprised and unnerved to discover that the evil mastermind is ''not'' Antonia, but rather Marnie herself: Antonia, who has HealingHands and turned to necromancy solely to save her village from a plague, is appalled at Marnie's disregard for [[KillEmAll collateral damage]], while Marnie, the ExtremeDoormat whom no one took seriously, is pleased at her new office as CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass. She's still the most powerful witch in the state: she's erected SomeKindOfForceField around the HQ, and vampires can't breach it because it's sun-flavored. However, Holly and Tara have been combing through the archives and eventually find a spell that will let them take down the forcefield. Unfortunately, Marnie wove telemetry into the field: when they breach it, she knows, and she manages to capture Lafayette and Sookie as well, leaving only a confused Jason pacing outside. As her followers continue to agitate for desertion, Marnie eventually murders one of them in cold blood -- though she continues to insist that it was self-defense, having a hard time accepting how far she has fallen.

Bill, Sookie and Jason, returning, are astonished at the changes. They return to Sookie's house -- Maryann's house, now -- and are confronted with the lady of the manor; Bill tries to bite her, but her blood is toxic to him. When Maryann grabs her, Sookie -- who perhaps borrowed the PowerParasite abilities from [[Film/XMenFilmSeries another of Paquin's roles]] -- shows the ability to emit light from her palm, driving Maryann back. They flee, while Maryann wonders at who -- or perhaps what -- Sookie is. The two travel to Lafayette's, where Lafayette and Lettie Mae have kidnapped Tara. Using a forceful combination of glamor and telepathy, they free Tara from the mind-control, and learn Maryann's true nature. Bill, therefore, resolves to visit the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq (Creator/EvanRachelWood), the only person who might know how to defeat a maenad. After an episode's worth of stalling, Sophie-Anne explains that maenads cannot die, because [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve they believe themselves immortal]]; the only way to kill one is to get them to lower their guard.

Compton House is empty because Nan Flanagan has organized a "Festival of Tolerance" event in Shreveport, and the entire household has decamped there. Antonia plans to unleash Eric there and turn the entire festival into a mockery. Meanwhile, Sookie is approached by Debbie -- whom Sookie is skeptical of, given that the two had their DesignatedCatfight the previous season. However, Debbie has turned over a new leaf: she has accepted that Sookie is important to Alcide and attempts to offer any help Sookie needs. And Sookie needs help. The next we see Debbie, she's approaching Moon Goddess Emporium (Marnie's shop, Antonia's headquarters) to offer Antonia the allegiance of the Shreveport werewolf pack. It's a distraction: Sookie is infiltrating the store from the second floor, where she finds Eric the Pet Vampire. They are then cornered by Tara, who has a gun. Tara upbraids Sookie for her foolishness: "You always been stupid,
but comin' here has gotta be about the stupidest shit I ever heard of. ''Are you even listenin' to me?''" Sookie takes the hint: Tara is thinking at her, ''really loudly'', that all the humans here are actually Antonia's prisoners, and that Antonia's planning to take Eric to Shreveport, and that if Sookie were to attack ''right now'', she'd have a chance to escape... A few "accidentally" missed gunshots later, Debbie drives Sookie to Shreveport, while Antonia brings Eric via her own transportation, locking the doors of the HQ so that nobody can leave. When Eric draws the vampire guards off, Antonia mind-controls ''them'' too. She then sends them directly at Bill.

Lafayette, trying to keep Tara from being DrivenToSuicide, takes her to an assisted-living facility for elderly and not-quite-right-in-the-head patients. There, his own mother Ruby Jean Reynolds (Creator/AlfreWoodard) lives under the care of God himself: a Hispanic nurse named Jesus Velasquez (Creator/KevinAlejandro). Sparks fly, and after some dancing around, the two enter a relationship.

Sookie refuses to give up looking for Bill, and Eric -- somewhat begrudgingly -- assigns her a bodyguard, non-evil werewolf Alcide Herveaux (Creator/JoeManganiello). Eric himself refuses to get involved, despite the presence of the werewolves: a {{flashback}} to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII shows him and Godric confronting a wolfsangel-branded were. Additioninally, even ''more'' flashbacks to his mortal youth depict how his entire house, save Eric himself, were slaughtered by a bunch of weres, led by a man who stole his father's crown. Meanwhile, Alcide wouldn't mind help with his own problems: a new gang of werewolves have taken up residence in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi Jackson, MS]], and his girlfriend Debbie left him for their leader. Meanwhile, Bill accepts Russell's offer -- Sheriff of some portion of MS, in exchange for Bill's fealty -- and phones Sookie to break up with her, before taking Lorena as his new lover. His somewhat unkind claims of having to constantly hold back for fear of harming Sookie are demonstrated when, during sex, he doesn't bother putting a paper bag over Lorena's head and instead ''twists her head all the way around'', knowing her HealingFactor will let her survive it.

Jason tries to get into Crystal's pants, despite her general unwillingness -- while she's clearly attracted to him, she also has an ArrangedMarriage with a man named Felton, one of the dealers at Hotshot. When she tries to run away, her father Calvin brings Felton to Merlotte's to look for her. When Calvin starts antagonizing Jason and Crystal, Sam steps in, his temper already rubbed raw by the shit with his parents and wit Tommy, and beats Calvin to a pulp. Lafayette, Jesus and Crystal attempt to drive Calvin the 20 miles to the nearest hospital, but it becomes clear he won't make it... so Lafayette stops at his own house and gives Calvin V. Afterwards, Calvin disowns Crystal for disobedience: all he wants is for her to marry Felton and have his babies and keep the bloodline pure. She realizes she can't have any meaningful relationship with Jason unless he gets the whole story, and so waits for him at Chez Stackhouse... as a panther, because she too is a were. This caps off a week of madness for both Jason and Tara: during the chaos surrounding Calvin's brush with death, she's kidnapped by Franklin, who feels betrayed that she never loved him and makes preparations to murder her. He's stopped by Jason, who has a shotgun. Obviously, Franklin isn't scared by bullets... So Jason doesn't tell him the bullets are made of wood until ''after'' he's already blown Franklin to smithereens. He brings Tara back to Chez Stackhouse to recover, and Sookie drops in to help. Here, Jason, burdened by his guilty conscience, finally admits the truth about his role in Eggs' death. Sookie urges him to confess to Tara instead, which he does. Tara, in TranquilFury, corners Andy Bellefleur at Merlotte's and demands he corroborate, accusing him of hypocrisy for accepting a medal and a promotion after "apprehending Bon Temps' latest serial killer." To her surprise, Andy breaks down in ManlyTears: he explains that Eggs, so far as he could tell, was trying to commit SuicideByCop, and that Andy himself was trying to de-escalate the situation when Jason stepped in drew a conclusion that was both empirically reasonable and completely wrong. He ''apologizes'' to Tara, claiming that, could he go back and do anything differently to save Eggs' life, he would.

Jesus, impressed with the healing abilities of V, suggests he and Lafayette take some together. (Lafayette remarks on the turn-around: earlier this season, he was trying to ''avoid'' Lafayette for being a drug dealer. And keep in mind that this whole season takes place in a mere ''nine days''.) They trip together, seeing their ancestors and the history that spawned them... But Lafayette continues to have hallucinatory after-effects. He calls Jesus for help, and Jesus admits that he is a "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchcraft_in_Latin_America brujo]]." ("...[[TwoferTokenMinority Who's a nurse, who's a guy]]," Lafayette quips.)

The big plotline of the season ends up being a coven of witches led by Marnie (Creator/FionaShaw) and attended by Jesus and Holly. Jesus has been trying to get Lafayette to join this coven for a while, confused at Lafayette's unwillingness to embrace his own potential as a magic-user. Indeed, once Lafayette joins the link, the whole spell is supercharged. However, the spell itself is a concerning one: Marnie attempts to bring her dead parrot, Minerva, back to life, and actually succeeds at getting it to flap around for about 15 more seconds.

One of the members of the coven turns out to be a deep-cover operative working for the Vampire King of Louisiana: William Compton, the First of his Name. ({{Flashback}}s show how he won the fight against Queen Sophie-Anne with the help of AVL {{mook}}s and their wooden bullets.) Her report is a big deal to King William: {{necromancer}}s, who can control the dead, pose an existential threat to vampires, who are dead. Thus, the next night, while Lafayette and Jesus drag Tara to the coven meeting, Bill sends Eric to intimidate the circle into dissolving. Marnie tries to defend herself with the power of her coven, but is possessed by someone (Creator/PaolaTurbay) and unknowingly casts an EasyAmnesia spell on Eric; Sookie finds him walking by the side of the road, [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless for some reason]], aware that he is a vampire but having absolutely no idea of anything else about himself. Pam begs Sookie to keep Eric at her house, and to not tell Bill: she suspects that Bill let Eric walk into danger on purpose and will now have him executed for posing a danger to TheNeedsOfTheMany. In Bill's defense, Eric ''is'' a threat: as he was essentially ReallyWasBornYesterday, he is weirdly {{adorkable}} but also completely uncontrollable; when Claudine comes back to appeal to Sookie one more time, Eric instead drains her dry.

Tara, Lafayette and Jesus promise to deliver up Marnie to Pam, since she's the only one who has ''any'' clue what spell was cast or how to reverse it. This might be harder than it sounds, as the individual who possessed Marnie is clearly watching over her. As the season progresses, that individual draws Marnie into flashbacks to the Spanish Inquisition, when she (the individual) was being burned at the stake for witchcraft; during these flashbacks, she teaches Marnie spells. These spells may relate to the vampires' distaste for necromancers: apparently, ''during'' the Inquisition, one witch, wanting to pull a TakingYouWithMe against vampires who were themselves part of the Catholic Church, necromance'd every vampire in a 30-mile radius into committing SuicideBySunlight. Many of them want to kill Marnie, despite the Authority's insistence that no human blood be spilled, and Pam tries to confront Marnie directly while attempting to un-amnesia Eric. Unfortunately, the individual once again takes over Marnie and casts a rotting spell on Pam, who finds [[BodyHorror her face beginning to melt off]]. Once again, Marnie has no recollection of the spell she cast, leading Tara, Lafayette and Jesus to pull a ScrewThisImOuttaHere once they realize that the situation cannot be controlled. Tara returns to New Orleans, while Jesus takes Lafayette to meet his grandfather, a powerful brujo named Don Bartolo (Creator/DelZamora), in the hopes of enlisting aid.

As part of training Jesus, Don Bartolo throws a snake at him. The snake bites Jesus. Don Bartolo then locks him and Lafayette in the room, telling them it's Lafayette's job to fix the problem. It's a TrainingFromHell, but it's not focused on Jesus: It's focused on ''Lafayette'', who turns out to be the second medium in the franchise after Marnie, and who apparently is a much more powerful one than she is. Returning to work, he learns the identity of the third: little Mikey Bellefleur, who is being entertained by the ghost of a woman named Mavis (Nondumiso Tembe).

Tara is confronted by Naomi, who has learned that her girlfriend "Toni" has been lying about everything. To clear her name, Tara takes her around Bon Temps, showing Naomi not only who she really is but what she was trying to escape from. Naomi decides to give Toni a second chance, or perhaps give Tara a first chance. However, they are interrupted by Pam, who still wants revenge on anyone who helped cast the rotting spell on her. The two escape ''only'' because a bunch of bystanders have poured out of Merlotte's and are livestreaming the event, something the AVL will literally murder Pam for; Pam leaves, swearing vengeance. Tara convinces Naomi to run for her life. Walking home amidst the ashes of her latest failed relationship, Tara is accosted by... Antonia, who promises vengeance against the vampires. Tara joins her coven and begins aggressively recruiting. This culminates in Antonia once again casting her Suicide By Sunlight spell. Vampires who have not heeded Bill's safety precautions (or, due to being off the grid, have not heard about it) march into the sun to their doom. Sookie goes into the basement to literally sit on Eric and try to keep him from following, while Jason, having learned about it from her, races across the graveyard, concerned Jessica will also be caught in the spell. He's right to be: at Compton House, while the silver chains hold Bill, Jessica succeeds at freeing herself, and, heedless, charges into the sunlight.

Tara, Lafayette and Jesus promise to deliver up Marnie to Pam, since she's the only one who has ''any'' clue what spell was cast or how to reverse it. This might be harder than it sounds, as the individual who possessed Marnie is clearly watching over her. As the season progresses, that individual draws Marnie into flashbacks to the Spanish Inquisition, when she (the individual) was being burned at the stake for witchcraft; during these flashbacks, she teaches Marnie spells. These spells may relate to the vampires' distaste for necromancers: apparently, ''during'' the Inquisition, one witch, wanting to pull a TakingYouWithMe against vampires who were themselves part of the Catholic Church, necromance'd every vampire in a 30-mile radius into committing SuicideBySunlight. Many of them want to kill Marnie, despite the Authority's insistence that no human blood be spilled, and Pam tries to confront Marnie directly while attempting to un-amnesia Eric. Unfortunately, the individual once again takes over Marnie and casts a rotting spell on Pam, who finds [[BodyHorror her face beginning to melt off]]. Once again, Marnie has no recollection of the spell she cast, leading Tara, Lafayette and Jesus to pull a ScrewThisImOuttaHere once they realize that the situation cannot be controlled. Tara returns to New Orleans, while Jesus takes Lafayette to meet his grandfather, a powerful brujo named Don Bartolo (Del Zamora), in the hopes of enlisting aid.

Jason manages to free himself and escapes, eventually getting the drop on panther!Felton and killing him by [[GoombaStomp landing on him with a sharpened stick]]. However, Crystal proclaims him the new leader of the Hotshot pack (via KlingonPromotion) and promises that he will soon turn into a werepanther. Jason flees, eventually being tripped over by Hoyt and Jessica, who are driving past on unrelated business. Jessica gives him some of her blood, and Jason recovers quickly; however, as the full moon approaches, he handcuffs himself to his bed in fear of becoming a panther. When Sookie offers to stay with him, he takes the first opportunity to bolt. Sookie, chasing after him, stumbles across Alcide and Debbie, who (despite living three hours away in Shreveport) are here with their new pack, led by Marcus Bozeman (Dan Buran), for a bonding exercise; from them, Sookie learns that being a were, unlike being a zombie or a vampire, is ''not'' transmitted orally. Jason is safe. Of course, he doesn't know that; he's out in the woods having a panic attack. Jessica, via her empathic connection to him, comes to keep him company. The ShipTease is on.

* Tara is in UsefulNotes/NewOrleans making a life as a MixedMartialArts fighter, and is in a relationship with a fellow fighter, Naomi. However, TheMainCharactersDoEverything, and once she hears of Sookie's return SMS from Lafayette, she hightails it back to Bon Temps.

Tara, Lafayette and Jesus promise to deliver up Marnie to Pam, since she's the only one who has ''any'' clue what spell was cast or how to reverse it. This might be harder than it sounds, as the individual who possessed Marnie is clearly watching over her. As the season progresses, that individual draws Marnie into flashbacks to the Spanish Inquisition, when she (the individual) was being burned at the stake for witchcraft; during these flashbacks, she teaches Marnie spells. These spells may relate to the vampires' distaste for necromancers: apparently, ''during'' the Inquisition, one witch, wanting to pull a TakingYouWithMe against vampires who were themselves part of the Catholic Church, necromance'd every vampire in a 30-mile radius into committing Suicide By Sunlight. Many of them want to kill Marnie, despite the Authority's insistence that no human blood be spilled, and Pam tries to confront Marnie directly while attempting to un-amnesia Eric. Unfortunately, the individual once again takes over Marnie and casts a rotting spell on Pam, who finds [[BodyHorror her face beginning to melt off]]. Once again, Marnie has no recollection of the spell she cast, leading Tara, Lafayette and Jesus to pull a ScrewThisImOuttaHere once they realize that the situation cannot be controlled. Tara returns to New Orleans, while Jesus takes Lafayette to meet his grandfather, a powerful brujo named Don Bartolo (Del Zamora), in the hopes of enlisting aid.

One of the members of the coven turns out to be a deep-cover operative working for the Vampire King of Louisiana: William Compton, the First of his Name. ({{Flashback}}s show how he won the fight against Queen Sophie-Anne with the help of AVL {{mook}}s and their wooden bullets.) This is a big deal for King William: {{necromancer}}s, who can control the dead, pose an existential threat to vampires, who are dead. Thus, the next night, while Lafayette and Jesus drag Tara to the coven meeting, Bill sends Eric to intimidate the circle into dissolving. Marnie tries to defend herself with the power of her link, but is possessed by someone (Creator/PaolaTurbay) and unknowingly casts an EasyAmnesia spell on Eric; Sookie finds him walking by the side of the road, [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless for some reason]], aware that he is a vampire but having absolutely no idea of who he is. Pam begs Sookie to keep Eric at her house, and to not tell Bill: she suspects that Bill let Eric walk into danger on purpose and would take this opportunity to declare Eric a threat to TheNeedsOfTheMany and have him legally executed. In Bill's defense, Eric ''is'' a threat: as he was essentially ReallyWasBornYesterday, he is weirdly {{adorkable}} but also completely uncontrollable; when Claudine comes back to appeal to Sookie one more time, Eric instead drains her dry.

Tara, Lafayette and Jesus promise to deliver up Marnie to Pam, since she's the only one who has ''any'' clue what spell was cast or how to reverse it. This might be harder than it sounds, as the individual who possessed Marnie is clearly watching over her.

Sookie's relationship with Bill (in which TheirFirstTime is also ''her'' first time) is somewhat stymied by a LoveTriangle between her and Sam, who is cautious of vampires and is certain Bill will lead her astray. Sam, lacking any other outlet, begins a FriendsWithBenefits situation with Tara. However, his first priority is always Sookie. This leads to TheReveal: Sam, who is frequently seen in the company of a border collie, is capable of {{shapeshifting}}, transforming into any living animal (and leaving his clothes behind, leading to awkwardness when he falls asleep watching over Sookie in border-collie form and reverts back to butt-ass-naked-Sam form).

Hoyt, taking Summer on a date to Merlotte's, admits to Jessica (while Summer is using the ladies' room) that he can't stand Summer. This is of some confusion to Tommy, who is trying desperately to hit on Jessica, telling Hoyt things like, "She's out of your league" -- showing that he hasn't bothered to actually ''learn'' about anyone nearby. Later that night, Summer offers herself to Hoyt: she's a good Christian and was waiting until marriage, but for her big bear, she's willing to break the rules. But Hoyt, as politely as possible, tells her no. The next evening, he returns to Merlotte's and admits to Jessica that he loves her. But Jessica can't say anything in response: after Bill broke up with Sookie and taught her to use her SuperSpeed in a fight, the two commiserated over how their loved ones would be better off without them. Tommy tries to get a dig in and Hoyt punches him in the face. So, when Hoyt gets outside, Tommy shifts into bulldog form and attacks. Jessica, overhearing the commotion, grabs bulldog!Tommy and [[CurbStompBattle flings him into the woods]], before piercing her own skin so that Hoyt can heal. From that point on, the BetaCouple are back on. But Jessica still has burdens to confess: she admits that she lost control and killed the trucker. She also admits that she's not going to stop: she tried [=TruBlood=] and can't stand it. She can't be a VegetarianVampire; she needs ''real'' blood. Hoyt, without hesitation, offers his own, and later puts the down payment on an apartment so that he and Jessica can live together. This is to the frustration of Maxine and Summer, who it turns out were conspiring to get Hoyt away from Jessica. However, not all is perfect: the shot of Jessica and Hoyt smooching in delirious happiness settles on an aged, abandoned doll on the floor. [[{{Foreshadowing}} This will be important later.]]

* Hoyt and Jessica have traded domestic bliss for LikeAnOldMarriedCouple. Jessica doesn't like cooking for Hoyt because it's all dead, and Hoyt turns out to be something of a ManChild. On top of that, Jessica isn't as satisfied as she hoped she'd be with vampiric monogamy, longing for the taste of others' blood. And, of course, there's another creepy doll, [[Music/JonathanCoulton that always follows you]]: both complain of having thrown it away and that it keeps coming back.

* Hoyt and Jessica have traded domestic bliss for LikeAnOldMarriedCouple. Jessica doesn't like cooking for Hoyt because it's all dead, and Hoyt turns out to be something of a ManChild. On top of that, Jessica isn't as satisfied as she hoped she'd be with vampiric monogamy, longing for the taste of others' blood.

* Arlene has had her baby, Mikey Bellefleur. She is certain that evil is InTheBlood, and is starting to crack under the pressure. (Terry's doing better, but then Terry always had a touch of CloudCuckooLander anyhow, so his ability to reassure Arlene can be lacking at the best of time.)

Hoyt, taking Summer on a date to Merlotte's, admits to Jessica (while Summer is using the ladies' room) that he can't stand Summer. This is of some confusion to Tommy, who is trying desperately to hit on Jessica, telling Hoyt things like, "She's out of your league" -- showing that he hasn't bothered to actually ''learn'' about anyone nearby. Later that night, Summer offers herself to Hoyt: she's a good Christian and was waiting until marriage, but for her big bear, she's willing to break the rules. But Hoyt, as politely as possible, tells her no. The next evening, he returns to Merlotte's and admits to Jessica that he loves her. But Jessica can't say anything in response: after Bill broke up with Sookie and taught her to use her SuperSpeed in a fight, the two commiserated over how their loved ones would be better off without them. Tommy tries to get a dig in and Hoyt punches him in the face. So, when Hoyt gets outside, Tommy shifts into bulldog form and attacks. Jessica, overhearing the commotion, grabs bulldog!Tommy and [[CurbStompBattle flings him into the woods]], before piercing her own skin so that Hoyt can heal. From that point on, the BetaCouple are back on. But Jessica still has burdens to confess: she admits that she lost control and killed the trucker. She also admits that she's not going to stop: she tried [=TruBlood=] and can't stand it. She can't be a VegetarianVampire; she needs ''real'' blood. Hoyt, without hesitation, offers his own, and later puts the down payment on an apartment so that he and Jessica can live together. This is to the frustration of Maxine and Summer, who it turns out were conspiring to get Hoyt away from Jessica. Maxine is seen visiting a store which advertises anti-vampire weapons.

Sam has had enough of Tommy's attitude, and fires the kid. While he and Tara are getting it on, Tommy uses wire cutters to disable the security alarms on the bar and steals all of Sam's money. When Sam figures this out, he grabs a gun -- when he rescued Tommy from the dog-fighting ring, he had and surrendered a Beretta M9; now he has a Walther P99; WhereDoesHeGetAllTheseFabulousToys -- and chases the boy, wanting his money back. Tommy protests that he has nowhere else to go: Sam took away his family and then took his future too. When Sam points out that Tommy could just, you know, [[StatingTheSimpleSolution get a job]], Tommy retorts, "''I NeverLearnedToRead!''" He walks away, sure his brother will not shoot him. But the last shot of Sam this season is of him leveling the pistol and firing.

[[LargeHam Now time for the weather. Tiffany]]?\\

Sookie refuses to give up looking for Bill, and Eric -- somewhat begrudgingly -- assigns her a bodyguard, non-evil werewolf Alcide Herveaux (Creator/JoeMangianiello). Eric himself refuses to get involved, despite the presence of the werewolves: a {{flashback}} to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII shows him and Godric confronting a wolfsangel-branded were. Additioninally, even ''more'' flashbacks to his mortal youth depict how his entire house, save Eric himself, were slaughtered by a bunch of weres, led by a man who stole his father's crown. Meanwhile, Alcide wouldn't mind help with his own problems: a new gang of werewolves have taken up residence in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi Jackson, MS]], and his girlfriend Debbie left him for their leader. Meanwhile, Bill accepts Russell's offer -- Sheriff of some portion of MS, in exchange for Bill's fealty -- and phones Sookie to break up with her, before taking Lorena as his new lover. His somewhat unkind claims of having to constantly hold back for fear of harming Sookie are demonstrated when, during sex, he doesn't bother putting a paper bag over Lorena's head and instead ''twists her head all the way around'', knowing her HealingFactor will let her survive it.

[[LargeHam Now time for the weather. Tiffany]]?

The fight -- which Bill was largely winning -- ends when the werewolves' master arrives: Russell Edgington (Creator/DenisOHare), vampire king of Mississippi. He has Bill escorted back to his mansion, where Bill meets Russell's vampire lover Talbot (Creator/TheoAlexander). Russell admits that ''he'' ordered Bill brought to him -- voluntarily, not kidnapped; he executes one of his werewolf minions for incompetence -- because he wants Bill's help: he is extending a marriage proposal to Queen Sophie-Ann Leclerq, but so far she is refusing. That said, Russell's plan involves Bill cooperating with Lorena. Bill shows his opinion of ''that'' by, at the mere ''sight'' of her, grabbing a burning lamp and setting her on fire.

Sam has succeeded in tracking down his birth parents, Melinda and Joe Lee Mickens (Creator/JSmithCameron and Creator/CooperHuckabee). They live in squalor with their second son Tommy (Creator/MarshallAllman), and -- when they visit Bon Temps -- are impressed by what Sam, bar owner, restauranteur and landlord of a set of apartments, has made of himself. However, it becomes clear to Sam that his family see him as a meal ticket first, a family member second, and he banishes them from Bon Temps. He then has to go back once he realizes that their main way of generating revenue is shifting into canine form and then entering dog-fighting rings, a duty they've now put on Tommy's shoulders as Melinda is too old. (Joe Lee is a bog-standard {{muggle}}.) Sam rescues Tommy from the ring and takes him back to Bon Temps, where he employs Tommy as a bus boy; however, Tommy revels in his newfound freedom and becomes wildly overconfident, disturbing the other residents in the apartments (such as Arlene and Terry) with his debauchery. He accuses Sam of being no better a father than Joe Lee, which ''really'' gets to Sam, driving him to the bottle.

Arlene starts out the season with an extra-sensitive nose, and realizes what it means: [[TruthInTelevision pregnant women have enhanced sense of smell]]. She debates over what to tell Terry, whom she's only been dating for a couple of weeks; but when she sees a doctor, she learns that the critter is some 10 weeks along, meaning she's been pregnant since before the PilotEpisode -- in other words, back when she was dating first-season BigBad and SerialKiller Drew Marshall. Terry, who is a good man, offers to stand by her no matter what -- even after learning of the child's less-than-stellar genetic heritage -- but Arlene realizes she does not want to bring such a child into the world. Merlotte's newest waitress, wiccan Holly Cleary (Creator/LaurenBowles), helps her perform a ritual which will call upon the Mother Earth to arbitrate the pregnancy, to terminate it or preserve it by Her will, and gives Arlene a decoction to drink. Arlene wakes up the next morning with a mess of blood between her legs, and Terry rushes her to the hospital... Where she learns that the fetus survived and is indeed thriving.

Sookie refuses to give up looking for Bill, and Eric -- somewhat begrudgingly -- assigns her a bodyguard, non-evil werewolf Alcide Herveaux (Creator/JoeMangianello). Eric himself refuses to get involved, despite the presence of the werewolves: a {{flashback}} to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII shows him and Godric confronting a wolfsangel-branded were. Additioninally, even ''more'' flashbacks to his mortal youth depict how his entire house, save Eric himself, were slaughtered by a bunch of weres, led by a man who stole his father's crown. Meanwhile, Alcide wouldn't mind help with his own problems: a new gang of werewolves have taken up residence in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi Jackson, MS]], and his girlfriend Debbie left him for their leader. Meanwhile, Bill accepts Russell's offer -- Sheriff of some portion of MS, in exchange for Bill's fealty -- and phones Sookie to break up with her, before taking Lorena as his new lover. His somewhat unkind claims of having to constantly hold back for fear of harming Sookie are demonstrated when, during sex, he doesn't bother putting a paper bag over Lorena's head and instead ''twists her head all the way around'', knowing her HealingFactor will let her survive it.

Russell, of course, isn't done. He [[OffWithHisHead beheads The Magister]], showing his disdain for The Authority, the OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness which rules vampire America. He then sets his sights on Sookie directly, attacking Compton House and almost defeating Bill while Jessica is distracted with werewolves. Meanwhile, Alcide's ex-girlfriend, Debbie, leads the attack on Sookie's house, wanting {{revenge}} for her new boyfriend whom Alcide killed during the escape. All three fights are at a stalemate when the unexpected happens. Talbot, you see, was left behind, and in a snit set his sights on Eric. The two have been making out, and going further, when Eric seizes the opportunity to kill the only man Russell ever loved. Russell, hearing his progeny's death, departs immediately, breaking the stalemate; Jessica defeats (and feeds on) the werewolf, Bill scares off Debbie, and he and Sookie reunite (and have sex). Bill then finds ''himself'' in the dream-world with Claudine, apparently a side-effect of the large amount of Sookie's blood that is now in him instead of her; he uses his SuperSpeed to catch Claudine, despite her defensiveness, but very specifically refrains from harming her, wanting merely to know what Sookie's true nature is. Upon awakening, he explains: Sookie is a HalfHumanHybrid and part faerie. The reason Claudine has been warning her away from Bill is that faeries have not been seen in hundreds of years: they were, it's believed, hunted to extinction by vampires. Meanwhile, Russell -- in defiance of the American Vampire League, who have been attempting to get the Vampire Rights Amendment passed and have been characterizing vampires as largely harmless -- breaks into a TV station and murders the news anchor in cold blood before giving a bone-chilling MotiveRant:
-->''Do not turn off the camera!'' You have seen how quickly I can kill. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Russell Edgington and I have been a vampire for nearly 3,000 years. Now, the American Vampire League wishes to perpetrate the notion that we are just like you. And I suppose in a few small ways we are. We're narcissists: we care only about getting what we want, no matter what it costs, just like you. Global warming, perpetual war, toxic waste, child labor, torture, genocide... that's a small price to pay for your SUVs and your flatscreen TVs, your blood diamonds, your designer jeans, your absurd garish [=McMansions=]. Futile symbols of permanence to quell your quivering, spineless souls. But no, in the end, we are nothing like you. We are immortal. Because we drink the true blood, blood that is living, organic and human. And that is the truth the AVL wishes to conceal from you. Because let's face it, eating people is a tough sell these days. So they put on their friendly faces to pass their beloved VRA... but make no mistake, mine is the true face of vampires! Why would we seek equal rights? You are ''not'' our equals. We will eat you. After we eat your children.//

Sookie's telepathy brings her to the attention of Eric Northman (Creator/AlexanderSkarsgard), TheSheriff of "Area 5" and supervisor of all vampires there; he runs a bar called "Fangtasia" in nearby [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shreveport,_Louisiana]] and orders Bill to bring Sookie there so that she can figure out who is stealing from the bar. She can't read ''any'' vampires' thoughts (they are, after all, dead), but by interrogating human accomplices she determines that it was the bartender, Longshadow. Once revealed, Longshadow attempts to kill Sookie, and Bill stakes him in self-defense. However, "ApeShallNotKillApe" is a big thing in vampire society, and Bill, for his crime, is sentenced by The Magister (Creator/ZeljkoIvanek) to turn a 17-year-old girl named Jessica Hanby (Creator/DeborahAnnWoll) who has been abducted against her will. Jessica was home-schooled by conservative parents and finds herself caught between the freedom of her new status and longing for her family. Bill, a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire who is a FriendToAllChildren, is still not prepared to deal with the most capricious force known to human- ''or'' vampire-kind: a teenager. He foists her off on Eric so that he can get back home to Sookie.

!! To Be Continued...

We open in Bon Temps, a (fictional) small town in Louisiana. Events center largely around "Merlotte's," a bar operated by a number of main characters: owner Sam Merlotte (Creator/SamTrammell), cooks Lafayette Reynolds (Creator/NelsanEllis) and Terry Bellefleur (Creator/ToddLowe), bartender Tara Thornton (Creator/RutinaWesley), and waitresses Arlene Fowler (Creator/CarriePreston), Dawn Green and '''Sookie Stackhouse''', the MainCharacter. Sookie is a socially-awkward 25-year-old woman who gets asked out a lot (she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin) but has no romantic life, and indeed is still a virgin, because of her {{Telepathy}} and, more importantly, PowerIncontinence, forcing her to perceive every thought her dates have -- many of which are invariably [[ImAManICantHelpIt lecherous]] (she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin).

Sookie's telepathy brings her to the attention of Eric Northman (Creator/AlexanderSkarsgard), TheSheriff of "Area 5" and supervisor of all vampires there; he runs a bar called "Fangtasia," and orders Bill to bring Sookie there so that she can figure out who is stealing from the bar. She can't read ''any'' vampires' thoughts (they are, after all, dead), but by interrogating human accomplices she determines that it was the bartender, Longshadow. Once revealed, Longshadow attempts to kill Sookie, and Bill stakes him in self-defense. However, "ApeShallNotKillApe" is a big thing in vampire society, and Bill, for his crime, is sentenced to turn a 17-year-old girl named Jessica Hanby (Creator/DeborahAnnWoll) who has been abducted against her will. Jessica was home-schooled by conservative parents and finds herself caught between the freedom of her new status and longing for her family. Bill, a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire who is a FriendToAllChildren, is still not prepared to deal with the most capricious force known to human- ''or'' vampire-kind: a teenager. He foists her off on Eric so that he can get back home to Sookie.

After salvaging the situation at the Hanby house, Bill berates Sookie for her bad judgment, and she hops out of the car to walk (the 20 miles) home alone... Only to be attacked by a towering creature with horns and claws. She suffers three huge scratches on her back, just like Nancy [=LeGuare=] did. The scratches are poisoned, and Bill turns to Eric for help. Here, Sookie learns that the Sheriff of Area 9, Godric (Creator/AllanHyde), has gone missing; it's believed he's been kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun. It's not just that he's the Sheriff of Area 9; it's not just that he saved Eric's life; it's also that Godric is one of the oldest vampires in existence -- it's later revealed he was turned during the reign of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar -- and humans should not be able to capture someone so powerful and canny. Therefore, Eric wants to mount both a rescue mission and an intelligence operation, and he wants all his resources -- including Sookie and her unique abilities -- focused on the problem. She agrees, though only after forcing him to release Lafayette (see above).

Sam isn't the only one finding out he's ''not'' the LastOfHisKind: checking into the Hotel Carmilla, which caters to vampires, alongside Bill and Jessica, Sookie is surprised to meet a Hotel Carmilla bellhop, Barry Horowitz (Creator/ChrisCoy), who can also read minds. However, he's not interested in making friends, and even turns down Sookie's offer to teach him to control his PowerIncontinence. Meanwhile, she agrees to help find Godric by teaming up with Hugo, a fellow fangbanger romantically involved with one of Godric's subordinates, and pretending to be interested in Rev. Newlin's church as a wedding site. Meanwhile, Jessica, who has been taught to glamor, "borrows" a businessman's Palm Pilot and uses it to catch up with Hoyt. The conversation doesn't go well, as Hoyt is being hovered over by his mother Maxine (Creator/DaleRaoul); Maxine ''cancels'' Hoyt's phone plan, on the grounds that a girl who calls him that late is up to no good, so Hoyt jumps in his car and drives to Dallas to see Jessica. Since she's alone, they pick up where they left off, with Hoyt even going out of his way to set up candles and rose petals to make Jessica's first time memorable. Meanwhile, Bill is taken off his guard when his own maker, Lorena Krasiki (Creator/MarianaKlaveno), drops in to visit: vampires cannot harm their own makers, because those are the rules, so Lorena's presence is are the only RestrainingBolt that will stop Bill. "IHateYouVampireDad" is ''very'' present, with {{flashback}}s showing Bill's history as a vicious, sociopathic killer alongside Lorena... and his HeelFaceTurn as he chose to abandon that life. This broke Lorena: AllLoveIsUnrequited, and she has always harbored a thing for her progeny.

Bill rents out the entirety of a French restaurant to take Sookie out on a date. As a parting gift, he gives her airline tickets to Burlington, VT. When Sookie asks why they'd need to go there, he takes out the ''other'' part of the gift: [[GrandRomanticGesture an engagement ring]]. But Sookie can't think straight: everything's been crazy, she has no idea if she's even human (Maryann certainly didn't believe she was), and -- [[https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueBlood/comments/fczg8c/comment/fjegibf/ if you pay attention to the timeline]] -- she and Bill only met [[WebcomicTime 27 days ago]]. She runs to the bathroom to compose herself. There, she tries on the ring... and the sight of it on her finger tells her everything she needs to know.

Sookie's telepathy brings her to the attention of Eric Northman (Creator/AlexanderSkarsgard), TheSheriff of "Area 5" and supervisor of all vampires there; he runs a bar called "Fangtasia," and orders Bill to bring Sookie there so that she can figure out who is stealing from the bar. She can't read ''any'' vampires' thoughts (they are, after all, dead), but by interrogating human accomplices she determines that it was the bartender, Longshadow. Once revealed, Longshadow attempts to kill Sookie, and Bill stakes him in self-defense. However, "ApeShallNotKillApe" is a big thing in vampire society, and Bill, for his crime, is sentenced to turn a 17-year-old girl named Jessica Hanby (Creator/DeborahAnWoll) who has been abducted against her will. Jessica was home-schooled by conservative parents and finds herself caught between the freedom of her new status and longing for her family. Bill, a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire who is a FriendToAllChildren, is still not prepared to deal with the most capricious force known to human- ''or'' vampire-kind: a teenager. He foists her off on Eric so that he can get back home to Sookie.

At the end of the previous season, Bill paid a visit to Sookie's only remaining relative -- a great-uncle who was exiled from the family after a 12-year-old Sookie picked up on his pedophiliac interest in her -- and killed him for wronging his beloved. Sookie is therefore the beneficiary of a small inheritance, which she decides to gift to Jason instead. Jason puts the money to work immediately: he has been told of a leadership camp, the Light Of Day Institute, run by the leaders of the Fellowship of the Sun, Steve and Sarah Newlin (Michael McMillan and Creator/AnnaCamp), but had to give up on the idea due to lack of funds. Now he finds himself bussing up to a camp alongside a number of other trainees, particularly Luke [=McDonald=] (Creator/WesBrown), who quickly becomes Jason's frenemy. Jason shows immediate aptitude and is quickly recruited into the "Soldiers of the Sun," Newlin's "elite spiritual army." Sparks also fly between him and Sarah Newlin.

Lafayette is in a torture dungeon somewhere with five other humans. His captors keep taking people away, sometimes returning them and sometimes not. One of his fellow prisoners is a redneck who insulted him at Merlotte's for being gay (only to have Lafayette beat him and his friends up in return). The two bury the hatchet and begin to work on an escape plan, but this is stymied when the redneck melts off to their captors -- none other than Eric northman. They are beneath Fangtasia and Eric is looking into the disappearance of Eddie. Lafayette knows nothing and is eventually released, but only after the vampires feed on him non-consensually -- vampires have often been used as an allegory for uncontrolled sexual expression, so it's perhaps not surprising that Lafayette's actions from here on out treat the incident as though he were sexually assaulted. Terry Bellefleur, the Iraq vet, knows PTSD when he sees it even if he has no idea where it came from. Meanwhile, Lafayette is shaken when Eric's NumberTwo Pam (Creator/KristenBauerVanStraten) visits him and orders him to resume selling V. Apparently, vampires have an empathic connection with anyone who drinks their blood, so Lafayette can only assume they are simply using the simplest way possible to track down V users.

The TwoLinesNoWaiting converge as ThePlan goes off. Sarah Newlin, feeling excluded by her husband, sleeps with Jason. "Holly Simpson" and her fiancé "Rufus Dobson" visit the Fellowship's church. Sookie reads from Rev. Newlin that the Fellowship do indeed have a captive vampire locked in the basement, whom they intend to execute publicly (by exposing it to sunlight) as a show of power. She also learns that TheMole has tipped him off; she and Hugo are imprisoned for their subterfuge. (Hugo, aforementioned mole, complains about being imprisoned.) However, what Rev. Newlin ''didn't'' know what Sookie's real name was; once he learns it, he has his TheDragon, Gabe, take Jason out into the woods to be executed as a traitor. Jason fights his way free and returns to the church. Bill, with his preternatural hearing, knows that Sookie might be in trouble, but Lorena prevents him from leaving; Sookie instead sends a wave to Barry, who delivers the complete message to Bill. (Bill gives her ATapOnTheHead -- with a 52" plasma TV -- to incapacitate her; Eric, listening in, has already taken off.) Bill stumbles on Hoyt and Jessica at it... but only bids them return to Bon Temps before things get ''truly'' out of hand. Gabe returns to the prison cell and prepares to perpetrate a bit of good old war crimes by raping Sookie... Only for Godric to arrive and off him. He orders Eric to take Sookie away to safety, but Eric instead volunteers as a HeroicSacrifice to save his maker. Rev. Newlin summons his Soldiers of the Sun, armed with stakes, silver and wooden bullets; Godric's enforcers show up with Bill; Newlin takes Sookie hostage; Jason arrives with a paintball gun and shoots the (actual) gun out of Newlin's hand; it looks like it's going to be a bloodbath... Until ''Godric'' steps up and negotiates a cease-fire, wanting to set the example that humans and vampires can live in peace. Newlin refuses, clearly ready to die for his cause... but is confused when none of his followers share his sentiment. Everyone goes home alive (except for Gabe), and Jason gets in a parting shot by telling Newlin he slept with his wife.

At Godric's orders, Bill escorts Lorena from the nest. Therefore the two of them are outside when ChandlersLaw goes off, {{exaggerated}}: Luke arrives with a message from Rev. Steve Newlin. The message is that he's wrapped in so;ver chains and [[SuicideAttack wearing a bomb]].

In the aftermath, Godric's suitability for Sheriff is questioned. Nan Flanagan (Creator/JessicaTuck), a spokeswoman for the American Vampire League who has been on in-universe TV interviews as early as the pilot episode, comes to relieve him of his position, especially after he admits how the Fellowship took him captive: he ''surrendered'', wanting to protect other vampires from harm. Having realized that he has done more harm than good, Godric decides that RedemptionEqualsDeath, and prepares to meet the sun. Eric, [[ManlyTears weeping]], begs him to reconsider, and Sookie stays with him until the end. Their mission complete (or as complete as it's going to get), Eric, Bill, Sookie and Jason prepare to return to Louisiana, with the Stackhouse siblings getting one more moment to reaffirm their love and loyalty for each other... and to watch the Newlins, completely insulated from their actions, back on TV, sniping with Nan Flanagan. (Sarah, with big fake smile: "I hate your hair.")

While this is going on, Tara begs to be allowed to return to Sookie's house to free Eggs. Sookie and Lafayette are not so stupid, but Lettie Mae is desperate for a way to show her daughter some love. [[TooDumbToLive Tara is immediately re-hypnotized]], and when Sookie and Lafayette go in after ''her'', Lafayette is captured too. The same thing happens to Jason and Andy as they try to reassert order. Sookie is now held captive, the only one who can resist Maryann's control... but still forced, by sheer dint of muscle, to serve as a bridesmaid in Maryann's upcoming wedding. It's all down to Bill and Sam... So Bill surrenders Sam to Maryann, and he is hung on Maryann's ritual offering where he is stabbed. Sookie, reaching out to Sam, hears him thinking ''really really loudly'' that she ought to cause a distraction by pushing over all the ritual furniture; she does, and Maryann transforms into bull-wearing-a-dress-with-claws form in order to chase her. But Sookie is saved by an ''actual'' bull, who walks over to Maryann... And gores her with its horns. The bull transforms back into Sam, who rips out Maryann's heart -- the remaining part of the plan was for Sam to drink Bill's blood to enhance his HealingFactor. The two sides of the LoveTriangle have come to an understanding; and, more importantly, the immortal maenad BigBad of the season is dead.

Eggs seeks out Sookie: something he and Tara have discussed is that, while under the black-eyes hypnosis, they have no memory of what they did. He insists that Sookie restore his memories, despite her warnings that he won't like what he sees. She's right: Eggs learns he wielded the knife in the ritual murders of Nancy [=LeGuare=], Daphne and more. Distraught, he runs to Andy and begs to be arrested. He's still holding the knife -- it's evidence, it's the murder weapon -- but it results in Andy, fearful, on the ground, while Eggs looms above him -- tears in his eyes, begging to be understood; don't you understand, this is the ''last thing'' those poor women saw -- with the blade in hand. Then a gunshot: Jason, armed, saw his friend Andy in danger. Andy Bellefleur takes the pistol, wipes off Jason's fingerprints, and takes responsibility for apprehending Bon Temps' latest serial killer, while Tara is left crumbling over the corpse of the first man she truly loved.

Bill rents out the entirety of a French restaurant to take Sookie out on a date. As a parting gift, he gives her airline tickets to Burlington, VT. When Sookie asks why they'd need to go there, he takes out the ''other'' part of the gift: [[GrandRomanticGesture an engagement ring]]. But Sookie can't think straight: everything's been crazy, she has no idea if she's even human, and -- [[https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueBlood/comments/fczg8c/comment/fjegibf/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 if you pay attention to the timeline]] -- she and Bill only met [[WebcomicTime 27 days ago]]. She runs to the bathroom to compose herself. There, she tries on the ring... and the sight of it on her finger tells her everything she needs to know.

While Bill waits, someone sneaks up behind him and wraps a silver chain around his neck. When Sookie emerges to tell him Yes, the entire place is empty.

Bill rents out the entirety of a French restaurant to take Sookie out on a date. As a parting gift, he gives her airline tickets to Burlington, VT. When Sookie asks why they'd need to go there, he takes out the ''other'' part of the gift: [[GrandRomanticGesture an engagement ring]]. But Sookie can't think straight: everything's been crazy, she has no idea if she's even human, and -- if you pay attention to the timeline -- she and Bill only met 27 days ago. She runs to the bathroom to compose herself. There, she tries on the ring... and knows what her heart wants.

We open in Bon Temps, a (fictional) small town in Louisiana. Events center largely around "Merlotte's," a bar operated by a number of main characters: owner Sam Merlotte (Creator/SamTrammell), cooks Lafayette Reynolds (Creator/Nelsan Ellis) and Terry Bellefleur (Creator/ToddLowe), bartender Tara Thornton (Creator/RutinaWesley), and waitresses Arlene Fowler (Creator/CarriePreston), Dawn Green and '''Sookie Stackhouse''', the MainCharacter. Sookie is a socially-awkward 25-year-old woman who gets asked out a lot (she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin) but has no romantic life, and indeed is still a virgin, because of her {{Telepathy}} and, more importantly, PowerIncontinence, forcing her to perceive every thought her dates have -- many of which are invariably [[ImAManICantHelpIt lecherous]] (she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin).

Sookie's BlackBestFriend is Tara Thornton. She takes a job at Merlotte's in the pilot episode, largely out of desperation, but spends most of her time arguing with her mother, Lettie Mae (Creator/AdinaPorter), an inveterate alcoholic. Lettie Mae begs her for money so that she can see a witch doctor, "Miss Jeannette," who lives out in the bayou; this woman claims she will perform an exorcism. To Tara's skepticism, the exorcism works -- her mother goes cold-turkey and stays sober for the first time Tara can remember -- and Tara later visits the witch doctor herself to see if she can get her own life straight. This includes throwing up and a vivid hallucination in which she stabs a younger version of herself, finding blood on the knife blade aftewards. Therefore, Tara is a little perturbed to meet the witch doctor, Nancy LeGuare, working at De Soto Pharmacy in the next town over; the whole thing was a scam. This and a number of other setbacks result in her driving blindly drunk down the road, crashing her car after swerving out of the way of a woman and a pig. She is freed from jail by Maryann Forester (Creator/MichelleForbes), a local philanthropist, who believes in giving people second chances. This turns out to be a SequelHook for the next season.

Picking up immediately from where the first season ended, Andy opens an investigation into the corpse in his car. It is a woman, with three huge scratches on her back and a hole in her chest where her heart was ripped out. Tara is astonished to recognize Nancy LeGuare, the pseudo-exorcist. Andy, whose drinking is getting out of control, is soon stripped of his badge.

After salvaging the situation at the Hanby house, Bill berates Sookie for her bad judgment, and she hops out of the car to walk (the 20 miles) home alone... Only to be attacked by a towering creature with horns and claws. She suffers three huge scratches on her back, just like Nancy LeGuare did. The scratches are poisoned, and Bill turns to Eric for help. Here, Sookie learns that the Sheriff of Area 9, Godric (Creator/AllanHyde), has gone missing; it's believed he's been kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun. It's not just that he's the Sheriff of Area 9; it's not just that he saved Eric's life; it's also that Godric is one of the oldest vampires in existence -- it's later revealed he was turned during the reign of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar -- and humans should not be able to capture someone so powerful and canny. Therefore, Eric wants to mount both a rescue mission and an intelligence operation, and he wants all his resources -- including Sookie and her unique abilities -- focused on the problem. She agrees, though only after forcing him to release Lafayette (see above).

The one person who is absolutely concerned about this is Sam. {{Flashback}}s show he has some sort of history with Maryann, after an incident in his youth when the young shifter was living on his own and stole from her, and that she knows about his abilities. He offers to pay her off -- it doesn't work; money isn't what she's looking for -- and then prepares to leave town. However, he's distracted by the newest waitress at Merlotte's, Daphne Landry (Creator/AshleyJones). She's not a very good waitress -- in point of fact she's astonishingly bad -- but Sam cuts her a lot more slack when they start sleeping together... And, more importantly, he learns that she is a fellow shifter. Her go-to animal is a pig, and she has three long-healed scars on her back... just like the ones Sookie and Nancy LeGuare had.

Eggs seeks out Sookie: something he and Tara have discussed is that, while under the black-eyes hypnosis, they have no memory of what they did. He insists that Sookie restore his memories, despite her warnings that he won't like what he sees. She's right: Eggs learns he wielded the knife in the ritual murders of Nancy LeGuare, Daphne and more. Distraught, he runs to Andy and begs to be arrested. He's still holding the knife -- it's evidence, it's the murder weapon -- but it results in Andy, fearful, on the ground, while Eggs looms above him -- tears in his eyes, begging to be understood; don't you understand, this is the ''last thing'' those poor women saw -- with the blade in hand. Then a gunshot: Jason, armed, saw his friend Andy in danger. Andy Bellefleur takes the pistol, wipes off Jason's fingerprints, and takes responsibility for apprehending Bon Temps' latest serial killer, while Tara is left crumbling over the corpse of the first man she truly loved.

We open in Bon Temps, a (fictional) small town in Louisiana. Events center largely around "Merlotte's," a bar operated by a number of main characters: owner Sam Merlotte, cooks Lafayette Reynolds and Terry Bellefleur, bartender Tara Thornton, and waitresses Arlene Fowler, Dawn Green and '''Sookie Stackhouse''', the MainCharacter. Sookie is a socially-awkward 25-year-old woman who gets asked out a lot (she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin) but has no romantic life, and indeed is still a virgin, because of her {{Telepathy}} and, more importantly, PowerIncontinence, forcing her to perceive every thought her dates have -- many of which are invariably [[ImAManICantHelpIt lecherous]] (she ''is'' played by Creator/AnnaPaquin).

''True Blood'' takes place in a WorldOfWeirdness: while Sookie's telepathy is an open secret (all her coworkers know about it, and put up with it to varying extents), a more notable event in the BackStory is that vampires came "out of the coffin" two years ago, declaring themselves to the whole world. This was made possible by the invention of "[=TruBlood=]," a synthetic substitute for human blood, allowing (some of) them to "mainstream" as {{Vegetarian Vampire}}s. The big event of the {{Pilot Episode}}, therefore, is the presence of Bill Compton, a genuine honest-to-God vampire, as a guest at the bar. This ''immediately'' causes problems: in addition to FantasticRacism, vampire blood is a powerful stimulant and hallucinogenic, and two enterprising locals attempt to subdue Bill with silver and then drain his blood for profit. Sookie scares them off and makes first contact with the RomanticVampireBoy, noticing that she cannot detect his thoughts, meaning she could potentially have a normal relationship with him. The OfficialCouple of the show is born.

Sookie lives with her grandmother, as her parents died when she was young; her older brother, Jason (28 years old), works as part of the Bon Temps road crew, alongside his best friends Hoyt Fortenberry (victim of MyBelovedSmother) and René Lenier (RaginCajun), and lives in their parents' house. This facilitates his [[ReallyGetsAround numerous sexual conquests]], and he is introduced getting it on with Maudette Pickens, who reveals that she has had sex with a vampire before. (And took video.) During sex, Jason gets rough and inadvertently chokes Maudette to death. Appalled at himself, he flees the scene.

Sookie's BlackBestFriend is Tara Thornton. She takes a job at Merlotte's in the pilot episode, largely out of desperation, but spends most of her time arguing with her mother, Lettie Mae, an inveterate alcoholic. Lettie Mae begs her for money so that she can see a witch doctor who lives out in the bayou; this woman claims she will perform an exorcism. To Tara's skepticism, the exorcism works -- her mother goes cold-turkey and stays sober for the first time Tara can remember -- and Tara later visits the witch doctor herself to see if she can get her own life straight. Therefore, Tara is a little perturbed to meet the witch doctor working at De Soto Pharmacy in the next town over; the whole thing was a scam. This and a number of other setbacks result in her driving blindly drunk down the road, crashing her car after swerving out of the way of a woman and a pig. She is freed from jail by Maryann Forester, a local philanthropist, who believes in giving people second chances. This turns out to be a SequelHook for the next season.

Sookie's relationship with Bill (in which TheirFirstTime is also ''her'' first time) is somewhat stymied by a LoveTriangle between her and Sam, who is cautious of vampires and is certain Bill will lead her astray. Sam, lacking any other outlet, begins a FriendsWithBenefits situation with Tara. However, his first priority is always Sookie. This leads to TheReveal: Sam, who is frequently seen in the company of a border collie, is capable of {{shapeshifting}}, transforming into any living animal (and leaving his clothes behind, leading to awkwardness when he falls asleep watching over Sookie in dog form and reverts back to butt-ass-naked-Sam form).

The characters of Bon Temps, of course, form their own tapestry against which all of this is foregrounded. Terry is an Iraq War veteran; ThereAreNoTherapists, of course, to help him with the situation. His cousin Andy works for the Sheriff's department; Andy is conscious that very few people treat him with the respect he (thinks he) deserves, including his own boss Bud Dearborne. Arlene is a single mother juggling two children and a job; her relationship with René becomes foregrounded when he proposes to her, and she commandeers Merlotte's to have an engagement party. ("Fifth time's the charm!")

Sookie's telepathy brings her to the attention of Eric, TheSheriff of "Area 5" and supervisor of all vampires there; he runs a bar called "Fangtasia," and orders Bill to bring Sookie there so that she can figure out who is stealing from the bar. She can't read ''any'' vampires' thoughts (they are, after all, dead), but by interrogating human accomplices she determines that it was the bartender, Longshadow. Once revealed, Longshadow attempts to kill Sookie, and Bill stakes him in self-defense. However, "ApeShallNotKillApe" is a big thing in vampire society, and Bill, for his crime, is sentenced to turn a 17-year-old girl named Jessica Hanby who has been abducted against her will. Jessica was home-schooled by conservative parents and finds herself caught between the freedom of her new status and longing for her family. Bill, a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire who is a FriendToAllChildren, is still not prepared to deal with the most capricious force known to human- ''or'' vampire-kind: a teenager. He foists her off on Eric so that he can get back home to Sookie.

Jason is arrested for the murder of Maudette Pickens, but mostly as a formality: the video she took shows that she ''faked'' the whole "death by strangulation" thing, and Jason defuses the idea that he might have returned ''later'' and murdered her by simply pointing out, "[[BrainlessBeauty I ain't that smart!]]" He then hooks up with Dawn, Sookie's co-worker, though they break up when he learns that she too has had sex with a vampire. This leads to a certain amount of existential confusion on his part when Dawn, too, shows up dead. When Sookie's grandmother Adele invites Bill to speak at a Civil War meeting -- Bill fought for the Confederacy just prior to being turned -- she too turns up dead. However, Jason is oblivious, as he's having his own problems: Dawn accused him of TheLoinsSleepTonight. To fix this, he turns to Lafayette, the local flamboyantly-gay hustler with connections. Lafayette hooks Jason up with "V" -- vampire blood. (Jason immediately overdoses, leading to a series of BlackComedy scenes as he attempts to get rid of a RagingStiffie.) Eventually he hooks up with a free-thinking GranolaGirl type, Amy Burley, who also likes to use V. However, Lafayette, who learns from his mistakes, won't sell him any more. So they ''follow'' Lafayette as he visits a schlubby {{hikikomori}} vampire named Eddie who, it is implied, trades his blood for sexual favors; they then kidnap Eddie to guarantee themselves a steady source of V. Eddie, naturally, has problems with this arrangement; but so does Jason, who despite everything knows right from wrong. Amy eventually stakes Eddie to get rid of the evidence. They decide to give up V after one last trip... But when Jason awakes from the trip, Amy is dead. He turns himself in, having concluded that he ''must'' be related to the murders somehow. However, there is another thread, one which he himself has missed: all of the have shown sympathy and interest in vampires.