'True Blood': Our final season wish list

Will the seventh and final season of HBO’s True Blood remain “True to the End”?

On Sunday, True Blood will kick off its 10-episode seventh and final season. The last time we saw the good folks of Bon Temps, Louisiana, things weren’t looking so good: Hepatitis V was spreading rapidly throughout the vampire population, Sookie and Alcide were a couple, and a group of hungry and infected vampires were on their way to ravaging Bon Temps.

The road to its final season, while crazy fun, has been trying for even the most dedicated True Blood fans. So before the beginning of the end, we’ve put together a list of things we’d like to see in the final season.

Sookie and Bill reunite

Call us old fashioned and/or boring, but it’s about time that Sookie and Bill get back together. Yes, it’s been fun to watch Sookie have fun-flirty-sexy times with Eric, Alcide, and Warlow—but every true True Blood fan knows that Sookie and Bill’s epic romance is at the heart of this dark, twisted, bloody story. But before they can reunite, the estranged lovers have several issues to work through: Bill’s lying, Sookie staking him—the list goes on. If happily-ever-after isn’t in the cards, can Sookie at least make some kind of a definitive choice? Fans shouldn’t be forced to sit through another season where Sookie flits back and forth between Eric, Bill and Alcide.

Eric is alive

True Blood wouldn’t be True Blood without resident badass Eric Northman, whose fate was left up in the air at the end of season six. The last time we saw Eric, he had just started to catch fire in the sun after the day-walking effects of Warlow’s blood began to wear off. We know for a fact that Alexander Skarsgard will, indeed, be a series regular on the show this season—but we don’t know how the show will use him. We can only hope he’s alive, because when Sookie and the rest of Bon Temps get into trouble, they’ll need someone like Eric who is willing to make the “hard choices.” (Sidebar: The TV gods can’t take Eric away so soon after we lost Damon Salvatore, can they?)

No more c-plots for Alcide

Let’s be honest: Who cares about Alcide’s wolf pack drama? Alcide spent much of last season on the periphery of the action; at times, it felt like he was in a completely different show. This season, the writers needs to give Alcide something to do that a) is related to the central storyline and b) doesn’t involve his werewolf pack. If this means suffering through a Sookie/Alcide relationship for part of the season, so be it. (This “no more c-plots” rule should be applied to Sam as well.)

Fewer new characters and more focus on the original cast

The show’s ever-growing cast and attempts to service all of those characters have sucked some of the life out of True Blood. The final season should narrow its focus to the characters that have been with us since the beginning. Basically: When choosing between giving a scene to a new character or showcasing Lafayette or, the answer is always “Lafayette or Pam.”

A strong, clearly defined opponent

Based on the trailer, it looks as though this season’s initial conflict will be between the people of Bon Temps and roaming Hep-V infected vampires, which, unfortunately, doesn’t sound very compelling. True Blood needs a strong main villain this season, a bad guy against who the good guys can rally. (Think season six’s finale, in which Bill, Andy and company banded together to save Sookie from Warlow.) Although it’ll be hard to introduce someone as commanding and fun as Denis O’Hare’s Russell Edgington, the show should at least try.

Happy endings for Jason, Sam and Tara

Over the course of True Blood, these three have suffered a lot. It’s about time that things started to turn around for them. Jason has matured the first season and deserves to make it to the end alive. That also goes for Tara; ideally, her happy ending includes forming a quasi-family with Pam and Eric. As for Sam? We just hope he doesn’t fail as mayor—and that he lives to see Nicole give birth to their child.