#Pamela Swynford De Beaufort

[moonlitdesertdreams]

By the Sea (part 1/?)

A/N: Why am I on a True Blood kick in February of 2024? I have no idea, but please enjoy if you also are. Tags: Eric Northman, vampires, Eric Northman True Blood, True Blood Imagines, Eric Northman x OC, Eric Northman x mythical creature!reader, Eric Northman x Reader WARNINGS: Canon-typical swearing, overwhelming amounts of sweet, confused Eric Summary: Eric's been cursed to forget all his memories, but you stick out... and have to deal with the aftermath.

Word count: 1.6k+

You had no interest in meeting with the new King of Louisiana.

Bill Compton’s new position as King had given you nothing but pause, and part of you recognized his calling upon Eric as a power play.

So you lounged in the back office at Fangtasia, drifting in and out of consciousness. You could hear the faint arguing between Sookie and Pam in the other office, no doubt about relinquishing ownership of Sookie’s house. The same issue, you assumed, that Bill had requested Eric to discuss. You chuckled at the remembrance that it was your idea to buy the decrepit old farmhouse when Sookie went missing, both to keep an eye on the new King and have a safe haven for Eric away from Fangtasia. 

Despite never being fully human, sleeping was one of your favorite indulgences. And tonight you were content to let Eric handle Mr. Compton’s silly requests while Pam argued with Sookie in the other room and you remained at ease. The couch in Eric’s office was worn and comfortable, and you settled yourself underneath one of his jackets, propped against the armrest. When Sookie’s annoying voice drifted away, you were left with the dull roar of protestors outside Fangtasia. 

Dreams of blue seas and daylight walks with Eric plagued your mind. The warmth of the sun on your skin, and the golden dance of his hair in a Mediterranean breeze flitted by, and you relished in the fuzzy feeling it brought. 

But the invigorating daylight suddenly vanished, replaced with a drab gray office and the annoying scream of a cell phone. You quickly realize it was not in fact your cell phone, but the Fangtasia office phone ringing obnoxiously on Eric’s desk. The sound of Pam and her… company through the wall gave you the idea she wasn’t getting to the phone anytime soon, so you yawned and climbed to your feet, having half a mind to let it ring till it quieted. 

However, the newest anti-Vampire movement was raging, and everything at Fangtasia now was about saving face and playing nice. You picked up the receiver and tucked it in the crook of your shoulder, putting on your best vampire purr. 

“Thank you so very much for calling Fangtasia. How may I be of service?”

“Y/N?” 

You grimace, recognizing Sookie’s sing-song twang. “What do you want?”

“Listen, this is no time for your normal attitude-”

A snarl breaks through your lips. “Watch your mouth, brat. I’ll be on that doorstep before you draw in your next breath.”

“Y/N!” Sookie breathes heavily. “It’s Eric. I found him walking down the road on my way back.”

You stiffen. Sookie’s house was less than a mile from Compton’s, and the thought of what happened to Sophie-Ann at his mansion invaded your mind. 

“What’d Compton do to him?”

“This wasn’t Bill.” Sookie’s tone was defensive in spite of everything he’d put her through. “I’m not sure who did this. Y/N… he doesn’t remember me. Or, much of anything. He keeps saying your name.”

Your slow-beating heart ticked up a notch. “You’re home?”

“Yeah. I’ll see you soon.”

You call on every power you have, letting your eyes fall closed. Teleportation was more of just extremely fast flying, mostly manageable but just exhausting. Sookie’s front porch materializes in your mind, and shortly after you feel a warm Louisiana breeze on your face. The sound of screaming cicadas followed, ringing your ears to the point of a migraine. 

Before you can get a hand on the doorknob, the wooden panel flew open. Six feet and five inches of blonde viking greeted you, big hands palming at your shoulders and arms as he drew you close in an instinctual embrace. Sookie’s scent caught your attention as well, but your face was buried in Eric’s bare chest, too busy reveling in his closeness to care. He hummed against your hair nonsensically, nose nuzzled into the roots. 

“Älskling” Darling. 

He murmured the Swedish word into your hair, pushing a soft rumble through his chest. You finally found it in you to return the embrace, rubbing what you imagined to be reassuring circles on his torso. His behavior was startling, as public affection was not his favorite. He wasn’t afraid of it, per say, but he was more brutish. Eric was possessive and pushy, grabbing onto you and nuzzling against your body to mark you with his scent before visiting vampires or their nests. Coddling and dotting outside of that was usually reserved for the bedroom and private rooms away from prying eyes. 

“Eric?” You take a step back, and your heartstrings tug painfully on one another. 

His blue eyes are wide, full of confusion and apprehension The air of calm and power he usually carries is missing, replaced with the naivety of a scared child. You reach a hand up to cup his cheek. 

“What happened, my love?” You whisper, ushering him to sit on the porch swing.

As you walk away from the entryway, Sookie’s eyes meet yours. She nods briefly, and steps away before closing the door with a soft ‘click’. Eric reaches for you once he’s settled on the cushions. You allow him to have a hold of your hand, but maintain a bit of space and sit cross-legged facing him. 

“I’ve missed you.” He murmurs, even though you saw him less than five hours ago. 

The gush and fluttering of human emotions was something you haven’t felt in years. “I know. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The sea.” Eric takes your hand with both of his. “Where we met. You were so beautiful.”

His words were full of emotion and love, and you hated that your face blanched. When you met, when he could smell and taste the shore of the North Sea as it danced under sunlight, was the last few days of his humanity.

“Do you remember what happened to you tonight?” You implore him to continue, trying not to choke at the sight of his ruffled hair. 

Eric’s face fell, far away from the contented glaze he had when speaking about the sea. “I know I am a vampire. You are mine. But I… I don’t-”

“Shhh, Shhh.” You hush him gently. “That’s okay.”

Eric shakes his head, gripping your wrist as if you could take his memories via osmosis. He mutters in Swedish, and you prompt him to speak up. The words he utters tell you of flashes he’d seen, but couldn’t provide any context. 

“Det var hon, men det var inte hon.” It was her, then it wasn’t her. 

The description is of a face morphing from older to younger, but nothing more. 

What the hell had Bill Compton done to him?

Sure, Eric recalled a woman’s face, but there was nothing to say Bill didn’t set him up. You were suddenly pissed at yourself for not accompanying him to the new King’s hold. You hadn’t so much as asked why he was going. Pam was her normal stoic self upon hearing about him being beckoned, but you bet she had asked why. 

“Eric?” His eyes are fixed on you, unwavering and diligent. 

“Yes, my queen?” 

You almost blush at the pet name. “Can you go sit inside with Sookie? I just have to call someone.”

A lopsided grin stretches his face. “Anything for you.” 

Eric leans in and meshes his lips with yours, and it’s the sweetest kiss he’s ever laid on you. There’s no possessive undertone, no domineering fangs brushing against your lips. It’s an innocent show of affection, driven by absolute base instinct and a loss of personality. 

“I love you.” He murmurs, breath fanning over your lips. 

“I know.”

That amnesiatic smile twists his lips again, and he shuffles back into the farmhouse. You dwell for a moment on the odd behavior before withdrawing your cell phone and immediately dialing Fangtasia.

“Good evening, Fangtasia, Northern Louisiana’s most fang-tastic club. What do you want?”

On any other day, you would have laughed at Pam’s greeting. And you tried so hard to be nice. 

“Pam it’s me.”

“Are you really callin’ me from the other office? I thought we talked about-” 

“Something happened to Eric.” You stop her,  “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

The line goes silent, and you half expect her to come rushing onto the porch as you had. 

“Elaborate.”

“Sookie called me… She found him wandering down the road on the way home from Fangtasia. He doesn’t remember anything.” You force yourself to keep your voice steady.

“What do you mean, anything?”

You sigh. Nervous Pam is not good for anyone. “The last thing he recalls is the last days he was human…. When we met. He knows what he is but not who.”

Pam’s voice quakes, and you can’t tell if it’s anger or fear. “Bill set him up.”

You raise a brow. “I had an inkling. What did he go there for?”

“Some new coven of fuckin’ witches in Shreveport. Rumored to have been practicin’ necromancy.”

Your blood runs cold. “And Bill sent him in alone?”

“Probably knew it was a trap, too. Wouldn’t be the first time he’s tried to get rid of Eric.” Her hatred of Bill is palpable, even through the shoddy phone connection. “If the AVL finds out, they might sign off on assassinating Eric.”

“Alright.” You scrub a hand down your face. “Thanks Pam. I’m gonna take care of him”

“Y/N… be careful. I don’t trust Sookie.” 

Said southern belle is trying to covertly look at you through the window and you turn away. 

“You know I will.” A pause. “And Pam?”

“You get all mushy with me and it’s just gonna piss me off.”

You laugh for the first time that night. “Just do me a favor and don’t worry.”

The line disconnects, and you know she’s worrying. From inside the house, Eric smiles at you, dopey face swaying ever so slightly in the window frame. You look at the sky, wishing you didn’t know there was no such thing as God. 

“Fuck my life.”

-------

True Blood Masterlist | Send me an ask!

#Eric Northman x F!reader #true blood #vampire #imagine #female reader #reader x Eric Northman #true blood imagine #Eric Northman imagine #reader is some sort of mythical being #idk what #use your imagination #sookie stackhouse #bill compton #pamela swynford de beaufort

[allieconfyart]

Kristin Bauer as Pamela Swynford de Beaufort (True Blood) Material used: - Grey cardboard (210 x 297 mm); - White charcoal; - Black charcoal. ➡️ COMMISSIONS: open! DM for infos. ➡️ This drawing is ON SALE! DM for infos.

#true blood #kristin bauer van straten #pamela swynford de beaufort #fan art #my artwork #2023 #allieconfyart #kristin bauer

[sam-jack-loveforever]

Do you regret the choice you made that night?

I made the only choice I could.

I hate Shreveport .

Oh come on.It'll be a trip down memory lane.

Pam x Eric True Blood season 7

#true blood #season 7 #pam swynford de beaufort #pamela swynford de beaufort #eric northman #pam x eric #eric and pam #pam and eric #paric #endgame ship #ultimate ship #kristin bauer #kristin bauer van straten #alexander skarsgård #my edit

[trueblood825]

Pam: But you still love me. Eric: Always.

True Blood Season 7 Episode 4 / my gifs One of my very favorite scenes

#True Blood #Eric Northman #Alexander Skarsgård #Alexander Skarsgard #Pamela Swynford De Beaufort #Kristin Bauer #トゥルーブラッド #エリック・ノースマン #アレクサンダー・スカルスガルド #アレクサンダースカルスガルド #my gifs #my TB gifs

[thegayhimbo]

You have the power to change the final season of one show (could be you're favourite, could be one you just enjoyed watching) what show is it and how would you change the end? Feel free to give as much or a little detail as you want.

True Blood is the first show that came to mind the moment you asked this question! :)

I know there are a lot of shows out there that are better than True Blood, and there are certainly worse final seasons (looking at Castle and House of Cards), but season 7 of True Blood was personally offensive to me. The quality of the last few seasons will always be up for debate (though I personally liked seasons 4-6), but there was a way the final season could have salvaged the show so that people would want to come back and rewatch. There was even an opportunity to upstage the end of Dead Ever After (which was an awful book with a lousy ending) and give fans a more satisfying conclusion. Sadly, they couldn't even do that.

This probably goes without saying, but I'll put it in as a courtesy: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Here's what I would have done for season 7 of True Blood:

1.) Sookie either would end up with Eric, or go single.

I'm not a Sooric shipper, and I've never been emotionally invested in this relationship, but I do get why it appeals to people, and it certainly deserved more sceen-time than it got. Out of all of Sookie's potential love interests, Eric was the better option, and the romance between them was at least honest and open compared to some of her other relationships. There was a lot more that could have been explored here.

The other option is Sookie could have gone single. I never understand why people think the only way you can ever be happy in life is only if you're in a romantic relationship. Considering how much of a mess Sookie's love life was, I don't think it would have been detrimental to her to take time away from romance and find other things in her life that she enjoyed doing.

2.) Tara would have gotten a happy ending.

To this day, I am still angry about what happened to Tara in season 7. She got put through horrific experience after horrific experience where she was repeatedly traumatized, only to get unceremoniously killed off and used as a plot device to absolve her abusive mother for being an awful person. Not only was it disrespectful to Tara's character, it was a slap in the face to fans who cared about Tara and wanted better for her.

What's infuriating is that Brian Buckner (who ran the show between seasons 6-7) stated in interviews that the reason Tara died is because he didn't know what else to explore beyond her relationship with Lettie Mae.

There were plenty of stories left to write for Tara's character: Her romance with Pam. Her friendship with Jessica and Willa. Tara repairing her relationship with Sookie and Jason. Her reconnecting with Lafayette. Tara embracing her vampire nature and finally finding happiness. There were half-a-dozen arcs they could have gone with, and instead they did this. It really demonstrates the lack of care the writers had for the characters by this point, which is depressing.

3.) Bill finally facing consequences for his vile actions.

One of the aspects True Blood that infuriates is how much the writers kept trying to pretend Bill was a sympathetic character no matter how many times he screwed people over for petty and selfish reasons, or how much collateral damage he raked up, or how many instances he back-stabbed and betrayed others, or how abusive his behavior became, or how vile his crimes were (some of which included rape and human trafficking of all things), or how unlikable he became with each passing season. He is the definition of a Karma Houdini: A character who repeatedly commits wrongdoings and somehow gets away with no comeuppance for his actions.

There are a lot of awful things Bill did over the course of the show, but the breaking point for me was the whole Billith arc in seasons 5-6 and what came afterwards. Bill spent an entire season trying to start a war between vampires and humans, and to that end, he:

Ordered the bombing of the True Blood factories as Chancellor in the Authority to force mainstreamers to feed on humans. It's even stated this got people at the factories killed.

Sanctioned and participated in a human trafficking ring where humans were brought to them naked so they could be fed on, raped, and disposed of.

Ordered vampire sheriffs (and other vampires) to turn as many humans as they could.

Attempted to force the Sanguinista doctrine upon all vampires, regardless of whether or not they wanted it.

Back-stabbed Eric when he was trying to escape with Nora and Molly, and later had Molly executed and showed no remorse for it.

Did nothing to stop Russell and Steve from going after Sookie to harvest her.

Bullied Jessica into trying to turn Jason into a vampire against his will, and later hitting Jessica and imprisoning her when she defied him.

Tried to murder Sam in cold-blood when he accidentally saw what was going on, and sent the Authority guards on Sam, Emma, and Luna (which indirectly resulted in Luna's death).

I could go on........but do I really have to? My point is he committed crimes that should have landed him in jail, or resulted in the FBI showing up to his house with silver handcuffs.................and nothing came of it.

Instead, he wrote a book where he profited off his crimes, told everyone he had been a God (even though he previously told people he wasn't), weaseled his way back into Sookie's pants despite having used and abused her, and was treated like a hero by the narration.

When I think of what should have happened to Bill, I recall shows like Bojack Horseman and Breaking Bad where the main characters for those shows were taken to task for every awful thing they did. Every excuse they had dismantled. Every lie they ever told uncovered. Every measly justification they used for their actions stomped out. People washing their hands of them and refusing to forgive them for the damage they caused. Those characters being forced to face the cold-hard reality that they are awful people, and that they destroyed their lives (and the lives of others) through their own selfishness.

That is the ending Bill should have gotten. Not some half-assed redemption arc where the worst of his sins were whitewashed and brushed under the rug.

4.) No Violet.

There was no reason for Violet to be on this show. Not only was she creepy and unpleasant, but her entire character was basically a plot device to cause problems for Jason and Jessica. They had no intention of having Jason end up with Violet by the end of the show, so her existence was pointless. Even Violet killing Maxine is something that could have easily been done by another vampire.

I know people (rightfully) consider Crystal to be the worst girlfriend Jason ever had, but Violet also ranks high up there. Season 7 exploited some ugly double-standards regarding "female-on-male abuse" with the way Violet's relationship with Jason was portrayed. It reminds me of Bolin and Eska's relationship in Legend of Korra, except much worse. The fact Jason expressed multiple times that he was scared of Violet and was never taken seriously until too late (to say nothing about how parts of this fandom victim-blame Jason for Violet's behavior) still makes me angry. It's bad enough there are people in this society who don't think women can be abusive to men, and it doesn't help when shows like True Blood perpetrate that kind of mentality.

5.) Jessica would have gone to explore the world.....

I've said this before, but Jessica worked better as a character when she was learning the ups and downs of being a newborn vampire. Her character development from sheltered abused teenager to an empowered woman who took responsibility for her vampire nature was a compelling arc. A fitting end for Jessica would have been her striking out on her own. She could even have taken Willa and Tara with her. I still remember the speech she gave Tara in season 5 when talking about the positives of being a vampire, and I wish the show had followed through on that instead of shoving Jessica back into a relationship with Hoyt. Speaking of which.....

6.) Hoyt should've stayed in Alaska.

Hoyt's storyline played itself out well before season 7 happened. He barely had anything to do with the main story (to the point you could cut him from the show and it would have little to no impact), and his relationship with Jessica has aged like spoiled milk. I loathe how Jessica got turned into a prize for Hoyt, and how the worst of Hoyt's behavior (which included joining a Hate Group, debating about whether or not to murder Jessica when she was tied up, and later being a douchebag to Brigette during their relationship) was glossed over.

Unless they were going to give Hoyt some much-needed character development (which they didn't), there was no reason for him to return. Jessica deserved better than him.

7.) No Hep-V arc.

If I ever decide to review season 7, I will list off all the plot-holes, inconsistencies, and nonsensical decisions that were made with this arc.

Long story short: It was poorly written, and it required turning most of the characters into idiots.

If they really needed a potential Big Bad for the final season, then I wish they had stuck with Billith. As much as I despise Bill, there was the possibility of a good arc here, with Bill becoming the reincarnation of Lilith, gathering vampire followers to enslave humanity, and the rest of the characters having to find a way to stop him. They already had Bill go off the deep end in season 5. They might as well have followed through on that instead of chickening out and pretending Bill had good intentions when he didn't.

8.) Eric and Pam becoming proper makers to Willa and Tara.

I have issues with Eric abandoning Willa at the end of season 6. Not only was it a dick move, it was wildly out-of-character. This is the same guy who once told Pam he took being a maker seriously, and wasn't the kind of person who would turn someone and then leave them to fend for themselves ("Would you toss a newborn baby into the gutter? Abandoning a new vampire is no different"). Yet the show conveniently forgot about that when they had Eric turn Willa to use her against her father, and then ditched her for 6 months (something Willa was rightfully pissed at him about).

Same thing goes for Pam. They spent two seasons building up a romance between her and Tara, only to throw it in the garbage because God forbid Pam have a story that isn't completely centered around Eric.

There was a potential arc here of all 4 of these characters (Eric, Pam, Willa, and Tara) becoming a vampire family, and not only did the show squandered that, it managed to make Eric and Pam look like shitty makers in the process.

9.) Other things I would have changed:

This goes back to season 6, but I would have kept Luna alive and have her end up with Sam instead of Nicole. Nicole would have never been on this show. She was not needed.

Same goes for Terry and Arlene. Killing Terry off was a huge mistake.

Still would have kept Lafayette and James together.

I don't mind that Brigette ended up with Jason, but I wish the show had introduced her earlier (and NOT as Hoyt's girlfriend) and built up that relationship organically instead of rushing it in the final two episodes.

Andy and Holly would have had the wedding at the end of the series instead of Jessica and Hoyt. They've been establishing that relationship since season 4, they had Andy propose to Holly in season 7, and it deserved a good pay off.

Niall would have come back to bond more with Jason and Sookie as their faerie godfather.

Lettie Mae's arc would have been cut from the last season.

Sarah Newlin would either have been killed off or gone to prison.

I know I'm probably the only person who cares about this, but I would have explored what happened to vampire society after the Authority was destroyed. What would it mean for the monarchs and the average vampire citizens?

Thank you again for the ask! :)

#true blood #tgh opinions #eric northman #bill compton #sookie stackhouse #tara thornton #jessica hamby #willa burrell #pamela swynford de beaufort #true blood season 7 #anti bill compton #anti hoyt fortenberry #anti violet mazurski #hoyt fortenberry

[wereallmadherebabez]

True Blood/TVD crossover

A while back I attempted the write this story but I hit a writers block so I dropped it for a while, but recently I've become motivated to try writing it again. The only problem is I want to be able to explain the difference between the two vampire types, since it's pretty clear that there is a difference between the vampires in True Blood and the ones in TVD.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

#true blood #the vampire diaries #crossover #true blood fanfiction #tvd fanfic #vampires #eric northman #pamela swynford de beaufort #stefan salvatore #damon salvatore #klaus mikaelson #elijah #kol #rebekah #help me with this awesome concept!!!

[babeaccuda]

who are you?

im pam. who are YOU?

#true blood #Pamela Swynford De Beaufort #pam de beaufort

[everyonewantstobeus]

my study of pam's abs!

tap the picture for better quality :)

#pam true blood #pamela swynford de beaufort #true blood #my art #it quickly became a study of her bra and jacket tho 💀 #kristin bauer #kristin bauer van straten

[fangedbeaut]

╱ The AU portrayal of the canon character of Pamela Swynford de Beaufort in the series of True Blood. Descriptive, literate and active. Planned ship.

↺ + ♡

#fiercekhaleesi #fiercekhalasar #true blood #roleplay #kristen bauer van straten #pamela swynford de beaufort #alexander skarsgard #eric northman

[littlevampie222]

TV "Mean Girls" don't get enough credit!

There's soooooo many good ones! But, here's a few of my favorite ones.

I'm pretty certain that (almost) NO ONE can out "mean" Blair Waldorf! She's the 👑 B! Rebekah Mikaelson, maybe could), though.

But, I'd love to see her go head to head with any of these! (Supernatural advantages taken away).

Blair's not even my favorite. I just think she's the ultimate one .

#Mean Girls #TV #TV Mean Girls #Blair Waldorf #rebekah mikaelson #Cheryl Blossom #Jade West #Libby Chessler #Pamela Swynford De Beaufort

[ripplefactor]

I am wearing a Walmart sweatsuit for y’all. If that’s not a demonstration of team spirit I don’t know what is.

Pamela Swynford de Beaufort ..

#Pamela Swynford de Beaufort #Sookie Stackhouse #Lafayette Reynolds #True Blood #ripplefactor #rpf2

[michaelealys]

pam hated sookie bc the writers knew theyd be too powerful as friends

#or lovers if thats how u roll #i know the real reason btw this is a joke let mw be #true blood #sookie stackhouse #pamela swynford de beaufort #tb #the sookie stackhouse novels #travis speak

[sam-jack-loveforever]

- Pamela,you didn't

- I did

- Such a bitch

- But you still love me

- Always

#true blood #season 7 #pam x eric #paric #pamela swynford de beaufort #pam swynford de beaufort #eric northman #kristin bauer #alexander skarsgård #my edit

[trueblood825]

Happy Birthday to Kristin Bauer van Straten❤

Words can't express how much I love Pam and Eric's great relationship. I enjoy listening to Truest Blood every week!

#Happy Birthday #Kristin Bauer #Alexander Skarsgård #Alexander Skarsgard #True Blood #Pamela Swynford De Beaufort #Eric Northman #Eric and Pam #トゥルーブラッド #アレクサンダー・スカルスガルド #アレクサンダースカルスガルド #my screen caps

[thegayhimbo]

Favorite Moments in True Blood Season 5:

1.) Pam's backstory. This is one of the few changes I actually preferred. The way Eric turned Pam in the books is something that never sat right with me since Pam never really got a choice about becoming a vampire. In the show, there was a choice for her, and it's one that made sense. I thought Pam's backstory as a prostitute went a long way's towards explaining a lot of things about her character. It explained why she's closed off from other people, why she's into her looks (since she was in a profession where she had to look pretty in order to survive), why she's so devoted to Eric since he's the one who rescued her from a horrific fate when he could have left her behind, and why she has such contempt for Bill since she remembers him and Lorena as the ones who were defiling the girls that worked in her brothel. It was an interesting backstory that fleshed out her character.

2.) Pam and Tara's relationship. I thought this was some nice character development for Pam where she took on the role of a maker and learned to care for someone else outside of herself and Eric. One of my favorite moments in the series is when she takes the fall for Tara murdering Elijah so that the Authority doesn't lock Tara up. Likewise, I thought Tara's story about becoming a newborn vampire was interesting. She had always hated vampires, so it was interesting seeing her come to terms becoming the thing she once dreaded and learning to be okay with it. I still admire Tara for her loyalty towards those she cares about, and that even as a newborn vampire, she cares deeply about not draining and killing people for fun.

3.) Sam and Luna's relationship. I still argue that Sam was better off with Luna since both of them were shapeshifters and it felt more like an equal relationship. It was fun watching them take on the Hate Group that was targeting them (Luna beating the shit out of Sweeite was a delight), and infiltrating the Authority to rescue Emma. I'm not a huge fan of Sam's character, but I found him interesting to watch when he was paired with Luna. I wish there had been more of this relationship.

4.) Sookie and Jason getting more bonding moments. It was nice seeing the two of them interact. Jason making breakfast for Sookie in bed. Sookie comforting a crying Jason when Hoyt left. Both of them looking out for each other. I didn't even mind their interactions with the faeries. I still think it was nice seeing Jason and the faeries go to bat for Sookie when Russell and Steve went after her. Speaking of which.........

5.) Russell Edgington. Russell was fun in season 5 for me. His relationship with Steve. His condescending attitude towards Salome and Nora. His rivalry with Eric. His mockery of Lilith. He had some great lines and great moments. I still love when he gets fed up with the Authority, gives them a "Reason You Suck" speech, and then just leaves to go do his own thing.

6.) Andy and Holly's relationship. It's a small element, but I liked seeing this relationship develop. It's probably one of the few healthy relationships on the show, and it was nice seeing some character development from Andy.

7.) The overarching theme for the season. While I agree that not every storyline in season 5 was good (*cough* Hoyt joining a hate group *cough*) I did like that they felt connected by an overarching theme about a forthcoming conflict and how the demons of the past (both literal and metaphorical) were coming back to haunt the characters. I also appreciated the themes about the dangers of extremism, and how each of these characters were lost and were trying to define who they were in spite of the things that had happened to them. Again, YMMV on how effective some of these stories were, but I would argue they at least felt connected by that theme compared to other seasons.

8.) Seeing a more heroic side to Eric. Say what you will about how the Authority arc was handled, but I enjoyed seeing a more noble and heroic side to Eric. I liked how in spite of not being a mainstreamer, he made it clear that he was fine tolerating humans so long as they didn't cause problems for vampires. I liked how he didn't kiss up to the Authority when both Roman and Salome were in charge, and that even though he was a vampire, there were at least certain boundaries he wasn't willing to cross. It made me respect him a lot as a character.

9.) Jason's backstory and his talk with Jessica after the experience with his teacher. This will probably be a controversial one, but I thought what they did with Jason's teacher was a heartbreaking moment. I like that the show made it clear that what his teacher did to him when he was a teenager was rape, and that it didn't try to play it for laughs. I've seen this happen before on other TV shows where Male Rape by a woman either gets brushed under the rug, or it's treated like the guy got lucky, which disgusts me. Thankfully, they didn't do that here. It also went some ways in explaining why Jason tied sex with his self-worth, and how he had subconsciously internalized that trauma from all those years ago without realizing it. It still remains one of Ryan Kwanten's best acting moments IMO. I also liked that conversation he has with Jessica later where she initially wanted to have sex with him, but once she realizes he's in a lot of pain from what happened, she opts to talk with him instead. It's the moment that made me realize there was a possibility of them being friends.

So in spite of how controversial season 5 is, these are a few elements I liked. There's more, but I don't think this season is as deserving of the hate it gets.

#true blood #eric northman #jason stackhouse #jessica hamby #andy bellefleur #holly cleary #pamela swynford de beaufort #tara thornton #sookie stackhouse #sam merlotte #luna garza #russell edgington #true blood season 5 #tgh opinions

[esoteric-altruism]

let by-gones be by-gones

and bi girls be bi girls

#true blood #pamela swynford de beaufort