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{{quote|''"''True Blood'' makes teen drama ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'' look like an after-school special on the Lifetime network. It's...for grown-ups, with enough plot twists and turns to shock your brain into overload."''|examiner.com}}
 
True Blood is a [[Supernatural Soap Opera]] produced by HBO and set in an alternative universe where vampires not only exist, but have recently publicized themselves through an event commonly referred to as ''The Great Revelation'', and are now trying to coexist with humans. This has become possible with the invention of a special drink -- thedrink—the eponymous TruBlood -- developedTruBlood—developed as a safe means to replace human blood.
 
The opinions of the public concerning the vampires vary: some people idealize vampires, others scorn them, the rest keep a mostly neutral side. The anti-vampire movement is also fueled by the fact that the vampire blood is extremely addictive to humans, and is known on the black market as the drug ''V''. As a result, there exist ''drainers'' -- people—people who earn their living hunting down vampires and exploiting them for their blood.
 
Other supernatural creatures - such as [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shifters]], [[Our Werebeasts Are Different|were-animals]] and [[The Fair Folk|fairies]] -- also—also exist. However, their existence is mostly closeted.
 
The plot mainly follows Sookie Stackhouse, a young bar waitress from the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps. Sookie's a telepath, which makes life extremely problematic for her at times.
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** Maryann's role in the show was greatly expanded from her role in the book, in which Callisto (the character Maryann was based on) is confined to a very small subplot. {{spoiler|She attacks Sookie in order to make Eric aware that she's in town and demands tribute (which she receives). Later, she shows up at a sex party, revels in the drunken sexuality for a little while, and kills most of the people in attendance}}.
** Tara, Sookie's best friend, was given a much bigger part, in addition to completely changing race, personality, and... well, everything else.
** Lafayette was a minor character in the first book and {{spoiler|gets murdered at the beginning of the second}}. On ''[['''True Blood]]''''', he's become a major character, in part because of his status as [[Ensemble Darkhorse]].
* [[Adorkable]]: Seriously, you have to be some kind of irredeemable asshole not to find Hoyt charming in some way.
** Amnesiac Eric in Season 4 is ''no exception''.
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** While not that bad, Bill is definitely darker than Sam, and both vie for Sookie's affection. Guess who wins?
*** Inverted when Eric becomes a major character; Sookie's attraction to him is inversely proportional to how evil he's being at the time, and he loses out to the more family-friendly Bill on every occasion.
** Alcide is a genuinely caring man, and it looked like his relationship with Debbie was going to be it. Then along came Cooter, an idiotic, V-juice addicted leader of a werewolf biker gang. Debbie decides to marry the latter. Later, Debbie and Alcide get back together--onlytogether—only for her to cheat on him with the violent, unstable werewolf leader Marcus.
** Jessica dumps loving, kind Hoyt for bad boy Jason.
* [[All Love Is Unrequited]]: Tara for Jason, Sam for Sookie, Eric for Sookie, Alcide for Debbie. Although most of them move on in one way or another.
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*** Hell, he counts a demi-god amongst his kills. He had help, but still...
** Sookie, for all her hang ups, is a genuinely nice person and will forgive the people she loves for a lot. But push her too far and she'll {{spoiler|laugh maniacally as she shoves your husband's remains down the garbage disposal. And she’ll make you watch}}.
** An evil example; Russell was, at first, quite pleasant and genial, and his relationship with Talbot was adorable. Even when he started getting sinister, he was still very much [[Affably Evil]]. Then {{spoiler|Eric staked Talbot}} and he [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|lost his temper in a very public fashion. ]]
** [[Nice Guy]] Hoyt sure knows how to hit the sore spots in his ex-girlfriend Jessica after half a season of being played about.
* [[Big Bad]]: The show follows the seasonal big-bad formula.
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** That bitch {{spoiler|Daphne}} was working with Maryann all along.
** There's also Nan Flanagan, spokeswoman for the American Vampire League. She seems nice enough on television (especially compared to the Newlins), but in person, she's ice cold.
* [[Bi the Way]]: Pam, Sophie Ann and Tara. Eric might be--orbe—or it might have been part of his scheme for revenge against Russell.
* [[Black Best Friend]]: Tara.
* [[Black Eyes of Evil]]: "That's Maryann's ''energy inside'' of them!"
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* [[Brainless Beauty]]: Jason.
* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: Everyone under Maryann's influence. Also, quite a few members of the Fellowship Of The Sun ''act'' that way, especially Luke.
* [[[Bratty Teenage Daughter]]: Jessica at the beginning is a vampire version, making it especially scary. [[It Gets Better|She gets better.]]
* [[Break the Cutie]]: Jessica: For the first few episodes after she becomes a vampire it seems like she just has one horrible experience after another (though this is [[Played for Laughs]] in a way).
* [[Bridezilla]]: Maryann in the second season finale. "''YOU'' brought this upon everyone!"
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* [[Buried Alive]]: {{spoiler|Eric and Bill do this to Russell at the end of Season 3. Bill also tries to do this to Eric, but he is freed by Pam}}.
* [[The Bus Came Back]]: When you make a show about the supernatural even a character that's [[Killed Off for Real]] can come back. Gran and Rene pop up in the Season 4 finale.
** So does Steve Newlin, who wasn't Killed Off For Real--butReal—but the manner of his return is still surprising.
* [[But Not Too Gay]]: Lafayette does not get a boyfriend until Season 3 and has never had a sex scene. Similarly, the idea that most vampires consider gender a footnote at best when picking sexual partners was hinted at throughout the series but never overtly depicted until Season 3.
* [[Calling the Old Man Out]]: Sam gets to do it to ''both'' his biological parents after he discovers {{spoiler|they force his brother who's also a shapeshifter into dog fights}}.
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** {{spoiler|Godric}} too.
* [[Deconstruction]]: Franklin full stop. Hot Vampire? Check. Cool calm and collected figure? Check. Mysterious past? Check. Bat-themed detective? Check. His own ''theme music''? Check. Psychopathic, socially-retarded, psychologically-damaged man-child with severe [[Psychotic Lover]] qualities? '''Double''' Check.' Makes you rethink how romantic the phrase "we'll be together forever" really is.
* [[Deep South]]: The show manages to delve into many issues plaguing the American South--povertySouth—poverty, racism, homophobia, drug abuse, child abuse, and religious extremism--withoutextremism—without demonizing the setting or the people therein.
* [[Devil in Plain Sight]]:
** It took quite a while until anyone in Bon Temps apart from Sam noticed that Maryann wasn't just a slightly kooky, bohemian social worker.
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* [[I Hate You, Vampire Dad]]: [[Played for Laughs]] with Bill and Jessica, who have a father-daughter dynamic.
** And for [[Nightmare Fuel]] with Bill and his creatrix. Season 3 Episode 3 anyone? *shudder*
* [[I Just Want to Be Normal]]: Sookie regarding her power, which forces her to constantly hear all people's nasty dirty little secrets and ugly emotions. Her grandmother is the only one who sees it as a gift -- butgift—but only that when it's useful.
** Bill has this attitude due to being forcibly made vampire by Lorena.
** Jessica was enjoying her new strength and freedom up until she realized she has a self-healing hymen, will never have babies, and can't control her murderous urges around her boyfriend's spiteful mother.
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** With some exceptions (Bill, Eddie, Godric, Jessica), the vampires treat humans like pets at best, and snacks at worst.
** Apparently, the older vampires get, the more susceptible they are to sunlight: {{spoiler|Bill, at 170, withstood the sunlight for several minutes, whereas Godric, at 2000, ignited in blue fire within a few seconds of exposure}}.
** Vampires have some sort of psychic connection with people who drank their blood directly from the source - they sense their emotions and can find them anywhere, the person in question has [[Erotic Dream|Erotic Dreams]]s of them.
** Similarly, makers seem to have some connection with their progeny, which means they can find them, mentally call them - and feel when they die.
** The older a vampire, the less blood they require.
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** Vampires can do nifty mind-tricks on humans, such as hypnotizing them, taking away their memories and even putting music in their heads. It seems to be a very intrusive procedure, though, and is harmful when done too often.
** Vampires have ''extremely'' gory deaths when they are staked, vomiting blood and then dissolving into a giant puddle of blood.
** The fangs on ''[['''True Blood]]''''' vamps seem to come from the "wrong" place in the mouth. Whereas most vampires have extended or extensible canines (the teeth two from center, that are pointy in humans anyway), ''[['''True Blood]]''''' vamps have fangs that poke out from the position of the teeth on either side of the incisors. It's conspicuous in the teaser for the first episode, with the redneck vampire in the convenient store, and other places. Curiously, it appears not to be consistent; some of the vampires have their fangs in the standard place.
* [[Our Werewolves Are Different]]:
** They can transform at will, even during the day.
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* [[Protagonist-Centered Morality]]:
** The vampires vs the witches. The vampires raped and murdered Antonia and her coven in the past, and in the present they attack and terrorize Marnie and her coven. But in the end, it's Antonia and Marnie who are the villains.
** Bill really does not seem to care about the welfare of humans very much. He has no moral qualms about fucking with their minds, and in Season Four, he tells Sookie that killing innocent humans is justified if it keeps ''vampires'' safe. He kidnaps Marnie and holds her prisoner back when she's still harmless. When he arranges a peace talk with Antonia, he promises to go alone and breaks his word since he fully intends to kill or capture her rather than work something out. But since he's always nice ''to Sookie'', he's supposed to be a good guy, or at the very worst an [[Anti-Hero]]. Similarly, Eric has murdered and brutalized people in situations where it was in no way necessary. He kidnapped tortured Lafayette and several others based on the possibility that they may have had something to do with his maker's disappearance when he could have simply glamored the truth out of them, then he forced Lafayette to work as his personal V-dealer on pain of death. Later, he attempts to kill Marnie because she doesn't immediately obey when he tells her to disband her coven when, again, he could have just glamored her to get her to do what he wanted. He also ripped out the throat of one of the Wiccans who as present at the meeting between the vampires and Marnie's coven, completely unprovoked, and this was while still had amnesia--theamnesia—the amnesiac Eric is supposed to be the ''good'' Eric, mind you. But, like Bill, all his actions are supposed to be seen as morally ambiguous at worst just because he has feelings for Sookie.
* [[Psycho Sidekick]]: Roy, one of the witches in Marnie's/Antonia's coven, who {{spoiler|tries to goad Tara into shooting Sookie and gets excited when he sees Bill's commandos gruesomely killed by three vampires}}.
* [[Psychotic Lover]]: Lorena. Even after Bill tells her multiple times that he hates her guts and can't stand the sight of her, she still has the nerve to ask him "When will we see each other again?"
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** [[Attempted Rape]]: Sookie is almost raped by {{spoiler|Gabe}} before {{spoiler|[[Badass|Godric]]}} intervenes.{{spoiler|By killing him}}. And again, in Season 3 Episode 3. This time, she's rescued by Alcide.
** [[Rape as Drama]]:
*** Franklin and Tara -- inTara—in this case, Franklin is insane and has convinced himself completely the sex is consensual when Tara is only not fighting back because he's an insane vampire who can kill her without thinking about it.
*** And in "Hotshot" with Crystal, Jason, and the other females {{spoiler|wherein one bursts into tears when Jason fights her and tells her to get off him. She cries because it was the first time she'd ever had sex ''she'' enjoyed}}.
*** And in Season 4 Episode 6, in [[Flash Back]], we see Luis raped Antonia during the Inquisition.
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** "Bad Things" by country music singer Jace Everett. Yes, ''country music'' singer.
** Each of the closing themes are real, and usually [[Title Drop|reference the episode title]].
* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: [[Nightmare Fuel|Russell gives one]] [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters|to humanity]] in "Everything is Broken". Probably the best piece of writing the show's ever had, and worth quoting in full:
{{quote|'''Russell''': Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Russell Edgington and [[Exposition of Immortality|I have been a vampire for nearly three-thousand years]]. Now, the American Vampire League wishes to perpetuate the idea that [[Not So Different|we are just like you]]. I suppose in a few small ways we are. We're [[Narcissist|narcissistsnarcissist]]s. [[It's All About Me|We care only about getting what we want no matter what the cost]] 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 flat screen TVs, your blood diamonds, your designer jeans, your absurd garish McMansions! Futile symbols of pertanence to quell your quivering, spineless souls. But no, in the end we are nothing like you. [[Living Forever Is Awesome|We are immortal]]. Because we drink the [[Title Drop|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 [[To Serve Man|eating people is a tough sell these days]] so they put on their friendly faces to pass their beloved VRA but make no mistake. '''[[Beneath the Mask|Mine is the true face of vampires!]]''' Why would we seek equal rights? [[Fantastic Racism|You are not our equals.]] '''We will eat you. After we eat your children...''' [[Mood Whiplash|now time for the weather. Tiffany?]]}}
* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: The reasoning behind {{spoiler|Godric's}} suicide-by-sunrise.
** Also kind-of the case with {{spoiler|Tommy Merlotte. His "skin-walking" shifting is pretty literally tearing up his insides every time he does it, but after realizing how much he's completely screwed up his life, and everyone else's lives that he's touched lately, he decides to do it one more time to encounter a surefire beat-down if not deliberate murder in his brother's place. Turns out they didn't actually want to kill him just "kick the shit out of him", but Tommy was so messed up from the shifting that it was fatal anyway, and he asked to be taken back "home" to Merlotte's instead of a hospital, since he [[Death Seeker|didn't want to keep living anyway]]}}.
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* [[Super Loser]]
* [[Supernatural Elite]]: The vampires operate on a feudal system. A Vampire King/Queen claims a territory and appoints sheriffs to administer it for him/her. Usually, the most powerful and/or oldest vampire becomes the monarch, however, the position can be reached if a vampire is politically connected with the Authority who seem to be a governing council above the monarchies.
* [[Surprise Incest]]: Bill finds out too late that the Bellefleurs--includingBellefleurs—including his would-be girlfriend Portia--arePortia—are his descendants. She actually gives him a laundry list of reasons why their relationship is technically harmless--theharmless—the two being consenting adults, several generations removed, and unable to produce children--butchildren—but Bill still can't get over the fact that he is having sex with his granddaughter, and glamours her into breaking up with him.
* [[Take a Third Option]]: Bill and Eric have repeatedly clashed over "ownership" of Sookie, who seems to be having trouble making up her mind. In a Season 4 dream sequence, Sookie suggests [[OT3|an interesting solution]].
{{quote|Sookie: "I’m proposing that the two of you be mine."}}
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{{quote|Stephen: [[Take That|What's Twilight?]]}}
** Another ''Twilight'' Take That comes after Hoyt breaks up with Jessica. He throws a copy into a box of her possessions labeled "For you, monster".
* [[Tears of Blood]]: ''[['''True Blood]]''''' vampires cry blood because [[Our Vampires Are Different|they have no other body fluids]].
** [[Unfortunate Implications|So when a male vampire has an orgasm...]]
* [[Teens Are Short]]: Tommy and [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|Godric]].
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* [[Time Skip]]: A small one at the end of the first season, with a couple of months passing between {{spoiler|Rene's death}} and the discovery of {{spoiler|Miss Jeannette's body}}. There's a second one between the end of Season Three and the start of Season Four, {{spoiler|with Sookie thinking she's only been in the fairy realm for a few minutes, when it's actually been over a year}}.
* [[Title Drop]]: "TruBlood" is the blood substitute that vampires drink so they don't have to kill people. Russell Edgington delivers a Title Drop in exactly the opposite spirit (see [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] above).
* [[Tokyo Is the Center of the Universe]]: Despite being a small Louisiana town, a lot of crazy shit happens in [[Weirdness Magnet|Bon Temps]]. Queen Sophie-Anne even [[Lampshade|lampshadeslampshade]]s this in Season 2 by saying how random it is that a maenad would be there ([[It Makes Sense in Context]], though she wouldn't have a way of knowing that).
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Jason Stackhouse. Detective Andy. Tara (as of Season 2 and on).
** Sookie also runs in fourth place to this trope because she constantly runs into danger without a plan, and worse, without a weapon. See Season 3 Episode 2 where she runs blindly into the woods to find a {{spoiler|werewolf}} who clearly intends to either kidnap or murder her ''and taunting him while she does so''. [[Sarcasm Mode|Brilliant, Sookie.]]
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** Probably also counts as a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for the redneck vamp:
{{quote|Fuck me? I'll fuck you, boy. I'll fuck ya... * fangs* ... and then I'll EAT ya.}}
** This is an establishing moment for the series: [[Your Vampires Suck]] because ours aren't all decked out in goth attire, have some sort of ethnic accent, or are [[Large Ham|Large Hams]]s; many of them can be normal folks just like you and me. The fact that the first vampire we see in this vampire-heavy show is an overweight Larry the Cable Guy-lookalike may be a big part of what put the show on the map.
 
{{reflist}}
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