True Blood (season 6)

True Blood (season 6)
Region 1 DVD cover
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	10
Release
Original network	HBO
Original release	June 16 – August 18, 2013

The sixth season of the HBO supernatural drama series True Blood premiered on June 16, 2013. The season had an abbreviated run of ten episodes, as opposed to the usual twelve, partially to accommodate the pregnancy of lead actress Anna Paquin.^[1] It is also the first season not to be primarily based on the corresponding novel in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series (in this case Definitely Dead), instead taking elements from multiple books in the series.

Cast and characters

Main cast Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman Chris Bauer as Andy Bellefleur Kristin Bauer van Straten as Pam Swynford De Beaufort Lauren Bowles as Holly Cleary Anna Camp as Sarah Newlin Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette Reynolds Lucy Griffiths as Nora Gainesborough Rutger Hauer as Niall Brigant Arliss Howard as Truman Burrell Rob Kazinsky as Ben Flynn / Macklyn Warlow Todd Lowe as Terry Bellefleur Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux Michael McMillian as Steve Newlin Kelly Overton as Rikki Naylor Robert Patrick as Jackson Herveaux Carrie Preston as Arlene Fowler Bellefleur Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Nicole Wright Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica Hamby Special guest cast Dale Dickey as Martha Bozeman Adina Porter as Lettie Mae Daniels Janina Gavankar as Luna Garza

Guest cast Amelia Rose Blaire as Willa Burrell Bailey Noble as 18–Year–Old Faerie #4 / Adilyn Bellefleur Karolina Wydra as Violet Mazurski Luke Grimes as James Kent John Fleck as Dr. Overlark Jamie Gray Hyder as Danielle Chloe Noelle as Emma Garza Marque Richardson as Kenneth Pruitt Taylor Vince as Finn Keone Young as Hido Takahashi Jeffrey Nicholas Brown as Corbett Stackhouse Tara Buck as Ginger Jessica Clark as Lilith Matt Cook as Jessie Courtney Ford as Portia Bellefleur Aaron Howles as Rocky Cleary Noah Matthews as Wade Cleary John Rezig as Deputy Kevin Ellis Jenni Blong as Michelle Stackhouse Shaun Brown as Bruce Gregg Daniel as Reverend Daniels Jessy Hodges as Mustard Helen Slayton-Hughes as Caroline Bellefleur Valarie Pettiford as Mary Wright Tamlyn Tomita as Ms. Suzuki Patricia Bethune as Jane Bodehouse Giles Matthey as Claude Crane Hal Ozsan as King Charles II John Prosky as David Finch Dale Raoul as Maxine Fortenberry Haley Brooke Walker as Crystal Jude B. Lanston as Camp Sex Vampire

Episodes

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
61	1	"Who Are You, Really?"	Stephen Moyer	Raelle Tucker	June 16, 2013	4.52[2]
The episode begins with a recap of Season 5, and continues as Sookie, Eric and the others flee the Authority compound after Bill's reincarnation. Sam, Luna, and Emma also escape from Authority headquarters, though Luna dies from her injuries, entrusting Sam to take care of Emma. Meanwhile, Louisiana Governor Burrell declares war on vampires, but also secretly partners to manufacture TrueBlood. Eric says he is no longer Pam's maker, and she no longer follows his orders. Upset, Pam goes to Fangtasia with Tara, when some S.W.A.T. troopers arrive and shoot Tara, after announcing all Vampire businesses are closed. Jason hitchhikes and is picked up by an old man, who he believes to be Warlow - Jason shoots at the man who disappears, while the faerie blood contract promising Sookie to Warlow starts to glow. Meanwhile, Alcide is about to have sex with a young woman in the pack when Rikki comes, and they have a threesome. In Bon Temps, Andy agrees to take care of his faerie kids, who age quickly. Jessica is summoned by Bill, who now appears normal but more powerful. He is attacked by Eric and survives being staked from behind by Sookie. He demands they all leave, except Jessica. Eric signs Sookie's house back over to her in his blood, while she takes back her invitation, and Nora notices that Eric is in love with Sookie. Bill talks to Jessica in her room, and returning to his room, he sees Lilith (and others like her), who appear to enter his body.
62	2	"The Sun"	Daniel Attias	Angela Robinson	June 23, 2013	4.08[3]
Warlow manages to break through the dimensional barrier and enter Bon Temps. Jason learns that the mysterious driver is in fact his fairy grandfather. Tara recovers from being shot by a new high-tech anti-vampire silver UV bullet, while Bill enters a trance where Lillith warns him about the future. Sookie is late for work and helps an injured stranger who is later revealed to be a fairy-halfling. Arlene is kept busy explaining to Patrick's pregnant wife how he has left her, while the leader of a pro-vampire and shifter group tries to convince Sam to come out for the good of his kind. Jessica hires "food" for an unresponsive Bill, but the encounter ends badly when the woman is drained. Nora rereads the vampire bible in hopes of insights, while Eric unsuccessfully attempts to glamour Gov. Burrell. Sookie meets the grandfather, who teachers her how to focus her light defensively. Sam and Lafayette are attacked by Alcide and Martha who kidnap Emma after a brief fight. Jessica prays for Bill and her friends, and Bill realizes that he has the ability to see the future.
63	3	"You're No Good"	Howard Deutch	Mark Hudis	June 30, 2013	3.94[4]
An irate Eric takes matters into his own hands by glamouring and then kidnapping the Governor's daughter, Willow. She reveals her father's secret detention and research camp, where vampires are experimented on - a camp where Steve Newlin now finds himself detained. Sookie learns that she is Fey royalty. Warlow begins stalking Sookie's house and raids the secret fairy club. Sam and Lafayette are helped by Nicole and her Vampire Unity Society (V.U.S.) friends. Bill, assured of his new powers, attempts to day-walk but is severely burnt. Andy attempts to renew a relationship with Holly. Jessica kidnaps the creator of TruBlood, Hido Takahashi, and Bill schemes to synthesize a new type of drink – based on Sookie. Sam rescues Emma, but things go badly for the VUS activists. Sookie and Ben realize they share a connection.
64	4	"At Last"	Anthony Hemingway	Alexander Woo	July 7, 2013	4.14[5]
Jason is injured and Ben (revealed as part-vampire too) secretly feeds him his blood - a secret Sookie soon learns. Sam, Emma, and and injured Nicole are helped to escape Alcide's werewolf pack by Lafayette. Gov. Burrell and his vampire SWAT team raid Ginger's house but Eric, Pam, Tara, and Willow are long gone. Andy's daughters are aging unusually quickly, and leave the house to party but are intercepted by Bill and Jessica. Bill gives Takahashi the task of synthesizing a new kind of blood. Eric turns a willing Willow into his second ever baby-vampire. Sookie attempts to trap Ben by inviting him to dinner, while Jason and Niall realize Ben is a fairy-vampire hybrid too, and unsuccessfully try to raid his motel room. Willow goes home and attempts to influence her father, until she is shot by Sarah Newlin. Ben, now revealed as Warlow, drains then banishes Niall from Buon temps, whereas Jessica loses control and kills the quadruplets.
65	5	"Fuck the Pain Away"	Michael Ruscio	Angela Robinson	July 14, 2013	4.54[6]
Sookie gets Lafayette to summon her dead parents. Warlow revisits some painful memories with Lilith. Eric and Tara resort to drastic measures to rescue Pam. Sarah reconnects with Jason. Andy picks up the pieces of his ravaged family. Jessica seeks atonement.
66	6	"Don't You Feel Me"	Howard Deutch	Daniel Kenneth	July 21, 2013	4.47[7]
Bill travels to another plane and seeks Lilith's advice on the escalating crisis between humans and vampires. Eric, Pam, Nora, Jason and Jessica get an inside look at Vamp Camp. Sam tries to make the best decision for Emma's future. Andy names his remaining faerie daughter. Eric discovers the truth about Tru Blood's resumed production. Meanwhile, Sookie says she's a 'danger whore' and has sex with Warlow, after discovering that it was him who saved her from her parents, and not the other way round as she had always believed. Bill attacks the Governor's residence, killing him and uses his powers to force the guards to kill each other.
67	7	"In the Evening"	Scott Winant	Kate Barnow	July 28, 2013	4.36[8]
Eric makes a last-ditch attempt to save Nora by pledging allegiance to Bill. Hearing the news of Terry's death, Sam ignores Alcide's warning and returns to Bon Temps. Jason "breaks in" to the vamp-camp to save Jessica, where he runs into Sarah. With the Governor out of the picture, she vows to get revenge on Jason. Jessica shows her gratitude to a fellow prisoner. Sookie and Warlow move to their special hiding place. She gives Warlow her blood, she takes his blood and they have sex. Warlow wants to get married, Sookie isn't so sure.
68	8	"Dead Meat"	Michael Lehmann	Robin Veith	August 4, 2013	4.17[9]
Since Nora dies, Eric decides to take the vampire fate into his own hands. Sookie struggles between staying human/fae or letting Warlow turn her to save Vampire kind. Meanwhile everyone in the vamp-camp begins to drink the Tru Blood tainted with Hep-V. Reverend Newlin accidentally lets slip to Sarah that they know about the tainted blood, after which she locks up all the vampires who refuse to drink it in the white room, in accordance to Bill's vision.
69	9	"Life Matters"	Romeo Tirone	Brian Buckner	August 11, 2013	4.00[10]
Sookie and Bill clash over Bill's desire to use Warlow's blood. Newly empowered to walk in the daylight by Warlow's blood, Eric arrives at Vamp Camp, releasing its captives and starting a successful riot by leading the vampires to attack the human staff en masse. Sarah Newlin escapes, however, and opens the roof of the White Room in order to burn the trapped vampires inside. Bill arrives to prevent this, offering the vampires his blood so they are immune to the sunlight. Eric intervenes when Steve Newlin tries to get his share, however, forcing Newlin into the sun and to his death. Bill, weakened by his blood loss, is visited by Lilith's sirens before being rescued by Jessica. While Eric starts destroying the infected Tru Blood bottles, Jason decides not to kill Sarah Newlin and lets her go. In Bon Temps, a funeral takes place for Terry Bellefleur, and the town inhabitants take turns telling stories about Terry.
70	10	"Radioactive"	Scott Winant	Kate Barnow	August 18, 2013	4.14[11]
In the sixth season finale, Bill discovers that salvation comes at a price. Due to excessive feeding from his blood, Bill loses his powers inherited from the blood of Lilith. Sookie tries to talk Warlow into dating her rather than marry her just then and there. Warlow turns violent and holds her captive. Bill releases Takahashi, but is grievously stricken for the way he behaved with Sookie. Jessica encourages Bill to save Sookie, and they take the help of Jason, Violet, Andy and Adylin. Bill saves Sookie. But Warlow soon overtakes everyone and just as he is ready to take Sookie with him, her grandfather appears and holds him while Jason puts a stake through Warlow's heart, killing him. As soon as Warlow dies, the power of walking in daylight is also taken away from all other vampires who inherited the trait. Far away in Sweden, Eric also loses the power which causes him to burn. Six months later, things come back to normal in Bon Temps: Bill has become a writer, Sam Merlotte is the new Mayor, Arlene has taken over Sam's bar and renamed it "Bellefleur's", Sookie and Alcide are in a relationship and so are Jason and Violet. However, the Hepatitis-V virus has spread around the country and infected vampires run amok. While a search for a vaccine is ongoing, Sam and Bill offer that each citizen pair with a healthy vampire as protection. Jessica asks for forgiveness from Andy and Adylin and promises to protect them; Andy almost shoots her, but Jessica mounts guard anyway. Tara's estranged mother, Lettie Mae, offers herself to Tara to "nourish" her in an attempt to make up for her neglect of Tara while she was growing up. In the final scene, during the "pairing" meet at Bellefleur's, a horde of infected vampires gather around the building and are about to attack.

Production

In February 2012 series creator Alan Ball announced he would step down as day-to-day showrunner of True Blood but would stay on as executive producer.^[12] Mark Hudis, who joined the writing staff at the beginning of the fourth season, was chosen as executive producer for season six. However, the producers announced in March 2013 that, after only a single season, Hudis would also depart the series to focus on developing his own HBO series. Brian Buckner filled the position for the rest of the season and will continue in the role for the seventh season.^[13] On Monday, July 15, 2013, HBO renewed True Blood for a seventh and final season.

Ratings

Episode number (Production number)	Title	Original air date	Ratings share (Adults 18–49)	Viewers (in millions)	Rank per week on Cable
61 (6.01)	"Who Are You, Really?"	June 16, 2013	2.4[2]	4.52[2]	#4[14]
62 (6.02)	"The Sun"	June 23, 2013	2.2[3]	4.08[3]	#9[15]
63 (6.03)	"You're No Good"	June 30, 2013	2.2[4]	3.93[4]	#9[16]
64 (6.04)	"At Last"	July 7, 2013	2.3[5]	4.14[5]	#5[17]
65 (6.05)	"Fuck the Pain Away"	July 14, 2013	2.5[6]	4.54[6]	#5[18]
66 (6.06)	"Don't You Feel Me"	July 21, 2013	2.4[7]	4.47[7]	#8[19]
67 (6.07)	"In the Evening"	July 28, 2013	2.4[8]	4.36[8]	#4[20]
68 (6.08)	"Dead Meat"	August 4, 2013	2.2[9]	4.17[9]	#7[21]
69 (6.09)	"Life Matters"	August 11, 2013	2.2[10]	4.00[10]	#11[22]
70 (6.10)	"Radioactive"	August 18, 2013	2.3[11]	4.14[11]	#12[23]

References

1. Stoute, Scott. "'True Blood' Season 6 Shortened To 10 Episodes – Will It Help Or Hurt The Series?". Screenrant. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
2. Kondolojy, Amanda (June 18, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' Wins Night + Sprint Cup Racing, 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Falling Skies', 'Real Housewives of NJ' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
3. Bibel, Sara (June 25, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Skywire Live' Wins Night, 'True Blood', 'Falling Skies', 'Mad Men', 'Drop Dead Diva' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
4. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 1, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'BET Awards' Wins Night + 'True Blood', 'Dexter', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Falling Skies' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
5. Bibel, Sara (July 10, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings:'True Blood' Wins Night, 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Dexter', 'Falling Skies', 'Devious Maids', 'The Killing' & More". Retrieved July 10, 2013.
6. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 16, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' Wins Night + 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Sprint Cup', 'Real Housewives of NJ', 'Falling Skies' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
7. Bibel, Sara (July 23, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' Wins Night, 'Naked and Afraid', 'Falling Skies', 'Dexter', 'Devious Maids', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
8. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 30, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood' Wins Night + 'Naked and Afraid', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', NASCAR, 'Dexter' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
9. Bibel, Sara (August 6, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings:'True Blood' & 'Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives' Win Night, 'Dexter', 'Devious Maids', 'The Killing', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
10. Bibel, Sara (August 13, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Night, 'True Blood', 'Low Winter Sun', 'Devious Maids', 'Dexter', 'The Newsroom' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
11. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 20, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'Breaking Bad' Wins Night + 'True Blood', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', NASCAR, 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
12. Gelman, Vlada (February 27, 2012). "True Blood Boss Alan Ball to Step Down as Showrunner After Season 5". TV Line. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
13. Bricker, Tierney (March 8, 2013). "True Blood Showrunner Swap: Brian Buckner to Replace Mark Hudis". E! Online. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
14. Kondolojy, Amanda (June 18, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Major Crimes' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending June 16, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
15. Bibel, Sara (June 25, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Skywire Live' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending June 23, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
16. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 2, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'BET Awards' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending June 30, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
17. Bibel, Sara (July 10, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Rizzoli & Isles' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending July 7, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
18. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 16, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Rizzoli & Isles' Again Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending July 14, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
19. Bibel, Sara (July 23, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Teen Beach Movie' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending July 21, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
20. Kondolojy, Amanda (July 30, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Rizzoli & Isles' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending July 28, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
21. Bibel, Sara (August 6, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Rizzoli & Isles' Again Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending August 4, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
22. Bibel, Sara (August 13, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Breaking Bad' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending August 11, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
23. Kondolojy, Amanda (August 20, 2013). "Cable Top 25: 'Duck Dynasty' Tops Cable Viewership for the Week Ending August 18, 2013". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved August 20, 2013.