My Top 10 Favorite True Blood Characters
Just like I did with my Top 10 Least Favorite True Blood characters, I am doing a list of my Top 10 favorite ones today. All of the characters on this list are ones that I either connected to strongly or were the reason I kept watching the show, even into the later seasons. Like I’ve said before, this is just personal opinion, and my favorite characters are probably different from other people’s. With that being said, here’s my list.
POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR TRUE BLOOD SEASONS 1-7 AHEAD!!!!!
I rank Andy low on the list because I hated him initially in the first season and a half. He was a lousy cop and an asshole, and I thought it was creepy how he kept harassing Jason and projecting his issues onto him. I’ve always been bothered how he never got called out for that, or ever apologized to Jason for it. I also have some issues with how he handled things as a cop, especially since he’s suppose to have been in law enforcement for a while and should know better.
That being said, I started to warm up to him in season 2 when he was trying to protect Sam from Maryann and her brainwashed followers, and when he worked with Jason to save Sam’s life by playing “The God Who Comes.” I also appreciated that he and Jason were able to work out their issues with each other in order to take on Maryann. Even though they didn’t succeed, I loved the bromance that developed between the two of them, and that they came to understand and accept each others flaws and shortcomings.
What I also liked about Andy was his character development during the show. I liked seeing him work through his flaws (like his V addiction in season 4) and try to be a better sheriff and decent person. I especially loved his relationship with Holly and him becoming a father in season 6. He’s an example of one of those characters I disliked initially but grew to care for, and I love when a show is able to do that.
Out of all the people in Bon Temps, Holly seemed to be the only one who had her priorities straight. She’s a generous friend to everyone in town, but she also has boundaries and isn’t afraid to call out others when they act like assholes. I also think her being a Wiccan with knowledge about the supernatural and a single mother is pretty amazing! 🙂
Something that doesn’t get acknowledged that much (and probably should be) is that Holly technically is the one who saved Eric and Bill from Marnie: She’s the one who put a protection spell around them with salt so Marnie was blocked off, and she’s the one who summoned the spirits of the dead to take Marnie back to the afterlife. It’s a great example of how her Wiccan powers saved the day! I wish there had been more moments like that on the show.
Also, out of all the relationships on the show, I loved her romance with Andy, and I’m glad it’s one of the few things that survived the bad writing in the last season. They were cute together, and I think Andy is lucky that Holly still wanted to be with him even after Maurella and the faerie babies. I would even argue that the last episode should have been Andy and Holly’s wedding instead of Jessica and Hoyt’s. There was enough of a buildup in that relationship to warrant that! Oh well! 🤷♂️
One thing I really appreciated about True Blood is how it showed that you can be a mother and still be amazing! Luna is the definition of a “Mama Bear” who will do anything to protect her kid, and I admire her for it. I also admire that she’s someone who doesn’t put up with other people’s bullshit, and will go to whatever lengths she has to in order to protect the people she cares about. Her relationship with Sam was a highlight, and I enjoyed their scenes together. One of my favorite scenes with her is when she catches the person who was the mastermind behind the Hate Group in season 5 and beats the shit out of them. Loved that moment! She was a great character!
I wasn’t a big fan of Jessica when I first saw the show, but that’s changed for me upon rewatch. Out of many of the vampires on the show, I found her to be one of the more relatable ones. She’s a teenage girl who had her human life violently taken away from her, she got stuck with a maker who was neglectful and even abusive towards her (and you’d better believe I’ll be doing a post explaining my issues with Bill and Jessica’s relationships and why Bill was a shitty maker to Jessica), she had a bunch of impulses she didn’t know how to manage, and she felt lost and was looking for a place to belong. All of this is stuff I can relate to.
Unlike Bill, who always had a manipulative agenda and was never honest with others about his motivations, I actually believed the “she struggles with her nature” explanation with Jessica. She had impulses she tried to control, and she did have some teenage self-absorption, but she wasn’t actively malicious or sadistic. She was kind. She tried to become friends with others. She was loyal to people she cared about. She tried to be there for others when they were struggling. Deborah Ann Woll did a fantastic job with this character, and she was a joy to watch!
If I was to pick someone who was arguably the heart of the show, it would be Terry. Probably one of the kindest men in Bon Temps. He was a character struggling with his demons (one of which unfortunately came back to haunt him in the later seasons), but he always tried to do right by others. He was one of the few people who stood by Jason when he was being accused of murder in season 1. He loved Arlene with all of her flaws. He helped Andy get off of the V. He cared deeply about others, and I love him for that.
I know that it’s become easy for the fandom to rip into him given what’s revealed about his past in season 5, but I don’t think that taints the character the way people think it does. He made a really bad decision that he was deeply remorseful over and wishes he could take back. And that decision was one in a series of long regrets from the war that he wishes he could change. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the reasons he was kind when he got back is because he recognized that dark place he went to and didn’t ever want to venture there again. For what it’s worth, I do think he made a positive impact on his friends and community, and he did deserve better.
Godric is one of the few vampires on the show that I legitimately liked and wish we’d gotten more of. He was also MUCH BETTER than his book counterpart. I still maintain that the decision to change his personality and have him become Eric’s maker was a huge improvement.
Godric on the show was complex: He had a bloody history and did a lot of awful things, but he also recognized how his actions (and the actions of other vampires) had caused humans to fear and hate them, and he genuinely reformed and made an attempt to foster peaceful relationships between vampires and humans later on in his life. I admire him for that, and I admire his willingness to forgive others. He’s one of those “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” guys. He also brought out a positive side to Eric’s character, and most likely helped instill the qualities into Eric that people admire: Integrity, Loyalty, Devotion, and so on. I wish they’d kept him alive as I believe he could have been a positive force on the show, and I wanted him in more episodes!
I know that Jesus wasn’t in the books, but I still loved his inclusion on the show. His relationship with Lafayette still remains one of my favorite LGBT+ pairings on TV! He was a great boyfriend for Lafayette, and he had a nurturing side to him that I adored. His backstory as a Brujo and his attempts to escape his grandfather’s influence were also interesting and kept me invested in his character. He recognized the power and responsibility that came with magic and never used it for evil purposes like so many other characters did. He used his magical abilities for good and even helped save the day on many occasions (helping Mavis find peace, separating Antonia from Marnie, etc). There are times I wish the show had made this relationship the focus instead of the tiresome Bill/Sookie relationship.
One of the best characters on the show! I love Lafayette! 🥰 He’s funny, he’s kind, he has a great understanding of how the world works, he’s protective of the people he loves, he’s got a good read on people, he has some of the best lines on the show, he had a wonderful relationship with Jesus and Tara, and he’s the kind of guy you’d want to spend time with. He’s fantastic!
I always enjoyed his scenes and his stories, from selling V to discovering he was a medium to even his relationship with Ruby Jeane (his mother). All of them were interesting and engaging!
The AIDS burger speech is still an iconic moment, but I also love this line that deconstructs the problem I sometimes have with ghost stories: “Dead Folk, why y’all gotta be so cryptic! It ain’t cute!”
Tara’s the smartest person in Bon Temps, she’s fiercely loyal to the people she loves, she doesn’t take bullshit from anyone, she’s the kind of person you want on your side when you’re going into battle, and she’s there for others. Rutina Wesley is amazing as an actress, and brought a lot of heart and passion to Tara’s character. I was deeply invested in Tara’s story, and always hoped that things would get better for her.
I’m going on record in saying that the hatred that’s been directed at her character was extremely unwarranted. She was one of the best characters on the show. Period. She had everything I looked for in a character, and she deserved so much better than the shit she was put through. To this day, I’m still angry about what happened to her in the last season, and I refuse to consider it canon because of that.
As far as I’m concerned, Tara got a happy ending in season 6: Pam came back to continue their relationship, Tara developed her friendships with Jessica and Willa, and she reconciled with Sookie and Jason. And she cut her abusive mother out of her life for good. That’s my headcanon, and I won’t hear any arguments against it!
I know that Jason has a lot of problems and isn’t everyone’s favorite character, but I can’t help it: He’s my favorite character. I love him and feel bad for him simultaneously. I get where he’s coming from. I get that he’s trying to find a purpose in his life, and wants to be a person others can depend on. I get how trauma from being raped and taken advantage of and feelings of low self-worth drove a lot of his actions. I get he’s made mistakes and bad choices that he wishes he could take back. Unlike many other characters on this show, I actually believe he tries to be a decent person and wants to improve himself. He’s got a big heart underneath. I also don’t think he’s as stupid as he’s made out to be, and that a lot of the hatred that gets directed at him is either unwarranted or involves twisting his actions/words out of context to justify hating him for petty reasons.
But even with that, there’s a lot I love about him. He’s hilarious at times, he works to be a good brother for Sookie, he brave and loyal and willing to put himself in danger for the people he loves, he can be genuinely sweet, he does have a selfless and caring side underneath, he’s willing to re-evaluate his stance on the supernatural, he does have some good insights at times (even if he isn’t fully aware of it), and he does strive to be a better person. His character development was one of my favorite things about the show.
Ryan Kwanten’s performance as Jason is both underrated and underappreciated. He brought Jason to life in a way that was believable and relatable, and I hold that he’s a phenomenal actor. I really hope in the future he gets more recognition for his work!
And that’s my list of favorite True Blood characters! :)
