Top 11 Things I thought True Blood did better than the books
This is just my personal opinion, and I get not everyone is going to agree with this, but there were things about the show I thought were better than in the books, or else were improvements on the books. Spoilers ahead:
1.) Lafayette's expanded role in the series. This is pretty much a given. In the books, Lafayette gets killed off after the first one, and thankfully the show avoids going that route. He was an amazing character, and Nelsan Ellis's performance was stunning. He's one of my favorite characters on the show!
2.) The changes they made to Godric's character and his relationship with Eric. I was glad the show didn't go the route of making Godric a pedophile/child-rapist like he was in the books, and instead made him a reformed vampire who was actually advocating for peaceful co-existence between vampires and humans. There's a tragedy to his character that makes me sad because he genuinely wanted to atone for his past sins, and was trying to set an example for other vampires. I also found his relationship with Eric to be fascinating and prefer this version of Godric being Eric's maker as opposed to the way it went down in the books.
3.) Sookie and Jason's relationship. I wasn't a fan of it in the books, and it was so contentious and out-of-focus most of the time that it was hard to care about it. In the show, it's one of my favorite platonic relationships. I liked seeing the character development there, with Jason becoming a protective big-brother to Sookie, and Sookie trying to help out Jason when he was struggling. I enjoyed a lot of their moments, from Jason saving Sookie from Steve Newlin, to the conversation at the hotel, to them cleaning Gran's house, to the talks they had during the show, to Jason coming to Sookie's aid and staking Warlow in season 6, and so on. It was nice seeing that sibling love, and it helps that both Anna Paquin and Ryan Kwanten actually look like siblings.
4.) The introduction of Jessica's character. I know she wasn't in the books, but Jessica still remains one of my favorite characters on the show. I enjoyed seeing her journey of becoming a newborn teenage vampire and having to learn the ups and downs of it. I also thought the whole "she struggles with her vampire nature" was done much better here than it was with Bill. It genuinely felt like she was trying to be a decent person while struggling with her bloodlust and being trapped forever in a teenager's body.
5.) Lafayette and Jesus's relationship. As someone who identifies as gay, I enjoyed seeing a positive depiction of an LGBT+ relationship on the show. Jesus (despite not being in the books) is one of my favorite characters. I thought his backstory as a brujo was fascinating, and the story arc where he and Lafayette explore the world of magic remains one of my favorite plots on the show. It helps that Jesus was a genuinely kind person and that his relationship with Lafayette was genuine.
6.) This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but I was okay seeing the show branch out into an ensemble cast. In the books, everything is told from Sookie's perspective, so we only get to see the world through her filter. In the show, they give different POV's to characters like Eric, Pam, Jason, Tara, Lafayette, Sam, Jessica, and so on. While there were certain storylines that didn't work, I didn't mind the approach because it was interesting for me to see the individual reactions from these characters to the supernatural world around them. I also enjoyed seeing the backstories of certain characters that weren't just Sookie.
7.) Pam's backstory on the show. One of the things that always bothered me about Pam turning into a vampire in the books is that it wasn't consensual on her part. Eric just did it, and she was forced to adapt to it, which didn't sit right with me. In the show, I was glad that this was her choice because she didn't want to die alone as a prostitute. I also thought her backstory was well fleshed-out. It explains why she's so loyal to Eric, and why she's closed off from other people behind a way of sarcasm and snarky remarks. It also does a good job showing why she holds Bill in contempt: She remembers him (and Lorena) as the vampires who were raping, draining, and killing the girls she oversaw in her brothel.
8.) This is probably not going to be one everyone agrees on, but I liked the expansion of Tara and Jason's characters on the show. I enjoyed Jason's journey and character development on the show much better than in the books, and I loved his friendship with Andy. It was interesting watching him open up more to the supernatural world and work to improve as a person, and I enjoyed some of his arcs, like joining the Fellowship in season 2, or working with Andy, or even helping Sookie, Lafayette, and Jesus during the whole witch war. I also hold Ryan Kwanten is underrated as an actor, and enjoyed his performance as Jason. Likewise, I've always had a soft spot for Tara and the struggles she went through. I'm still angry about what they did to her in the last season (which is why I don't consider it canon), but I appreciate how fleshed-out she was compared to the books. Plus, Rutina Wesley is a great actress!
9.) Eric's rivalry with Russell Edgington. Russell is still one of the best villains on the show, and Eric's backstory explains a lot about how he became the person he was and why he wanted to become a vampire.
10.) Again, this is probably not one everyone is going to agree on, but I liked the witch-vampire conflict better on the show than in the books. Antonia for me was one of the more complex villains on the show, and I like how, for once, the vampires were finally getting called out for all the atrocities they'd committed against humans over the centuries. I also liked the contrast they did with Antonia and Marnie, as well as the themes about victimization and the dangers of becoming just as bad as the people who've abused you.
11.) The way that Lorena, Debbie, and Claude were done on the show. In the books, they came off as little more than one-dimensional cartoon villains with no other interesting personality traits. They were evil just for the sake of being evil. In the show, both Lorena and Debbie are given more tragic elements that helped me to care about their characters somewhat. Lorena for instance is implied to have been so twisted by the abuse her maker inflicted on her that it's warped her ability to understand what love is, and possibly fueled her obsession with Bill. Debbie genuinely does love Alcide, but she's also a struggling V-addict and the things she wants (having kids, being part of a pack, etc) are at odds with what Alcide wants. Not to mention, it felt like there were moments in season 4 when she was trying to be a good person. As for Claude, I get people have issues with the faeries on the show, but I prefer his show counterpart where he's helpful to Sookie and Jason and genuinely cares about protecting the faeries on the human plane. Book Claude was all over the place, to the point of being grating. I couldn't stand his character in the books, and not in a love-to-hate sense, but more in a "this character is annoying and I wish they would be written out" kind of way.
Anyways, that's my opinion. I know people will prefer certain elements in the books better than the show, but I personally hold there were some things the show did better.
