Why HBO’s ‘True Blood’ Should Be Revived, Not Rebooted – TheThings

Finding out the fate of True Blood's original cast feels like it would be a larger draw than attempting to rewrite the story altogether.

By now, you've probably heard about HBO's reboot of thevampire drama, True Blood. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Jami O'Brien are executive-producing the project while Alan Ball is back in a similar role. Casting, however, remains a mystery. And there's no word on if the original cast will return for the reboot.

What's particularly interesting about HBO's plans for a reboot is that the network is ignoring some very prevalent facts. First off, they've seemed to have forgotten that the show's end robbed fans of the finale they deserved.

In it, Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) let Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) stake him through the heart, sending him to the True Death. His passing was controversial, and to some, a copout for the show's true ending, the one where Sookie and Bill live happily ever after.

The reason Bill's death felt like a poorly written conclusion was that he had an opportunity to circumvent it. Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) offered his longtime friend the cure to Hep-V, yet he refused. Sookie also begged Bill to take the vaccine, wanting to live out her remaining years with him. And after so many back-and-forths in their off-again on-again relationship, it seemed logical that Bill would do practically anything to stay with Sookie.

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On top of refusing to take a cure to the virus afflicting him, Bill's final days were hinting at him becoming human. His body began to warm. Sookie could read his thoughts using her telepathy. And Mr. Compton's emotions also seemed to be evolving as Season 7 progressed forward. Bill's flashbacks, for instance, elicited stronger emotions from him, something particularly uncharacteristic of vampires. They experience vague feelings, but nothing like the vivid dreams Bill was having before his death.

All of those signs pointed to Bill Compton becoming human, eventually leading towards the happy ending we anticipated he would have with Sookie Stackhouse.

Unfortunately, things didn't pan out that way. Bill took the True Death in what was his final-final goodbye, and Sookie married some unnamed character to start a semi-normal family away from the supernatural underbelly of Bon Temps. An unexpected end to this love story.

We bring up the series' finale because it presents a better case for HBO to revive True Blood instead of rebooting the vampire drama. Seeing as how the 2008 show didn't live up to fans' expectations with its' shocking twist of a conclusion, Ball and the new producers have the chance to make up for it. All that's necessary is for Ball to rewrite Bill Compton into the story.

There are a couple of ways Ball can go about that. For one, he can claim a remnant of Lillith's blood remained dormant in Compton's body despite having been drained of his powers. Bill's godlike abilities, albeit temporary ones, made him nearly invincible. So, if even a small amount of the blood pooled into the sputtering mass left after Bill's True Death, that would allow his resurrection to happen without much recourse.

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Another way is by having Sookie use her Fae powers. While her abilities are limited, if the writers want a convenient way of using her to revive Bill, they can say Ms. Stackhouse's tears falling onto Bill's grave causes a chain reaction in which the vampire's body reforms itself.

Doing so brings back a fan-favorite character and presents the writers with the opportunity to build upon Sookie and Bill's relationship once again. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean they have to wind up together in the following installment. But as long as Sookie and Bill both get to live out their final years in peace, that conclusion will be much more satisfying than the one delivered in 2014.

Keep in mind that Bill and Sookie aren't the only True Blood characters worth being revisited in a revival. Practically all the living and non-living residents of Bon Temps had character-arcs we want to see touched upon, with the exception of Lafayette.

Nelsan Ellis, the actor who portrayed Lafayette Reynolds on True Blood, passed away in 2017. So out of respect, excluding Ellis' character from the new story would be the right way to go.

Still, characters like Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) and Hoyt (Jim Parrack) are perfect candidates to cover in a revival. They married in the Season 7 Finale, though we didn't get to see whether it would work out or not. Everyone hopes their marriage did, which is why they deserve equal consideration for spots in a potential revival.

Their friendship with Jason (Ryan Kwanten) and Bridgette (Ashley Hinshaw) is another subplot worth exploring. The foursome has a convoluted history together, and despite being super unconventional, they all managed to find the type of love they'd been seeking out. What we don't know is if the sendoffs they received lasted or not.

The point is that finding out the fate of True Blood's original cast feels like it would be a larger draw than attempting to rewrite the story altogether. Plus, the universe and character origins are already fleshed out. A reboot, on the other hand, would essentially be starting from scratch, and there's no guarantee it will be as successful as the first adaptation of Charlaine Harris' The Southern Vampire Mysteries.

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Paul Zuniga is a journalist who's been covering entertainment-related topics for the past three years, mostly for FanSided's network of websites. His expertise, however, doesn't stop there. Paul has also interviewed both newcomers and veterans of the entertainment industry, delving deep into the complexities of movies and television. And he's intent on keeping the momentum going.

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Why HBO's 'True Blood' Should Be Revived, Not Rebooted - TheThings

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero