True Blood Season 3 Spoilers: Alan Ball and the Writers Reveal
November 3, 2009 by Ollie Chong aka AdoreBill
Alan Ball, writers Raelle Tucker and Alexander Woo spoke with SciFiWire recently and revealed 12 major spoilers points for season 3 of True Blood. So get ready True Blood fans for some major spoilers news. Remeber if you do not want to know DO NOT read any further.
Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer): Alan confirmed that the storyline of Bill’s kidnapping will last for”about six episodes.” However we don’t know if that means that it will be back-to-back from episodes 1-6 or will be spread out throughout the season. This is one fans are definitely going to be talking about.
Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell): As stated before, in season 3 Sam will be busy trying to find his family which Raelle Tucker will get to write their characters a lot in episode 2. She states that:
“I’m getting to write Sam’s family, which is a lot of fun, and, really, I feel really satisfying as a character arc,” she said. “I really am glad that he’s taking this journey and he’s learning about himself. I find that interesting. They aren’t the brightest people, maybe. At least they appear that way. They’re fairly dysfunctional, but like anybody else, they have their good things about them and not so good things. They’re still getting to know each other. Sam’s still getting to know them and so are we.”
Werewolves: Alan states that the werewolves in season 3 are going to be just wolves. They will be people who can transforms into wolves who will be bigger and stronger with their eyes glowing orange a little bit.
Supernatural World: Alexander Woo explains that season 3 is not only about the supernatural world of vampires, werewolves and shapshifters but he is also excited about the expanding world that will occur in the next season.
“The entire world is going to get a lot bigger,” Woo said. “Not only the human world, but in Sookie’s eyes, she’s going to see the whole supernatural world. Luckily, since this show is through Sookie’s eyes, as an audience we’ll get to see a much larger supernatural world.”
Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin): Raelle states that Sookie’s powers will expand in season 3 to not only include her telepathy but her expanding powers such as her glowing hands. “I think that Sookie is conscious of her abilities more this season than she’s been, and she’s questioning them more,” Tucker said. “We’re going to be exploring that more this season.”
Vampire King of Mississippi (Denis O’Hare): Alan states that the Vampire King of Mississippi in season three will be a contrast to Sophie-Anne, the Vampire Queen of Louisiana (Evan Rachel Wood).
“He’s older,” Ball said. “He’s much more mature. He’s much more methodical and grounded. She’s kind of crazy. To me, she’s kind of like Paris Hilton/Lindsay Lohan, where she has a very short attention span and she’s very, very egomaniacal and very self-obsessed and doesn’t really think about her actions whereas the vampire king is very much an adult. He has an agenda. He has things he wants to achieve. I think he’s much more formidable than she is.”
Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten): This season Jason seems to get a little break from all the mayhem he endured in season 2. According to Raelle this season will focus on Jason NOT getting into trouble and staying out of trouble’s way. This will be interesting to see how it plays out considering Jason was the one who shot Eggs at the end of season 3.
Queen Sophie-Anne (Evan Rachel Wood): Evan will be returning in season 3 in her role as Queen Sophie-Anne who is engaged in selling “V” which may get her in trouble in some way.
“Well, Sophie-Anne, when last we left her, she was sort of behind this selling of “V” as a recreational drug on the streets pretty much,” Ball said. “That’s not something a vampire authority figure should be doing. If higher-up vampire authority figures figure that out, they’re not going to be happy.”
Biker Gang: In season three we will see the introduction of a biker gang called Coot’s F–k You Crew which Raelle states that the new characters are still evolving and won’t be what they appear to be. As Raelle explains this biker gang is very mysterious and has been around much longer then alot of people think. Raelle wouldn’t elaborate any further, simply stating that “I don’t want to say too much about them right now because I think that we are in the early stages of figuring that out.”
Tommy Mickens: Alexander Woo informed SciFiWire that he is writing the material for this new character which he states “will make a huge impact on our favorite characters.” Without giving too much away Woo states that Tommy Mickens will play a “very prominently in the emotional life of at first one, and then later several other of our characters. He’ll be the first domino to push the rest.”
Headgear: Now this one I must admit has me wondering what the writers are referring to. Whether they are referring to actual headgear to be wore by the characters or a metaphor for a protective shell that the characters will place around themselves. Raelle explains helmets became a joke in the writer’s room with the writers becoming aware they were relying too much on protective headgear.
“There’ve been several moments that we’ve been pitching things and thought, ‘Oh, well, maybe she could be wearing a helmet and that would protect her. Maybe he could wear a helmet in that scene,’” Tucker recalled. “Suddenly we realized we had a whole bunch of characters wearing helmets for no particular reason. So we thought oh, that’s the theme of the season.”
Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard): With the Eric fans demanding more screen time for him and a big romantic link between Eric and Sookie, the writers state that does not occur until much later in Charlaine Harris‘ books . As Raelle states:
“You know what’s funny is that he’s in the first two books, he’s a fairly minor character in Sookie’s universe,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of fan pressure that they’re supposed to be this big romantic thing, which actually in Charlaine [Harris]’s books doesn’t happen until much, much further down. I think if we did that, we’d probably bore them all to death. I think part of the magic of Eric is some of the mystery of Eric and the inaccessibility of Eric. I think you don’t want to turn them into the nice romantic love interest who’s in every scene. I think his danger is important so not just throwing him up whenever somebody wants to see his bare chest is actually a more disciplined approach.”
So there you have it, the latest spoilers. So now lets start speculating as we wait for the return of Season 3 of True Blood.
SOURCE: SciFiWire.com
(Photo credit: HBO Inc.)
Ok, I’m going to agree wholeheartedly with Lyndsay when she says:
“Alan Ball didn’t do us any favors with the Maryanne plot at all. I love the expanding he’s done on other minor book characters, and found the Jason with the Fellowship plot in Season 2 to be the best plot behind the Dallas one. It just seems to show that when AB sticks closer to the books, things just work.”
I am another book reader and I don’t care if anyone thinks this forum should be just about the show – for me you can’t separate the two. I LOVE THE SHOW and can’t wait for it to start again! However, the show is based on these books and is very close to them but the Maryanne thing was a disaster and wasn’t even close to what really happened which I thought was much better in the book. I don’t have a problem with AB keeping Lafayette alive because I actually love his character but I’m hoping he stays a bit closer to the book story lines from now on. On to Season 3!
Please no Eric/Sookie…I stopped reading the books because I didn’t like Eric/Sookie. I (sorry) never understood the fuss about Eric. I don’t like his character. I love Bill (yes even after reading the books) and I love TB-Bill even more, and I love Bill and Sookie but to keep them together for the rest of the series would indeed be boring! So I do want bumps on the road for them (if one of those bumps happen to be Eric so be it…) but in the end I want Bill/Sookie to be together. They are meant to be.
I agree Mo. I also stopped reading the books because of the Sookie and Eric storyline. I just don’t get him either. I liked Bill in the books but love Bill in the TV series.
I don’t agree with you, however, that Bill and Sookie together for the series would be boring – I could watch them all day! Agree, there has to be some drama, but please, not with Eric, not sexually, at least. I agree that Bill and Sookie should be together as they are meant to be. Just look at the way they love each other! They just need to honest and true to each other.
Hi Mo, Lizzie,
As a fellow lover of Bill, I cannot help but hope for them to be reunited in the end. But first we must have drama. It is necessary to the show and the other cast.
But I am a big fan of true love and I see that in Bill and Sookie. They are not perfect and have their ups and downs as any loving couple.
That love will be sorely tested in the future and I hope will triumph in the end.
Team True Blood!
That Godric episode was so good
Best episode in Season 2, imo.
Wow! I didn’t expect my comment to blow up into what it did! Sorry for that, everyone. I too am suffering from the lack of new True Blood episodes, and I hope that everyone involved will take a deep breath and remember that we’re all Team True Blood!
Ladies, I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this topic and just call it a day. I’ve been down this path before, it’s not a pleasant one.
Lindsay/Missyella, I feel your pain. Being a bookie myself I understand where you are coming from. Basically, what you’ve read, you want to see played out on tv. Katra, you’ve never read the books so this is all fresh and new to you. You don’t care about the books. Fair enough.
The show is based on the books. The characters are the same, but some the their personalities have been changed. That is the hard part for me. You really have to try to treat them as two different entities. I know how hard that is, I struggle with it myself still. I love my viking and he is different then in the books.
Season 1 imo was better than season 2. The maenad thing really did get dragged out too long. A lot of us had said that in the past even when the shows were first airing and that came from both Bill and Eric camps. Ok, we got through that, it’s over and done with. Maryann will never be back as per AB. The Godric episode, imo, was by far the best episode in Season 2.
Let’s try to focus now on Season 3. The characters that are going to be introduced are the same ones from the books for the book readers. We’ll have to see how the personalities match up. I think sometimes what we read really cannot translate well on screen and then it has to be altered. Some of the additions really are refreshing and surprising which is a good thing.
Let’s just wait and see what Season 3 brings. I have high hopes for it. So far, from the spoilers I’ve read and how they are casting the characters, Season 3 will go in the direction of the book, how much, I don’t know, but hopefully enough to satisfy the bookies and non-bookies alike.
I’ve never seen a show that really does invoke such passion. Usually after a show is off the air for a couple of weeks, people just forget about it until next season. This show is definitely different. Can’t wait for Season 3. June, hurry up and get here.
Hi Jaxx,
Happy New Year to you.
My only complaint as a long time poster was mainly around the Maryann plotline, to long in my opinion.
I do not WANT/WISH to have an Eric only “show” which would be impossible and a tad boring, as the show is an ensemble.. but he is one of my favorite chatacters, I apologise to no one about that, along with Sam, Jason, Lafayette, not forgetting Tara, Jessica and of course Hoyt.
So roll on season 3, if I am still posting comments here.
Happy New Year Missyella!!
I do agree with you about the MA plotline.
Yes an Eric only or Bill only show would be boring. There has to be a mix to make this show work. I think there will be a good mix in Season 3 of a lot of different plotlines and characters.
Bring on Season 3!!
Oops, meant to say “evoke” not “invoke”.
Hi Jaxx, Thank you so much for your response I truly appreciate it. As you said it does create alot of passion among fans. As I said it is difficult to separate the two from time to time but then instead of enjoying this wonderful world where we can escape to for an hour from our hectic world, one can become comely frustrated otherwise.
Please Missyella I don’t think anyone was implying you or anyone else is stupid, I think it was the “tone” things were being said unfortunately without hearing a person’s voice the written word can be interpreted in different ways, i.e. playful, teasing, angry, yelling etc.
We all love the show very much otherwise we wouldn’t discuss it so passionately.
Season 3 will be very interesting to see as the introduction of new characters and characters from the book. As to their “personality” we don’t know how they will be but I trust Alan Ball to provide a form of escape for me.
I think I mentioned it before on the site but want to share it with all of you again. I am truly grateful for Alan Ball for creating True Blood because in some strange way (and I too, cannot fully explain it) helped me deal with the passing of one of my parents who died just a month after True Blood premiered. A month prior to their passing they were in the hospital but somehow the show helped me get over the grief and lost. The imaginary world that Alan create allowed me to somehow ” see” that maybe there are things beyond what we can see with our eyes, beyond this existence and somehow provided me with that comfort.
So the show is very close to my heart as well as to all of you, but since Alan started it in such a wonderful fashion I will trust him to continue in that manner.
I think we are all suffering from MAJOR True Blood withdrawal and as you said Jaxx June has to hurry up and get here!
Hi Ollie. I remember your story as it was also my story as well. My Mom died also around the time True Blood aired and it truly broke my heart. So I also feel your pain. This show also helped me heal my wounds in some strange and odd way and like you, I have a deep passion for it.
So, like you, I will try my hardest to trust in AB’s version of the CH books and hope it will continue for many, many seasons to come.
i think the show is great but the books is what i feel in love with and it seems to me that alan ball wants to make his own version of the books he is changeing characters and forgetting others in club dead my favorite character makes his appearence (alclide) i think alan is straying to far from the book he should stick to the book i hope he dose not alter sookie’s destiny too much
You have to remember that True Blood and the books are SEPARATE THINGS! Alan does NOT need to copy from the books to create great stories. He has the right to move the story any way he wants to, and if that means he only wants to use the characters and their basic personalities, that’s up to him.
Isis… What YOU need to realize is that belive it or not, Eric fans DO know that the books and the show are two separate things. I promise. We totally get that this is basically Alan Ball’s thing to do with what he pleases, why else would we be so frustrated?
What we also seem to realize, that a lot of people don’t, is that when AB really created something i.e. the plot with Maryanne, he effs everything up. There’s a reason the first season is better than the second, and that’s because it stuck closer to the books, and had the feel of the books. HBO’s been replaying the first season, and I find that I actually want to watch all the scenes unlike in season two when I mentally tuned out everytime Maryanne or Bill and Sookie were on screen. A huge amount of the fans and pretty much all the critics agreed that the Maryanne storyline was bust.
Also, a problem with your statement about him using their basic personalities? He’s not even doing that much. He took their names, and that’s about it. He’s basically assassinated the characters we know and love from the books. THAT is the foundation of why we’re so ticked.
Happy New Year Lindsey and fellow True Blooderers,
My point is brief, you are RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.
The Maryann storyline, plot went on for way toooooooooooooooo long and I was always hoping ‘when is someone just going to kill her now’
Bearing in mind how little her actual presence was in the actual Books a liberty was taken here by AB and in my honest opinion, not for the better…………..
So that is my comment on the subject, I know people will say the Books and the Show are different, I am not stupid and am aware that Books are used as a synopsis for a film, show etc, but this enlargement of a character, again in my opinion, did us all no favours.
Ok, Lindsay, Missyella…
If you dislike the way True Blood is going so much, GO lobby HBO for an Eric-central show! That way you can enjoy Eric in peace and stop putting down True Blood!
Katra-
HAHAHAHAHA!! Are you even reading what we wrote? We don’t want an “Eric show”. Heck, I actually liked Bill and Sookie in the first season. I totally understand why women prefer Bill, and I don’t have a problem with it at all, so don’t turn this into a “you love Eric, and that’s all you want” thing. I just want to see characters that have some resemblance of the characters I know and love… the characters they’re BASED on.
In season two True Blood gain more viewers then season one and continued to do so EACH WEEK. Based on your assessment the numbers should have kept dropping each week as the Maryann storyline continued which in fact it did the opposite. The numbers speak for themselves. Millions of fans continued to tune in to True Blood and the numbers increased each week due to the intriguing storylines and to watch ALL the characters involved, not one specific character. Please do not imply that millions of fans are watching the show just for one specific character or that everyone watching the show came to watching the show via the books. Many have never read the books before tuning into the show.
Implying otherwise takes away the fantastic writing that Alan Ball and the creative team of writers have done (and have received awards and accolades as a result) and the wonderful, talented performances from ALL the actors. I have said this before and will say it again this is True Blood NOT the Sookie Stackhouse stories or Eric Northman stories or the Bill Compton stories. It is the collaboration of all the characters and actors involved that makes True Blood the success that it is.
Ollie Chong aka AdoreBill, Happy New Year,
Just to let you all know that not once did I stop watching the programme, even though we are so far behind in England.
I made it my duty to locate season 1 and season 2 and watched them avidly, but I will not deviate from my opinion that the Maryann storyline went on for too long, bearing in mind that she was not a central character until AB made her one, which as the Writer he is entitled to do.
Yes the figures may have gone up week by week, because we true True Blooders, kept watching and would remain watching.
I just hope that come season 3, Allan Ball is a little more thoughtful, again just my humble opinion yet again……….
You want the numbers to speak for themselves? Okay. Remember that episode where we FINALLY got some Eric and Sookie time via that dream sequence? That happened to be the most replayed DVR’d episode iirc, and the episode after had the highest ratings of the whole season. Why, I wonder? Maybe because they wanted more of what they saw the week before, but what they got was a bunch of crap, and the ratings did drop a bit the next week.
Alan Ball didn’t do us any favors with the Maryanne plot at all. I love the expanding he’s done on other minor book characters, and found the Jason with the Fellowship plot in Season 2 to be the best plot behind the Dallas one. It just seems to show that when AB sticks closer to the books, things just work.
I also don’t think I implied that everyone watches the show for one specific character, or that they came just from the books. I was speaking for Bookies, yes, so obviously I don’t include show-only’s in that.
I agree that AB and the writing team have done some great work ont he show, but I have to disagree with you on your last statement. The show is BASED on the Sookie Stackhouse novels. No, they aren’t the “Bill show” or the “Eric show” or even the “Sookie show”. But they are based on the SS novels, and they do follow the basic plotline. When it was like it was in S1, it wins. It was great. But something went wrong in S2, and it did suffer, regardless of the numbers.
As a non-reader of the books, WHY should I care what happens in Book 3? This is TRUE BLOOD, not a book series! They don’t share the same name, Alan has the creative rights to the show, and I believe that Charlaine Harris has said that she LIKES the show.
Not to say that CH is lying, but I don’t really like to use that CH says she likes the show as an excuse. Simply because she’d be an idiot to say otherwise. The show has brought her many readers and more money, she would never say anything against it.
As for why you should care? You shouldn’t if you’re not a book reader. This isn’t really about Show-only’s… so… yeah…
Lindsay, you DO realize you’re on a TRUE BLOOD fansite, right? This is about the SHOW, not the books… So I have a vested interest in this show, and the books are not really a part of that. They are a SEPARATE entity!
Katra…
I would believe they are separate entities if the only link they had was in the names of the characters. The fact is, that AB himself talks about what happens in the books, he uses plotlines from the books, and claims that these characters are tru to the books.
THAT, my dear, is exactly why we can bring in book discussion on a show site.
Now, if you have a vested interest in the show only, then why can’t you just agree to disagree and leave it be?
Lindsay
I’ll repeat myself again. This is a TRUE BLOOD fansite, and I have just as much right to comment here as you do. Your opinion isn’t the only one here, and your attitude that it is, to be frank, not very nice towards fans like me who haven’t read the books and don’t want to.
Lindsay, if you cared to talk to the rest of us like adults, we might listen to your opinion more than if you talk down to us and use derogatory names like “my dear.”
Also, I may not have really commented here before today, but I am a long-term lurker, and I’m pretty sure that AdoreBill has made comments before about not bringing the books up since they’re focused on the show here…
Katra-
I do sincerely apologize about how my attitude has come off, and I didn’t mean to be overly bitchy. I suppose I’m in a mood today, though that’s no excuse.
You do have a right to comment, but my point was that being a show-only there wasn’t really a whole lot for you to comment on in this conversation since I didn’t really include the show-only’s in my first assessment. I’m sorry if you felt that I didn’t want you to comment at all.
I am not really a lurker here, so I’ve never seen anyone ask not to bring up the books, though I would find it hard not to when the article specifically mentions them.
While you may feel that I’ve talked down to you, and I agree that I did come off that way, I ask you; How do you think Book Eric lovers feel most of the time? Especially when told to go lobby HBO for an Eric Only show, and imply that our opinions aren’t wanted. Isn’t that what you’re accusing me of? It’s pretty true that the Eric fans get the brunt of the hate from the fan community, and we hardly get a chance to speak intelligently to anyone who will actually listen with an open mind.
Katra,
I am going to say this and say this once to you.
I have been posting on this site with my other True Blood colleagues, friends call them what you will, since the first series started, so please do not make me or Lindsey out to be some strange “cannot see the Wood for the Trees” type of people!!.
If we are not allowed to have an opinion on character development, plot lines as we se them, then what is the point of having this type of forum, where we can discuss the programme in an adult fashion.
Yes we all love TB, but if you are saying that I should go lobby HBO from England because I dont like somethin, please get real!!!!
I am prepared to say goodbye to this site all the way from from England, yes England.
I will be sad, but I may have to do it.
I repeat ad nauseam I am NOT Stupid, I do know the difference betwen a Book and a TV Show.
I will not say it again!!!!
Missyella, don’t leave us. I personally will miss you and talking with you about the show we love. We all argue because we are all so passionate about this show. It happens, it has happened to me also. Just take a deep breath. You will feel better tomorrow.
Please im a big fan of bill and sookie, they should be together.
You’re definitely not the only one who believes that!