May Be the Last Time Writer Tells When it Truly Felt Like the Show Was Ending:

For fans of True Blood, finding out the news last year that HBO had not renewed their popular vampire series, was probably when they felt like the show was truly ending. Then, when the theme song played for the first time on Season 7, once more it felt like the end all over again. But what about the crew? When did they feel like the show had come to an end? For Episode 7 (entitled May Be the Last Time) writer, Craig Chester, and show runner, Brian Buckner, they pointed out a particular moment in Episode 7 as their defining ‘end’ moment. It involved Andy (Chris Bauer) crying as he looked over a lake in Oklahoma:

When Bucky and I saw that scene for the first time edited, Bucky turned to me and said, “You know, for the first time in the series, I got the feeling that it’s ending.” There was something about that scene that hit both of us in a way that this is ending. Arlene and Andy started this series off as comic relief. And what I loved about writing this episode is it’s the episode where they both kind of come full circle as fully fleshed-out three-dimensional human beings… When we shot that scene, everybody was so torn up watching Chris, because it’s Andy. Andy’s crying. Oh my god, it’s really bad if Andy’s crying. And her reaction to that is our reaction to that—the first time you see your man cry, it’s a big deal. That’s one of my favorite scenes in this season because it’s very real. It’s what we’re going for this season—we’re getting into the characters. There’s a lot of love for these characters, and it’s really important that that come across because we’re saying goodbye to them. I think that’s why Bucky said, “I feel like that’s the first time I realized this show is ending.”

For Episode 7, there was plenty for Craig Chester to discuss, including why they decided to revisit Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) running through the cemetery in a white dress:

A lot of discussion went into that scene, which I think some people have been waiting for for a very long time and others have maybe not. [Laughs] We did shoot, shot-for-shot, Sookie running to Bill’s house in a white dress, so it is literally a callback to episode six of season 1. But one of the things that we talked about is that these are two very different people now that are reconnecting, who obviously have this deep love for each other. It’s loaded with this history between them. That was something that Anna [Paquin] and Stephen [Moyer] beautifully conveyed, having played these characters for so long and knowing exactly where they’re at as they rekindle their feelings for each other.

This scene, which leads to the romantic pairing of Sookie and Bill once more, had left many Team Bill fans very uneasy about the conclusion of True Blood. Episode 7 seems a tad bit early in the final season to get Sookie and Bill back together – especially for a permanent pairing. There is even speculation that Bill really will die of Hep-V now. Craig remained tight-lipped over this possibility, instead pointing out that they remained vested in that relationship and were committed to exploring the complexities of it. What ever that may mean.

There is plenty more Craig Chester had to say about Episode 7 of HBO’s True Blood Season 7 and you can view his interview with EW in it’s entirety by clicking here.

Source: EW – ‘True Blood’ postmortem: Inside Sookie’s ‘May Be the Last Time’ choice

(Photo Credit: HBO Inc.)