Exclusive: Stephen Moyer Post Mortems True Blood Finale, Says Sookie Isn’t Safe From Evil Bill
Now that True Blood has aired its (quite literally) explosive season finale, Stephen Moyer can speak a whole lot more freely than he could in Part 1 of our two-part Q&A. For instance, not only can he get into the technical challenges of transforming Bill into, shall we say, Billith but also the psychological underpinnings of the scene. Plus, he can share his thoughts on whether Bill is even Bill anymore and if his upcoming reign of terror will mean the end of his on-again/off-again relationship with Sookie (and maybe even the end of Sookie herself?!).
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TVLINE | As billed, the finale featured a lot of blood.
We didn’t skimp on the death. [Laughs] During the table read for the episode, we were all going, “Oh my f—ing God!” It was like every five seconds somebody exploded. And I know what that means to shoot an episode that has that many deaths in it. Every single time you have to replace the body with a bag of blood, which we call a ‘Goo Drop.’ The ‘Good Drop’ is something like 20 to 30 gallons of blood being smashed down on the floor. And they came up with an even better way of doing it where they jettison 15 gallons of blood into the air as 16 gallons of blood falls down onto that blood, so you get this splatter effect that goes out wide. But that takes the best part of two or three hours per hit. So when we all read that episode, we were going, “Okay, three hours, six hours, nine hours… that’s a day, that’s another day.”
TVLINE | How long did it take to shoot the episode?
It was three very intense weeks. We’re very lucky on our show because we get to shoot like 20, 25-day episodes, which I don’t think anybody else on television gets to do
TVLINE | Let’s talk about the final scene — what was the makeup process like?
It’s a long process, but ultimately not something we haven’t done before. Sitting in a chair having your body painted is something I’ve done quite a few times on the show. You spend three or four hours in the chair and then you come out looking like somebody else. One of the most interesting parts of the shot was actually during the transformation before the final moment. There’s a lot of tiny little tubes that you have all over your body and then they pump blood through the tubes, and that’s the cross moment where Bill as we know him [turns] into what he becomes. And that was amazing.
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TVLINE | What does he become? And is Bill really dead?
I don’t think so. Certainly, when I read it I went through a moment of, “Oh my f—ing God – Jesus!” And certainly a couple of people — Alex [Skarsgard] being one of them — called me going, “Have you read it yet?!” It’s pretty out there… One of the things I wanted to do was show fear in Bill’s eyes. Show that he’s absolutely clear that what he’s doing is the right thing until it starts to happen, and then we see the vulnerability in him of, “F–k, what have I done?” And that was something I hope comes across. We [wanted] to freakin’ terrify the audience.
TVLINE | This obviously sets Bill up to be an even bigger villain next season.
I think you’re right. I haven’t seen anything for next season so I have no idea, but yes. [Laughs] I think it would be safe to assume that what we thought was Bill is no longer Bill.
TVLINE | So it’s within the realm of possibility that he could do to Sookie what he did to Jessica — only worse. How do you feel about that?
If that’s dramatically compelling and fun and great to watch, then so be it. That’s awesome.
TVLINE | With that cliffhanger, Alan Ball is setting up a killer Season 6 for you — but now he’s leaving the show. Any concern there?
We had some inkling [he was planning to leave] around Season 4. We weren’t even sure he was going to do Season 5, so we were very excited to have him for another season. But we did know this was coming. He’s just extraordinary. He’s this wonderful, complex, funny puppet master; we all adore him. Do we want to see him go? No way. But Mark Hudis, who is taking over, is an excellent writer. He came in during Season 4. He understands the characters, he has great wit. I had the great pleasure of directing his episode this season — Episode 8 — so I worked very closely with him. He has a fantastic take on what our show is. And Alan would’ve never given his baby over to someone he didn’t trust.
Very interesting to read this interview vs.what Alan Ball says about season 6. Obviously there is hope that Bill can be saved from himself, but does he want to be saved? I am really looking forward to Warlo next season. And I really miss Russell.
The only way Bill will be saved or redeemed is through his death IMO.
I really do think Bill will be back to his old self next season.
Michael you didn’t ask him about why we got to see a full frontal Lilith so many times but not a full frontal Bill in the last scene???
maybe the actor wasn’t comfortable with the element of full frontal nudity, I know that all the actors on the show are pretty forthcoming with the nude scenes however maybe they feel there is a limit? i’m sure if lilith was a male they would have found a male actor comfortable playing that role. stephen moyer may have just asked not to, they have to respect his wishes.
Exactly!!! We better see full frontal Bill!!! We saw Lillith’s stuff more times than I can count, it’s only fair!!!
Yes!!! Full frontal Bill!!!!!!!!!!! :D
I agree. Not fair that there was a full frontal Lillith every time she appeared, but no full-frontal Bill. Even if were to wear a prosthetic, that would be acceptable.
I hope next season they focus more on the main players, Bill Sookie and Eric, Pam and Merlotts crew. Then of course I need to know ho Warlo is
Maybe Bill is Warlo…?
thats what i was thinking
Not sure how that would work out since the scroll was 300 years old and Bill’s under 200 years old.
Bill was a civil war soldier when he was turned, so 1860 or so. That faerie contract was in 1702. So not Bill
yeah but maybe warlow isn’t physical, and now he’s a part of bill some how. . .
I doubt that, warlow has nothing to do with Bill.
nora had nothing to do with warlow either, and yet their storylines magically connected. it’s TB, they do what they want (cartman style)
Seeing Bill dead as a puddle of blood was one of the best parts of the episode.
Now he’s back as a God, Ugh.
Alan Ball did seem to have a bit of man crush on Stephen Moyer / Bill from the beginning. He even made him a God before he left the show.
I didn’t think Bill could be more obnoxious than he was this season. Looks like I could be wrong.
The whole season wasn’t really doing it for me, but these last 2 eps were great!!
Hope season 6 will rock again.
Will miss Russel
I agree this whole season let me down.I hope season 6 is better or it’s gonna loose a lot of loyal watchers.I hate Bill being mean and like a comment above would love to see the main cast members more,Bill,Sookie,Eric.Alcide,Merlots,etc.To many new people to keep up with,not one episode excited me like all the years before,except the last one,my husband even stopped watching half way through the season.I’m not ready to give up yet,let’s hope things get better next season.
Being mean? A bit of an understatement. He’s a psychopath. And a lot of people saw Bill’s eventual fall coming. He was always a weak and manipulative character who betrayed everyone he ever claimed loyalty to. This was the last straw.
The only possible redemption for him will be death.
The finale was Bill’s last chance, hence the title “Save Yourself”. He made his choice.
I wasn’t.going to say.anything at1st but this was one of the best season’s they have but I am sick and tired of hearing you guys dog this season. This was a well written story line because it all had to with change. And it did focus more on the characters. Sooki wanted to be by herself for a change and not following after some dude and find out more about being a fairy. And on the verge of doing that her and Jason are adout to find out what happened to there parents. Tara (a main character) turned into something she hates most and at the end if the season fell in Lo e with Pam of all people.
I think Warlo is Russel’s maker. He has to be an old – very old – vampire because you can’t have a vamp show without the old ones…
killing russel was a big mistake one of the best charecters on the show
He had to go. It wouldn’t be right for him to stay. He’s the oldest and most powerful so either dead or entrapped. Sin the latter was done already and the character was pretty mucho worn out, I really think it was ok for them to kill him off. Or it would be chasing Sookie and faries and killing everything over and over.
I love this show but this season was a bit….stupid..really…the last two episode were the best and thats about it…although if I was a fairy, I would have 40 children!!!
hehe Bilith
Another poster on another board said Billith, too. Very funny.
Wasnt this plot done before last year with that ancient witch possessing Marnie?
– Also, this is such a rip off of MIB / LOCKE from Lost.
all in all i was happy with this season’s TB. i thought it was much better than last season.
can anyone comment on how far the tv show is from the books?
anyway, looking forward to next season!
The show is now too far from the books to compare them.
The show was pretty true to the books up to the end of season 4 (amnesiac Eric was just as funny to read about as to see on screen), though the show got into the fairies a lot earlier than the books do.
Pretty much all of season 5 is a complete departure from the books except for Sweetie killing shifters (though she was a cook at Merlotte’s not a KKK Dragon) and the politics of the Shreveport pack (though the packmaster fight in the books was between Alcide’s dad and a guy named Patrick, not JB). There was nothing of the Vampire Authority/Lillith/Billith in the books. In fact, after book three, there’s very little Bill.
I think at this point they’re still taking some of their inspiration from the books but they’re definitely going their own way on the show.
only season 1 is a bit faithful to the books, and then it went haywire from there. it was eric who staked Long Shadow in the books and there’s a whole plot that sprouted from there involving a vampire named Charles Twinning but you wont see that because on TV it was bill who saved Sookie. as a result, bill had to make jessica (jessica isnt in the books). the whole plot about the maenad is also different, and there was no antonia witch in the books at all. the life of the queen of louisiana, who godric is, Sookie’s fairy granddad, Claudine, even Russel Edgington etc etc it’s all different. and there are villains in the books that haven’t made an appearance yet, like Victor Madden and Felipe De Castro. and Sookie’s weretiger boyfriend Quinn is in the books but not on TV.
but the fact that they’re different works for me. i love Sookie’s humor in the books (she’s the narrator after all), though her fun spirit kind of faded towards the last books in the series. i still look forward to the final and 13th book due next year, and i hope Sookie ends up with…. Sam. i don’t see her being happy with a vampire really. see how different the storylines are? :)
i love the dialogues and the gratuitous sex and violence of the TV version though :) i think the TV writers are wicked. i can’t forget how Eric killed the warlock Roy by literally ripping his heart out of his chest and then calmly sipping blood from one of the torn arteries, like drinking juice from a straw. i loved RE’s dialogue on TV after he killed the newscaster. i loved the whole Bill Compton sad story of the night he was made. there’s so much to love about True Blood, without having to be disappointed at how different it it from the Southern Vampires book series :)
Everyone else has great points on the books & the show, but the idea of moving away from the books is quite simply to help them retain a wide audience, to keep both those who’ve read the books & those who only watch the show, interested. I do agree that this season wasn’t the best, but hopefully they redeem themselves in the next season. I like that the series has moved away from the books, I
Sure I’d have been bored by now if they followed them exactly.
Up until this season they were pretty spot on. I like that they’re trying to keep it interesting but there was stuff in the books I was really looking forward too and now it looks like they’ve veered so far off track there is no going back.
Best season ever, BEST FINALE ever. I’m glad they tied some of the story lines up and didn’t leave too much hanging. I’m fearing for Luna’s mortality for sure but Pam and Tara should be hot and heavy next season.
I too loved the finale. I thought it was the best finale ever.
RIP Russell.
I’m really going to miss Russell Edgington / Denis O’ Hare.
He was hilarious and a great actor.
Agree about Dennis and his Russell was fun but it was time for his part to end. And it’s fitting that Eric finally got his revenge.
I really agree. I loved to hate him! He will be missed
LOVED the finale, loved that Eric got his revenge on Russell finally, loved Billith, loved Pam and Tara, just stepped way up, it was really great. Hope next season gets a laser focus on Eric, Bill, Sookie, Pam, Tara and Jason and Jessica, also Layfayette. The core people. Don’t waste time on that multiple birth fairy line, that was the one dumb and useless part of the finale. Will Anna be back? Will her babies be born by when they start shooting? Hope so. I have minor interest in the wolves and shifters but like Sam and Luna.
Yes Anna will be back, and her twins will be born way before they start shooting Season 6.
I think that Alan ball leaving the show is a great thing because quite frankly he has ruined the show i think. Turning the Bill Compton character into what he turned him into is just sad. I think that he left a big mess for the new writer too try and fix
Uh, the new writer will continue on Alan’s path. And once again, do not understand how people did not see Bill’s eventual fall and choice coming for a while now. I didn’t know it would happen this way, but I knew it would happen. The writing made that pretty obvious, they’ve been giving clues all along. It’s not the writers’ fault you didn’t see pay attention to the narrative that culminated in this finale.
See I completely disagree with you. I don’t think it’s fair to say that someone wasn’t paying attention or that it was pretty obvious that Bill would go down this path. It seems like you’re calling us stupid if we didn’t see it coming. Not sure it that was your intention, but that’s how it comes off. I’ve watched every episode and thought Bill turning into THAT bad of a bad guy this season was a little fast. Last year he was willing to die for Sookie and this year he became a religious fanatic at the drop of a hat. I can see that his fall was coming in the season finale, but his overall descent into it seemed pretty fast. Then again I thought Sookie falling for Eric last year came out of nowhere too, so what do I know? I just think sometimes episodes can be interpreted in a different way.
They really jumped the shark, man. I hate seeing Bill like this. Don’t like him as an evil entity.
However, I must say, that last scene with Bill rising out of the blood was freakin’ scary and creepy. The best part was Eric saying, “Sookie…..RUN!” and she ran and he swiftly followed. I think he was as freaked out as she.
Did I miss a scene, or did Sam, Luna and Emma escape?
Disappointed with this season overall. Kept wanting to look forward to episodes like I did years ago. Sad to see Russell go, and sad to see Bill come back.
Why people want bill compton back? He was a whiny weak vampire who I want to slap so many times!! billith much more interesting, Stephen moyer killed it this season, he is so much better as a villain, can he be more crazy? I though maryanne was crazy in s2 then we saw russell rip a man spine in tv, I wonder if billith can top that
Bill’s turning evil was extremely out of character. It disappointed the audience– the majority of which, I think, really enjoyed seeing Bill and Eric work together against evil. The past 5 seasons have revolved around Bill and Sookie’s love story, and Bill’s effort to preserve his humanity, and Sookie’s life, at all costs. To unceremoniously make Bill a scion of evil makes no sense. Alan Ball’s bias against organized Christianity was most clear this season, especially in Bill’s quoting from the vampire bible in support of his rejection of Sookie as an abomination. The series is irrevocably ruined unless, and this is a big unless, Bill remains conflicted, the plot line revolves around this conflict, and Bill, ultimately, is redeemed. If Bill becomes a maenad-type evil creature, a Lilith solely bent on evil, then TB will probably lose much of its audience.
I don’t see why everyone is so hung up on bill. I don’t like sookie with bill. Maybe thats cause of his character from the books, idk. But he was boring, like cry me a river. I like home evil maybe he will be more interesting. I like sookie with Eric or Quinn. At least Eric has depth, he peels like an onion. Quinn was hot in the books which was great. Bills always been a dick, i hope he dies.
yes James I like a conflicted Bill clinging to his humanity and hate to see him taken over by the Lilith demon. I don’t see any bias against Christianity. I’m catholic and am used to Catholic iconography being exploited by film makers and why not it is very photogenic. The TB team exploit southern baptist visual themes as part of a rich tapestry to depict an epic strggle between good vs evil, dark vs light, ancient vs modern spiritual themes. Bill had enough residual ligt in him to be taken by Sookie’s blood to the fae. Will Lilith’s blood conquor his humanity completely? I hope not. Give me back my honourable Bill Compton.
anyone else think jason was bad ass in this episode. little one man army there! fellowship of the sun taught him well!
I didn’t think season 5 was bad, but I definitely did not like anything about the authority. I wish it hadn’t taken away from the main characters’ stories. I missed seeing Sookie with Bill or Eric. I prefer her with Eric. Like Tara much better as a vampire. Pam is awesome as usual. Don’t like Luna character at all but guess they need something for Sam to do, although it’s boring. I know that I’ll watch over again as we all know, waiting sucks. Looking forward to season 6.
Word for word exactly my thoughts on this season.