List of True Blood episodes

Two years after vampires have "come out of the coffin", the life of 25-year-old waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is changed when 173-year-old Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) walks into Merlotte's Bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Meanwhile, Sookie's friend Tara (Rutina Wesley) comes to work at Merlotte's while Sookie's tomcatting brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

After saving Sookie from the Rattray's revenge, Bill uses his vampire blood to heal Sookie and it leaves her with some strange side effects. In return, Sookie invites him to her house for a get-to-know-you gathering with Jason, Tara and Gran (Lois Smith). Jason is released from custody, having only been a person of interest in the murder investigation of Maudette. He continues his amorous ways with Dawn, discovering her to also have had encounters with a vampire. Tara expresses her interest in Jason, while the Rattrays are killed by an apparent freak tornado. Later, out looking for Bill, Sookie comes across strange vampires.

Bill must suddenly lay claim to Sookie in order to protect her from a cadre of his vampire acquaintances. At Merlotte's, Sam (Sam Trammell) and Tara seek refuge from their respective problems, and Jason asks Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) for medicinal help. Dawn is found dead in her bed after an intimate encounter and falling-out with Jason.

When another Bon Temps resident is found murdered under suspicious circumstances, Jason is once again taken into custody and it is up to Sookie to uncover the identity of the real killer and clear her brother's name. Bill takes Sookie to the vampire bar Fangtasia, where she is introduced to Eric (Alexander Skarsgård), a thousand-year-old Viking vampire and Bill's superior.

Spurned by an exasperated Sookie, Bill ends up winning over Adele's church audience with his vivid recollections from the Civil War, though Andy and Bud remain suspicious. Sam tries to make the most of his fading opportunity with Sookie, though she's clearly not ready to commit. Ignoring Tara's rebuff, Lafayette convinces Jason to give vampire blood, aka "V juice," another shot. Alone at home, Bill remembers the painful wartime incident that parted him from his beloved family and changed his fate forever.

Numbed by tragedy, Sookie looks for refuge from the cacophony of her friends' and neighbors' inner voices. After lashing out at his sister and decking Andy, Jason wrestles with withdrawal symptoms from his V juice habit. Tara resists the overtures of her alcoholic mother Lettie Mae, who's trying to rid herself of a demon and needs her daughter's help (and money). Sam and Tara make a connection in their mutual search for "something real."

Sookie's painful childhood revelation about her Uncle Bartlett spurs Bill into vengeful action. Despite her skepticism, Tara agrees to pay for an exorcism to purge Lettie Mae of a demon. In search of V juice, Jason travels to Fangtasia, where he bonds with an adventurous young woman named Amy. A trio of rednecks decide to exact vigilante justice on a pack of vampires who crashed Merlotte's in search of their wayward mate Bill.

Sookie tries to hold herself together in the wake of another possible tragedy. Tara is amazed by Lettie Mae's turnaround, and considers similar therapy for herself after lashing out at Sookie and Sam. Jason's new squeeze Amy charms the crowd at Merlotte's, but shows a darker side to Jason when their V juice well runs dry. Rene (Michael Raymond James) pops the question to Arlene while Sookie is baby-sitting her kids. Later, at Bill's request on behalf of Eric, Sookie agrees to use her gifts to help Eric, a powerful vampire sheriff, root out a thief at Fangtasia.

Bill breaks a vampire taboo in saving Sookie from vampire Longshadow's attack, and must pay a steep price as a result. Jason and Amy break their own taboo by kidnapping a vampire named Eddie in order to harvest his blood. With Lettie Mae apparently cured, a skeptical Tara consults with Miss Jeanette about exorcising her own inner demon. Sookie returns home to yet another horrific tragedy, prompting Bill to enlist an unlikely bodyguard - Sam - to protect her while he's away.

Caught in a compromising position, Sam shares a secret with an incredulous Sookie. Thinking she's been purged of her demon, Tara celebrates with Lettie Mae - but goes off the deep end when she uncovers Miss Jeanette's true intentions. Sookie has a disturbing revelation during Arlene and Rene's engagement party at Merlotte's. Jason and Amy debate what to do with Eddie. Tara speeds into a bizarre roadside encounter that lands her in jail. At a vampire tribunal to decide his fate, Bill faces a harsh penalty for his offense, but the magister decides on a more creative sentence involving a human teen named Jessica.

Bill fulfills the conditions of the tribunal's sentence, although he and Eric find that Jessica doesn't quite turn (out) as expected. Trying to solve the mystery behind her most recent vision, Sookie heads to a pie shop with Sam and later puts the squeeze on a philandering police officer to get info on a murder suspect. Jason helps clean up Amy's bloody mess, worrying about their future, but is unable to break away. Tara's anger over Lettie Mae's refusal to bail her out of jail is tempered when Maryann Forrester, a wealthy "social worker," comes to her rescue. Disgusted by the hypocrisy of a vamp-bashing state senator, Lafayette decides to pay him a warning visit on the campaign trail. In Bill's absence, a vulnerable Sookie finds comfort in Sam. A distraught, self-doubting Jason finds himself in hot water with Sheriff Bud and Detective Andy, again.

Sookie finds a link to the string of killings in Bon Temps - and is soon in the murderer's cross hairs again. Tara decides to make the most of her second chance with Maryann. Jason finds a new calling after anti-vampire zealot Orry visits him in jail. Bill tempts fate during his latest attempt to save Sookie. Sam is perturbed by a surprise encounter with an old acquaintance. Lafayette finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Another shocking murder in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana has the entire parish - Tara and her mother in particular - reeling. Sookie and Bill's relationship is put to the test with the presence of newly made teen vampire Jessica and Sam's sexual past with Maryanne starts to be revealed. Meanwhile, Jason becomes more involved with the Fellowship of the Sun when he is offered a place at the Light of Day leadership camp and Eggs makes advances on Tara. It is revealed that Lafayette, and several others, have been kidnapped by Eric and are being held in a basement against their will.

After making up with Bill, Sookie suggests that he take it a little easier on Jessica as she is just a teenager. Bill tries to convince Sookie that a vampire as new as her is not capable of controlling her impulses and that she could be dangerous. En route to the Light of Day Leadership conference Jason becomes fast-friends with an anti-vampire zealot named Luke, but after Jason makes a good impression on Steve Newlin, and Sarah Newlin in particular, Luke’s good natured friendship turns to bitter jealousy and he tells Jason that he doesn’t belong there. Eric approaches Bill and demands that he and Sookie help in finding a vampire sherrif named Godric, who has gone missing in Dallas. Meanwhile, Tara finds out more about Eggs' past as a criminal and he makes it clear that he is interested in her. After a failed attempt to escape from the basement of Fangtasia, Lafayette is badly injured and asks Eric, Pam and Chow to turn him into a vampire. Fangs bared, they ferociously bite him. Jessica realizes she misses her family after her parents, who think she has just gone missing, appear on TV. She asks Sookie to take her to see her family and Sookie agrees, on the condition that Jessica stay in the car. Although she agrees, Jessica eventually ignores Sookie and drops in on her old family. When her father comes home, he angrily accuses her of putting the family through hell, and even though Sookie tries to stop her, Jessica attacks her father and threatens to kill him for all the times he beat her. But Bill shows up and glamours his way into the house just in time. The episode ends on an ominous note, with Bill throwing Sookie out of the house barking at her that he has to "clean up her mess".

After Sookie is savagely attacked by a mysterious creature, Bill enlists Eric's help to save her life. Sam decides to hit the road after snapping at Tara and Daphne, the new Merlotte's waitress. Maryanne continues to work her magic on the locals, Hoyt in particular, Jason has his doubts about the Fellowship of the Sun's anti-vampire views and Tara's attraction to Eggs is disrupted by a mysterious fog at one of Maryanne's parties.

With Jessica in tow, Bill and Sookie head to Dallas to carry out Eric’s vampire-reconnaissance mission – but a surprise awaits them at the airport. At the Light of Day Institute, Jason falls victim to a practical joke, but has the last laugh when the Newlins anoint him for a higher calling. Maryann throws Tara a birthday party at Sookie’s, attracting much of Bon Temps to its Bacchanalian revelry. Sam postpones his departure from town to attend the bash, connecting with Daphne in the process. Having barely escaped Fangtasia, Lafayette finds himself reluctantly pulled back into Eric’s orbit.

In Dallas, Sookie connects with one of her own, then joins Bill and Eric for a strategic summit at the lair of the missing vampire, Godric (Allan Hyde), attended by his lieutenants, Stan (Ed Quinn) and Isabel (Valerie Cruz). Meanwhile, Jason shows his mettle at a Light of Day boot camp, and is rewarded for his hard work with a gift from Sarah (Anna Camp). Rebuffed by Tara in her relocation efforts, Maryann decides to cast her spell on the staff of Merlotte’s, softening Tara up towards her new “family.” Eric shares a little-known secret about his past with Bill, and Sookie makes a decision that might solve the Godric mystery – or get her killed.

Accompanied by Isabel’s human boyfriend Hugo (Christopher Gartin), Sookie embarks on a dangerous mission to locate Godric. Meanwhile, Bill is shocked when a vampire from his distant, more violent past resurfaces in Dallas. In Bon Temps, Daphne presses Sam to get comfortable in his own skin(s); Hoyt (Jim Parrack) continues his unlikely courtship of Jessica; Andy (Chris Bauer) interrogates Lafayette about his disappearance; and Tara and Eggs (Mehcad Brooks) take a detour while on a road trip. At the Light of Day camp, Jason faces difficult emotional and physical choices.