Ranking The ‘True Blood’ Big Bads From Least To Most Imposing


While True Blood may have hooked viewers with blood, boobs, and banter, the over the top and memorable characters were why people kept tuning in. However, as much as we cheered for our heroes and dissected love triangles, some of the most compelling characters were the show’s villains. While there are a whole stable of secondary baddies (Sup, Franklin?), every season had a couple of Big Bads who brought mayhem to Bon Temps and beyond.

True Blood (which is available to stream on HBO Now) may have gone the way of Godric by now, but the memory of the show’s villains remain, so let’s take a look back at the Big Bads of the show, ranked from least to most imposing.

12. The Ifrit (Season 5)

Accidentally unleashed by poor Terry Bellefluer (Todd Lowe) and his old war buddy (Scott Foley) in a mission gone tragically awry, the Ifrit/smoke monster never quite found its footing as a menace on the show. Even in the supernatural world of True Blood, this monster was one step outside of the suspension of disbelief.

11. Mr. Gus (Season 7)

The shadowy Yakuza cabal is a go-to for many shows (*cough* Daredevil *cough*), but for some reason, it’s a tricky trope to pull off. Mr. Gus (Will Yun Lee) was overshadowed by the spread of Hep V and the blonde and bubbly menace of Sarah Newlin. If there had been more time to flesh out his character, things may have been different, but there was only room for one Big Bad by the end of season 7.

10. Queen Mab (Season 4)

Queen Mab had the potential to be one of True Blood‘s all-time great villains. While many (including Sookie) may have rolled their eyes at the inclusion of fairies at first, the “harvest” wound up being one of the most chilling things the show introduced. Unfortunately, she was disposed of quickly and we didn’t get to see the extent of her powers. Rebecca Wisocky was intimidating (especially when her demonic form was revealed), but alas, our time with the faerie queen was cut too short.

9. Lilith/Billith (Season 5, 6)

As the very first vampire, Lilith (Jessica Clarke) was shrouded in mystery and her bloody presence was truly unsettling. However, when she possessed Bill (Stephen Moyer), nearly elevating him to a godlike status, things went a bit haywire. The whole appeal of Bill was his desperation to cling to his last bits of humanity but when he got a taste of Lilith’s powers, that all got tossed aside, disturbing some fans.

8. Warlow (Season 5, 6)

Over the course of True Blood, Sookie managed to attract her fair share of admirers, but the vampire/faerie hybrid that slaughtered her parents was easily one of the most disturbing. Warlow (Robert Kazinsky) haunted the Stackhouse family’s steps for years before coming to claim Sookie as his mate, but with the help of her wonderfully deranged fairy grandfather (Rutger Hauer), she managed to stop Warlow’s plots, slay the immortal creature, and take back her own agency.

7. Roman/Salome (Season 5)

The vampire bureaucracy can get a little confusing, but Christopher Meloni and Valentina Cervi managed to make The Authority memorable and more than a little horrifying. The way they handled the Lilith situation and maintained law and order in the vampire community was certainly questionable, but as they say, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When faced with the allure of Lilith’s power, they were destroyed.

6. Lorena Krasiki (Season 3)

There are crazy exes, and then there’s Lorena (Mariana Klaveno). Not only did she turn Bill into a vampire, she managed to mess up the life that he was building with Sookie as well. As she teamed up with Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare) to take control of the vampire community, Bill was her prize. She also managed to unleash Bill’s self-loathing to such a degree that viewers were treated to a truly horrifying, head-turning sex scene. Seriously, try forgetting that one, folks.

5. Marnie Stonebrook (Season 4)

Honestly, Marnie was one of the villains with the most understandable agenda. She was possessed by the spirit of Antonia, whose family had been mercilessly slaughtered by vampires. The witch storyline may have had its frustrating moments, but Fiona Shaw was absolutely transfixing in the role, and had some of the best final words of anyone of the series: “Oh… this f*cking sucks.”

4. Maryann Forrester (Season 2)

Maryann may not have been as powerful as some of the other villains, but Michelle Forbes played her with such fascinating steel that she goes down as one of the best Big Bads the show ever spawned. Sure, she knew how to throw a top-notch orgy, but there was the whole human sacrifice and mind control thing that put a damper on the fun.

3. Rene Lenier (Season 1)

Rene may have just been a monster of the human variety, there was a real world terror to his villainy. Michael Raymond-James fooled viewers up until the bitter end — who would have suspected that the charming Rene was wandering Bon Temps killing women? The smiling exterior eventually betrayed the true face of a killer, who so deeply hated the women who associated with vampires that he was certain they should be eradicated. Sometimes the scariest monsters are the ones who could be real.

2. Sarah Newlin (Season 2, 6, 7)

When the Fellowship of the Sun was introduced in season two, no one would have guessed where Steve and Sarah Newlin would have ended up: he a gay vampire and she a power hungry villain who almost wiped out the vampire race with Hep V. Anna Camp flipped the stereotype of the fawning Southern woman and turned her preacher’s wife into a power hungry social climber who was on an almost overwhelming drive to wipe out the vampires. Hep V may have been her weapon of choice, but the bigotry was almost as insidious.

1. Russell Edgington (Season 3, 5)

True Blood had some truly excellent villains over its seven seasons, but no one holds a candle to the seductive, genteel, and terrifying Russell. The show was wise not to kill him off outright after season three, hiding him under a mountain of concrete instead of having him face the true death. Denis O’Hare played the Southern gentleman who hated humanity almost as much as he loved exotic blood to an absolute tee, and he was so compelling that you almost had to root for him. And then he ripped out a news anchor’s spine and gave fans a horrifying True Blood moment for the ages.

Honorable Mention: Eric Northman

While not strictly a villain, few characters wreaked as much havoc as Alexander Skarsgard’s Eric Northman. He transitioned more into hero territory as the series went on, but he did lock up and torture Lafayette in season one. He may have left his outright villainy behind with his track suits, but there would always be more than a little darkness in this vampire.

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