True Blood: Season 5 (2012)

SEASON:

Season 5
True Blood

Critics Consensus

Its sheen may have worn off a bit, but True Blood's fifth season piles on the kooky storylines while maintaining its cheeky brand of Southern Gothic drama.

83%

TOMATOMETER

Critic Ratings: 18

68%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 226

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Episodes

1. Turn! Turn! Turn!
Air date: Jun 10, 2012

Season 5 Premiere. Sookie and Lafayette struggle with what to do about Tara; Bill and Eric are visited by the Vampire Authority; Terry's PTSD is reignited; Alcide warns Sookie about the recently resurfaced Russell Edgington.

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2. Authority Always Wins
Air date: Jun 17, 2012

Tara resurfaces in Bon Temps. Bill and Eric meet Salome. Pam recalls her human life, and her first encounter with Eric. Werewolves J.D. and Rikki pay tribute to Marcus, but Alcide refuses to participate or to take his rightful place as the new packmaster.

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3. Whatever I Am, You Made Me
Air date: Jun 24, 2012

Bill and Eric barter for their lives. Salome and Roman enlist Steve Newlin to be the friendly face of vampirism in the face of Russell's return. After Tara bolts, Sookie goes to Fangtasia for help. Andy's dalliance with Holly comes back to bite him.

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4. We'll Meet Again
Air date: Jul 1, 2012

Eric and Bill have doubts they will survive the search for Russell. Sookie opens up to Alcide. Lafayette unwittingly puts Sookie's life in danger. Roman and Salome continue their interrogation of Nora--and find a possible traitor within the Council.

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5. Let's Boot and Rally
Air date: Jul 8, 2012

Bill and Eric enlist Sookie to probe for clues on Russell's hiding place. Unable to deal with the demon magic inside him, Lafayette calls out to Jesus' spirit for help. Jason wakes to a disturbing dream; Jessica advises Tara on adjusting to vampire life.

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6. Hopeless
Air date: Jul 15, 2012

The aftermath at the asylum leaves Sookie with an eerie sense of foreboding. At Fangtasia, Pam breaks up a vamp-girl fight. Lafayette visits Ruby Jean. Alcide challenges JD; Roman lays out his plans to take out Russell.

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7. In the Beginning
Air date: Jul 22, 2012

Salome reveals her true allegiances; Sam sniffs out several shifter shooters; Hoyt finds new friends; Alcide prepares to face-off with J.D.; Andy attempts to reconnect with Bud; Lafayette finds an unlikely ally; and Arlene takes a sentimental journey.

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8. Somebody That I Used to Know
Air date: Jul 29, 2012

At the Authority, the Chancellors revel in the afterglow of Lilith-induced carnage; Sookie and Jason visit the site of their parents' deaths, with shocking results; Lafayette leads a seance; J.D. ups the stakes of his fight with Alcide.

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9. Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Air date: Aug 5, 2012

As the Authority proceeds with Lilith's plan, Eric plots his escape. Gran directs Sookie to a clue to her parents' murderer. Andy and Jason search for leads to the identities of the people behind the shifter killings. Alcide recalls his pack induction.

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10. Gone, Gone, Gone
Air date: Aug 12, 2012

Bill spins rising vampire violence in the Authority's favor. Meanwhile, Nora tries to convert Eric to Lilith's gospel; Jason finds a mysterious scroll; and new Vampire Sheriff of Area 5 Elijah pushes Pam and Tara to obey a new mandate.

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Tv Season Info

Sookie Stackhouse and her supernatural cohorts have a disturbing new political power play to deal with in Season 5--a growing war between the Vampire Authority and 'vampire fundamentalists'--and the outcome could decide the fate of human existence.

Cast & Crew

Kristin Bauer
Pam De Beaufort
Chris Bauer
Jim Parrack
Hoyt Fortenberry
Nelsan Ellis
Lafayette Reynolds
Anna Paquin
Janina Gavankar
Luna Garza
Lauren Bowles
Holly Cleary
Lucy Griffiths
Nora Nora Gainesborough
Rutina Wesley
Michael McMillian
Steve Newlin
Stephen Moyer
Joe Manganiello
Carrie Preston
Scott Foley
Ryan Kwanten
Jason Stackhouse
Deborah Ann Woll
Jessica Hamby
Alexander Skarsgård
Todd Lowe
Terry Bellefleur
Sam Trammell
Sam Merlotte
Valentina Cervi
Salome Agrippa
Alan Ball
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Critic Reviews for True Blood Season 5

All Critics (18) | Top Critics (9)

Just when things can't get more twisted, Alan Ball's serial takes us into ever darker, kookier territory.

Jun 10, 2012 | Full Review…
Joanne Ostrow
Top Critic

A densely packed, well-paced gothic horror soap with surprisingly funny twists placed at the worst -- which is to say best -- possible moments.

Jun 10, 2012 | Rating: A | Full Review…
Verne Gay
Top Critic

Swift and streamlined, lean and mean, the fifth season of True Blood has commenced with gratifying energy.

Jun 10, 2012 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…
Ken Tucker
Top Critic

As its seasons have worn on and its universe of beasties and beastly acts has expanded, True Blood has become less interested in revising or adapting the soap-operatic tropes that made it such campy fun to begin with.

Jun 10, 2012 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…
Phillip Maciak
Top Critic

As with everything about "True Blood," the language is not particularly inventive or clever, but it's delivered with a wink, a smile and maybe a flash of fang or unclothed hip bone, and that's - really - entertainment.

Jun 10, 2012 | Full Review…
Willa Paskin
Top Critic

While politics come into play later, it is human emotions such as grief, regret and loss that fans can look forward to sinking their teeth into at the start of the season.

Jun 10, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Misha Davenport
Top Critic

True Blood has recaptured some of the magic that makes its sex-crazed, moss-covered take on the vampire myth so compelling.

Jul 2, 2018 | Full Review…
Charles Webb
MTV

Even though season 5 wasn't the strongest or most enjoyable of the pack, it feels great to say that the finale easily lives up to those that came before it, delivering the expected cliffhanger that will keep fans drooling for season 6

Sep 26, 2013 | Rating: 7.5/10 | Full Review…
Christian Law

True Blood is at fault for not even being a good version of what it aspires to be, which is doubly bad, because what it aspires to be is so low-brow and trashy.

Jun 10, 2012 | Rating: D | Full Review…
Dan Fienberg

In its early years, HBO's "True Blood" was a smart, savvy show that employed satire and wit. Now it's basically Passions with better production values and an occasionally laugh-worthy rejoinder from vampire Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten).

Jun 10, 2012 | Full Review…
Rob Owen

Like an addiction to free-range hemoglobin, there's something undeniably compelling about the characters, human and otherwise, in a series whose plotting grows more twisted every year.

Jun 10, 2012 | Full Review…
Ellen Gray

The show is still crazily entertaining.

Jun 10, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…
Tom Gliatto
View All Critic Reviews (18)

Audience Reviews for True Blood: Season 5

  • Apr 05, 2015
    Vampire council was in trouble with some siding with the traditional belief of humans being inferior to vampires and vampires wanting to get along with humans. Power struggle ensures and it was up to Sookie and her friends to save the day. Season 5 kinda regressed into the cliche story of the vampire struggle, there were plenty of jokes but again, stupid subplots were involved to ruin the experience.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
  • Feb 11, 2019
    A seven season supernatural ride in the American landscape, delivered by an awesome cast & crew!! Truly imaginative storyline that takes the Vampire franchise in a new direction- a must see for fans of the genre!!
    Phil C
  • Jul 27, 2014
    Season 5 is a messy, overcrowded season that ends up with a bang after what was mostly a weak year.
    Antonio B
  • Jul 13, 2014
    Great, even brilliant…for 5 seasons. Set in modern times, vampires roam the earth and are humans mortal enemies. However, a substitute has been found for human blood, a substitute that vampires can consume with the same effect as human blood. This is True Blood. Now humans and vampires can coexist in harmony, and even form relationships. But there will always be rogue elements on both sides ready to exploit the uneasy truce. Superb, for the first few seasons. Original, uncompromising and highly engaging. Great character depth, clever, intriguing plots, interesting relationships and good performances. For 5 seasons this was fantastic. However, the producers didn’t know when to quit. The writing were already starting to feel a bit jaded, with retreads of previous plots and characters and, especially, different life-forms being introduced just to give the illusion of originality. The final two seasons were mediocre, at best. The final season, Season 7, was particularly bad. No originality and the writers and actors seemed to be just going through the motions. Watching became a chore, something I had to do so I could finish the series rather than watching because I enjoyed it. Season 7 may well be the worst final season in the history of TV, especially when compared with what came before.
    Grant S
  • Jul 10, 2014
    Bill: "I'm god". This may be the weakness season of true blood because the characters this time are not interesting and you don't really care if there life of die. there where some episodes that I enjoyed and some I didn't, Bill and Eric are the only good thing in this season and that's all.
    Matthew B
  • Jun 20, 2014
    for 2012: by far one of my favorite seasons Alan Ball and the writers have a talented gift for having this show be as modern and as relevant as possible this time the authority steps in and tries to cloud everyone's judgment and beliefs with the ultimate in vampire religion they even go far as to introduce the Vampire Bible and worship the goddess known as Lillith as the founder of all immortals Eric and Bill are forced into the institution to either follow the members' faith or be destroyed meanwhile Sookie is coming into her own with her newfound abilities as a Faire princess and discovering how endangered her own race is against the vampires and as always a brand new evil is about to show its ugly face and test Sookie to her limits we have old friends, new allies and old enemies returning to pile on the drama and increase the tension a supporting character goes through the ultimate transformation after a deadly fate bestowed upon her from the end of Season 4 just to make things more tricky the rest of humanity is also growing in their own fear and hostility learning about the existence of other supernatural beings and that spells certain doom for all werewolves, shapeshifters, werepanthers, fairies and so on this season is all about the test of faith, shutting out other beliefs, conflicting ideologies and sociological issues, and embracing identity what will become of the humans now? is there a true messiah for all kinds of people or another in many forms? who is man and who is God and who is monster? great stuff
    Jon C
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