The news that season seven will be True Blood’s swan song has slowly been sinking in. It is truly hard to believe there are only ten episodes left of our beloved True Blood. Only ten episodes to come to a (hopefully) satisfying conclusion for the vampire who has captured our hearts and taken us for a wild ride. Bill Compton is certainly not a character created for the fair weather fan! With everything he (and his steadfast fans!) have been through, we’re hopeful that Brian Buckner and company have good things in mind for Bill when the final credits roll.

But do we all have the same hopes for Bill? This is where you, the fan, comes in! We’ve asked a few of our forum members to share their hopes for Bill for the final season of True Blood. Think of it as a kind of Bill Compton Wish List. But along with the good, might also come the not so good. So, we’ve asked people about not only what they hope to see happen, but also what they think is likely to happen. We’re trying to cover all the bases, not that anyone can necessarily predict the craziness of True Blood.

Our sixth entry comes by way of Shel. Shel is an active member of our forum and has great insight into Bill Compton’s character. You’ll certainly understand her great love of the Bill Compton character once you read her piece below! If you’d love to share your hopes for Bill Compton in the coming season, we’d love to hear from you. Hit us up at smadmin@simplymoyer.com. This will be an ongoing series that we’ll be running as we all prepare to bid our final adieu to our favorite vampire, Bill Compton. But first, here is Shel’s take on what she’d like to see for Bill …

Thoughts on Bill Compton’s Future

By: Shel

“I am a Vampire; I’m supposed to be tormented.”

When Bill Compton first spoke those words, with just a hint of humor as he gazed upon the woman he loved, I like to think that he had no idea what further tragedies and torment laid ahead of him. Of course his personal torment- the struggle between vampire and human- was a large part of what drew me (and many others) to him in the first place … a wounded soul in need of something as basic as love. I’ve never thought of Bill as the type of character who “just needs the love of a good woman” to fix him, but definitely a person who hadn’t felt love in a very long time. Though Bill might have thought so, he wasn’t broken, he was just a man with a past he’d rather forget and not much hope for the future.

During the first season, I could have never imagined what terrible things would befall Bill as the series progressed, but I can imagine (and hope for) a fitting end to this crazy ride known as True Blood. Bill Compton has never been perfect, we have seen him time and again put into situations and circumstances that were often beyond his control. Situations where he was faced with very difficult choices, usually left with only bad options for himself and those he cared about. But what I really see is a man who is doing his best to make the right choice (even when it’s wrong) and who, despite his missteps, wants those around him to be happy and safe.

That is what I wish for Bill in the final season of True Blood, for him to be happy and safe. Moments like the one mentioned above, where Bill attempted to bring a bit of levity to his grave situation have been so very fleeting in the past couple of seasons. The only smiles we’ve seen from Bill have been in moments when he has not been the Bill Compton so many of us grew to love. I do hope that can change in season 7.  We saw a glimpse of that Bill in the season finale, even going as far as being dressed in a manner similar to when we (and Sookie) first met Bill Compton. Though it is very clear that both he and Sookie have ultimately been changed drastically by the things they have been through since that day he walked into Merlotte’s.

I hope that those changes are a good thing. While it has been crushing to watch them both suffer hurts and betrayals, to be subject to the violence and hatred of others and each other, to be forced from one crazy situation to the next without even a chance to breathe (not that Bill needs to breathe), all that they have been through can only make them stronger. In the end, I think that it has only made them better matched for each other, since if you haven’t guessed by now, my hope for Bill is that he and Sookie will find a way to be together, to be happy and safe.

When Bill and Sookie first met, they both carried their own baggage- Sookie, a naïve young woman, eager to find the good in people, to stand up for what she felt was right. A woman who thought nothing of risking her life for a vampire she had just met. Bill, on the other hand, may have been somewhat naïve to the changes in the world around him, or as I like to think, he was simply jaded by all that he had seen and done. A man weary of the life he had been forced into and all of the inner turmoil that came with it. Certainly he hadn’t expected what he found with Sookie.

By the end of Season 6, Bill had suffered even more tragedy, but thankfully along the way he was able to find a very bright spot in Jessica. Bill learned that Eric (of all people) was actually right in that being a good maker is very rewarding. I want that to continue in Season 7 for Bill and Jessica and into the unwritten future after True Blood ends. Jessica fills a part of Bill’s life that had been missing, he had lost his first family, I would hate for sickness or violence to take away his remaining child. Jessica is another piece of that puzzle that I think can make Bill happy, and that is all I want for him.

We have all seen the way he looks at Sookie, even when they are fighting with one another. It’s beyond clear that he still cares for her. My hope is that Sookie will realize just how much she still cares for Bill. That she will believe him when he tells her that he’s changed, that he wants to be better. All along, I feel like that is what Bill has been trying to do. They both have amends to make and hurts to get past. I don’t think it’s going to be easy, but I think it’s what is meant to happen.

I expect that season 7 will be filled with plenty of ups and downs for Bill (and the rest of the characters, too.) He will be in danger, hopefully saving the day at times and surely need some saving of his own at others. Can he help find a way to cure Hep V? I’d like to think so. Will he come to Sookie’s rescue? Probably more than once and he won’t hesitate to risk his life doing so. Will he lose people he cares about? I’d hate to say it, but I do think the cast will dwindle as the season progresses, though I don’t think Bill (Or I ) would fare too well if something were to happen to Jessica. I would like for the town of Bon Temps to come together; human, vampire, shifter or somethin’ else shouldn’t matter, they are all just people trying to live their lives in a small town.

So what do I want for Bill in season 7? I want him and Jessica to find a way to beat Hep V, a way to keep themselves and their friends in Bon Temps safe. I want to see Bill smile for real. I want him to be able to make jokes with Sookie or Jessica. We don’t get to see it very often, but Bill can be quite good with those one liners. I want to see a Bill who is no longer carrying the weight of the world and every single one of his past mistakes on his shoulders.  He will never forgive himself completely for his past, and being a little bit tormented goes with the territory in being a vampire trying to hold on to his humanity, but it shouldn’t override any possibility Bill has for finding happiness.

I want Bill to find a place in the community, and to find a place with the beautiful girl next door who stole his heart when he wasn’t looking. Most of all, I want Bill to be loved the way we have seen him love Sookie, even when she was so far out of his reach. They have been through too much and still mean so much to each other that it would be quite the tragedy for them to never reconcile. I want for Bill to be happy, and I think Sookie would bring that into his life. There was magic in Season 1 when Bill & Sookie were on the screen together, and I truly hope they can recapture that for this final season.

Of course this is written from the mind of a hopeless romantic, who quite enjoys the concept of love conquers all, and I do fear that the writers would rather go with crazy instead of happy for the end of True Blood, but I’ll be hoping for something far more satisfying for Bill Compton until those final credits roll.