Throughout its seven-year run on HBO, the supernatural series, True Blood, faced its fair share of criticism for some of its baffling plot turns and bizarre actions. One of the main characters that was often brought up by the fandom for being problematic was the vampire Bill Compton.
Since his appearance in the series premiere, “Strange Love,” the undead character was often denounced by fan and critics for exhibiting behaviors that were considered to be toxic and controlling. Not only did he treat Sookie Stackhouse badly but he also committed some very horrific deeds against his fellow undead citizens.
Handed Off Jessica
After killing Longshadow, Bill Compton is forced to create another vampire as punishment. However, after spending what appeared to be a few hours at most with his new progeny Jessica, Bill takes her to Fangtasia and asks Eric to teach her the rules of being a vampire because he finds her too annoying to deal with despite being her maker.
Though Eric is amused that Bill can’t handle a young vampire that isn’t even a night old, he isn’t interested in training her. He only agrees to Jessica about obedience when Bill offers to return the favor in the future. Though they later become quite closely bonded, Bill’s initial treatment of Jessica is hardly favorable. After all, she was Bill’s responsibility, not Eric’s.
Treatment Of Sookie
Throughout the relationship between the brooding vampire and the telepathic waitress, fans were quick to point out the many possessive and undesirable traits that Bill Compton would often show towards Sookie Stackhouse. One of the many actions that those opposed to the Bon Temps couple might remember from the earlier seasons is Bill’s behavior towards Sookie after she took a tearful newly turned Jessica to see her human family’s house.
Bill instantly yelled at Sookie, berating her for taking Jessica to them, though later on fans of the show learn that Bill similarly went back to see his own human family with terrible results. After repeatedly blaming her for the situation at the Hamby house, Sookie stormed out of the car and ended up getting attacked by Maryann as a result.
Betrayed Eric
When presented with the opportunity, Bill decided to try and end Eric Northman after the two buried Russell Edgington in a pit. Bill, handcuffed the blonde vampire, tossed him into a separate hole. After filling it with cement, he called Ruben (a vampire and assassin who was under the employment of Eric) and used voice mimicry to imitate the ancient Viking vampire, telling Ruben to kill Eric’s progeny Pam.
Bill later told Sookie his actions were means of protecting her by killing anyone that had tasted her blood and/or were aware of her special abilities. However, an angry and freed Eric arrived shortly after to tell Sookie that Bill had been lying to her from the beginning and that the true reason Bill tried to end Eric was to keep him from ever revealing the truth.
Sought Out Sookie
Though the couple’s first meeting seemed like it was random, Bill showing up at Merlotte’s Bar and Grill in Bon Temps was no accident. It’s revealed by Eric in the season 3 finale, “Evil is Going On,” that Bill’s initial meeting with Sookie was actually due to orders by the Queen of Louisiana to bring in Sookie after they grew suspicions of what she might be.
Bill told an angry Sookie that he planned to tell her the truth, but whether that’s true or not doesn’t make up for the fact that their relationship was built off a lie.
Sanguinista Movement
The anti-mainstreaming extremist group managed to convert Bill Compton to their beliefs, which followed the Vampire Bible teachings that believed humans were meant to be nothing more than nourishment for vampires. They also worshiped Lilith, (the first vampire), as a God.
After they took over the Authority, Bill, along with the others, drank from the blood of Lilith, and then the group went off on a massacre as they fed off humans in the French Quarter of New Orleans. After he saw visions of Lilith, Bill willing followed the Sanguinistas and even fed off a mother that begged for her life.
Billith
During his time as a member of the Sanguinista movement, Bill Compton became convinced that Lilith had chosen him to lead. Despite being urged to stop by Eric and Sookie, Bill consumed the remains of Lilith’s blood as he believed that visions of her told him to do so as the “chosen one.”
He then died and was reborn as Bilith, a hybrid version of himself that possessed advanced abilities. Bill continued to have visions of Lilith and would ask her for guidance at times. This strange season 6 turn for Bill was not well received by fans, and though he eventually lost his enhanced powers, the entire storyline was considered unnecessary by many.
Tru Blood Factory Bombings
After his conversion to the Sanguinista movement, the newly appointed chancellor Bill made the suggestion to bomb the five Tru Blood factories as a way to force mainstreamers to start feeding on humans, “as they were meant to.” It was a far cry from the pro-mainstreaming vampire Bill Compton that viewers watched for the previous four seasons.
The fanatical movement celebrated the news reports of the destruction of the factories by feasting on a naked human man. Though Eric tried to remind Bill that he was a true mainstreamer, by that point, Bill was already too far gone into the Sanguinista’s mindset.
Refused To Help Tara
In season 3’s episode “Trouble,” Tara encountered Bill and Lorena while being held as a prisoner in Russell Edgington’s mansion by Franklin Mott, who had kidnapped her in hopes of making her his vampire bride.
While being tied to a chair, Tara begged Bill Compton to help her but he coldly refused and replied “no” before walking away. Later, when she managed to escape, Tara refused to help Sookie save Bill, telling her friend that he was going to let them kill her. However, Sookie insisted that he was forced to do so and told an angry Tara that wasn’t who Bill was. Whether or not this was true, many of Bill’s later actions showed indifference towards humans. Maybe Sookie didn’t know Bill as well as she thought.
Almost Killed Sookie
After being tortured by Lorena, Bill was freed by Sookie, with assistance from Tara and Alcide. While driving away in the back of a van, Sookie fed Bill some of her blood to try to wake him up. However, the vampire ended up losing control and fed off her to the point of almost killing her. Sookie then wound up in the hospital in a coma after her body rejected a blood transfusion.
Though Bill did end up saving Sookie by giving her some of his blood after she woke up, Sookie admitted that she was scared of Bill and didn’t know if she’d be able to forgive him. While Bill told her that it was an accident and that he couldn’t stop himself, it doesn’t make it okay to almost kill someone you claim to love.
The Rattray Set-Up
Right after Eric’s announcement to Sookie that Bill’s initial meeting with her was planned on behalf of the queen of Louisiana, Eric dropped another truth bomb. Bill allowed Mack and Denise Rattray to beat Sookie “within an inch of her life” in order to feed her his blood, thus forming a bond between the two of them.
Naturally, Sookie was horrified to learn the truth and banned him from her house and life. Out of all the terrible things that Vampire Bill did during his series run, this was truly one of the worse.
