With the prospect of death looming around every corner, it has never been a more stressful time to be a True Blood fan and I'm starting to worry about good old Sam. First, we lost Tara during the Season 7 premiere, then were forced to witness the sudden death of Alcide — which we’re totally still not over by the way. Even Eric’s survival prospects aren’t looking too great these days what with the Hep-V virus slowly making its way through his beautiful heavage. But hey, we knew it was going to be like this. When a supernatural show such as True Blood enters its final season, all bets are off. The way we see it, no one is safe… not even Sookie. However, we still have a long way to go before something that extreme occurs, which leaves several other characters' lives completely up for grabs in the meantime. So who will be the next on True Blood’s chopping block? I’m calling T.O.D. on Bon Temps’ resident shapeshifting mayor, Sam Merlotte.
But as sad as you’d be to see this former bar owner go, let’s be honest here, you’d much rather see Sam be offed than most of the other characters on this show. (Well, besides Willa, since I still can’t bring myself to get behind her floundering story arc.) So if someone has to go, it might as well be Sam. No offense.
The fact is his death just seems to make the most logical sense. And here’s why…
He Has the Absolute Worst Luck
I mean, when you think about it, has anything ever gone right for Sam? He was abandoned by his parents (both real and adopted) at a very young age and was almost sacrificed in a satanic ritual courtesy of a Maenad known as Maryann Forrester. (Yeah, remember that storyline?) Then his brother Tommy Mickens died right in front of him after getting horribly beaten by Marcus and his wolf pack. (He was pretending to be Sam at the time.) The list goes on and on.
And don’t even get me started on his love life, which has pretty much been the kiss of death for almost every woman he’s dated (Luna, Daphne, Tara). So… uh… watch your back Nicole.
The point is, Sam has the absolute worst luck ever, so the fact that he’s now mayor and has just successfully helped rescue his fiancée and unborn child from a bunch of H-vamps makes me very, very nervous. Good things do not happen to Sam or to those around him. Just ask his assigned vampire companion, Matt. (Oh wait, you can’t because he’s dead now too.) See what I mean? Sam is basically a ticking time bomb and I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Granted, no one on this show really has what you would call good luck, given the general nature of this show, but Sam always seems to be the one getting the particularly shitty end of the stick.
Being Supernatural = Automatic Target
You’d think being supernatural would give you somewhat of an advantage over run-of-the-mill humans, but so far they’ve been the main victims of death for this entire season. Tara was a vampire… Alcide was a werewolf… so Sam being a shapeshifter doesn’t bode well for his chances of survival. Sure, we’ve lost many nameless humans in the process as well, but they were mostly people who we a.) had never seen before, and b.) had zero emotional attachment to. (Sorry, Maxine!)
Think about it though: Tara couldn’t survive one little H-vamp mixer confrontation, but Holly, Nicole, and Arlene (all humans, by the way) were able to survive captivity for days on end? I mean, good for them, but that’s just insane. And let’s not forget everything Lafayette has survived through (thank goodness). Clearly, the writers are hell-bent on taking out folks of the supernatural persuasion, which leaves Sam pretty high up on that list.
But just to play devil’s advocate for a second, even with his shapeshifting abilities, Sam is still technically mortal and can die just as easily as anyone (he just might happen to be in the form of a dog when it happens). So either way, this mayor’s odds aren’t looking too favorable — no matter how you slice it.
He’s a Total Martyr
Above anything else, Sam is an all-around decent guy. The kind of guy who made Jason take the wheel last week because he couldn’t bare to be the one driving away from the mother of his unborn baby before the rescue mission. He is good right down to his very core, so it’s easy to picture him sacrificing himself to save someone he loved — whether it be Nicole, Jason, or even Sookie. It’s the moral compass we’ve become accustomed to and it’s what would make his death all the more heart-wrenching.
But if that tragic day does indeed come in the not-so-distant future, don’t worry — we’ll pour one out for him properly… Merlotte’s-style!
Images: John P. Johnson/HBO; Photobucket; Giphy; seriesanatomy/Blogspot; geekenfreude.com
