True Blood Season 6 kicked off with Stephen Moyer-directed "Who Are You Really," which opened with a bloody escape from The Authority.

Fans let out a collective sigh of relief as Eric, Sookie, Jason, and the others made it out. There was little time to rejoice, though, as they were pursued by the vampire formerly known as Bill Compton... who we learned was more than meets the eye after Sookie's attempt to stake him proved ineffective.

With The Authority in their rear view mirror, Eric, Jessica, Pam and the other vampires set forth on a collision course with the government. The fragile peace between vampire and human evaporated as the remaining True Blood reserves were depleted. It was a season of change and loss for the inhabitants of Bon Temps.

The small town existing in a divided nation was brought back together, however, because of one loss in particular. As we said goodbye to Terry, we saw many members of the cast reunited by their grief and the stage was set for True Blood season 7, where human and vampire will have to work together to ensure everyone's survival.

It would not be a season of True Blood if Sookie didn't find herself entangled with a dangerous man. Knowing we would finally meet Warlow, I had anticipated a season full of Sookie and her supernatural friends doing battle with the murderer of her parents. Instead, the self-proclaimed "Danger Whore" fell for the guy and contemplated spending eternity with him. I do think Warlow's feelings for Sookie were genuine, but after waiting around for 5,000 years, his lack of patience got the better of him. 

One would have thought his romancing skills would have been a little more finely tuned after all those centuries, but I guess he figured if he could just have turned her, he would of had the rest of time to convince her to love him.

Bill was aided all season long by Jessica, while the rift between Eric and Pam remained. Jessica was integral in trying to keep Bill from losing himself to Lilith. Eric, on the other hand, was consumed by his grief after losing Nora and put the savage within in him to work. Bill was also not above getting blood on his hands though as we saw in his beheading of Governor Burrell and his finishing off of Doctor Overlark.

Toward the end of the season, we went back to the beginning in a way, as the relationship between Bill and Sookie was rekindled. We saw the same look in Bill's eyes that we grew accustomed too in early years. Perhaps the best relationship development, though, was between Sookie and Jason, who really grew close again as brother and sister. With the arrival of Niall in the household, the scenes of the three of them sitting around the kitchen table were reminiscent of the Stackhouse home when Adele "Gran" was still alive.

Sookie continued her growth this season as she went from contemplating the loss of her light, to embracing her special gifts. While she dealt with some of her demons, she could not abandon others, like her penchant for dangerous men. Sookie can't help but walk with danger and while I liked seeing her and Alcide together in the finale, you just know their happy home life together will eventually be thrust back into jeopardy.

For Alcide, it was a strong finish to what was a very mediocre season for him. The wolf pack arc was probably the weakest. 

Much of the remaining few episodes centered around Arlene coping with the loss of Terry, but the most compelling loss scenario was watching Andy deal with the death of his daughters. Andy still delivered on his usual bevy of great scenes with Jason and other members of the law, but his development as a father showed a new side to him and worked well to remind us of the toll all the vampire drama takes out on the community around it.

Many critics have said they felt like the show has gotten away from its roots. The focus having moved away from a small town trying to get along with these supernatural beings and instead existing on a much larger plane. The feeling I got at the end of the season was one of homecoming. With the new threat of the infected vampire mobs, the characters we have come to love must fall back and work together to once again thwart their demise. There was certainly enough to keep me invested each week and the full frontal cliffhanger featuring a flame-engulfed Eric Northman will most assuredly have me looking forward to next season.

Overall Grade: B

What do you all think? What grade would YOU give True Blood Season 6?