True Blood's Best & Worst Villains

WORST: Mr. Gus
Season 7
Ugh... What is this guy even?! A Japanese mobster? And old-west cowboy? Honestly, I don't even care. I'm just hoping Eric kills him before the series finale finishes its cold open. You mess with Pam, you get the horns.

BEST: Russell Edgington
Season 3, 5
There's a reason Russell was pulled out of his cement grave and brought back for Season 5: Not only is he the best, most well-rounded villain True Blood has ever seen, but I'd put him in a top-10 villain list of any show in recent memory. Much of the credit goes to actor Denis O'Hare, who perfected the character's balance of humor and heartlessness.

WORST: Billith
Season 6
Bill's endgame has always been a bit of a question mark, but never was he — or the show — more misguided than when he became the reincarnation of vampire goddess Lilith. And how exactly did he purge himself of her without dying all over again? That was never explained.

BEST: Rene Lenier
Season 1
Rene was the perfect starter villain, and definitely the only human in True Blood's history that was truly deserving of our fear. He had everyone in Bon Temps fooled, and if you didn't read Charlaine Harris' first Sookie Stackhouse novel, there's a good chance he fooled you too.

WORST: Violet
Season 6, 7
Here's the thing: I actually liked the idea of Violet as a villain; her methods of torture were beyond horrific. But she was introduced too late in the game, and she flipped her switch from crazy-in-love to just-plain-crazy without enough development. Sadly, she's just a victim of the (end) times.

BEST: Sophie Ann-Leclerq
Season 2, 3
Only menacing when she really wanted to be, there was something you couldn't help but love about Queen Sophie-Anne. Her style was fabulous, her mansion was lavish and she always spoke like she was on a damn Broadway stage. Plus, without her, Bill and Sookie never would have met and there wouldn't be a True Blood.

WORST: Queen Mab
Season 4
Raise your hand if you remember this fine lady. Anyone? No? Well, that's probably because she only appeared in the first 10 minutes of Season 4. Much like Violet, I think Mab could have been a cool villain with a little more fleshing out. Not only is the idea of a "fairy harvest" bone-chilling in and of itself, but Rebecca Wisocky is phenomenal in every role she plays. Oh, what could have been...

BEST: Sarah Newlin
Season 2, 6, 7
If you had told me back in Season 2 that Sarah Newlin would become True Blood's most heavily recurring villain, I would have said you were crazy. Yet here we are, staring down the series' final hour, and there she is. Regardless of whether or not she survives Sunday's finale, Sarah will live on forever in our hearts as that crazy chick who stabbed Mrs. Suzuki in the head with a stiletto. Namaste!

WORST: Ben / Macklyn Warlow
Seasons 5, 6
Over the course of the series, Warlow has been shown in three forms: a bearded creeper on a bridge, a freakin' floating head in Sookie's bathroom, and ultimately, as the hot British dude pictured left... and all three forms were wack. Nay, they were wiggity wack. And didn't Sookie almost marry him? That would have been a foolish move, even for her.

BEST: Roman
Season 5
Chris Meloni made a seamless transition from Stabler to stabber as Authority leader Roman. Season 5 was iffy, but Roman wasn't to blame. In fact, he provided some of the year's best moments, like when he staked kid-vampire Alexander Drew. Some images just stick with you forever.

WORST: Ifrit
Season 5
Where do I even begin? Ifrit — more commonly known as "the smoke monster," because it was just easier — might have been the worst thing to ever happen to True Blood. It was definitely the worst thing to ever happen to Scott Foley, like, even worse than when Felicity chose Ben over Noel. That smoke thing should have stayed on Lost's island where it belonged.

BEST: Maryann Forrester
Season 2
Not only did Maryann throw the most bitchin' orgies Bon Temps had ever seen, but she was also the series' most mysterious villain — mostly because one in 1,000 people have ever actually heard of a maenad before. (I'm just disappointed we never got to see her egg hatch.)

WORST: Debbie Pelt
Season 3, 4
Debbie "Sons of Anarchy" Pelt was actually likable when we first met her, but she gradually earned her "worst" stripes as time went on. Not only did she cheat on Alcide, but I also blame her for starting Tara's transition into vampirism. Watching Sookie blow her head off with that shotgun was an absolute delight.

BEST: Marnie Stonebrook
Season 4
A personal favorite of mine, Marnie (with or without the spirit of Antonia inside her) was dangerous, engaging and brilliantly complex. She also had the best villain-exit line in the series' history: "Oh... This f—in' sucks."

WORST: Lilith
Season 5, 6
For someone built up to be so terrifying, Lilith was oddly hysterical. Every time she — or one of her naked back-up dancers — sashayed onto the screen, all hopes of a serious scene went down in flames. She loses extra points for making Warlow. (Ugh... Warlow.)