When True Blood premiered back in 2008 it captured the nation’s attention. By the end of the first season, Alan Ball’s unlikely follow-up to the moody Six Feet Under was a bona fide hit that delivered weekly doses of campy gore, sexual tension, and blatant political agenda. True Blood launched careers, sold books, and helped drive the vampire-obsessed pop culture we still see today. Just the ratings peaked back in Season 4 and the show has lost some of its bite, that doesn’t mean that its cultural relevance should be ignored.

Yes this final season has been bumpy, to say the least, and it lost sight of what made the show so fun to begin with. Chalk it up to hanging around too long (what show can stay fresh after seven seasons?), or chalk it up to the Ball’s departure after Season 5, but something’s missing. And as we prepare to say goodbye to Bon Temps in the show’s series finale tonight on HBO, it’s clear that the entire plot is boiling down to a long farewell between Sookie and Bill. But though they are the main characters, they were never really the heart of the show, were they? And the lack of proper love for side characters (Was Sam Merlotte really written off in a flashback? Do we care at all about the Big Bad this season?) may be what’s wrong with True Blood’s last gasp. So if you can’t bring yourself to say goodbye to the show in its current incarnation, then at least say goodbye to these 10 characters. They deserve your love and will be missed.