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The subject of the article is involved with Season 1 The subject of the article is involved with Season 2 The subject of the article is involved with Season 3 The subject of the article is involved with Season 4 The subject of the article is involved with Season 5 The subject of the article is involved with Season 6 The subject of the article is involved with Season 7

Lettie Mae Daniels

Lettie Mae Daniels
Appearances
Season(s)
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
First seen
Last seen
Appeared in
29 episodes (see below)
Mentioned in
Biographical Information
Also Known As
Status
Alive
Age
50s
Turning age
Vampire age
Date of birth
1960s
()
Date turned
()
Date of death
()
Profession
Homemaker
Religion
Christian †
Gender
Female
Family Information
Family members
Ruby Jean Reynolds - Sister

Joe Thornton - Ex-husband
Reverend Daniels - Husband
Tara Thornton - Daughter †
Lafayette Reynolds - Nephew
Winnie - Grandmother †

Mae - Great-Grandmother †
Supernatural Information
Species
Powers
  • Spirit Banishing
  • Communicating with the Dead
Has shifted into
Notable Progeny
Notable kills
Cause of death
{{{Cause of death}}}
Killed by
Physical Appearance
Height
Hair color
Brown
Eye color
Brown
Portrayed by
Actor
Alexander Skarsgård (as a hallucination in "Frenzy")
Actress

[[:Category:{{{Images}}}|Images]]

Lettie Mae Daniels (née Thornton), was Tara Thornton's mom on the HBO original series True Blood. Played by American special guest starring actress Adina Porter, Lettie Mae makes her debut on the episode "The First Taste" in the series' first season. Abusive, alcoholic, and religiously crazed, Lettie Mae plays a recurring role through the series' first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons. Recovering from her alcohol abuse, Lettie Mae ends up marrying Reverend Daniels, the preacher of the local church in her hometown of Bon Temps, Louisiana, and was last seen on the series' finale episode, "Thank You", in the series' seventh, and final, season.

Biography[]

Background[]

Lettie Mae is a single mother to Tara Thornton. Tara's father's whereabouts are currently unknown. She has one sister, Ruby Jean Reynolds, who is currently in a clinic for her schizophrenia.

Lettie Mae was an alcoholic. While Tara was growing up, Lettie Mae would frequently steal money to buy alcohol and ignore her daughter. This caused Tara to spend a lot of time with Sookie Stackhouse, so much so that Sookie's grandmother, Adele Stackhouse, became a second mother to Tara. This caused animosity between Adele and Lettie Mae, and, at more than one point, Adele called social services on Lettie Mae, though she managed to keep custody of her child.

Although Lettie Mae has spent much of Tara's life drunk and being abusive, there is still a strong bond between them.

Season 1[]

"The First Taste"[]

Lettie Mae is first shown drunk in her home, belligerent and angry with Tara. Lettie Mae throws a bottle at her, causing Tara to leave. ("The First Taste")

"Cold Ground"[]

Lettie Mae attended Adele Stackhouse's funeral, slightly sober, to pay respect to Adele. It was at the funeral that she told Tara she needed money for an exorcism, as she believed there was a demon inside of her forcing her to do evil. Tara eventually agreed to pay for her mother's expensive exorcism. ("Cold Ground")

"Burning House of Love"[]

Later, mother and daughter journeyed into the woods outside Bon Temps to meet with a woman named Miss Jeanette who preformed Lettie Mae's exorcism, curing her alcoholism. The power of Lettie Mae's belief in her "exorcism" led her to recover from her addiction. Things started to look up for Tara and Lettie Mae's relationship.

"I Don't Wanna Know"[]

Bud and Lettie mae

Tara even found her mother making her Hoe Cakes one morning. ("Burning House of Love"), ("I Don't Wanna Know")

"You'll Be the Death of Me"[]

In the season finale after Tara is arrested for drunk driving, Lettie Mae arrived at the jail to tell Tara that she wasn't going to bail her out so as to save her soul from Tara. Tara angrily berates her mother for making her life terrible yet finally having the chance to help her and doing nothing. She accuses her mother of never loving her and tells her to get out of her sight. ("You'll Be the Death of Me")

Season 2[]

Lettie Mae allows Lafayette to bring Tara to the house while she is under Maryann's influence. However, after Tara tells her mother that if she was a true mother that she would let her escape, Lettie Mae threatens Lafayette with a gun. Tara escapes and tries to save Eggs. Later on, Lettie Mae is seen when Sookie surprises her and knocks her out to save Lafayette.

She is seen apologizing to Lafayette who does not accept her apology.

Season 3[]

"Bad Blood"[]

Lettie Mae calls Reverend Daniels to help Tara through Eggs' death. Lettie Mae however, seems more occupied with him, than helping her own daughter. She fails to keep an eye on Tara, who locks herself in the bathroom and swallows a bottle of pills. Lafayette stops Tara and kicks Lettie Mae out. ("Bad Blood")

"Evil is Going On"[]

The next time Lettie Mae is seen is when Tara discovers her mother having an affair with Reverend Daniels. Tara runs out of the house and Lettie Mae explains that Reverend Daniels will divorce his current wife to marry Lettie Mae. Lettie mentions she is in love and requests Tara to be happy for her. Lettie expresses her desire to become a preacher's wife and Tara wishes her luck; hugging her before leaving. ("Evil is Going On")

Season 4[]

"Me and the Devil"[]

LettieMaeThornton

Lettie Mae arrives at Terry and Arlene's with Reverend Daniels. They are now married. Lettie Mae appears to be more formal, polite, and proper. Lettie Mae is shown to be religious and spiritual when she yells "Praise Jesus!" Also when Arlene says you people, Lettie Mae questions her by what she means by that and Arlene responds religious people. Also Reverend Daniels begins to yell at a sign that says Baby Not Yours, presumably written by Mavis. It is hinted around that Lettie is currently working at the Bon Temps Church to help with blessings. They begin to sing and cleanse the house for any unwanted entities. When they enter the master bedroom Arlene states how the smoke smells like pot. Lettie Mae shakes smoke in a corner, which Reverend Daniels says "That's where the Devil hides." Lettie Mae mentions how she was possessed by a demon once but a slightly thrown Arlene states that all they have is a ghost. ("Me and the Devil")

Season 5[]

"In the Beginning"[]

Lettie Mae learned of her daughter's fate and visited Fangtasia. Upon seeing Tara being a vampire now she hurls accusation against her daughter that she cannot have a vampire daughter as a minister's wife. Tara taunts her that they will see each other again. ("In the Beginning")

Season 6[]

"Life Matters"[]

When the arrangements are being made for Terry Bellefleur's funeral, Arlene tells Andy that she would like Reverend Daniels to perform the service as Terry liked him. The Reverend agrees and, when he arrives at Terry's funeral, Lettie Mae also attends. She encourages Big John to speak at the funeral. ("Life Matters")

"Radioactive"[]

At the vampire-human social thrown by Sam and Arlene at Bellefleur's Bar and Grill, Lettie Mae approaches Tara and asks to speak to her alone. She tells Tara she feels guilty for neglecting her in her childhood. She offers to feed her daughter her blood as a way to compensate for her past behavior. At first Tara seems hesitant and rejects the offer. She later gives in and feeds from her mother. ("Radioactive")

Season 7[]

Jesus Gonna be Here[]

Lettie Mae is about to be kidnapped by a group of infected vampires, but Tara defends her but is stabbed in the process exploding and dying in front of Lettie Mae.

Lettie Mae is devastated by her daughter's death, going so far as to hate and blame Sookie for her death, claiming that Tara always had to put herself in danger to protect her because Sookie was always getting into trouble.

Personality[]

Lettie Mae is a very religious woman, believing anything in life has a purpose. She started out as rude, abusive and neglecting, which was displayed to her daughter in particular. Her behavior took a turn for the better when she sobered up from her alcohol abuse.

Like her sister and nephew, Lettie Mae seems to possess some characteristics of a medium, although not as pronounced as theirs. She is also highly susceptible for spiritual influences such as when she underwent an exorcism in an attempt to solve her drinking problem.

When her daughter Tara was turned into a vampire, she visited her one last time to bid her farewell. She stated that as a preacher's wife, she could not have a vampire for a daughter and that Tara was now dead to her. She later got back in touch, when her guilt of neglecting Tara during her childhood became too much.

Appearances[]

Season one appearances
"Strange Love" "The First Taste" "Mine" "Escape from Dragon House"
"Sparks Fly Out" "Cold Ground" "Burning House of Love" "The Fourth Man in the Fire"
"Plaisir D'Amour" "I Don't Wanna Know" "To Love Is to Bury" "You'll Be the Death of Me"
Season two appearances
"Nothing but the Blood" "Keep This Party Going" "Scratches" "Shake and Fingerpop"
"Never Let Me Go" "Hard-Hearted Hannah" "Release Me" "Timebomb"
"I Will Rise Up" "New World in My View" "Frenzy" "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"
Season three appearances
"Bad Blood" "Beautifully Broken" "It Hurts Me Too" "9 Crimes"
"Trouble" "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" "Hitting the Ground" "Night on the Sun"
"Everything Is Broken" "I Smell a Rat" "Fresh Blood" "Evil is Going On"
Season four appearances
"She's Not There" "You Smell Like Dinner" "If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'?" "I'm Alive and on Fire"
"Me and the Devil" "I Wish I Was the Moon" "Cold Grey Light of Dawn" "Spellbound"
"Let's Get Out of Here" "Burning Down the House" "Soul of Fire" "And When I Die"
Season five appearances
"Turn! Turn! Turn!" "Authority Always Wins" "Whatever I Am, You Made Me" "We’ll Meet Again"
"Let's Boot and Rally" "Hopeless" "In the Beginning" "Somebody That I Used to Know"
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" "Gone, Gone, Gone" "Sunset" "Save Yourself"
Season six appearances
"Who Are You, Really?" "The Sun" "You're No Good" "At Last"
"F**k the Pain Away" "Don't You Feel Me" "In the Evening" "Dead Meat"
"Life Matters" "Radioactive"
Season seven appearances
"Jesus Gonna Be Here" "I Found You" "Fire in the Hole" "Death is Not the End"
"Lost Cause" "Karma" "May Be the Last Time" "Almost Home"
"Love is to Die" "Thank You"
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