( CNN ) -- As `` True Blood '' nears its series finale , it 's taking some of its best characters down with it . The series ' seventh and final season opened with a major death , and the third episode , Sunday 's `` Fire in the Hole , '' served up another shocker . Joe Manganiello 's werewolf , Alcide , who 's been running with the `` True Blood '' pack since season three , was unceremoniously killed off with bullets to the chest and the head . `` Alcide 's character deserved so much more than what he got in this series , '' tweeted one fan . `` I 'm just ... devastated . '' `` HOW COULD THEY DO THIS , '' wailed another distraught viewer . One fan may even have to rethink Sunday night 's TV lineup : `` 'Alcide ' could n't have died in this episode of True Blood ... He 's the reason why I watch this show . '' But according to the actor who portrayed the incredibly buff Alcide , it was time for the wolfy guy to die . In several interviews , Manganiello has said that he was n't surprised that his character was killed off , and in fact , he understands why his death was necessary . `` Honestly , I called it as soon as I read the finale last season , '' Manganiello told TVLine with a laugh . `` There was no way they could keep him around . ... On a show like this , where you 're looking for vital characters to kill off , you 've got to take out Alcide . '' Besides , the main star of the show is still Anna Paquin 's Sookie , whose dance card has been filled with one too many supernatural paramours . With `` True Blood '' having only so many episodes left to tell its tale , Manganiello believes it makes sense to remove Alcide from Sookie 's romantic circle so she could deal with her vampire issues . It may be hard for fans to let him go , but , he argues , Sookie needs to . `` Storytelling-wise , you have to get Sookie with ( Stephen Moyer 's ) Bill ; that 's the beginning of this whole story , '' the actor explained to BuzzFeed . `` That 's the A plot of the show . The B plot is ( Alexander Skardsgard 's ) Eric . ... I 'm not even the C plot . ... I 'm like indigo on the rainbow if Bill is the red . Alcide would be a smart choice for her inevitably , but you ca n't have me wind up with her at the end . So , what ? They 're going to have her break up with me ? They 're going to have her break the heart of the best guy she knows ? The guy who would do anything for her ? They ca n't do that because then the audience is going to hate her for breaking his heart . That 's why they had to kill him . '' At the very least , Manganiello seems OK with his exit from the show . `` I die naked in the woods with nothing but my sock on , '' the actor told The Hollywood Reporter . `` Given Alcide 's track record on the show , I was like , 'that 's about right . ' ``
`` True Blood '' has killed off another favorite character . The show is known for its dark humor and the characters are often portrayed as being in a constant state of chaos, but this season it seems like they have gone too far with that. The HBO series is in its seventh and final season .