Well, “True Blood” said that anybody was fair game when they offed Tara in the season premiere, and we all knew that more (and more upsetting) death was likely on the way, but that in no way prepared us for what was to come during the July 6 episode, “Fire in the Hole.” It’s not fair. It’s. Not. Fair.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Death Comes For… HOLY CRAP, NO!!!
Of. Course.

You know, Alcide’s untimely death really shouldn’t have surprised me, given the fact that the show has fully been setting us up for a Bill-Sookie endgame over the last couple of weeks. But it did. Good lord, it did.

So, crazy enough, a plan of Sookie and Bill’s actually worked. They used Sookie’s fairy mojo blood as bait, effectively luring the Hep-V vamps out of hiding — except at the very moment when the Hep vamps came outside to rumble, so did Alcide, Jason, Sheriff Andy, Jessica, the rest of Sookie’ B-team… and the Bon Temps hillbillies, with their beloved guns. A shootout happened, and a lone stray bullet pierced Alcide. Sookie quickly decided against turning him, which may or may not have had something to do with the speech she gave earlier to Bill about not really loving the jacked-up werewolf as much as he loves her.

Rest in peace, Alcide and your wonderful, life-affirming abdominal muscles. You were far too good for this world.

Violet Proves Her Worth

HBO

Maxine Fortenberry’s death definitely didn’t make up for Alcide’s, but it did give us ...

Yes, “Game of Thrones” officially has its own line of fine wine. So while there’s no more episodes until next year, at least we have something to sip on when the show comes back.

The series of wines is a project from an Australian advertising agency called Common Ventures. The Sydney company isn’t officially linked to the series, they just wanted to give fans something to share while watching episodes. The wines are sourced from local Australian wineries, which means they’ll likely be as sweet as those celebrated varietals from Dorne.

Jane Burhop of Common Venture said that the wines are meant to be consumed, not collected, and that they might help ease the pain of the show’s brutal habit of killing off characters.

“Whether this becomes a coveted item for the fans or a bottle that is opened with every episode, this wine is made to be drunk with friends and to help soften the blow of the shock and heartache as our favorite characters are slowly killed off,” said Burhop, adding that the characteristics of the wines were meant to mirror the houses themselves. “The reds are all associated with the houses that are head strong and robust. The whites on the other hand are more cunning, perceptive and mysterious.”

The website continues in the same vein, drawing associations between the wine and the show. The series is set to launch in conjunction with the Season 5 premiere of ...

After an open casting call that spanned 11 US and UK cities and resulted in 67,000 imperial hopefuls auditioning for a role that would take them to a galaxy far, far away, “Star Wars: Episode VII” has added two total newbies to its impressively stacked cast. Meet Pip Anderson and Crystal Clarke!

“The Star Wars universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition,” said Lucasfilm president and producer of the film, Kathleen Kennedy. “We are delighted that so many travelled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film.”

According to StarWars.com, the film is also taking a wee bit of a break in production — but don’t worry, it won’t affect the release date. “In August, the team will take a brief two-week hiatus while adjustments to the current production schedule are made as actor Harrison Ford recovers from a leg injury. Harrison is doing well and is looking forward to returning to the set soon. Shooting remains on track to wrap in the fall with the film scheduled for release on December 18, 2015.”

Now let’s get back to the newbies!

Of the two newcomers, Crystal Clarke is the latest American to join the force, though she has been studying acting in Glasgow, Scotland. In addition to Episode VII, Clarke has been a regular on the ...

David Fincher‘s adaptation of “Gone Girl” is one of the most hotly-anticipated films of the year. Why? Hmmm maybe because he directed both “Social Network” and “The Girl WIth The Dragon Tattoo,” and we loved both of them a lot.

Plus, there’s the fact that the novel the movie is based on was a best-selling sensation. So much of a sensation, in fact, that today Twentieth Century Fox revealed a series of posters that tease, yup, another trailer. Groan. Teasers for a trailer? That’s sooooo 2014.

Whatever, we’re so excited for it that we’re biting anyway. The four new posters contain further clues about the disappearance of Amy Dunne (played by Rosamund Pike), and one shows a photo of her with her husband Nick Dunne (played by Ben Affleck) and several friends toasting at their wedding. But the photo is sealed in an evidence bag that’s ominously marked with “Happy Anniversary.”

The other shots also have the phrase “Happy Anniversary” and include a scalpel, a red thong, and a note that reads “This man may kill me.” Of course, the bottom half of the note has burnt marks, indicating, there may have been more to the clue! Dun dun DUN.

Maybe tomorrow’s trailer will help us tie these clues back in with what we already know? Which, you can quickly recap by watching the first trailer here.

Basically, Ben Affleck can’t find his wife anywhere and he’s going insane trying to find ...

For every Keira Knightley there are approximately 54,392 other actresses out there who claim to be able to sing that, well, kinda-sorta can’t. But the “Begin Again” star can actually, totally, 100% sing. Like really, really sing for real real.

Her folksy tone is prominently on display throughout the entirety of the film (which, if we may be so bold, is an warm-fuzzy delight of musical loveliness. Even the critics agree!), and takes center stage in the video for its breakup tune, “Like A Fool.”

We get some candied Aimee Mann/Martha Wainwright vibes with a little bit of Beth Orton thrown in for good measure — what about you? Plus, this song breaks our heart in the best way.

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

This baby is like, 100% more badass than we are. Because for most wee toddlers the music of Nine Inch Nails is prooooooobably not going to be calming. But this baby is clearly not like other babies.

This baby is going to grow up into the sort of cool girl who dresses all in black and has a record collection filled with her parents favorite retro bands from the nineties, like Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails. (Natch.) She’ll probably perfect cateye makeup before any of her friends and wear vintage t-shirts that are actually, well, old.

She’s going to be one deep, philosophical baby: contemplating the meaning (or lack thereof) of life. After all, we’re all just a copy of a copy those that have come before us (at least that’s what Nine Inch Nails thinks). This baby is going to be that cool girl you wish was your friend in college.

For anyone wondering, the song playing in the video is “Copy of A” off Nine Inch Nail’s latest album Hesitation Marks:

Trent Reznor’s been tweeting a lot of his feelings lately, maybe he’ll find out about his latest superfan and give her some love?

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

Alright, Taylor Swift superfans: your time is now.

Because, holy cats, the Taylor Swift Best Friend Brigade is having a meeting this 4th of July weekend with a few of its east coast members and at this point, and even we, the pop culture obsessive that we are, cannot list every BFF in this photo. It is that epic a gathering, chockablock with some of our favorites—and Taylor’s too, clearly!

It’s up to you now, Tay fans, to act swiftly (har har har we’re so clever and also modest), to hit the comments with a list of every famous biffle in this photo. Bonus points if some of them aren’t famous and you still know their name anyway (that’s serious TaySwift commitment). This is the moment for which you’ve all been waiting.

If you want to cheat a little bit, feel free to use this photo by Jaime King for assistance:

So let’s go — who’s who? Can you name them all?

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

On the 4th of July, one of Justin Bieber’s superfans, 24-year-old Alicia Tamboia was killed in a multi-vehicle car accident.

The Beliebers started a trend to remember the Wingdale, New York resident using the hashtag #RIPAlicia. Thousands of fans who had never even met her shared photos of Alicia with Justin —— she’d had the chance to take pictures with him at several meet and greets —— creating a sort of virtual memorial.

Justin noticed the hashtag was trending, and added his own condolences to the movement.

His fans appreciated that Justin took a moment to remember Alicia, and the tweet has already been shared over 50,000 times.

Our condolences are with Alicia’s family during this difficult time.

Caitlin White

MTV Weekend Editor. Acts like Madonna but listens to Merle.

There’s no doubt that Ariana Grande is talented and beautiful, with a few big hits under her belt already, but is the 21-year-old destined for a career that can rival Mariah Carey’s? A$AP Ferg, for one, definitely thinks so.

The Harlem rapper, who released his debut album Trap Lord last year, is featured on Ariana’s upcoming second LP, My Everything, on the song “Hands On Me,” and he has big predictions for her future.

“She’s the next Mariah Carey. She’s dope,” Ferg told MTV News on the BET Awards red carpet last weekend. “And that’s not an understatement, or an overstatement — I just see her as that next big voice that’s gonna pop.”

In regards to their collaboration on “Hands On Me,” he would only say that “it’s a dope song,” and he can’t wait for us to hear it.

We haven’t heard Ferg on many pop collaborations yet, he says that it’s all coming together organically.

“It’s not really strange because I do a lot of festivals, like Coachella, Bonnaroo [and] people don’t see what happens behind stage,” he explained. “I’m a rapper, but Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas comes to my trailer, I’m hanging out with Selena Gomez… and all of these people that love my music.”

“So it’s just about that time we put the art together.”

Last week Ariana Grande brought back MTV’s “TRL” for a day as “Total Ariana Live,” and one of our favorite moments was her Broadway-inspired rendition of A$AP Rocky’s “F—in’ Problems.”

Jul 6, 2014 | No Comments on Is Ariana Grande The ‘Next Mariah Carey’?

It’s totally obvious that this alleged footage from the “Star Wars Episode VII” set is fake. But that doesn’t make it any less cool and/or worthy of appreciation.

Because somebody — in this case German YouTube user Frank Wunderlich — took the time to make Frankfurt airport look like an imperial starport, complete with star destroyers and AT-AT walkers and the death star in the sky. And even if it isn’t real, it sure is fun.

According to the description, Wunderlich claimed that it “Looks like the Story of Star Wars plays on Earth too in the next Episode. I took these pictures on my Flight back from the States to Germany at the Frankfurt Airport. Seems like the biggest German airport plays a key role as an imperial starport in the new episode — there have just been imperial forces at the scene. Maybe the Rebelboys hide in Berlin… :-D”

We’re sure J.J. Abrams has no plans to bring the imperial forces to earth, but still, you have to admit: wouldn’t it be neat?

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.