Through the years we’ve seen vampires of all shapes, sizes and colors, none of which seem to compare to the likes of Eric Northman … not to many of us at least. With the kind of attitude attributed to the knowledge that all of Valhalla is backing him, their proud son, he is the original Viking Vampire and Sheriff of Area Five in Louisiana.
Yet finally, after a long, almost painful (sometimes frustrating) wait, we’re getting a glimpse into the sensitive side of this thousand year old vampire.
Season one … enter the “King” on his throne in the fiery lair he calls Fangtasia.
His subjects: Vamps, fangbangers and one little waitress/telepath who has captured his attention in a way he hasn’t experienced in many humdrum years. It was that first scene that my attention too became captured. His strong presence, prideful demeanor & egotistical attitude had caught my eye and had me scrambling to find out more about this undead prince named Eric Northman. I read the entire 8 books of the series (now 10) “Southern Vampire Mysteries” by Charlaine Harris, over the next four days. The final outcome was an overwhelming desire to head over to Charlaine’s abode and clean her floors, walk her dogs, whatever needed to be done to alleviate her burdens so she could sit at her computer and quickly finish book nine. That not being a possibility, I continued to watch, my eyes transfixed to the screen, growing more and more hypnotized by the man behind the mane.
Alexander Skarsgård, I would come to find, was born for the role. I knew he was talented in his craft having first seen him in his prior role of Sgt. Brad “Icemen” Colbert on the HBO mini-series Generation Kill. This man was handsome and tall such as the character in the books was described. He was too a “Viking” from the land of Svergie, Stockholm Sweden to be exact, and would throughout the next three years play the dialect coach to the rest of the cast when his native tongue would appear in a scene. So he pulled it off (easily by my account)! He captured the hearts of many, even winning the 2009 Spike TV Scream Award for Best Villain. Yet the fans, a greater majority, argued this entitlement. Eric Northman, the one in Sookieverse (which some like to call it) was far from the bad guy he was being judged as and made to portray on the telly (ie., the shredding of Royce in the first episode of season 2). We “bookies” knew he was much more complex than that!
A glimpse of this first appeared in season two’s “I Will Rise Up” when the TV series introduced Godric, Eric’s maker, decided to meet the sun. Eric’s emotions appeared front and center. The audience was witness to his respect, loyality and love for another being. It was uncomfortable for some yet refreshing and long awaited for others. “About time!” I said to myself that evening the show aired. This coming from, as I said before, a loyal bookie who knew what the Sheriff was capable of.
The death of Long Shadow was the first of many missteps into the Alan Ball conspiracy of making Eric the undead villain he had imagined. There were a few of these instances along the way …
The staking of the thief and traitor belonged to the Sheriff! Many of us bookies saw that move as the first step onto the long road of what would become the love-triangle. The second, the re-graveling of that horribly bumpy driveway that led to Sookie’s front door, and strangely enough her heart. This was also an endeavor stolen away from the Viking vamp in the series. Most painful was the absence of the friendly, yet mostly perverse, banter the two blondies shared.
“Hey, our hair’s the same color,” I said, eyeing us side by side in the mirror. (Sookie)
“Sure is, girlfriend.” Eric grinned at me. “But are you blonde all the way down?”
“Don’t you wish you knew?”
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Well, you’ll just have to wonder.”
Needless to say the TV Eric has endured a struggle on his journey into Sookie’s heart and unforgettable dream sequences.
He’s played the ruthless business man, the egotistical smart ass, the sheriff in a town that’s not big enough for two, the beast that easily tore a man to shreds and now we watch as he takes baby steps toward the adorable, almost squeezable, sentimental lover we’ve been waiting for.
However we still want our BAD BOY!!!
Read Dark Bill
Thank you! I first was turned on to True Blood mid season 2. I immediately bought season 1 and gobbled it up. When I found myself with no more show, I got my Bon Temps fix through the books. Although I had started a hard core Bill fan, the books changed my mind. You’re right. TV Eric has been robbed of all the sweet little things he’s done for Sookie in the books as well as their playful banter. I can’t see how Sookie can treat Eric like he’s something stuck to the bottom of her shoe and then fall in love with him but I’m willing to hope. Given the hints Alan Ball dropped at Comic-Con, I think season 4, as in book 4, will be Eric’s time and God willing, we’ll get a full frontal shower scene!
I agree. There was so many times that Eric and Sookie had a chance to joke around with each other which helped build her trust for Eric in the books. Dreams aside, there are no jovial moments between Eric & Sookie in the show. Can only hope that we’ll get to see a half naked Viking running down Hummingbird lane soon!
I have to start out saying I LOVE ERIC. He is a great bastard. Seriously I’m not trying to be a bitch here but this posting seems to be mostly about the books and not the tv show. Let’s enjoy Eric as presented by Allan Ball and our beloved TB. Really I’m not being trying to be a bitch. But this website is about the TV show NOT THE BOOKS The way the characters are potrayed in the show is different than the books. TV Eric and Book Eric is like comparing apple and oranges.. The entirty of a book or series of books doesnt always translate well to film and some ideas are elminated and others created for the sake of the story or expediency. I love Eric as a bad boy..why pussify him by making him all warm and cuddly. He grates on Sookie and it makes for great viewing.
The staking of Longshadow belonged to the sheriff? Then why did he just stand there and let Longshadow try to kill Sookie?
I am no prude by any stretch of the imagination, I have had my share of one night stands and less that biblical type encounters . But if a man I wasnt sleeping with asked me about the color of my pubic hair my first reaction would be “eww”. I wouldnt think “Oh what a charming rogue he must be”.
I think Alexander Skarsgard is awesome in the part. He was born to play this part. He has the skills and the physicality to pull it off.
Cant we just address the show and not the books? I mean no offense bit it is tiresome to hear over and over again Book Eric did this and Book Eric did that.
Because no one who watches Twilight ever mentions the books… and no one who watches Harry Potter ever does either right? The show is based on a very popular series of books. Asking people not to mention them is silly. Of course people will mention the books for without them there would be no show!
I never said that the books should never be mentioned. The books are the genesis of our beloved True Blood whether you be a Bill or Eric or whomever person. I re-read my post and I didnt say the books shouldnt be mentioned. All I said was that this is a site for the TV show and the post seemed to be about the books. I understand the bookies are passionate. But I stand by the statement that comparing the TV characters as written to the book characters is folly.
Tincars’s post about Bill’s evolution was show centered. The Eric post was book centered. Like TV Eric’s growth and change as a character on the show is not worth commenting on. Does the only merit the charatcer has is how he is portrayed in the books.? I personally like the character as portrayed on the show.
I agree with you sassy in that I was expecting to read a comment on Eric’s evolution on TB, not the books or a comparison between the two. Not that there is anything wrong in that, merely that I thought the focus here would be different.
I am a fan of TB and love both Eric and Bill, I love exactly what is being discussed here: that they are both complex characters whose emotional range and psychology keep surprising us and getting denser at every turn.
Eric is a scoundrel, a survivor and true disciple of Machiavelli – he knows that power is a dirty business, he knows the price of survival and supremacy and he will pay it (or make others pay, more like it :D). An he makes no apologies for it, which is part of the reason I like him so much. He has lived for so long and seen so much that, in season 1, languidly draped over his throne and bored within an inch of his marble white skin, we get the impression he is is just shootin’ the breeze and watching the years roll by. Enters sookie and his universe does a back-flip on him.
Eric is – gasp – intrigued, interested and piked at the idea of messing with Bill. He has found something to keep him entertained, sometimes amused and other just plain aggravated. But it beats the hell out of being bored.
Through his punishment of Lafayette, the death of the vamp-killer redneck and other such scenes, we see the sheriff, the authoritative ruler of his little corner of Louisiana.
But we also see flashes of a witty if devious mind, his smugness and rascal ways (which I find delectable but to each his own) – showing up in bill’s pool listening to old Swedish folk, the hilarious hair-dye debacle, the run-in with bill at the department store, etc.
As season 2 develops, we get more and more intrigued with eric as he seems to be not his usual controlled self. There is conflict and anguish burning bellow his unruffled surface. Godric is the catalyst for a major shift in Eric’s character or at least our perception of him: there is something he holds dearer than his own precious behind. There is love in him – and we are left wondering if that love is going to be redirected to sookie, after the loss of godric.
So dark and twisted eric walks away from the shadow and into the light, as his crafty antics and machinations are delivered with a healthy dose of humour (bullet sucking; “baby?!”; teacup humans and other very amusing moments).
As with everything concerning Eric, nothing is clear-cut. Season 3 has showed us a traumatic event that has haunted him for years and that will ultimately drive his actions and his choices, whatever the cost to anyone else. So he dismisses sookie, plays casanova with talbot and henchman to the king. Enter the dark. But at the same time, we are by touched his feelings for his child, his loyalty to her and to the promise made to a murdered king and father on his deathbed. Could this be the light? I have more questions than answer in this regard but I am happy to bide my time and let AB’s vision take me on this wild journey through Eric’s many shades of grey.
Love this! Also, the reason why Eric fans always mention the book in regards to him and Bill fans don’t.. well Bill from the books was GREATLY improved by the show… so of course they want to forget the books ever existed. Eric fans on the other hand… we can’t help but want our Viking to be portrayed correctly. If AB would do that, I seriously doubt as many book comments would come up.
I don`t think it`so much comparing the books to the series, as just saying we miss some of the things left out of the series that are in the books. There are things Alan Ball has done with the show that I liked better than the books, and of course, vice versa. When Eric asked Sookie in the books if she was blond all the way down, that was just Eric being Eric. He also replied that he was, indeed blond all the way down. I think the show is basically like the books, but AB is just taking a different route to get to the plot. I love the fact that Lafayette didn`t die as he did in the books, he is one of my favorite characters. Nelsan Ellis takes the roll of a flambouyant gay man in the deep south and plays it magnificently. Not many gay men would profess to be gay let alone dress the part. AB has assembled a great cast of characters! Hope the show lasts for many years to come!
Hear Hear! The voice of reason speaks!
Wonderful post! I am very much a bookie and Eric loyalist but I didn’t start out at that way. I watched the show first and while I liked Bill well enough I was kind of bored by him. Then I read the books and it was like a lightning flash. I knew who Sookie belonged with by book 2. And yes it pained me to see Eric’s handiwork was being attributed to Bill in the show or just left out altogether to make him the “bad guy” so that Bill would look like the white night.
Eric is beginning to really show not only how smart he is, playing off all of the vampires around Russell and Talbot, he is also showing the fact that he is falling, hard, for Sookie and it is really puzzzling him. Here’s a guy who prides himself on being ruthless and powerful, able to move a finger and have someone doing his bidding and here is this little slip of a blond, a waitress even, that thinks nothing of standing up to him and telling him how it is going to go. He can’t glamor her into doing it and he can’t force her. This really is making him crazy because he’s now having feelings.
I’m loving it!
Thanks for writing this! I love both Eric and Bill but I have to admitt Eric is my favorite! I loved Eric in the books and I love him in TB and I think AB has did a good job of keeping the season close to the books as he can , but I do agree that Eric was robbed of some character and relationship building moments. I wish AB would of let some of those moments be but I know the show has to have more then just Sookies point of view so that makes it complicated.
I Think the big thing with Eric this season is he has so much going on of his own plots that he appears to alot of ppl that he’s blowing Sookie off or “Spurning her” (as the synopsis of last episode said),lol . In the third book Eric was right up in there helping Sookie all the way he never “Spurned her” but he didn’t have any other chaos in his life at the time where AB has created all this other chaos in Eic’s life that is preventing him from helping her more. I just really really really really hope that Eric is the one that gives her the blood to heal in the Hospital. She has only had his blood once in three seasons and she should of had it at the least twice by now if not more (I’d have to go back and look)..LOL I’m reading book 4 for the 4th time so thats got me consumed now..lol anyway I know and trust that whatever AB does it will be good but I hope it includes some redeeming moments for Eric to make up for all the past robbed moments of his!
Thankyou both for your writings on our favourite boyvamps :) I’m not a teamster but I have been drawn more to Eric’s arc. To me it’s more interesting to watch someone change within their personality (as opposed simply to behaviours). The Eric at 1100 years of age is essentially a copy of his (not so endearing) human self. But there are cracks showing now. He’s changing primal elements of himself. Godric’s death started it, and somehow Sookie is chipping away at him without either of them being aware of it. It makes great television.
totally agree!!
There isnt alot of us that have posted comments on both eric and bill. Does this mean the team erics didnt read dark bill? or just had no intention of posting a comment? (and vice versa for team bill)
I guess I will be one of the few that post a comment on both because I genuinely like both characters. I cant understand how people could like one without the other? but thats just me.
I can see why some people posted comments about how ‘light eric’ seemed to talk more about book eric. But it makes sense. Why? If you read ‘dark bill’, in contrast there is no mention about book bill. Its not anything to do with the fact that this website has more to do with the show rather than book fans. Its a pretty simple answer. Bill was largely absent in the books, and so much better in the show. And eric dominates the book, but is taking his time in TB. It makes sense that the contrast in writing about our fav characters come from the different sources, the characters are better in one form than they are in the other. However, just like the books took its time in introducing and developing eric at first. The show is definately going in the same direction. It will be just a matter of time before eric fans will stop referring to eric in the books and how great he is in them, to talking about TB Eric and how wonderful he is…Just be patient :)
I do agree with the friendly banter that is book eric and sookie..Thats what drew me to their relationship, the halarious funny banter! I hope the show does more of it, eric and sookie do not have to be in a relationship for me, because personally I dont care who she ends up with. But I would love to see any sookie eric interaction of any capacity, just as long as its the funny banter!! And some bed stuff too!!! :) the more naked alex the better hehe!
Thanks for this jenna!!!
“I guess I will be one of the few that post a comment on both because I genuinely like both characters. I cant understand how people could like one without the other? but thats just me.”
LOL. I haven’t commented on the other thread cause I really just don’t like Bill and thought perhaps that post should be reserved for the shippers. When he was in the dungeon with Lorena I wanted her to just stake him already. I am tired of Eric taking a back seat to “Beel”.
Jay, your post is spot on.
As both a book fan and a True Blood fan, I think the things that were given to Bill that were Eric’s in the book were necessary. The staking of Longshadow, had much better consequences with Bill doing it because we have Jessica. A completely unique character that should keep Bill busy even if Sookie is no longer his. In the Books we had Eric do it, but all that came of it was Eric had to pay his maker, and when that wasn’t considered enough someone was sent to kill Sookie. The way it has been written on the show, Bill comes across much better, and less creepy, which is a good thing for everyone. Without the changes, there would be no triangle, just Bill standing in the way of True Love! Like Alan Ball said, unlike in the Books Bill is not going to be marginalized.
As for TV show, Eric, it is his genuine love for Pam that has me most enraptured. While he might be attracted to Sookie, his main concern is for his child who is being held prisoner and being tortured. Loyalty!
It will also be interesting if we get to have flashbacks of human Eric and Vampire Eric over the years. I would like to see if he did as his father wanted, marry and learn to be king before he was turned, or if his family’s murder sent him directly into the path of revenge that has driven him for the last 1000 years. While AB may have taken some minor things away from Eric, he has added much more depth than Charlaine has. It will be interesting to see if he can work with Bill in the end for everyones good. I have a feeling those cement truck pictures might just indicate they are paving Sookie’s driveway and covering up the bodies, after she has uninvited both of them from her house, because they are first and foremost VAMPIRES and she’s
FED UP with them BOTH!!!!
Read the books, some twice, watch the show, and am outing myself as a Bill lover off the bat. That said, TB Eric has proven himself to be a contender. AS and SM’s performances were bravuara last Sunday. True Blood exposes the darkness in the characters that cannot be expressed in the books because they are written first person protagonist in Sookie’s voice. Alan Ball brings to the screen a world that is amoral by human standards and careening head on into our back yards. In my living room, I witnessed Eric (A/S) brilliantly play the pawns to achieve multiple ends: vengeance, saving his progeny, and keeping a human alive, that, perplexingly, intrigues him. Okay, now I get the attraction, whether Sookie and Eric deny it, or not. Power, properly played, sizzles. (Pink spandex, hair color discussions, and minstry by mail do not, but I did enjoy the laughs.)
I sometimes find that this site tends to be a bit biased towards Bill, so it was a nice change to see two articles compare these characters that spark such passionate debate. I am a bookie (I’ve read all 10 books at least 3 times now), and am completely obsessed with the show. A good percentage of you that regularly post and visit this site are in the same boat as me. It can not be helped that us bookies compare the different interpretations of Eric in the books and what we see on the show, and personally I see nothing wrong with that. Yes there are some things that AB changed from the books, but has it really taken away from Eric’s core personality?
I really like how Eric is being portrayed on the show. AB has introduced us to a vampire that is a leader, a maker, a business man who shows his strength, and cunning in order to not only survive but succeed. Bill is not a leader and therefore has no need of these qualities. All he has to do is survive and not get staked, mind you I have a feeling Bill will get more ambitious through time. Eric is very medieval in his thinking and is ruthless to those who betray him, yet generous to those who are loyal. AB shows us very subtly throughout the show that Eric is not black and white, but complicated. I’m also happy that AB has chosen to take his time with Sookie’s relationship with Eric and to let it grow slowly and not rush it. Sookie needs to experience a lot more before she’s ready for the viking king.
Thanks again for two well written articles that will continue the long debate of Eric vs. Bill
Thanks Jenna for a nice “light” Eric.
“The death of Long Shadow was the first of many missteps into the Alan Ball conspiracy of making Eric the undead villain he had imagined. There were a few of these instances along the way …”
But aren’t you thankful that AB didn’t add the threats against Bill that Eric made to get Sookie to work for him on multiple occasions as he never paid her and don’t forget to thank AB for not including Eric threatening Sookie in her own kitchen when he was trying to find Bill’s work. And AB left out Sookie listening to Eric’s mind and it sounding like a “pit of snakes”.
Maybe AB has played Eric in the light he was written or actually has made him look better than he did in the books at this point.
Sorry Jenna, sometimes I just can’t help myself. Is the wrestling match still on at EyeCon? You going?
This was a hard article to write…
First of all I’m far from the writer TinCar is! Harder still was trying to write this article based strictly on the TV Eric. He hasen’t had much of a story line up until Godric entered the picture last season. Now we’re getting more “meat” to bite into (no pun intended – really : )
Yes I love the differences in the show vs the book as well – it would suck to know EVERYTHING that was headed our way.
I figure there’s a bunch of different layers when it comes to True Blood/SMV fans. You got your loyal bookies, your show fans, the peep that love both, the peep that hate both, the peep that haven’t experienced both and then you may or may not be part of a “Team”. As site admins we’ve discovered, as with life in general, that when you’re dealing with such a large group of people…you can’t please everyone ALL the time…hell sometimes it feels like you can’t please anyone. But we try and with articles such as these, it’s a personal endeavor! It was my view on the character and since I’m an admitted Bookie before a show fan…I found it hard to not go back to that Eric Northman I’ve come to be fond of!!!
Although I’m a solid Eric fan, a lot of the people I adore the most in this crazy TB world are on Bill’s Team…Aemac for example! She’s that little she-demon that sits on my shoulder whispering bad things about Eric and trying to pull me into Bill’s Dark Side. She tries and tries and I just nod and give her the occasional sigh…however, I don’t think we’d find each other as interesting if we thought the same way and didn’t have our occasional bicker fest….
Bad decision making regarding the love triangle aside…I WUV THAT CHIC!!! : )
@Aemac – Hehe… NO…I like the threats in the book that come from the Sheriff…
It would’ve been hard for us to see him change into the more sentimental Eric if he wasn’t a big giant butthead to begin with! And like I said…I don’t necessarily want him to become this lovey dovey family guy! I want him sassy, conniving, prideful and untouchable….but I also want to see his heart on occasion!!
AND…
Yes my dear, I will be at Eyecon!! I’m still trying to work out the details for the whipped cream wrestling match! You afraid sweet cheeks??
LOL! Both book and show Eric’s threats are meaningless and quickly negated. They’re for the sole purpose of getting a reaction. And Eric not only pays Sookie both in books and show…he gives her what she wants and needs without her having to ask for it. Without making her feel like a “kept woman”. Well…she did ask for $10,000 so far…but she didn’t ask for the bonus.
That “snake pit” thing was just weird…more a reaction to discovering she’d just read Eric’s mind…because what was in his mind was not all that bad.
“He was thinking he could make me do what he wanted, anywhere, anytime, just by threatening Bill or some human I loved. But he wanted to mainstream, to keep as legal as he could, to keep his relationships with humans aboveboard, or at least as aboveboard as vampire-human relationships could be. He didn’t want to kill anyone if he didn’t have to.”
A secret she keeps throughout the books. The one vampire mind she can read…is Eric’s?
I’ve always felt AB did well to “give” Bill the staking of LongShadow. Bill NEEDED that just as he needed the running out in the sun and frying to a crisp in an attempt to save his sNookie. Eric didn’t need that…what Eric did need was Godric. Fair trade off and voila…we have a GREAT triangle!
If Bill and Eric had been presented the way they were in the books…Bill wouldn’t have stood a chance. I didn’t care much for book Bill. He was okay…he had his moments. He doesn’t really become a strong character until he’s lost Sookie though. Show Bill/Stephen Moyer…is a strong and spectacular character. A worthy adversary…though still a hot head.
While I really like book Eric (reminds me of someone) I like show Eric even better. I have a hard time reconciling the two Eric’s because of the hair, LOL!
Alexander Skarsgård…irresistible.
Alex BRINGS Eric to “life” in much the same way Stephen brings Bill to “life”.
The only character I see suffering…book to show…is Sookie. She was much stronger and more self-sufficient in the books. I want that kick arse vamp loving heroine back. I want to see her grow and evolve…have great sex with whoever she wants…become harder and more ruthless…the way she does in the books. I don’t care who she ends up with…or if she ends up with no one…in the books and show. Anna brings Sookie to “life”.
I do think the evolution from light to gray is happening. I think King Russell Edginton with his “pit of snakes, cold snakes, lethal snakes” mind…might just be a turning point for our Sookie.
I have read all of the books, some several times and find that I enjoy the show just a bit more. I love the layers that AB has developed with all of the characters. I see this perfect storm brewing now, and ending with the season 3 conclusion. We have Sookie truly “in hate” with Eric and will never forgive him for what he has done. You can almost see Eric bristle with his back turned to Sookie in RE’s library with the words spewing from her mouth, not to mention knowing exactly how she “feels”. I can see it now….end the of season 3 will have our favorite viking running down Hummingbird Road with no shoes and shirt with his memory totally stripped. Sookie will be driving home from a long night at the bar and the foundation for season 4 will be laid. Sookie, forced to help a man whom she hates more than any other person alive or undead. Perfection Alan! Bravo!
I have loved Eric since I read the first book, way before the show was ever thought of. And Alex is the perfect Eric. Bill has never appeled to me and never will, not that Steven is not a good actor.
Agree… can’t wait for season 4 and book 11.
Hello everyone,
I will (try to) not compare between the books and the show anymore, I have learned my lesson (read: I got very frustrated). The last thing I will say is: Imo it’s harder for Eric fans to let go of the books while watching the show, because the Eric book ‘things’ that are left out are very prominent things for the Sookie and Eric relationship. The Bill book ‘things’ that are left out in the show are more to Bill’s advantage in his relationship with Sookie. For me as an Eric fan since the first book, it sometimes is a little annoying to see how Alan Ball purposely makes Bill the ‘better one’ for Sookie, through ignoring some of Eric’s great book actions and adding better Bill tv moments… Sometimes very hardcore things too, I’m not gonna list them all, but I guess True fans all know ;) Hmm I hope this makes sense…
Hopefully season 4 will be Eric’s time to shine (even more)! ;)
Btw, I do have to say that Stephen Moyer does make me love Bill, because in the books I didnt like Bill at all!
Greetings from Holland,
Ashera
PS. Jenna, thank you for the article :D
I choose not to choose. Both Bill and Eric have their respective charms and I have found my self charmed, mesmerized, filled with lust and in love with both of them at various times. I simply cannot imagine any actors who could do a better job or be more perfectly suited to their respective roles than Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard. They are both too delicious for words and I hope to see them both for many more seasons to come.
This is to Tiffany…I’m with you girlfriend…I can’t help comparing book Eric to TB Eric… and your comment about “Twilight” was so spot on……The movies follow the books almost exactly, so the fans are happy. Their banter in the books would be great for the show…and all the things Eric did for Sookie…that bill never even considered…Let’s just hope AB does the right thing this upcoming season…if you know what I mean? I do like the unexpected twists and turns..but he should keep with the main storylines. My fingers are crossed……
Naked man running down road, and a real sexy shower scene…not a bloody one like last year…Dumb