Why Bill is No Hero – Eric Takes the Cake
December 10, 2009 by Tiffany
Filed under Eric Northman, The Books
This is a running list of the reasons why I do not like Bill Compton as Sookie’s love interest and why Eric is MUCH better for her. Since the books are so different from the TV series I will put either (books) or (TV) so you will know which version of the character I am talking about.
Reasons Why Bill Compton is a Big ZERO compared to Eric Northman
Bill
* Bill became obsessed with an assignment from the Queen of Louisiana and sat continuously in front of the computer to work on the project. He virtually ignored Sookie for weeks. (Books)
* Bill lied to Sookie about where he was going away to and that happened to be somewhere with his ex lover! (Books)
* Bill gave money to the Bellefleur’s because he found he was a distant relation to them. Sookie was in need of money at the time as well but Bill didn’t see fit to help his own girlfriend out with her finances when all the vampire business was what was making her miss so much work! (Books)
* Bill was going to leave Sookie for Lorena and give Sookie money as a payoff for being such an ass. (Books)
* Bill raped Sookie in the trunk of a car and drained a lot of blood from her. He claimed he didn’t know it was her at first, but hello… is doing that to some other chick okay??? To add insult and injury to more injury this happened after Sookie nearly died trying to save him. (Books)
* Bill “sensed” Sookie was in danger nearby and ignored the call, opting instead to lure a young stripper (who had just given him a lap dance) into a limo so he, Lorena, and the King of Mississippi could drain her. (TV)
* Bill refuses to save Tara when she was abducted by vampires, and he drinks Sookie nearly to death after she risked her life to save him. (TV)
* Bill hate fucked Lorena and then called Sookie to tell her. (TV)
* Bill stood by and allowed Sookie to be beaten almost to death so she could be persuaded into drinking his blood and forming a blood bond. (TV)
* Bill tried to kill everyone who tasted Sookie’s blood, telling her he was the only vamp that could control himself around her. Nevermind the fact that Bill almost drained her after an injury and Eric did not, under similar circumstances. (TV)
* Bill tried to kill Eric again after he walked in on he and Sookie getting intimate. (TV)
* Bill felt Sookie’s best friend Tara was acceptable collateral damage in his witch/vampire war.
Eric
* Eric sent Bubba to protect Sookie when Bill was gone. So when push came to shove it was Eric who was looking out for her safety… not Bill. (Books)
* Instead of ignoring Sookie, Eric always has time to tell her how beautiful and desirable she is. (Books, TV)
* Sookie proclaimed that Eric actually “got” (understood) her, which she took great comfort in. (Books)
*Eric knew she was having money troubles because of all the work she was doing for them and in appreciation he had her driveway re-paved with really nice and expensive gravel. He only needed to hear once in passing that she needed a new driveway and he took care of it. He also bought her a new door when her old one got destroyed by a vampire. (Books)
* Eric bought her a new coat because she needed one. (Books)
* Eric made a special trip to see Sookie after he lied to her, to put things right and to protect her in case any werewolves showed up. (TV)
* Eric proclaimed that his one regret if he were to die would be that he never kissed Sookie. (TV)
* Eric attempted to sacrifice himself by meeting the sun while chained to Russell because he knew he could not beat Russell in combat. Sacrificing himself meant that Sookie and Pam would be protected. (TV)
* When Sookie breaks their blood bond Eric calls her home in a panic (within seconds), thinking she may have died. When he hears her voice he makes sure she knows he loves her, bond or no. (Books)
*Eric bought Sookie’s house because he never lost faith she was alive when she disappeared into the Faery world. (TV)
* Eric treated her like delectable dessert and his equal after they took their relationship to the next level. (TV)
* Instead of thinking she is too weak to get involved in vampire matters Eric calls her a warrior. (TV)
* When Eric gets his memories back after a spell with amnesia he still proclaims to love Sookie and admits that he has given himself to her completely. (TV)
******************************************************
In summation… Bill this is for you:
Okay I guess I’m one of the few but I really liked Quinn! I also know that with all these things if you read it and still want to choose Bill over Eric you need to make an immediate appointment for a psych evaluation…no for real!
I just finished reading All Together Dead. I totally disliked the Quinn character and hope he doesn’t get introduced in the show. I thought it funny that Bill had such a small part in that book and Eric was squeezed in here and there and instead of going to Bill’s aid she goes to Eric’s. That says alot. I want more Eric/Sookie.
I hate Quinn!!! That book is almost a waste of good words because of the were tiger…
Ok not that much if a waste but I hate Quinn!!!
There are two big reasons for preferring Eric to Bill:
(1) Eric is willing to be the bigger person, and help Sookie be with the person she wants to be with most (TV). I mean, he hires a werewolf to help her search for Bill. Every time that Sookie and Eric have the slightest interaction, Bill gets touchy and dominant, and bullies her into staying away from him.
(2) Eric respects Sookie. He thinks that she is powerful and intelligent. Bill constantly seems to treat her like she is stupid or weak. Constantly.
BTW, Here is an idea about rescuing Tara, Bill could have at least said he wanted to drink from her even if they did not let him. At least he could have tried! What I hate most about Bill is that he had sex with Lorena!!! That was Bad and sad…
Sookie can’t go back to him, this will always be in her mind… And Yeah Eric Can be Selfish but he was making a plan to achieve both goals his and hers. He made her valuable in KRE’s eyes.There is one thing i dont get, When Eric went to Jason’s house what was his purpose? to say goodbye?
Bill took her for granted, Eric feels like he does not deserve her, like she is the prize of a 1000 years of waiting without knowing what real love was!! When they were at Fangtasia with Russell and he was going to drink from her his eyes were so intent on her like he didn’t deserve to drink from her and much less without her consent. It was going to be his dream come true. He have curious ways of doing things because he is a 1000 years old but in the end he only cares for Sookie’s well being.
Bill always treats Sookie second rate. Eric gives sookie the room she needs to be herself. Does his best to make sure she gets to keep her independence that she craves so much. In the books he saves her over and over again. I did not like the situation in the latest sookie book about how Eric has a “betrothed.” I really hope the books stick with Eric as the love of her life instead of switching it yet again. The t.v. show is determined to end up with Bill as the main love. Ugh.
First off I wanted to clear up a mistake that was poorly made…….
Bill did NOT rescue Sookie when she was in danger at the wolf bar because he would have led Lorena and KRE right to her, if any of you people were paying attention, you would have caught on, same with rescuing Tara, but it’s clear, obsessed Eric fans see what they want anyways!!!
Lindsy,
The situation at the wolf bar might “almost” be explained that way except he had no problem leading KRE to her once he heard she was cohabiting with a werewolf. Whether it was jealousy or fear for her that motivated him he went straight to her and led KRE there as well, so that argument does not wash. It if FAR more likely he ignored her silent plea because he was trying to cut ties with her. In fact he went back to KRE’s place and screwed Lorena right afterwards. As for Tara, yes he may have done that to stay in KRE’s good graces but since he did an about face only a day or later it makes it hard to rationalize that he could not have done it then and saved Sookie’s best friend from being terrorized. Heck, KRE would have had no idea he was doing it for Sookie at all.
Wrong again, as I remember correctly, Lorena followed him upstairs and he called her a “Tiresome Cow” and slammed the door in her face.
I couldn’t even begin to think what would have happened if Bill showed Tara’s best interest in front of Lorena and Kre, probably woulda ripped her apart??
But you will see things your way and I will see how the show plays it out.
Oh yes, Bill waited a whole day after leaving his girlfriend to rot, before he screwed Lorena. It’s all in the details, LOL. The fact is he had no reason to ignore her that day and instead lead KRE to her only days later when he found she was shacking up with some other guy. In one situation she was in danger and in the other she really wasn’t.
Bill fans like to scream foul about how Eric didn’t save Sookie from KRE’s house when Bill begged him to but yet they make excuses for why Bill couldn’t do the same with Tara. You can’t have it both ways. He could have helped her on the sly but he didn’t even bother with her… some honorable guy there.
My friend sent me the audio books so I could see if I wanted to get into the novels and the show. I listened to a bit, got really hooked, but then I learned that Bill is a total jerk. So I stopped listening. I literally stopped RIGHT before Eric is first introduced. It took several hours to listen to that much, and when I found out Bill was such an ass I deleted the files.
Then my friend told me about Eric, and I was impressed, but wary. So I chose to watch the show a bit, before trying the novels again.
In the end, my belief that Bill was horrible was confirmed. But I learned that Eric is badass, sex on a stick. So it all balances out. I’m currently catching up on a the books, and LOVING it.
I really don’t see why anyone would pick Bill.
Eric have this SEXY SMILE unlike BILL
Eric has ABS, bill doesn’t have one
Eric is hot. bill is cold
Eric is a good kisser.
Eric is Modern. HAHAHA
Well that’s straight to the point HAHAHA…I agree.
Eric is better than Bill for Sookie in many ways, books and t.v. show, for many reasons.
1) In both, Bill is possessive and controlling, and often treats Sookie like an ignorant child.
2)In both, Bill has a sever lying problem (t.v. show…he lied about Uncle Bartlett, his Queen’s mission, the RATTRAYS, the dossier (tried to say it was because of ERic! When it was really for his mission!), said he was the only vampire that could control himself around Sookie (LOL), didn’t tell her about Jessica for over two weeks). I mean, really!? Am I forgetting any? OH yeah, also never told her about the blood enhancing sexual attraction specific to the vampire it came from…made it seem like it just raised your general libido. Their whole realtionship started because of this hero image…bill rescuing her from the rattrays, saving her life, when really he was just making sure he got his blood into her and that she saw him as her hero. This just made his job easier.
3) Bill always refuses to own up to his mistakes, in the t.v. show and books.
It’s always an excuse or justification with him. I had to, they made me, I was saving your life, blah, blah, blah. Eric doesn’t try to make excuses, he owns up to his actions. Bill justifies any bad behavior somehow. He doesnt even apologize specifically for screwing Lorena, never even discusses what he did with Sookie. Its just put on the back shelf and ignored.
4) Bill continues over and over to give Sookie huge amounts of his blood (t.v. show), knowing it will influence her ability to make judgements regarding him and their relationship. The blood in that huge amount would obviously increase the intensity of their bond and make it that much harder to break, and Bill would obviously know this. Eric has only gotten a few drops into Sookie, and didnt’ try to excuse it or lie his way out of it either. And he didn’t do it because he thought it would break up Bill and sookie either, he’s not stupid and either is Sookie (well, not all the time LOL).
5)Eric actually has a sense of humor, Bill has none (both mediums)
6)Eric respects Sookie and her independence, in fact enjoys it
7)Eric encourages Sookie to use her ability and view it as a gift, not a curse. Bill just constantly goes on about danger etc. He doesnt get how much Sookie’s gift being valued means to her.
Thats just a few. I could go on for days there are so many reasons why Bill is wrong for Sookie and Eric is better.
And also if you remember the episode where Sookie thinks that Bill was burnt in that house along with other three vampires and then when she goes to the cemetry he kinda brutally rapes her, I thought he would actually kiss her, or comfort her or something.But he goes straught to the sex and makes this moment so disgusting!! That was actually the moment i realised that Bill is not good for Sookie.
Eric and Sookie are very great together.Eric has never hurt her.Eric loves Sookie very much.Bill only gave Sookie blood so he could get her under his control.I know eventily Bill fell in love with her but still it is not right to start a love affair.Eric has never lied to her.After all in the last scean of season 3 Eric finally told Sookie that Bill was here to aquiere her for the Queen of Luisianna and that he pepsoly had the Rattray’s beat her up so that he could give her his blood so that Sookie would be Boned to him and only him.Eric Said it pained him to see her this way.I just can’t wait untill season 4 to air in the summer.
+ LOL AT THE GIF.! XD! ERIC IS THE BEST! ♥ +
Let us also not forget that Bill, when feeding, takes more blood than he needs to. He also fed on someone else while sookie sat in the other room in living dead in Dallas. We all know what comes with feeding and vampires, especially one that can’t control himself. Also I would like to mention that Bill doesn’t tolerate Sookie eating. He will not sit with her while she eats, so she has to eat alone and he wouldn’t even touch her afterwords until she profusely brushed and rebrushed her teeth, no matter what she ate. He’s an inconsiderate bastard and I hate him. I’m not saying Eric doesn’t have his faults but he’s still so much better than beel. The whole food thing really pisses me off.
This was so funny I LMAO and then shared it everywhere.
The list is the bomb and what’s more, it’s so true.
Eric has honor, Eric has real love, Eric tells the truth and is downright perfecto!
I have three great reasons why Eric is the man for Sookie(and Bill sucks).
1. Eric is proud of Sookie when she is strong, he isn’t always trying to shut her up or squash her confidence like Bill does. When Eric finds out she killed Lorena (who was trying to kill her) he looks “as proud as though his first born had just recited Shakespeare”. When Pam reports that Sookie killed Bruno Bazell herself when he attacked them, Eric tells Pam to tell Sookie he’s proud of her. When Sookie is in Dr. Ludwig’s hospital after her torture at the hands of Niall’s enemies, Eric tells her how proud he is of her. In contrast when Sookie describes how close she came to being raped while imprisoned in the basement of the Fellowship of the Sun church, she makes the comment that she had got in a few good hits before Godric saved her from Gabe. Bill’s reply: “Don’t brag”.
2. Eric helps her be strong. It is not just his positive reaction to her strength, but something about him that actually makes her stronger. When Sookie stood up to interupt the trial of Sophie-Anne in Altogether Dead she was scared to death, but then she felt Eric move to stand behind her and she had more courage. On the other hand, when she was questioning witnesses for Stan in Living Dead in Dallas she avoids making eye contact with Bill because she feels it will sap her strength.
3. Eric has never coerced Sookie into sex. The Bill fans like to defend him against the charge of rape, so we’ll forget that for the moment (as though you ever could). What about the time they were having make-up sex and after the first rough session Sookie asked Bill to “be sweet” and he said he couldn’t, he’d be sweet next time. Gee, and what happened after that? Oh yeah, he wanted to have sex, again, and when she said no she couldn’t, he used his strength to pop her right onto him. I guess nobody ever told him no means no. A real man treats a woman with respect. Eric flirts, teases, steals a kiss or two, but when Sookie is recovering emotionally from her ordeal in Dead and Gone he asks her “several times” if she’s sure she wants to engage in sex.
Bill is a morose tool and Sookie knows it. Before the blood bond and the amazing sex with Eric she did something that showed she already had a soft spot for the viking: she saved the bullet she sucked out of his chest. Would you save the chest bullet of a guy you didn’t have the hots for?
i love Eric. he’s amazing, he’s funny, sexy and just plain awesome. soooo much better for Sookie than Bill. he’s actualy fallen in love with Sookie for her, unlike Bill. i was disappointed when the last episode ended and nothing else happened between Eric and Sookie
ahh well, there’s always next season right? 
Bill go to hell
I hope Eric and Sookie ends up together. It really won’t make sense if they don’t. I am a little worried though cause Mrs. Harris states that Sookie will never become a vampire
Great list!
Eric is superior to Bill in every way fathomable.
I am sooo tired of the heroic gestures of Bill, and I have a Facebook page to prove it, it’s become a bit over done on the show.
Woot woot, I’m a fan now and I’ve commented! Couldn’t agree with you more!
Team Eric!
what’s the name of the page?
I hate to post a pro Bill statement on here, this is your space and I swear I just came on here because my friend likes Eric and I’m making her an Eric keepsake box and needed a few quotes, but anyways I just wanted to share why I like Bill over Eric.
first I’ll address the points that were made:
yes, I agree that it was a jerk move that he started to take Sookie for granted when he was working on the database.
It kind of bugs me when people bring up that Bill left Sookie to go to Lorena because it wasn’t like he was just called by an old friend/girl friend. He was called back by his maker. something that sookie later learned is very hard to avoid. (in dead in the family even Eric speaks of the bond between maker and child) and than when she told him he was not to return to sookie he tried to make sure she would be okay by leaving her money. I didn’t take it as he was just buying forgiveness, more as the last act he could do for her.
I believe the easy answer to why bill never gave sookie money is just to reread what happened in the beginning of book 2, living dead in Dallas, when he told her that he had bought the property that Tara’s togs was on and if she ever wanted clothes to just simply go in and put it on his tab, flipped out and told him she was not going to be a kept woman and pretty much that she didn’t want to be treated as a whore. if i had been given this speech i would think not just twice but three and four times before i make an offer of money or such to my girlfriend again.
if i remember correctly, in the trunk when bill woke up he first savagely bit Sookie than forced himself on to her, and after sookie fought like a “wildcat” to get a lung full of air, Bill came to his senses and was very confused and asked her why they were having sex in a closet, than asked if she had said yes to the sex, when she said no he quickly righted her clothing and punched a hole through the cars trunk so she could breath. I think one thing most people forget about vampires is that they are instinct driven and if Bill had been starved and tortured for that long he was not going to be the mainstreaming vampire he usually is. sookie even said so much to alcide later on, along with the fact that she did not think of it as rape.
there is ALOT of reason as to why i prefer Bill over Eric but as I said earlier I want to be respectful of your space here, so i won’t go in to details. one thing i will say is that sookie never really gives a chance to bill to explain things she just simply gets upset and walks away. something Eric pointed out to her himself in living dead in Dallas.
I deliberately choose not to discuss the show seeing as how it is soooo different than the books and should be regarded as a separate entity altogether.
I agree that Bill probably could not have resisted the call from his maker. On that point we agree. However, the real kicker for me (and for Sookie, if you pay close attention) was the fact that he LIED to her (AGAIN) about the whole thing. He didn’t tell her why, he didn’t tell her where (said he was going to Seattle which was BS), and was planning on “pensioning her off” like some used-up mistress. It was disgusting and demeaning, and even ERIC was disgusted by Bill’s behavior.
I also agree that Sookie made it very clear that she didn’t want to be a “kept” woman, but in this instance, it’s more just a difference in the way things are handled. Eric sees Sookie needs new gravel, so he just does it. With Bill, he would have ASKED Sookie if he wanted her to do it….and what woman is going to say yes to that? To most women, that shows a man doesn’t really WANT to do something for you, but he will if you say so. It may be manipulative on Sookie’s part, but really, she and Eric just…well, they “get” each other. Eric doesn’t TREAT Sookie like a kept woman, even when he’s doing things for her.
And to underscore….Bill never even ASKED if there was anything Sookie needed. Just spent his time on the computer…
I just started Dead and Gone and am so relieved that now Eric and Sookie can work out their differences and work for a relationship.
You mentioned in Dead in the Family, he leaves? Really? ..really?
I think my heart is breaking for Sookie : (
i think you’ve failed to mention that mostly (if not every time) eric pays her hospital bills, which shows that he cares both about her finances and her health
Do you think Stephen and Anna’s real life relationship is influencing the writers to keep Bill and Sookie together as long as they can? Eric’s character seems to be there (in the TV show) just to attract female viewers but not to play the important role he has in the books. What a waste. For once, I was happy that a writer had seen above and beyond that old cliché of ending up with your first love but the show is killing it for me.
First time around, so excuse me if this has been discussed in other threads.
Claudia, I DO think the real life relationship and the friendship that Alan Ball has with the couple are impacting his decision in this regard.
What if Allan Ball has some inside scoop and Charlaine is planning on turning her back on us and get Bill and Sookie together again? I’ll burn that book if it happens!
I’m trying to accept the fact that Eric and Sookie won’t be an important part of the TV show (if it happens) and even if it comes to happen, I don´t believe it will have the same ¨intensity¨ that is shown between Bill and Sookie. That will only encourage Bill shippers to believe they really belong together because there’ll be much more chemistry between Bill and Sookie than Sookie and Eric.
Let’s brainwash Allan Ball. Who’s with me?
And I hate that. That´s unprofessional. They ain´t porn actors, so why do they have to end up together in the series?! They should just do their jobs, not insert themselves into their show characters.
The show has definitely changed from the books but the main base and when characters come in, etc. are still on track. In the books Bill and Sookie are together until the very end of book 3 and on the show its the same, they broke up at the end of season 3. So E/S will come. I think AP and AS have great chemistry. They are the couple everyone wants to see on TB.
how can a vampire be an amnesiac if he’s dead and doesn’t have brain waves? and why did lorena get sick after she bit barry at the hotel when she was holding bill prisoner?
Don’t know about Lorena getting sick.. that is something Alan Ball created for the TV show. As for Eric getting amnesia.. it wasn’t medical, it was a witch’s curse.
lorena didnt get sick, not because of berry at least, but she got sick later on – at day, because even old vampires strugles to be wake at day
Team Eric! I read all 10 books! I am still rooting for Eric!!! Bill…Hell, he has her in real life. For movies or books… let Eric have Sookie!
I think that eric and sookie should be together in the show like in the books because there so grate together.
I like the parts in the books with eric and sookie in and most of there story lines in the books are the main stories in the gonra of true blood/the Sookie Stackhouse Novels with sookies life like there blood bond and there relashionship in book 4 when eric has amnisa also when eic has feelings for sookie.
In book 3 there was a part in the book when sookie got stabed and eric was by her side and eric was so caring and didnt leave her side that made him seem to care for sookie in a deep way and have feelings for her.
AND
in book 3 they shared blood and nearly slept together
I want them to do this part in series 3 because thats one of the most impotant parts in there relashionship together and in the story line esspeshaly to there blood bond.
I think that bill in the book is less caring and doesnt seem that interested in showing feelings and being with sookie.
Bill can be stupid somtimes and some of the things that he done in the books are so horrable and he doesnt show that he cares much for sookie.
I think that in the show that they show bill in a different way like a caring and protective person toward sookie and i think in series 3 thay should deffantly break up bill and sookie for eric and sookie to be together and show bills true nature like in the books.
The news eric and sookie is going to be together in book 9 is JUST hilaurios! I’m in the book 7 , and I hate sookie is hangin around whith those were-things, eric is the only guy for him now that bill is out of picture
As my friend said he has to rape all his food (BILL) even the botles!
HAHAH that is so true
Just about to start book 5…been flicking through for some Eric action. I lurrrve him, Bill disgusts me!
Plus Eric told her she had the most beautiful breasts he had ever seen, that’s quite a compliment from a 1000+ year old vamp! (We’ll over look the fact he was an amnesiac at the time
)
HAHA totally
and eric bought Sookie a new coat
Yes he did. I forgot about that! So sweet…
In your lists of reasons, you forgot reason he started seeing her and took her virginity! That was the most unforgivable thing he has done by far. She should cut ties with Bill forever for that reason alone.
And don’t forget Bill raped her in the back of a car! Really he is discusting why dont he Gabe and Steve just lay down and die!?
are sookie and eric going to be together again after dead to the world? i don’t dare to read after :S
Sarah, they do not get together again until book 9.
NOO Eric, is so hot why can’t everyone see it. The first time she saw Eric she was offered by Bill to turn around and go with Eric.. I MEAN WTF IS WRONG WITH HER I WOULD TOTALLY HAVE DONE IT!!
NOO Eric, is so hot why can’t everyone see it. The first time she saw Eric she was offered by Bill to turn around and go with Eric.. I would have done without a doubt
Eric got her, Eric has sense of humor, Eric can make her laugh so hard even when she is angry with him, Eric can protect her, Eric is a bad ass even cruel and his hands are plenty of blood, but that is the Sceriff Eric Northman, Eric with Sookie is different, Eric loves her, i guess he’s really scared about that becouse that could be a problem for him, a distraction for him…and whn Eric is not concentrated somtimes Sookie and Him went in troubles…as in Club Dead when he was attacked at Gas Station becouse his mind was not with him….of course was thinking about his feelings…
Eric is many things…he is lighr but also dark….but he is sincerely fall for Sookie….