That is according to SFX at least. We all know he is #1. Last year he ranked at #41 while Bill was somewhere around #27. Luckily their tastes have improved and they even acknowledge that the Viking has eclipsed the supposed “star” of the show.

Here is what they had to say about the vampire viking:

Eric the Viking. Once a phrase that immediately meant “flop comedy from the Monty Python guy”. Now it means, “Top Nordic vampire hottie.” Bill was supposed to be the alpha vampire on True Blood, but – although far from unpopular – he was eclipsed by his blond nightclub owner boss in the popularity stakes (if “stakes” isn’t too sensitive a word to use). As in so many other cases (Spike and Damon, for instance) he benefitted from the fact that he didn’t have to be the nice guy. Far from it – he’s an utter git, chaining Lafayette to a slave wheel, and tricking Sookie into drinking his blood. Not to mention all the killing. But it’s more than that. Eric is just so inherently cool. So cool it doesn’t matter if he does a bit of killing while getting his hair dyed; or if he cries when his maker dies; or if he wears a shell suit. He remains untouchable cool. Hell, he’s survived centuries with the name Eric. That’s how cool he is.

 He’s a cute imitation but nothing comes close to the real thing….

The True Blood reviews and write-ups are coming in and most of them are saying some awesome things about Eric. In Television Without Pity‘s write-up they declared that Eric is the #1 reason why they are glad True Blood is back. I would happen to agree with that but not with some of the other comments…

Our favorite Viking, this intimidating vampire is violent and evil, and yet a viable love interest for Sookie, our beloved queen of bad choices. Sure, Eric would sell out his own mother, if she was still alive, but there’s something about him that is just devilishly delightful. More than anything else, we’re excited to see the mischief and chaos he will no doubt create this season.

Eric is evil? Really? This certainly isn’t the first media site to claim that Eric is evil or the villain of the story.. heck Beel fans have been saying it for a long time. No matter who it is that spouts such nonsense .. it is simply not true. What has Eric done that is evil? Well, here are some of the common complaints from Queen Bill’s worshipers…

Eric Northman Only Cares About Himself - This is the #1 thing we hear from Eric haters. When I hear it I have to consider the source because someone who prefers Bill to Eric is most likely not playing with a full deck and I have to take that into account. This simply does not compute. Would a selfish person spend the greater part of a 1000 years trying to avenge the death of his human family? Would a selfish person help the person he cares about find her current boyfriend? Would a selfish person willingly meet the sun (which would mean death) so that the two people he cares most for can live on? Would a selfish person search relentlessly for their missing loved one and then be ready to die with them rather than let them die alone? No… Eric shows he cares for others many times throughout the series. The way he remembers his family, the way he relates to Pam, the way he loved Godric, and the way he looks out for Sookie all show that he cares for other people… just not many. Eric could care less about most people (vampire or human) but when you are in his sacred circle he will go to the mat for you and anyone who wants to keep their limbs should stay far, far away.

Eric Tortures People - Well, Eric is Sheriff of his district and that means he has to root out people who are committing crimes against vampires. So yes he did detain and torture some people who had killed three vampires and one human fangbanger. He ripped apart a guy who not only killed other vamps but then he burned Eric with silver. Pam isn’t the only one who has no patience for that shit. Eric also tortured Lafayette before he knew of his connection to Sookie. Afterwards he made amends by healing Lafayette with his own blood and then employing him, giving him a badass sports car to boot. And let’s not forget that Laffy wasn’t a random victim… he was selling vampire blood at a time when Eric was trying to find his missing maker and V dealers were suspect. Eric was justified in all that he did.. he was the authority and he had to “bad things”. Get over it already.

Eric Tricked Sookie Into Drinking His Blood – How bad was this really? It can’t be all bad because her boyfriend Bill did the same thing… minus the beating that almost killed her of course. Eric wanted to be closer to this creature who captivates him for reasons he cannot explain so he tricked her into a blood bond. It allows him to sense when she is in danger and also sense her emotions… which will help him protect her and relate to her. How can that be bad for her? Yes, she was an unwilling participant but no actual harm was done unlike the first time she was coerced into drinking blood.

Eric Tried to Kill Bill - Uhm what? No, when Eric sent Ruben to collect Bill we have no reason to conclude he was going to kill him. That is really reaching. He has had many opportunities to kill Mr. Compton but he didn’t. He didn’t even put the smack down on him after Bill punched him… which seems like it would be a big no-no considering Eric was the Sheriff. Instead it was slimy Bill who tried to kill Eric, get it straight okay.

Eric Didn’t Save Sookie From Russell’s Mansion – Eric is nothing if not smart. He knew that any attempt to free Sookie from her captivity would just be alerting Russell to his true feelings for Sookie and the fact that he had no allegiance to his new King, who he needed btw, to save Pam. It is a weakness for Eric to have feelings for a human girl since she could and would be used against him.. Eric knows this and is smart about it, unlike someone I could mention. Eric bided his time and saved Sookie when the circumstances were right.

Eric Threw Sookie in the Dungeon AND He Almost Drained Her – Yes he did. OMG he is so evvvvvil. We must stake him… NOT. Eric wanted to make sure that Pam and Sookie were protected and since he could not use muscle to kill Russell he concocted a plan to trick Russell into going out into the sun. This meant Eric had to sacrifice himself  as well and he was willing to do that so I do not begrudge him the use of Sookie and her blood to make it all happen. He needed Sookie to play a part in order to save her. He did what was best for her in the end even if it caused some pain. The Viking is not afraid to look like the bad guy when there is work to be done. Think about the end game peeps… Eric sure does. In context Bill drained Sookie just to drink her blood. Eric did it to save her life. Nuff said.

Eric Stabbed a Guy in The Back – Again, yes he did. I fully admit that Talbot was innocent and did not deserve to die. Eric killed him as payback for Russell having slaughtered his human family. What he did was a emotional and violent response to the senseless violence he experienced as a young man. Eric’s father’s dying wish was that Eric get revenge and he tried to do this for the better part of 1000 years only to find out the murderer was 3000 years old and out of his reach. He took the next best option… to kill Russell’s family. It was violent and very sad but I do not think it was evil. I understand why he did it. The fact that it was literally in the back was IMO not a sign of cowardice. He could have killed Talbot frontways, sideways, or any which ways but he chose to do it in the back so that there would be no struggle and it would be done quickly. When talking about it with Pam later he did not hint that he felt guilty or that he did not completely own his actions. He killed Talbot the way he did so that Talbot wouldn’t needlessly suffer.

Eric Likes to Eat Children – This one makes me laugh. Yes, Eric casually mentioned that children are delicious. Hello, vampire? I guess somewhere in his 1000 years he did munch on a teacup human. He did not say he made a habit of it, and most times we see Eric feeding on enemies or willingly fangbangers, not children. Who knows the circumstances of his kiddie buffet… maybe was was dying or pickings were slim. We don’t know for sure but nothing we have seen thus far indicates humans need to lock up their children to keep them away from Eric.

Eric Fed on Hadley – (pictured above). Eric fed on Hadley to make the Queen fess up. That really sucked for Hadley but getting info about Sookie and why there was so much interest in her came first. He couldn’t protect her if he didn’t know the whole story and Sookie comes first. The people he loves ALWAYS come first. To make up for this unkind act he does heal Hadley afterwards which he didn’t have to do. I think even vampire Bill would feed off of someone to protect Sookie… heck he fed off an old lady who kindly let him into her home. They ARE vampires remember?

Eric Is Responsible For Lorena’s Return – Lorena came back into Bill’s life and held him hostage. She is also likely the person who tipped off King Russell about Bill and Sookie. It would be pretty interesting gossip that the right hand of the Queen suddenly decided to mainstream in a podunk town and fall in love with a human waitress. KRE’s interest in Bill led him to Sookie which led Eric to him and then all manner of shit went down at season’s end. Yes, I concede that Eric was the one who brought Lorena back into the picture. He did so to complicate things between Sookie and Bill, nothing more. The rest was a not so happy accident and perhaps one of the rare moments when Eric wasn’t thinking clearly. They all paid a price for it. Still doesn’t make him evil.

Eric Northman is a Misogynist – Say what? Read this post to see why that is such a load of BS. Much can be said about Eric Northman but implying that he is disrespectful to women, that he uses and abuses them, or that he is otherwise a misogynist, is way off base.

Well, I think I have made my case unless anyone else has any other transgressions to lay before me. Eric may be violent but he is a vampire and a predator what do you expect? He is certainly not evil nonetheless. And for heavens sake he would not sell out his mother… he spent 1000 years trying to get revenge on the guy that killed her… talk sense people!

LOVED this interview on Zap2it. Alex talks about how he plays the character of Eric Northman like a lion.

I can totally see it and that is what makes Eric so frightening, interesting, and deadly. Also reminds me of this bit from the books:

“In a way, you’re like lions.”
Eric looked astonished. “Lions?” he said weakly.
“Lions all kill stuff.” At the moment, this idea seemed like an inspiration. “So you’re predators, like lions
and raptors. But you use what you kill. You have to kill to eat.”
“The catch in that comforting theory being that we look almost exactly like you. And we used to be you.
And we can love you, as well as feed off you. You could hardly say the lion wanted to caress the
antelope.”
Suddenly there was something in the air that hadn’t been there … – Dead to the World

As expected the recent Paleyfest has spurred fangirls to start fighting once again. There are a couple reasons for this I suspect. For one, the crowd there was decidedly Team Eric… this translates to the fandom in general IMHO.

A Tweet from @TrueBloodHBO:
Team Bill vs Team Eric vs Team Alcide? The crowd goes wild for all three (actually, just Eric and Alcide).

Second, the character of Eric was really hyped up and was in fact the focus of the long awaited season four teaser video. Bill and Sookie are supposed to be the top two characters and yet consistently the fandom cries out for Eric and HBO has started to deliver. Third, director Alan Ball stated that Sookie and Bill’s break-up was REAL and that chances of reconciliation were slim to none. Add to that the confirmation that Sookie and Eric would in fact become involved this season and you can see why Bookie fans are pissed.

Eric fans have had to wait three season for their favorite Eric/Sookie story lines so I am having a hard time feeling bad for them.

One of the chief “diggs” I am seeing from Bill fans is that they are saying Eric fans only really like Eric AFTER the amnesia. Eric fans need this whole amnesia farce in order to make Eric all loveable and likeable, they say. Huh?

Yes, many fans really like the amnesia storyline but that is not the beginning of our Eric adoration, nor is it the end. Most Eric/Sookie fans fell in love with Eric before amnesia even entered into it, books or TV show. I have already made the case for why Eric with amnesia is not some cheap trick and it IS the “real” Eric still.

To me the key factor in Eric getting amnesia and Sookie starting an affair with said amnesiac Viking was not that Eric suddenly became loveable, spurring Sookie to get involved. He always was loveable and desirable. Sookie merely had trouble making the leap to a relationship due to his obviously darker and more dangerous nature. The desire was already there… what was missing was the way for Sookie to rationalize the relationship in her head. When Eric got amnesia it was easy for her to see “base Eric” with all his tough exterior layers stripped away. It was like getting Eric but without all the baggage. Book Sookie couldn’t resist anymore when all her excuses and rationalizations were stripped away. She gave in and they had a glorious and short lived affair.

Later when his memory of all that transpired with Sookie returns, Eric too sees the amnesia for it was… a chance for he and Sookie to be together without all the vampire bullshit. Having seen what was, makes him aware of what is possible.

Eric fans love dark, dangerous Eric. We love how he manipulates people to get his way and how he apologizes to  no one for being the strong vampire that he is. We love his arrogance and his ability to take charge and do what needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. We love that he ENJOYS feeding on humans and using them for his own ends. Hello vampire? But we also love that he has a soft spot for Sookie and that he feels compelled, against his own better judgement, to protect her. We love his tender relationship with his progeny Pam too. We love it all folks… the good and the bad. Amnesia or no. We didn’t have to dumb Eric down or “pussify” him to make him loveable. He always was.

Let’s just get that straight okay?

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Season 4 is loosely based on Book 4 in the Sookie Stackhouse series:

Dead to the World: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) Average Rating: 321 total customer reviews...

We kinda already knew that but much thanks to TV Guide for the video recognition. Eric takes the title of the ultimate sexy beast with runners up like Edward Cullen and Damon Salvatore. All is right in the world.

In my post on True Blood season 4 spoilers, my dismay at having the amnesia storyline omitted from the synopsis sparked some good conversation. I think the Netflix blurb may likely be the synopsis for the first episode and not the whole season but I still really want amnesia Eric to have a big part in season 4. It has been said though, by some Eric fans and also MANY Bill fans, that the amnesia Eric story is a cheap trick and one they don’t want to see.

I understand the idea that amnesia Eric is not the REAL Eric and surely Team Bill fans will scream this all season long in their usual nauseating fashion. It may be said that without Eric being “dumbed down” or “pussified” Sookie would never have hooked up with him, hence their whole relationship will be based on smoke and mirrors. Never mind the fact that Sookie’s relationship with Bill is built upon smoke, mirrors, lies, deceit, and brutal violence.

I submit though that amnesia Eric is not a cheap trick but rather a way for Sookie to see into Eric’s soul without vampire subterfuge getting in the way. Eric has clearly shown that he has a soft spot for Sookie but after 1000 years Eric is guarded about opening himself up to feelings of love for a human woman. Who can blame him?

Sookie has become increasingly interested in and drawn to the small bits of humanity that Eric has displayed and then quickly tried to hide. The amnesia arc in the books was a way to get past that barrier and see more of that side of Eric. It did not transform him into something else but rather peeled away most of the other layers that Eric has added to his inner skin in the thousand years he has been alive. Those layers are experience, memories, battles, power plays, politics, and tribulations, among many other things he has faced in the past millennium. Without those layers he is closer to the Eric he was as a human and thus in many ways Sookie does get to meet the REAL Eric… one she saw tiny glimpses of, and liked. The one he tries to bury deeper with every day that he his undead.

Can anything that happens between Sookie and Eric during this time be seen as real? Of course it can! Eric with amnesia is still Eric. This reminds me of a fave movie of mine called The Long Kiss Goodnight. In this movie Samantha the housewife finds out that amnesia erased the memory of her former self, Charlie the Spy. When she remembers her former life she quickly reverts back to her old ways of killing for hire, drinking, and swearing like a sailor but a friend points out that her “amnesia” personality had to come from somewhere. She realizes that her docile Suzie Homemaker personality was always a part of her but that it could not emerge among feelings of self loathing.

Eric Northman with amnesia is not a created persona it is merely a base version of himself. Sookie essentially gets to see a version of Eric that would/could exist without all the vampire bullshit. In this way she gets to see deep into his soul and his personality and she likes what she sees enough to get involved in a relationship with him. After Eric recovers his memory in the books they go their separate ways for a time but not because Eric was “back to normal” and not attractive to Sookie anymore, it is because he has no memory of what happened while he had amnesia. It is residual unexplained feelings that prompt him to find his way back to Sookie in later books and to make peace with a part of himself he thought he had buried… his humanity, which allowed him to fall in love with her. The experience eventually brings them closer because whether he would have wanted it or not, Sookie got to know him better than anyone. They don’t have long drawn out conversations about how Sookie actually loves a “fake” version of himself now do they?

Who knows if that will last but we can say with certainty that whatever happens between Eric and Sookie the whole amnesia arc was not a cheap trick. It was a window for Sookie to see a very real aspect of Eric that she knew was there somewhere, only buried. At this point in the books both Sookie and Eric have reconciled “base” amnesia Eric and Eric the Vampire Sheriff of Area 5… and found that their love for each other is still very much there. I can only hope that the TV show will share this story with the same poignancy as the books did.

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Season 4 is loosely based on Book 4 in the Sookie Stackhouse series:

Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 4) Average Rating: 321 total customer reviews...

ERIC NORTHMAN VERSUS BILL COMPTON

I love the True Blood reviews on Blog Critics. They have been spot on all season long. The review of ‘Evil Is Going On’ is no exception. Here is a juicy tidbit:

“Bill’s and Eric’s journeys this season have had the opposite trajectory. Bill’s exterior projects the desire to protect and love so he can define himself as a “good guy,” as Alcide puts it. But the deeper in you go, the more you realise his dishonesty and capability to be cruel. Eric’s exterior is that of an unrepentant vampire who revels in his power and owns all his ruthless tendencies. But the deeper you go, the more you realise he values his relationships deeply, cares about his responsibilities, and is in more touch with his human feelings than he would like anyone to know. Neither has been honest with Sookie, but it’s hard to see how Eric’s hiding of his better self won’t shake out better than Bill’s hiding of his worse self. Hopefully, we’ll get more of this exploration next season.”

LOVE this! It is one of the biggest reasons why Eric’s character is so dynamic and Bill’s is so weak. Throughout the TV show and book series we peel away at Eric Northman’s many layers to expose the humanity and love that he prefers to hide. At the same time we see that theses same qualities are evident in Bill as well, except he hides behind them so that no one will discover the deceit and deception that govern his relationships with others. Eric is the rough stone that you slowly polish until it is smooth and beautiful and Bill is the stone you pick up in admiration only to have it crumble upon further inspection.