Dear True Blood, I Cannot Stop Staring At This Gif
And I am not sure that is a good thing.
Note: While I will comment generally on the show and books, I will do this without direct spoilers.
Here's the thing - I abso-freaking-lutely adore Eric/Sookie in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries. Eric and Sookie tie together all the things I love about Harry/Ginny, Mulder/Scully and Doctor/Rose into one nice neat, outrageously hot package. And I'll tell you the three main ingredients.
1) The core of their attraction is based not only on lust, but also on a shared sense of humour. Sookie is hilarious, but most normal people think she's a bit crazy. When she makes a dry sarcastic comment, Eric is the one in the room who is smiling, chuckling, or roaring with laughter. Sookie's narration comments on this integral part of their relationship several times. That she likes Eric because he's the one who gets her. That when they're on the outs, what she misses most is the "…entertaining relationship
between a man and a woman who had little in common but a sense of humor..." And believe me, throughout the entire series, whether functionally together or not, these two know how to bring the flirty cute like nobody's business.
2) The partnership - when these two work together, they get shit done. Every single book, since the second, has at least one section where Eric and Sookie function as a formidable and almost unstoppable team. You really don't want to mess with them; you will just have your ass handed to you - figuratively, and sometimes literally. They communicate. They trust each other. They have that thing where in the heat of the moment, they know what the other is going to do and how to help. They take care of each other. Even when their personal relationship is falling apart, the angst and drama are high, they easily revert back to a scarily efficient duo when the situation calls for it. And for a nice bit of equality, the saving each other's backside goes both ways.
3) The ancient creature, who survives for a millennium by closing himself off, learning to love again. Yup, let it never be said that I don't have a kink. I also have a thing for gentle giants, and Eric certainly fills that bill as well. And in this case, the learning curve is actually fairly explicit. Eric spends several books just trying to figure out how the yellow rubbery fuck to behave in order to establish and maintain a relationship with the impossibly stubborn Miss Sookie Stackhouse. He finds it frustrating as hell. It makes him, at times, hilariously grumpy. Especially since it takes him so long to admit why it's so freaking important to him in the first place. But at the end of the day, she makes him happier than he's been in centuries, and it's worth all the trouble. Which, to my mind, is all kinds of AWESOME.
By the third book, Club Dead, the shared humour and the partnership are well underway, deliciously building. The ancient vampire learning to love again takes longer, is established more slowly throughout the series, but there are already a few hints brewing. Whereas on True Blood, it's all hinging, at the moment, on the hints of that one-sided infatuation. And because the humour is almost absent, and Show Sookie is actively doing everything she can to disprove any possible partnership, I find myself wondering why he likes her so much. Yeah, she's hot, and mouthy. And there's the Godric thing - believe me, I cling to the Godric thing like crazy - but that can only get a girl so far.
Which brings me back to my original point, that I find the gif of Eric telling Sookie to please shut up, and covering her mouth, to be deeply satisfying. I like to imagine that he does as well. Because here's the real rub - I can look at the Eric on the show, and he is the Eric from the books. But Sookie? Sookie is not.
"What kind of man is Eric Northman?" could be an essay all on its own, so let's just stick to the basics. The show has changed his entire back story, and continually places him in much different circumstances, but the core of him remains the same. He was a good man/warrior who was turned into a vampire. He survived for a thousand years by following logic instead of emotion, and being painfully pragmatic. He loves a good fight, he thirsts for battle, but if reason and negotiation will bring a surer outcome, he will make the hard choices to keep himself, and those he cares about, safe. His favourite personality trait would be loyalty. He is extremely loyal to those above and below him, and expects the same in return. He takes very good care of those in his retinue, but everyone knows that to betray this loyalty is a permanent choice with big consequences. Because he is so up front, such a good sheriff, and known as fair, he inspires loyalty in those around him. He loves life, and adores being a vampire. He finds the politics necessary, sometimes to his advantage, but occasionally tiresome. He takes his job as sheriff very seriously, and works hard and cautiously to protect his position. He likes being sheriff because he hates others having power over him, but he is not ambitious enough to be king. He would really rather just stay in his own little part of Louisiana, and run his business, without others watching over him, thank you very much.
All of those fundamental character traits have been established on the show. And again, it's an impressive feat considering how differently his history and plot have been constructed. Seriously, if we drew a Venn diagram of Eric's origin, the only things left in the middle would be tall, blond, Viking and Pam. And yet, he is the same vampire/man. So my love of Eric/Sookie from the books has transferred to the show - I, somewhat desperately, want to see it brought to life the same way Alexander Skarsgard has brought Eric to life. But how is that ever going to happen while one half of the partnership keeps running around like a deranged lunatic, who only knows how to scream one refrain?
Suffice to say, Sookie in Club Dead does not run around screaming, "Bill!" at the top of her lungs at every possible opportunity. She is involved in this mission, despite being as mad as hell at Bill, and knowing that their relationship may not survive, because she still loves him, and far more importantly, it's the right thing to do. She's smart. I said it above, but I feel it bears repeating - she's funny. She keeps her head. The whole rescue operation is not an act of foolhardy desperation, but rather a calculated series of maneuvers. She has an actual plan. That's right - a plan! Even more, she effectively puts that plan into action and carries it out. She is keenly aware that she is dealing in a dangerous world and acts accordingly. She keeps her mouth shut. She is polite - Sookie is always, always, always polite. Partly because that is how she was raised, and partly because she knows it will get her a lot further, wait for it, in her plan. She ingratiates herself and acts respectful to those in power (Colonel Flood, Russell, Sophie Anne) because she knows it's in her own best interest. And she sure as fuck knows that being locked in a trunk with a sleeping vampire who has been tortured and drained is a seriously, Big Bad Situation to be in. And then? After all of that? She kicks some major ass.
To sum up - I weep in frustration. I don't get it. I'm supposed to love Sookie Stackhouse. She is, believe it or not, the heroine of the series. As it is, one half of my latest OTP has gone completely mental. And I am left taking out my frustration by watching the other tell her to please shut up, and cover her mouth, as I sit and cheer, "Do it again, Eric, do it again."
But then, the show does something like this - and makes me love it all over again.
Click to viewIf they can create someone like Jessica, and make Pam so ever-loving awesome, there has to be some hope, right? RIGHT?!