A note about Eric.
Since his appearance in season 1, I've begun to think of Eric Northman on the show as a separate creature from Eric in the books, one who we're going to see go through a quite different, possibly more expansive, emotional arc through the course of the series.
In season 2, that gap is growing more and more pronounced, and we're starting to get from the show a very different account of Eric's past and possible motivations: his life as a warrior (not a farmer) and leader before his turning, his centuries as beloved companion and only family to Godric, the impact that Godric's views and fears and hopes will no doubt have on him for a long time to come.
Jacob in his recaps for True Blood at TWoP wrote something which I thought was interesting, and, to some extent, very true:
'You have to fight your father, but you can't ever see him fall, or the world will end. If Godric had been King of Texas, Eric would have fought to the death to become King of Louisiana, but he's just a Sheriff, so Eric can just be a Sheriff.'
A lot of people have wondered why Eric was content merely to be Sheriff when it seemed to contradict his ambitions and spirited independence. In show!canon, I can accept that a contributing factor is his respect for Godric, and an unwillingness to put himself above his maker (who is, if Eric was not exaggerating, the most powerful vampire in North America) in any way - even if it put him in the position of having to obey much younger vampires than himself, like the Queen of Louisiana. But if Godric dies, will we perhaps be seeing Eric start to assert his power more clearly? Maybe claim a position within the vampire hierarchy that would allow him more authority to practice what Godric taught?
Within the next season or two, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Eric took over the territory, or made a grab at it. Especially since it looks like Sophie-Anne on the show is going to be much more unstable and unreasonable a Queen than she was in the books. Alan Ball has said that Evan Rachel Wood's Sophie-Anne is "very powerful, capricious and most likely insane." Not the sort of person I can see Eric holding a steady allegiance to. So, you have to wonder, Maybe that's the point?
In season 2, that gap is growing more and more pronounced, and we're starting to get from the show a very different account of Eric's past and possible motivations: his life as a warrior (not a farmer) and leader before his turning, his centuries as beloved companion and only family to Godric, the impact that Godric's views and fears and hopes will no doubt have on him for a long time to come.
Jacob in his recaps for True Blood at TWoP wrote something which I thought was interesting, and, to some extent, very true:
'You have to fight your father, but you can't ever see him fall, or the world will end. If Godric had been King of Texas, Eric would have fought to the death to become King of Louisiana, but he's just a Sheriff, so Eric can just be a Sheriff.'
A lot of people have wondered why Eric was content merely to be Sheriff when it seemed to contradict his ambitions and spirited independence. In show!canon, I can accept that a contributing factor is his respect for Godric, and an unwillingness to put himself above his maker (who is, if Eric was not exaggerating, the most powerful vampire in North America) in any way - even if it put him in the position of having to obey much younger vampires than himself, like the Queen of Louisiana. But if Godric dies, will we perhaps be seeing Eric start to assert his power more clearly? Maybe claim a position within the vampire hierarchy that would allow him more authority to practice what Godric taught?
Within the next season or two, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Eric took over the territory, or made a grab at it. Especially since it looks like Sophie-Anne on the show is going to be much more unstable and unreasonable a Queen than she was in the books. Alan Ball has said that Evan Rachel Wood's Sophie-Anne is "very powerful, capricious and most likely insane." Not the sort of person I can see Eric holding a steady allegiance to. So, you have to wonder, Maybe that's the point?