Is Eric Northman Evil?

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!