It’s All in the Timing
January 30, 2013 in Book Spoilers, Dead Ever After - Book 13, Sookie Short Stories
So, you might think that since Charlaine Harris had elected not to post a spoiler chapter for the final Sookie Stackhouse Novel Dead Ever After, that it would be a long dry wait for any book news. Well, in what might read as a minor spoiler, Ms. Harris piped into a conversation on her forum to answer a timeline question that just might have major repercussions.
But first, let me back up a bit. In the past two years, Ms. Harris has published two Sookie short stories in book anthologies she edits with author Toni L. P. Kelner– If I Had a Hammer, from Home Improvement, and Playing Possum from An Apple for the Creature. Ms. Harris has said that the Sookie shorts do not have a direct impact on the main story arc of the novels, particularly after the confusion surrounding the story One Word Answer and it’s impact on the events of Definitely Dead. So on the surface, this little tidbit might not attract much notice.
But I think that it would be a mistake to overlook the significance of her confirmation of how these stories fit into the Sookieverse timeline. (Spoiler alert, if you have not yet read IIHAH or PP.)
In IIHAH, Sookie and Sam help Tara and JB renovate their house to make more room for their young twins, and in doing so uncover an old murder mystery. It’s not really the story here that’s significant, but rather how she refers to Bill and Sam in particular. Besides labeling Sam as her “boss”, Sookie also refers to him as her “friend”.
After a summit meeting the week before, attended by me; my boss, Sam Merlotte; and Tara’s babysitter, Quiana Wong, Tara and JB had made a plan.
—–
“Good job, Sook,” Sam said behind me.
I jumped, and he laughed. “You were thinking too hard to hear me come through the new closet door,” he said. “I tried to walk heavy.”
“You are evil,” I said, climbing down. “I don’t think I’ll work for you anymore.”
“Don’t tell me that,” he said. “What would I do without you?”
I grinned at him. “I expect you’d find a way to carry on. This economy, there are plenty of women who need a job, even working for a slave driver like you.”
He snorted. “You mean a pushover like me. Besides, you have your own financial interest in the bar now…”—–
“All right,” Sam said grudgingly. “But not tonight. It’s nowhere near the full moon, so it won’t be as easy to change. I need a full night’s sleep first.” I wouldn’t do this for anyone but her, Sam thought, feeling ashamed that he was dragging his feet.
I could only be grateful I had such a friend.
Bill merits only one mention, as her former boyfriend.
“You won’t believe who the policeman was, Sam,” Tara said. “It was a man named Fuller Compton, one of Bill’s descendants.”
I didn’t want to start talking about Bill, who was an ex of mine.
In, Playing Possum, there’s no mention of any of the men in Sookie’s life, besides Hunter, whom Sookie is visiting at school in Red Ditch for a Labor Day party. She refers to her partnership in Merlotte’s and even talks to Hunter about being the boss, but otherwise is silent about the details of her life. Of course, this is by design. Ms. Harris certainly doesn’t want to give away too many hints about the big mystery of the novels. Both IIHAH and PP take place exclusively in the daytime, and for the record, neither story has any mention of Sookie’s current squeeze, Eric.
So, while the action of these stories gives away nothing big to take back to our analysis and predictions about the end of the novel series, I can’t help but think that it’s significant that Sookie refers to Sam as her boss and her friend, and Bill as her ex in a story that take place after Dead Ever After in the timeline. Call me crazy, but that’s not how I’d expect Sookie to refer to the man she’d chosen to spend her life with, do you? And what self-respecting woman refers to her significant other as her “boss”, even if they do work together?
For those of you keeping score at home, Deadlocked ended the day after Sookie’s birthday – which would be July 2, 2006. Playing Possum takes place on Labor Day, which fell on September 4 of that year. If the endpapers actually do reveal that a full moon occurs during DEA, there were two in that time period, July 10th and August 9th, 2006.
Of course, I would argue that the text of the novels has already revealed the HEA, if the reader has been paying attention to what Sookie says she wants and who she loves. But who doesn’t love a little confirmation? What do you think of the ramifications of how Sookie refers to Bill and Sam in these stories now that Charlaine Harris has confirmed they fall after DEA in the timeline, and what, if anything, does it say to you about Sookie’s HEA? Sound off in the comments!
Well…i’m just going to toast to that! The plot of the short stories do not impact the Sookieverse per se but her references to Sam and Bill say a lot in the scheme of “suitors war”.
Not that i ever doubt who Sookie truly loves and wants to spend her life with
I’m on the record as being in the “IIHAH comes before DEA” camp, and in this case I’m more than happy to be proven wrong!
This is really good news.
For those who have been on this juggernaut for years, there is a marked shift coming from Camp Charlaine in the last few months. I’m not sure what to make of it.
Since at least December, CH seems to be executing a carefully managed campaign of comments and strategically chosen spoilers that appear to give away far more than she has in previous years. It seems to me that it can’t have escaped her attention that there are a lot of unhappy EL’s out there, particularly after Deadlocked. A cynic might say that there is a concerted effort underway to get those readers back into the fold, in order to finish the series with strong sales. There’s no way in hell her people aren’t aware that many readers have decided it’s a Sam ending and bailed out. Five minutes on Amazon or Good Reads will bring them up to speed, if they aren’t.
For myself, I prefer to believe that what we’ve been hearing and seeing in the last few months is a two pronged approach – coax the disgruntled EL’s back to the fold (who, lets face it are a big group of readers) and start preparing other factions (ahem) for a gentle let down.
I think she’s been extremely clever so far – in the subtle shift that’s happened on her forum, releasing the endpaper art, and now this which really is quite a big spoiler. With no preview chapter this year, something had to be done to keep interest levels up until May and never doubt that her publisher would be well aware of this.
It should come as no surprise that I’m still confident that things are heading the way I’ve always thought they would and if anything, my idea of what the ending might look like has crystalised further with this information. Sookie living in Bon Temps because she loves her home; working as a partner with her friend Sam in the bar, continuing her relationship with Eric who will remain in Shreveport. I don’t see any big move for Sookie, nor for Eric – nor do I think that is necessary before the end of the next book. That’s not to say that CH can’t leave some hint that there is scope for that in Sookie’s long term future, but it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t. Sookie and Eric have done just fine so far with some space between them and I think that we’ll end things with Sookie keeping a foot in each world as she’s always done, but just with a better understanding of how to reconcile the two (AND keep them separated). That’s not a “traditional” HEA, it’s not a “white picket fence” ending – it’s none of things so many readers seem to want or expect, and that we’ve been told by the author numerous times that Sookie is not going to get. Sookie herself told us that she was just fine with the day-to-day dynamic of her relationship with Eric in Deadlocked (that’s not say she’s “happy” at the moment – I’m just saying that what’s making her unhappy isn’t what some readers think SHOULD be making her unhappy: the fact that he’s not around enough, or that they aren’t under the same roof, or that he treats her like shit).
In a nutshell, I don’t think any earth shattering changes are needed in Sookie’s life circumstances for her to continue seeing Eric – and I expect that the ending we will be given will be one that makes no promises whatsoever that they will STAY together forever…but rather, that they are still together as of the end of the story, and have a way forward.
That’s the most any of us in real relationships can hope for, isn’t it?
So yeah..in summary – I’M GOOD.
LOL, I love it SVB!
That’s how CH ended her other book series, so this should be hardly surprising. I think fans who are expecting some sort of an epic ending to SVM novels will be disappointed.
@SVB “I don’t see any big move for Sookie, nor for Eric – nor do I think that is necessary before the end of the next book.”
Exactly. I don’t expect any less and Sookie is more than happy to have the day for herself and to spent her night with Eric. She told us so in the previous books and this is a big hint to the finale IMHO. And i’m more than fine with this. As i always said there won’t be an “end”, a permanent one, just an end and the future of their relationship is up to them. I’m not for the “And they happily lived together forever” thing.
@Rina “I think fans who are expecting some sort of an epic ending to SVM novels will be disappointed.”
Unfortunately i’ve been reading this a lot in the web, maybe because some readers spent too much time at ff.net so their expectations changed a bit and got a little confused. I will be very sorry for them because they’ll lost a great opportunity to do an happy dance at the end. This series is for adults and doesn’t need a HEA in the traditional way. I know how CH writes and i’m most definitely not expecting this and never have.
I think what fans tend to forget is that CH writes about unusual or quirky female leads. These are not run of the mill women which is why they lead such interesting lives and come into their own, regarding being comfortable with themselves and having a relationship, much later in life than normal. I think it’s also why they don’t end up in the normal “HEA.” These women have traumatic pasts (I’m thinking Lilly and Sookie specifically here as I’m not familiar with Aurora)and they are alienated in some way from the people in their day to day lives. Lilly looks unusual, is educated and has an unusual job and is extremely direct (at least at first). Sookie looks like someone that should be desirable to society but she’s considered a freak, if not outright crazy, because she can read minds. She further makes herself an outcast by taking up with Vampires (both as love interests and friends), just as Lilly further makes herself an outcast by becoming a tough bodybuilding fighter who wanders the streets at night.
If you view the way CH handles these characters over the arc of the series, they start out alienated from what they thought their lives would be and those around them but then come to terms with themselves and others over the course of the series. In a way they find their niche in the world and this is ultimately their HEA rather than a white dress, wedding ring and babies. These mysteries to me are more about the mystery of how to find your way past what you thought life would be to a place of being okay with who you turned out to be and where you find yourself. Who do we become if the rug is pulled out from under our picture of ourselves and our future? How do we make peace with that person and enjoy the life with which we are left? To me, these are the real questions and the real mysteries she explores. The “mysteries” are just catalysts to get us there.
In the case of Sookie and Eric, I see this arc in both of them. Sookie starts out alienated but determined that she fits her small town view of life. Many times she talks about what she is “supposed to feel”, “the way she was raised” and “how would Gran feel if.” But as she experiences the supe world and interacts more, especially with Eric who consistently is a major presence in many of the books, she finds herself becoming more and more like the supes. At the beginning she is mortified by supe behavior, especially the vampires. They kill and they don’t care. They see humans suffer and they don’t care. They watch the drama of humans and they are amused. As Sookie goes along, she not only gets to the stage where she can watch supe justice and feel nothing but satisfied (for example after she is tortured), she gets to the point where she can kill others and feel justified. At first she has a lot of moments of not liking this side of herself and wondering what Gran thinks, but as she goes along she comes to accept it more and more. Those crises of conscience become less and less. She also moves more and more away from what she believes her life should be like. In the beginning she has her idea of cooking and cleaning for a man and sitting on the porch with her babies, but she moves more and more to a wider view of what it takes to have a happy life. She realizes that she isn’t going to fit with those normal men and she likes the silence of vampires but she also likes that Eric and she share their day. It’s a new version of happiness but it seems to be more and more acceptable to her.
By the same token, Eric changes over the course of the series. At first he is bored with the world and content to run his own corner of the world if not very thrilled by it. As he interacts with Sookie more and more, he is drawn into her drama (as Pam famously puts it, What trouble you are). Surprisingly, he likes it even while he may make his dry comments on it. He wants the bond with her which is not just power but the ability to feel her emotions the way she feels them. He wants to feel what she is feeling. Pam tells her it is a disadvantage for Eric and dangerous for them all, but he still pursues it over and over. He finally marries her in an official and binding ceremony so that all supes must recognize what she means to him and offer her their fealty and protection, something that as far as we know, has not happened since he was a human. When he describes his human marriage, he speaks of it as a good experience and remembers it in great detail. Again, according to Pam, he has not been attached like this in centuries and she is shocked by him desiring it. We see Eric getting more and more emotional as it goes. His irrationality over the firebomb and his torment over being unable to help Sookie when she is abducted and tortured. The way he speaks is very raw and painful. He’s still the Viking in a fight, but he is definitely finding his emotional side. The witches cursed him to be close to his heart’s desire without knowing it. When he tells Sookie this he doesn’t seem shocked or upset by it, he seems to genuinely want her to know that being with her is his heart’s desire. It is indicative that he is accepting his emotional growth. Eric does very little to move away from this growth and even fights for it. When he speaks of the contract with QOK, he speaks of distress that he is at once bound by Vampire rules and justice and his own emotional needs. He tells Sookie is trying to get out of it and indeed, she finds out that he is avoiding QOK as much as he can. So by everything we are told and shown, he is more than willing to continue his emotional growth.
This is what makes me believe that these two are moving to a state where they can accept the other as they are (rather than Eric making Sookie a vampire or her rejecting him for a human). I do however think the arc of the series is about more than just their interaction with each other. I think ultimately it is about the two of them rounding out their inner selves to a state where they can find happiness and not just exist in the world as they do when the series begins. Sookie is moving to the acceptance of her own supernatural side and Eric is moving to the acceptance of his long forgotten human side. And to me, this is the only HEA these flawed and complex beings need.
I love this whole comment. I think that all the need for Sookie to get married and have children exposes such a problem with our culture. We want everyone to be the same and want the same things we are brain washed into thinking if we do not have these things we will be unhappy. I am married with two kids, I love my boys and my husband but it is not pure bilss every moment. The SVM books may not be high brow works of linguistic genius but they have some genius insight into American culture.
I don’t think it is entirely coincidental that, as AB loosened his stranglehold on TB and moved on, CH has been less oblique about her series’ end (of course, AB’s departure coincided with the build up to the SVM finale, so, cart, meet horse). TB is also pretty obviously tottering on its last critical legs, and typically on HBO, a ratings debacle is not far behind critics’ ship jumping. No doubt that AB got while the getting was marginally still good.
CH may also be feeling pressure from Penguin Putnam to wrest attention away from TB and refocus it on the SVMs in general. I’ve felt for years that CH’s Bill/Eric coyness has been media-generated. These days pretty much no one cares who TB Sook ends up with except a couple of media shills and the Comicon people who wear pointy tinfoil hats.
I always will wonder whether AB’s own ship jumping was caused by his advance warning that CH had a Sook/Eric HEA for the SVMs. He’d be swimming pretty hopelessly upstream to continue to flog the Bill/Sook thing on TB after the final book came out with Sook and Eric together, and he never had any interest in any aspect of Eric’s personality.
I know this is not a popular opinion, but I don’t have an issue at all with TB, although I don’t really associate the show with the books. I started by watching the show over a 3 day period while stuck in a small town (on a pseudo vacation). So with no prior knowledge of the books, I knew by the first season that I liked Eric much better than Bill and I liked Sookie’s interaction with him. And I started out liking Bill! However, Sookie with Bill would have been a bore and she was much better when she was snarking it up with Eric. I knew they would end up together. By the second season the turn came when she saw his interaction with Godric (who by the way I just love and much prefer over Ocella). I didn’t care that AB had Eric bring Lorena because AB’s Eric is a bit of a trickster but he’s completely loyal to anyone he cares about (Godric, Pam and later Nora). And I think this is why Sookie continues to care about him and trust him. She’s not easy, but that’s what attracts him. She’s the perpetual challenge for him, plus she saved his life more than once. I think AB just reveals things using different plot devices. He compacts things and uses characters differently to get to a place in a shorter time frame, but he also makes changes based on character popularity on the show which I think often has to do with how the audience connects with an actor’s portrayal of the character. But that is the lifeblood of a show. I will hand you that giving others credit for Eric’s actions is pretty hard to take once you read the books, but I still was Eric from very early on and that is pretty amazing in and of itself.
For me, Alexander Skarsgard describe’s AB’s Eric best when he says that Eric has survived so long because he has this small core that he cares about and is loyal to. He says that is Godric, Pam, Sookie and Nora. Eric sees them as his family and he’ll do anything for them. He also says that while he might be hurt by Sookie’s rejection, he still loves her and that surprises him because he hasn’t opened himself to that for a long, long time.
Now one thing I definitely agree on is that AB changed up things based on the end of SVM when he created Billith. That’s the end of Bill. Even the cast was shocked about that. I, however, don’t find it that surprising after having read the books. I firmly believe Billith came about because AB knew Eric was endgame. Billith clears the way because the things Bill said to Sookie can never be mended. The only thing that can be done with Bill at this point is to kill him off.
Actually, at this point I think TB is much cleaner cut than SVM when it comes to Bill. CH can let Bill slink away where I think TB can only kill him off now. Personally, I’d rather have that sleaze ball dead.
I think Book Bill might get offed before Billith;)
If AB made “changes based on character popularity on the show, which I think often has to do with how the audience connects with an actor’s portrayal of the character,” he would have made Alex’s Eric the male lead after season one and saved many former TB fans a lot of Maalox. Alex is the sun around which the other minor planets revolve (the proof of which is the relentless touting of Compton by the cast and showrunners) in every interview).
Instead, he continued to flog the hapless Bill Compton, propping him up in every possible way, only to have a created a deeply uninteresting character who, even turned to a alter of bloody flesh, is neither terrifying nor fascinating. What does that say about AB’s failed concept?
I think AB did it to have more of a triangle as well as Steven’s popularity as Bill (which is out there whether we agree with it or not). It’s obvious as time has gone on that Eric has taken more and more prominence and is revealed to be more of a hero inspite of his trickster ways while Bill has been revealed to be monstrous (in his actions and now his appearance). I honestly think AB revealed Bill to be much more monstrous than CH. Once we found out that Bill just didn’t set up Sookie but had been playing a game with all the vampires by conspiring with Nan Flanagan (another character I loved to hate) to push the mainstreaming agenda and take out Sophie Ann, we already knew this guy was beyond nasty while presenting his oozing Southern facade. To me, Bill on the show is a much more devious, calculating and manipulative character than CH’s Bill could ever hope to be. And that started very early in the TB series as well.
When I watched, I felt that Eric, while a prankster, was always the more honest and honorable of the two by far and that Sookie herself realized it. She might get mad at his tricks but she definitely trusts Eric. AB himself has said that Eric was never a true villian and always had a good side. The other suiters, well pffft. They won’t stand up to Eric in the end. He’s way too powerful in many ways and the show has shifted to be Eric and Sookie even when they aren’t together.
I do think in the books Eric is much more straightforward as a good guy and the strongest candidate/advocate for Sookie which is why the show is very hard to take for those who started with the books. I had to separate them competely so I could enjoy both. Other than similar character names, I don’t even think of them as the same. AB’s version is definitely fan fiction. There’s no getting around that. It’s campy, ridiculous fun. That is not at all what CH’s series is like.
And that seems like a perfectly good place to end the TB discussion and focus on the books, which is what we’re all about here.
I prefer not to even consider TrueBlood and SVM as anything but loose interpretation,
primarily horse fodder in substitution for a gourmet meal. Whatever TB’s fate is, it
can’t end soon enough. I read somewhere that the new season has two less episodes
than last year.
It does.
*cue death march*
First of all, thank you for a great post!
I’ve given some thought in the past to the timeline, but I never took the moon phases into consideration either. Good catch! 
Secondly, I think Ms. Harris gave us a little spoiler here. I doubt I would call my HEA a “boss”, or “friend” and anyone I was involved with before and our relationship has since ended…I would DEFINITELY call him an “ex”! And the fact both short stories fall AFTER DEA, is very telling IMO.
Thanks again for giving what many of us need…HOPE!
You did some nice sleuthing there to put that together.
Not there had ever been any doubt about who Sookie will end up with, but this is reassuring. On so any levels! Thank you for a great post krtmd.
Great post! Always nice to have MORE confirmation that its NOT bill or Sam, not the we need it really, we all know its the Viking in the end
Like VampGirl said, there wasn’t really much doubt, but it is nice to have some confirmation.
Can’t wait till May!
Thank you Sookieverse for this good book news! Yes!! I wholeheartedly agree with ya as usual.
After starting to read all the books again, I can see Sam has loved her from the first few chapters. He was just too late in getting his nerve up to ask Sookie out, then that damn vampire Bill showed up and it’s been hell for both ever since. Sam is in all the books helping Sookie. I just wanted Eric to be the HEA, but realizing ‘what’ Sookie really wants for herself…’a warm body, a heartbeat, communication, maybe children, etc.’ I too see Sam as the HEA. I figure they will drive off in Sookie’s car one warm summer night, windows down, hair blowing with the wind, with Sam as a collie hanging out the car window.
Yeeeeah… have you even read this post?
Ya know what’s funny. Sookie has had such a fantasy of driving in a car with the man she cares about most with the windows down, wind blown hair….except her version starred Eric…no mention of any dogs.
I thought, How nice it would be if Eric were here with me in the car. He’d look so good with the wind blowing his hair, and he’d enjoy the moment. Well, yeah, before he burned to a crisp. But I realized I’d thought of Eric because it was the kind of day you wanted to share with the person you cared about, the person whose company you enjoyed the most. ~ Sookie, DD
Maybe this time around you’ll pick up what Sookie is laying down while you reread the series.
Sam represents more of the “white picket fence” scenario and CH said that Sookie will not have a “white picket fence” ending. I think Sam represents who Sookie should want according to societies standards. Sookie has this struggle throught the books between what she wants and what she thinks a good Christian woman should want. Sookie looked up to her Gran but once she read those letters she realized that her Gran was far from perfect. Sam fits many of those checked boxes on paper. Sure Sam is a great guy who could give Sookie children but that means nothing if Sookie is not in love with Sam. I feel that if Sookie ended up with Sam that would be settling and Sam and Sookie deserve better. Sookie has stated many times that she loves Eric. She is “in love” with Eric. She mentions many times in the books that she is “happy” when she is with Eric.
Sookie does not mind a cold body and non beating heart:
Sookie said,”I leaned against Eric’s cool body, my head resting on his silent chest. I might not ever get to do this again”(Dead Reckoning, pg.284).
Wow, my heart started pounding when I saw a new Blog post up SVB. A testament to how invested I am in the final installment of Sookie’s story. I love this (I seriously doubt this is unintended) spoiler from CH. I’ve recently been lurking on her site on the DEA thread and some of the arguments and rationalisations re Sookie’s HEA can best be described as fictional, at worst delusional. So I also snorted at her, “so there” parting shot. I think she gets a little irritated with some fans with the overly confident and downright smug positions they take re the interpretation of her text.
I haven’t read IIHAH yet, but from the discussions here and on Amazon DEA forum, your taken on the significance of the revealed timeline sounds spot on to me. Sam still being firmly in the friend zone makes me a happy SVM fan. As for Bill, I am curious about why she didn’t want to think about him; is he dead? is he revealed as a sneaky ratbastard? does he finally finally stop hanging around like a bad smell? What I am sure about is that he is not the HEA. There’s not one decent argument which would facilitate that arc. And I never thought I would be happy for Eric not to get a mention in a SVM story, but I am. CH is a crafty minx!
By my calculations May 7th is only 3mths and 1wk away. *takes deep calming breath*!
Oops, that should be thanks to krtmd for this post. Sorry!
Me too, I thought SVB did the subject post, as I didn’t see ” krtmd’s ” signature at the end.
This was well written and a refreshing drink of insight on a parched wait for news of our
gal Sookie. I look forward to the next few months as we anticipate ” the Maker ” publishing
the last ” Dead ” novel.
I love that parting line, “So there!” I wondered what prompted that!
A lot of readers asked her to give them a specific timeline for the 2 short stories over her forum and at first she answered telling them to wait DEA for the answer but this didn’t stop them to keep asking so CH gave up and “So There” ie: “So there….since you’ve been asking this A LOT”
Thanks for clarifying Mony. I rather liked my take, but I guess it was a case of projection LOL
Actually, Zanne if you read several pages back, there were some EL’s saying they didn’t know if IIHAH was before or after DEA, that they thought it was after because it just makes sense that DEA would be right after DL. One mod in particular was pretty adamant that IIHAH was before DEA. She said it is listed after DL on the things you need to know, and don’t doubt the continuity editor….. Well, I guess she was wrong, and that is what the “So there” was about, IMO.
Thanks OY. Whatever prompted it, I am just so happy with CH jumping with this tidbit, I’m still doing a happy wiggle in my chair, 24hrs later
Me too!
But is always particularly fun for me when she points out the mods are wrong. Shallow of me yes, but I have earned it.
Well, this is actually a pretty HUGE spoiler.
I’m going out on a limb and say that DEA starts the morning after Sookie saves Sam and the full moon involved is July 10. I think it will be a fast and furious ride.
I reread IIHAH recently and I didn’t get a more-than-a-friend vibe from Sam and Sookie’s interactions so it’s great to get confirmation that this takes place after Sookie’s “life partner” is settled.
One thing we know for sure “(I really knew for sure.)” now — it ain’t Bill.
I also meant to say, thanks so much for getting us the latest news, ktrmd! Now, what do we want to know next?
First of all, THANK YOU! This is an awesome catch and much appreciated news.
Secondly, I am BUMMED that my pet theory about Sam does not appear to come to pass. You see, in reading the books, it has always seemed to me highly suspicious that he is constantly pumping her for information and being nosy as hell without really giving her much in return. I suspected he was some sort of stealthy big-bad lurking in the subtext. Sigh. Oh well!
Thanks again for the great post.
LOL I had the same theory too!
Alas, it appears he actually is just as boring as he seems, which is a shame but… whatever.
Awesome =) I’m glad I wasn’t alone in reading that in there! Hehe.
Oh YES!!! Am feeling so happy………….Bill WILL be the RB everyone thinks he is and Eric is the HEA. Sounds simplistic, but Im sure CH will make it very exciting and realistic. Great spoiler……roll on May.
I absolutely adore getting updates from you. You have the best understanding, and appreciation of this series! Awesome detective work!
Thank you krtmd and SVB
Oh, My Viking!
I FLOVE SPOILERS!! This one is a doozy
Now, I’m off to read the ensuing meltdowns elsewhere on the net. hehe.
*skips happily away*
You don’t have to go far, just go to the forum on CH’s website to find the meltdowns occurring and fingers pointing in an “I’m right and you’re wrong” playground tiff. All the Sam and Bill shippers are all saying how terrible Eric is, how stupid Sookie is. How about, it you don’t like the characters direction, you just STOP READING the stories?!!? It makes it so much less fun to anticipate the last book.
Oh there’s some creative tap dancing going on over there. Its mesmerising to observe. I gotta give them credit for their unswerving dedication to their position of ABE (anyone but Eric). They’ll be exhausted come May
Tap dancing on air. *snort*
Thank you!
While I personally could see myself lovingly and jokingly referring to my life partner as my friend and boss, I don’t see Sookie doing so. Great bit of info. Thank you for sharing.
If this line is indeed after DEA, I suspect even more strongly that Bill is going to be outed as behind many things.
“You won’t believe who the policeman was, Sam,” Tara said. “It was a man named Fuller Compton, one of Bill’s descendants.”
I didn’t want to start talking about Bill, who was an ex of mine.
What makes me say that is that Sookie is in a good place with Bill again (ack) so for her to react like this? She has to be mad at him again. CH made such a big deal of those two finally reaching a good place and now to have Sookie react like that? It’s a pretty big clue.
As to Sam, I’m not surprised. Those two have never moved away from boss and friends. If they were together, no way would Sookie refer to him as boss and he would refer to the bar as “ours.” Sookie never referred to Eric as her boss or sometime boss after she slept with him.
Quinn is out too. If they were together, he’d have been there with Sam and Sookie. He’s not a vamp so he has no reason not to be there during the day.
So either Sookie is completely happy being by herself by Labor Day (which seems very unlikely considering how long she mopes over relationships after they are over) or she ended up with Eric in some way that made her happy.
I agree. When I read that line about Bill in IIHAH when Home Improvement first came out, I remember thinking how odd that was since Sookie had seemed more at ease with him as a friend in Deadlocked. Now knowing that statement is made by Sookie after DEA puts it in a new context. Sure sounds like something happened.
I think something is going to happen in DEA to ‘force’ Sookie saying that line about Bill considering they are in the “friends zone” (gah) at the moment.
I always suspected he was involved with the whole Appius/Freyda/Felipe thing because of his stupid database but lets wait and see,
I think this is where we are going to get the “what passes for love is never enough.” Think about how many (ad nauseum) times Bill says he loves her. She even snarkily refers to the “who loves Sookie more” war that Bill seems to keep fighting. Since Sam is still around when it’s over, Bill has made such a big deal of say ILY and now we have this reaction, I believe Sookie realizes that what passes for his version of love will never be enough. Words, words and nary a drop of meaning to them.
Question: So nobody believes Sookie may end up with some entirely new human or shifter character? I like Eric a lot, but how is happily ever after possible between an aging human and an immortal vampire????
That depends on what you see as a happily ever after Jonathan
.
I posted some thoughts on this up close to the top of the comment thread if you’re interested.
It’s probably not, but who ever guarantees anyone a happily ever after?
Exactly! Eric could meet his final death next week. There are no guarantees.
SInce the author has specifically said “no new suitors”, no I don’t think we’ll see Sookie end up with some entirely new character. Especially not a human, since Sookie is not interested in a relationship with someone she can “hear” with her telepathy. I actually think this is a barrier to a relationship with a shifter or were as well, since she often can hear their thoughts, and can certainly their feelings.
“No New Suitors” – Charlaine Harris
There should be a reminder in the beginning of these books for some readers.
******THIS STORY IS ABOUT SOOKIE STACKHOUSE*******
I think the biggest problem readers have with understanding the non-traditional HEA, is it isn’t what THEY would want. And if THEY can’t be happy without the chapel wedding, white-picket fence, and 2.5 kiddos running around in the sunlight, then they think Sookie can’t be happy without it either. And that’s just bullshit.
I believe that a lot of the SVM fans identify more with Tara than with Sookie. And I mean…
Tara, like Sookie, grew up with a somewhat traumatic childhood. She is both intelligent and self-sufficient. She is deep rooted in the community. She has had terrible and near-fatal experiences with vampires and other supes. However, unlike Sookie, after Tara’s bad experiences she decided to go the safe route and marry an old friend. He may not be the best choice for her, but he is at least a safe choice. He can offer her all that quiet home town stuff.
I DO NOT SEE SOOKIE DOING THE SAME THING. Seriously… who wants that for her? I don’t. The only reason I can come up with as to why anyone would want the safe and easy road for Sookie is because it is what they would want for themselves. And it’s stupid. This story is about SOOKIE STACKHOUSE, not you. Besides, we all see how well going the safe route is working out for Tara.
What I find especially funny about all these Tara-like fans, is if they were the ones in this story, there would be no story….no question of who to choose because Eric wouldn’t be an option. Lol!
This is what Eric thinks of the average Tara:
LDiD: “…”Ooo, a vampire,” she said. “You’re Sookie’s honey, aren’t you? Why were you at the game the other night with a dog like Portia Bellefleur?” “She’s kind, too,” Eric said. He looked down at Tara with a sort of beneficent but disappointed smile, like a dog breeder regarding a cute, but inferior, puppy.”
DaaD: ““Tara, listen to me,” Eric said. She looked up at him. Since he was close to the fluorescent light, she had to squint. I thought she looked pitiful, but Eric didn’t see the same person I was seeing. “Your greed and selfishness put my – friend Sookie in danger. You say you’re her friend, too, but you don’t act like it.””
[Eric's few interactions with Tara are some of my favorite of the series.]
So there it is. Tara is no Sookie Sookie Stackhouse. And this story isn’t about what the average (Tara-like) fan would do. Eric’s love and devotion isn’t put out there for just anyone one to take. Sookie is not going to settle down. The Viking loves her and she loves him. And traditional HEA or not, it is Eric and Sookie all the way.
I agree that many try to apply what Tara would want for a HEA with what Sookie would want. I don’t even see that Tara settles for a human as much as she can be happy with that because she is a human. She can’t get in touch with her supernatural side to meet one of them halfway because she has no supernatural side. She can’t read human minds so they don’t hurt her feelings and they aren’t afraid of her. Tara’s happily ever after is the human kind, but Sookie isn’t fully human so she has to forge a new path to happiness.
I hope Tara’s thoughts are kinder than her actions. She is a sad excuse for a friend.
*Regifted crockpot birthday gift from a friend who owns a boutique, pfft!* All I got to say about Tara.
Amen!
CH has repeatedly stated that Sookie will NOT have a traditional HEA, so I think that Sookie and Eric both finally being comfortable with each other and not putting demands and expectations that are unreasonable on one another is a HEA!
This gives me more hope than I’ve had in a long,long time!
It’s so nice to have this confirmed! While I’m confident it will be Eric, I can’t help but explore other scenarios & haven’t felt that if things did fall apart that the last 1/2 of the last book was enough time for a devastated Sookie to fall in love w/ someone else in a satisfying way. Why cram it into a few chapters when we’ve had 13 books? Well now it would have to be crammed into a matter of weeks. Just reading the theories of what this might look like (and that Alcide is back in the running!!) will keep me entertained until May.
One of my pet theories has been that Sookie would somehow end up raising Hunter, which would address the lack of a traditional HEA with Eric. However if Playing Possum occurs after DEA, I guess that theory is now eliminated.
At the beginning of Playing Possum, Sookie thinks that she managed to arrive at Hunter’s school in Red Ditch on time, because Hunter’s dad Remy Savoy told her to be there at 10:03. That implies Remy is still about…
And thank goodness for Hunter’s that his dad is still around. I know Hunter is a fictional kid, but I’d hate to see him lose another parent for the sake of cramming him into some HEA dream that Sookie supposedly has.
Oh me too, Kindred. I’ve really hated the idea that the poor boy should be orphaned so readers can see Sookie get a kid. Hasn’t he been through enough already, what with inheriting the telepathy and his mother becoming a vampire and then dying?
Gives me a little hope that I won’t have to pull out my pitchfork and organize a revolt
I am confused about something. Charlaine’s screen name on her site is “duckpond” no The Maker. Therefore, that wouldn’t be her post. But if she admitted the short stories are after the final books……we have a clue!
She changed her screen name some time ago, she is now the Maker.
CH was originally duckpond10, then duckpond100. She changed her handle to “Maker” some time ago now. When she visited the TB set, the cast and crew referred to her as the “Maker”, hence a new handle was born. I like it
oops KC – I hadn’t seen your post when I wrote mine. LOL Jinx!
I fricking LOVE it.
Take that ABALLS.
I’m still LOL’ing that CH gave Lorena the last name Ball. *snicker*
Hahahaa!
Thanks for pointing that out Leif! Sometimes I’m a little slow on the uptake. Alan Ball ie. Lorena Ball…how appropriate! Tickle me pink.
@Valerie Young…Charlaine’s screen name on her site was indeed “Duckpond” at one point but she has changed it to “maker”, so this truly one of her posts. I don’t post on there anymore but still stop in to read.
Anyway, do we know for sure that Sookie will have a “life partner” at all? If it hasn’t been confirmed that she will, I’d believe that CH would have Sookie’s “HEA” be nothing more than her being content without being in a romantic relationship, particularly given that Sookie made much mention of having expected to be alone all her life due to her gift until she met her first vamp.
CH has confirmed Sookie WILL have a partner.
In a Q&A in Lexington, Kentucky the readers were told that Sookie’s forever leading man will be unveiled in Dead Ever After.
Source: http://ericandsookielovers.com/2012/05/07/exclusive-videos-of-charlaine-harriss-q-a-in-lexington-kentucky/
Bless you child !
Hi guys, thanks to everyone who responded to my earlier comment. I appreciate everyone’s perspective, I do. And I agree the definition of “happily” varies from person to person. (And by the way, mine couldn’t be further away from Tara’s
) But how about “ever” in “happily ever after”? Sookie will never be Tara. She will always be a telepath and thus different from other humans. But she will not always be young. I just don’t see Eric staying with her long term, regardless of whether Charlaine addresses that or not.
I just don’t understand why it’s obvious that E&S can’t be each other’s HEA because Sookie will age. If Eric truly loves Sookie, why in the world would care when she gets old. I should think he’d want to take care of her until her dying breath. I don’t see this as the horrible obstacle some do.
Two things: One is that Eric won’t leave her even if she ages because he considers her in his retinue regardless of their relationship. He is obligated to her care and protection. Pam told Sookie that new vamps start out with a physical relationship with their maker and it changes. Eric would never leave Pam and he won’t ever leave Sookie. Even if Sookie leaves the relationship she has with him, he will not leave her. Eric has shown this over and over again. When Sookie is with Quinn, he is there for her but stands far enough back that she can make her own choice. When Bill professes his love over and over, he let’s her choose. When she dances with other men, he doesn’t like it but he doesn’t interfere. It happens again and again. That is why I don’t believe he would ever leave her even if she stopped their relationship.
Two is that half of all marriages end in divorce and that doesn’t touch how many relationships end. So why would we look for the ever in any relationship or in a book? I don’t think anyone honestly believes this any longer. Maybe they do. I think CH’s endings are more realistic. The women find who they are happy with now and that is the HEA.
I agree that Sookie aging will not be an issue… because I believe Charlaine already touched on this via Niall in From Dead to Worse in his description of Einin his human lover and mother to Fintan & Dermot.
While Niall doesn’t talk about how long they were together he speaks of her in such glowing terms I find it hard to believe he dumped her as she aged. Page 60 “She called our older son Fintan…” emphasis on word “our” not “my son” as if her only part was birth mother. Seems like he stuck around for awhile.
Eric is “in love” with Sookie herself not just her outer shell. He is so old that he has seen just about everything and while anyone can appreciate another’s outer form as pleasing… lasting love is for the person contained within that form even when it changes – for whatever reason including scars from Fairy attacks.
Eric was more worried about Sookie’s emotional survival (and removing her physical pain – of course) after the attacks than any physical scars which remained on her person. The scars bothered Sookie not Eric. I can’t imagine wrinkles bothering him either.
Eric: I’m very proud of you, you hear me?
Sookie: Why?
Eric: You are still together; you are still a person… you survived and your personality and soul are intact.
Sookie: I got rescued.
Eric: You would have survived much more. — Dead and Gone
This is why the aging isn’t an obstacle for Eric & Sookie. Those words put the “Will Eric leave Sookie when she start aging?” discussion to rest IMHO. And there’s a reason why he didn’t say “Oh don’t worry your beautiful boobs and perfect a*** will be fine with my blood”
Just before I get on this rant Jonathon, I just want to point out that I’m not singling you out! This is an argument that comes up frequently and I think it’s worth examining.
The quote Mony posted from DAG is the clearest example of the fact that Eric doesn’t place a premium on her physical appearance – and it’s one that’s often cited when this subject comes up. Rightly so, I think, because it’s a pretty clear indication of what he values in her. He values her warrior spirit.
And why does he value that? Because he comes from a warrior culture himself.
- – - – - – - -
Eric liked to lie propped on his elbow, his other hand stroking my stomach. When I protested that since my stomach wasn’t completely flat, this made me feel fat, he laughed heartily.
“Who wants a bag of bones?” he said, with absolute sincerity. “I don’t want to hurt myself on the sharp edges of the woman I’m bedding.”
That made me feel better than anything he’d said to me in a long time.
“Did women . . . were women curvier when you were human?” I asked.
“We didn’t always have choices about how fat we were,” Eric said dryly. “In bad years, we were all skin and bones. In good years, when we could eat, we did.”
I felt abashed. “Oh, sorry.” (DITF)
- – - – - – — – -
“Hey, our hair’s the same color,” I said, eyeing us side by side in the mirror.
“Sure is, girlfriend.” Eric grinned at me. “But are you blond all the way down?”
“Don’t you wish you knew?”
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Well, you’ll just have to wonder.”
“I am,” he said. “Blond everywhere.”
“I could tell as much from your chest hair.”
He raised my arm to check my armpit. “You silly women, shaving your body hair,” he said, dropping my arm. (LDID)
- – - – -
What I think is really evident here is that Eric may be a vampire – but when it comes to women, he’s still a Viking first and foremost. Lest I be accused of cherry picking, I can’t recall a single instance of Eric voicing an opinion on a woman’s appearance – ANY woman – that outright contradicts this.
Eric recognises and connects with the part of Sookie that is primal, strong and female. What he finds attractive in her are the things that a human Viking would find attractive as opposed to what an immortal vampire might want, and he has no problem articulating that, or reconciling it to himself. After a millenia of being vampire he still connects most strongly with those attributes that his human self found attractive. And while he’s also been known to loudly appreciate how she looks in a “sexy” dress, he doesn’t share the modern obsession with youth, a slim figure or a smooth and hairless cooch. Modern day Sookie still struggles with that in the same way that modern day readers do; but don’t make the mistake of believing that Sookie’s physical preoccupations and Eric’s personal turn ons are the same thing. The text has shown clearly that they are not.
Turning vampire is not what Sookie wants (and not what’s going to happen, according to CH). And that’s just fine and dandy, because a youthful woman on his arm isn’t a priority for Eric either.
Less Twilight, more comprehension is what’s required
And Eric is also against plastic surgery IIRC. Sookie mentioned this when she think about getting a kid via artificial insemination in DITF
Great post! He is still a human Viking at his core, we saw that when he had amnesia, which was no accident. What some tend to focus on are Sookie’s insecurities about aging and this preconceived idea of what a HEA w/ a vampire should look like. One of the things I love about the way that CH writes fantasy is that it’s NOT your typical PNR.
There will always be women who are younger, prettier, thinner, etc… but that comes too easy & feels empty to Eric who has the maturity to know that is not satisfying for long. It’s Sookie he wants and loves, that connection, that intimacy and the challenges that come with it. Which is true of plenty of good guys in real life, when you are lucky enough to find the right one.
It will be harder for Sookie accept that Eric will remain young while she ages, but I think she will come to terms with that in this book. And like many have said, I don’t need or expect CH to spell out exactly what their future will be. Just need to know that Sookie is in a good place in her life w/ the one she loves.
Hi, thanks for your response. I am striving for less Twilight and more comprehension, and your help in that regard is much appreciated. I always enjoy your analyses, and you often pick up on things that I miss. Having said that, as much as I like the quotes, in my mind they don’t support the view expressed by you and many other commenters that Eric doesn’t care about Sookie’s appearance/beauty because he is a Viking at heart. Rather, the quotes show his standards and criteria for what he finds attractive are different from those promoted by People magazine
I think Eric’s attraction to Sookie is physical, and finding her beautiful, curves, body hair and all, is part of it. For instance, I read “I don’t want to hurt myself on the sharp edges of the woman I’m bedding”as an indication that if Sookie were to become frail with age, he wouldn’t be attracted to her. In other words, it is not that he doesn’t care about what her body is like, so he sleeps with her in spite of the fact she is fat – no, he actually cares and he sleeps with her because her curves turn him on.
Another point I want to make is that aging does not just involve appearance and being young is not the same as looking youthful. Personalities change as people age. Especially ability to stay up all night with a vampire without getting all irritable and forgetful
So I am hoping our Maker will find a way to address it by allowing Sookie to drink vampire blood or getting some fairy equivalent of it that will allow her to actually stay young, playful and energetic, so her sex life with our favorite Viking doesn’t wane over the years
Eric’s attraction to Sookie is obviously both physical and mental but when it comes to choose his mind doesn’t register her beauty but her personality and he proved it all over the series. Amnsia Eric is the core of the Real Eric (it’s like an onion CH said) and Eric’s core spoke the truth with his speech to Sookie in Book 4.
That scene at the hospital in D&G i posted is a very well example of what he values the most (of course he loves her beauty too but it’s not his priority and the text supports this)
There won’t be a “drinking blood solution” because there won’t be a traditional HEA and if you expect for CH to adress this in the last book you may end up disappointed, because Sookie & Eric will end the series together, and that’s all.
But i’m sure ff.net will be insane after the release
Eric puts a lot of focus on Sookie’s bravery, resourcefulness and common sense. This isn’t new, it goes all the way back to his human life. When he describes his human marriage to Sookie, he does so in great detail and I do not believe this is an accident. He never once mentions Aud’s looks or even the other “candidate” after Aud’s death. She was his brother’s widow, he always liked her and she wasn’t a silly girl. He knew she would be happy to have children. He needed someone to look after things while he was off on his viking raids. The candidate is the same way. There is no evidence at all in the books that Eric is fixated on beauty or looks, in fact it is the opposite. All of this conjecture only comes up in Sookie’s mind or is told to her by someone else (most prominently people who have their own agendas for making her insecure with Eric).
I think Sookie is going to finally come to grips with herself and quit all of this over thinking every little thing to a point where she can just relax and enjoy whatever is.
But as for Eric being the one to leave, there is no substantiated evidence of that whatsoever.
I forgot to mention that Eric wants Aud even though she is older than he is. And remember that this is a time when Eric, having all his teeth and not horribly disfigured by battle scars, would have been very physically appealing. If you think about how he must have looked in his time where people were dead at 40 and considered ancient if they lived that long, the simple idea that he looks as good as he does would have had much more affect than it does in modern time. Eric comes from a time where men lived by the sword and people often didn’t have enough to eat. He lived in a place of freezing temperatures and no good or efficient options to heat your dwelling let along your Viking long ship. Yet he survived that looking good enough to impress modern women. Just imagine how that affected the people in his own time. Still, even though that must have been the case, he makes no mention of it at all and marries his brother’s widow, who is older, because he likes her and he thinks she has the right stuff. He picks the next prospect the same way. That would be like having the sexiest man alive marry an older woman because she’s brave, resourceful and uses her common sense. That’s basically what we have in this situation. (Think Hugh Jackman for example.)
Hi Jonathan! While my earlier rant was a reply to your post, it was not aimed at you.
That particular rant (typos and all) has been a ball of energy building inside of me for quite some time. I love these discussions so much, even if I’m only on the sidelines muttering “amen” to the things others say.
As far as your latest opinion on Eric leaving Sookie as she gets older… I just don’t see it happening. His loyalty is to her spirit, not her body. I don’t think he is given enough credit in that regard. Even though he doesn’t age physically, the dude is really old. He has watched people come and go for a thousand years. I’m pretty sure he is way beyond the point of being a shallow dick. I think Eric loving Sookie for the next 50 years (regardless of her physical appearance) is just a drop in the bucket compared to the years he has lived, and hopefully will live. I like to think he will graciously accept all that she has to give for as long as can offer it.
Some tiny part of me (laughingly) pictures elderly Sookie as being Eric’s “ancient pythoness.” NOT that she would be a vampire, or tucked away and only brought out for special occasions -(LOL)- but in the way that he would protect her, seek her council in all things, and honor her like royalty.
Hi Jenerica, I love these discussions too, so no worries whatsoever. However, I just don’t agree that Eric’s loyalty is “to her spirit, not her body.” The way I understand the dynamic, physical attraction, sex, all these things associated with body are very important to both Eric and Sookie. So I think both body and soul are important to Eric. And aging is not just about appearance. It is also about energy, and being less adventurous, and not being able to stay up all night…so the spirit ages also I think
…And I don’t think that wanting a partner who can physically keep up with you makes a person “a shallow dick”
I don’t know how old you are, but would you date somebody who is 95? For their inner beauty? I am just being facetious obviously, but still, I think you see my point.
“the spirit ages also”
Yeas and no… That’s a matter of opinion and a very complex thing to assess.
Plus, in that gase Eric’s spirit should be effing OLD!
And really that’s the point: he’s a vampire, an ancient one, so how can you compare him staying with Sookie as long as they both are alive with a young human dating an old one?
The comparison just doesn’t work and in fact, one could argue that it’s Eric who’s old, not Sookie. In fact her “spirit” will be always far younger than his according to this theory.
Eric loves all of Sookie and in the grand scheme of things I’m sure he’s fully prepared to love her in whatever state she’s in even if her body won’t be in its best shape for a few years… That’s what marriage is.
Sorry for the typos, I’m writing on the train LOL
Personality doesn’t change.
It evolves and mature but the core is the same.
It is Sookie who often points out how old Eric is and how that effects his ennui and cynical view of the world. she also points out his occassional fall back into feudal thinking.
Jonathan, I am not seeing this overriding physical attraction. He has a lot of sex with her, but what he says appeals to him is her bravery, resourcefulness and common sense.
Me?…date a 95 year old? Most definitely, if I were a thousand…because I’ve always had a thing for younger men.
I’m pretty sure time runs a little differently for the immortal. I just can’t see Eric not being able to exercise some level of control over his sexual “needs” for the few years that Sookie will be too elderly to f*ck.
Nice point about “ancient pythoness” though. I can totally see him taking care of her and treating her like royalty, just not staying faithful and committed to her as her husband/boyfriend.
Jonathan, by your reasoning, every man would trade his wife for someone younger when she ages, if he’s able, because younger women are more desirable. I hope to hell that’s not true because it would make men too shallow to deserve any woman’s love and devotion. Obviously, I think your wrong, about Eric specifically and at least some men (the good ones) in general. You should really rethink this;)
Okay, before we devolve into such a personal view of whether we believe men trade in their starter partners for a better version, let’s not forget that that is a perception of actions and consequences from a human point of view and a personal point of view rather than a literary point of view. The only thing that truly matters here is what the supernatural characters would do in the world CH has created. The only way to do that is to examine the texts and look for evidence. Prior actions always dictate future actions unless there is a dramatic or traumatic event that instigates a major shift. So the real question here would be this – is there any evidence in Sookie’s report of Eric’s past actions (up to the current point) that would indicate he would cease to be interested in Sookie as a partner (because it can’t be life partner as her life is by default probably going to be shorter than his). And mind, these are reported actions rather than her speculation on what he thinks, means or feels. If that evidence exists, is there more of a preponderance of that evidence over the evidence to the contrary?
Next, we can include what others report, but we have to be mindful of their motives. For instance, some characters will probably not be reliable if they have a strong agenda (Bill, Alcide and Quinn come immediately to mind but Sam would probably be in this category as well). We can use their report, but only if we feel it is neutral or if it is later verified by Eric himself or someone who is reliable.
The only other pertinent facts for examination in this series is how other supes deal with this situation. For instance,we already know that Fintan came back on and off to sneak in a visit with Adele for his entire life, despite the fact that she was aging and he was not. We also know he probably wasn’t faithful, but by default that is not Fairy nature. I think Sophie Ann and even Russel Edgington are key characters CH uses to steer us to this answer. We could have an entire blog on Sophie Anne’s relationships and her statement that her great strength is her ability to keep key people close and how that plays into the greater arc. There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained just by looking at those sub-plots. Still, what we find out from these observations while pertinent to the argument only augment what Eric’s actions show, rather than outright refute or confirm them.
Writers notoriously drop hints in the text to lead readers to the conclusions. If we want to dissect the texts for clues, we only need to sift through the actions of Eric and the other supes to find the most likely answer (barring a sudden and unexplained shift in a 13th book of a series).
Really KC, I have no idea how you deduced that from my comments. None. I think when people age together HEA is possible, although not guaranteed by any stretch of imagination. I can’t envision HEA for a couple where one person is aging (sex hormones and levels of energy steadily declining) and her partner stays forever young (sex hormones and energy sky high no matter what). We are discussing literary characters here, please don’t take my comments personally, I am doing this for fun and the last thing I want is to offend somebody.
Jonathan, I did not take offense at your post at all but I strongly disagree with your POV unless I have misunderstood it. For example, if one partner became ill and their energy levels and biochemistry changed, there could not be an HEA? A 50 year old and a 25 year old are vastly different but that happens all the time. I will agree though that all these real life examples don’t matter because Eric is a fictional vampire and not a 23 year old with hormonal surges;). Please continue to share your POV, differences are what makes a discussion IMO.
I respect your opinion but it seems no matter how other posters explain how Eric is not shallow, you still think he will leave her or be unfaithfull to her. There’s nothing anyone can say to change your mind. For me though, based on the text from LDID on the way to the orgy that he did think about Sookie’s mortality and yet he still choose her, choose to be with her, married her, stay with her after the kidnapping and torture, assured Sookie that he likes her curves and told Sookie that she is his greatest choice. He never brought up any talk about physical appearance(that I remember), it’s always Sookie that brought that up unlike Bill(sorry can’t help it). So, you need to come up with something in the text to support this theory of yours. For all we know Sookie could die the next instant they are reunited or Eric get staked. Personally I didn’t care to speculate whether Eric will stay with Sookie until she grows old and die. I just want to know that Sookie is in a happy place and get what she wants which is to be with Eric. After all they’ve been through they deserve it. What happen after that? Don’t care, it’s only a book, just one story, move on to the next book. I don’t even want an
epilogue.
Something else I think that supports the argument that Eric isn’t shallow was the beginning of DITF. Sookie was severely traumatised and badly scarred. Eric wasn’t pressuring her for sex, nor was he repulsed by her disfigurement. In fact, it was *she* who insisted she was ready to resume their sexual relationship and Eric who wasn’t so sure she was ready and that they could wait a bit longer.
IDK, I’m not trying to be argumentative and I don’t think I’m being one-eyed when I say that there is evidence in the text that supports what we’re saying. Where as the argument that Eric won’t be interested when she’s no longer able to keep up seems based on a broader perception of vampires outside the SVM. I just don’t see support for it in the way he’s been written, but I’m open to seeing it.
Hi SW, both you and SVB make very good points. I have to say, although I have read all the books in the series, you guys put me to shame in terms of your knowledge of the text. Couple of things though. First of all, I am a HUGE fan of Eric, so nothing would please me more than Sookie’s HEA with our favorite vampire. Secondly, I don’t think that if physical side of a relationship is important to a person, it somehow makes him/her shallow. Throughout the books Charlaine vividly describes all kind of sexual scenes between Eric and Sookie – does it make her shallow? It literally boggles my mind that the majority of smart, sophisticated commenters here somehow equate aging with becoming less beautiful and strong sexual drive with being shallow. I don’t share either of these views. I don’t believe the only thing that changes with age is appearance or that there is anyting shallow about sexuality/strong sex drive. Finally, I agree there are many instances in the books where Eric acts like he is in a committed relationship, but I also thinks there are instances where he is sort of ambivalent. Like this whole Freyda disaster.
Maybe I can’t put quotes in to support my view, but I think there are moments when Sookie is upset with Eric not calling for days, not being with her as much as she would like him to be. We’ll see what happens. If the series ends with Sookie and Eric just “being in a good place at the moment,” I’ll find it plausible but sort of unsatisfying. If we have an epilogue asserting Eric passionately loved Sookie until her death at the age of 85, I’ll probably find it utterly implausible, but strangely satisfying.
Finally, my apologies if I hit the wrong “reply” button, I can never figure out which one is the right one to choose, so some of my comments don’t appear under the posts I was trying to respond to.
The lack of reply buttons on some of the comments is confusing me! Haha!
So Jonathan…
“I don’t think that if physical side of a relationship is important to a person, it somehow makes him/her shallow. Throughout the books Charlaine vividly describes all kind of sexual scenes between Eric and Sookie – does it make her shallow? It literally boggles my mind that the majority of smart, sophisticated commenters here somehow equate aging with becoming less beautiful and strong sexual drive with being shallow. I don’t share either of these views. I don’t believe the only thing that changes with age is appearance or that there is anyting shallow about sexuality/strong sex drive.”
…Okay, so while I don’t think it is shallow to have a strong sex drive or to desire a partner to have sex with, I do think it’s shallow to end a relationship with the person you love because he/she is no longer able to have sex. And that’s another thing, how old is too old to have sex? LOL! I’m an older woman, and pardon the TMI, but I’m still just as willing and able to have sex as my twenty year-old self. So let’s say Sookie gets older….at what age do you think she’s going to want to give up sex? 50, 60, 70? HA! Doubt it. So let’s just say for the sake of argument, she decides at 75 that she is just too damn old and tired to do it anymore…Than what? Eric’s just going to walk away? He’s just going to tell her that he can’t wait out a decade or so for her to just die already? THAT’s the part of the “Eric isn’t going to stick around without sex” theory that equals “shallow” to me.
I’m wondering if maybe I misunderstand what it is you are trying to point out. I mean I get that as Sookie ages she will become less able to keep up in other areas too. But I’m thinking that humans aren’t able to keep up with vamps as it is, regardless of age and ability. Vamps are fast and strong. Some can even fly. No human at any age or physical ability can really keep up with them equally. So I’m not buying that either.
Oh, I could go on like this for hours. I’m glad you joined the conversation, Jonathan. This has been fun.
I am more confuse here Jonathan. Yes! Yes! i do think it’s shallow to leave someone because their appearance doesn’t please you anymore even if you proclaim you love them. What about the persons other quality that you love? Anyway, someone in Amazon quote something from STW i think, Sookie saying that if she have problem with Eric not visiting her enough or whatever she will talk to him about it. I think she understand Eric’s situation, sure she complain about it in her head but there’s more important issue they need to attend to first. I think, what bogles the mind of smart, sophisticated commenters here is that why would Eric leave Sookie when he loves her no matter what she looks like or if she doesn’t have to energy to have sex anymore. Sex doesn’t have to be vigorous all the time and the most satisfying sex is the one where you connect with the other person emotionally. Let me ask you a question. You said you like Eric, what do you like about him?
Jonathan,
I think it helps to remember that what we are reading is from Sookie’s POV only. Right now we do not know why Eric is really so silent and absent. This has happened before, most notably when Sookie was kidnapped and cut to pieces. It was a long time before Eric could even tell her why he was detained because HE was so upset that he couldn’t be there for her. It literally caused him so much pain he couldn’t speak of it for a long time. Eric was literally restrained from helping her because of Victor but he still managed to rally his minions to save her. Honestly I believe this is why Niall chose Eric to watch out for Sookie. I think he knew that Eric would be loyal to her always (even when he wanted her and she rejected him) and that he was a force with which to be reckoned. Sookie is very important to Niall so I have to believe that he would be very careful in who he selected to watch her and protect her. (I’ve always felt there was a lot more to that association than was ever revealed.)
Getting back to Eric’s absence and silence… Since we (and Sookie) have no idea why Eric is staying away and is silent, the chances are just as likely that he is doing it to keep Freyda calm so she doesn’t kill Sookie as they are that he is being a jerk. Without the blood bond, which Sookie broke, he won’t feel if she’s in danger so he has to do what he can to stop the danger before it gets to her. Eric and his minions are closer, but Freyda owns a state and has more people at her disposal to take Sookie out or kidnap her for her own uses. Frankly, I don’t always trust Sookie as a narrator because she is both too emotional and limited in her knowledge. I don’t doubt her feelings, but I don’t think she’s in possession of all of the facts.
Also, we need to remember that plenty of 25 yr olds find 40 and even 50 year olds attractive now. I think it’s going to be a long time before Sookie seems old to Eric. Let’s say it’s 30 years that Sookie is slowing down, getting ill and dying. Eric is over 1,000 years old so 30 years to him is roughly like 2.5 years to us (and that is based on an avg age of 80 human years). I don’t think he’s going to see that time in the same way we would. Eric is all about control. He controlled himself when he wanted her and she chose other men over and over. He probably could have pushed it and seduced her but he never did. There were several times when she woke up to find him in her bed and he just wanted to cuddle. There were other times that he was more than content to hang out and talk or dance with her. Unlike the other men in her life who seemed fixated on a physical relationship with her and who wandered on to the next woman when they didn’t get it, Eric has always been focused on being around her no matter what relationship they have. Like Pam says, things always happen when Sookie calls. She livens up his life which he’s been pretty bored with up until this point. I do think Eric loves her or he wouldn’t have told her he did, but Eric also likes her and likes to be around her. He told her he was her friend and I don’t think he’s told many, if any, humans that. Far from being turned off by Sookie aging, I think Eric will admire her fortitude in sticking with her decision not to be brought over. From Eric’s point of view it would take a heck of a lot of strength of character to choose to live out your life as a human so you can live and die in the same time frame as your loved ones than to choose eternal life without sickness. It’s indicative of his belief in that fortitude that he tells her he will never turn her because he knows that she doesn’t want that. I think if he felt she was at all wavering in that decision, he wouldn’t waste a second in turning her. Yet he doesn’t. To me, Eric sees Sookie like a Valkyrie. She’s strong, fierce, courageous, beautiful and voluptuous just like a Valkyrie. To a Viking, a Valkyrie is the penultimate woman and the one that is their reward for being brave, fierce and courageous on the battlefield. She is the one who ushers the Viking to his destiny and far from seeing that as something he must reluctantly accept, the Viking sees it as the reward for being a great Viking. He wants it above all things. It is his heart’s desire, just like Eric said Sookie is to him.
I find it very hard to believe that with all the love, respect and admiration he has for her that he would turn his back on her for what would be approximately 2.5 years. If you believe a human man could be faithful for that long or longer, why wouldn’t you believe Eric could after everything we know about him?
If anything, Eric would choose to end his long life with Sookie and follow her into whatever is beyond their lives (not that I think he’d meet the sun, but I could see him going out in a blaze of some battle). If he does indeed see her as his Valyrie come to usher him into his destiny then he will go with her wherever that leads, not as acceptance, but as his reward for a battle well fought. That would surprise me less than Eric walking away to be some consort to a queen because of the myth of power (but the loss of any independence) or to have an endless parade of beautiful women who are basically like cows (cute but edible). I think after Sookie, Eric will find other women less than for the rest of his existence and I don’t think he’ll find that at all satisfying.
Great post, Zanne. The Valkyrie perspective I have never exactly seen. I like it.
“Think about Sookie’s grandmother, Adele. Arguably, she was a lovely person, that, when young, attracted a powerful fairy. But neither Eric, nor for that matter Bill, fell in love with her, they were attracted to Sookie who was young and full of life.”
Oh Jonathan…falling in love with an elderly woman is not the same thing as falling in love with a young woman and loving her throughout her life. The comparison is just silly. Besides, if fecking Connor MacLeod could love Heather for 53 years and light a candle on her birthday every year beyond her death, than Eric Fucking Northman can do it for Sookie. Sorry to go all Highlander on you there…but damn.
It wasn’t the sex, it was the affection that was important.
And that is why Hot Rain goes after Sookie.
There’s also Niall telling Sookie, the vampire is a good man and he loves you. Why would her great grandfather tell her that if Eric was just going to hurt her?
I should have clarified that Valkyries ushering the Vikings into their destiny was to choose half of them to go to Valhalla with Odin. Half go to the goddess Freyja’s afterlife field Fólkvangr on their own. To be “chosen” by a Valkyrie was thought to be the penultimate honor as they had to earn it, just like Eric earned his place with Sookie. She had to “choose” him because he was worthy. But to be chosen by a Valkyrie, a Viking had to die by default so he could be ushered into his destiny whether that be with Freyja or Odin.
I’m sorry if someone already pointed this out but Freyja and Freyda are pretty much the same name. Has Zanne already written about this?
I have not written about this yet, but I’ve thought about it.
Freyda is actually an English name meaning Elf Counselor (interestingly enough considering Elves are part of the Faerie world). However, that doesn’t mean that Freyda didn’t originate from Scandanavia and Anglicized her name along the way.
Freya is from Old Norse Freyja meaning “lady”. This is the name of the goddess of love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology. She claimed half of the heroes who were slain in battle and brought them to her realm in Asgard (and if the coincidence of Asgard doesn’t make you think twice you need more coffee! LOL).
However, I still think it’s no coincidence that Freyda is so close to Freyja.
We have the perfect set up here if we think of Freyda as an Anglicized version of Freyja. Eric is right now on the brink of going one way or the other – to the land of Freyja (Freyda) or being taken to the land of battle (Valhalla/Bon Temps and OK) and the king of Battle (Odin/FdC) by the Valkyrie (Sookie).
For a Viking, there is no contest. Being picked by the Valkyries to go to Valhalla was the best thing that could happen. Freyja is the consolation prize (even though she ruled what was originally considered heaven until the Viking era took off and Valhalla was changed from the equivalent of hell to the a warrior’s paradise).
This is a description of Valkyrie from one of the heroic Norse poems and some other descriptions. See what you think.
In the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, the hero Helgi Hundingsbane sits in the corpse-strewn battlefield of Logafjöll. A light shines from the fell, and from that light strike bolts of lightning. Flying through the sky, helmeted valkyries appear. Their waist-length mail armor is drenched in blood; their spears shine brightly:
Then light shone from Logafell,
and from that radiance there came bolts of lightning;
wearing helmets at Himingvani [came the valkyries].
Their byrnies were drenched in blood;
and rays shone from their spears.[13]
In the stanza that follows, Helgi asks the valkyries (who he refers to as “southern goddesses”) if they would like to come home with the warriors when night falls (all the while arrows were flying).
Sounds a little like our Southern Goddess flying into war with Eric.
And this:
the son of the Norwegian King Hjörvarðr and Sigrlinn of Sváfaland, witnesses nine valkyries riding by while sitting atop a burial mound. He finds one particularly striking; this valkyrie is detailed later in a prose narrative as Sváva, king Eylimi’s daughter, who “often protected him in battles”.
The valkyrie tells him she knows of a hoard of swords in Sigarsholm, and that one of them is of particular importance, which she describes in detail.
Does that remind anyone of Sookie’s part in the Dallas adventure and the fight with Victor? What about when Sookie took out Debbie Pelt and Mickey when Eric was incapacitated? Or when she took out one of the two henchmen of Victor so Pam wouldn’t be overwhelmed? And even when she took out Siegbert (sp?) because he was going to take FdC, Eric and Sam? Especially in the last case, Sookie came flying in like a Valkyrie and took out the mighty warrior in a way that surprised everyone.
There’s more:
Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja’s afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar. When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead. Valkyries also appear as lovers of heroes and other mortals, where they are sometimes described as the daughters of royalty
So now we have the Valkyrie choosing the warriors to come to the hall of the god of war, Odin, serving them mead (the equivalent of beer in their time and sometimes referred to as ale in the heroic poetry) and becoming their lovers (this is inverted because Valkyries are immortals who become the lovers of mortal warriors). They are the daughters of royalty (Sookie’s connection to Fairy royalty.)
There’s even more:
Simek says that this original concept was “superseded by the shield girls—Irish female warriors who lived on like the einherjar in Valhall.”
And the land of Eire is the land of the Faerie. A land conquered and hugely influenced by Vikings as regards genetics and mythology.
It’s all a huge circle with both of them moving toward their destiny by re-discovering and coming to terms with their roots.
I’m sure there is more, but this is all I’ve had time to find. It may be coincidence, but writers rarely pick names and character backgrounds out of coincidence. They usually mean something to the overall arc.
Sookie as blonde, voluptuous, strong, fierce, brave, courageous who fights next to her hero and helps him battle, then is his lover later and who also is a server in her non-war time. If Sookie isn’t Eric’s Valkyrie then I don’t know who is.
Thank you Zanne that post was packed with good stuff. I especially like the souther goddess part. I need more coffee what about Asgard. I get the Lord of the rings reframe but…..
I love this all so much. Thanks for taking the time to share it.
Asgard – A (Skar)sgard – portrayer of Eric
The more I read, the more things I find.
As Don DeLillo wrote in his novel Libra, “There is a world inside the world”
There is a world inside the world of SVM, vampire politics, BT and even Sookie and Eric themselves. The more you peel back, the more you will find.
Amazing post Zanne! my mind is now reeling…
Jenerica, first of all thanks for your kind words, very sweet and welcoming of you. I certainly don’t think that as people age they “give up sex.” But I do think when Eric and Sookie met they were very well matched up sexually. Now in a human relationship both partners age, and both partners’ sex drives go through changes, and they have a shot of staying well-matched. Not so with Eric and Sookie. In other words, I can imagine Alcide and Sookie as an old couple, but not Sookie and Eric. Think about Sookie’s grandmother, Adele. Arguably, she was a lovely person, that, when young, attracted a powerful fairy. But neither Eric, nor for that matter Bill, fell in love with her, they were attracted to Sookie who was young and full of life.
CW, you say “why would Eric leave Sookie when he loves her no matter what she looks like or if she doesn’t have to energy to have sex anymore. Sex doesn’t have to be vigorous all the time and the most satisfying sex is the one where you connect with the other person emotionally. Let me ask you a question. You said you like Eric, what do you like about him? ”
Well, maybe the thing is I don’t believe that Eric’s love will remain the same if Sookie doesn’t have the energy to have sex anymore given that passionate sex life is so important to him. I am not saying he wouldn’t take care of Sookie in her old age, and I appreciate that for many people satisfying sexual life is not that important and it is all about emotional connection, but going by what we see in the books, I don’t think Eric is one of these people. And also, emotional connection will change too. People don’t usually believe they change with age, but they do, in profound ways. I was recently trying to convince my friends that I essentially didn’t change since the age of four, but was overruled and outvoted… So if one partner changes and another one doesn’t, I think the emotional connection will not stay the same either.
And to answer your question, what I find so attractive about Eric, it is a combination of strength and sort of ruthlessness typical of his viking background and a very modern attitude of needing his partner to be willing (and not just able) to have sex with him. I remember when Eric was helping Sookie to save Bill and was essentially in bed with her petting her, and she said something along the lines of “you shouldn’t want me to have sex with you just beacause I am grateful you saved me,” Eric’s response was, “I don’t care why you have sex with me, as long as you do it.” For me, it is beyond impressive that he desires her so much, and doesn’t really care what motivates her to have sex with him, and yet, he would never force himself on her, he needs her to desire him too (this may seem “normal” in this day and age, but it became normal and widely accepted relatively recently, maybe in the last hundred years or so.)
Hi Zanne,
I loved your post of 12:23am. You make some excellent points. But I still don’t see Eric having an intimate passionate relationship with an eighty-year-old. You say, “Also, we need to remember that plenty of 25 yr olds find 40 and even 50 year olds attractive now.” That’s true. But a human 25-year-old who is in love with a 40-year-old will be 35 when she is 50 and 45 when she is 60…(although I think the majority of these relationships don’t last that long, e.g., Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher
) And we are talking happily EVER after here. Do you see a lot of relationships between a 25-year-old and 70-year-old? 25-year-old and 80-year-old? That’s my point.
Jonathan, sigh! “and I appreciate that for many people satisfying sexual life is not that important and it is all about emotional connection”. You might want to read what i wrote again. Anyway, nice talking to you. All POV’s are welcomed here.
Given Eric’s perspective on time, and sex, I think he would not think sex is better than whatever Sookie offers despite her age. Remember the conversation he has with Sookie about Hot Rain’s desire for revenge and that he wanted to take from Eric was taken from him? It wasn’t the sex.
I should have put this response down here. I get lost in all of the replies.
It wasn’t the sex, it was the affection that was important.
And that is why Hot Rain goes after Sookie.
There’s also Niall telling Sookie, the vampire is a good man and he loves you. Why would her great grandfather tell her that if Eric was just going to hurt her?
Jonathan, I don’t see that Eric is all about sex. He has no need to blood bond to Sookie to get Sex since Bill and Quinn didn’t bother to do that or marry her to get it. He told Sookie he hadn’t given any woman his blood since probably Pam and he had only ever invited Pam to his house as a guest. He told her he honored her with that invitation. He doesn’t need to do that for sex. And certainly his admiration of her bravery and resourcefulness isn’t about sex.
As for Demi and Ashton, who knows why Ashton strayed? Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston didn’t even make it to their six wedding anniversary. Nor did Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds. Demi and Ashton lasting as long as they did is actually a long time in Hollywood.
And how do you account for Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell (29 years), Susan Sarandon/Tim Robbins (21 years), Deborra Furness/Hugh Jackman (13 years), Naveen Andrews/Barbara Hershey (12 years), Bo Derek/John Corbett (10 years), etc? For every May/Dec romance that failed, there is a May/May that failed as well.
50% of all marriages end in divorce. In my own experience my father-in-law married a woman ten years older after his divorce from my mother-in-law who was younger than he. His second marriage lasted until his wife’s death last year. One of my very good friends has been with her 15 year younger husband for 20 years. Her hair is completely white and his is black. They are still as close as ever. And in both of these cases the men were good looking and professional. On the other hand, I can count on one hand the number of same age couples I know that are still together after 20 years. That’s in the thousands of people I’ve met.
Based on that and the evidence of the text, I’m pretty comfortable that Eric can make it. If you aren’t, Jonathan, that’s your belief and that’s okay too.
I am jumping into this discussion REALLY late, but I found it interesting and thought provoking. I agree a little with all views and I don’t see your comment as meaning Eric being shallow.
For me though, the age issue isn’t an issue because I personally don’t think Sookie will live very long. Her body has taken a beating so much so that she has remarked about it in the last few books. Just because the books end doesn’t mean that the danger for Sookie and all the attempts on her life will cease. I think Eric realizes this as well and therefore simply appreciates every moment he has with her. Her telepathy will never go away which means there will also be someone(s) always out their trying to get to her because of it – despite her age.
Also – that was the whole point in her fixing her will.
Thanks for this SVB! I agree with you, naturally.
And I must add, because it’s me,
that I’m thrilled that IIHAH is after DEA for another reason. Sookie refers to not being able to ask Amelia about the haunting because she’s in Europe. Inferring that they’re still friends! So I have been right about Amelia’s character and she’s not underhanded and nefarious as some have insisted she must be!! My cat can keep her name!!
That is very good news for your Amelia, Kathy!! x
krtmd – thanks for the post! It makes me happy and I am glad to know finally where DEA stands in the timeline.
Ex means ex means ex! And it might just mean really, really ex as in no more.
While I was certainly right about IIHAH coming after DEA, it looks like I am wrong about Sam being a fishy fish. I can live with him just being a friend though and all.
I think the most significant thing we can learn is there is simply no time for her to get over Eric and move on to any other relationship considering how quickly DEA is after DL.
Also, I have to agree with SVB there seems to be a gradual let down which CH is very deliberately doing the slow band aid pull on.
Thanks ever so much for the post SVB. I did read the Home Improvement book , noting the self
sufficient manner that Sookie carries on her life and holding her intimate involvement as private.
I thought then that, Bill was only a footnote, and Sam remained a good friend ( like a brother ).
Ms Harris has had a pragmatic approach to this final book, in the ” Dead” series, and I consider
it wisely done. The month of May may be here soon enough, yet my concerns ( anxiety ,really )
remain for her followup work or compendium, to tie up the growing list of ” loose ends “.
ok, one more question: if everybody is convinced Sookie is destined for Eric ( I am not convinced but I am clearly in the minority and am probably wrong), what do you think happens with the blood bond? I mean I know Amalia helped Sookie to get rid of it, but would it make an appearance in the last book? Now that Sookie knows she loves Eric even without the bond, is it just the thing of the past, or is it something that will be resurrected to tie Eric and Sookie closer together again?
I have a not-so-secret fantasy (fuelled in part by Eric’s comments about the protection aspect of the bond) that Eric and Sookie will forge it again in the final book, and that it would be something that they both enter into willingly and with eyes wide open. I think we tend to forget sometimes that Sookie wasn’t the only one “forced” into that situation – Eric was cornered into it by Andre and while the opportunist in him wasn’t too distraught about it, it wasn’t really a situation of his making either.
I can see a place for the bond going forward in terms of the protection factor, but I think there were enough drawbacks to it from Sookie’s end (eg. feeling Eric’s bloodlust, him knowing more than she wanted to share) that she probably wouldn’t do it. More is the pity, but I can’t say I blame her. I always loved the bond and I think from a story telling perspective it was an interesting device to draw out the tension and allow the relationship to move forward.
I’ve only cried twice in these novels – once when Sookie was tortured in DAG, and again when she broke the bond.
So yeah, my short answer is that I’d love to see it reformed under certain circumstances, but pretty sure we won’t.
Great analysis SVB, as always.
IMO the BB was a literary device that allowed Sookie and Eric to become a couple. Now that it has served it’s purpose, I don’t expect it to be back. Unlike SVB, I hope it doesn’t come back. I could hear the cries from the other side of the fandom claiming that Eric is once again controlling Sookie.
By literary device, I mean that I do not suspect RE and Sookie would have ever come together without it. The are both rather proud and insecure. Sookie would have never dated Eric without the AE incident. Eric would have never considered Sookie a serious love interest without the bond. Real Eric with his memories back is not the same Eric that occured in the first 3 books.
The bond, which was established in ATD, allowed Eric to realize Sookie’s true feelings for him and his true feelings for her. In fact, there was a total reversal from earlier in ATD. At the beginning he is still the angry, brooding Eric from DD and DAAD. He is not sure what happens and he doesn’t like having feelings. The bond lets him be in touch with those inner feelings. Then the memories come back, and he tries to honor his promises, the marriage, to bring her by his side. He is trying to merge his inner Eric with the realities of his real life, and it is not working to well for him.
I think DEA will leave us with more balanced AE/RE, him deciding that all of the power and turmoil it brings is not worth it, that he can just be happy being with Sookie. SO long post short, I think the bond was necessary for them both to get to the point where they trust each other. It’s purpose is done, and they will just have to figure out the rest without it.
Oh you know it, but that’s pretty easy to shoot down.
1. Sookie wouldn’t enter into it again voluntarily if she believed it gave him control, and
2. DITF and DR clearly showed that it doesn’t. If they can’t read it’s not my problem
Agree with you on it being a literary device to bring them together, and that we won’t see it back. I just think it’s kind of romantic *sigh*.
I agree with both of you in terms of it being a literary device to get them together – like the amnesia – and that it needed to be broken so that they would both be forced to own their feelings and learn to trust the other enough to reveal their feelings without it. I loved the BB and thought it was one of the coolest ideas in the books. I wouldn’t mind if it was reinstituted by them consensually but I don’t think it will happen either.
I thought the blood bond was interesting. I agree it needed to be broken because Sookie would always have doubts. I think CH even mentioned that she liked the blood bond but was tired of trying to explain it. I think she was sick of people complaining about it too. CH mentioned that the special blood bond does not work the same every time so Sookie and Eric might not even be able to get the special blood bond back even if they want it. I agree I do not think they will reform the special bond. Really the bond helped them know each other better because they could feel what the other person was feeling. They became so in tune with each other at times
Bill mentioned to Sookie that he had a special blood bond that did not end well. It was not elaborated on but I would like to here that story. I think he mentioned it in DR? Oh well I guess that will remain one of the Bill mysteries.
Oh I think we would ALL like to hear THAT story!
I love this blog and I love reading all the posts the make me think so much, so many great insights.
Im pretty sure someone already posted this so here goes……fir sure we know that sam survived whatever battle happened in DEA. But im not sure about eric. She never mentioned him, especially when its dark out. So either he left with the queen or possibly died. It might not make any sense, but since years have past, she learned to accept it. I also thought that with the cover of DEA, she was going to leave town for good.apparently she can never leave sam *roll eyes* She’s always happy with him, which is starting to get on my nerves.
Rosie,
Your perspective is truly unique and I feel you are on to something. Never thought about it this way, but who knows, maybe it is Eric who is dead ever after??? Although this goes against the piece of information somebody posted above about Charlaine’s promise (in one of her interviews) to provide a partner for Sookie in DEA without introducing any new characters. Hmmm…
She’s also said Eric and Sookie are the only characters who are guaranteed survival.
Which I’m really glad about because I have enough worries about this series without adding Dead Eric to the list!
Ha! A-friggin-men!
In IIHAH, there is no mention of Eric, true. But there is also no mention of Sookie’s personal life. The story spans over 3 days, but always cuts off at sunset and resumes the next day. So there is no “night” in the story. Which doesn’t surprise me, this late in the game CH isn’t giving much away.
Not sure what you mean about “years past” ? Dead Ever After will pickup right after, or very shortly after Deadlocked.
A couple of years or months should have passed after DEA to get towards some events in the books ..Hammer and..Possum.
IIHAH and PP occur shortly after the end of DEA. We know this because Amelia is still in Europe in IIHAH (it was mentioned in DL that she had gone for a month), and Tara’s babies, born in DL, are still very small. Also, Hunter is in kindergarten in Playing Possum. It seems both stories are set a matter of weeks after the final novel.
Deadlocked ended July, 2, 2006.
In Playing Possum, Sookie is attending Hunter’s “Labour Day Party” at his school. (early Sept. 2006)
And as we know, both IIHAH and PP occur after DEA.
Well nothing precludes Eric from going with Freyda to protect Sookie from her (or his children). We all know vamps can be ruthless to get what they want. We know that Eric would do anything to protect Sookie even if he left thinking she wanted Sam after she used the CD.
The only reason I won’t buy into that theory is that FdC has a lot to lose and nothing to gain if he loses his strongest sheriff to the queen of another state. It would make him too vulnerable.
But, if it wasn’t for that, I would say Eric would make the ultimate sacrifice for love.
No matter how many times people try to explain the logic of FdC forcing a thousand-year old Eric (unwilling to the extreme) to Freyda, it makes no sense to me at all. FdC is already weakened and strectched thin. To give Freyda SA’s most efficient sheriff to a “shark” intent on FdC’s territory, seems dumb beyond belief. I could see FdC blackmailing Eric to go by threatening Sookie but why would he want to do that? It would just be crazypants.
The only way that makes sense if FdC and Eric are setting Freyda up for a takeover at the “wedding.” If you look at it from that perspective, it makes complete sense and so does Eric’s absence from Sookie. Until Freyda is neutralized, Sookie is in extreme danger from Freyda and so Eric must seem to be losing interest and distancing himself (make the threat appear minimalized so Sookie is insignificant to Freyda). If he doesn’t have to worry about Freyda taking action against Sookie, he can play the game with FdC, take her out and expand FdC’s territory. He can also make reparations for Victor and crew and get himself back in FdC’s good graces.
It’s also very similar to what Peter T. tried to pull on Sophie Anne with the bracelet. He was going to use it as an excuse to take her out and take over her territory. These machinations are always going on.
Eric moving to Freyda’s territory would be a huge literary faux pas and I’m not convinced that CH would make that kind of mistake this late in the game. She has a pretty good handle on vampire politics as it relates to her Supe world.
I totally agree. It makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever that FDC is playing along with this, as things stand now. There is obviously more to it that we don’t know about yet.
And I can’t understand why Freyda thinks that forcing an entirely unwilling vampire who is 800 years older than her into ANYTHING (regardless of what HER title or power is), would be a really smart thing to do.
Didn’t the books say that Freyda didn’t have a strong second so she felt her territory (which is rich in oil)is desirable and primed for a takeover? Maybe she decided to risk it all to power up her territory.
OR, maybe someone with an agenda to get Eric out, told her Eric only wanted power and would jump at the chance. (Bill)
What about Sookie being taken by FdC. To use her talents in Vagas. This has come up a lot, Sookie being used for her telepathy it is something she REALLY does not want and maybe the biggest draw back to her power. Eric marries her so that FdC could not take her away and do just that. If FdC wanted to punish Sookie and Eric that would be a great way to do it. Maybe he has given Eric an ultimatum, maybe that is why he leaves in such a hurry at the end of the last book.
I do not think he leaves out of jealousy towards Sam Imthink first that this is too obvious. Second he knows what it is to have a friend of the opposite sex and want nothing more. Sookie and Sam are friends and partners and Eric and Pam are as well. Too bad Sam can not be more of a friend to Eric.
I think that Pam and Eric’s relationship is another piece of evidence that Eric could be a life partner to Sookie. He had a sexual relationship with Pam and when that was over he continued the relationship.
If Eric goes to Freyda, Sookie goes by default because she is considered “Eric’s.” If Freyda doesn’t want Sookie then Eric will be forced to sever all ties and Sookie will default to FdC. However, FdC is not going to want Sookie’s powers if it means losing Eric. Right now Eric is his strength in his large territory. Victor and Victor’s henchmen were all taken out so all of FdC’s territory is at risk. I think this is the reason that Freyda is suddenly pursuing the contract. This is her time to stage a takeover of all of FdC’s territory. If she manages to take Eric, FdC is in a really, really bad position to fight a takeover. This cannot have escaped FdC’s notice and I believe this is the reason he’s stuck around LA all this time when he should have gone back to his base in Nevada to protect it. Compared to Eric’s worth as his strongest sheriff in a large territory, Sookie being able to read human minds is insignificant.
That is why I think we all insist that FdC has no advantage if Eric goes to Freyda.
Why does Eric tell Sookie that FdC will make their live not worth living if he does not go to Freyda?
My speculation is that A) Eric needs Sookie to not make waves so she doesn’t get taken out so he tells her this so she’ll lay low and B) FdC is telling Eric if he doesn’t go with Freyda to carry out the takeover that he’ll take revenge on Eric (and Sookie for being the reason he doesn’t go).
The other possibility is that Eric is telling Sookie this so Freyda can’t torture Sookie into telling her the plan. Eric can’t really protect her well right now.
[...] does this mean? Our good friends over at the Sookieverseblog took an in-depth look at this quote and what it might mean for the end of the series. We found it [...]
I’m so happy to read this post. This truly gives me hope for the ending of the series
. I’m SO sick of the nasty, holier-than-thou attitudes on Charlaine’s website towards Eric Lovers. Especially the snooty remarks from the mods on that board.
Honestly, I barely see True Blood and the books even occurring in the same universe let alone being related in some way. I enjoy them both, but I just don’t associate the two. I really feel like Sookie will end up with Sam, or that that would be the most pleasant ending possible. Sorry for all the Eric/Sookie fans, and there are quite a few of you =). I know it’s not a popular view to have, but I just feel like it would be the most appropriate ending. That being said, I just re-read “If I had a Hammer” and I can’t help but feel that maybe at this point they’ve already established a romantic relationship. I noticed at the end of the story Sam sort of decides for the both of them that “we will be there, and we’ll finish” referring to finishing the renovations. Also it seems like they arrive and leave at the same times in that story as if maybe they rode there together?, except for the once time where Sam needed to get back to the bar. Just some observations, or perhaps just wishful thinking.
I think if you look you will notice that there are references to indicate they aren’t riding to Tara’s together. In her thoughts she calls Sam her “friend” and “boss” which is not the way I think any woman would think about the object of her affection.
Personally, Sam would be a disappointing for a lot of reasons. Only three weeks to know who’ll be disappointed, who’ll feel misled, and who will have their HEA;)
The we references from Sam were the only indication I ever had that there was anything couply about those two. Certainly her referring to him as boss and friend doesn’t strike me as correct for Sookie. She never did that before even though she worked for Eric. She even had a hard time thinking of Eric as friend after she slept with him in DTTW. I know what you mean about Sam’s line though and I did have to mull that over quite a bit.
If it was going to be Sam, I would think she would have consistently built to it with continual hints and near misses in each book. What makes me think not is that she only has about 300 pp left for Eric to blow it, Sookie to have her heart broken and her to decide she loves Sam. I just don’t see how that’s possible especially given the time frame between the books and the stories. This last book takes place in the space of a few weeks. She’d have to have the use of the CD completely change Sookie’s feelings about both Eric and Sam to pull that off.
It’s a HUGE ask, given that the reader has been privvy to Sookie’s inner dialogue all the way through, and I think people who tout for Sam completely ignore that. We have been in her head. And from what we’ve seen in her head, there is just NOTHING to justify an eleventh hour about face.
While it’s clear she and Eric have issues, when Sookie gets down to talking about her feelings for Eric (especially in the more recent books, which in itself is telling), her inner narrative is visceral, intense and all about the Viking. There is NO inner conflict about Eric vs Sam, or comparison of their merits whatsoever.
Like all roads leading to Rome, all my thoughts seemed to come back to the certain prospect of misery to come. As I stood staring into the kitchen, waiting for a basket of French fried pickles for the insurance agents, my heart felt as if it were beating way too fast. I revisited the single disturbing scenario, over and over. Eric would choose her. He would leave me.
-DL
What would Gran have said? I would have answered without pause a few days ago. Now, I wasn’t so sure. There’d been so much I didn’t know about her. But my best guess was that she would have told me to go with my heart. And I loved Eric.
- DR
“I found myself anticipating the moment of darkness when he would wake. I looked forward to seeing him with a kind of desperation. I needed the reassurance of his presence, the assurance that he loved me too, the passionate connection we felt when we touched each other.”
I couldn’t imagine how I would fill the hole in my life left by his absence.-DL
“What was the only thing I valued? His love.” -DR
She talks about being so jealous at the thought of him messing around on her that she would “rip out his hair…in clumps”.
If I can be convinced not only that this sort of intensity can just DIE, but that Sookie can heal from it, and then replace it with similar feelings for Sam in 300 pages – I’ll get onto those peeps who award the fucking Booker prize and tell them to look no further.
A Sam ending is complete horse shit.
And guess what? THERE’S ONLY TWO WEEKS UNTIL WE FIND OUT.
HOLY SHIT.
I’ve gotta say that, don’t shoot me down, I’ve been a Bill fan from day 1. HOWEVER… I’ve just finished re reading all the books and I’ve gotta say, the more I actually take off my bill tinted glasses, the more I find myself falling completely in love with Eric as a character and as a complete personality.
I don’t think that because he has no mention in this, it necessarily means bad things. We’ve gotta think abut the use of the CD on Sam. When Eric witnesses this, he walks away without a word. Now is this because he knows Sookie so well that he knows all she is interested in in that moment is Sam and making sure he is alive and working. Or is this because he has come to some inner conclusion about the use of the CD? I think it’s properly a bit of both seen as the relationship him and Sookie share.
However, in both cases, taking Freyda out of the equation for just a moment, I don’t think Eric would be head over heels of the idea for the use of the CD… Even if he did not want Sookie to use it for the relationship. It’s no secret him and Eric have never, and are never, gonna be best friends. Maybe the lack of Eric in this short storey passage is purely because Sam no longer feels the need to insult Eric or to even think about him in anyway? Maybe a delicate situation arises in the last book between the two men. I do feel that is such an issue arose, both would try and restrain themselves for Sookie, who has a piece of both there (metaphorical) hearts.
The way Sookie speaks about Bill comes across in a very sad tone I think. Not in a ‘he’s my ex boyfriend I hate him and don’t want to think about him’ sort of way. But in a ‘he was my ex boyfriend, but also my friend and now he’s not’ sort of way. Could maybe Mr Compton meet his maker, MAYBE MAYBE? Or could some sort of arrangement be made with Freyda and bill… Bill would do anything to make Sookie happy and Bill is a successful businessmen in his own right… Fair enough, not Sherrif status, but still successful?
I don’t think Sookie would be mad at Bill or even sadly think to herself, I didn’t want to think about Bill who was an ex of mine, if he went with Freyda instead of Eric. Also, I don’t think that gesture would appease Sookie at all. She wants Eric to make the decision to stand up to Freyda (and FdC) and choose her. She wants this definitive proof that she comes first (I think it’s about that more than Eric’s love). If Bill sacrificed himself, Sookie still wouldn’t be happy and Eric would be unmanned, for lack of a better term. I can’t see Eric being at all happy with that solution either. If the tone is indeed sad, as you suspect, then I suspect that Bill has died and probably in a fight against Freyda, FdC or some other big supe war. Or he died saving Sookie.
You have to admit, if CH ends it that way, with Bill dying for Sookie and Sookie with Eric, she’d please all her fans. The Bill fans would feel he was vindicated in the strength of his love for Sookie and his regret for how he’d wronged her, and the Eric fans would feel he was Sookie’s true love. The Bill fans could always play the what if game. What if Bill had lived? It’s a safe way out that keeps everyone happy. A pretty smart business move actually.
You’re absolutely right about all of that, as much as it pains me to admit.
The idea of the BL’s getting a gift wrapped consolation prize of Bill martyring himself in some grand fashion….of being able to claim that Bill was still in with a chance but for ending up dead – is pretty intolerable. Sookie has been about as clear as she can be already about the fact that Bill’s ship has sailed. Yet there are still people who still just….don’t…get it. And those people will deify Dead Bill, and claim that Eric was her second choice.
HELL FUCKING NO.
I deffinatly think Bills gonna make a martyr of himself in this book. I think it would sadden sookie, not becuase Eric was a second choice or becuase she loves him still… Just purely becuase it’s in her character to mourn someone she was once very close too! The amount that Bill has said ‘I would die for Sookie’ ect ect across all the books since the betrayal came out has just made me think this will be his last act to try and prove his love.
I don’t deny that it would sadden Sookie – and that just makes Bill’s martyrdom all the sweeter. I can totally see her pulling this because she’s under this bizarre impression that her readership is split 50/50 between Bill and Eric. I have my own ideas on why she thinks that, but I won’t expand on that here.
She (or her publisher, if that’s where it’s coming from) is wrong.
It will be interesting to see what sales are like on the new series. Even if Sookie ends with Eric, so many readers feel burnt by her interviews and the handling of fans online. I have serious doubts that she can bring them along after Sookie is over.
I can only speak for myself – but as a devout fan, I’m fucking exhausted by it. I have no stomach for going through this again with her, regardless of the outcome of the SSN.
And I’m speaking as a reader and a fan, not as a web admin. That kind of exhaustion is a WHOLE different kettle of fish.
Amen! I’m done too.
Yes, SVB, but that’s the emotional reaction. CH is a business woman and her books are business. I’m a writer but by profession I’m a banker. If I had to advise her I would tell her to martyr Bill and please all her fans.
Personally I wouldn’t give a crap as long as he was dead. I’ve wanted him dead since book three and I don’t care at this point if she does it in a way that makes BLs happy as long as she does it. I’d rather Sookie stake his sorry ass, but if I’m not going to get that, I still want him dead. And that is my emotional response.
I finally listened to the audio snippit from audible.com. Copley was blathering on about how he wasn’t as profitable after Katrina as he thought it would be, and mentioned lumber. I remember lumber being mentioned in ATD. Do you think there’s any chance Copley was at the summit and Sookie just didn’t remember him?
I guess this is in the wrong place, huh?