Writer: Chris Offutt
Director: Scott Winant
Originally Aired: 11/09/2008
Grade: A
Sookie’s anger that Sam probably wouldn’t have told her he was a shapeshifter before she slept with him seemed strange and extreme to me at first, because it’s not like he has an STD. Risk of pregnancy, I suppose, but still, it’s not even clear from Sam’s explanation if shapeshifting abilities are passed down through bloodlines or if they’re just a completely random genetic abnormality (his parents didn’t seem to have any abilities). But of course, Sookie didn’t really have the time or mental energy to digest all the info properly, so her repugnance is somewhat forgivable. It’s hard to even think of a real world equivalent to this. It’s basically akin to having superpowers, which would generally be considered pretty cool, but at the same time, I suppose it’s just as valid to want to know about superpowers before risking a pregnancy as it would be to want to know about genetic diseases and abnormalities.
Between Rene flipping out on Jason in the previous episode, his comment about Sookie being a “good girl” who can do better than a vampire, and his odd expression when Jason mentioned that he’d met Amy at Fangtasia, I get the feeling the writers are trying to raise a bit of suspicion towards him. It’s not particularly effective, though, as I’m not sure we’ve had even a hint of the possibility before now, aside from him and/or Arlene seeming to live next door to Dawn. Hoyt acting out against his mother felt more ominous to me, if only because it was played for laughs, which makes it exactly the sort of thing that would be deeply disturbing in hindsight.
Amy. She sucks. Die already, Amy. Or at least go to rehab, get some therapy, and learn how to be an even halfway decent person. My ability for tolerance and empathy with this character is growing very slim at this point. I’m not sure if Eddie would have killed her if she hadn’t beat him to it, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if he did…
Bill kind of comes off like the Athena Agathon version of a vampire in this episode. He loves a human and tries to conform to their ways as best he can, but he is still something other than human no matter where his loyalties lie. You can really see how disgusted he is by the teeth pulling at the tribunal, and in general he just seems so different from other vampires. And much like Athena on BSG, if he can feel the bonds of love and friendship, then so can any other vampire. There is choice involved.
As for the Tribunal, it’s almost impossible to be sure of Eric’s motivations there. If he just wanted Sookie, why stick up for Bill? Granted he had to be prodded, and he only said just enough to keep Bill from being killed or locked in a box, but he still did it, and I didn’t sense any real malice towards Bill. If he just wanted Sookie to use as he saw fit, he could’ve lied or bent the truth, and voila, no more Bill and he’d have had Sookie all to himself. Sure, maybe he has some inkling that Sookie wouldn’t cooperate without Bill around, but in that case, why turn Bill in at all? He seems to have some sense of honor or ethics, even if it doesn’t match up with human ethics. I don’t buy that he’s utterly self-motivated simply because Pam is so loyal, and it feels like free-will loyalty rather than forced servitude.
If you really pay attention to the way Skarsgärd plays Eric in these scenes, there is a great deal of intriguing characterization going on. Eric sounded completely honest and not at all resentful of being so when he condemned Longshadow as a “thief and a liar.” The looks that he shot Bill were also very, “I am doing you a favor here and I’m okay with that” rather than spitting venom, and he even pulled Bill back from insulting the Magister and admitted, without resentment, that Bill is loyal. His pointed comment that Bill is loyal to him “for the most part” was directed entirely at Bill (it didn't seem intended for the Magister's ears at all), and could even refer to something that happened between them in the past as much as what’s happening in the present. I really didn’t get the impression that Eric had any particular malice toward Bill, and in fact he seemed to feel quite the opposite. Still, I do wonder if Eric ever would have spoken in Bill’s defense if he hadn’t been demanded to speak up by the Magister.
My current pet theory makes me think that he would have. Perhaps Eric turned Bill in and made him go through with the Tribunal to teach him a lesson, or at least remind him of one he learned a long time ago but seems to be forgetting. Which is that the vampire world has rules, and breaking them is dangerous. I think Eric would have stepped up with the truth at some point during the proceedings, likely after things had gone a bit further and put the fear of vampire law into Bill. Of course, that’s a pretty big risk to take just to make sure Bill realizes that not everyone will be as lenient with him as Eric is, since I’m not sure how Eric would know that Bill wouldn’t be killed (or as good as killed). I suppose it’s possible that Eric knew enough about vampire law to know that Longshadow’s betrayal would get Bill off the hook.
To his credit, Eric also didn’t look thrilled about Bill having to turn someone, at least not in the initial reaction shots, though if he knew the law well enough to know Bill wouldn’t be killed, he had to also know that it was at least a possibility. He seemed mesmerized, but in a very serious, somber way, though he and Pam both looked turned-on toward the end of it (Pam more blatantly). He also definitely looked intrigued when Bill started to glamour Jessica. That may even be the root of much of Eric’s behavior towards Bill—Bill intrigues him, and I doubt that a 1000 year old vampire is intrigued by much.
Eric’s reasoning seemed to be that he quite likes Bill in his way and enjoys having him around as an interesting and loyal-when-it-counts ally/plaything, but Bill needs to remember that the vampire world is harsh. If he crosses someone who is not as kindly disposed toward him as Eric, he will pay the price. Therefore, turn Bill in, with the hope that Longshadow’s betrayal will get him out of anything too horribly dire. If so, yay, Eric gets to keep Bill around, and if not, oh well, one less stupid and disobedient vampire in the world. I’m sure there was also an element of self-preservation involved, i.e. if Eric sat on the information and it got out somehow, he’d be in as much or more trouble as Bill. I don’t really like having to do this much fanwanking, but this is the most logical explanation that ties together all the different things we’ve seen from Eric so far.
This kind of interpretation/fanwanking is even more problematic in this scenario, though, due to the show being based on books that I haven’t even read, not to mention the fact that a great deal of Eric’s characterization here is done through body language and facial expressions. It’s a great credit to Skarsgärd as an actor, but at the same time, there are so many unknowns. Has Skarsgärd read the books, and if so, is he basing his characterization on that, or on the guidance of Ball and the various episode directors? I have no clue how much free reign he’s been given, and since I haven’t read the books, I’m not sure if he’s following that pattern or if he’s pretty much deciding who Eric is on his own. If my interpretation contradicts the books, and the character is going to be portrayed almost exactly like BookEric, then I’m just delusional. If Skarsgärd hasn’t read the books (which is what I tend to believe--I may be wrong, but I honestly cannot imagine this guy reading through steamy romance novels to inform his characterization) or if he and Ball are tweaking Eric to their liking, maybe I’m not too far off the mark.
As a final note, I’m not trying to attribute lots of shiny, positive human emotions to Eric, but I think it’s possible that he has interesting and complicated feelings about certain things. Things like, uh, Bill. I mean, it’s biologically and spiritually possible for him to have complex emotions, unless there’s some sort of fundamental physical difference between Vampire Bill and Vampire Eric that we’re not aware of. I really hope that this Tribunal storyline will come up again in the future when (because it is when, dammit) we get to find out more about Bill and Eric’s past history.
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