I had the disturbing revelation the other day that I have more photos on my blog of Bill than I do of Eric. This atrocity ends now. So without further delay, I give you my Top 10 favorite Eric and Sookie book scenes.
10. Sookie Saves Eric – All Together Dead
Synopsis
The Fellowship of the Sun plants bombs in a vampire hotel that explode during the day. Sookie races to Eric and Pam’s room and saves them from the blast.
Why I Love this Scene
Sookie really comes into her own in All Together Dead and this scene perfectly exemplifies it. As soon as she realizes the impending peril, Sookie’s main focus is to save Eric. I love that Eric and Sookie’s relationship is not the trite variety of White Knight that is forever saving the Damsel in Distress. Sometimes Eric saves Sookie and sometimes Sookie saves Eric.
Favorite Passage
I screamed, and Eric’s eyes went wide. He staggered to his feet. As if we’d shared thoughts like Barry and I could …
Suddenly we were off the coffin and kind of staggered through the air, Eric holding me to him with dogged persistence.
I exhaled with profound relief. Of course, Eric could fly.
9. You are Beautiful – Dead to the World
Synopsis
Eric and Sookie arrive back at Sookie’s house after attending a meeting at Merlotte’s. Sookie had been insulted and Eric stood up for her. Sookie tells Eric she is used to people not thinking much of her and that it is alright. Eric tells her it is NOT alright for people to treat her that way. He then goes into explicit detail about how wonderful she is.
Why I Love this Scene
Sookie has lived her life believing her telepathy is a disability. She is viewed as a freak and she can also hear the nasty thoughts others have of her. Her method to deal with this is to adopt a sad sort of acceptance: Yes, people hate me and think I’m a freak and that is OK.
I love that Eric challenges her view.
Favorite Passage
“That confirms my bad opinion of humans in general,” Eric said. He pulled my coat off my shoulders, looked at it with distaste, hung it on the back of one of the chairs pushed in under the kitchen table. “You are beautiful.”
No one had ever looked me in the eyes and said that. I found I had to lower my head. “You are smart, and you are loyal,” he said relentlessly, though I waved a hand to ask him to quit. “You have a sense of fun and adventure.”
“Cut it out,” I said.
“Make me,” he said. “You have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen. You’re brave.” I put my fingers across his mouth, and his tongue darted out to give them a quick lick. I relaxed against him, feeling the tingle down to my toes. “You’re responsible and hardworking,” he continued. Before he could tell me that I was good about replacing the garbage can liner when I took the garbage out, I replaced my fingers with my lips.
“There,” he said softly, after a long moment. “You’re creative too.”
For the next hour, he showed me that he, too, was creative.
8. Sookie flips off Bill and Eric – Club Dead
Synopsis
Sookie is recovering from being knocked out and the werewolf smackdown that took place in her living room. Her vampire tolerance limit is being pushed. When Bill utters the annoying phrase, “She is mine!” it pushes her over the edge (it pushes me over the edge too). In response, Sookie flips off both Bill and Eric. Eric’s reaction is to laugh and Bill’s reaction is to (of course) admonish Sookie.
Why I Love this Scene
This scene perhaps provides the best example of why I love Eric and why I loathe Bill. Bill was turned soon after the Civil War and he appears to be stuck in that era. Bill wants Sookie to conform to a Southern Belle persona; one that should not fart, burp, swear, or speak her mind.
The fact that Bill could proclaim “she is mine” after cheating on her, pensioning her off, and raping her proves that not only does he not “get” Sookie; he just doesn’t get it. Period.
Contrast this with Eric. While most of Sookie’s anger is directed at Bill, the Viking vampire is not in her good graces at this moment either. However, unlike Bill, Eric can take it. He laughs when she flips him off and he seems to respect her tenacity and her proclamation of independence.
Favorite Passage
“Did this Alcide kill him?” Bill looked down at me, reconsidered. “Or Sookie?”
“He says no. They found the corpse in the closet of Alcide’s apartment, and they hatched a plan to hide the remains.” Eric sounded like that had been kind of cute of us.
“My Sookie hid a corpse?”
“I don’t think you can be too sure of that possessive pronoun.”
“Where did you learn that term, Northman?”
“I took ‘English as a Second Language’ at a community college in the seventies.”
Bill said, “She is mine.”
I wondered if my hands would move. They would. I raised both of them, making an unmistakable one-figured gesture.
Eric laughed, and Bill said, “Sookie!” in shocked admonishment.
“I think that Sookie is telling us that she belongs to herself,” Eric said softly.
Eric. Tell him to go to hell or flip him off. He can take it.
7. Falling Asleep Holding Hands With a Vampire – Dead to the World
Synopsis
Eric has been spelled with amnesia as a result of a spurned witch. It is his first night at Sookie’s house and he is terrified. Sookie cannot resist his puppy dog eyes and lets him sleep in her room. They fall asleep while holding hands.
Why I Love this Scene
I love this scene because it highlights the level of trust Sookie has always had with Eric. Despite the fact he has no idea who he is; is completely terrified; and could easily snap her like a twig (not to mention in the previous book she was raped by a tortured and starved Bill); Sookie is comfortable enough with Eric that she allows him into her bed. Sookie also has enough trust in Eric that she easily drifts off to sleep rather than sleeping with one eye open and one hand on a stake.
Favorite Passages
“Woman?”
“Hmmm?”
“What’s your name?”
“Sookie. Sookie Stackhouse.”
“Thank you, Sookie.”
“Welcome, Eric.”
Because he sounded so lost … I patted around the covers for his hand. When I found it, I slid my own over it. His palm was turned up to meet my palm, and his fingers clasped mine. And though I would not have thought it was possible to go to sleep holding hands with a vampire, that’s exactly what I did.
6. Eric Tells Sookie About His Past – Dead and Gone
Synopsis
Sookie finds herself on the way to Fangtasia. She thinks she is going there to tell Eric off but she finds that she would much rather sit with him. Eric is in a talking mood. He opens up to Sookie about his human life and how he was turned. Eric also tells her that he found out why he was running down the road to her house when he was spelled with amnesia. The curse was that he would be close to his heart’s desire without ever realizing it.
Why I Love this Scene
I love that Eric is opening himself up to Sookie. Even though Sookie is at the height of denial blaming the blood bond for her feelings, she is at Fangtasia just because she wants to be near Eric. He opens up to her about his life before he became a vampire and the difficult time he had just after he was turned. He treats her as an equal and shares much of himself. For Sookie, who values honest communication and intimacy, this scene is very telling.
It also illustrates how similar Eric and Sookie are. During their conversation, Sookie lets Eric know how frightened she is of being taken away and her telepathy used to serve others. She wants to be in control of her life, just as Eric wants to be in control of his. Her sentiments echo Eric’s proclamations in From Dead to Worse that he doesn’t want to be overseen. These two really “get” each other.
Favorite Passages
I felt exhausted but oddly peaceful. I should be giving Eric hell about his highhanded handling of Quinn’s request and the knife presentation. I should be asking him all kinds of questions … but I couldn’t summon up the necessary fire.
I just wanted to sit beside him …
I held my breath. I could tell he was looking down the immense well of time that had passed between his present – a bar in Shreveport, Louisiana – and his past …
Lest we part on too lovey-dovey a note, I said, “Eric, when I’m back to being myself, I’m going to nail your ass for putting me in this position of being pledged to you.”
“Darling, you can nail my ass anytime,” he said charmingly, and then turned to go back to his table.
Pam rolled her eyes. “You two,” she said.
5. Fireside Chat – Dead to the World
Synopsis
This scene takes place when Eric has amnesia and is staying at Sookie’s. They have a conversation by her fireplace and Sookie opens up to him about her life.
Why I Love this Scene
Sookie and Eric are so great in bed together that I think it sometimes get missed how great they are OUT of bed together. There is an emotional intimacy Sookie shares with Eric that she does not share with any other character in the SSN.
I also love that when Eric regained his memory of their time together this is the first scene he brought up (we lay by the fire and you told me about your life). It indicates that, just like Sookie, Eric values sharing his life with someone on an emotional level and not just a physical one.
Favorite Passages
He was on his stomach beside me now, propped up on his elbows so we could talk. He half turned to toss the quilt over both of us …
I looked sideways at Eric, with a significant raise of the eyebrows, and Eric looked fascinated. …
This was as much fun as talking with Arlene. Maybe even more …
Gee, it was nice to have someone to talk to …
“The catch in that comforting theory being that we look almost exactly like you. And we used to be you. And we can love you, as well as feed off you. You could hardly say the lion wanted to caress the antelope.”
Suddenly there was something in the air that hadn’t been there the moment before. I felt like an antelope that was being stalked – by a lion that was a deviant.
4. Gas Station Scene – Club Dead
Synopsis
Sookie and Eric stop at a gas station on their way back from Jackson. They encounter a few members of a werewolf biker gang that have been sent to kidnap them. Eric and Sookie take care of them quite handily.
Why I Love this Scene
I love it when Eric and Sookie kick ass together. Hence, I’ve always loved this scene. I found my appreciation of it grew exponentially during my mid-season 3 funk when I was at my most depressed over how Sookie was being written on True Blood. I read this scene often this past summer when I wanted to repress the image of TB Sookie at Lou Pine’s
I love this scene because Sookie hatches a plan that, unlike her TV counterpart, does not involve a) screaming her head off b) flirting with the bad guys.
Favorite Passage(s)
I felt a fine rage break out behind my eyes. “Let the young man go,” I said clearly.
“You gonna shoot us, little lady?”
“You bet your ass I am,” I said.
“And if she misses I will get you,” said Eric’s voice above and behind me. A big vampire makes great backup.
“What were you supposed to watch for?”
“A big dark guy and a tall blond guy. With a blond woman, real young, with nice tits.”
Eric’s hand moved too fast for me to track. I was only sure he’d moved when I saw the blood running down Sonny’s face.
“You are speaking of my future lover. Be more respectful.”
3. The Vindication Scene – Dead In the Family
Synopsis
At the end of the opening chapter of DITF, Sookie wakes up from a nightmare. She is still recovering from the effects of the Fae torture and is terrified. Eric is there to comfort and cry with her.
Eric offers more than just support. He also opens up to her about the night of the torture and why he wasn’t there to save her from Lochlan and Neave. We find out that Victor was at Fangtasia that night (as if he knew ahead of time he should be there) and his crew had chained Eric with silver to prevent him from leaving.
But Eric is not done sharing after this revelation. The Viking also tells the Telepath that he loves her.
Eric was supernatural and he was a great fighter. But he was not a superhero.
Why I Love This Scene
The interim between Dead & Gone and DITF was excruciating not just because I couldn’t wait to read the new book but because of the amount of nonsense that was spewed at the Eric character by a certain segment of the fandom. The insults/speculations ran from ludicrous to sheer absurd and absolutely NONE of them were rooted in anything from the books. Rather this character assassination stemmed from some disgruntled fans that were upset that the SSN were not playing out like Season 1 of True Blood. The top shit slinging accusations included:
- Amnesia Eric was not real Eric.
- Eric doesn’t love Sookie.
- Eric didn’t show up at the end of D&G because he wouldn’t risk his life for her.
So I must say it was IMMENSELY gratifying that in a SINGLE scene, Charlaine Harris shot down each of these ludicrous accusations one by one. In this scene, Harris was coming out guns blazing. She is not ignorant of what some book readers were accusing Eric of. The tone of this scene, read to me, like Harris was just as sick of the accusations as most book fans were.
Favorite Passages
I woke up panting filled with terror, completely at sea. I held onto him as if the storm would sweep me away unless he was my anchor. I was already crying when I woke. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, but this time he wept with me, bloody tears that streaked the whiteness of his face in a startling way….
He said, meeting my eyes directly. “I hurt with you. I bled with you- not only because we are bonded, but because of the love I have for you.”
Before I recount my top two selections, I feel the need to say that most of my favorite Eric and Sookie scenes are ever changing. If I were to write this post a month from now, the ranking of the scenes I have listed above may change. Some scenes may drop off in favor of other scenes that I love and hated to leave off the list. However, my top two favorite Eric and Sookie scenes are unwavering. There may be scenes in the upcoming Books 11 through 13 that will replace these as my top two favorites. But as it stands now, through 10 books, these are solidly my two favorite scenes.
2. Sookie Gets Up Close and Personal With the Gracious Plenty - Dead to the World
Synopsis
This scene is commonly referred to as “The Shower Scene.” However, as became painfully obvious in True Blood Season 3, ANY scene set in a shower is going to be mislabeled as this scene even though it couldn’t be further from its tone and essence. Thus, I will no longer refer to it as “The Shower Scene.”
In this scene, Eric and Sookie make love for the first time. Sexy time begins in the shower and slowly proceeds to the bedroom. The readership is introduced to what will become indicative of Eric and Sookie lovemaking scenes throughout the series: playfulness, intimacy, foreplay, tenderness, eye contact, and orgasms a plenty.
Why I Love This Scene
Do I really have to explain? The synopsis pretty much covers why I love this scene. The only thing I will add is that this scene also includes a great deal of dialogue, and by that I don’t mean talking dirty. Eric and Sookie have a full conversation. At one point, Eric asks Sookie to tell him about how they met and what their past together was like. This couple doesn’t just connect on a physical level but on an emotional one as well.
Favorite Passages
I could pretty much copy and insert pages 120 – 126 right here, but just for fun:
I was so on fire for him I was surprised that flames didn't flicker out of my fingertips.
The way he said "lover" was like a caress, like he was calling me by a name no other man had used before or ever would after.
I may have made a noise, I am sure I did, but in the next second I was floating on the most powerful wave of pleasure I'd ever felt.
1. Eric Takes Sookie to Meet Niall – From Dead to Worse
Synopsis
Eric drives Sookie to a French restaurant in Shreveport. He escorts Sookie inside where she meets her great-grandfather, Niall. Sookie has dinner with her fairy great-grandfather. She then goes back to Eric who has been waiting, in the car, for her. Eric utters one of the best lines in the entire SSN and then they drive back to Bon Temps. On the way, they are pulled over by a phony were-cop who tries to kill Sookie. Eric kills him and afterward he and Sookie engage in a passionate kiss. Sookie stops only because she has unresolved business with Quinn, and book readers are given yet another reason to hate that mimbo.
Why I Love This Scene
There is perhaps no better sequence in the SSN series that from start to finish captures why I root so hard for the E/S pairing. Hence the reason this is my favorite Eric and Sookie scene.
I love that Eric is there to support Sookie during one of the most important moments of her life. Eric is not in this scene by a matter of coincidence either. It was Niall who, after careful research, selected Eric to bring Sookie to meet him. In a roundabout way this is the equivalent of the father giving the boyfriend his approval. This is another reason why I believe the SSN has been building toward an E/S happily ever after.
I also love the way Eric treats Sookie throughout this sequence. Sookie’s confidence in herself is easily shaken from a lifetime of hearing the thoughts of those that consider her a freak. When they arrive at the restaurant, and she sees what the other women are wearing, she begins to feel inferior. Eric eases her worry by not sounding like he has spent one-too-many nights watching movie marathons on the Lifetime Television for Women Network. He simply says, “Don’t worry. You are beautiful.” Then he unbuckles her seatbelt and kisses her.
When Eric takes her inside and introduces her to Niall he leaves but lets Sookie know that he will be outside if she needs him. I LOVE this. I love that he treats her like a woman. Eric recognizes this is an important moment in her life but that it does not involve him. He will be close, if she needs his support, but he does not hover. Contrast this with Book Bill who most certainly WOULD hover both literally and figuratively. Or TB Bill who would most likely go apeshit and try to eat Niall.
Another reason I love this sequence is when Sookie leaves the French restaurant, smelling like fairy, Eric utters a line that I feel down to my lady bits. “When you smell like that, I just want to fuck you and bite you and rub myself all over you.” Le sigh.
The sequence after Eric kills the were assassin also demonstrates how Sookie’s moral compass is much better aligned than mine. NO WAY in hell would I have broken off that kiss. I would gladly have Eric take me on the car hood; unresolved discussion with a missing soon to be ex-boyfriend, were-assassin corpse, and passing motorists be damned.
Favorite Passages
“You saved my life,” he said. I’d turned to look at him, but he was looking straight ahead at the road. “You saved my life, and Pam’s too.”
I shifted uncomfortably … “We do have the blood tie thing going.”
Eric didn’t respond for a stretch of time. “That’s not why you came to wake me up the day the hotel blew up.”…..
“When you smell like that, I just want to fuck you and bite you and rub myself all over you.”….
“Don’t worry, you’re beautiful.” Eric said quietly. He leaned over to unbuckle my seatbelt (to my astonishment), and as he straightened he kissed me again, this time on the mouth. His bright blue eyes blazed out of his white face. He looked as if a whole story was on the tip of his tongue. But then he swallowed it back and unfolded himself from the car to walk around to my side to open the door for me…..
I felt a lurch of desire and came very close to saying, “What the hell, take me now, you big Viking.”
So there you have it. Those are my top ten Eric and Sookie book scenes.
Eventually, I will write a “Top Ten Eric and Sookie True Blood Scenes” post. I could do it now, but to do so before a season that will be based, albeit loosely, on such an Eric and Sookie-centric book would be tantamount to Bill sex: rushed, and so-so filler when something better is just around the corner.
Turn around, TB Sookie. Something better awaits.
(Screencaps: black-celebration.net)
“Bill wants Sookie to conform to a Southern Belle persona; one that should not fart, burp, swear, or speak her mind.”
or eat for that matter.
“Eric recognizes this is an important moment in her life but that it does not involve him. He will be close, if she needs his support, but he does not hover. Contrast this with Book Bill who most certainly WOULD hover both literally and figuratively. Or TB Bill who would most likely go apeshit and try to eat Niall.”
Hell to the yes!
“The sequence after Eric kills the were assassin also demonstrates how Sookie’s moral compass is much better aligned than mine. NO WAY in hell would I have broken off that kiss. I would gladly have Eric take me on the car hood; unresolved discussion with a missing soon to be ex-boyfriend, were-assassin corpse, and passing motorists be damned.”
*whispers* Me too.
“When you smell like that, I just want to fuck you and bite you and rub myself all over you.”
Best line. Ever.
I hope to god they include a variation of that line in TB. Thinking of ASkars saying that. WOW!
I completely agree with all of this
Passing Motorists be damned indeed.
And that is my favorite quote too tbrantsandraves…
Or TB Bill who would most likely go apeshit and try to eat Niall.
I LOL’d hard at this. Because it’s SO TRUE.
Fantastic post – I have the total warm and fuzzies after reading this. I really love your first pick and your reasons for it.
And I really, really love that you didn’t put the shower scene first because that’s so damn predictable
Yep, and putting the the shower scene first also feeds the stereotype that we are only into Eric because he is good in bed *Pam eye roll*.
Bravo to this AMAZING post! I couldn’t let this go by without commenting on the awesomeness. Thank you from the bottom of my Eric/ Sookie shipper heart!
Thanks, JPeasy. It is easy to see why we all ship these two so hard. They are awesome.
AWSOME!!
This post is brillant and all the scenes you picked up were excellent and really explain why Sookie and Eric are meant to each others, for reasons that are not sexual impulses but based on respect, tenderness, kindness, true affection (book 5 by the end when he talk about LongShadow’s vendetta we learned that affection is really important and Eric had it to Sookie), patience (God Eric is waiting in the corner watching her and everybody around her to learn more how to arrive to her), proudness, and simply love.
I really LOVED the Niall scene with Eric and Sookie…when he told her how beautiful she was just to comfort her even more…and how he was there and knew how important that moment was for her.
No way. They ARE the end of the game, i think that’s the answer the books gave us ’till now.
Thanks, Mony.
I really think they are the end game too. Especially looking at how their relationship has evolved over the series.
I think one of my favorite, and also saddest, scenes is when (in book 4), Sookie and Eric drive to the Were/Witch showdown after bonding and basically falling for each other (even though he’s lost his memory), and Eric stops the car before they get out. He basically suggests that they turn around and not go in. That they can just go back and he can quit his job and just take care of her. She says, “sounds like a marriage.” Eric responds, “Yes.”
… Then he catches up to her and is upset that she left him and begs her to let him go home with her.
Then later, after the brawl, she leaves them all and heads back to her house on foot, crying because she knows she’s lost “Amnesia Eric” and it will never be the same. It’s SO sad.
Once he becomes “Old Eric” again, she’s so sad. It just breaks my heart. She cries herself to sleep…
::sigh::
Oh. That made me cry too. And after he regained his memory and was still in her house and she caught herself wanting to touch him. So sad!
I love how you explained every scenes point by point.
It was very well put and I enjoyed reading so much.
Screen caps are amazing as well.
It made me miss Book Eric and Sookie so bad. =(
Definitely cannot wait for Book 11. <333
Eric and Sookie forever, ever.
Thanks, Sheila.
Hear Hear @ “Eric and Sookie forever, ever.”
“Sookie and Eric are so great in bed together that I think it sometimes get missed how great they are OUT of bed together. There is an emotional intimacy Sookie shares with Eric that she does not share with any other character in the SSN.”
Amazing post, thank you so much!
You are welcome. This one was so fun to write just because I love these two so much.
Loved all your choices and couldn’t agree more that Sookie and Eric belong together. Book 7 is one of my favorites because of Sookie’s Eric rescue and also when they dance and Eric twirls her in the air and she forgets all about Quinn, her supposed boyfriend. Also loved when Eric takes her to meet Nial and the shower scene of course. Eric and Sookie are a perfect match, and you’re right they totally get each other. That passage where Eric tells her she’s beautiful in DTTW made me cry the first time I read it. I thought it was so beautiful.
I loved the dance scene in All Together Dead as well. Book 7 is also one of my favorites which is surprising since there is so much Quinn in it. LOL
What a wonderful post, thanks for this! As mentioned above the dancing is also a scene that I sooo wish to be on the show. I really love about E/S that both get each other and as you say the things they share outside the bed. I hope the TB writers would get a grip on this wonderful relationship.
Thanks again and great site you have – luckily SVB directed me here. I will come back for sure!
Thanks, white.lily
I am really hopeful for next season. I think the writers will give us good E/S scenes that, even though they might not come directly from the books, will capture the essence of E/S. The dream sequences on TB and the porch scene in “Beautifully Broken” were so well done that it gives me hope.
That was such a great rush reliving all those great moments in the books. I love your blog~ this is the first time I’ve been here and won’t be my last. It was reblogged on tumblr by Belleviolette1 which was tweeted then I clicked the link ~ Good things come to those who TWEET!!
*kisses*
Thank you!
I just want to say THANKS bigtime for this. Having just read chapter 1 of Dead Reckoning on CH’s site, I admit that I spent the whole read biting my fingernails. I heard on the internets that the blood bond may be broken in this book, just when Sookie is starting to know how it works and that its effects go both ways! I don’t love that idea, unless it’s for a greater purpose, so your post made me feel better about E/S HEA.
Hi, Accol
I’m actually OK with the blood bond being broken. The reason for it being that there are *some* that still argue that Sookie’s feelings are being manipulated by Eric through the bond. I think it has been shown conclusively that this is most certainly NOT the case. But for those that choose to remain willfully ignorant of this, breaking the bond will go a long way into shutting them up. I’m all for the bond being broken temporarily and then Sookie re-entering into as a matter of conscious choice.
I’m also guessing the bond being broken will happen in 11, (this was broached in 10) but it will be a positive instead of negative event. The bond has been brought up over and over (and over and over … -_-;) as her reason for denial — over a lot of things. Once she’s past the denial, the story can move on, which it needs to, and for that, the bond has to be broken.
The reason I think it will be positive rather than negative is, if it were meant to result in a surprise 180 plot point, it wouldn’t have been mentioned so many times.
OMG i cried with her
It was so sad and for that so intense and meaningfull too.
He proposed to her and i think Eric is taking his word becouse in the last 3 books, after Rhodes, after he remembered what he actuallys said or promised to her, is acting like an husband with her. He feel he IS a husband and that she IS her wife.
This supposed to be a reply to @txophelia about the scene in book 4^^
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Hi,
I have to put my two cents in because that’s what I do. I love your list. Maybe it could be 12 Scenes of Eric and Sookie
My favorite book is Club Dead. I know a lot of SVM fans love DTTW but I’m all over Club Dead. I think they were on their way and had amnesia not interfered, they would have gotten there eventually. DTTW rushed it and forestalled it simultaneously.
Suggestion for #11
I love the scene in Club Dead when Sookie allows Eric to glamour her because she trusts him. This scene makes me melt. I love CD era Eric/Sookie. She trusted him then and the fact that she relinquished her will for the first time to him, means she’d never gone that far with Bill.
I screamed over and over, until I didn’t have the energy. I met Eric’s eyes as I felt Ray Don’s mouth sucking at the wound. Eric was holding my hands, and I was digging my nails into him like we were doing something else. He won’t mind, I thought, as I realized I’d drawn blood.
And sure enough, he didn’t. “Let go,” he advised me, and I loosened my grip on his hands. “No, not of me,” he said, smiling. “You can hold on to me as long as you want. Let go of the pain, Sookie. Let go. You need to drift away.”
It was the first time I had relinquished my will to someone else. As I looked at him, it became easy, and I retreated from the suffering and uncertainty of this strange place.
Suggestion for #12
Maybe this is an obscure one. All Together Dead. Post-bonding. Quinn was hit by the arrow and is taken away on a stretcher. Sookie stays with Eric. Eric asks her if she loves Quinn and if she loved him. She, of course, can’t provide answers. She’s upset over the blood bond. They’re talking about it and – we only have Sookie’s impression of Eric’s take on it – but he tells her he likes being “like” that. You have to remember that this is also about 40 pages after the explosive can episode where Eric jokes “We’re bound a bit too tightly to suit me, Sookie.” Then they go off to investigate who tried to kill them. THAT completely brought to mind the piggyback scene from DTTW only this was Real!Eric.
“Is this going to fade? It will, right? We won’t always be like this?”
“I like being like this. You’ll like it, too,” he said, and he seemed mighty damn sure.
“Who was the vampire who tried to kill us?” I asked ,to change the subject. I was hoping he wasn’t right, and anyway, we’d said everything there was to say on the subject, as far as I was concerned.
“Let’s go find out,” he said, and took my hand. I trailed along with him, simply because I wanted to know.
I said two cents, not three cents. If it were three cents, I’d add a scene from Definitely Dead. I know that is not a fave book for most SVM fans but I think there was a lot of good that came out of that book. My fave scene from that is just a little glimpse into what Eric sees in Sookie. (I totally view them as Lucy and Ricky). When Eric and Rasul find Quinn and Sookie at the cabin where they’re being held by the Pelts.
Eric said. “What did you do to the little man on the floor?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” I said.
“Try me.”
“I scared him so bad he spilled hot coffee on himself. Then I hit him with a stun gun that I got out of the van.”
“Oh.” There was a kind of breathy sound, and I opened my eyes to see that Eric was laughing silently.
That was fun. I love reliving this stuff. Thank you for the awesome blog and blog post.
Feel free to chime in with 3 cents, 4 cents, 5 cents anytime!! LOL
I LOVE your pick for number 11 (and the other scenes you mentioned too). I am laughing because I originally had that scene as number 10 on this list. I took it off only because I wanted to include a scene from All Together Dead because I think that is such a critical book to Eric and Sookie’s relationship (I am actually working on post about this right now). So that IS my number 11 scene.
There are so many great Eric and Sookie scenes. I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments and reliving some of their favorite scenes that I didn’t include on this list.
This is wonderful. Very clearly stated, beautifully illustrated, and absolutely true. There are about a thousand reasons why Eric is the man for Sookie. And twice as many why Bill is not and never will be. But I think you’ve hit on the most important ones: Eric sees Sookie. He really, truly sees her for a smart, compassionate, independent, talented, interesting, and funny woman that she is. And while Sam, for instance, appreciates her, there’s still a sort of patronizing sheen to the way he relates to her. And I won’t even start with Bill or Quinn or Alcide. So not going to go there.
If I were to add a favorite scene, I’d mention the one in Club Dead, where Eric carries Sookie into Russell’s mansion after she’d been staked, and she observes all the pretty boys who are most definitely gay. She makes a joke — “water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink” — and Eric laughs. And Sookie comments that this is why she likes Eric: he gets her humor.
Eric gets her.
Thanks for your comments, hiddeneloise. I love that scene too. The sense of humor Eric and Sookie share is one of the things that I love most about them.
I would also like to say that I am a big fan of your episode reviews. They are very well written and I really enjoyed your take on things; particularly your review of “Night on the Sun”.
Looking forward to more of them in S4!
Thank you so much! It really means a lot.
And yes, the sense of humor is so important. Bill, for instance, doesn’t have it, not really. It’s an interesting thing, but both Book Bill and TB Bill seem to largely lack sense of humor. Sure he can laugh occasionally, but he truly doesn’t get Sookie’s sense of fun.
Great post! I love all the scenes you mentioned and you’ve done a wonderful job of outlining why they are so significant in the Eric/Sookie relationship. There were two scenes in book two that are on my favourite list.
The first: Sookie sucks the bullet from Eric. Why I love this scene: We see a big difference between Eric and Bill here. They are being attacked by the FotS, Eric throws himself over Sookie to protect her from the bullets, while Bill goes chasing after the fellowship. This scene really cemented my dislike for Bill as Sookie’s boyfriend. He uses the excuse of being a vampire to justify his actions (something he does several other times), yet Eric, who is also a vampire, stays to protect Sookie from harm. I think it’s also telling when Eric kisses Sookie (their first kiss!) that Sookie kisses back.
Favourite lines: “I knew I’d get on top of you somehow.”
“Your lips are bloody.” He seized my face in both hands and kissed me.
I picked up the bullet off the carpet…It seemed like a good memento at the time.
The second: The Orgy. Why I love this scene: Because it shows how much Sookie trusts Eric, even at this early stage. It also shows something for how Eric already feels about Sookie at this stage, because how many guys would dress in pink lycra?
Favourite lines: “You trust me?” Eric sounded surprised.
“Yes.”
“That’s…crazy Sookie.”
“I don’t think so.”
…this was the second time I had kissed Eric and that I had enjoyed it more than I should…
“Sookie, relax. I have you.”
“Sookie… yield to me.”
I love your choices of scenes, Jo.
The scenes between Sookie and Eric in Book 2 are so telling. She is in a relationship with Bill, but it is TERRIBLE (describing sex with your boyfriend as being made love to by the Tasmanian Devil is not a ringing endorsement). She shows so much trust in Eric by having him escort her to the orgy. They share their first kiss and that EXTREMELY interesting step of keeping the bullet as memento. I’ve heard that CH knew how she was going to conclude the series starting from Book 2. These scenes in Book 2 really start the foundation for the Eric and Sookie relationship that is the key relationship of the series.
Hey there! Rather than respond with a favorite scene, I wanted to comment on the post and my thoughts in general:
You note: “Sookie and Eric are so great in bed together that I think it sometimes get missed how great they are OUT of bed together.” This is something I like about the books in total. I have to be honest: Normally, I don’t like a ton of romance in my books, or movies, or shows, and I was pretty taken aback when the gratuitous sex popped up because I wasn’t expecting it. I’m more of an idea person. The friend who recommended the books to me has probably never read another book exactly like this (on that front) in their life so I was REALLY not expecting it, as you can understand. It’s not that I myself mind, I just normally prefer my fiction novels a little more on the creatively implied side. That said, the reason why I made peace with that aspect of the work is that, take all those scenes out, the characters are still who they are; the relationships are clearly defined between the written lines, not within the sex scenes. The sex scenes call attention to certain developments in a more straightforward sort of way, but, instead of the sex being the reason for the books, the elements of theme and character — once you get into the story — are obviously what drive the writing. (Theme not meaning genre but what messages the story imparts … dovetail this to below.)
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You write: “Eric is not in this scene by a matter of coincidence either. It was Niall who, after careful research, selected Eric to bring Sookie to meet him. In a roundabout way this is the equivalent of the father giving the boyfriend his approval. This is another reason why I believe the SSN has been building toward an E/S happily ever after.” I don’t know if it’s been mentioned here, but Niall very straightforwardly and officially gives his approval. This is very significant because of the ongoing themes within the story …
After the battle ends, Eric tells Niall to back off his great-granddaughter, since she is his. This is, at first glance, highly inappropriate for many reasons, but what happens is that Niall backs off. That’s a really big deal, especially as the, er, strong request was put in the language of familial relations. Then, as if we didn’t catch that, at the end of the book, the last few words are, “The vampire is not a bad man. And he loves you,” Niall said. [...] Then my great-grandfather was gone before I could ask him which vampire he meant.
… While we’ve just had valid reason to suspect Bill might be the object of Niall’s approval, what with him being the direct savior of Sookie a number of times in the past evening, one in conjunction with Niall himself, the aftermath scene tells us otherwise. Niall, of whose power we are reminded as he leaves, easily could have killed Eric after the battle — could have done so at any time, in fact, although to do so after the battle, as the vampire was weakened with no functional allies in sight, would have been simple. But instead, he directly responded to his request in the affirmative by saying nothing and changing the subject. Wow.
This formal approval bit goes even farther. Between the two scenes above, we as readers are witness to a curious and undoubtedly significant, somewhat oddly ritualistic moment as the vampires are returning home from the war. The injured Sookie and Bill are being carried home and she’s secretly listening in to the other vampire’s conversations. What she hears is this:
“Clancy lives on in Bill,” Eric told the other two. They received this news in a silence that seemed respectful to me.
“As you live on in Sookie,” Pam said, very quietly.
/Meaningful Scene Break/
Vampires clearly aren’t a particularly reverent or respectful race, except where blood ties are concerned, and only when they are the type of blood ties that constitute familial-level relations, it seems. Pam is accepting Sookie as part of Eric, very blatantly, regardless of whether she showed approval or acceptance of her as an ally (or even girlfriend) before. There is a wide difference between those stations.
The reason all this is so significant is that the two overwhelming, ongoing themes of the series are loneliness (even more so than alienation) and family. Every character in the book has strong issues with family and loneliness, in their own way. I could, frankly, write a paper on these themes, but, the most important aspect to note here is how we see these themes, in multiple ways, bringing Eric and Sookie together and pulling Sookie and any one else apart. The pure fact that family issues seem to bother and drive her away from others when she’s so obsessed with them herself is very telling, and the fact that it’s her remaining family that okays her vampiric connections is, in this particular series, more meaningful than it might be otherwise.
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In comparison of the two famous vampire serious of “true blood” and “vampire diaries” these books definitely break the comparison between the two. Beautiful moments between Eric and Sookie happen for reasons and there may be other relationships along the way, but that makes the uniting between the two only more better for them both.