HBO’s True Blood was a fantasy series known for its over-the-top moments but no character on the show was more extra than Eric Northman. The vampire sheriff, entrepreneur, and small business owner stole nearly every scene he was in with his flair for the dramatic. The king of one-liners with the ability to make tracksuits sexy and make people everywhere quiver with just his fang-exposed smirk, Northman was the diva we all wish we could be. Don’t believe us? Use the show’s upcoming 10th anniversary as an excuse to dive back in (it’s streamable on HBO Now).
Or, if you’re short on time, check out this ranked lost of the most extra AF moments served to us by the immortal Viking himself.
9. When He Summoned Bill While Taking A Bubble Bath
A long-haired Eric was the most extra of all the Erics. When we first met our Vitamin D-deprived Adonis, he was rocking platinum blonde locks, black tanks, and a decidedly emo attitude. He liked knowing he was in control, he loved to be worshipped, and he most definitely did not appreciate it when Bill Compton failed to respond to his text messages. The best way to let him know? In his birthday suit, soaking in a clawfoot tub two sizes too small for his tree-like frame.
8. When He Accused Sookie Of Being Saucy
Eric constantly pissed off his fairy princess and sweet, innocent Sookie often lost her girl-next-door attitude when she was around him. When Eric decided to buy Sookie’s childhood home to better control and keep her, that telepathic waitress just wasn’t having it and he just loved it.
7. When He Paired A Tracksuit With An IDGAF Attitude
In season two of True Blood, Eric Northman had a love affair with le trackie. He could often be seen wearing an open-chested blue tracksuit complete with a large talon pendant. The look screamed ’80s Russian gangster but Eric quickly taught us that when it comes to being a vampire sheriff, comfort and versatility are key.
6. When He Staked Talbot From Behind
Look, we feel for Talbot, we truly do. Russell Edgington may have been one of the show’s nastiest villains but his 700-year-old Greek boy-toy just wanted to lounge in his jewel-encrusted house slippers, gorge on his harem of male lovers, and rule the great state of Louisiana in peace, dammit. Of course, because Russel made the grave mistake of killing Eric’s human family centuries ago, instead, Talbot was seduced and then reduced to a pile of guts by that most dangerous Viking Lothario.
5. When He Had A Moment Over His Hair
Eric Northman loved ripping humans apart with his fangs but he hated the mess of it all. It’s why he had a bit of a meltdown in front of Lafayette after a particularly bloody round in his torture dungeon. Later he’d have Pam re-foil his perfectly-frosted tips but it was this moment that we all saw Eric’s true self.
4. When He Went Skinny Dipping And Emerged As A Sea God
When Eric lost his memory in season four he found a hidden sweetness and cuddliness. Sure, he still had fangs and could burn in the sun, but a small dose of Sookie’s magical fae blood fixed that pesky problem. It’s why a drunk-as-a-skunk Northman decided to frolic in gator-infested waters, in broad daylight. And because this is Eric we’re talking about, he used his spontaneous skinny-dip to also proclaim himself a Nordic god of the sea and Sookie his sea goddess. Oh Eric, you broad-shouldered river otter, you’re too much sometimes.
3. When He Started A Nudist Bookclub
Eric Northman set the bar to unachievable new heights during his time on True Blood. Because of the fanged vampire deity, women everywhere expected all potential lovers to be as tall as the Empire State Building, possess perfectly coifed hair, be able to confidently sport a tracksuit as formal wear, and, now this was key, be a bibliophile. A sexy book nerd is a dangerous thing but Eric knew that a man engaged in the written word while sunbathing nude on a snowcapped mountain in Sweden is something no woman can resist.
2. When He Terrorized Lafayette With A Shotgun And A Dress
Eric never failed to utilize any opportunity to behave like the secret diva that he truly was. Even as a hallucination, Mr. Northman served us more looks and sass than we could handle. When Lafayette began having visions after getting a dose of vampire blood, it’s Eric, dressed as an elderly woman, holding a shotgun and threatening his life, that haunted him. Lafayette might’ve been scared sh*tless but the rest of us were just confused as to how it was humanly possible to find Alexander Skarsgard even more attractive in a get-up our grandmothers would wear.
1. When He Went For A Joyride With Bodies In The Backseat
One of the many reasons we loved Eric Northman was his ability to find childlike joy in any situation. No amount of doom and gloom could dull his figurative sparkle. Even riding around town in a beat-up car, corpses in the back-seat and blood marring his perfect facial features, Eric still found the time to head bop to some techno. Northman, you over the top bad-ass, don’t you ever change.
