‘True Blood’ season 7, episode 9 spoilers: New look at Alexander Skarsgard’s Eric

With a title like “Love Is to Die,” you know that there could be some crazy things coming on Sunday night’s “True Blood” episode. Also, you can tell that just from the look on Eric Northman’s face.

You know that Alexander Skarsgard’s character most likely finds himself now in a very conflicted position going into this episode, having run the risk of violating his business arrangement with Mr. Gus just so that he can heal Bill Compton. Unfortunately, he went through all of that trouble before realizing that Bill himself didn’t really have that much of an interest in actually dying. Who knows why, other than that maybe he feels like he has run his course on earth, and there is nothing more that he can take from this life.

Eric’s potential endgame here is a tricky one, given that he and Pam could have every bit of wealth in the world thanks to the new formula that they are creating to “heal” the H-Vamp crisis. However, at the same time they would be killing countless vampires who cannot wait that long. Will Eric become a classic hero by the end of the series, or the same sort of self-serving pseudo-villain that he has been from the beginning? We’ve never thought of the character as intrinsically evil, but he is intent most of the time on serving himself well before serving anyone else.

What do you think of this photo of Eric, and what are your expectations for this episode? Share your thoughts with a comment.