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Huh? Did True Blood just kill off Eric?

Somewhere in Sweden, Eric Northman was getting himself a nice tan on the ice ....

2013-08-19_2247Somewhere in Sweden, Eric Northman was getting himself a nice tan on the ice when suddenly Warlowe’s blood began to wear off before beginning to sizzle in the sun.

And before giving a quick full frontal shot, he began to burn ….and burn… and burn.

So did True Blood just kill off Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård) after 6 seasons?

Season six was good fun but I hope we didn’t just lose one of our favourite characters.

Thoughts?

49 Responses

  1. I gave a very simple answer- “And I think for TV a couple of days is fair for US scripted shows, though I think reality is another thing.”
    But, that’s my belief. Someone else might think otherwise. Most sites I visit for TV and movies are cautious with their headlines and header text so as to avoid spoilers, especially after something has first screened. Just because other sites put spoilers in their headings etc doesn’t make it right.
    I don’t see how being cautious can hurt. You have many arguing (and I’m only doing so because I enjoy a good debate) about this, surely you should consider what they’re saying and as I said in my last rant, perhaps open this up for further discussion (or a poll) to see what the general sentiment is with readers.

    1. Thanks Quebec. I’m of the view that a few days for American shows and immediate for Australian creates confusion. In my experience of editing the site for over 6 years clarity is better. And there is 6 years of views for and against (by readers not just me) already archived here. You have to recognise that general media are also filing this kind of news in headlines, with photos, as well as throughout Twitter and Facebook. It’s a bit ridiculous that as a TV news site I’m not supposed to file the winner of a reality show or the death of a major character. We’re destined to agree to disagree!

  2. Julie won Masterchef?!! I still hadn’t watched that on my PVR yet!

    Can’t you cater your stories around wha I, pondie, poster at tvtonight.com.au have watched?

  3. I understand the need for SEO and captivating headlines, but a thought needs to be put out for the DVR world that we now live in. Yes, people need to be responsible for avoiding sites if they haven’t watched something, but sites should also be thoughtful to their readers. A headline like “OMG! Did True Blood just really do that ending?” would get people clicking and still allow people to be unspoiled. Obviously many people are upset by this and maybe your readers have different expectations of spoilers on your site than they do on others. Perhaps you could open an article discussion up on what people believe are acceptable spoiler guidelines? I imagine it would generate a lot of comments!

    1. It’s been discussed before and will be again with for / against arguments. I have outlined mine here and elsewhere. When Patrick died in Offspring I ran a story the next day. News Corp ran it that night. Yet I’m a dedicated TV site and I get complaints? Go figure.

      I agree it makes it difficult, so the onus is on the viewer from a fully informed position that Aired = News here. This is also on my About page.

      I’m still waiting for a simple answer on when it is ok to freely post headlines / photos after the event. 1 day? 2 days? 1 week? Events like The Block, Offspring, X Factor, The Voice, generate multiple articles.

  4. Sorry, didn’t know I went over. The character count doesn’t count down for me, so in case it got cut off…
    Eric’s potential death in their recap headline and opting for a more generic header picture. Even when they interviewed the show runner a couple of days later to get information they left the headline ambiguous, with the words “Eric’s fate.” Entertainment Weekly didn’t post a spoiler in their headline or in their photo. I don’t watch the show, so for me I don’t care, but I can totally understand why people would be upset. If this was Breaking Bad or Dexter and I hadn’t watched the episode yet, I’d be upset. Though, for a finale, I’d be careful not to visit sites that might spoil it for me.

  5. When will you be writing a Dexter article? At 5.30 in the afternoon just after it’s aired for the first time? At 10.30 after it’s had its primetime airing? The next day? It seems that any time is seen as spoiler time after it’s aired. But I imagine many wouldn’t be watching at 4.30.
    We’re living in a DVR world. Everyone is watching at different times. Obviously, this makes it difficult for people like you, David, when writing articles and reporting big finales and spoilers. This obviously leads to the question of when does a spoiler no longer become a spoiler and can be talked about? Most film sites I visit are careful with spoilers for a couple of weeks after a film is released, allowing people get to see a film. And I think for TV a couple of days is fair for US scripted shows, though I think reality is another thing.
    I noticed on well-known TVLine, they didn’t mention…

  6. You better not spoil Dexter as you did with this. You could have left the title ambiguous and pixelated the picture. There is nothing like a pixelated picture to arouse curiosity.

    This is not cool and very unsophisticated.

    1. I won’t be spoiling Dexter before it airs. I will absolutely be blogging after the final series as News. It’s been running for 8 seasons. I consider it a major television event and it will be all over the net. You can read below about reasons for / against. Please be sure to log the same complaints to all the other social media already discussing Eric Northman. Thanks.

  7. I wasn’t having a go in general David, I read your articles all the time and love this site!
    Fair point that you don’t consider Australian release to include the download release. I also have no problem with when the article was posted at all just that the major character death was revealed in the title. I will avoid checking the RSS feed in my emails next time (I successfully avoided twitter and all the rest but this one caught me unaware!). Anyway hopefully it’s not the end of Eric!

  8. We were shocked at the ending too. I agree that whole “6 months later” thing seemed wrong. Matching vampires with families to keep them safe?? My girlfriend has read all of the books except the latest one and even she’s confused.

    As for spoilers – it’s your responsibility, not David’s. I was in the US when that Offspring episode happened. It was all over my social media, but oh well. It happens. I generally have a self imposed ban on social media and these blogs if I have finales on IQ & for the entire Eurovision weekend.

    Bigcon84 – the picture displays on the blog with the headline – that’s why David keeps bringing it up. If he’d changed the headline but kept the Eric picture, you’d have got the same result.

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