14 DAY TRIAL // Season 6 of HBO’s “True Blood” wrapped the other day and, as fans probably know, it brought one totally unexpected death. Showrunner Brian Bruckner defends the ending and the entire season in a new interview with TV Line.
As he puts it, none of the twists included in the season finale is gratuitous because they all fall in line with what writers have in mind for the upcoming season.
*Fans who have not seen the season finale yet are encouraged not to read any further than this – major spoilers ahead.*
Eric Northman (Alex Skarsgard) died on the final episode of season 6, bursting into flames when Warlow (Rob Kazinsky) was killed, in a scene that literally broke the Internet and became a meme instantly.
Then, the story picked up after a 6-month lapse and didn’t show him once, which led to speculation that he might really really be dead.
Bruckner says season 7 will probably pick up where this one left it (“That's a fair presumption,” he says) and will bring Eric back.
Phew.
“In the olden days, this was a fun tease for an audience [Laughs]. The actor Alex Skarsgard and the character of Eric Northman will be back on the show next year. He'll be a series regular,” the showrunner says.
“We've obviously promised a ‘Where is Eric?’ story and it would feel incredibly cheap to deliver the goods right away. We sent Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) off in search of him and if she were to find him right away, we would be doing a disservice to ourselves and to the audience,” he continues.
“How we use him is going to be up to us, but we want people to rest assured that he will be back in their living rooms next year or wherever they watch. Boy do they love him! Wow!” Bruckner notes.
He also explains how they came to shoot the scene of Eric’s death and how quick Alex was quick to accept doing a full frontal, which is the second reason the finale “broke the Internet.”
“He's Swedish. There was no discussion whatsoever,” Bruckner laughs.
More of the interview is available here.