On Sunday’s season finale of True Blood, viewers were shocked to discover [SPOILER ALERT FOR A PLOT POINT THAT IS ABOUT TO BE RENDERED MOOT ANYWAY, ON A SERIES THAT, REALLY, IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN KEEPING UP WITH IT BEFORE NOW, THERE’S NOT MUCH REASON TO START] Alexander Skarsgard’s penis, moments before Alexander Skarsgard’s penis—along with the rest of him—became engulfed in flames. This would seemingly spell the end of Skarsgard’s character Eric were we not talking about True Blood, a show where things never end when it seems they should. So naturally, showrunner Brian Buckner has already come forward to TV Line to assure viewers that, no, he’s not going to get rid of his frequently shirtless, smoldering blonde vampire who appears to have been chiseled out of a Nordic fjord by the laser-focused will of a million Harlequin romance novel readers. “I’m not going to take Alex Skarsgard out of people’s living rooms,” Buckner said, all too aware of what his show is.
That established, however, Buckner says Eric won’t suddenly return next season, rested and ready to continue standing around not killing anyone while Sookie spends another year fretting about which monster which she wants to date. “Pam has gone off in search of Eric, and maybe she’s going to be the one to find him, y’know?” Buckner says, adding, “With Eric gone and off on his own story going forward, I think it’s a pretty obvious triangle we’re setting up between Bill and Sookie and Alcide.” Incidentally, this is right after Buckner said, “I’m aware that people like the familiar, but we have to change,” which is, frankly, hilarious.