HBO
(Season 1, Episode 8)
“Compared to a lifetime of Zoloft, 445’s a bargain.” – Lafayette to Tara, on the price of her mother’s exorcism
First thing’s first. I gasped when Bill’s hand reached up out of the ground and grabbed Sookie’s leg in the graveyard! I knew something was going to happen, I just wasn’t sure what. And. of course, I figured he probably wasn’t the fourth man in the fire, because what would be the point of that? I’m surprised that he bit her, though, when she told him “not tonight.”
So we learn a little more about Jason’s issues — that he feels guilty over his parents’ death in the flash-flood because he wasn’t responsible enough to care for Sookie, which meant them going to their grandmother’s house, which put their parents at the bridge right when the flood hit. Well, he was only 11. He probably shouldn’t take all that on himself and call himself “the worst brother in the world.” Not too sure about his relationship with Amy. She seems like bad news, with her addiction and all.
Interesting storyline with Lafayette exchanging “goods” with the nerdy gay vampire. Lafayette gets vampire blood, and the nerd gets what he wants. Until Amy and Jason come along, that is.
Also, looks like things are heating up with head vamp Eric, whom Bill calls “the sheriff of Area 5.” “He has a position of great power among our kind,” Bill explains to Sookie. “We don’t want to anger him. As long as his requests are reasonable, we should agree to his wishes.” Scary scene at the end, though, when the guy behind the bar attacks Sookie.
Always a lot going on in this show, but a few other points of interest:
I’m skeptical that Tara’s mom has indeed rid herself of the demon. All of a sudden, she’s making pancakes, doing laundry and going to church?
Sam’s story about running through the woods naked to honor his parents’ memory doesn’t really jive. Especially after the sheriff turns up no records of them at the Texas nudist colony. I wonder if it has something to do with Sam’s animal-shifting abilities. Like maybe he was an animal when he started running, but then turned back into a human … ?
Loved the scene with Sookie sitting on the porch as it rains, then taking flowers to Bill’s grave. Alan Ball is stamping his signature on this series.
Your thoughts?
Clacked by Jane Boursaw 
on Oct 27, 2008 @ 13:30 EST5EDT
Another fantastic episode of a fantastic series. My thoughts in reaction to your post, Jane:
– I think we’re supposed to doubt Tara’s mother’s exorcism, but I think it will wind up being genuine. We’ll know better next week when we see the result of Tara’s exorcism.
– I’m beginning to suspect Sam as the murderer. Your theory is better (nudity being an artifact of his canine shapeshifting abilities) but I still have Sam pegged as the killer.
Yeah with all the talk about ‘demons’ in a show about vampires, i’m guessing we’ll find out it’s all for real.
I could be mistaken, but wasn’t there a scene a couple weeks ago – maybe around dawn’s death – that showed us Sam IS the murderer, he let himself into her place or something? it’s fuzzy right now, but I swear I recall something like that…
Yeah you are right Scott… After Dawn was killed, Sam let himself into her apartment and started to smell the sheets on her bed and rolled around in them. Doesnt really implicate him as being the murderer but it is suspicious as hell lol.
ah thanks! actually reading your take on it, and assuming his nekkid excursions have something to with animal instincts or shape changing, it could be that he was trying to pick up the scent of the killer?
But I just remember watching it and thinking, wow, the dog-like protector guy is the killer? ;-)
She said “Not the neck” right before he bit her. I’m guessing she said that so that no one would question her anymore about the neck bites. Makes sense.
Something tells me that Terry (the cook) likes Arlene & something may happen to mess up her new engagement to Renee. Just a thought because of the way he was talking to her in the diner.
Yeah, I heard “Not the neck” too. I just assumed maybe it was still sore or something, but not wanting to explain herself anymore makes sense too.
Did anyone else beside me find the proposal scene between Arlene and Renee creepy at first? The music behind it was kind of ominous and I was sure he was getting ready to kill her. He’s kind of creepy to me. I remember in one episode he defended Sookie from a bunch of rednecks at Merlotte’s and then put his hand on her hair and said something like, “you remind me of my sister”. But it just didn’t have a brotherly vibe to it you know? In my opinion Renee is one to watch out for.
Great episode… I’m surprised this show doesn’t get more credit than it does. Its like Buffy all grown up to me lol.
I was so nervous that something was gonna happen to Arlene and Rene when they stopped on the side of the road. Love those two and I’ll be so disappointed if Arlene gets involved with the crazy Terry.
I’m not really liking Sam and Tara together… Would Sam really be dumb enough to go after Sookie’s best friend when he is still in love with Sookie? And Tara’s attitude is starting to annoy me I really hope she is cured of her “demon.”
Cant wait to see what happens next week
*POST AUTHOR*
Thanks for all the great comments! And for clueing me in on the “not the neck” comment. I feel much better now, knowing he didn’t go ahead and do something she didn’t want.
Rene creeps me out, too. Then again, I thinks Arlene said she’d done it four other times, so she must like the whole idea of marriage better than the actual day-to-day stuff.
I’m holding out hope that Sam’s not the killer.
Arlene kind of creeps me out. LOL I wish she had been the one who got killed earlier insted of Dawn. Sorry Arlene lovers! ;-)
When have the spoken about Sam and canine shape shifting? Was it in the book series? I don’t recall that at all, and I’m sure if I had heard it I would have found him a tad more attractive.
I think he and Tara together is going to be big trouble in the future no matter what he turns out to be. They have way too much baggage and together that could turn out to be explosive.
Jason must be the biggest idiot on the planet. He has yet to make one smart decision. I’m surprised the V bothered his penis at all when it is obviously always straight forward like a diving rod leading him to one mistake after another.
My preference would be more about Sookie and Bill and those that are in their immediate circle and less about the others. It seems they are spending just a bit too much time on things like Tara’s mom, Arlene’s engagement, etc. I am not getting enough Bill/Sookie love for my own taste.
i thik sam was smelling the sheets before to try to get the killer’s scent. i also think the killer is terry, the cook with flashbacks from being an iraq vet.
my question is: why was sam dumping the fake-blood drink down the sink? is it because the vampires had died? or because he doesn’t want to serve it anymore? or something else?
I’ll go out on a limb and say the killer is Tara. I know it’s far fetched, but all the victims have a connection to Jason. All of them were women he slept with except his Grandma. We all know Tara would do anything for Jason, and that she wants him to herself. I think they are fleshing out this “demon storyline” due to this. Maybe there is this “demon” inside her that’s doing all the killing without her knowing about it.
Now all we have to see is whether she had an alibi to all the murders. :)
I haven’t read the books, but the Sam storyline is making him look out to be a Werewolf?
Thats a really good theory… makes me think thats a interesting possibility. I could see part of season 2 being about how she is struggling to overcome killing all those women. And thinking back now she is usually nowhere around any of the other characters when someone turns up dead.
I was considering that too. I’m waiting for either that floozy he was sleeping with recently or his new pal Amy to end up dead to really give it serious consideration. But why would Tara kill Jason’s grandmother? Do you think she would have been a threat to Tara being with Jason? Actually though I’m of the opinion that the serial killer was not the one who killed Mrs. Stackhouse. Weren’t Maudette and Dawn strangled? Why then was Mrs. Stackhouse so viciously butchered? Seems like a weird departure from an M.O. for a serial killer.