Btw, speaking of Sookie’s flash of white light, I have a vague memory that in the first or second episode of season 1, there was a weird moment where Sookie was in danger and suddenly displayed a burst of supernatural strength, which was more or less never mentioned again.
Am I just making that up?
IIRC, that was a misinterpretation of a scene. Bill showed up going superfast and an attacker away at the same time that Sookie happened to grab him. It sort of looked like Sookie used supernatural strength, but that was Bill’s super speed.
I remember it but not the details. In the books (which the miniseries semi follows and mostly doesn’t [and I haven’t read but watch the show with someone who has]) you learn that Sookie is
part Fairie
which is responsible for some of her ‘oddities’ and for Jason’s appeal to every woman he meets.
I’ve wondered if an unholy alliance with Fellowship of the Sun may be coming, but I’d only see that happened if some of their followers were ‘possessed’ and they haven’t moved beyond Bon Temps.
And to the “loved it” list
[ul][*]The over-the-hill barfly calling numbers on the wall for phone sex and never getting around to calling Maryanne.[/ul]
In the first episode of season 1 Sookie wraps a chain around some guy’s neck that is trying to drain Bill. If you watch real close you can see the chain start to magically tighten around the bad guys neck. I always thought it was Sookie doing it but she’s just a telepath and not a telekinetic. Maybe she does have telekinetic powers along with others she has yet to display.
Oh, right, the chain thing. Yeah, she definitely appeared to be telekinetic then. The scene I’m thinking of is the next day, after she gets off work at the bar and they attack her. Bill senses it and comes rushing and throws the attacker away.
The Stackhouse family seems to have some sort of holiness to them in general. This is why Jason is some kind of badass holy warrior who is just coming into his own and Gran is talked about with such reverent tones by just about everyone.
Wow, I knew exactly who it was from your description, which is weird because I looked her up months ago to see if that’s who Jessica was being played by (maybe I’m the only one who thinks they look similar). Neat that she’ll be in the show anyway 
That’s close to what I said to someone I watched with “Rather close-minded for a vampire, isn’t that?”
As for Maryanne’s influence, doesn’t it seem like she’s drawn in people who are looking for outside validation? The humans that aren’t under her influence are pretty self-confident in at least one way each. Jason and Lafayette are sure that they’re all that sexually. Andy and Sookie are surpremely sure of what’s right and wrong. Tara’s mom has gotten herself back from the bottle, which gives her strength, and Hoyt is coming into his own in the same way now that he’s out from under his mother’s thumb.
Not just the chain thing, but right after that it looked as though Sookie grabbed the guy by the ankle and threw him 100 feet up in the air. I was the one who brought it up originally in that thread, and am convinced I’m right, but I didn’t seem to get anyone to agree with me.
I thought Bill knew right away that Sam was a shapeshifter. Lots of warnings to Sookie, plus some comment to Sam about “You don’t need to mark your territory” in an episode before the audience found out.
Yeah, that’s what I was referring to in post #22.
There is a deleted scene on Youtube that offers a different interpretation of why the chain is moving. Which could also substantiate your observation, Morbo, without having it be Sookie doing it.
For those of us who’ve read the books, I think it’s pretty likely that it is Claudine
I’m still trying to get people to agree with me. 
[Zoidberg] Hooray, I’m substantiated! [/Zoidberg]
I’m gonna go the other way and say that I was really not into this episode. I don’t like the Marianne storyline one bit and find the actress to be really grating and this episode was just more of the same. That’s not really what bumped me about this one though.
Last season trailed off for me after a pretty strong start because too many of the characters devolved into a ridiculous, absurd, aggressive level of stupidity. Sookie and Jason were especially retarded and the police were staggeringly incompetent. That pattern seems to be recurring this season. The entire sequence with Jason, Sam and Andy was just too far fetched and stupid for my taste. There were some comically rewarding moments but the three stooges schtick was just too overdone. A little stupidity for comic relief is ok, but when it’s a driving plot point and completely inconsistent with the character it makes me tune out.
I also found the entire Sookie/Bill mind-fuck tag team to be pretty clumsily handled.
For me it was Terry: “Bullshit, God has horns!” 
Again, I’m amazed at how much Jason has improved as a character from last season, which I attribute in part to the writers, but mostly to Ryan Kwanten’s acting. I’m glad HBO ordered a third season because I’m really hooked on this show and don’t want to get “Carnivaled” again.
I’m still kind of gobsmacked that Ryan Kwanten is Australian.
You apparently didn’t watch Summerland on the WB a few years back. I did, and was confused the first time I heard him speak with a southern accent.
“All right, out, people. We will unfuck this situation at a later date.”
“Smite me, motherfucker !”
So much gold in this episode !
I would like to hop on your bandwagon, if I may. That one unexplained moment of Sookie’s super strength has been bugging me since the first episode. I keep waiting for the show to come back to it.
If you read one of the previous OP’s spoilers and watch that deleted scene it’s pretty obvious what was going on. It’s an element from the books that I guess they decided not to address yet. I’m wondering if they are still planning to or if it’s been permanently derailed. Based on this week’s glowy hands and previous week’s “sex abilities” I suspect they will eventually get around to it.
Could be. We never really were told how long that was going on before Sookie knew, just that it had been.
So they’ve cast the queen and did a good job with Barry too - but did I miss something last week or did they say Stan died? Because if he did, they’ll have to change Barry’s storyline a little - but I wonder how long it will be before they cast season three. I’m looking forward to seeing who they pick for Alcide who is described by Sookie upon meeting him as “He was huge. His eyes were green. His tousled hair was curly and thick and black as pitch. [spoiler omitted]”