It's a real shame that Adele Stackhouse got killed off (but then, it was a rather important plot point of the book, so they couldn't very-well go changing it and keep her alive). Still...she was an easily-likable character who we never saw be anything but kind. Lois Smith was great in the role and she's sorely missed after this episode. Poor Sookie, though - finding her Gran like that (and after she'd only recently found the body of Dawn Green too). Sookie goes through so much bad stuff this season, and this is certainly one of the worst moments for her.
What I liked about the episode...
*Bill being the first one who was at Sookie's side and consoling her upon seeing her Gran's body. When no one else was there for her, Bill *was* (which shows that he's one of the few who really cares about her). Sam wasn't far behind, though, so he gets points for that.
*Sam being there for Sookie outside the house. Although he always seems to take things slightly too far, his heart's still in the right place. He definitely cares about her. Meanwhile, back inside the house, I liked Bill with the Sheriff and Andy. Their automatic suspicion of Bill being the murderer was annoying, but he handled them both/their questions well.
*Sookie refusing to move out of the house. Yes, it might have been stubborn of her and perhaps not the wisest thing ever, but I admired her for not giving in and being scared away. The scene with her mopping up her Gran's blood was pretty nasty.
*Bill frustrated at not being able to get to Sookie (when he sensed that she was in trouble) because of it still being daytime. How hard that must've been for him - to be stuck in his hole, unable to go to her. Nice camera work/effects with going up through the hole he sleeps in under his house, through the floor and the house itself. I also liked him speeding up to her room as soon as night fell. The best moment, though, had to be with him standing outside as guard for Sookie (then being joined by the collie). The two of them watching over Sookie's room was great.
*While the scene with Sookie alone, in the kitchen, with her eating Gran's Pecan pie (as she finally broke down) could've come off as incredibly lame/unintentionally funny in the hands of a lot of lesser actresses, Anna Paquin acted the hell out of it, I thought. That was a stellar performance and a real gut-wrenching display of grief. The use of song ('Take Me Home') helped make the scene one of THE most memorable scenes of the season.
*Sookie waiting for sundown and running to Bill. The use of music here was also good, as was the song playing during their love scene. The song playing over the end credits (the title of which also happens to be the title of this episode) was a really nice choice.
Things I didn't like...
*Jason. Him storming in, hitting Sookie, saying it should have been her who was dead, and blaming her for their Gran's death made me hate him. Funnily enough, the character who was voicing my thoughts towards Jason in that moment was Tara (of all people). I say this because, as of the very first episode, Tara had been the character I liked the least. But the way she stood up for Sookie in this episode made me start rethinking that there's absolutely nothing likable about her character. Her standing up to Jason, telling him off/telling him what he deserved to hear and kicking him out almost made me nod in agreement and go, "You tell him!". So now, after six episodes, I'm thinking somewhat differently about the character of Tara (whereas, before, I couldn't stand her). Tara and Lafayette were at their best when sharing the scene with Sookie. They were there for her and handling things when she couldn't.
*The people(in general) of Bon Temps, who attended Adele's funeral/wake. As if Sookie hadn't gone through enough, having to hear all those horrible thoughts from those awful people - who could blame her for losing it at the funeral and telling them to shut the f--- up? They totally deserved that. It went a long way to showing what state of mind Sookie was in (considering she'd never sworn like that before). I'm surprised she held it together as well/for as long as she did. Although I've already mentioned Jason, he really did deserve what Sookie said to him when he tried to apologise for hitting her. I mean, he invited her Uncle (who, it's rather obvious, makes Sookie very uncomfortable) to the funeral, not to mention him starting to become addicted to V - he really did sink to a new level of low in this episode (but, surprisingly, there's even lower he can go).
*What was *supposed* to be Adele's funeral turning into a scene that was all about Tara and her mum/their issues. It really should have been more about Adele and everyone trying to console Sookie, but instead turned into being about something I just really didn't care that much about.
*Sam going from being there for Sookie, to bedding Tara. It just felt like a really inappropriate time for that, and everyone (except Sookie) seemed to be getting over Adele's murder much too quick.
Having said that^, this was still a really good, very emotional episode.
What I liked about the episode...
*Bill being the first one who was at Sookie's side and consoling her upon seeing her Gran's body. When no one else was there for her, Bill *was* (which shows that he's one of the few who really cares about her). Sam wasn't far behind, though, so he gets points for that.
*Sam being there for Sookie outside the house. Although he always seems to take things slightly too far, his heart's still in the right place. He definitely cares about her. Meanwhile, back inside the house, I liked Bill with the Sheriff and Andy. Their automatic suspicion of Bill being the murderer was annoying, but he handled them both/their questions well.
*Sookie refusing to move out of the house. Yes, it might have been stubborn of her and perhaps not the wisest thing ever, but I admired her for not giving in and being scared away. The scene with her mopping up her Gran's blood was pretty nasty.
*Bill frustrated at not being able to get to Sookie (when he sensed that she was in trouble) because of it still being daytime. How hard that must've been for him - to be stuck in his hole, unable to go to her. Nice camera work/effects with going up through the hole he sleeps in under his house, through the floor and the house itself. I also liked him speeding up to her room as soon as night fell. The best moment, though, had to be with him standing outside as guard for Sookie (then being joined by the collie). The two of them watching over Sookie's room was great.
*While the scene with Sookie alone, in the kitchen, with her eating Gran's Pecan pie (as she finally broke down) could've come off as incredibly lame/unintentionally funny in the hands of a lot of lesser actresses, Anna Paquin acted the hell out of it, I thought. That was a stellar performance and a real gut-wrenching display of grief. The use of song ('Take Me Home') helped make the scene one of THE most memorable scenes of the season.
*Sookie waiting for sundown and running to Bill. The use of music here was also good, as was the song playing during their love scene. The song playing over the end credits (the title of which also happens to be the title of this episode) was a really nice choice.
Things I didn't like...
*Jason. Him storming in, hitting Sookie, saying it should have been her who was dead, and blaming her for their Gran's death made me hate him. Funnily enough, the character who was voicing my thoughts towards Jason in that moment was Tara (of all people). I say this because, as of the very first episode, Tara had been the character I liked the least. But the way she stood up for Sookie in this episode made me start rethinking that there's absolutely nothing likable about her character. Her standing up to Jason, telling him off/telling him what he deserved to hear and kicking him out almost made me nod in agreement and go, "You tell him!". So now, after six episodes, I'm thinking somewhat differently about the character of Tara (whereas, before, I couldn't stand her). Tara and Lafayette were at their best when sharing the scene with Sookie. They were there for her and handling things when she couldn't.
*The people(in general) of Bon Temps, who attended Adele's funeral/wake. As if Sookie hadn't gone through enough, having to hear all those horrible thoughts from those awful people - who could blame her for losing it at the funeral and telling them to shut the f--- up? They totally deserved that. It went a long way to showing what state of mind Sookie was in (considering she'd never sworn like that before). I'm surprised she held it together as well/for as long as she did. Although I've already mentioned Jason, he really did deserve what Sookie said to him when he tried to apologise for hitting her. I mean, he invited her Uncle (who, it's rather obvious, makes Sookie very uncomfortable) to the funeral, not to mention him starting to become addicted to V - he really did sink to a new level of low in this episode (but, surprisingly, there's even lower he can go).
*What was *supposed* to be Adele's funeral turning into a scene that was all about Tara and her mum/their issues. It really should have been more about Adele and everyone trying to console Sookie, but instead turned into being about something I just really didn't care that much about.
*Sam going from being there for Sookie, to bedding Tara. It just felt like a really inappropriate time for that, and everyone (except Sookie) seemed to be getting over Adele's murder much too quick.
Having said that^, this was still a really good, very emotional episode.