From Zap2It:

"I'm here on orders from my bird"-- Too funny!

It's beginning to appear that Bill will serve as the show's resident monologuist. I love finally being able to vaguely see where this show's heading. All the characters are slowly realizing what they may be happening at their own pace. It's looking like they may even be planting the seeds for Linc to have an epiphany. I'm not quite sure why Cass, of all people, got to have a vision this week, but I'm willing to roll with it.

Would anyone mind summarizing the gist of Bill's story about the sequence of events involving him and Butchie? I had trouble following that since it was all in Milch-speak.

Butchie & Kai = Big Mistake

they're going to ruin their friendship, and their brother/sister like relationship. plus: zero chemistry.
Butchie is going to break her heart. She is in love with him.

She slept with Mitch and he passed something onto her?

I am shallow so I am loving this show...hee hee hee...being stuck in a totally red state..I love the California sterotypes...jumped by a vato...how everyone just kinda accepts the visions etc..(only done here on Sundays in a tongue talking church..okay wednesday nites too)..I agree the surfer chick is in love with Butchie..

Mitch...dude what a tool...he is the McDreamy of the show...self involved much?
So everything comes back to him?

Anyhow...I really like it & I'm lovin Sundays...first my favorite husband swappin threesome BigLove & then John from Cinn....it makes missing Tony a bit easier

Poor Shaunie! I'll be his friend! I won't make jokes about his near death.



Yeah, it's rather obvious that it's going to end badly, but still, how sweet is Butchie Yost? My roommate, who's never seen an episode of this show and has no clue what's going on, walked in right when Butchie and Kai were snuggling in her trailer, and she actually sighed and said, "I wish I had someone to cuddle with me." What saves Butchie is this his inherent sweetness, because he is a decent man despite his numerous flaws. Also, he's not father of the year material, but his concern for John was adorable. The hand holding was adorable. The banter was adorable. The painful yearning of "In Your Eyes," which will always be associated with the painful yearning of "Say Anything," was adorable but devastatingly nostalgic. Junior prom is over, but unfortunately Kai's still caught up in what might have been.

Kai is apparently a member of the Carrie Bradshaw school of nightwear. No real girl sleeps in a bra! They're uncomfortable as hell, and leaves the most unsightly marks. And they're really, really uncomfortable.



I'm suddenly very, very curious about where this is going in regard to Linc. Can't remember who said it, but he is the freaking devil and he *knows* it. I think that's what's scariest, how he revels in his evil. He's already been kicked out of Heaven, ala, being booted out of the Yost inner circle and destroying the purity of surfing, so now he's wreaking havoc on what's left as his revenge; he even has Michael the Archangel fighting against him in the form of Dr. Michael Smith. Maybe Milch is going for a Miltonesque vision with this one?

Again interupted by freaking company -- who are now banned from showing up on my doorstep until the "Entourage" opening credits roll.

I dunno, but I think Zippy is the new Chief.

I don't know why, after living in the place for years, Bill has suddenly decided to protect his head from his own spiral staircase with duct tape. Somebody else is going to fall on it and the duct tape will be their salvation!

Shaunie can exhibit his grandma's temper, apparently. Smart of her to tumble onto the press guys, but you're just gonna get them mad, Cissy.

I love Dr. Smith, and Freddie, and loved the Bill/Freddie stuff. I have no idea what Zippy was doing this week; maybe making his master go sit with Freddie was his punishment for making Zip stay in his pocket for like three hours.

I wasn't expecting Butchie and Kai, and how could they have been at the same junior prom? They're not the same age, are they?

Since the eppy description gave it away, I knew Porsche lady was Shaun's mom. Why is she letting him live like that when she obviously has dough?

Didn't like the Cass/Mitch affair, although it did put a stop to Mitch's grumbling for a little while. And adultery seems to bring out his levitating again. At least another non-crazy (although kinda whorish) person saw it.

That poor sidekick (what's his name?) will never get to see the doctor about his wrist, will he?

ETA: Cissy/Cassie, hmmm.

I need to watch through one more time and process, because there was a lot of major stuff going on in this episode.

How many disciples are we up to now? Bill, Kai, Ramon, Dickstein, Cunningham, Vietnam Joe, Freddy, Freddy's henchman whose name I can't remember, Dr. Smith, and now Cass (Mary Magdalene???) Or is that Mary Magdelene in the preview for next week? My head's done in trying to figure out who is supposed to be whom, biblically speaking.

Man. Poor Kai. Who hasn't been there?? I can't decide who owned me tonight...one minute it's Bill, then it's Dr. Smith, then it's Butchie and his super-duper metal detecting tongue!



Next time I look this up in the dictionary, I expect to see a photo of Shaunie Yost.

If this is another biblical allegorical attempt by HBO, I'll pass. This is getting old and trite.

I really liked Carnivale and hated the way that HBO just pulled the rug out from under me (us) with its abrupt cancellation, but for me there's no comparison between that show and this one. In my mind, Carnivale was a show with biblical overtones in that there was the perception of demonic and angelic forces at work, but I always perceived it to be a pretty basic good vs. evil story at heart.

JFC is shaping up (again, in my mind) to be a true biblical allegory and it's fascinating to try to put it all together. I love that I have no idea what's going to happen next. The more I watch this show, the more I regret not ever watching Deadwood, if only because the world of Milch is such an interesting and oddly wonderful place to be.

One thing in defense of this show: the plot IS moving forward. It may not be moving forward in the most completely rational or easily to understand way, but a lot of ground has been covered about these relationships.

Someone asked about Butchie/Bill upthread: When Bill first arrested Butchie, Lois reminded him that Butchie helped her with groceries so he went easy on him. That was the foundation of the Yost/Bill relationship.

However, Mitch is still annoying the hell out of me.

Holy F!ing Sh*t! That was fantastic. More to follow after I watch it a couple times more.

Okay, so the Bible's got a lot of boring parts too, what with all the "begat"s and family trees. So I suppose an entire episode of a show that mainly depicts a bunch of people wandering around looking for other people could have larger meaning, too.

But, come on, we get it! They're disciples. Okay. All very different and very peculiar folks, despite the fact that they all talk the same. (A mix of "Deadwood" Shakespeare, "NYPD Blue" tough-guyisms and SoCal blather.) And they've either found Jesus or are waiting for Godot. (Or maybe, as in "Lost," we don't find out until season 7.)

Still, I have to say I'm liking this show. Why? I don't know Butchie, instead. Maybe because the best line I've heard on any TV show this year is "I'm here on orders from my bird."

I'm still trying to figure out how John was able to use Vietnam Joe to heal himself that way. Was I the only one half expecting John to do a Carnevale and kill/drain Joe to heal himself? Did Joe just seem to be a little crazier afterwards?

Bill, first speaking to Zippy talked about how he came to be involved with the Yosts. It seems that at age 10 Butchie used to help Bill’s wife Lois with her groceries (so they live on the same street). Years later Bill came home and told Lois about a kid he collared or otherwise came into “professional contact” (I wasn't really clear on the specifics) and she said, “I wonder if that’s the same sweet Yost boy that used to help me with my groceries?” This prompted Bill to cut Butchie some slack and befriend the family.

But after that narration/bird conversation, it seemed like Bill was speaking directly to Lois, when he said something like, “children or no, you were the joy of my life”.

Bill is my favorite character. It appears he communicates on many levels, with Zippy and with Lois. Never having seen another Milch project, it did take me a rewind to figure out what the conversation between Bill and Freddy was about though, the dialogue is unique to me.

I am going to have to put captions on during a second viewing to understand all of that, but thanks Cosmocrush. I don't understand why Cass had the vision either; she's so blank, but maybe that's why she's a good receiver. And were we supposed to understand "Cass needs a place to work"? What was she going to do in the chaired-off section of the room with all those towels? Clean John up?

I did mean Cass - I'm confused but not that confused. Thanks for the correction.

This show makes my brain hurt.
Why can't I stop watching it?!

I think you meant "Cass" because isn't Cissy the grandmother? Anyway, John knew that Cass needed a place to work before she actually got fired. The vision brought her to the hotel to pick John up, but what her role is, well I have no idea.

I was wondering that very thing, actually. There were a LOT of towels in the scene, so I wonder if this was a penitential "cleansing of the feet" so to speak. Or perhaps a baptism (as I'm still operating under the assumption that JFC might be John the Baptist. Definitely a prophet, no?). The last shot of Cass in that scene is of her knealing, so...it could be either. Or neither. As I said earlier, I'm going to watch it again because I feel like there was just so much going on metaphorically, or maybe it's all starting to make some weird sort of sense? I dunno. I officially love it, though.

Until last week's episode I wasnt a fan of the show, yet I watched. I havent seen anything else Milch's done, so it is taking me some time to catch up. Was Deadwood this hard to follow?

This week knocked me into full fan mode though. Vietnam Joe (reminiscing about leaving a fellow soldier behind in Nam), Palaka, Sad-Eyed Doctor, Freddie, the body language between Butchia & Kai at Bill's house, And Bill! Bill! Bill!

Who knocks on a door and says their own name? *knock knock knock* "Bill Jacks!" HA! Who does that? ME, from now on, thats who, baby!

"We got a position for a house physician?"
"Was this playin the first time I threw up on you?"
"I better have a good health plan"
"That is senseless and offensive"
"I got a lizard changes shapes" "Chameleons they call 'em"
"Here on orders from my bird"
"He conveyed - I never said he spoke"

No idea what the hell was up with the towels and Cass "working" on one side of the room. What kind of work does she have to do?

Say-Eyed Doctor. "Catalogue?" "Uh... Cadillac?, Well, sometimes..." Aside from Bill & Freddie, he is a favorite of mine. I find it very interesting that everyone refers to him as "physician". Who calls their doctor that anymore?

Bill has no inner thoughts. Everything is external.

I enjoyed this episode the most out of any so far... could it be because of the lack of Mitch and Cissy? I say yes.

I think the reason that Cass had her vision was connected to what was going on at the same time between John amd Vietnam Joe, when John makes Joe pull over, places Joe's hand on his wounds, and tells him "you can help." I think that both Joe and Cass have something dark in their past that has made them think they were "bad" or unworthy, and John has just lifted that off both of them. (Just like Cass "seeing God" affected several others). For Joe, this past burden is his Vietnam experience of leaving a man behind, which has him trapped in an emotional loop that has given him a hardened image and the need to "roll a fattie" from time to time and drink at the VFW hall. For Cass, it seems like it might be something that Linc knows about and emotionally exploits to manipulate her (place your bets on how many episodes before THAT mystery gets solved. I'm going with one!). Whatever it was, it sure wasn't as heavy as Vietnam Joe's trauma, which is why "tomorrow is another day" for him to get his head around what is happening.

Interesting that the piss-ant devil Linc's main tactics are flattery and trying to mind-fuck everyone and make them feel like "losers" or "hanger-ons." Loved how the "physician" introduced himself as Micheal Smith (not doctor--those days are over--now he really is a PHYSICIAN, in the spiritual meaning of the word) and as posted so well upthread, became Archangel Michael, confronting and putting Linc in his place. Loved his "blood in the water" snark-down on him. Linc is the ultimate wanna-be, and a coward to boot, laying his mean spirited bummer out on Cass through a closed door.

caroma--the duct tape and bubble wrap on Bill's spiral staircase has been there since episode one, but Butchie's gestures to Kai are what made me wonder--especially when he draws his hand across his neck like someone's throat was cut--Lois? Did Bill bash his head against the staircase in his grief? Did Bill try to kill himself? When Bill "talks" to Lois, he looks up the staircase--is that to heaven, or to the place where she died that he is scared to go?

sacoha--my take on "Cass needs a job" is two-fold--that John knew that Linc had fired her, and that she was also going to have some job amidst the "apostles." That might involve a big stack of towels.

I was spooked out by the first image, of John by the radio array the "elephant cage"--medium distance away, up close, and then quite far away, each in a blink, as if he could project himself though space and time. I'm obsessed with that thing though.

Another edit that struck me is that when Kai and Butchie are walking on the pier, there's a shot of a seagull above, then Butchie says that this is where John first asked him what he wanted, and Kai says "should we put up a plaque?" The Holy Spirit is usually represented as a bird, and this show has certainly got a flock of them. The Holy Spirit is the strangest part of the Holy Trinity--the energy that manifests the will and "gifts" of God but is still distinct and transcendent from the "Father" and "Son." I consider Zippy to not so much be a miracle bird, but a point of manifestation of that energy. I suspect that the "Apostles" will start showing even more of "the gifts of the spirit," which include healing, resurrection, distiguishing of spirits (like the one in room 24), prophecy, the ability to withstand the mortifications of the flesh (even when their pussies feel like they've been in a George Forman grill), and speaking in tongues. (Oh, that's right--it's a Milch show, so there's plenty of speaking in tongues from the get go! Another gift of the spirit is "interpretation of tongues"--which is where this TWOP forum comes in, fellow disciples!)

I "liked" Mitch better when he was a bitter, grumbling Narcissist over his newly-laid, self-important "years of spiritual discipline" pompous New Age windbag! Loved when Cass kicked him out so that she could move John in--and when John "parted like the Red Sea" to let him!

"Bill is not Freddy's first Bill. Freddy is not Bill's first Freddy." So, Bill is serving up coffee and donuts to Freddy because he was dispatched by his bird, but is "the Hawaiian" in Imperial Beach "on his own dime" on orders from his shape shifting lizard? More than a chameleon changed their colors in this episode! And hopefully a couple few more tv viewing disciples...

Linc is staying in hotel room 231.

Snug Harbor hotel's room 24 is haunted.

2+3+1 = 6
2+4 = 6

6 6 6 (the 3rd six is yet to be revealed)

discuss.

Michael Smith anagrams to "A Milch Theism", "Him! Alchemist!", "Mimics Health" and "Milch Atheism", hmmm...

And "Physician Michael Smith" anagrams to "A Physic in a Milch Theism"

And the promo site johnmonad.com returns hits for the search term "anagram" suggesting Milch is up to a little letter-play in naming characters.

One more anagram: Mitchell Yost = "Milch, Yet Lost"

I assumed Lois died because she banged her head against the staircase. Didn't Butchie sign/mouth that to Kai? "Wife, dead?"

I really hate Mitch and his 'spiritual enlightenment'. Shut up, Mitch. You're a total dick. His reactions to Shaunie's almost death and resurrection were completely selfish as was his returning to Cissy after banging Cassie. How stupid is Cissy to put up with his bullshit?

I am so in love with Garret Dillahunt, Ed O'Neill and Dayton Callie, any scene with them is great! I'm not feeling this like I did Deadwood yet, because I'm missing an emotional connection. So far only Bill and the Doc have moved me in some way. But there is a lot of possibility. I think I could really get to love Kai and Butchie.

But mainly I watch because it makes me laugh. "You have an erection....Jesus Christ."

I am certainly getting the Deadwood vibe on this show. Not just because we are up to another Deadwoodian introduced in the show (the guy who played Hugo Jarry) but because of the tenacious dialogue. I guess this is the HBO ensemble cast.

I am starting to like this show...

I have known from other stuff that Ed O'Neill is more than Al Bundy, but heck, he's kicking some ass and taking some names with his monologues. I could watch just for his scenes alone, and then? With Callie? Oh, me.

I wonder if they sound-effected the squawk of delight when Bill produced and presented an apple for Zippy. Nice bit of non-dialogue business.

"You have hardware in your box?" Hee. That's good writing, right there.

Of all the stilted language, I was most pleased by the use of 'poultice.' Seriously -- poultice?

I liked this show a lot better this week. But it still just makes me miss Deadwood so much. The dialogue is too much too soon.

The thing I find frustrating is that this show could so easily be soooo good. But the second coming is really boring without compeling characters and some form of actual conflict. The levels of acceptance of the miracles that keep happening is believeable with the characters. But not really all that interesting. Right now its just a lot of weird shit happening. And a bunch of people just roaming around reacting with varying levels of bewilerment. Which, may be what Milch is going for. But he is still trying to tell a story!

SOmeone suggested that what he is going for might be Miltonesque. which, I think sounds about right. But Milton made the same mistake. The Devil came off interesting. God came off dull. From all accounts not what he intended. Because characters with no real conflict are not compeling.

I liked Butchie a lot. The guy who just never grew up is a tired role but he makes it work. I love Bill and Vietnam Joe.

I like that you can see Cissy when she was younger. This beautiful blonde beach babe who has the best guy in town. And then life just keeps pushing her down. Mitch gets hurt, Butchie becomes an addict, care of his son falls to her etc. The undercurrent of loving and resenting her family is great.I find her shrillness incredibly believeable. But in the end... its still shrill. At least, she is the only one who seems to be really honestly affected by Shaunie's "death" on a personal level. She is the only one who seems to get that she lost someone she loves. And she can't process the miracle part, yet.

Mitch is so self-involved, its unbearable.

Any more complaints about Kai?

No?

Good..


I really can't pinpoint what I like about this show, I just know I can't look away. My heart, she breaks a little bit every time Bill talks to Lois. I thought Butchie was telling Kai that she fall and broke her neck.


What was Barry the Fairy talking about with the "partnership?"

So, I have to watch again because I feel like I missed a lot in this episode (like what was Butchie trying to convey about Bill's wife and the bubble-wrapped staircase?). But first and really quickly, I had some observations.

I think Cass had the vision this episode because she was the one in the most distress. She so obviously didn't want anything to do with Mitch, she looked positively sick through all their scenes together, and she kept running away when she could. Whatever Linc was holding over her was the only reason she kept going back. But she was dragging her feet all the way. (And who could blame her? Mitch is a self-centered, self-important, delusional ass. He's the true evil in this show. At least Linc knows he's doing wrong. Mitch is so involved in himself he doesn't have a clue how he's affecting others, and he doesn't even see that Cass is so not into him. Ass.) John solved her emotional crisis for her, and it seems has a job for her. Finally making her documentary that she kept trying to remind Linc about? How that would help anyone, or how it involves that many towels, I haven't worked out yet.

Also, I love the physician! And it was interesting that he kept trying so hard to make contact with Butchie this episode. And not with Shaunie. He even at one point explained rather guiltily that he would be going to see Shaun at some point, but he kept trying to find Butchie. Maybe that's just because he needed to be at the hotel to see the second miracle of healing. But I thought it very telling that he didn't make more of an effort to see Shaun, and instead wanted to check up on Butchie. About his implants? He didn't seem so interested in helping Freddie's henchman with his wrist. Why be interested in the burning implants more than that?

And along with that, the disciples, including the physician, gathered at the hotel again. Last week I was thinking Shaunie was the important Yost, but I'm back to Butchie this week. Why would they all gather at the hotel, if it wasn't for Butchie? Who, by the way, was freaking adorable in this episode. I loved his cuteness with Kai, every little moment of it. I really hope he manages to stay straight, that John's presence and Freddie's vigilance will keep him off the smack.

Speaking of Linc, I was never a fan of Luke Perry's, but I thought he did a great job showing his internal conflict/feelings of guilt with just his facial expressions.

I think its cool whenever an actor can show me how their character feels, without saying a word.

The shot with John gazing at the big naval antenna array got me thinking that John is a conduit of sorts. He hasn't done much of anything himself, but has given others visions, and the ability to heal, and...if I think too hard about this show, my head's gonna start smoking.

Regarding the Doc and possible biblical connections: Luke was a PHYSICIAN (that is always the term used) and traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. He was known for his precise accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus (Luke) and the Apostles' initial efforts to spread the gospel (Acts). Meaningful? Who knows at this point...

Regarding the staircase: when Butchie drew his hand across his neck, I saw it as a warning to Kai to "cut it", not mention the tape, touchy subject, etc. Perhaps what he was saying was captioned? Will check on the rewatch.

So much to take in this week.

When John first met Shaun at the motel, he did this huge spin before both of them started making circular motions with their feet. I assumed it was something to do with surfing and footwork on the board, but now I'm not so sure. When John was with Dr. Smith, he did the exact same spin, and Dr. Smith repeated it himself. Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but everything seems to happen for a reason on this show and every time John does that weird spin move, something important happens. I just can't figure out what in this case!

My reading: Lois fell down the stairs, hitting her head on every step down. What was unclear was whether she broke her neck or Butchie was just using the universal symbol for dead. Either way, OUCH. Assuming she broke her neck, it's no wonder Bill flipped when the same thing happened to Shaun, and is so freaked out by the Yosts because Shaunie came back to life and Lois remains dead. Or was reincarnated in the form of his bird; that part was also unclear. Maybe Lois is pulling the strings from up high and sent John as an angel to put back together the people she loves and who've fallen so far from grace?

ETA:



Not captioned. I watched the episode twice, once with captioning and once without, and it took a couple rewinds to read Butchie's lips. We'll have to rely his body language, which means it will remain open to interpretation.



I've decided Cissy is a saint, a real life saint, for putting up with Mitch all these years. It was unreal that literally every sentence that came out of his mouth was about himself. He's actually turning into comic relief, not that we really need any with Bill Jacks on board, because there's no other way I can process someone so entirely self-centered.



Maybe he's waiting for some great miracle to befall Butchie too? Shaun had his miracle, but he's healed and moved on. As the son caught between Mitch (the surfing god) and Shaun (the literal ghost because he died and came back to life), Smith is recognizing that something miraculous is awaiting Butchie? I'm very intrigued by his name too -- Smith is so common, so plain, but Michael implies greatness.

This show officially clicked into place for me last night and I love it. From my vantage point, I see an array of characters who feel painfully isolated for a variety of wounded-type reasons. And John has come to help them see how their spiritual interconnectedness can bring them together and heal them. Whether it’s Shaunie and Zippy, Zippy and Shaunie or Vietnam Joe and John, it’s the reaching out and touching that brings the healing. It’s also telling that John couldn’t or didn’t heal himself. He’s showing them they can’t do it alone, and I love how Zippy’s orders to Bill to befriend a drug dealer echo this.

Meanwhile, Mitch has been trying to do it all on his own. And despite his knowing the vocab (chakras) and having all the props (apothecary and meditation room) and a strict spiritual discipline - heck even levitating, he’s still a miserable mess because he chooses not to reach out and connect with people in a loving way. (I’m thinking adultery with the girl half your age doesn’t quite count.) I’m also guessing that his mention to Cass of how the chakras generate heated energy explains what caused the metal to burn in people’s various chakra points (from the base of Kai’s torso to the top of Butchie’s head).

Then, the choice to use “In Your Eyes” sealed it for me. The lyrics “the light the heat” and “I see the doorway to a thousand churches” and “the resolution of all the fruitless searches.” Eyes are the window the soul? Seeing all this by looking into someone else’s eyes plays into this idea of interconnectedness and the need to connect in order to heal themselves and each other. It even ties in the heat aspect.

It should be interesting to see if Shaunie’s porn mama forces them to form a united front and how that works out.

Having the broken wristed, duct-taped henchman use the Paulie Walnuts tanning method? Priceless.

P.S. I fully appreciate seeing the Deadwood alum here, as well as the newbies. What a great cast. Go Dillahunt!

Abrogato Dickstein was doing the same toe circle/drag thingy at the Motel before Ms. Shaunie showed up...

On the re-watch it was pretty clear to me that what Butchi was mouthing to Kai was "Wife died" and then he pointed upstairs. I think what he was trying to convey was that Bill's wife died upstairs (possibly a suicide since she couldn't have kids?) It makes sense in that case that when Bill talks to Lois he looks up the stairs. As for the bubble wrap and duct tape, well, if you've ever lived in a house with a spiral staircase in the middle of the room, you will have bumped into it a number of times and it HURTS! I've got a shelf in my kitchen I've clocked myself on a couple of times and I have the very same bubble-wrap-and-duct-tape setup. Weird, I know, but it helps soften the blow.

Can't see Zippy as Lois' reincarnation -- He's a boy, after all.

Loved Butchie and Kai together, even though it seems to me that she's been in love with him for a long time and I see heartbreak in her future. Also loved his line to the effect of "All my ladies set off airport security or they don't remain my ladies for long" !! That and the "compact metal detector" in his tongue. Excuse me, is it getting hot in here or what?

Can NOT figure out why Linc would wash dishes and dust. Nor can I figure out why everyone seems to be just walking right into the Yost house when they're being staked out by the media. Everyone except Mitch, that is, who was right to think he couldn't just sashay back in to his own house without Cissy's say-so.

Actually, I can't figure out Linc at all. He's obviously got a secret evil plan, but for the life of me I can't figure out what it is. It seems to involve exploiting Shaun, but I can't see how or why it involves bringing Cass in to sleep with Mitch -- which she obviously didn't feel good about.

Was John looking slightly sinister in this ep? And why why why won't Butchie or John take a shower? Southern California is NOT Deadwood. They have showers and indoor plumbing. Use it, for heaven's sake!

I sort of can see where Zippy was coming from ordering Bill to befriend the 'Hawaiians', it seems like Bill fits into that crowd of Yost watchers/guards.

They really do an amazing job of showing how scary god and biblical story lines are (fear of god...), oddly I'm always scared when John is around but not Linc who is clearly the evil one of the two.

Well, one tends not to fear the familiar.....

Regarding Bill's stairs, from HBO's "inside the Episode blog:

"During pre-production for the series, when Milch first saw the finished set for the interior of Bill's house, he was openly displeased about the spiral staircase in the living room. It was too big, he said, too centrally located. Within minutes he'd nearly cracked his skull on it. But rather than have the team remove it, he rolled it into the story. Thus Bill's open anxiety about the thing, and his ongoing comic effort to protect his noggin by taping bubble-wrap to the steps. And thus also Milch's decision to have it serve as a constant reminder to Bill about the loss of his wife. Not to give anything away, but the significance of the staircase, and where it leads, will grow as the season progresses."

It seems fitting that Garret, a former Jesus himself, would be seeking a messiah here.

Cass's job, as I understand it, was to lure Mitch away from the family so he (Linc) could work on Cissy to let him sign Shaun.

Oooh, I've gotta start reading that blog. Seems it will be very helpful for this show.

Yes, this episode is when it really clicked for me. And I feel a little better about Cissy now that I remember she's reacting much as I would to the trauma of "losing" your grandson and having hubby run off overnight, knowing it might be with some bimbo.

While I don't like Cass (Linc goes without saying), it's a tribute to the actress and the writers that I'm starting to feel bad for her.

Mitch is an empty vessel full of platitudes right now, true, but I guess John is trying to reach him too with the simplest and most direct method, "Hey, dude, you're levitating ferchrissakes!"

The foot circles are not really just circles. If you watch ep1 again, you can see that John and Sean are spelling "OK" with their feet after Sean says "How's it going?".

Also, I thought the scene when John is picked up by the gang members was awesome. John is so trusting and not afraid. He mimics their slang and his responses to their questsions made me laugh so hard; kinda like when Steady Freddy asked John if he "wanted some" in ep2 and John replied with a smile "I want some!".

I loved that scene when the bad van guys picked him up, too. It's interesting when John serves as a mirror, like with Bill, Freddy and the guy who knifed him. The characters don't like what they see when John directly reflects/mimics their negative/threatening actions.

Maybe John was telling Mitch to get back in the game because Mitch needs to rejoin the human race and quit holding himself as being above everyone and everything. I don't know Butchie instead.

Untangling Milch's language is really a joy. It's so strange yet awesome to hear it in a modern-day show. There was some of it during NYPD Blue, but nothing like what's in this surfing, biblical-esque, weirdos, outsider ensemble. I love it. I had to watch the first three eps twice, but now I'm on the road of love for this crazy mess of a show. There's always such a dirty sweetness to Milch's style. More later.

Yes, I did too. He's the last person on earth who needed another reason to consider himself "special." His ego already has its own zip code. I had my suspicions before, but now I have no doubt that he specializes in serial infidelity.

attica finch, you mentioned the word "poultice." I had to laugh at that, too. I think the last time I heard that used on television was in an episode of Little House on the Prairie.

Thus far, we've seen the characters learn they can reach out and heal one another - not wait for the second coming.

John is still mind-reading: he read Vietnam Joe's mind about the guy he thinks he left behind in Vietnam.

I rewound my recording over and over again to figure out what Butchie was saying to Kai by Bill's spiral staircase. He definitely says "His wife," as he is gesturing up the stairs, because you can hear him say it a little with the volume cranked way up. The other thing I think he says is "dead," as he bounces his hand down the stairs.

Butchie seems to radiate sweetness and innocence the way Shawn does, even though he's anything but innocent. It's a nice father/son touch.

This was at the end of the "Inside the Episode Blog" from HBO:

Great catch! And it's kind of fitting that John gives a non-verbal response to Shaun, who is a young man of few words.

Oh, awesome! Thank you! Going back to rewatch, again. Also wondering how John, who's only been able (for the most part) to repeat words he's already heard, is able to use his feet to spell without being taught.