(S02E12) "You may be the strongest, oldest vampire in my queendom, but if I wanted, I could own your fangs as earrings." - The Vampire Queen to Eric

We've come to the end of season two of True Blood, and I'm glad to see the Maryann storyline end (this is no spoiler; Alan Ball talked about it in my interview with him; and yes, Michelle Forbes is a fantastic actress). On the other hand, I'm sad to see True Blood ending and will wait impatiently for season three to start.

But this finale brought an end to a few storylines and set things up nicely for new ones in season three. After the jump, the episode review and your comments. Don't click through if you haven't watched the episode yet!

(S02E11) "I am gonna kick that bitch's evil ass out of my gran's house, and then you are gonna shoot her." Sookie to Lafayette, about Maryann

Well, they didn't make us wait, and picked up with True Blood right where we left off last week, with Bill walking in on the vampire queen, played deliciously by Evan Rachel Wood. And ... is the vampire queen a lesbian? There were certainly some sexual overtones with her sucking blood out of the girl's leg, and then later saying, "I haven't enjoyed sex with men since the Eisenhower administration." Then again, she did ask Bill if he wanted to have sex, and he politely declined. He also declined her suggestion that he feed on the girl.

"What gives you the right to say no to the femoral blood of a good woman?" she asks. "You know what your problem is, William? You're a snob. Tiny, tiny souls. Or penises. Or both."

(S02E10) "Jesus and I agreed to see other people, but that doesn't mean we don't still talk from time to time." - Lafayette to Tara's mom, praying over a spellbound Tara

I'm as hooked on Eric as the next girl, but I must admit, I felt a little protective of Bill during that opening scene. Sookie comforting Eric and kissing his blood-tear-stained face over the loss of Godric was sweet, but emotional. If and when that day comes, I'm not sure who I'll be rooting for: Eric or Bill. It would definitely be a tough choice for Sookie.

(S02E09) "I don't know what you is, but I'm feelin' you, and you a soulless bitch." - Lafayette to Maryann

After so many slam-dunk episodes of True Blood in a row, this one kind of leveled off a little. Still a great episode, just not super-great. But ... there were a few super-great scenes. We'll talk about those after the jump, so those who wish to remain spoiler-free don't yell at me ...

(S02E08) "It grew back." - Jessica to Hoyt

You know, I never really thought about it, but Jessica is in a really interesting situation. She was a virgin when she was turned, so of course, each new time she makes love, it's going to "heal up," and she'll have to start from scratch, so to speak. What an awful predicament!

It's not so bad for Hoyt, who seems happy that "every time will be like our first time." Not so for Jessica, who says, "But it'll hurt like hell. I'm a fucking deformity of nature. I'm gonna be a virgin forever."

(S02E07) "Feeling sorry for things is just an excuse not to celebrate your own happiness." - Maryann

Ok, I take back my earlier comment about trying to reconcile the fact that Maryann isn't a villain. She IS a villain, and just because SHE doesn't think she's a villain doesn't make it all ok. So there. Her actions are causing other people to forget what's transpired, do bad things, and break peoples' arms. That's just not right, Maryann. Just not right.

(S02E06) "In person, she looks like vanilla pudding." - Sookie to Hugo, describing Sarah Newlin

Disturbing. Sexy. Gross. Creepy. Mysterious. Musical. Scary. Funny. How a show can pack so much into one hour is beyond me. We'll start with the amazing Alan Ball and work our way down through the actors, writers, and the rest of the crew. I'm sure even craft services has a spread of delicious food for these folks every day.

I fell in love with season one of True Blood, and each episode of season two keeps raising the bar higher and higher. This was the best one yet, with plenty of new drama, mystery and, yes, disturbing stuff.

(S02E05) "There's enough people in my brain already. You're on your own." - Barry to Sookie, who says she can teach him how to control his telepathy

So ... some of our beloved True Blood characters are finding new cohorts just like them. We now know that Daphne is a shapeshifter, which is causing her and Sam to grow even that much closer (and those two are pretty hot together!). I'm not sure I totally trust her, though maybe she'll help Sam to feel better about his lot in life. She seems to have no issues with her abilities, and it was sexy hearing their foreplay talk about how they feel right before they shift.

(S02E04) "Evil is making the pre-medicated choice to be a dick." - Jason

TV Squad has THE smartest readers on the Web. I'm even more sure of that after reading the comments about last week's episode, "Scratches."

Nancy said Maryann appears to be a Circe, and Crystal backed her up, noting, "Most notably, Circe turned Odysseus' crew into swine, but she had the power to concoct potions and cast spells to turn humans into any animal, which we saw when she forced Sam to shape shift against his will. Inviting her victims to a sumptuous feast to dispense her "Circean poison" is her classic trap."

There's no doubt that's exactly what happened in last night's episode, with Tara's birthday feast, culminating in Maryann doing her shaky thing that caused everyone to act like animals, whether they were smearing food all over themselves or having mad sex. Perhaps Eggs impregnated Tara with ... something ... ? Maybe that's why he's called "Eggs." And what was up with Maryann clawing the earth, then having her hands grow those three long fingers? Is that a characteristic of a Circe?

(S02E03) "He can do it. I'm wearin' my favorite pumps." - Pam to Eric, when he asked her and Chow to go troll the woods for the bull-creature

I could hear Lou Grant in my head during this episode of True Blood, saying "Sookie, you've got spunk." Only instead of hating Sookie's spunk, I'm loving it. I'd like to have just half the spunk Sookie's got. Last season, she not only buried her grandma and cleaned up all that blood in her kitchen, but she has no problem getting out of a car after fighting with Bill and stomping off into the night, knowing there are weird creatures out there. Ok, maybe not the smartest move on her part, but it did lead to good results for Lafayette.

Those were some serious scratches Sookie had after the bull creature attacked her. I hope True Blood gets an Emmy nod for makeup, because they really do a good job with the blood and guts, not to mention mouth-foaming on Sookie's part in this episode.

(S02E01) "I think I've seen enough dead bodies to last me a lifetime." - Sookie to Sam

Have I mentioned how excited I am to have True Blood back? Yeah, I think so. At least 43 times around the Web. And tonight's season two premiere did not disappoint. It was everything Stephen Moyer said it would be when I talked to him last week -- dark, sexy, mysterious and bloody good.

For those of you who need time to catch up with your Tivo, I'll keep this front part unspoiled. But I won't be giving anything away by saying that they tied seasons one and two together very nicely. Some of the questions we had from season one are answered. Some are not.