Really? So it's just his mind giving him cues as to what to change to next? Not sure I buy that.

Where do you get that?

He can change into anything that's not too complex and he needs an example around to understand better how to change into it. He saw the fly, and turned into one himself.

Me too. I liked him and was sorry to see him go.
Another vote for Sookie and Eric.

I get that there was a random fly at the jail and Slow Sam, a nice guy but not too bright, finally got the idea to escape by shifting after seeing the fly. Thinking back, I had the scenes out of order in my head and I thought the fly was something other than Sam...or a regular fly.

And by the way, he can turn into pretty complex things, a Dog, an Owl, a Fly, and etc... so I don't know where you got that he can only do simple things.

I don't think it's that he didn't think of it sooner, but that it has to be the last animal he sees. If the last animal he saw before being locked up was the dog, then that wouldn't help him much. So, the fly didn't give him the idea, rather it gave him the ability to shift.

I think he can turn into anything he wants not just the last animal he's seen. Do you think he saw a dog everytime he's turned into a dog? No, he just likes being a dog. IMO he turned into the owl and fly after seeing them because he just got the idea.

Yes. That's why he keeps a painting of the dog in his office. You honestly think that when he saw the owl and kept staring at it, just before shifting, that he just got the idea to turn into an owl? You don't think he would have thought to fly away much sooner, and why not any old bird? And it never crossed his mind to turn into something small to escape the jail, until he saw a fly?

I also got the impression that shape shifters can turn into any animal they want. Daphne pretty much said so

Sam explains this issue completely in a season 1 episode (I think the one where he finally tells Sookie what he is).

If someone with the DVDs could check it would help, but I believe he said he either needs to be in the vicinity of the animal he wants to shift to or has to be familiar with the form. This is why he usually becomes the dog. He already knows how to be a dog.

The fly being close to him allowed him to channel the fly and shift into it.


Oh to be a fly on the wall.... LOL, I would have shifted into one long before that! So many things you could see

Sam does explain it at length in season 1 when discussing with Sookie. He can replicate pretty much anything but finds a dog the easiest. The complex piece comes from Sam saying that humans are too complex when asked by Sookie if he can shapeshift into one.

He does have to keep the animal/object in proximity during shift. That's why he keeps the pet dog as it is both a convenient alibi and shift object.

As for why he didn't escape sooner, well, escaping from prison isn't looked upon favorably. Obviously he is somewhat "safe" while being locked up. There was little evidence to lock him up on so he was just basically, and frustratingly, waiting for due process. That changed when Maryanne showed up and normal caution has to go out the window.

Yes!

The thing that puzzles me about the fly, is why would he just sit on the table where someone could swat him. Why not stay on the ceiling, or somewhere relatively safe?

Regarding Godric, I didn't feel all that bad when he killed himself. He just wasn't around long enough for me to really warm up to the character. I thought he was an interesting character, but it just seemed too brief a role for me to feel any great emotion over his death.

Stephen Moyer (Bill)!

Huh?

Um, from Sam himself - those were his exact words. Go back to season 1 where he's explaining his abilities to Sookie - that's where he said it. He meant "simple", as in not being able to turn into other humans, because humans are too complex.

Um...To me, animals are not simple. Come to think of it, how are Humans more complex than animals?? Can a human fly? Breath in water? Smell blood from miles away? See in the dark?

Perhaps he should have said, "I can turn into just about any animal". As mentioned, Daphne said they pretty much could do whatever they wanted as far as shifting to animals.

Naaah, Sam didn't give a shit about due process. He's a nice guy, but he's a bit of a Dope and a bit of a Coward. Maryann, pointed that out a few eps ago.

I mean why didn't he confirm the Drunk Sheriff's Orgy/Sacrifice story when he had the chance BEFORE he got arrested??

Speaking of this, I don't get....how people, like the town's Law Enforcement, can live in a world where Vampires are living in the open can still doubt a story just because it's a little strange. It would seem anything is possible at this point....

It's probably the face.

Dude, I'm just repeating his reasons. If your gonna nit-pick and shit on that, you may as well make fun of the show for having vampires.

lol vampires

You said:

I was just pointing out that animals are not simple. And hey, if we can discuss things like what burns faster, Old Vamps or Young Vamps then I think a little discussion about Sam's ability is prooooobably ok.

Fixed.

And it makes as little sense to me as it does to you, but it's part of the rules they gave his powers, and it's not going to make mores sense if you tear it apart. I mean, if a little sunlight can kill Godric, why not the moonlight which is just a reflection of sunlight? If you can overlook that, I think it's pretty a reasonable concession to accept that small animals are less complex than humans (I recall that it had more to do with size than anything else).

I think the thing is that Sam is just not very skilled at using his shape-shifting abilities. I was kind of hoping when he met another shape-shifter, he would have learned more about how to use his abilities but they killed off that other girl before they could really explore what he could do.

I also like the explanation that Sam just isn't that smart to begin with.

I think he's skilled I just don't think he likes doing it. I believe he's a self-hating shape-shifter. Once he found out there was another one is when he started to let loose and run free. Too bad about Daphne. I never understood her coming into Bon Temps, being a shape-shifter and being under Maryann's spell. Did Maryann 'make' her come to Bon Temps? Was she even a real shape-shifter?

Good observation on Moonlight.

I agree that these are the rules they set up. But I don't have to like them.

I believe Maryann brought her specifically to get close to Sam where she couldn't.