Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse books, has a cameo in this episode. She plays the woman in the bar. Her line is "Well, I certainly never expected anything like that to happen here."
The tee shirt Terry Bellefleur wears in Merlotte's near the end of the show says: "WARNING: Beaucoup Dien Cai Dau: I suffer from occasional loss of mental stability and become very violent with only slight provocation. The Veterans Administration has determined that both mental and physical harassment of my person may be hazardous to your health and well being. So stay the hell out of my face. Thank you." Pronounced "boo-coo din-key-dow", "Beaucoup" is French for "very much", and "Dien Cai Dau" is a Vietnamese saying that is the equivalent of "crazy as a kicking rooster", much like the American expression "mad as a wet hen". It is common jargon adopted by the US soldiers during the Vietnam War, and is still used to some extent by some in the armed forces to this day, just like "Gung-ho" became common USMC jargon after WWII. So it is likely Terry Bellefleur became familiar with the phrase as an Iraqi War veteran with self-acknowledged PTSD.
Every episode is named after the song that plays during the end credits. "Beyond Here, Lies Nothin'" is by Bob Dylan
The handwritten note in the card that accompanied Sookie Stackhouse's (Anna Paquin) gift from Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) toward the end of this episode: "I've owed you an evening out for some time now. I would very much like for you to wear this tonight. Bill"
The maenad character in the book does not die.