Friday Night Lights S3E3: How the Other Half Lives

* why hast thou forsaken me?

I’ve given up hope for any mention of Santiago. I haven’t given up hope for mention of Street, but I’m still irritated that it hasn’t happened yet. That being said, this episode brought some good ol’ friction back into Dillon, TX.

When Katie McCoy sweet-talks Tami into letting her host the annual Panthers BBQ, Tami is delighted to have it off her plate while Eric is livid, believing this to be a maneuver to increase J.D.’s standing. And sure enough, during the BBQ Eric gets cornered by Buddy and Mr. McCoy. At home that night, Eric snarls that he misses the coach’s wife, to which Tami retorts that she can’t wait to meet the principal’s husband.

When Smash realizes his mom is working two jobs just to stay afloat – and then is offered a substantial promotion at the Alamo Freeze – he ponders whether or not to accept. While I understand why Mama Smash would want her boy to go to college instead of straight into the workforce, I’m still bothered by the message that the practical path is somehow lesser. I guess it’s a plot contrivance to keep Smash around, but this is three episodes in a row, shoving it down our throats.

When Billy gets embroiled in a scheme to steal copper wiring from a recently closed plant, Riggins allows himself to be dragged along too. Nothing new here, except a nice side scene of the friction between the Garritys and the Collettes. Lyla is quite funny this season, which is whole new side of her. First the pigeon comment, and now the Finding Nemo thing. Hilarious!

When J.D. overhears Matt & Julie making fun of him during the BBQ, we catch a rare glimpse into the character, which thus far has been underdeveloped. Perhaps, like Eric, J.D. doesn’t believe all the hype about himself. This would be interesting, and would mean that the immaturity of J.D.’s character is not about poor writing or acting, but about the fact that he’s kind of a ghost in his own life, dragged along by his physical abilities and parental pressure.

At the Arnett Mead game, Matt is feeling the pressure, worried that if the Panthers don’t win he will be benched. And naturally, he fumbles the final play. Poor Matty.

Friday Night Lights S3E2: Tami Knows Best

Perhaps I’m missing something, but it is remarkably difficult to find episodic FNL promo photos online. Even today, the NBC site only has photos from S3E1.

I know it has only been two episodes, but I’m a mite disappointed so far. The Matt-Julie thing has been done. Why bother with it again? I don’t get Riggins-Lyla, and I have a horrible feeling we’re going to see the “you’re trying to change me” fight more than once. Tyra is kind of lame this season, while Landry is simply an afterthought. And still no mention of Santiago, who had become one of my favorite characters. And a pretty major one, seeing that his main purpose was to allow Buddy’s redemption. During the scene in which Lyla and Buddy eat dinner, it was pretty clear that Santiago is no longer in the picture – but why not at least a brief mention of what happened to him? Same with Street. Second season ended – literally ended, as in it was the final scene – with Street telling the waitress that they should have the baby. Didn’t it? Or, even if it wasn’t the final scene, it was a pretty fucking big part of the finale. And now, it’s like it never happened. What do you think? Is FNL still as good as ever, or is it starting to falter?

On to the recap:

1. Tami is interviewed by a local paper, and explains her reasoning for reallocating the JumboTron funds. She is quite neutral during the interview, but the reporter spins the story with a headline something along the lines of “New Principal Vows To Shake Up Establishment.” Soon after, she gets a visit from Buddy and Mayor Rodell, who basically threatens her. It’s a sticky situation. Buddy points out that when he solicited the funds, the donors were specifically told they would go toward a JumboTron. On the other hand, Tami is trying to give a much-needed boost to the marginalized academic program at Dillon High. Regardless, even Eric doesn’t support her, claiming that she should know better than to go up against the Boosters (which is true, just look at everything the Taylors have been though). “If that’s what they want, that’s what they’ll get,” Eric says. In the end, Buddy arrives at the Taylor home to inform Tami that there will be a hearing to decide what to do with the funds.

2. Eric is working with Smash to improve his speed and agility, but Smash is easily frustrated. He thinks the only reason he was good, is because he was a Panther. He can’t do it alone. Meanwhile, Eric is contacting schools for Smash, with no luck. He’s pushing this so hard, while Smash is ready to give up, that it seems this is more for Eric than it is for Smash. One night, Smash goes out onto the field in a Panther uniform, looking distraught. It is really depressing, because it appears that he is wandering the field alone, longing for the glory days. But then, the rest of the team shows up. “You ready to go live?” Eric asks, and Smash plays wonderfully. Awwww. Later, Eric receives a call from Texas A&M. He goes to tell Smash and his family, and there is this perfect little moment when he walks from the house, the door shuts behind him, and then from inside there is an eruption of delighted screaming. Eric allows himself the tiniest of smiles, then leaves.

3. Tyra runs for class president. After her posters are defaced, she tries to come up with a campaign strategy. In a move that is completely out of character, Landy convinces her to play up her hotness in order to win. Her mom and Mindy agree. “Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em,” says Mom. So on the day they give their speeches, Tyra brings strippers to school and wears a revealing oufit. She tells the students they should vote for her because nobody will get laid at prom if the other candidate plans it. She wins by a landslide, but her delight is stamped down by Tami’s supreme disappointment. “You have to earn back your own self-respect, and my faith in you, or you really will be on your own,” Tami says. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I love Tyra, but I can easily see her slipping back down the quick & easy path.

4. Riggins starts geting letters of interest from various colleges, which delights Lyla. When Buddy and Lyla are invited to dine with the McCoy family, she brings Riggins (against Buddy’s wishes). As they walk into the restaurant Buddy holds Riggins back for a moment, threatening him not to screw it up. He literally says, “I'll hurt you.” It’s nice to see a Buddy with bite again. It was a little bit intense, but then again Lyla is the only family he has left, and is a girl, and Buddy is a bit crazed when it comes to football and, now, the McCoys. Unfortunately, Lyla finally managed to build Riggins up and now Buddy has shredded his confidence in about two seconds. Naturally, Riggins becomes a robot during dinner. He won’t answer any questions, or talk at all, and he orders rare squab. Later, he accuses Lyla of trying to change him. “Trying to change you into a person who doesn’t order raw pigeon?” she shoots back. They sort of break up. That night, Riggins is chilling at home in his underwear with Tyra, who is waiting for Mindy. Refreshingly, they don’t hook up. Even more refreshingly, when Lyla shows up and finds them, she doesn’t run away in tears. Lyla gives Riggins a hamburger, and they make up.

5. Matt’s grandma is getting worse, but he can’t legally take care of her affairs. He meets with a lawyer to discuss his options, and it soon becomes clear that he needs to be an emancipated minor. However, his father is in Iraq and can’t sign the form. Frustrated, Matt attacks a bunch of empty boxes behind Applebees, where he runs into Julie, who has gotten a job there. They share a moment. Out of options, Matt goes to see his mother. I’m assuming he’s always known where she lives, because they don’t show him tracking her down or anything like that. Matt’s mother knows NOTHING. She doesn’t even know that his dad is in Iraq, or that Matt has been left behind to care for Grandma. She tries to ask him about his situation, but he shuts her down hard. Helpless against his glares, she he signs the papers. On the way home, Matt veers back toward Applebees and offers Julie a ride home. They stop to look at the car Julie is saving up for, and it’s just so sad! Julie’s biggest worry is how to buy a used car, while Matt has the weight of an entire family (and an entire town) on his shoulders. They flirt, exchange a meaningful look, and … credits.

Friday Night Lights S3E1: I Knew You When

“She went to bed with Jesus and woke up with you.”

I’m not sure how much time has passed here – three months(?) – but some fairly ridiculous things have taken place in Dillon, TX.

1. Tami has gone from guidance counselor to principal. Um, what? Don’t you need experience, or qualifications, to be principal? She quickly discovers that the school has no money, being forced to lay off teachers – and just as quickly realizes that her husband has a brand new computer. So, she takes the money that Buddy has donated for a Jumbotron and uses it to pay teachers instead. This won’t go over well.

2. Smash wrecked his knee at State, and thus his dreams of college football are gone (again). Coach Taylor won’t give up on him, though. Even though there would be nothing wrong with Smash quitting football, since his doctor says he will never get back to where he was before the accident. Plus, in the real world football isn’t everything.

3. Riggins has taken Smash’s old position, going from fullback to tailback. I don’t know much about positions, but Riggins is so much bigger than Smash. Is this realistic?

4. Lyla’s mother and younger siblings have moved out of Texas, so she is living with Buddy. Santiago is nowhere to be found in his happy little family.

5. Street is neither seen nor discussed.

6. Lyla and Tim are sleeping together, but telling everyone they’re “just good buddies.” In the end, he somehow convinces her that he will make a good boyfriend by telling her it’s ok for them to keep their dalliance a secret, and she kisses him in front of everyone. Buddy is not pleased.

7. Landry and Tyra have broken up, though they spend all of their time together.

8. Tyra’s new guidance counselor tells her she doesn’t have a chance in hell of getting into a four-year college, which basically gives her the same storyline as Smash.

9. Julie is as useless as ever.

10. New freshman J.D. McCoy, touted as “the next Jason Street,” is apparently going to give Saracen a run for his money. His father has moved the whole family to Dillon specifically so that Eric Taylor will coach him. Coach Taylor is not amused.

11. Billy (Riggins’ brother) is engaged to Mindy (Tyra’s sister).

12. The team doesn’t deserve smoothies.

The real crime, I think, was the beard.

The Office – Goodbye, Toby
In the S4 finale, Toby prepares to bid adieu to Dunder Mifflin (much to Michael’s delight), so the desk jockeys throw a party in his honor. Meanwhile, Toby’s replacement arrives only to become the victim of hazing.

As we open, Michael is thrilled that Toby is leaving. He wants to throw a going away party, but wants it to be fantastic and overdone. So, Phyllis takes over and naturally head party planner Angela is insanely jealous.

Meanwhile, Toby trains his replacement, Holly. Michael wants to haze her, so Dwight tells her that Kevin is mentally challenged. Holly then speaks to Kevin as one might speak to a very stupid child, which Kevin interprets as romantic interest.

Michael decides he’s in love with Holly, who actually seems to return his attraction, and Jim manages to convince him to take it slow. Pam gets accepted to a summer design school program … in New York. Jim decides that he will propose to her that night, and asks Phyllis to have fireworks at the going away party. Courtesy of a video on YouTube, the entire office sees Ryan get arrested for fraud. However, Oscar points out, “the real crime is the beard.”

The party is fantastic and Michael even sings a goodbye song for Toby. He and Holly are getting along famously when suddenly … Kevin calls, asking Michael to meet him at the grocery store. When Michael arrives, he finds Kevin standing with a pregnant Jan. Pretty much everyone saw this coming, so it is not a shock. What is surprising is that the baby is not Michael’s (or Hunter’s). Jan went to a sperm bank. But she does ask for Michael’s help, and he agrees to think about it.

Back at the party, the fireworks start and Jim slips the engagement ring out of his pocket. He’s just about to speak when … Andy grabs the microphone and proposes to Angela. Her reply? A monotone “okay.” There is no way I believe that Angela would accept this proposal. I know the writers needed something to stop the Jim-Pam engagement, and I love them for doing so, but this falls extremely flat.

Jim puts the ring back in his pocket, and in a side interview Pam is disappointed because she “really thought he was going to propose.” Michael is so desperate to have a family that he calls Jan to say he’ll help her with the baby. And … woah! Phyllis walks into the office to find Dwight and Angela having sex on a desk.

We're gonna ditch this bitch. You in?

The Office – Job Fair
With Andy and Kevin in tow, Jim hits the golf course in order to score his biggest client yet. Elsewhere, Michael mans a booth at the local job fair in his quest to find a bright summer intern.

Basically, nothing happened here. Michael attends a high school job fair, taking Darryl, Oscar, and Pam to up the hipness quotient. Unfortunately, he has no presentation ready, so the students are not interested in the Dunder Mifflin booth. Except one, but Michael insults him because he’s not cool enough. Meanwhile Jim, Andy, and Kevin go golfing with a potential client who could become Jim’s biggest account. Jim is a bit lackluster until he realizes how much is on the line, so he steps up and finally signs the account. In the end, Pam returns to the job fair to ask about a graphic design job. She is under qualified, and the employer suggests that she go to school in Philadelphia or New York.

So. I know I’m in the minority of viewers who don’t want Pam and Jim to get engaged, and this bit at the end gave me hope. Perhaps Pam will realize that she’s not quite ready to settle down. There are obviously things she wants to accomplish, but at the same time she’s kind of lazy. Same with Jim. He doesn’t particularly like working at Dunder Mifflin, but he keeps at it. I understood that more when he wasn’t with Pam – working there was the only way to stay close to her. But now? He could easily leave. This is precisely why I have always thought they shouldn’t get together until the very end. And since it’s obvious that neither of them will be leaving the show, their storyline is going nowhere. These are two young, smart, charimstic people who dislike their jobs and are drifting through life aimlessly even though they have grander ambitions. I know that’s kind of the point of The Office as a whole – the mundane nature of everyday life – but for Jim and Pam, it’s just not working for me anymore.

Stanley is a beautiful, sassy, powerful black man.

The Office – Did I Stutter?
Office friction results when Stanley barks at Michael during a meeting, and Michael then works to adjust Stanley’s attitude. Meanwhile, Dwight revs up to buy Andy’s car and Pam encounters an unforeseen problem after spending the night at Jim’s.

Finally, an episode that takes place entirely in the confines of the office, and brings nearly every character into the story arcs. As we open, Michael rushes into the office asking for ideas. There is wet cement outside and he wants to leave his mark. Eventually he decides to cover his face with plastic wrap and press it into the wet cement, leave a deep groove that will surely cause people to trip. Way to go, Michael!

The main story here revolves around Michael and Stanley. During a meeting, Stanley won’t participate (as usual). He keeps saying no, and when Michael pros him Stanley yells, “Did I stutter?” Ouch! Naturally, Michael’s feelings are hurt. Toby wants Michael to take disciplinary action, but Michael has convinced himself that Stanley was just kidding around. He decides to “fake fire” Stanley, who counters by threatening to sue. Michael clears the office so that he and Stanley can have a heart-to-heart. Stanley admits he doesn’t respect Michael, and Michael accepts that but says that Stanley must stop being rude to him. Michael is his boss, and that’s that. Stanley agrees.

I recently read an article that wondered if Michael has become the weakest link in the show. Using last week’s gum-and-peanut-butter event as an example, the writer suggested that Michael’s character has become preposterous. I always like the moments when you realize that Michael can be good at parts of his job, and his resolution with Stanley was a nice example of that.

In other news, strife between Jim and Ryan develops when a visiting Ryan calls Jim into a meeting with Toby and then gives him a verbal warning for hanging out at the reception desk and goofing around too much. In reality Toby is jealous of Jim because he loves Pam, and Ryan is angry because Jim criticized his website.

Jim continues his fake proposals, apparently trying to throw Pam off when the real one comes around. Pam has to wear ugly glasses when she can’t wear her contacts. Dwight fools Andy into selling him his car, and then flips it for a much higher price.

If I'm dead, you've been dead for a week.

The Office – Night Out
Michael & Dwight take a trip to New York to mingle with bigwig Ryan and his colleagues at the nightclubs. Back in Scranton, the staffers work on Ryan’s pet website project – on a Saturday.

As we open, Michael comes into the office with gum in his hair, so Dwight covers his head in peanut butter to get it out. A manic Ryan arrives to make the Scranton branch work on Saturday. Ryan has tried to created the new Dunder Mifflin website to function partly as a social networking site, and it has been invaded by sexual predators. He wants to input their phone sales into the website to cover up his failures.

Still desperate to find a girlfriend, Michael goes to New York with Dwight to visit Ryan. They go to a club, where cokehead Ryan becomes increasingly addled and Michael is shot down time and again. The men go to a second club, but can’t get in without girls. There happens to be a college basketball team in line near them, so Dwight commandeers them, then makes out with one of them. What?!? In the end, they return to Ryan’s apartment where he kind of admits that he has a drug problem. Michael, for his part, is just thrilled to have had a boy’s night out.

Meanwhile, back at the office, Jim decides they should all work late Friday instead of coming in on Saturday. However, he forgets to tell the security guard, who locks the gate to the parking lot, trapping them. And, Pam has locked the office on their way out, so they get can’t back in. Toby, being surprisingly inappropriate, hits on Pam. He realizes his mistake, proclaims that he’s moving to Costa Rica, and runs off. Noooo!

I lost a penny out of my loafers, Oscar.

The Office – Chair Model
Michael becomes obsessed with a model in an office supply catalog. Meanwhile, a territorial war heats up in the office park when some staffers try to reclaim their appropriated parking spots.

The employees of Dunder Mifflin are irritated because another company in the office park is remodeling, and their contractors are taking all the parking spaces. Actually, that’s wrong. Some are irritated; some, like Andy and Kevin, are downright livid. This has a lot of potential as a return to the wonderfully mundane story lines of The Office we all know and love. Andy and Kevin go to Michael about the parking situation, but he refuses to help. So, the boys gather the CEOs of the business park (who are portrayed like mob bosses) to talk about the parking issue. The bosses agree to give the spaces back, and Andy makes an impassioned speech to the camera about defending the average joe—the guy who wonders, “How am I going to pay my kids’ orphanage bills? How am I going to pay the mortgage on my $400 apartment?” Ouch. What happened to the subtle humor? Contrary to expectations, this storyline was not great.

In other news, a newly single Michael becomes obsessed with a cute model in the office supply catalog. Dwight pledges to find the model and he does, but learns that she has died in a car accident. Already tired of being single, Michael puts out a formal request for every employee to set him up on a date or they’re fired. Phyllis offers to set up Michael with her friend, but he’s skeptical. And it turns out Phyllis’s friend is fat. Hysterical. Pam feels bad so she sets Michael up with her landlady. He meets her and she is not cute, so he pretends that he is not Michael. This reminds me of the finale of the British Office when David goes on his blind dates. The fact that I have suddenly started comparing the American Office to the British one is a bad sign.

Jim tells Pam that she’s going to get evicted for setting up such a horrible date, and uses this as an excuse to ask Pam to move in with him. She says no; she won’t move in with anyone again unless she’s engaged. He says, “It’s coming.” Fans across the nation are squealing in glee right now. But why does Jim still look so awful? I like that the shaggy hair is back, but he looks exhausted. Pam & Jim joke around about getting engaged, and then in a side interview we learn that Jim actually does have an engagement ring that he bought a week after they started dating.

Yikes. Well, I know how I want this to go down. Jim proposes, Pam thinks it’s too fast after her recent failed engagement, this is the “strife” that we keep hearing about, and Jim and Pam break up but continue to pine for each other, at least for a while. Bring back the sexual tension! While walking to their cars, Jim suddenly gets down on one knee. Pam looks shocked, but he just makes a joke about needing to tie his shoe.

There were some good lines, particularly when Michael calls Oscar “Oscar Meyer Weiner Lover.” About being single, Michael says, “Desperate situations yield the greatest results.” The hand-me-down chair chain was great; i.e. Pam gets Michael’s old chair, Creed gets Pam’s, and so on. The Phyllis-Michael conversation about her friend’s qualities was also quite good: “So she’s not jolly or sassy? Not like a jolly, sassy opera singer?” And let’s not forget:

Pam: Tell them what we saw today, Jim.
Jim: Oh, today we saw a junkyard dog attacking the bones of a rotisserie chicken.
Pam: Nature.

And even though the singing-and-dancing-in-the-graveyard scene at the end was a little strange, Dwight singing the wrong lyrics made me giggle for several minutes afterwards: “And I know that you’re in love with him; cause I saw you dancing in the gym; you both kicked off your shoes; NO VERDICT WAS RETURNED!”

I don’t know, folks. I’m just not feeling The Office lately. I’ve talked it over with other fans, and most think I’m being too hard on the show. Although apparently I am not the only one who misses the Jim-Pam sexual tension. Now that they’re together they’re just so … boring. And that fact that the show has come to center almost solely on the boring couple and the crazy couple is not going so well. But I know that I’m in the minority…

The bedroom was asylum white, so I painted it eggshell white.

The Office – Dinner Party
Michael and Jan host a dinner party. On the list are Jim and Pam, who have run out of excuses to avoid such a gathering, and Andy and Angela, a pairing that sends Dwight’s jealousy soaring to new heights.

Woah. Jim looks like hell. As we open, we see that Michael has told all of his employees not to make plans because they have to work late. He then calls Corporate and yells that he refuses to make his employees work late. This is all a lie, and he thereby forces Jim, Pam, Andy, and Angela to come to a couple’s dinner party at his condo.

Michael and Jan are superficially functional but start to break down after about one minute. During a tour of their condo, we learn that since Jan's firing, she has begun to make scented candles in order to relax. Also, she makes Michael sleep on a weird little bench at the foot of the bed because she has "space issues." After Andy and Angela arrive, Pam and Jim are horrified to learn that their meal still has to cook for three hours.

As the couples mingle in the living room, Michael says that the wine has an oaky afterbirth. Jan turns on an indie rock CD by her ex-assistant Hunter and tries to make Jim dance with her. The whole scene is terribly awkward and yet rather awesome. Michael and Jan get into a fight in front of everyone. Jim almost escapes the party by pretending his apartment has flooded. When Michael points out that he & Pam don’t both have to go, Jim nearly leaves Pam there. Jan thinks that Michael has a crush on Pam. They get into another fight and Michael “jokingly” says that Jan is the devil. On a girls’ trip to the kitchen, Jan lets slip that she sees the way Pam looks at Michael. Angela agrees. They did an excellent job of hiding her pregnancy, BTW, I totally forgot about it until this morning. Anyway, we learn that Michael has told Jan that he and Pam used to date. Ouch.

Later, an uninvited Dwight shows up with an old lady. Michael gets fed up with Jan’s behavior and storms out of the room, returning with a neon beer sign that Jan has told him he can’t have. In retaliation, Jan turns on Hunter’s CD again. The two get into a screaming match, and Jan throws one of Michael’s Dundies at his TV. This is incredibly painful. The police show up to answer a call about a domestic disturbance, and they send Michael home with Dwight so that he and Jan can cool down. The episode ends with Jim and Pam eating burgers in his car while mimicking Jan & Michael and listening to Hunter’s CD, which Jim has stolen. Meanwhile, Andy kisses Angela and she slams an ice cream cone against the side of his car in retaliation.

Yikes. Like the “Money” episode, this was ep was really, really uncomfortable. Unlike “Money,” I’m not sure it worked. That’s not to say it was a terrible episode. It wasn't. I have always been a huge fan of the British Office, which was one of the most frankly uncomfortable shows I've ever seen. But until recently, the American version has been much lighter, which has worked well for it. These darker episodes don't blend very well, in my opinion.

FNL Saved! (Perhaps)

Hooray!

Yes honey, I'm your prize Guernsey.

Friday Night Lights – May The Best Man Win
Smash refuses to give up on his college football plans, a visit from Tami’s ex irks a jealous Coach Taylor, Street receives life-changing news, and Riggins continues to pursue Lyla despite her new relationship.

Friday afternoon I made an impassioned plea for you all to watch Friday Night Lights. Now I’m embarrassed. Considering that it’s entirely possible this may have been the final ep of the show, it was pretty disappointing. Here’s the rundown:

Smash, still reeling from the news that TMU has revoked his scholarship, starts contacting the schools he turned down. No one bites, especially the University of Alabama, who “doesn’t play second fiddle” to anyone. Notice the increased use of “Brian” instead of “Smash,” which is a nice little touch. Running out of options, Smash meets with the director of an arena football league, who tells him that he could be making big bucks. Finally, Eric takes Smash to meet Coach Deeks at Whitmore. Deeks says six years ago he told Eric that Smash was the “whole package,” and that the Whitmore team is like a family. Touched, Smash realizes Whitmore is the place for him.

Now, most of us probably saw something like this coming back when Whitmore first offered Smash a scholarship … but NBC managed to ruin the surprise for those who didn’t by running a commercial with a little poll asking which option Smash would choose (A. Alabama, B. Arena League, C. Whitmore) … before Whitmore was even mentioned in the ep. Nice going.

In other big news, Street and his terrible hair are working at the dealership when Erin (the waitress from a few eps ago) pops up and announces she’s pregnant. Much like the Landry/killing storyline, this is overall pretty lame and yet has some great moments. Street is shocked by all of this, as his doctors had told him it could never happen. When Street shares the news, Herc’s response is to call the girl a bitch. I love Herc. Herc is also the voice of reason, suggesting that if it's not supposed to be possible then perhaps the child is not his. For whatever reason -- probably hope -- Street accepts Erin's claim that she has not been with anyone else and views the pregnancy as a miracle. He tries to convince Erin that they should have the child, which she is totally not down with, but since nobody on TV ever has an abortion I think we can all see where this is going. Street meets with Eric for guidance, explaining that this could be his only shot at having a child. It does have interesting implications – we feel for Street, but at the same time it is not fair of him to put this kind of pressure on a 19-year-old girl be barely knows. He goes to talk to Erin again, and begins to wear her down.

I think the best moment to come out of this storyline was Street telling Erin quite loudly, in the middle of her place of work, “I didn’t know I had the duct function to get sperm into the semen.” It doesn’t translate too well on paper, but it was priceless.

Riggins continues his pursuit of Lyla by regularly going to church and getting a job at the radio station hosting his own sports call-in show. Considering the size of Dillon and the reputation Riggins has, I find it hard to believe the station would give him his own show, but I guess it makes sense that the station would want to use his fame to bring more kids into the fold. Again, we got a couple of nice moments out of this, particularly the revelation that most of the calls were girls asking him out, and the girl who calls in to say that “his long hair reminds her of Jesus.” Nice. Also, Riggins defends Smash on-air, saying that he would have done a lot worse.

Thankfully Lyla remains unresponsive to Riggins’ wooing, though Chris tells him to back off anyway. Chris takes Lyla to meet his family, where we had a weird extended montage of the family eating dinner and laughing uproariously to the strains of some song I can’t remember. After dinner, Chris and Lyla get hot & heavy but he doesn’t want to have sex. Even though it’s dumb, I get why Lyla would feel rejected. BUT, her running straight to Riggins was pretty awful. It implied (to me at least) that Lyla doesn’t even really like Chris. In the end, Riggins tells Lyla that he will do “whatever it takes” to win her, and it is clear that he is wearing down her resolve. Grrrr.

I believe this ep had the briefest Saracen scene we've seen yet, in which he and Landry talk about Tyra and Matt basically calls her a whore. Fantastic.

Finally, in perhaps the stupidest story of the night, Tami’s ex-high-school-sweetheart Mo McArnold comes into town and Eric is jealous. I love me some Peter Berg, and he was great in this role, but this is the Taylor family’s finale story?!? The trio goes to dinner, where Mo and Eric drink an entire bottle of Jack Daniels and get into a fistfight. The end.

Overall, this was not a great ep, and it certainly wasn’t worthy of a season finale. If, as it appears, it was actually the series finale, then I am sorely disappointed. What do you guys think?

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. Can't Lose.

Please, for the love of god, read this and WATCH FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT!

Oh, I said bitch.

Friday Night Lights – Leave No One Behind
Julie deals with jealousy yet again, this time over her mom's bond with Tyra. Landry has a new love interest, Smash seeks guidance from Coach Taylor, and Matt loses perspective on what really matters.

As the ep opens, Saracen is left to care for his grandmother after Carlotta’s departure. He has a run of bad luck – his car breaks down, Smash is benched for the rest of the season – and he flies off the handle at the slightest provocation. In art class [finally, a second reference to Matt being arty], he is sullen and rude, and calls the teacher a bitch under his breath. When she asks what he said, Matt replies, “Oh, I said bitch.” I chuckled at that one. Anyway, he skips class and practice, and stops caring about everything.

While this turn in Saracen’s character certainly didn’t come out of nowhere, it seemed to come just a little bit late. Frankly I expected this to happen in the season opener. That being said, it was fantastically well done. While looking at motorcycles, Matt runs into Riggins, who “always skips Wednesdays” and takes him drinking. Matt gets drunk and rants about Carlotta. The scenes involving Tim Riggins always have the best lines, and this was no exception: Matt calling Carlotta “the breakup fairy,” Riggins asking "So you want a funnel, or...?" after Matt downs a beer, Riggins telling Chris “you look great, you have great hair,” and Matt calling “Shalom”! when he sees Lyla and Chris. AND, we learn that Riggins consistently goes to the restaurant at which Lyla and Chris eat lunch daily. Though little time was spent on this, he’s obviously hoping to drive a wedge between them.

Riggins takes drunk Matt to practice, where he keeping fucking up. Mac asks Eric if he can smell the alcohol on Matt, and Eric tightly replies, “No. I don’t.” Much like the Street of first season, Saracen is Eric’s “meal ticket,” especially with Smash on the bench. And speaking of Smash, he is horrified that Matt has chosen Riggins as his new role model. There has been a lot of animosity between Matt and Smash this season, but this simple line made me realize that perhaps Smash wants Matt to look up to him. I don’t know, maybe I’m reading too much into it, but Smash is a big-time senior football star with a huge ego [and is also a big brother], and it must bug him that little sophomore Matty Saracen doesn’t come to him instead.

Another day, Riggins and Matt are drinking at the Landing Strip when Matt gets a call that his grandmother is in the hospital. Since Matt is wasted, the hospital calls Eric, and when they get home Eric throws Matt into the tub [literally] and starts yelling at him. And finally, finally, Matt Saracen breaks down, screaming, “You left me for a better job. Your daughter left me for a better guy. Carlotta left me for Guatemala. My dad left me for a damn war. Everybody leaves me. Is there something wrong with me?"

In Taylor family land, Julie is preparing to take her driving test, to which Tami will accompany her. Jules is increasingly jealous of her mother’s devotion to the volleyball team, and especially of her growing bond with Tyra. She feels neglected. After the VB team wins a game, Tami invites the girls back to her house to celebrate, completely forgetting about Julie’s test. This storyline had some real potential – Julie actually having a reason to be a brat for once – but unfortunately it was wrapped up by the ep’s close. Tami takes Julie to the DMV and begs the guy closing down the office to let Jules take the test. And he relents. The one good thing about this scene, for me, was when Tami tried to use her connection to the Panthers to convince the guy and he replied, "I hate football."

In angsty relationship land, Jean approaches Tyra to find out if she’s competition for Landry’s affection, but Tyra assures Jean they are just friends. [And via some wonderful camera work, we see that little Jean only comes up to Tyra’s boobs. Awesome.] However, when Tyra sees Landry and Jean together, she broods. Tyra asks her mother and Tami for advice, which has an interesting outcome in that neither woman seems to believe that Tyra could actually like Landry. Tami says that she had a similar problem in high school and she finally decided it wasn’t fair to the boy, and Tyra’s mom says that she has always liked the chase more than the finale. Tyra interrupts Landry and Jean’s date and, with no stammering or attempted evasion, tells Landry that she likes him and wants to give their relationship a shot. However, Landry says that it is nice to be with someone who isn’t embarrassed of him, and turns her down. Naturally this can’t last, and the next day Landry breaks up with Jean, arrives on Tyra’s doorstep, and kisses her.

In dethroned prince land, Smash is feeling the wrath of the team for getting benched. After his scholarship from TMU is revoked for “questionable character,” he goes to Eric for guidance and has a nice moment with his mother. At the end of the ep, he appears in the locker room before a game to put on a happy face, wish his team luck, and give them an enthusiastic pep talk. Once they all run out, though, there is a nice long shot of Smash standing alone in the locker room, where he breaks down in tears.

I never much liked Smash until recent eps, and although I enjoy this storyline I admit it is a bit ridiculous. First, in reality high school athletes have done truly terrible things with few consequences. This story might make you want to punch someone yourself. Second, with Smash as such a hot commodity, would this one [relatively] benign incident – in which he punched a kid for making racist comments – really be his undoing? My friends Pants and I were talking about Smash last week, and I made an offhand comment about how I hoped they didn't use the punching incident as a reason to keep him in Dillon. Now I'm extra wary.

You’re going to apply a grade 9 education to the stock market?

This huge, hand-embroidered love letter to FNL was created by our very own staff member Alligator! Check out her other work here, she's amazing.

Friday Night Lights – Humble Pie
Smash must deal with the consequences of his actions, Tami becomes coach of the girls’ volleyball team, Street gets a new job, and Riggins struggles with his feelings for Lyla.

Finally, the return of Jason Street! And Guy cracks Riggins over the head with a beer bottle in the middle of a parking lot in broad daylight! And the cops arrive to arrest Smash for assault! And all before the credits!

Phew. I admit I came into this ep just a little late, but something is wrong with Jason’s truck so he goes to Buddy, who offers him a job. Again with the continuity. Unless I’m missing something, wasn’t the last major interaction between these two when Buddy didn’t want him marrying Lyla? And now he goes to Buddy for help? Perhaps I am just a person who holds grudges. Anyway, all the other salespeople at Garrity Motors are irritated because Street can play the wheelchair card. And he totally pressures a “looky loo” into buying a truck. The same truck that we then see an advertisement for. An advertisement that uses the scene from FNL as part of the ad. I can’t even find the words.

Fortunately, in this ep we also see how Street and Herc are doing living on their own. Street is probably my favorite character, with Herc following close behind, so I hope this means they are back for good. I was, however, confused about the lack of mention of Street’s girl. I guess the waitress and he are no longer together? Or perhaps the writers thought we’d forget?

In other news, Riggins begins to pursue Lyla, who has become smitten with Chris. Riggs shows up at church and asks Lyla to come over later, and when she does he has cooked her dinner and set up candles and flowers. Puh-leeze. Fortunately, he immediately admits “this isn’t me.” Lyla walks out, he follows and says he loves her. She says, “How do I react to that?” He says, “Brutal honesty.” And she tells him it’s never going to happen, and that she doesn’t feel the same way.

Lyla then tells Chris everything – about what just happened, about how she slept with her paralyzed boyfriend’s best friend [they sure do love that phrase on this show], everything. And Chris, bless his heart, doesn’t judge her. He just asks if she has feelings for Riggins. And she says no, but does this very suspicious, slightly longing sidelong glance. Grrrr. I really, really do not want Lyla to have feelings for Riggins. I think it would be so much better if she honestly did not love him back, and he would have to learn that he can’t have whatever he wants,whenever he wants it. Especially when it comes to girls.

In other Riggins news, Guy knows that he stole the money and comes after him. The Riggins boys are jumpy, and every time someone knocks on the door they prepare for a fight. Eventually Lyla gives Riggs the $3000 (what?!?) and he & Billy return the money to Guy, foolishly thinking this is the end of the situation. During the exchange, Billy gets all protective of his little brother and attacks Guy, who pulls a gun, and I honestly thought Guy was going to shoot him. But the Riggins boys escape. Guy is kind of a weird character for the show to have utilized for so long, but the guy who plays him (Joey Oglesby) is super creepy.

In the Taylor family, Eric the Athletic Director convinces Tami to coach the girls’ volleyball team. But wait -- in the last ep wasn’t Tami just about to quit her job because she was spread too thin? Shake it off. Anyway, Tami takes over as coach and tries to whip the girls into shape, but they are truly terrible. When Tyra comes over for dinner, Tami sizes her up and realizes that she could be a good addition to the team. I do not believe for a SECOND that Tyra would join organized sports, but whatever. She does love Tami. She joins, and it instantly really good. [And there is finally some nice continuity in that Riggins is helping out, as part of his punishment].

Meanwhile, Landry has met a new girl named Jean who is super cute. They have a ton in common (music, movies, etc) and Tyra is jealous. When Tami is trying to coax her to put her heart into the game of volleyball, she tells Tyra to pretend the ball is someone she hates. So instead of pretending that it’s Jean, or even Landry, Tyra pretends it’s Riggins, which makes absolutely no sense but does make for a fun scene in which Riggins is forced to avoid a ball being smashed at his face. And the girl’s VB team wins their game, which is also ridiculous considering how terrible they were.

One thing this ep absolutely had going for it was a preponderance of excellent lines, mostly from Riggins. Lyla asking Riggins, “Why would you steal $3000 from a meth addict?” was particularly amusing, as was Riggins’ background chortling when Jean approaches Landry to give him a power metal mix CD and tells him he can listen to it in his car or his bedroom. “Wow, bedroom. Deep. Soulmate, right there.” Later, he asks Billy, “You’re going to apply a grade 9 education to the stock market?” And of course, Eric telling Tami he’d love to butter her toast.

In other player news, Smash is arrested for assault. His family is receiving obscene/threatening phone calls. He makes a formal apology, but then sees the boy he punched on TV railing on him. Suddenly a reporter appears, and Smash is coerced into telling the truth, which is that he wishes he had done worse to the kid. The ep ends with Smash coming home to find his mom and Coach Taylor in the living room, and Coach tells him that the board has chosen to suspend him for three games. “But that’s the rest of the regular season. How are we gonna get to State?”

And, with that climactic ending, we come to one of my main issues with FNL’s second season. Unlike season one, football has seemed utterly unimportant. We have seen almost no games, and the sense of urgency has been missing. Suddenly they’re concerned about going to State? Why weren’t they concerned before? Just because they won last year, that means nothing. For me, the lack of emphasis on actual football games means that the show has also stopped giving the impression that these kids are superstars in Dillon. Smash giving a press conference to apologize reminded me of that. I don't mind the character development, for sure, but I definitely think that football needs to come back into it in order to bring back the urgency.

I have developed feelings. Like, serious feelings.

Friday Night Lights - Who Do You Think You Are?
The Taylors consider daycare for Grace, Lyla takes a job at a Christian radio station, Matt has a realization about his feelings for Carlotta, and Smash's love life is scrutinized by those close to him.

The “previously on” shows Santiago! This is a good sign.

As the ep opens, Eric and Tami are enrolling baby Grace in daycare. Eric is concerned about the daycare center, so Tami goes alone to drop Grace off. However, once she gets there she finds she can't do it. This is actually a pretty cute scene, and makes me like Tami again. Eric talks to Mac about the situation, and Mac proves that although he semi-redeemed himself for saying something racist in first season, he has no problems being sexist [albeit kind of funny]. He tells Eric that women want to stay home and take care of babies, and that Tami should quit her job. Eventually Tami decides on her own that this is what she should do, but Eric convinces her that they have other options. It takes 4 tries, but eventually Tami leaves Grace at daycare, though only because Eric is there to support her.

Meanwhile, in the most boring storyline ever, Carlotta tells Matt that she has to go back to Guatemala because her family needs her. I don't know why, but the whole Matt-Carlotta story has never resonated with me. I realize this was supposed to be a really sad ep for Matt [and I do love me some Matt Saracen] but it just … wasn't. Anyway, he tells Carlotta he loves her and then she leaves a day early without saying goodbye. Big whoop.

In more exciting news, an old friend of Santiago's named Devon pops up again, and it's Weevil from Veronica Mars. He wants to drag Santiago back into his evil clutches, but Santiago refuses. Buddy meets Santiago's friends and tries to be all “cool” by inviting them over on Thursday night. In reality, he's nervous because the kids are all "thugs" and he takes all of his valuables to Eric's, blathering on about being worried, should he trust Santiago, he should, shouldn't he? It's cute. He ends up taking his stuff back home and Santiago sees him setting everything back up. Santiago's small gathering turns into a huge rager, and the whole time he's nervous and compulsively cleaning. After the party, he realizes that Devon has stolen Buddy's watch, so he goes after him and they get into a fight to the strains of “driving rap music,” according to the subtitles. There is a lot of fighting on this show recently; lots of testosterone being thrown around. Devon tells Santiago he has forgotten where he comes from, and that Buddy wouldn't care a bit about him if he didn't play football. Santiago goes home beat to hell, and Buddy takes care of him. Awwwww.

In equally exciting news, Noelle invites Smash's family to dinner to meet her parents and once they get together, all the parents tell the couple that they don't want them dating because the folks of Dillon are small-minded. Smash tells his mom that she has humiliated him. Smash takes his little sister Noannie to a movie, but really he is meeting Noelle for a secret date. Everyone at the theater [read: all white people] looks at them like they are lepers. At the movie, some [white] boys sitting behind Noannie start harassing her, so Smash intercedes. And one guy says “You got one of ours, why shouldn't we get one of yours?” So Smash punches him in the face. And they run out of the theater. Later, Smash asks Noannie not to tell their mom what has happened, even though she is really upset.

Finally, in the second-lamest storyline of the night, Lyla gets a job at a Christian radio station working as co-host of a call-in show, and she meets the adorable Chris (Logan from Gilmore Girls, although very un-Loganesque). Riggins & Herc call in, with Riggins pretending to be a girl, and ask stupid questions. Street makes only the briefest of appearances in this ep, asking Riggins if this is his way of telling Lyla he likes her. Lyla goes to Riggins' house and tells him that the radio show is important to her and she would appreciate if if he could respect that, so then he feels bad and suddenly realizes he's in love with her. The reveal was actually pretty cute, with him listening to her on the radio and then saying "Damn it, Lyla" as he realizes he loves her. However, because it's these two, I say "puh-leeze." So he buys flowers and goes to the station, but he sees Lyla and Chris kissing so he throws the flowers down and storms out.

I actually like the Lyla-Chris story, it's nice to bring in new blood, but the Riggins part just strikes me as ridiculous. I guess I don't see why Riggins is supposed to be in love with Lyla, plus I prefer the brooding playboy Riggins to the heartfelt flower-buying Riggins. Additionally, Chris was not given any real personality; he was just there to attract Lyla. I guess in a way this is realistic; when you first meet a person you don't know everything about him immediately. But a little more character development would have been nice.

This episode was rather boring overall, and brought up even more holes in the continuity of FNL. When Riggins calls into Lyla's show, he is hanging out at Street's place. So … why was he living with the Taylors when he could have been crashing at Street's? Additionally, the return of Landry was a little out of place. We have weathered a lack of continuity in relationships through the Smash/Matt feud, the Landry/Tyra love affair, the Julie/teacher connection, and now it happens again. Matt and Landry are joking around, cool as can be, although the last time we saw Landry wasn't he all brooding about being let off the hook for the killing? It just felt weird. Plus Landry looked really different, didn't he? Like more blonde, or something.

It’s Mama’s choice, let’s watch Foul Play again!

Friday Night Lights – Jumping The Gun
Smash feels pressured to make a commitment to a college, Coach Taylor worries about Riggins and Julie, the Panthers gear up for the biggest game of the season, and Tami clashes with her sister. Photo © NBC.

As the show opens, we learn that Smash is dating Noelle, the recruitment-savvy girl we met a couple of eps ago. Noelle is cute and disarming but smart and tough, and her brother has gone through the recruitment process so she is a great help to Smash. His mother, however, does not like Noelle, or the recruitment process itself—she is being courted just as much as Smash, with recruiters accosting her even in the middle of her grocery shopping. She thinks Smash is spending too much time worrying about recruitment and not enough time on his schoolwork. Smash is feeling a ton of pressure to commit to a college even though his top choice, TMU, has not yet approached him. Tami suggests that Eric speak to Smash, so Coach, Smash, and Noelle have a meeting and Eric reminds Smash to consider all of his options very carefully. I was concerned the Noelle would be difficult, but she backs up everything the coach says. Finally, the TMU recruiter shows up, and Smash accepts his offer in front of an entire restaurant full of people. In the end, he brings his mom flowers, and the Williams family is relieved to be done with the recruitment process.

In other news, Julie wakes up from her night of hard drinking in tears. Eric pokes in his head to check on her, being very gentle and treating her … well, like a girl who has been taken advantage of. Julie tries to tell her father what happened, but he cuts her off, and honestly she really doesn’t try that hard. I am starting to hate Julie again. Flash to Tim, who has slept in the locker room that night. Eric, tough as nails, kicks him out. Julie eventually goes to apologize to Tim but says she couldn’t tell her dad what happened, and Tim is very sweet about the situation, surprisingly. I would be like, “Bitch, tell your dad the truth already!” FINALLY, at the end of the ep, Julie admits the truth, and Eric goes to Tim to apologize, telling him that he is an honorable man—and that he says this not as a coach but as a father. Cue the waterworks.

In other Coach news, Eric and the Laraby coach are not getting along, though Eric tries to make amends. (NOTE: “Laraby” is how the name was spelled in the subtitles, I used “Larribee” in my last post but it’s the same thing). The Laraby coach is distracted and it's obvious something weird is going on. At the Dillon-Laraby game, the coach’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, and I'm thinking maybe his job is in trouble if they don't win the game. The Panthers pull some kind of switcheroo play [to be honest I wasn’t entirely clear on this] and the Laraby coach becomes so incensed that he runs onto the field and tackles Tim to keep him from scoring. Later, he admits to Eric that his wife is dying, which was a cheap sympathy ploy. I would have preferred my storyline.

Back at the Taylor household, Shelley passes her real estate licensing exam. Her presence is wearing on the family, but Tami doesn’t want to ask her to leave. However, after Shelley accidentally tapes “The Office” over game tape, Eric loses it and asks when she’s moving out. Shelley is hurt and embarrassed, as she thought that she was helping with Grace rather than being a nuisance. She leaves to check into a hotel, and Tami (who has no idea what has happened) runs into her as she is getting into the cab. Tami asks her to stay, but Shelley says no, and Tami is understandably pissed about Eric’s behavior. Later, Tami and Shelley meet for coffee and Shelley announces that she’s moving to Dallas. The end of the ep shows the new and improved Taylor household, back to the loving, joking family we grew to adore first season.

Finally, in more Tim Riggins fun, Tim goes back to Billy's and discovers a delinquency notice on the front door. Inside, the house is a disgusting mess. Jackie [hot mom/neighbor] is moving out, and tells Tim that Billy lost his job, and that they have broken up. Billy is also a mess, and he apologizes to Tim for dating Jackie. The brothers make up, but now they have a new problem, for the house will be taken away if they can’t pay their mortgage. Billy accompanies Tim to Guy’s [crazy meth-dealing roommate] so Tim can pick up his stuff, and Tim finds a stack of cash hidden under the couch … after he accidentally knocks Guy’s gun onto the floor. Personally, that would be my first warning signal that taking the cash would be A BAD IDEA. And, even though Billy knows it’s a bad idea, he lets Tim convince him they should take it.

Not that I’m complaining, but second season is really focused on Tim Riggins. I notice in this post I’ve started referring to him as “Tim” rather than “Riggins” which I think is a by-product of the in-depth character development we’ve been getting. And I love Riggins, but where oh where is my dear Jason Street? In this ep we had no Street, no Santiago, no Lyla, no Tyra, no Landry, no Buddy, barely any Saracen … geez!

I'm gonna go to my room and read Tiger Beat.

Friday Night Lights - There Goes The Neighborhood
A tornado forces the Panthers to share close quarters with a rival team; Julie befriends Riggins after he moves in with the Taylors; and Landry makes a decision about his relationship with Tyra. Photo © NBC.

Ok, first off, Tim Riggins is so freakin’ HOT. Good lord.

As the ep begins, we find that Riggins has moved into the Coach’s house and he and Shelley play with baby Grace while a storm brews outside. [How long is Shelley visiting these poor people?!?] Tim leaves for the store and runs into Julie, who accompanies him. Shelley, left alone in the house, reminds herself out loud that Riggins is jail bait. [Finally someone acknowledges the statutory rape factor!] Regardless, I totally think Shelley and Riggins should do it, cause their chemistry is electric.

While they are at the store, a tornado hits and Tim protects Julie with those rippling arm muscles. If she didn’t already have a serious crush, you can bet she does now. Time passes. Back at the Taylor house, Tami tries to talk to Shelley and Jules, and is irritated to find that they are too distracted by Riggins doing situps to listen. All of this adds up to Julie becoming seriously hot for the boy. Talking with Lois about Riggins and the tornado, Julie says he was “holding me like protecting me, not like I love you.” So, at least she is smart enough to know where she stands.

Riggins fits into the Taylor household well (except Tami is a bitch as per usual this season, and she and Shelley get into another huge fight about their differences). In a fun twist on the prevailing “father figure” theme of the show, Eric truly enjoys having a “son figure” around. Riggins and Julie continue to hang out, and this culminates in the two of them going to a party where Julie gets wasted. Some kid brags to Riggins that he’s going to do her, and “big brother” Riggins threatens his life. He takes Julie home and tries to put her to bed, and the drunken fool tries to kiss him. Naturally, this is when Eric walks in, and he screams at Tim to get out of the house. Man, Riggins just can’t catch a break with Coach lately!

Meanwhile, the Landry/Tyra story progresses. Landry tries to hold her hand in public, and she puts him off. Landry asks her to the dance, and she says no but goes with Chip, Larribee quarterback. Landry can’t handle watching Tyra and Chip talking, and starts a huge cafeteria-wide fight. (And calls a guy with excessively curly hair “Richard Simmons,” which was great). Finally, when Landry shows up at the dance looking for her, Tyra admits that she likes him more than she’s ever liked anyone else, and that scares her. Landry, however, is sick of waiting and he’s not gonna wait forever.

In football news, the tornado has forced the closure of the Larribee school (Panther rivals), so the students come to Dillon. Obviously this causes a great deal of strife, and the Larribee kids fuck up the Panthers locker room and pee on their stuff. Their coach does nothing, and when Riggins tries to take matters into his own hands, Eric interrupts and ends up throwing the Larribee coach up against a wall. Go Eric! This episode had a lot of fighting.

Finally, Buddy becomes even more worthy of the viewers’ sympathy when Pam announces that she is getting remarried. He tries to win her back but she gently rejects him. And he cries. Awwww.

I loved this ep. It had all the things that make FNL worth watching, including a bunch of shots of Riggins in tank tops. While I understand Eric’s knee-jerk “dad” reaction to finding Riggins bent over his daughter's bed, with her in it, I am kind of irritated that Eric doesn’t know better by now. I am still sick of Tami, Julie is returning to her former likeable self, Landry has finally thrown down with Tyra. The only sour note was a continued lack of Street.

Will Riggins finally move home with Billy? Will Julie be able to convince her dad that what happened was her fault? Will Tyra man up and deal with the fact that she actually cares for a boy? Will Matt dump Carlotta and become interesting again? Only time will tell…

Love that beta-carotene!

Friday Night Lights – The Confession
Landry comes clean about the killing, but his conscience still plagues him. Elsewhere, Herc urges Street to date, and the Taylors prepare to christen Gracie as the conflict between Tami and Julie grows. Photo © NBC.

“The Confession,” which could have been one of the best eps of the season, was actually kind of boring. Landry FINALLY confesses to the killing, and naturally no one really cares. I mean he accidentally killed a rapist who was in the process of attacking his girlfriend, so duh. The cops simply send him home after he confesses, and Landry freaks out, wanting—no, needing—to be punished for his perceived sin. But, he is the only one who sees it in those terms, and eventually everyone convinces him to plead self-defense (his dad even goes to Tyra for help, which was frankly unbelievable after he forced her to stay away from Landry in the first place). So Landry does tell the cops that it was self-defense, and that’s the end of that. No charges are brought against him. And after he tells Tyra this, the camera focuses on his mournful face and we see that he is not feeling any better. But hopefully this story arc is over. I was irritated when it began, because it is so not what FNL is about. Part of the charm of this show is that the problems are all rather commonplace (a la My So-Called Life in its heyday). To throw in something as dramatic as a murder and then have the story go nowhere is kind of lame.

And my complaints don’t stop there. WTF is going on with the continuity of relationships this season? As my friend Pants commented, it seems that each relationship exists solely to fulfill whatever role it needs to for a given ep. Some examples: Tyra & Landry, who I have complained about enough so I won’t bore you anymore. Street & Lyla, who had a dramatic breaking off of their engagement last season, and who had a kissy-cuddly moment in Mexico though the breakup business was never resolved, and who are now suddenly best friends chatting casually about who they are dating. Tami & Julie, who got into a HUGE screaming fight about Noah last ep and yet it is not mentioned at all in this one.

Come on.

Anyway, on with the recap. Street returns! Herc convinces him to date again, and he makes a date with a girl he finds online (WheelLovers.com if I remember correctly). Street meets the girl, who tells him she likes being peed on, and he tries to sneak out while she’s in the bathroom. His waitress objects to this until he tells her about the pee thing, and he ends up with her instead. She is cute, but doesn’t have quite enough sass. We’ll see. In other big news, Street moves in with Herc, and it’s about time. I am thrilled about the prospect of more Herc, and it will be interesting to see how Street grows now that he’s on his own.

The Taylor family is gearing up for Gracie’s christening, and godmother Julie is feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated. She and Tami get into yet another screaming match, with Julie telling Tami that she would like to be thanked for everything she’s helping do. She storms out, and Tami retorts that she would also like a thank you, though she says this to an empty room. Awww, how sad. Or not, because she’s a mother and that’s her job. I get that Tami is also feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated, but tough. Tami is behaving exactly like Julie, and Julie is FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. I haven’t had much sympathy for Tami this season. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to and I’m just an ass, or what.

Santiago returns! I knew Buddy would be a good dad, and I am so, so glad that I was right. With a game coming up, Santiago convinces himself that he can’t handle the pressure and freaks out on Buddy, telling him that he hates him. Buddy reacts by not reacting, and begs Coach Taylor to let Santiago play. After getting pummeled a few times, Santiago throws his all into the game and makes a fantastic tackle. I actually yelled, “Somebody hug him!” at the TV, but alas, no one did. The other players did pat him on the helmet, which is ok too. The “bad-player-suddenly-does-something-great” bit was awfully familiar (Landry, anyone?) but I liked it because I like Santiago. And when Buddy was outside waiting for him after the game and Santiago wholeheartedly thanked him for everything—whew! Turn on the waterworks.

Riggins’ creepy meth roommate stalks him before waking him up with a gun to the ribs, and Riggins finally leaves the house. I’m tiring of this storyline, though I imagine we have not seen the last of the roommate. Otherwise everything involving Riggins was fabulous, as Coach turns him into his own personal assistant as payback for Riggins’ recent bad behavior. From Riggins’ comments about the girls’ gymnastic comp he helps out with (“Jenny’s just not sticking her landing, she’s her own worst enemy”), to him sitting in the locker room with a ribbon baton (how very Get In Shape, Girl), to him sleeping in his truck outside Coach’s house until Eric wordlessly gives him a sleeping bag, it was all perfection.

Finally, Matt and Carlotta are blissfully in love and boring as hell.

And that’s it for FNL until 2008.

So, was it like Cabo in your pants?

Friday Night Lights – Seeing Other People
Smash visits a college that’s recruiting him; Matt considers an open relationship; Tami lashes out at Julie’s teacher; Eric is jealous of Tami’s relationship with a colleague, and Tyra’s attacker’s brother asks to meet with her. Photos © NBC.

I have newly converted a friend from work into a FNL fan, so I will likely be mentioning her in my FNL posts. Her name is Pants. Just, you know, FYI.

As FNL opens, Matt & Smash are at odds again. The Panthers have just lost a game, but Smash is far too self-involved to care. He’s being recruited, and that’s all he can think about, as he is on his way to visit McNair State for the weekend. Smash is starry-eyed after being wined, dined, and girlied by the college, and all of the players are welcoming – except one huge guy named Katrell, who is super rude to Smash for no reason. Later, Smash is in his boxers and on the verge of doing it with some random girl when Katrell bursts in, furious. Is it his girlfriend? His sister? Alas, it is not for us to know. Regardless, Katrell chases Smash from the room, and from the campus, screaming at him to choose another school. I sense we have not seen the last of Katrell, and I foresee some type of male bonding in the future. Pants wondered if Katrell is the brother of the girl Smash was macking on last episode, but we have no idea.

Meanwhile, Matt is given the opportunity to sleep with Lauren (previously known as “New Cheerleader”), but he refuses due to his feelings for Nurse Carlotta. Moments later, however, Carlotta attempts to shut down his growing crush by pretending nothing has happened between them. Later he makes another move, and this time Carlotta responds, but the two are interrupted by a surprise visit from Lauren.

The two storylines converge when Smash calls Matt to pick him up from where his hideout under an overpass. Apparently they are buddies again after all, although when did this happen? A few episodes ago, when Eric kicked Matt & Smash out of the game until they agreed to “be BFFs again,” it was obvious they were just doing it so they could play. But then suddenly, the rift between them has healed – when and how did this happen? Did I miss something?

Anyway, Smash tells Matt that the best way to get Lauren to dump him is to ask her if they can have an open relationship. This does indeed work, but Lauren is understandably upset and tells Matt she can’t believe his behavior after she told him what her last boyfriend did. I feel the crazy bubbling up, folks! Matt goes back to Carlotta and tells her that he has broken up with Lauren, that he can’t stop thinking about her, and that he “really likes her.” How adorable is this boy? He goes back to his room, but Carlotta comes in and attacks him, and Matt loses his virginity.

Although I'm no Lauren fan, I'm also not into the Matt-Carlotta relationship. As Pants pondered this morning, "Isn't that statutory rape, again?" When you think about it, there is an awful lot of that sort of thing going on in Dillon, and yet no one bats an eye.

Across town, Riggins has moved in with a freaky guy that Tyra’s stripper sister knows. The guy is kind of gross but seems nice, convincing Riggins that there’s more to life than football and taking him hunting. They have a nice day drinking and not shooting anything. But, in a not-so-shocking twist, the roomie turns out to be a drug dealer! Or he’s running a meth lab or something, I wasn’t really clear. But it’s something bad. And he tells Riggins, “It’s a good thing you’re a cool dude or I’d have to kill you.” And he’s totally not joking.

Understandably upset after this glimpse of what life may have in store for him, Riggins goes to practice, suits up, and refuses to leave the field. He individually apologizes to each member of the team, and they all forgive him. Eric concedes to let Riggins take his spot, although he tells the boy that he still has a long way to go. Will Riggins move back home? I hope so, I love the relationship between Tim and his brother.

During the aforementioned football game, Shelley confirms Tami's suspicions that Julie has a crush on her teacher Noah, though she assures Tami that nothing is going on. Not one to treat such things lightly, Tami corners Noah in a classroom and reams him out, threatening to have him fired and thrown in prison. He looks completely taken aback, and FNL is walking a nice fine line with this character. It does seem possible that something untoward is going on, but at the same time Noah doesn't appear to be doing anything wrong. It's kind of nice that we don't really know what's going on, and are left to draw our own conclusions. Naturally, all the students find out about Tami's tirade and it sets the school abuzz. When Julie hears the news, she storms into the guidance office, screams at Tami, and then rips a few posters off the wall for good measure.

Moving on in her reign of destruction, Tami gets into a huge fight with Eric after she goes for a night out with some other teachers. Upon hearing that Glen was there, Eric tells Tami that he doesn’t like her spending time with Glen, and his reprimand is almost word-for-word what Tami has said to Noah earlier that day (right down to “lunch behind closed doors”). Eric tells Tami she needs to pay more attention to her family (!!!) and although it would have been perfectly within reason for her to smack him, instead Tami tells him that he’s sleeping on the couch. Finally, after a mini-fight with Shelley, Tami realizes that her actions have had mortifying consequences for Julie. She also makes up with Eric, who admits that he’s feeling neglected and he misses her.

Once again, no mention of Street. Also, no mention of Santiago. This sucks!

Last but not least, the cops come to see Tyra because her attacker’s brother wishes to make amends. Tyra agrees to see him but then freaks out, so Landry agrees to go in her place. But seriously, WTF is up with Tyra & Landry!?! After everything they have been through, and the way she treated him during their breakup, I can’t believe things have just gone back to normal. Their interactions are really stilted and weird, and I don’t understand what their relationship is supposed to be anymore.

Anyway, Landry meets with the brother, Jeff, who goes on about how he can’t believe his brother would do such awful things, it’s not like him, blah blah blah. Landry, suffering equal parts guilt and anger, gets increasingly upset until he finally blows up and walks out on the guy … and runs into a beatific Lyla. Landry admits that he has a terrible secret eating away at him, and Lyla tells him that truth is a surrender to God. This was really much less hokey than it sounds, and the show ends with Landry walking into the police station and confessing to the killing.

The scenes from next week’s FNL looked kind of awful.
“Was it murder … or self-defense? Will he be ... convicted?”

In an earlier post I referred to the incident as “the murder” and then I immediately felt stupid. Isn’t this pretty cut-and-dried self-defense, or at least manslaughter? Plus there’s the fact that this guy has attacked and raped other women, which we discovered in this episode. The attempt to entice viewers by dangling the possibility that Landry will be convicted of murder seems like NBC thinks we’re all idiots.

I still love FNL, but upon talking with Pants this morning I am left wondering what will happen at the end of this season. The seniors are graduating, right? Smash, Riggins, Street … how can FNL continue with all these boys in college? Will Riggins flunk out? Will Smash leave? What do you think? Leave us a comment!

The team will be his family.

Friday Night Lights - Pantherama!
Smash’s college options are revealed on the first official day of recruitment; Coach Taylor focuses on a new athlete; Matt is tempted by his grandma’s nurse even though he has a new girlfriend; Julie befriends a teacher; and Lyla and Tyra work on an event together at Tami’s bidding. Photo © NBC.

I would have rather opened this post with a photo of Santiago, but believe it or not I can't find a decent one. This episode was pretty much all over the place, so try to keep up! As “Pantherama!” opens, we learn that recruitment is beginning for the senior players of the Dillon Panthers. Eric sits all the players down to have “the talk” – accept no gifts, take no meetings without running it through him, etc, etc.

Smash receives call after call, and I can’t help but wonder what will happen this time (faithful viewers will remember that the last time Smash was faced with a recruiter, he seriously ate it). Fortunately, Smash is courted by all the best schools – and a black college with a paltry football program who tries to sway him by offering a full education scholarship instead. Smash and his mom get into it – she using Street as an example of why Smash shouldn’t put all his eggs in one basket, he retorting that he needs her full support because he is absolutely going to make it to the NFL – and finally he tells her that he will deal with recruitment without her help. She appeals to Coach Taylor to step up as a father figure, making my aside during last week’s post quite topical, and Coach puts Smash in his place.

And speaking of father figures! This week we find Santiago much improved at football, but when Coach sends him to Tami to make sure all his schooling is squared away, he is forced to admit that his parents were deported, and he has been living with his uncle … who hasn’t been home in 10 months. Tami informs Eric, and they get into a mini-fight about what to do after Buddy offers to let Santiago move in with him. In the end, Tami finally agrees that it’s better not to throw Santiago into the system, and he moves into Buddy’s apartment, where he heartbreakingly explains, “this is the first real bed I ever had.” Up to this point, Buddy seems to be trying really hard, but at this he looks awkward and leaves the room, leaving me to wonder if he can actually step up and do this. Don't fuck this up, Buddy!

Santiago is growing on me, and I am curious to see how the relationship between he and Buddy will play out. I have always liked Buddy, even when he was a cheating bastard, and I could see him being a good father for Santiago. The fact that he stocked his fridge with steak was cute, as was Tami telling him to "get some vegetables in here." And speaking of father figures and my amazing precognizance, when Eric explained to Tami that the team would be Santiago’s family -- I just loved it!!!

Meanwhile, Riggins has moved out of the house because he is uncomfortable being around Jackie and his brother. Or something. At first I thought she had moved in, but that makes no sense because she has a kid. So I guess it's just that she's there all the time. He goes to Tyra, who gives him a 48-hour time limit (I think, details like this are the casualty of my lack of Tivo), and he eventually ends up living with some random dude that Tyra’s stripper sister knows. I foresee this ending badly. Oh, and he’s still not back on the team, nor does this episode even mention it, which is pretty lame.

Julie, still upset about Saracen and the new cheerleader, befriends a young teacher who also happens to be the newspaper advisor. She writes a controversial story about the money raised during Pantherama & where it goes (Eric is not happy), and she very clearly has a crush on this guy, who looks like that guy from A Walk To Remember, although I don’t think it’s him. [Update: I looked it up, his name is Shane West). After seeing Julie and the teacher together once – and only for a few moments – Tami immediately knows that something is going on, but she doesn’t really say anything. For his part, the teacher doesn’t seem like a sleaze, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Tami, with her usual “sweet bulldozer” technique, forces Tyra and Lyla to run a portion of Pantherama, and they repay her by choreographing a striptease (in the loosest sense of the word) for the Panthers to do during a pep rally. Once again, Tyra is a side character here. Considering what has been happening in her life recently, and that she was JUST! forced to break up with Landry against her own wishes, she seems awfully carefree. Her hallway conversation with Landry was awfully uneventful, considering he was telling her that not only did his father figure out that he had killed someone, he then destroyed the evidence. WTF?!?

Matt Saracen, trying to learn the moves for the aforementioned striptease, gets a little closer to his grandmother’s nurse, and then a little closer still when he unexpectedly kisses her in the parking lot after the pep rally. She looks uncomfortable, he feels stupid, but then the next morning at breakfast she lays her hand on his back as she puts his plate down and smiles over her shoulder as she walks away, and suddenly Saracen can’t wipe the grin off his face. But isn't he still dating cheerleader girl, you ask? Why yes, he is! This should be interesting. Cheerleader girl doesn’t have much spark yet, but for some reason I can totally see her as a psycho stalker a la Swim Fan.

And, in the most disappointing news of the night, Street is totally MIA from this episode. Damn.