'Friday Night Lights': Unlucky 7
Hey, did you see that on Friday Night Lights this week? There was almost a football game played. And, what's this? Matt Saracen, too often relegated to sideman status this season, in a central storyline?
Will wonders never cease. But in focusing on the players this week, the show at moments drew me in like it has only a few other times this season.
(Spoilers will not be suspended for the rest of the season.)
I've now watched the episode twice (hooray screener copies), and the scene with Coach Taylor dousing him in the shower, and Matt finally letting loose all the pain he's been carrying around, hit me in the gut as hard the second time as it did the first. Zach Gilford is a pretty strong young actor, and it's nice to see him be front and center for a change this season.
That scene capped a rough week for our QB1, who's still smarting at Carlotta's departure. Then he hears about Smash's suspension. Then his car breaks down. And that's all in one morning.
With all that piling up on him, it's maybe not so hard to understand why he's mouthy in his art class and then cuts out on school for the rest of the day. But adopting Tim Riggins as your new role model? Tim Riggins, the one person in all of Dillon, Texas, whose life you wouldn't want to emulate? Well, that's just not right.
Why Coach didn't read him the riot act when Matt shows up to practice with a buzz, I don't quite understand. But it takes Grandma hitting her head -- while he's getting a lap dance at a strip club -- and Coach's cold shower to get him straight. Gilford's "everybody leaves me" outburst was riveting, but what really got me in that scene came right after, as Matt buried his face in his hands. Just really good stuff.
The whole episode, in fact, was a showcase for FNL's younger actors, with Gaius Charles turning in another strong performance and Aimee Teegarden doing a fine, wounded turn after Julie gets pushed into the background yet again. I know that Julie has been a giant brat most of the season, but Teegarden has played the heck out of her all year. And this week? Well, Tami screwed up, badly.
After brushing off Eric's concern that Julie was perhaps feeling a little neglected now that Tami is coaching the Dillon volleyball team, Tami proceeds to ... neglect Julie while coaching the volleyball team. And not just in a small, don't-have-time-for-homework-help way. No, Tami completely forgets Julie's appointment to take her driver's test, which is merely one of the biggest moments in a teenager's life. I think what made the scene so effective -- and cheers, by the way, to Tami for wanting so badly and so immediately to make it right -- was that Julie, aside from slamming her door, didn't really throw a tantrum. She was just ... disappointed, which probably hurt Tami more than if she had gone on a rant.
Other goings-on this week:
Smash continues to face up to the reality of his suspension, which has caused TMU to revoke his scholarship. (Never mind that a verbal commitment isn't the same thing as actually having a scholarship; we agreed to go along with that for dramatic purposes.) As has been noted elsewhere, this storyline might have had an even greater impact if we had a better sense of how the team was doing this season. But Charles once again more than rose to the occasion in scenes with his mom (the always good Liz Mikel), when he's taking down the TMU paraphernalia in his room, and by himself in the locker room after exhorting the team to go out and make the playoffs so he can come back. It's stuff like that that made me fall in love with Friday Night Lights in the first place.
Landry, meanwhile, goes the full Andrew McCarthy route, breaking up with the girl who's perfect for him in order to be with his idea of the perfect girl. I'm of two minds on this -- I'm happy to see something break right for Tyra, but at the same time Jean became a pretty indelible character in her brief time on the show, and it was also pretty clear she and Landry would have been a great couple. Also, I couldn't help being distracted by the shiny new car Landry was sitting in when he broke up with Jean. As hard as the show is trying to pretend Landry didn't kill a guy in the season premiere, having him in a new car instead of the busted old station wagon he and his dad destroyed probably wasn't the way to go.
And a few bullet points:
- The exchange between Tim and Matt at the first bar they go to was great. "Look at those two Bible-thumpers," Tim says, nodding toward Lyla and Chris. "They come here every day for lunch -- isn't that sad?" To which Matt replies, "Stalking's sad, if you ask me."
- Even better, though, was Landry's Jaws-vs.-Wrath of Khan self-debate in front of a hung-over Matt, which then led into a mini-intervention when Smash sat down. "I just don't want to see you turn into an at-risk youth." "Oh my god, stop talking!" Matt yells as he walks away. Landry then turns to Smash: "What do you think -- Wrath of Khan or Jaws? For like a date." Smash silently gets up and leaves. Landry, calling after him: "Jaws?"
- Tyra and Tami's conversation about Landry had a couple of nice elements: First, Tami's inability to comprehend Tyra being attracted to him, and Eric's utter disinterest until she hears Tami talk about a boy who used to have a crush on her. "Good guys always finish last, is what she's trying to say," Eric notes. "That's not what I'm trying to say," Tami shoots back. "Look at you -- you finished first, didn't you?" Eric: "I don't know about that."
With only one episode of FNL left, we probably won't find out anytime soon if the Panthers make the playoffs. Are you OK with that? What are you hoping for in the last episode?
Come Emmy time, this should be the episode sent in for consideration. From the writing and all the actors, this episode was flawless. Every plotline was so real and so emotionally charged.
Wasn't that ending amazing? A mirror image of the pilot with Smash pumping up the team, getting over his loss by uttering a short but sweet speech that actually made me stand up, clap, and cheer. Showed the Panther pride by slapping the "P" on the wall and finally uttering CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE! since I don't when. And that last shot of Gaius Charles breaking down... that was without doubt the greatest season 2 eps ever. One of the greatest FNL episode ever. All that to Explosions In The Sky music. I'll miss Jean, I think Landry's making a big (but realistic) mistake.
Okay, Tyra's simply being a witch-in-the-manger because she sees Landry and Jean getting involved, and then Jean makes the (youthful) mistake of trying to clear it with Tyra before making the full-court press on Landry. This is the "go" signal for the tall one! I see her getting bored with Landry before next week's fade out, and Landry realizing that he's made a terrible decision!
And, yes, hearing the inspirational CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE! chant... a staple of Season One, again, was w-a-a-y overdue!
But how is Matt supposed to perform in the Smash-less game after the alcohol-soaked week he's undergone? Joe Namath might be able to train on Johnny Walker Black, but Matt's a kid! (And Tim Riggins must have a heck of a constitution just to be able to suit up... boy's never without a long neck in hand!)
its a show, im ganna enjoy it instead of looking for realism. i hope that this show has enough viewers on a friday night to keep it going. its to good of a show to take off the air. and something that bothers me the whole season is where there any seniors on the team last year, everyone form the first season is back. thats what really gets me,
Best episode of the season so far. Excellent writing and character development & staying true to the character. Matt acted like a punk the first part of the episode, but in the shower when he rattled off all the people who had left him, you felt bad for him and understood why he acted the way he did. All we need now is a scene like that from Riggins...how screwed up must a teenager be to drink & generally screw up like he does???? Julie seemed to be acting bratty again, but to me, her behavior in the last couple of episodes has been more realistic and understandable that it was at the beginning of the season. Loved Smash last night...awesome! I'm still not sure about Landry & Tyra. But, the clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose was waaaaaaaaaaaay overdue. Great episode.
the best FNL episode ever, a cl***ic. Emotion packed, well crafted story lines, top notched acting on all fronts. This definitely should be the 'emmy episode' they send in for consideration. and ONLY ONE EPISODE LEFT?? That blows!! We need more!
In regard to relationships, I think FNL is suffering a bit from main character syndrome.
Jean makes so much more sense than Tyra for Landry, but he picks Tyra, pretty much because she's the main character (though I do feel she needs a guy like him).
Lyla and Tim makes NO sense, but we're supposed to care about Tim's feelings for her (her new bf isn't the most interesting character, but they make sense as a couple). Oddly though, the writers don't seem interested in putting Julie and Matt back together.
Still, it was a good episode with some real great acting (from Saracen, Smash, and Mama Smash). I've not liked the way the writers were turning Saracen into a jerk and womanizer, but this episode was exactly what we needed for his character.
the problem with relationships that 'make sense', they translate to boring.
Early on, in season 1, the first episodes, I thought Landry was gay. Now he's a stud with the ladies?
That was not the Top Notch. It was Fran's on South Congress. You could even see the name on the door when Jean went back in after Landry dumped her. And Riggins and QB1 started drinking together in Hill's Cafe, which is just a little further down Congress.
In regards to Scotty B's point, I'm pretty certain that last year they discussed Street, Lyla, and Riggins all being seniors. This year, I guess Street is done with school, but not sure if he graduated or not. They've had Lyla talk about school and homework, but I don't think they've shown her at the high school, so maybe she is going to local college? And Riggins ... not too surprising if he had to repeat his senior year, though in most states that would kick you off any athletic team. But yeah, a state championship football team made up of almost no seniors is a reach. But then so is Street going from paralyzing accident to playing murder ball inside of 3 months last year.
As for matt's post, I don't remember any references to Landry being gay last year (not that there's anything wrong with that). But they did play it up that he was not into following the herd.