Friday Night Lights, 4x09, “The Lights in Carroll Park”

Episode Title: The Lights in Carroll Park
Writers: Patrick Massett and John Zinman
Director: Christopher Misiano
Originally Aired: 07/02/2010
Grade: B+

While this season has been relatively strong as a whole, I think this episode was a bit of a fumble. Both of the major storylines here have some major issues that are difficult for me to ignore.

I’m glad that the Carroll Park storyline was a positive experience in the end, but the way it all began was pretty contrived. As I’ve mentioned before, if the eastern side of Dillon is so plagued with violence, why did no one mention it in the first two seasons of the show? And the fact that the kid got shot within a minute of Coach entering the park for the first time is just as ridiculous and contrived as the miraculous appearance of the other side of Dillon.

I also wasn’t sure why Coach Taylor needed to be working on the park issue and helping Vince get a job in the same episode. I’ve been frustrated before with his occasional blind spots when it comes to the problems his players experience, so having him go all out to help his players on two fronts in the same episode seemed too “Saint Coach” for my taste.

It could be argued that Luke was a bit too saintly about Becky’s pregnancy, as well, but I think his reaction was well within the bounds of his established characterization as a level-headed, even-keeled sort of guy.

I was initially pretty confused by Becky’s pregnancy test results, though, because I never realized that Becky had sex with Luke a few episodes ago. I was thinking, “Uhhh… what? Did she and Tim sleep together offscreen? Is that what’s going on? Because that would suck.” I’m glad that wasn’t the case, but Becky and Luke having post-carwash sex almost feels like a retcon. I assumed there was some fooling around, sure, but it didn’t even occur to me that they went that far with it. Where does the “almost” come in? I suppose in retrospect, her bizarre near-hysterical rejection of Luke after that night makes more sense knowing that they had sex, especially if it was her first time.

Still, at the time, I just assumed she was angry with herself for being weak enough to make out with someone else when she was supposed to be saving herself for her precious Tim Riggins. I didn’t pick up on the “Psst, this is our (way too subtle) way of telling you that Luke and Becky went all the way” nuance in my initial viewings of the relevant episodes, and from what I’ve read around the interwebs, I’m not alone in that. It’s possible that the writers were trying to be coy so they could surprise viewers later, but on this kind of family-oriented show, finding out a month after the fact that two teens had sex isn’t exactly an exciting, “Surprise, we fooled you!” moment.

And considering the way the writers handled Luke and Becky, should I assume that Jess and Landry slept together in this episode? What about Julie and Ryan?

Overall, I’d deem this episode a misfire, but I’m relatively confident that the show will redeem itself with the next episode.

Other Stuff

-I’m happy that nothing terrible came of Glenn kissing Tami. I couldn’t imagine that ridiculous moment sending the Taylors into a tailspin, but sometimes you can never be sure… In any case, the results were largely positive, with Eric having funny moments with both of them and reconnecting with Tami.

-So the McCoys are getting a divorce and J.D. is acting out, but it’s all happening off-screen? I’m going to assume this will become a relevant part of the story soon, because otherwise, I’m not sure why I needed to know what’s going on with the show’s cartoony villains. Were we seeing a contrite Joe McCoy on the verge of redemption, or was this just a brief intermission from his usual douchebaggery?

-Have we ever seen Becky at school before this episode? When she was waiting for Luke, it struck me as odd because I couldn’t remember ever seeing her there. Most of the other characters interact with several other major players, but she’s just off in her own corner of Dillon, pining over Tim Riggins and being neglected by her mom.

-At least Becky’s pregnancy means the possibility of a relationship with Tim is off the table. Or does it? I’ve always believed that Tim’s greatest desire is to have a loving family, so I’m tiny bit afraid that he’s going to offer to marry Becky and raise the kid with her. Then again, I’m pretty sure Kitsch is leaving the show (if he hasn’t already—I know I read a blurb about it, but I can’t find it now), so if Becky is staying on for next season, that probably wouldn’t work.

True Blood, 3x03, “It Hurts Me Too”

Episode Title: It Hurts Me Too
Writer: Alexander Woo
Director: Michael Lehmann
Originally Aired: 06/27/2010
Grade: B-

I said last week that I wasn’t looking forward to this episode, but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this bad, either. I didn’t hate the entire hour from start to finish, but there were a lot of really stupid, over-the-top moments.

The Bad

-The opening scene was incredibly dumb. If Eric knows that weres on V are extremely volatile and dangerous, why did he take a bullet right in front of one? Oh right, because they needed to interrogate the were, so Eric couldn’t take the chance of Sookie killing him. But really, Sookie is an idiot—what are the chances she could actually kill the thing with one shot? And yet it was obvious from the CGI that the wolf was going to jump right into that bullet. So basically, Sookie was a good shot and/or the werewolf was really stupid because the plot needed them to be, then Eric ended up ripping the guy’s throat out with little fanfare anyway.

-I also don’t understand Eric telling Sookie that these weres on V could be trouble even for him, yet Bill took on four of them at once in the previous episode and came away unscathed. We know Eric is an older, stronger vampire than Bill by nearly a millennium, so either Eric was lying or exaggerating, the writers didn’t catch the discrepancy, or the there’s a valid reason for the discrepancy and the writers dropped the ball on conveying it to the audience. I came up with a few fanwanks, but most of them don't hold up because when it comes to badassery, Eric being 1000-ish years old should trump Bill having just fed.

-Also, if Eric wants into Sookie’s panties so badly, why did he send the hottest werewolf in the entire world, a.k.a. Alcide, to be her bodyguard? I realize the guy’s dad is indebted to Eric, but unless this is somehow part of Operation: Woo Sookie, Eric has still stacked the deck against himself. I guess Eric might be well aware of the possibility of a Sookie/Alcide hookup but care more about protecting Sookie than boinking her, in which case, awwwww. (I can’t decide if I’m being sarcastic or not…)

-Speaking of Alcide, what exactly was the plan at Lou Pine’s? Because it didn’t seem like they had one. They couldn’t come up with anything on the drive over? Or did Alcide just assume Sookie actually had a brain and was capable of coming up with her own plan, since she’s affiliated with Eric? If that’s the case, I hope he learned his lesson… (And though I adore Eric Northman, I think “Lou Pine’s” is a better pun than “Fangtasia.”)

-Ugh at most of Tara’s storyline here. She did seem more relaxed post-coital, which was nice to see, until Mott started asking questions and she remembered her shitty life. Tantric vampire sex and more mind control are probably the last things Tara needs. In fact, she needs a little more compassion from the writers and a little less “Let’s torture Tara some more because it makes for such fabulous DRAMAAAAA!” Did the writers even make the connection between Maryann’s mind control of Tara and Mott’s? Does it mean anything? Is it going anywhere?

-I’m really tired of the Bill/Lorena flashbacks, but I was actually empathizing with Bill’s past experiences. I understood how those memories, combined with his conversations with Edgington and the presence of Lorena, might influence him to concede to the King’s wishes in order to keep Sookie safe. Then Bill tried to rape Lorena, failed because you can’t rape the willing, and twisted her head around backwards mid-coitus. I loathe Lorena, but I was more horrified by that than I was by anything I’ve ever seen Eric do, including ripping Royce apart with his bare hands. I’m sure Eric has done worse that I haven’t seen, but that’s just it—I haven’t seen it. So in addition to being annoyed and grossed out, I instinctively want Bill nowhere near Sookie ever again. Which is probably exactly what the writers intended, and the obviousness of it annoys me all the more.

-They were doing so well with the past couple of episodes, but in this episode alone: puppetry with a decapitated and rotting head, Arlene is pregnant with a serial killer’s baby, Tara is mind-controlled yet AGAIN, and Bill and Lorena have the most unnecessarily brutal hate sex I’ve ever seen on television. And those are just the highlights! Two lovely episodes followed by this sensationalist trash makes the show feel incredibly uneven.

The Good

-While I thought the action itself was on the dumb side, I once again enjoyed Eric and Sookie’s scenes together. I talked last season about how Sookie is becoming increasingly interested in the vamp world, and Eric doesn’t try to hide that part of himself from her the way Bill does. We definitely saw that dynamic here. Sookie was clearly stunned by Eric ripping that werewolf’s throat out on Gran’s antique rug, but she also didn’t look away, nor did Eric act ashamed or try to hide his bloody face from her. (He was also significantly less brooding in this episode, which I appreciated.)

-I was happy that Sookie paid for Eggs’ funeral (presumably with the money Eric paid her for the Dallas trip), and that Tara had worked through enough of her shit to forgive Sookie. The downside is that the two of them have spent so much time apart since the first season that scenes like this feel like lip service, although that’s probably another casualty of the show’s condensed timeline.

-Tara and Jason’s conversation at Merlotte’s was incredibly sweet, until he (and I) remembered that he killed her boyfriend. And while I’m bummed that Jason’s well-intentioned killing is standing in the way of he and Tara reconnecting, I’m glad to see that their conversation seemed to help Jason realize that becoming a deputy isn’t a great idea right now.

-I also enjoyed the scene in which Eric gifted Lafayette with a car (the ho-yay, it is divine), but I have a bad feeling about what Eric’s up to. Lafayette suddenly owning a luxury sports car is going to raise some eyebrows, and I really hope one of them doesn’t belong to the Magister.

-I’m tentatively placing Sam’s family storyline in the “good column” because it hasn't annoyed me yet. This episode further reinforced my view of them as the True Blood version of the Sackville-Bagginses. It’s pretty obvious that they followed Sam back to Bon Temps in order to check out Sam’s “cushy” life and case the bar. It’s also pretty clear, from the way Mama Mickens calls both her son and her husband “boys” and bosses Joe Lee around despite his apparent temper, that she’s the mastermind of their cons. I’m guessing that Tommy will be torn between feeling contempt for the clueless mark and feeling gross about taking advantage of the only family member who gives a damn about him (as evidenced by Sam scolding Joe Lee for allowing Tommy’s underage drinking).

Other Stuff

-I got a kick out of Sookie trying to doe-eye Eric into agreeing to come to her rescue in Mississippi. It could have come off as gross user behavior, sort of like accepting a gift or a favor from someone you don’t even like, but she seems to have given up on hating his guts post-Godric, so it didn’t annoy me nearly as much as it could have.

-I sort of love the idea of Jessica working at Merlotte’s, but maybe it’s too fanfic-y to actually happen.

-Fans were pretty thrilled by Sheriff Dearborn’s quitting speech, but if Bud Dearborn is no longer Sheriff, is William Sanderson even still on the show?

-Re: Alcide’s ex, I have seen Alcide, and I have seen Cooter. Cooter is actually somewhat handsome, but still, any woman who prefers him to Alcide must be a V junkie.

Quotes

Pam: “Did you call the hypothetical hardware store and buy a theoretical chainsaw?”

Terry: “It’s not you, it’s me? If I had a nickel for every time a… I’d have fifteen cents.”

Friday Night Lights, 4x08, “The Toilet Bowl”

Episode Title: The Toilet Bowl
Writer: Derek Santos Olson
Director: Michael Waxman
Originally Aired: 06/25/2010
Grade: A-

I realize it’s significant that Luke blew through three weeks worth of pain meds in a week and then obtained more through shady means, but I’m still in total denial that Luke’s going to get addicted to the hillbilly heroin. Between seeing the injury itself, seeing the pain he was in at practice, and seeing the pounding he took in that game, my focus was more on the fact that the pain meds allowed him to take a beating that his body was in no shape to handle. I hope he hasn’t permanently injured himself, because I can certainly see that leading to drug dependency. I have family members who have been down that road, and it ruined their lives, so I’m not particularly enthusiastic about seeing this sweet, honest, hard-working, upstanding fictional kid turning into a cranky pill-popper.

I’m also struggling to understand the history between Jess and Vince. There are several conversations that back up the idea that they’ve dated before: Vince’s comment a few episodes ago about Jess pretending she doesn’t think about him; her dad’s reaction to Vince patronizing his BBQ shack; even Vince’s mom’s insistence that Jess come to dinner came off like she missed their breakup in her junkie haze. Jess also told Vince in “A Sort of Homecoming” that she knows he treats girls as expendable objects, which also seems to back up the idea that they’ve dated, but his response that he can only treat girls how they allow themselves to be treated doesn’t make much sense to me in that context. I know boys are dumb, but that’s basically saying, “Well then you should have let me treat you like crap, dummy.”

My guess is that he liked her as they were growing up together, she wouldn’t give him the time of day, but she finally caved and went on a couple of dates with him. Then Jess either saw him out with another girl, or someone shared a nasty story with her about one of Vince's exes or past hookups. She briefly gave him a chance, and that was that. Until we find out otherwise, that’s my theory. I think Jess has chemistry with both Vince and Landry, so I’m a bit conflicted, but she might actually have more in common with Landry, from what I’ve seen. She and Vince may share similar backgrounds, but I see her and Landry having more to say to each other.

Vince’s mom broke my heart again. Her rambling at dinner wasn’t so much self-absorbed as desperate, because she really wanted to impress Jess. I’m unclear on whether her shaky hands were due to withdrawals or anxiety, but it was a nice touch either way, and I like the ambiguity.

I really wish Becky would stop kissing Tim (and see the cuteness that is Luke Cafferty, while she’s at it), but I was unexpectedly charmed by her acting as chauffer and toilet-fixing assistant and life coach to Tim. It came off as more sweet than pathetic, because she was returning the support he’s given her over the past couple of months.

I already know that bad things happen when the Riggins brothers dabble in crime, so I’m not looking forward to the payoff on that storyline. Does Tim really think he’s going to be able to fork over $37,000, with no discernible employment other than working at an auto-body shop, and not raise any suspicions? He does, doesn’t he?

Other Stuff

-I’m glad that baby Gracie isn’t a source of conflict on the show. There was some friction with Julie resenting her in the early going, but now she’s just sort of… there, doing her weird baby thing, and no one’s making a big deal about her, ever.

-Calvin’s attitude toward Vince’s new good boy routine did nothing to diminish my suspicion that he narced on Vince about having a gun, but he did get pretty into cheering Vince on at the game.

-Aimee Teegarden was wonderful in Julie’s college interview. All that babbling about Capote was clearly phony and forced, but when she started to talk about Dillon, she perked up and sincerely believed in what she was saying.

Quotes

Landry: “Actually, the date was rescheduled because of conflicts, and that might be a good thing because Thursday is more of, like a… sexual night anyways.”

Devin: “So we’re just gonna go through the whole psychoanalytic breakdown…?”

Landry: “By 7 PM on Thursday, your brain has basically clicked in that it’s pretty much the weekend. But Wednesday is closer to Monday, and no one’s getting busy on Monday.”

Devin: “Get busy?”

Landry: “Every now and then, people wanna get busy!”