Writers: Patrick Massett and John Zinman
Director: Dean White
Grade: A-
The first few minutes of this episode created a sense of impending doom for me. Between Billy assuring his shady crime boss that Tim won’t tell anyone about their meeting and Coach telling Matt, “That is not my quarterback—you are my quarterback,” and assuring him that Friday’s game would be “fine,” I was well-prepared for the shit to hit the fan. It didn’t hit with Tim yet, at least about the copper wire burglary, but that storyline probably isn’t over yet.
As for Matt, he was in top form in this episode. His ranting at Julie was cute, because for one thing, he wouldn’t let his guard down like that for anyone but her. It was hard to watch Matt, who is rather on the small side, play so hard and get pounded, and then almost deliver at the end but not quite. And while that could’ve taken Matt to a very dark place, I think it may have been Julie who saved him from that. She was really there for him after the game, bless her formerly-annoying teenage heart. They’re really doing right by her this season, and it’s refreshing to actually like her character again.
I’m also not hating Lyla this season, which is pretty new for me. I actually felt for her in the scene at the Riggins’ house with the Colettes. It’s all relative, I suppose—I’m not nearly as much of a goody-goody as Lyla tries to be, but I’d be just as awkward around Mindy and Angela. And what do you do with two grown women, one old enough to be your mother, who act like they’re still in high school and you’re the cheerleader they always hated? I was also glad to see that she didn’t give up on Tim. I’m more interested in their current relationship than I ever was in the past, and part of that is because they’re working at it and maturing together.
The identity of the actor who plays J.D. has been bugging me, so I finally looked it up and crowed with glee when I realized that it was Jeremy Sumpter, who I completely adored as Peter Pan! I empathized with J.D. in the scene in his trophy room. He may be a QB phenom, but he’s also a freshman, whereas Julie and Matt are seniors, so hearing himself made fun of by the cool older kids probably stung. Even his comment about his parents bronzing his first diaper seemed more like an attempt to break the tension with humor, which Julie and Matt completely failed to realize, hence, AWKWARD. I think J.D. thinks his parents are as creepy as everyone else does.
And speaking of, I expected to hate Mrs. McCoy as soon as I saw her face, but in the end, I did not. Her bluntness about her wealth was refreshing, and she didn’t speak to Tami as if she felt that Tami should be ashamed for not being wealthy herself, which was probably her biggest saving grace. Of course, she may very well be ingratiating herself to Tami in the hopes that she will start to wheedle Coach into giving her son more play time. I do hope the character is more complex and interesting than that, however.
The conflict between Coach and Tami in this episode was well-written and complex. It was brought about by he and Tami having very different experiences with their respective McCoys. For Coach, Mr. McCoy is an insincere, manipulative, passive-aggressive bully, whereas for Tami, Mrs. McCoy was not only kind and refreshingly blunt, but also willing to help Tami both personally (by throwing the party at her house) and professionally (by offering to help Tami raise money for the school). Hell, if Katie McCoy is as effective at fundraising as she seems to think she is, the Panthers may get their Jumbotron after all.
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