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.

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!”

Friday Night Lights, 4x07, “In the Bag”

Episode Title: In the Bag
Writer: Ron Fitzgerald
Director: Stephen Kay
Originally Aired: 06/18/2010
Grade: A

I’m starting off with a bit of a retrospective: I didn’t notice until this episode that the Matt’s storyline with Sherman was dropped at the end of the third episode. The last time we saw the guy, Matt had come to confront a piss drunk Sherman about his little talk with Julie, and ended up being dumbfounded by his lovely, symbolically perfect sculpture. I actually assumed that we’d still get some interaction between those two, with Matt coming back to talk to a sober Sherman, but in retrospect, their final scene is a lovely ending to that relationship. Matt is intelligent and thoughtful enough to at least intuitively understand how that sculpture represents Sherman’s world view, and that’s what Matt needed to learn from him—your life and your art are unavoidably intertwined.

As for Julie, her breakdown on stage at the “Smackdown” was poignant without veering too far into “only-on-TV” melodrama. I can somewhat understand why Matt hasn’t called her (because he’ll miss her and want to come running back), but there’s no way Julie understands that yet. She just feels abandoned, and his refusal to call makes her wonder if he ever loved her at all. I would think that the always-wise Tami might have some understanding of Matt’s motivations and try to help Julie understand, for the sake of making her feel better, but I’m not a mom. Maybe Julie just needs to wallow in her pain for a bit longer before she can listen to a rational explanation of Matt’s seemingly heartless behavior.

Landry seemed to imply that Matt hadn’t called him, either. That might have been a show Landry was putting on for Julie’s benefit, but Matt and Landry have been besties since they were five, so talking to Landry could carry just as much emotional weight for Matt as talking to Julie. Girlfriend of three years vs. best friend of thirteen years? They’ve both got plenty of motivation to feel hurt and betrayed, and I hope the writers continue to give us some glimpses into them supporting each other. I really enjoyed seeing them interact so much, especially since Landry was one of the reasons Julie gave for wanting to transfer to East Dillon.

I was also happy to see Julie pay Matt’s grandma a visit, even if it took on a bittersweet note. I hope that’s not the last we’ll see of Grandma and Shelby.

I wasn’t sure whether Tami’s Blue Ribbon school storyline was intended to show her being welcomed back into the fold, or whether the people doing the congratulating and celebrating were never pissed at her in the first place. Was it someone from the school board who chastised her before, when she was trying to discuss the school library? And these were just the teachers and administrators who never blamed her at all? It’s too bad I’ve been deleting the episodes after my second-viewing!

I’m assuming the point of Glenn kissing Tami was to show us (again!) that she’s cool under pressure, because surely she’s not going to embark on a steamy affair with Glenn. The scene with the two of them talking about it the next day, on the school stage, out in the open for anyone to see and overhear, was really odd. I was so uncomfortable, wondering who could be listening. (Glenn’s dialogue, however, was hilariously perfect. Hee, “mouth-raped.”)

There’s no way the strippers’ baby shower/kegger/fundraiser was legal, especially with all the underage drinking (including a drunken 19-year-old Tim serving the booze), but it’s not implausible that they might have gotten away with it.

The stuff with Tim, Becky, and Becky’s dad was pretty straightforward—Tim over-identified, saw his own father in Becky’s, and now he totally relates to her daddy issues on a conscious level. I wasn’t exactly riveted by that storyline, but the scene at the end with Tim naming the dog was like some kind of divine intervention, with the dog yawning at “Julian” and perking up at “Skeeter.” I wonder if Kitsch and “Skeeter” miraculously ad-libbed that, or if the dog was following training cues of some kind. Although now that I think about it, maybe it was just good editing? I can’t remember if Tim’s lines and the dog’s reactions were in the same shot, or if there were cuts. Whatever the case, it was perfect. Tim’s so charismatic that he even has good chemistry with dogs!

The most jarring aspect of this episode was Luke’s storyline vs. Vince’s storyline. In my experience, a town is either the sort of place where kids have to miss school to help their parents on the farm, or it’s the sort of place where a kid can see three of his friends gunned down on the way home from school over a ten year period. In moderately sized cities with surrounding farming areas—places like Nashville, Sacramento, Austin—I could see both things happening, but I’ve always been under the impression that Dillon was a pretty small town, and not particularly prone to excessive violence outside of drunken redneck squabbles and domestic abuse.

This East Dillon storyline came out of nowhere, doubled the size of Dillon, and added gang violence, and none of those things are far from my mind when it comes to Vince’s storyline. When he tells coach about his hard-knock life, I think two things. 1) Since when is Dillon the kind of town where people get shot going to and from school? 2) If East Dillon is troubled by such violence, why had not a single character even so much as mentioned that side of town until midway through the third season (or whenever that redistricting storyline began)? The writing is still sharp, the acting is still top notch, but the way they set up the season abruptly changed viewers’ understanding of Dillon in a pretty extreme way, and that feels contrived.

I was also confused about what actually happened with Vince’s gun storyline. When the cops initially came to search the locker, I assumed the “tip” was called in by one of the McCoys or some other Panther-ite as a racist power-tripping prank, and that interpretation was supported when Vince did not, in fact, have a gun in his locker. Then it turned out that he did have a gun, and I’m not sure if it was just a coincidence—a prank turned into a classic trickster move where an action with negative intent ends up with a positive outcome—or whether someone Vince knew narced on him.

The only person we’ve seen Vince interact with who might do that is Angry Necklace Guy (as he’s commonly referred to on the interwebs, although I think his name is actually Calvin). He’s seemed be both missing Vince’s friendship and resenting Vince’s second chance at life, but only the resentment part could have motivated the betrayal, because getting Vince tossed into juvie wouldn’t exactly get him his friend back. In any case, someone called that in to the police, and surely the writers had some idea who did it when they came up with it, so maybe we’ll find out in a later episode.

Other Stuff

-Seeing Becky try to adopt a shelter dog, I feel pretty validated in my interpretation of her as a “lost puppy” type.

-Vince’s sobered-up mom kind of broke my heart. She’s seems to be a capable and thoughtful person without the substance abuse, and the actress was so good that I found myself rooting for the character despite her sparse screen time.

-Between ooh-ing and ah-ing over Luke’s leftover French fries and helping Luke and his dad build the fence, Tink just hit a new level of awesome.

Quotes

Glenn: “I practically raped you.”

Tami: “No you didn’t.”

Glenn: “No, not literally, but like, with my mouth. It’s like I mouth-raped you.”