In the fifth episode of the second season of Friday Night Lights, Coach Taylor’s return gives the people of Dillon a chance to mend their problems. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Friday Night Lights.
THIS SHOW IS GREAT, AND I’M SO GLAD I’M WATCHING TWO GREAT SHOWS AT ONCE BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS GREAT.
Julie/Matt
You know, I wasn’t terribly excited about the prospect of Julie and Matt getting back together because… well, I guess I moved on as a fan of the show. I understood that their time had come and gone, and I didn’t really see how Julie would be able to get Matt’s attention after she’d treated him so dismissively. So it made me laugh when Landry simply told Matt NO after Julie asked Matt out. I understood what he was trying to communicate. At the same time, perhaps Julie wanted to try out being friends with Matt again.
However, Matt brings up a good point later when he does reject Julie’s offer: At no point does she ever try to repair things between her and Matt. She needs to apologize to him for cheating on him with the Swede and treating him so terribly. I still think there might be a chance for these two to at least become friends again if this happens, and I’m not ruling out the possibility.
Coach Taylor
He really does come home to a mess, doesn’t he? His team is in shambles, and it’s far worse than he thought, despite having seen them fall apart in the opening game. However, he tackles the task before him with a sense of humor and creativity, and it’s a sign of how much better suited he is for the job than McGregor. Honestly, there are so many good choices he makes here! He has the team switch roles; he brings Smash and Matt to his house to air out their grievances; he benches them after they’re unable to do so. And at the last minute, he decides to stick Landry on the field, which ends up saving the game against the Westerby Chaps. HE DID IT. IT’S SO WONDERFUL TO HAVE SOMETHING GO RIGHT FOR ONCE.
This episode, appropriately titled “Let’s Get It On,” also features a lovely plot about Coach Taylor’s desire to have sex with his wife again. It’s fascinating that this comes after yesterday’s The West Wing episode, which featured a similar plot. I’m just glad that this show is portraying a couple in a positive light, not shaming them for wanting sex, and normalizing this behavior. It’s awesome.
Tim/Lyla/Jason
GOOD GOD. The writers manage to navigate some pretty complicated character motivations without ignoring established character traits, which is a feat in and of itself when you consider how messy these three characters’ lives are together. I’m not surprised that Tim didn’t tell Jason about Lyla, as he’s not exactly the best communicator. And this disaster just gets worse and worse with every hour these three spend together. Lyla isn’t even around for that long before she realizes how difficult this is going to be. It appears to her that this is one big joke between Jason and Tim, at least since she can’t tell if they’re taking this seriously.
And then they just start getting brutal with one another. Tim asserts that he’s a better Christian than Lyla is. (Ouch.) Lyla rightly calls out Tim’s bizarre way of supporting his friend. And Jason himself makes reference to Tim’s alcoholism and debauchery and Lyla believing that being baptized makes her better than other people. God, that whole scene is the most awkward thing in “Let’s Get It On” and this whole episode is nothing but one awkward scene strung to another one. Jason is clearly not going to listen to his two friends, he is angry and hurt by their intervention, and EVERYTHING IS A DISASTER.
It’s important, then, that Jason made a very specific comment to Lyla when she confronted him. He said something to the affect of not dunking his head in water to make himself feel superior, and then he does exactly that when he pitches himself overboard. It is one of the most shocking things on the whole show, but the visual metaphor of the baptism is not lost on me. In a way, it was like a test for Jason, to see if he did want to live.
That doesn’t mean the trio’s problems are solved, though. Despite that Jason has agreed not to go through with the surgery, there’s still the complex feelings these three have for one another. (I swear to Gandalf, if I see one comment calling Lyla a slur or anything for kissing two guys, I will ban you to space or something.) I don’t know that Jason or Tim are good for Lyla at this point, and I’m interested to see if she’ll continue to pursue her religion or a relationship. Or both! Or none of them! It could go a million different ways, right? Oh god, I’m so unprepared.
Landry
I really am happy that this show has elevated Landry to a main character, and then I also have to admit that HIS WHOLE STORY LINE IS CRUSHING ME TO PIECES. Oh my god, y’all. We get the chance to see things from the perspective of his father, who is suspicious of Tyra. It’s too much. TOO MUCH. Just as Landry and Tyra are closer than they ever have been, Mr. Clarke visits Tyra to tell her to stay away from her son. It’s one of many heartbreaking moments here. God, think about how Tyra must feel about this! She finally trusts a guy who is nice and respectful to her in return, and now her father is essentially accusing her of being dangerous to Landry. God, it’s a such a mess. I’ve said that a lot, haven’t I? THIS IS ALL SUCH A MESS, I SWEAR.
Landry’s speech during halftime, though, may have hit the hardest. MY PRECIOUS BABY, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO IS ALONE. Oh god, I just realized that at that point in the episode, he still thought he had Tyra in his life, and HE WAS ABOUT TO BE TOTALLY ALONE. I can’t. I can’t. And I get that Tyra was in an awful position, but it makes me so sad that she had to be so mean to Landry in order to push him away, especially after he just had such a good first game. I don’t like this, and it hurts my heart, and I imagine this is only going to get worse. 🙁
It’s not fair. 🙁
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