Grid Effect

A title that references every major plot development in the episode. Not exactly a newfound glory for FNL, but rather a somewhat predictable one. Especially when they throw every spoiler imaginable into the previews from the previous week sans a ridiculous last second revelation.

And what is that revelation? Well, the rival coach who’d been probably as ungracious as a guest can possibly be, tackles Riggins in the middle of their game, stands up and screams at everybody in the stands and on the field about proper tackling technique, then informs Taylor that the reason he’s been flying off the cuff so frequently is because his wife is dying. Now, I understand the narrative revolves solely around everything Dillon. But for this storyline they should have given us third person, and informed the audience of coach Dickie’s situation long before Taylor or anyone in Dillon found out about it. Because to have two episodes revolving around this guy’s idiotic combativeness, then to dismiss it with one line at the end of the second episode is a bit uncharacteristically lazy storytelling for this series.

You’d be happy to know he hasn’t burnt down his house yet. Or rather, his house that his ex-wife and new fiance live in.

Speaking of lazy storytelling, I get the impression that TMU is supposed to be a stand-in for University of Texas (Rick Barnes playing the recruiter for TMU helped tip us off), and that Street a long while ago in the pilot said UT was his school of choice. But I don’t think they’ve mentioned it since that debut episode from over a year ago, and to treat it as his first choice now seems a bit added in. The dramatics in it just felt lacking, and I thought when Chip announced to the entire school that he was going to TMU, that would have been enough of a deterrent. And while his mom is a great character, there was much of an explanation to her motives. They’ve touched on her worrying that Smash was going to start losing his perspective, and while we sympathize, we’d also argue that Smash lost his perspective about, say, thirty episodes ago. Here’s hoping the steroids plot is resurrected.

The lone highlight in this episode was Riggins, yet again, for his discretion to what a drunken brat Julie is. Let me be one of many to say that never in a million years would I think Julie, or someone like Julie would actually take the wrap for that, but Kyle Chandler’s reaction was priceless, to both Tim and Julie, and made the slight avoidance of reality easier to overlook. He also gave us the best line of the episode: “My dad lives in (the neighboring county), if you want to complete the Riggins trifecta”. We hope that woman suffers endlessly after this spectacle. The theft probably would have been great to avoid on the heels of the whole murder plot. If Billy ends up dead at the end of this season, we’re going to be woefully disappointed. Probably enough so to quit tuning in.

One good thing to come out of this episode is Tami’s sister was unintentionally kicked out of the house, and we actually thought they dealt with this brilliantly. The in-law sibling finally losing his patience, the sibling knowing the married couple had discussed her moving out several times, and the one who’s sibling is staying in her family’s house leveling with her sister but doing so in a sympathetic fashion. Rarely are these things as bitter and contentious as they make them on television, and it felt real in this instance. Also, Shelly’s gone, and we are all the better for it without anymore of those insufferable scenes.

All in all, not their best work. But at least we were spared any discussions of past federal and state crimes, so that’s a silver lining. If we have to endure any more rogue coaches or intolerable siblings, it might be too much to bear. We’re not anywhere near jumping ship, but this is definitely the first time it has crossed our minds.

Wire recap later.