Grid Effect

Like was stated in the post on Monday, FNL really experienced a return to form in this episode. Virtually all the camera time was devoted to characters we are familiar with and appreciate, the storylines all felt interwoven, significant and realistic (sans the Smash’s arc. but we’ll get to that in a second) and nothing was overwritten. Any melodrama that was attached to this episode only came out when it was appropriate.

So yeah, we’ve had about fifteen episodes this season, and this is the first one to revolve around Matt Saracen. The quarterback. On a show supposedly about high school football and the community it resides in. Anyhow, his fallout this episode after the abandonment of Carlotta (which was two episodes ago) was a long time coming, never the less, it shouldn’t have been 3/4’s of the way through what is probably their final season. The scene with Taylor dragging him down the hallway then throwing him in the shower, only to feel guilty about it after Matt completely unloaded was probably one of the more poignant scenes this series has had.

And yet it felt inorganic in a way. While Saracen has been piddling away in the background for most of the season, there was really no suggestion that he was on his last straw with Carlotta, or how much he was actually attached to her. It appears it was more about his own issues with feeling unwanted than anything to do with his twenty-something Latino girlfriend, but that only became apparent in that scene with him in the shower. But in a single episode he goes from living everyday of his life like he normally would, to skipping class to get drunk with Riggins, patroning strip clubs and only showing up to practice drunk, which not only is Riggins built better for, but also his position (fullback) accommodates such behavior much better than Saracen’s.

And see, they followed up last episode brilliantly with just a small callback to it, when Riggins approaches Lyla and Chris’ lunch table and intentionally makes everyone uncomfortable except himself. This was surprising yet welcomed, typically this season they’ve dropped plot lines altogether then would pick them up several episodes later, which is alright if you remind us that it exists in moments like this. I suppose that’s hard to do when there are six different stories going at once, and there is never an effort to have them intersect. Obviously you can’t have the same two or three arcs dominate every episode, but just a reminder that they’re still ongoing is crucial.

Anyhow, That Chris kid seems fairly certain that Riggins won’t knock him on his ass, I suppose that’s the result of devout Christianity, but I really have no idea. People have been murdered over much less attractive women then Minka Kelly. And the culprit isn’t always necessarily shitfaced, neither.

The Smash storyline, while we thought the acting from Gaius Charles was superb in this episode, and the writing and pacing of it in this episode alone was fantastic, it has all felt so outrageous. We like the concept of Smash, someone whose spent his entire life relying on football as his sole means to an end, finding his athletic future (and thus his future in general) in jeopardy. But over slugging some kid in a movie theater? People are aware of how much high profile athletes get away with, right? We could see him being suspended for one high school game, but for the remainder of the regular season and to have his scholarship revoked? Please. There were kids at my high school on the football team who got D.U. fucking I’s and missed nary a start.

Point being, public perception carries the day in matters like these. If an entire voting block like the town of Dillon disapproved of Smash missing the subsequent three games, somehow or someway Smash would wind up on that field at the end of this episode, not crying devastatingly in the locker room. The writing for this episode worked perfectly, but there had to be a better manner of getting to this point in his character.

This reminds me of the whole Randy Moss debacle. He was set to got to Florida State, got into trouble over something, they suspended his scholarship and he signed with Notre Dame. Naturally he got into trouble again, and ended up going to an inferior but recognizable D-1 school in Marshall, in Huntington, West Virginia just outside of his hometown. If you are unfamiliar with who Randy Moss is, he just set the single season NFL record for touchdown receptions on the New England Patriots.

So really, if Smash is the prolific running back that the series would have us believe, if he couldn’t get into TMU (UT), then he would definitely be signing at Tech, or A&M, or Alabama who was literally stalking him and his family a couple episodes ago.

Whoa ho, it appears Landry’s not the only one with options. Though I think the above is as absurd as him dating Tyra.

Landry did in fact make a mistake dropping Jean for Tyra. This may be an unpopular opinion given the nature and aesthetic appeal of Tyra Collette, but she just seems really unpleasant to be around. And despite how much Landry wants to tell himself otherwise, the two of them have nothing in common. Remember his referencing West Side Story and her being completely unfamiliar with it? Yeah, not that I’m all that into musicals or anything, but someone who didn’t even know what it was I don’t think I could talk to, or take seriously in any way. I had a friend who didn’t believe in evolution, but didn’t even know what intelligent design or creationism was either.

Anyhow, I like how the writers have handled their relationship. If they had avoided that absurd murder plot, it would have been perfect, actually. But then why would Tyra have ever slept with him in the first place if he hadn’t had done her killing for her? God that made me nauseous. It is also appreciated that Jean is looked upon as sympathetic in this situation, and that there is a great chance that Landry ends up regretting this.

Other notes:

-The Julie character annoys the hell out of me. She actually had something to be bitter about this episode and it was still unbearable.

-Though we loved the scene outside of the DMV with the instructor and Tami, but the scene with Tami waving to her daughter as she pulled off for her drivers test was pretty overly fucking sentimental. Something that this series is occasionally guilty of, but the episode was so brilliant that we’ll let it slide.

-No Street, No Herc, no Santiago, very little Buddy and Lyla tends to make a good episode. Not because any of these characters are completely contrived or uninteresting, but because it let the stories they focused on breath a little more.

Clearly, without a doubt the best episode so far into the second season. And with only one episode left until the strike overtakes this series as well, it is almost regrettable. We were all ready for its inevitable cancellation as of “Humble Pie”, but now we’ve been reminded of how great it can be, and want to see it renewed. Tonight could very well be the last episode ever of this series, so enjoy it while you can. Because their is little incentive for NBC to greenlight the production of the last five or six episodes (you mean putting it on Friday nights didn’t increase the ratings? But, but, it has the word “Friday” in the title. How is this possible?) much less renew them for a third season.

Oh well, we can always hold out for AMC or a premium network to pick up the series.

Back with a Wire recap sometime before Sunday night.