Grid Effect

Unfortunately, due to moving and other time consuming matters, I cannot do a full, event detailed recp of the Friday Night Lights season finale like I had initially hoped. So, considering this is possibly the last episode of the best dramatic series on network television in the last 10-12 years, here is a recap with an infinite number of shortcomings and oversights:

This is an episode that revolved around an actual football game in quite some time. I suppose it’s appropriate, because if the state championship isn’t going to dominate an episode, then what game will? Eventually they would have to cease to calling this a series about football. Leading up to the collective road trip to Dallas (or Fort Worth, if you want to get technical about it).

There are several worthwhile subplots just to people looking for a ride. Obviously, all the players are riding on the team bus, leaving Saceran to find a kind soul to offer one so she won’t have to take the bus. Landry, having been invited to attend the game with Tyra since she has been offered Riggins guest tickets, is no longer that selfless, “Your Grandma might need to take the damn bus” is his response. Riggins, much to the chagrin of Tyra and especially Landry; gave the tickets to Bo and Jackie, contingent on a, “They’re for Bo and were still just friends basis”. Riggins ends up giving Tyra four seats in the nosebleeds (which, for a high school football game at Texas Stadium means the first row of the second deck).

While heading out of town, Landry is now riding with Tyra in the back passengers seat, her sister directly behind him and Tyra’s mom in shotgun, eating all the aphrodisiac chocolates because of something related to female hygeine. I can’t remember the exact correlation but I can tell you it didn’t make any sense to me. I also want to point out that it’s good Tyra, though in something of a transitional phase, still is fully capable of manipulating men that want to sleep with her.

Anyhow, Landry sees Saracen’s grandmother sitting at the bus stop, and since the other factions of the Collette family have decided to tag along, what’s one more person running interference? It’s good to see Landry play the good samaritan when all possibilities for road head are null and void.

Tami found out she was pregnant before leaving town and everyone was in such a rush, she never had the opportunity to inform Eric. So, she decide to wait until they arrive in Dallas when everyone will be situated. Julie, on the other hand, is already hell bent making plans on how to see Matt while living four hours apart. Eric, who stumbled behind some structure Matt and Julie were leaning against while making out, shares a few words and gives Matt a razor sharp stare through his sunglasses when he notices Matt doing the same.

When she arrives back home, without skipping a beat, he asks, “Did you tell Matt Saracen I took the job at TMU?” Initially she denies the allegations but after further questioning, caves. Coach tries to level with Matt, but he isn’t hearing any of it. He already has abandonment issues with his father in Iraq and his mother in Oklahoma for whatever reason. The closest thing he has to a father figure is now leaving to coach other quarterbacks for a mid-major.

Lyla, who now legitimately hates her father, gave him back the car he bought for her. And in return buys a beat up hooptie from one of her fathers competitors named “Crespos”. Whos money does she buy the car with? No matter, it ends up breaking down in the middle of an “empowered female drives while singing along to horrible lesbian rock” scene.

Landry, in the middle of a mobile sleepover, turns down off the music while all four women/girls sing along to “Lady Marmalade”, only to be privy to jokes about tampax and menopause. Amazingly, he notices Lyla standing over her broken down car on the side of the road and pulls over to offer her a ride, when she catches wind of Tyra in the car, she refuses and Landry forces Tyra to convince her to take a ride under the guise, “It wouldn’t be christian to leave her”. Its good to see those theological convictions are now restored. Lyla and Tyra have an inarticulate alpha female argument before Tyra offers her a ride after hearing Street cheated on her. It’s good to see they have that in common: infidelity.

Pulling up to the stadium, everything is in slow motion as they spot the stadium from afar, check out their personalized lockers and walk onto the intimidating field that accentuates how minute all of these kids are. Half of them cannot even reach the top of their lockers.

In the moments leading up to the game, the following things happen:

-It’s revealed that Coach Taylor is leaving for TMU after persistent questioning from a reporter, he claims he hates the media at a banquet. Garrity wishes him luck.

-Julie and Matt discuss her fathers departure and while she has been at odds with him for the past three episodes, she actually comes to his defense. Matt sidles coach in the hotel bar with a look of hurt and disgust. Coach asks why he is up past bed check, Matt, not really feeling in the mood to bge queried by a man whom he feels is betraying him, dedpans, “I was with your daughter”. This candidness (which is rare from Matty-boy), causes Eric to turn around and explain the importance of his family to him.

-Tami tells Eric she is pregnant in what is a beautifully shot scene on the balcony of their hotel room in downtown Dallas… but I have had enough declarations of love from this show to last me a lifetime.

-Voodoo invites Smash to play with him next year because his school fixes him up with an apartment that has, “A pool and a dishwasher”. The pool is nice and all, but the dishwasher would push any seventeen year old over the edge. Smash turns him down because “he’s a Panther”. You have to appreciate the loyalty even though his coach isn’t exhibiting it, which Voodoo is quick to point out.

Gametime. Everyone is still dejected but wants to win state. Long story short, Matt is getting owned by the defense and the Dillon defense is getting owned by Voodoo’s offense. At half, we are down 26-0.

Now for the best moment of the episode (possibly the series, i’ll get back to you on that), coaches eyes dart around the locker room at halftime. All he sees are dejected faces and defeatus posturing (The arms folded, head down look), then he sees Street and launches into a sppech about how everyone counted them out when he went down and how everyone is counting them out now. Except for a select few, and the camera goes from panning to various onlookers to family and friends of the players we have come to know over the course of twenty-two episodes. He advises them to play with said people in their minds and in their hearts This, not surprisingly, proves to be quite motivational.

The combined rushing of Riggins and Smash leads to a TD drive, the defense causes a tunrover and runs it in for the score which wouldn’t be ineffectual if we knew someone on the defense, Matt throws and absolute spiral to Smash for a long touchdown making the score 26-21. On that playu, Smash dislocates his shoulder on a hard landing, has the trainer pop it back in place after insisting, “This is state” and gets back in the game for Dillon to run a last second hook and lateral from Matt to Riggins to Smash for the game winner.

Some people had a problem with Dillon winning the game. Personally, it seems these things will always go one of two ways: narrowly escaping a loss or barely losing. While a 26-0 2nd half comeback isn’t something that takes place everyday, it happens occasionally, especially when you take into account how young and inexperienced high school football players are. I would have been interested in seeing a blowout either way, but even I’ll admit that isn’t tantamount to great drama. But the game almost had to be an emotional rollercoaster after Coach Taylor announced he was leaving, then gave that phenomenal halftime speech.

Post game on field celebration: Riggins meets up with Jackie and Bo, Street chokes back some tears and points to his still married if on the rocks parents, Taylor and Saracen embrace each other in the most heterosexual manner possible. Smash celebrates with Riggins and his family, Taylor does the same with Tami and Julie.

Off field post-game: Lyla throws away her cheerleading uniform and offers Tyra a drive back in the inivisible car she has had since she was three years old.

Taylor tries to convince Tami that he can stay in Dillon coaching high school football, Tami insists that he has to accept the position because she believes he will grow to resent the new child and her if she doesn’t. It is pretty much the same conversation they had last episode but with Eric suggesting he stay. Julie walks in and we are left wondering what is decided.

Back in Dillon, there is a parade seemingly consisting only of old men, high school girls and the football team. It is a nice montage ran under the score of Daniel Johnston’s “Devil Town”, the second time they have used this song for a montage. The first time being the lead up to Saracen’s first start (the teams second game) at the end of the second episode, “Eyes Wide Open”.

Taylor drives to his office and listens to local talk radio debate his moral compass. It’s a nice contrast pointing out how far removed all these guys are from the situation. He walks inside where Street is prepping the team for the off season in the best speech he has given yet. When the team takes notice of Taylor, they start a slow clap which was expected in the build up to the scene, but not admired, we fade to credits in the middle of the clap.

And with that, we very well may have bid farewell to a great dramatic series. If this season stands alone, at the very least it won’t be compromised by the series stringing out for too many seasons, the plot lines getting stale or a revolving cast we’re not interested in… but I think I speak for all fans of this series that while there is the slim prospect that the integrity of the first season could be devalued, every single one of us wants this series renewed. Some people are writing to the network expressing their desire for a second season, these grasroots movements tend to be very ineffectual but I am up for whatever it would takes. So if your a fan of the series, take ten minutes out of your day and email the network. Those ten minutes could end up leading to twenty-two more hours of dramatic bliss.