Grid Effect

Is Friday Night Lights going to top itself every week? Can I look forward to this brand of symmetry and continuity from here on out? Again, a good barometer for how a show like this is critically and commercially appeasing the masses is the TWoP message boards. Judging by the total and laudatory vibe of the posts, the only time I recall an episode getting more collective praise was the season five penultimate episode of The Sopranos entitled “Long Term Parking”. In other words, the one where Adrianna was killed.

The entire episode revolves around the Mac McGill controversy, and every supplemental story seems to stem from it. So it’s only appropriate that we open with Smash giving one of those grainy camera local news interviews. He states what they are locking out for, in no uncertain terms, Smash and the other black players on the team want Mac fired. Otherwise they are prepared to sit out the playoff game against Hudson.

So with a third of the team, rightly or wrongly, sitting the game out, and coach Taylor conflicted about how to handle the situation, the decision to bring up several JV players to either start or sit in as reserves during the game has been made. And Tim Riggins has been asked to mentor the JV squad. Riggins, whom off the field has a difficult time adjusting and is seemingly anti-social, is a natural leader when it pertains to football (as seen last week in the powderpuff game). He proceeds to berate these three prepubescent sophomores with potential social, health and athletic consequences in order to get them in line. How unfortunate. This is not before erupting on one of these poor kids on the football field for a botched dry run. So to speak.

Matt, on the other hand, is more concerned with Julie than with his high school’s racial crisis and the pending playoff game. After attempting to make a mixed CD (at Landry’s assistance), and being warned by Tyra about the prospect of offering up a five cent CD with a slew of generic songs as a means of making amends, they head to a jewelery store to buy her back. Once there, he and Landry engage in what’s probably the funniest exchange of the series, in which they discuss the origins of making the CD, the best jewelery option and Landry’s chances with Tyra, which they are in striking disagreement about. All this is exchanged while the sweet old lady running the store listens on with a sheepish grin on her face. She is so sweet, that when Saceran tries to buy a something or other that is originally priced at $100, she immediately cuts the price in half after overhearing Matt tell Landry he only has $50. See these small towns have there inherent advantages, half off jewelery for some makeup sex, you can’t find that in New York or Los Angeles.

After purchasing the gem, Matt calls Julie and asks to meet her. Conveniently, she is at a strip club with Tyra to get money from her. Landry, who cannot help himself, asks Matt for some ones for “tips and $2 nachos”. Matt, just to get him off his back throws him a couple ones before Landry sneaks out to the main stage, gets an eyeful before getting spotted by either an undercover cop or a cop who doubles as a patron when at strip clubs. Somehow, it leads to all four minors being thrown into a holding cell. Tyra, Matt and Landry are all eventually processed, while Julie is told to remain seated. Matt tries to wait with her but is forced out by the cop. Apparently everyones parents short of Julie’s has showed up to pay bail and whatnot. Matt’s response, “My grandmother is here?” gives a picturesque vision of what that would actually be like. But Landry’s parents vouched for him, which is some sort of small town method of circumventing procedure.

The Taylor’s have been dealing with some domestic issues as of late, and it all comes to a heed with Julie’s temporary incarceration, after an episode and a half of Julie flummoxing her parents with her abnormally rebellious behavior, Tami simply loses it, which is uncharacteristic for our mother of the year. They get in one of those shouting matches that could best be described as the female equivalent to a dick measuring contest. They ground her, its left unopen.

Smash is standing firm with his lockout, and seemingly all of his peers are willing to follow. He is being encouraged by Waverly while his mom quietly disapproves. After she eavesdrops on her son and the manipulative little girl, she forces her hand and wisely informs him when to pick his battles, “You quitting football to prove a point in Dillon, Texas is not the million man march”. He eventually realizes she’s right and shows up with his fifteen teammates for the bus ride out to the game.

Mac, who was once characterized as the villain in all this, shows some genuine remorse this episode. Partly because his job is in limbo and partly because he has deep regret about offending Smash and the other black players. In a few of the better acted scenes between Kyle Chandler and Blue Deckert, we discover Mac is at least somewhat responsible for integrating the team (though it was probably never brought up because everyone would chalk it up to using them for that “junkyard dog” between them), that his dad (not surprisingly) has some racist tendencies that may have subconsciously rubbed off while growing up, that he is still adapting to a coaching under a man ten years younger than him in a spot he always believed would be his and he eventually tenders his resignation even, which Coach Taylor does not accept.

All of this culminates at the road playoff game, which turns out to be a breeding ground for the KKK. After Smash has been getting beat around after the whistle all night (with no penalties), he essentially scores the game clenching TD. And is tackled in the endzone. Smash tolerates it, but then is on the receiving end of a slew of racial slurs, which Riggins catches wind of and blindsides the shit out of this guy. A fight breaks out, they send the teams to there locker, some suit declares the game complete (apparently some stipulation that if a game needs to be called due to extenuating circumstances, 3 out of four quarters constitutes a full game). Taylor goes into the locker room to inform them but denies them the opportunity to celebrate, forces them on the bus in their uniforms and they walk the plank to a bunch of opposing fans chucking popcorn at them.

On the ride back, a cop pulls over the errily quiet bus full of teenagers and attempts to interrogate Smash. Taylor is speechless and Mac chimes in, telling the two cops that they are not permitted onto the bus without a warrant. The two Super Troopers eventually back down. The bus, more importantly Smash, overhears everything. When they arrive back in Dillon, Smash asks Mac what happened. He responds most earnestly, “They made a mistake, just like I did”, and walks off.

Matt finally gets around to giving Julie that piece apology jewelery and asks, “Will you be my girlfriend?” They kiss, which I suppose is a yes.

In the one story completely detached from everything else in the town, Jason is leaving for quad-rugby tryouts in Austin, much to the chagrin of essentially everyone. Tami and Lyla both take stabs at persuading him otherwise, he is unconvinced and heads off with Herc behind the wheel.

A lot of complexity to this episode and again it reminds me of The Wire in that there is no right or wrong or easy solution to fix a problem. Not only was this episode, introspective and nuanced with its drama, there were literally 8 or 9 lines that had me rolling, but they aren’t worth mentioning because they are all within the context of the given moment. I still thought the episode from two weeks ago had more complexity to it than this one, but it was a close second. Until tomorrow…