Spoilers for tonight's "Friday Night Lights" coming up just as soon as I weed out the serial killers... "You can't fake boosterism, Eric. Comes from the heart. That's the beauty of it." -Buddy GarrityI spent a lot of "Some Kind of Homecoming" trying to suss out the timeline. As the show's title tells us, high school football is played on a Friday night, so when Principal Burnwell, at the start of a school day, congratulates Eric on having finished a game "last night," I began to wonder if the East Dillon High schedule is designed to disprove Russell Cosby's old taunt that someone can be "like school on Saturday... no class!" (UPDATE: Several DirecTV viewers told me that the line was changed in post-production to "last Friday," so at least that's one inconsistency fixed.) And all through the episode, I found myself wondering what day certain events were supposed to be taking place on. Why was Devin taking Julie to the area's only gay bar on a school night? Why were Riggins going hunting on a Thursday? Hadn't enough days passed over the course of the episode that we should be close to the next game?
I'm not saying that all those questions can't be satisfactorily answered (some kids do go out on weeknights, for instance), nor that they ruined my enjoyment of the episode. But the weird timeline was emblematic of a sloppiness that "Friday Night Lights" occasionally falls prey to, and that was there in abundance throughout "Some Kind of Homecoming." It wasn't a bad episode, but it was one that felt more necessary (in that it moved a lot of pieces in place) than it was satisfying (because those movements weren't particularly graceful).
I didn't like, for instance, that Matt's motivation for staying in Dillon has now been rewritten to center on his relationship with Julie. When he decided to stay halfway through Mindy and Billy's wedding last season, it was a sad moment, because Matt deserved to get the hell out of this town, but also a sweet one, because it was obvious how much his grandma meant to him. Having him now say (and appear to mean) that he stayed for Julie makes the decision seem both more foolish (because she's going to college in a year herself) and less noble.
Now, Zach Gilford's no longer a regular castmember, and will be getting the Smash/Street Farewell Tour treatment later this season - presumably set up by the death of Matt's dad (who, don't forget, only went back to Iraq because Matt told him to, which will be yet another burden for the poor kid) - so shifting Matt's motivation may make it easier to write him out. But it didn't sit well with me.
Neither did a lot of the Vince/Luke interaction. When "Friday Night Lights" is at its best, it transcends the usual cliches of high school movies and TV shows, but here both their fighting and their detente felt exactly like the sort of thing I've seen a million times before, and not just in Riggins and Smash's arguments in the first two seasons. I know it's hard to introduce two new characters and so quickly have to put them at odds with each other and have it feel real and not trite, but "Friday Night Lights" has proven itself up to that task in the past. Just not here. I appreciate that both Luke (still hanging out with JD and his punk friends, and quick to judge Vince) and Vince (more in his interactions with Jess and Landry than in this story) were allowed to show ugly sides this week, but I'd rather the tension between the two of them be more natural.
Unsurprisingly, the best, most natural parts of the episode involved Coach and Mrs. Coach, with Tami continuing to suffer the fallout for sending Luke to East Dillon, and Eric scrambling to create a new booster club out of the alums from the 1983 Lions state championship team. Their combined fatigue led to a couple of hilarious moments - first an exhausted Tami realizing she had just volunteered to cook dinner for the potential boosters (Connie Britton's high-pitched delivery of "Perhaps, I am" killed), then Eric going from terrified to relieved when good ol' boy Buddy showed up at the booster dinner and turned out to be able to connect to his old opponents - but it also led to a nice moment where the alums, and the team, and some of the student body, all came together for the pep rally, and we saw that Eric's on the right track in trying to build a community to go along with his team.
Though even there, a detail bugged. Earlier, Principal Burnwell was giving Eric the okay to do a pep rally at the school since it doesn't cost money, so who exactly paid for Virgil to host and cater a gathering this big? Or did Jess convince him to not only loan out the space, but donate all that food?
Again, I'm not saying that the plotting in "Friday Night Lights" needs to be airtight all the time. It's a show about character, and place. It's just that the characters and their world felt as fuzzy as the storytelling for a lot of "Some Kind of Homecoming."
Some other thoughts:
• I'm glad to see that Landry has learned a lot from his time with Tyra about what not to do - and what to do - around a girl he likes. The awkward Landry of season one wouldn't have been able to so confidently plant a kiss on Jess and then walk away like that. (The Landry of season two just would have killed her and tried to hide the body.)
• Speaking of old relationships, Tim and Matt's hunting trip not only provided an opportunity for comedy, with Tim taking away Matt's gun, but also for as much of an explanation as the series is going to give us about Tim and Lyla, as Tim says, "I think we had different paths."
• And as we learn that Becky doesn't have her license yet - which, in Texas, would put her at 15, and therefore helps to explain Riggins' mortal terror at the idea that he might somehow fall into bed with her - we do see that Tim feels bad for his new neighbor, who's been abandoned by her parents just as much as Tim and Billy were by theirs. Becky's mom (and it took me until this episode, when we got to see her in the daylight, to fully accept that it was Alicia Witt playing her) is present some of the time, but clearly not enough. Riggins confessing his heartbreak over never making Miss Texas was another funny, and sweet moment.
• Still more detail oddness: we find the Panthers, due to the Luke Cafferty forfeit, are now at risk of missing the playoffs if they lose one more game, even though the season two team made the playoffs with more than two losses, I believe. Clearly, this is setting the stage for the eason to climax with the Lions facing the Panthers with a chance to knock Wade, JD and the rest of them out of the playoffs, gaining their dignity, if not a winning record, in the process.
• Did we have any evidence last season that Devin (who, as I recall, was a freshman at the time) and Julie are friends? They have a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon thing from Devin being in a band with Landry and Landry being best friends with Julie's boyfriend, but it still seemed out of the blue for Devin to ask Julie to take her to the area's only gay bar.
• Their trip to said bar did allow Julie to discover that Stan is gay and in the closet. I really hope that this isn't used as the explanation for all of Stan's eccentricities - that he's overcompensating for his secret shame by being so loud and enthusiastic about football - because I think he's a much more interesting character if he's just this weird, gay or straight.
• Vince silently handing Luke back his wallet was funny, but wouldn't the cops have made Vince empty his pockets before they tossed him in a cell?
• JD remains an evil cartoon, but it's interesting to see that Luke continues to hang out with them - and that JD allows this to happen now that Luke plays for the hated Coach Taylor. Obviously, there's going to be more tension to come between Luke's old teammates and his new ones.
• I'm putting aside the "When will Angry Necklace Guy ask to rejoin the team?" question aside for one week, to instead wonder if the point of Jess's love of football will be to have her join the team as a much more gifted punter and placekicker than Landry could ever hope to be. If Kathy Ireland could kick for the Texas State fightin' Armadillos, surely Eric Taylor can find a spot on his squad for the offspring of a former state champion QB.
• A couple of good song choices, as per usual: "White Knuckles" by OK Go over one of the early practice montages, and "Teardrop" by Jose Gonzales over the soldiers arriving at Grandma Saracen's house to stun Shelby and Lorraine with the tragic news.
What did everybody else think?
41 comments:
Did I miss a huge plot point at the end of the ep? Isn't the stuff about Matt's dad a spoiler?
Why would it be a spoiler... the military at grandma's door and Julie telling Matt that his dad died answered that question nicely.
It's funny how people see episodes differently. I thought this episode was the best of the season so far (just falling short of episode 1). I got goosebumps on a ocuple of occasions and I thought that for the first time things actually flowed and the show seemed well paced and natural... The last 2 episodes seemed rushed and all over the place.
Anyway... beautiful episode! My favorite part of it too was the the brilliant work by Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler... but I really enjoyed pretty much all of it. Looks to be a tearjerker in 2 weeks!
"The Landry of season two just would have killed her and tried to hide the body."
Second best laugh of the week: Only Funkhauser's joke on Curb Your Enthusiasm had me laughing louder.
At least in Eastern PA, high school football is sometimes played on Thursday nights. Its not common but it does happen.
Also, the fact that a team could miss (or make) the playoffs simply boils down to the degree of parity (like an NFL team making the playoffs with a 9-7 record) but missing the playoffs the next year with a 10-7 record.
Gracie's teddy bear as a pillow for Coach was a nice touch. I wasn't at all bothered by the all of the apparent timeline consistencies. In fact, I like that if I choose to I have to think about the possible connections that could make the plots work. I thought this was a really solid episode about swallowing one's pride. I cheered when Buddy swallowed his Panther pride and became a Dillon Booster. The Lions pep rally scene was beautifully filmed and edited. Especially enjoyed the glances Tami and Eric shot across the proceedings at each other. I'm intrigued that Tami hasn't really said anything to Eric about the struggles she is facing. Instead, she cooks a feast for her husband and his struggles. Where does one find a spouse like that?
Alan,
In Texas, some games do get played on Thursday nights and some are played on Saturday afternoons, but the overwhelming majority are played on Friday nights. Biggest determining factor is whether or not multiple schools in a school district have to share the same stadium.
Do you think Devin is going to become a more major character and/or get a girlfriend?
It seems like they're trying to add a hot lesbian couple for ratings... not that'd I'd mind. ;)
I had the timeline questions at the end of the episode, too, though I thought the episode got stronger as it went along.
Hilarious Moment of the Episode: I actually found Riggins falling down at the sound of the gunshot rather than his taking of Matt's gun away (though that was pretty funny as well) hilarious each time I watched it.
Hilarious Moment of the Episode #2: "Buddy Garrity ate all my damn steak."
Tami's "I need chocolate" line after screaming in her car was pretty close too.
I sat up from my bed and screamed, "No!" when the two military guys showed up at the Saracens' door. Even more impact after watching Saving Private Ryan earlier in the day.
You've got an asterisk in the 3rd paragraph before the bullet points, talking about the pep rally, with no accompanying footnote.
I wasn't bothered by the inconsistencies in the timeline. I'm used to reading comics.
Riggins was on fire. Eating the slice of pizza, feeling physical pain when dress shopping, etc.
"- which, in Texas, would put her at 15"
Not necessarily. She could have just waited. Or her mom never took her, etc.
Also, the BBQ dude might have just charged 2 bucks or whatever. Or that guy who told Coach he'd make some calls might have gotten it sponsored.
When Julie made the decision to go to East Dillon, she cited the fact that the rest of her friends had all graduated and that Devin was now at East Dillon. This established that they were friends at that point, but there was absolutely nothing in the previous season that would make us think that and it seemed out of place at the time. It made some sense that the writers would do this, since Julie's only friend among the main characters was Tyra. But it seemed like more of a easy/lazy device to a) give Julie some friends when Matt leaves (without having to hire another new actor), b) keep Devin around, and c) give Julie another reason to move to East Dillon. Seemed a little awkward at the time, though, and it still does now.
And I agree .... Matt's stating that he stayed for Julie -- and not Grandma Saracen -- was fairly jarring, given how big a plot point that was in the finale. To be honest, I thought his departure would be facilitated in the story by the death of Grandma, not his dad (and his relationship with Julie).
Also ... it looks like the Lions recognized that their strength is the Luke/Vince running combo -- it looked like they were running the option in the football scenes. However, if I saw it correctly, it looks like they went against the configuration that Alan advocated and played to stereotype by putting Luke at QB and Vince at RB.
I agree it was - as Alan put it - an ungraceful necessary episode. I kept telling myself each time one of the time line things or coincidences or even contradictions occurred it that it was an adjustment episode they have to do ever so often.
A couple more things that I noticed -
Coach made the comment he had papers to grade - I know we can assume he has a teaching cert but this is the first time I ever remember him mentioning having to teach.
And this one really got me -I think I heard this righ - when coach and assistant crazy were calling boosters and Tammy came in from her meeting with the school board prez she made the offhand comment "I have to get ready to go to school" What time do they start school in Texas? noon?
The beginning scene with Coach Taylor was a little jarring. Did they have a different director. The fast camera movement reminded me of the movie Top Gun with fast talk followed by quick camera movement in close quarters.
I have to constantly block out the timeline inconsistencies in favor of the character development. Still a great show.
@Anonymous 6:48AM
It looked to me like they were installing the "Wildcat," which involves either no QB at all on the field, or the QB split out as a WR, with a RB getting a direct snap and the option to run it himself, pitch to the other RB, or throw an option pass.
Was I the only one actually relieved that it was Saracen's dad who died in the ep, based on the previews from last week? I've been dreading Gramma's death this whole week!
The biggest loophole is that a school district would reopen a high school, force kids to go there, and leave it in an embarrassing state of disrepair. I understand that it makes for a great "us vs. them" and "haves vs. have nots".........but it's the same school district budget used for both schools and you couldn't come close to getting away with that.
I don't mind Matt admitting he stayed for Julie. I felt even during last season's finale when he claimed it was for Grandma that she was never the only reason. And this season so far wherein he's spent far more time with Julie than taking care of Lorraine seems to amplify that.
I didn't notice anything weird with the timeline, so when I read the beginning of your review I thought I missed something. I went back and watched that scene over again and Burnwell says "last Friday" and not "last night."
Huh. They must have gone in and fixed that one in post-production after the review copies were made available.
Well, that's one problem solved, at least.
I don't know what ep you were watching but the practice ep did have the alignment Alan advocated. Vince was taking the snap with Luke coming across the formation to take the handoff. It did appear to be a variation of the Wildcat (though it might have just been a spread option offense like Texas used to run with Vince Young). Regardless, in the technical sense of the term, Vince was the "quarterback" with Luke as the running back from what I could tell.
I thought the scene with Matt and Riggins was good/depressing. That "Texas forever" toast was a far cry from Season 1's.
While the Julie-Devon friendship does seem contrived, in addition to the fact that Julie mentioned being friends with Devon when she transferred, we're also not privy to six months or more of every year. Each season of FNL is just the fall with the tail-end of summer, right? So it's not inconceivable that Julie and Devon would become closer through their mutual acquaintances over that time.
Re: My comment about the option and the QB decision
Actually, I re-watched the scene, and it looks like Vince and Luke each took one snap as QB/direct-snap-back (Vince took the snap before they got chewed out, Luke took it after). Looks like the writers were very cognizant of the potential "QB controversy."
Both the formation and the talk about reading the defensive end and staying in the pitch lane (as well as the lack of the jet sweep) made it sound more like a spread option than a Wildcat (http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/jets-at-dolphins-how-the-wildcat-works/) ... but maybe not. In any case, it's gratifying to see the writers making intelligent/logical coaching decisions with the team ... just another great wrinkle in the show.
And ... I re-watched the scene with the principal, as well, and he definitely says "last Friday," not "last night." The camera cuts away from him to Coach just before the words come out of his mouth, so they must have recognized the issue and edited it in post-production (it even seemed like the audio didn't quite match up with his lips moving, at least on my quick viewing).
While we are discussing timeline issues... How are Matt and Tim old enough to "go out for a beer sometime"? Aren't they supposed to be 19?
Q1: Why was Devin taking Julie to the area's only gay bar on a school night?
A1: Maybe the bar had something special on during mid-week to attract business. It seems the ladies went to Steers on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening.
Q2: Why were Riggins going hunting on a Thursday?
A3: Because he is helping out with the Dillon football team and needed to be back in time for Friday's preparations.
Q3: Hadn't enough days passed over the course of the episode that we should be close to the next game?
A3: Possibly, but not necessarily. The pep rally, at which Riggins and Saracen were absent, appears to have been on the Thursday. Riggins and Saracen arrive home late Thursday night. My expectation is that the next episode should start with Friday's events leading up to a Friday Night Lights game. The "last night" comment that you saw in the screener was the most puzzling but this has since been eliminated as a discrepancy.
Q4: How are Matt and Tim old enough to "go out for a beer sometime"? Aren't they supposed to be 19?
A4: Age has never stopped Riggins from going out for a beer - it doesn't have to be at a bar.
"A4: Age has never stopped Riggins from going out for a beer - it doesn't have to be at a bar."
But we saw him at a bar several times getting served by Becky's mom. I guess it could be that he gets served because he looks 28...but it is still a distracting point.
I really liked this episode. As for the issues that have been brought up:
1. Yeah, they edited that scene so that the principal says "Last Friday". That puts that scene at Monday, probably.
2. It's early in the season, and the callers are probably just being dramatic about missing the playoffs. Sports fans are very histrionic. Also, in previous seasons, especially Season 1, the Panthers only made the playoffs because of fortunate losses by other teams.
3. Julie's friendship with Devon was first mentioned earlier in the season. I don't see it as much of a stretch, because we've seen Julie hanging out with Landry sans Matt. So a friend of Landry's could easily become a friend of Julie's. We also know she's been to at least one of Devon's gigs.
4. With that being said, I thought it was pretty clear that Devon was only asking Julie to go to Steers with her because Landry was suddenly unavailable. During the scene where Jess asks Landry to the party, Devon is watching it happen like someone watching a puppy being kicked, and then the scene ends with Landry asking, "What is that? Why with that tone?". Then, almost immediately after that scene, we have Devon asking Julie.
Now, for my own comments:
-How awesome was Landry this episode? It's great to see him left so confident after his relationship with Tyra. He's kissing Jess after knowing her a few weeks (at most), while with Tyra it took him eight months or more to even work up to awkward arm rubbing. Also, with the refusing to just say "Yes" whenever a pretty girl asks for something. Way to go, Landry.
-Speaking of Tyra, how weird is it that she and Tim are related now? They're in-laws! Hearing Tim call Mindy "Minds" really drove it home for me.
-Tami needs to do demand a guest spot on "Slammin' Sammy" and call out all the people who are bashing her. That would be a great forum for a verbal thrashing (or several) from Tami.
-The disparity between regular Becky and Interview!Becky was amazing.
-Tim was awesome in this episode as well. I loved at the beginning of the dress shopping scene, Tim hunched over, looking like he was barely keeping it together.
-I think my favorite shot of the episode was the one of the guy at the party carrying this ridiculously huge wine glass.
-I, too, would love to see Jess come on as the Lions' punter.
-Devon's connection in Steers was super-cute. They could make a great couple. I'm glad they've brought Devon back as a character. She was one of my favorite parts of last season. I'm glad her friendship with Landry is still solid, and I hope they show some more of their band. I also hope they explore Devon's sexuality some more. We saw her confirmation that she was gay, we saw her coming out to the first person, and now we're seeing her first attempt to meet another girl. I hope we see her experiences all the way through.
-I wanted to smack Matt when he shot at nothing. That's so damn dangerous! Tim should have taken that gun away from him and then hit him with it.
-"I need some chocolate, please!"
-What a blow for Matt...but I worry that it's going to get even worse. His dad's death still doesn't get Matt any closer to getting out of Dillon. I think he's going to get a double wammy, and his grandma will die too.
Riggins can get served at any bar in town, both because he's a Panthers hero and because he has fake IDs. When he gave JD McCoy a tour of Dillon last year, he told JD to refer to him as an Iraq war vet at one of the bars.
Because my MO is to hone in the most minor detail in a post, I am here to address the idea of a girl punter:
A girl kicker would certainly work, but I really hope it's not going to happen here, because that girl is TINY. Depending on her height, she could weigh as little as 80 pounds. However tough she is, I just don't want to put that lack of mass onto a high school football field. If you doubled her weight she'd be underweight.
I've never been hunting in my life, but does it drive anyone else crazy when people on TV go hunting without giant orange things on them?
About the money/pep rally thing: I took it that people who attended the pep rally paid for their food. That's how it worked at our pep rallies. Local vendors would sell hamburgers and barbecue chicken and cotton candy at the rally. Or sometimes you would buy tickets to the rally that you could use to get food.
Alternative explanation: the deacon's calls did the job, and the other boosters sponsored the rally.
The inconsistencies don't bother me too much mainly because I know nothing about high school schedules; I thought this was the best episode yet. I agree with everyone else here that the Matt/Julie staying behind stuff sucked, though.
Wouldn't Jess joining the football team be too cliche? They would end up going down this road of women's rights to play on sports teams becoming this Dillon controversy.
And what would be the point? Landry has already been reduced to kicker/punter on the team. Now he's going to be replaced as the kicker/punter by Jess, his gf? I mean there is humiliating Landry, and then there is "hey isn't that the guy on the winless East Dillon team that lost his spot to his gf?" humiliation.
Besides, if Landry is removed as punter/kicker, how is Landry going to play a pivotal role in the fake punt/kick that beats the Panthers?
That hunting trip was too funny. Tim talked so much about "whitetail" and "boar" but he freaked out when Matt actually fired his gun. You got the sense that the Riggins brothers' idea of hunting just involves drinking, camping, and walking around with rifles.
"Devon's connection in Steers was super-cute. They could make a great couple."
"Conversation about a kicker"
HOW ABOUT: We add the two together?
Devin gets that girlfriend and, through the connection with the Landry/Jess pairing, that girlfriend acquires the awesome kicking skills. Drama ensues when Devin tries to convince said girlfriend not to try out for the football team (I'm assuming the girlfriend is a Panther because she is white and well-off looking) because she doesn't want to risk her being a victim of a hate crime or straining her friendship with Landry and out of love the Lesbian-Girlfriend complies. Or, if not, Landry and Jess can come under fire for teaching the opposing team's new kicker.
Ok, a bit contrived but it would solve some of the plot issues or actress size issues ya'll have.
And spawn lots of fanfictions with lesbian erotica/threesomes. (Lesbian in the locker room would probably get a whole lot of tune-ins and stir controversy to boost ratings and maybe get us a 6th season! yeehaw!)
Huh. I wasn't bothered by the time inconsistencies (since I know NOTHING about football, even after watching this show for 3 seasons. :D) as much as the tension and the temporary truce of said tension between Luke and Vince, which didn't feel real - either it was too rushed, or that they didn't convey it enough in the episode. It was slightly annoying.
I still hate that we haven't gotten more depth with the McCoys as the 'baddies' of the season.
I do like that Saracen and Riggens connected over being people who had the chance to get out of Dillon yet chose to stay (for various reasons), even though it was a little strange to randomly have them go hunting.
At first I was also annoyed that Saracen's reason for staying had switched (as said, it was poignant and sad to see him choose his grandma over art school), but when I thought about it, it kind of makes a little sense (maybe). I think his grandma WAS the reason he didn't go, but now that he did stay, Julie became probably the only good thing Matt feels he can hold onto to live through his sad life in Dillon (also why he was so pissed at the artist) - once she leaves next year, Matt is back to delivering pizzas and taking care of his grandma with no real prospects and now no one to be with; so I can kind of see why he suddenly declared Julie to be the reason he stayed and not his grandma.
I noticed the line about Coach having to grade papers too. (Adult child of career public school teachers/administrators.) My explanation is that Dillon High budgeted for a full-time football coach, but East Dillon only budgeted for a part-time coach so Coach has to teach a few classes a day to earn a full salary. Most coaches in this position teach physical education/health but some teach history or science. Maybe we'll get a scene of Coach in the classroom this season.
Riggins taking away Matt's gun was hilarious as was the scene with Vince finally returning the wallet. Billy & Mindy are always good for some comic relief in their limited screentime.
Funny how Buddy was Eric's biggest nemesis in the first season & now he's his savior.
Poor Matt. He never can catch a break.
"(The Landry of season two just would have killed her and tried to hide the body.)"
I laughed out loud at that. It was made even better by the fact that I'm introducing a friend to the show, and we're currently in the second season.
I'm glad I'm one of many readers not bothered by minor plot points. The good stuff in the ep. far outweighed the cliche - and I feel like the conflict between Vince and Luke comes from a different place than that of Smash and Riggins; that's why I'm not having a problem with the new one, even if it manifests itself in similar ways.
The criticism I'm not sure about was Matt "changing" his reason for staying in Dillon. Maybe its just my personal interpretation of him, but I always felt like it was for Julie and Grandma just gave him a more "legitimate" reason to stay.
Either way, I loved the ep and how it pushed things forward. Teardrop cover was stellar (but seriously, Jose Gonzales: start getting big on your own tunes), and I'm gonna be on pins and needles 'til I see the fallout from the end.
My favorite moment was Buddy's face at the East Dillon Lions' pep rally. That shot where he tells us that this is how a high school pep rally should feel was so heartfelt and poignant. He's going to make a good East Dillon booster.
BTW FNL fans - NBCstore tweeted that they are working on East Dillon caps & tshirts. I know what I want for Xmas!
Enjoyed this episode, though it did feel a bit disjointed. I totally agree with the poster that said Tim was on fire this episode. My favorite sneaky-funny line was when Mindy freaks out over the rifles and Tim says casually, "Mins, I don't think they're loaded; we're fine." THINK?! Ah, I feel much safer now.
Another nice moment that I feel is unique to FNL: the Texas cop referring to the players as 'the white kid' and 'the black kid', and coach responding with "His name's Vince," before going into the cell and working his magic.
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