Well, I can’t think of a better episode name to kick off 2025 with than “Pantherama!” (And yes, the official title includes the exclamation point, because PANTHERAMA IS A BIG DEAL, Y’ALL.)
But before we get to that most illustrious of occasions, an answer to Meredith’s question and a quick recap of the last episode, because it’s been a while! Meredith asked, “What’s something you genuinely love about S2?” I have to give the easy answer and say: so much more Landry!! Even though his storyline isn’t, ahem, always fun, I love seeing him become more of a main character.
So, in the last episode, Landry and his dad torch Landry’s car (whoa) since it’s murder evidence; Jason decides he needs to move on from his life in Dillon (so much so that he’s not even in episode 7!); Matt has a cute new girlfriend, and Julie’s jealous; Coach takes on the role of Athletic Director to make more money; and Tim gets kicked off the team for his sojourn to Mexico but—because we’re entering one of the golden eras of Riggs—he still helps Santiago train. Aww!
Speaking of Tim, a reminder of our drinking game rules:
The Official FYA Friday Night Lights Season 2 Drinking Game
Drink once every time:
You want to give Matt Saracen a hug
Tami Taylor drinks a glass of wine
Tami Taylor says “y’all”
Landry Clarke goes off on a tangent
You’re Team Tyra Collette
Buddy Garrity makes you roll your eyes
Lyla Garrity is a little (or a LOT) much about the Jesus
You think, “It’s JUST football, people.”
You are not a fan of the romantic relationship you’re seeing on screen
Glen is just SO Glen
Baby Gracie appears in a scene
You are reminded why no one likes Season 2
Drink twice every time:
The Panthers score a touchdown
Tim Riggins makes poor choices
There’s a classic Coach Taylor pep talk
Landry and/or Tyra stress you out
Tami and Julie clash
Take a shot every time you hear:
“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!”
“Texas Forever.”
Finish your drink when:
Hands slap the Panther “P”
Landry straight up kills a guy
On to the episode!
2.07 “Pantherama!”
Recruiting season has officially begun, and Mama Smash has already had ENOUGH with the phone calls. She’s also worried that Smash is more focused on going pro than he is on getting a good education, because, well, he is. It doesn’t help that the very pretty sister (Noelle) of a former Dillon Panther shows up and raves to Smash about her brother’s experience on the fast track to professional football. While I don’t fault Mama for wanting Smash to go to Whitmore, an HBC where she believes he’ll be positioned for a better future in case he sustains an injury, I also don’t blame Smash for perceiving this as her expecting him to fail. It’s a complex situation—I tip my hat to the writers, because my inclination is to agree with Mama but I completely understand Brian’s perspective. Ultimately, Smash decides he’s gonna do this on his own, because he still wants to go pro, but now he’s in danger of breaking some very strict recruiting rules, so Mama asks Coach to keep an eye out for him.
In very not cool news, Billy is now dating neighbor Jackie, and Tim quickly decides he can no longer live in that house, which I totally get, so I shall not take a drink! He heads to Tyra’s place, and she grudgingly agrees to give him 48 hours. Cut to Tim chatting with Mindy about her nemesis at the Landing Strip (she danced to “Devil Went Down to Georgia” which everyone knows is Mindy’s song!) and being fed breakfast by Angela, and I dunno, y’all, I’m loving this domestic tableau. Apparently, Tyra doesn’t agree, and she kicks him out, but not before Mindy suggests a guy she knows who needs help with his pets in exchange for free rent. Tim heads over to a sketchy-looking place, where a large shirtless dude opens the door and appears to be VERY SUS, and not just because he starts talking about his ferrets (NOPE) named Roscoe and Coltrane. Not seeing any other options, Tim heads inside, and now I shall drink because THIS IS A TERRIBLE DECISION.
Over at Dillon High, there’s a handsome new teacher, Noah Barnett, who appears to be so young that Tami mistakes him for a student. He’s the faculty advisor for the paper, and Julie seems immediately smitten with him, especially when he accepts her pitch on a feature to cover the school’s fundraising event, Pantherama (sorry, Pantherama!)—where exactly do the funds go, she wonders? (Uh, Julie, you live in Dillon, TX. I think you know.) Later, after witnessing Matt kissing his new girlfriend, Lauren, in the hall, Julie escapes to Noah’s classroom, where she tearfully vents to him about the break-up, selectively omitting the part where she ended things, of course. He clearly feels bad for her and offers her a half of his sandwich, which feels like borderline inappropriate? Maybe not? Teachers, help me out here. Anyway, regardless of his intentions, Julie is now all heart eyes, especially after he gives her good feedback on her article, and when Tami walks into the classroom and sees Julie perched on his desk, she’s suddenly on HIGH ALERT. I am too (drink!), and it’s really hard to believe that Noah can’t see how Julie is acting around him.
Fortunately for my liver, the only murder-related event in this episode is Landry telling Tyra what happened with his dad and burning the car. And then Tyra gets a fun storyline, yay for all of us! Tami asks forces her and Lyla to head up the entertainment portion of Pantherama, which typically features the football team, but none of them sign up. So Tyra grabs the clipboard, marches into the boys’ locker room with Lyla following, and flirts her way into getting all of the players to agree to participate. Because of course she does! Later at rehearsal, lacking a clear idea for the routine itself, Tyra sees one of the guys strip off his shirt, and BOOM, a genius idea is born. When it’s time for the big show, the guys do their best Magic Mike and take off their shirts, then strip off their pants, and the crowd goes WILD!!! Well, haha, except for Tami, whose jaw drops. She gives a death stare to Tyra and Lyla but whatever, these girls nailed it, and the show is a hit! (So much so that I took about 3 drinks for Team Tyra.)
Tami: “WTF, y’all?!”
You know what’s not a hit? This storyline with Matt and Carlotta. While Matt’s new girlfriend, Lauren, is actually great (she helps him buy a used car, because she actually knows shit about cars, and she gets him a discount), Matt is still making eyes at Grandma’s nurse, because HE IS AN IDIOT. It becomes more than just eyes (ugh drink) when Carlotta offers to help him with his dance moves for the Pantherama show (“Like The Full Monty?” she asks, which okay did make me crack a smile because this show is officially old, y’all), and for SOME reason this involves them putting their hands on each other’s hips and touching a lot in general. Then, after the show, Matt, flushed with success, plants a big ole kiss on Carlotta, and the next morning, it seems that she might have feelings for him, too. NOPE NOPE NOPE-ITY NOPE.
I’ll turn to Santiago to end this recap on a positive note, i.e. wipe that bad Matt & Carlotta taste outta my mouth. Trying super hard to improve at practice, Santiago is making headway, so much so that Coach sends him to Tami to ensure that he’s squared away academically. She wants to meet with his parents, but he shares that they were deported, and his uncle is now his legal guardian. Unfortunately, Santiago hasn’t seen him in eleven months, which basically means he needs a new guardian, and Buddy offers to step into the role. Tami initially is like, absolutely NOT, is Coach just going along with this to get Santiago on the team? But then she meets with Buddy, and he seems genuinely serious about it; the two agree that Santiago deserves to have a chance. Cut to Tami and Coach helping Santiago “move in” (he has one bag) to Buddy’s apartment—Tami checks the fridge and tells Buddy to buy vegetables, and Coach makes his bed and tells him that’s the last time that will ever happen. Buddy awkwardly but sweetly welcomes Santiago to his room and apologizes for the meager hand-me-down furniture, but Santiago tells him this is the first real bed he’s ever had. Okay, maybe this scene is a bit much but it still got me! And I didn’t eye roll at Buddy even once!
How many times do I have to take a drink?
14
Did the Panthers win?
No game this week, but they sure did win the hell out of that Pantherama show!
MVP of the Week
Pantherama would’ve been NOTHING without Tyra Collette, y’all. Also, I loved seeing her and Lyla work together and be friends. Can we get more of that, show?!
Investigative Journalism Play of the Week
When Julie’s feature comes out, Coach is NOT happy, especially when he reads the line, “Athletic director and Panther football Coach Eric Taylor had no comment.”
He complains to Tami, “She asked me through the bathroom door, what was I supposed to do? I was busy!” Well played, Julie.
Tami Taylor’s “Oh Honey” of the Week
As Lyla tries to get out of having to work on Pantherama, Tami cuts her off. “Oh honey, you are not using Jesus Christ Our Lord as an excuse not to help out your counselor, are you?” Busted, Lyla!!
Pantherama Landry Is Still So Very Landry
During the show, Landry strips off his shirt to reveal… a wifebeater underneath. Bless.
Best Taylor Couple Moment
Right after Coach and Buddy spring the idea of the latter being Santiago’s guardian, Tami asks Buddy to step out of her office for a minute so she can freak out on Coach. “Don’t whisper yell at me, don’t whisper yell at me!” he says frantically, which cracked me up because that is totally what she’s doing, and damn I love them so much.
Tim Riggins’ Finest Moment
Tim Riggins excels at hanging out with women, and the Collette household is no exception. I loved his rapport with Mindy, especially because it’s chummy versus flirty, and seconds after Tyra pours water on his face to get him to wake up and leave, Angela asks if he wants breakfast. (He says yes, even as water drips down his face.) Also, check out Tyra’s Crucifictorius tank!!
The Taylor Advice of the Week
Heeding Mama Smash’s request to keep an eye on her son, especially because he doesn’t have a father of his own to help him, Coach catches Smash having an unsanctioned lunch with a recruiter. He clears out the recruiter, then sits down with Smash and tells him that he’s one of the best athletes he’s ever coached. Then he brings up his own father, who gave Eric a hard time about every decision he ever made; they clashed constantly. “I’m here,” Coach tells him. “I just want to remind you of that.”
Maybe it’s not advice so much as Coach really trying to be there for one of his players, but I really loved this moment.
The Faces of Pantherama
Smash’s Mama: Shocked but not in a bad way!
Tami: Shocked and definitely in a bad way! (Meanwhile Coach looks… like it’s not that big of a deal.)
Grandma Saracen: Shocked and in the BEST way! She is positively titillated.
Post-Game Breakdown
The moments I liked about this episode definitely outweighed the parts I didn’t like, but unfortunately the latter are only going to get worse as we move head. But hey, we’ll always have Pantherama!
Join us next week for Stephanie’s recap of “Seeing Other People.” And in the meantime, here’s a question for everyone that is very specific to this episode: Do you really think Noah is oblivious to Julie’s feelings for him?! Because I CANNOT.
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Handsome young male teacher NOT on high alert when a cute female student flirts with him? That means he likes it, and I am ALL the side-eyes about it.
Completely the take-away I had as well, Meredith. I honestly cannot remember how this storyline plays out in the long run, so just based on what I’m seeing this time around, I’m hearing all the alarm bells.
I HATE CARLOTTA. That’s all I have to say about that. Actually, no — this storyline is so annoying. Car-buying girlfriend was adorable, Matt; Carlotta is inappropriate and rude.
Buddy is so unserious but they do give him these parenting moments sometimes that make you feel like he wouldn’t be SUCH an unscrupulous goober if he’d had some, like, better role models when he was younger. Maybe another hobby or two that wasn’t FOOTBALL. Did his father only care about football and this is how he compensates for not being loved enough? Now I suddenly want to know Buddy’s backstory/childhood trauma, lol.
I agree; I enjoyed the camaraderie between Riggins and the Collettes. Riggins needs more positive women influences in his life that he doesn’t look to sleep with.
I LOLed at Tami’s Jesus line to Lyla, so well-played.
I totally agree with you, Sarah, that there’s some nuance to Smash’s situation. It’s been a bit since I watched this episode so I can’t recall if I’m missing a good reason as to why not, but what I kept wondering (and it’s probably my college advisor brain lol) that they wouldn’t acknowledge — like, it really shouldn’t matter WHERE Smash goes to school as long as he picks a major with decent job outlook AND gives enough of a shit about school to actually learn and not just let the school pass him because he’s an athlete. If he really wanted to, he could figure out how to both get the degree and go pro, it’s not an either/or situation. At the very least, Mama Smash, let the dude go pro BUT make damn sure he has a sound financial advisor who ensures he invests a good portion of his contract salary so if he DOES get hurt and has to retire early, he can just PAY to go back to school like everyone else. Or he can live off his investments. Again, it’s not a “go pro or go broke” binary situation. (But alas, logic does make for good TV!)