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Howdy, y’all, and welcome back to our Friday Night Lights rewatch! We’re midway through season one now, and the drama continues to be, well, dramatic.
Last week, Mandy W. posed quite the question: On a scale of Dan Scott to Keith Mars, how would you rate Eric Taylor as a father at this point of the show? For me, he’s riding right about in the middle, leaning toward Keith. He’s had some truly great moments, but he backslides a bit frequently, especially when it comes to his “football is life” mentality.
The previous episode saw Lyla getting bullied by her cheer team, Jason moving back home, Matt and Julie getting more serious, and Smash feeling feelings—and the effects of steroid use. What happens next? Before we dive in, let’s revisit the drinking game—
The Official FYA Friday Night Lights Season 1 Drinking Game
Drink once every time:
You want to give Matt Saracen a hug
Tami Taylor drinks a glass of white 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
You think, “It’s JUST football, people.”
The quick camera cuts make you reach for the Dramamine
Drink twice every time:
The Panthers score a touchdown
Tim Riggins makes poor choices
There’s a classic Coach Taylor pep talk
Grandma Saracen says something sassy
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”
Jason’s incident happens
Book club admits they don’t read the book
On to the episode!
1.11 “Nevermind”
Now at home, Jason pushes himself to get back to some semblance of normal … which includes making up—and making out—with Lyla. Unfortunately, his paralysis is pretty expansive, and he feels nothing below the belt. Lyla tries to help, in her very Lyla way, but it doesn’t seem to help all that much.
Tami realizes, after a hilarious conversation about how The Scarlet Letter is about a girl named Scarlett, that Tim’s been leaning pretty dang hard on the Rally Girls for his classwork. She gives him an ultimatum that threatens his ability to play football but also provides him an English tutor in the form of Landry. After reading the entirety of Of Mice and Men to Tim while he works out, Landry gets frustrated when Tim doesn’t seem to want to try. But Tim shows up at the first show of Landry’s Christian metal band, Crucifictorious, and tells Landry that he got a B- all on his own.
And Matt’s dad shows up, on leave for two weeks, and Matt couldn’t be more happy … at first. Matt quickly realizes that his dad doesn’t want to deal with his grandmother’s issues and would rather just put her in a home, meaning that Matt would have to move to Oklahoma to live with his aunt. Matt doesn’t appreciate his dad making these decisions, and the two get into a fight after Matt nearly loses the week’s game against the Wescott Warriors thanks to being distracted.
Oh, and Eric gets a call gauging his interest in being the quarterback coach at UT, which I’m sure will never come up again nor have any sort of ramifications in the future.
How many times do I have to take a drink?
I took 14 drinks and one shot, although they didn’t say the entirety of the “can’t lose” line, so it should have been more like a half-shot.
Did the Panthers win?
They did! Thanks to a second-string quarterback who doesn’t even get to show his face onscreen.
MVP of the Week
Landry deserves all the praise for attempting to coach Tim into doing his own work. Of Mice and Men might be short, but having to read the entire book out loud to Tim isn’t a five-minute task. And even after Tim struggles with the thought of doing the oral report, he still goes and get a B-. Well done, Landry.
Jerkiest Play of the Week
When Matt’s dad started yelling at Grandma Saracen, I wanted to punch him. HOW DARE he frighten her like that? I get that he doesn’t really understand (or seemingly care to understand) how to best handle her, but that was just a jerk move. She’s obviously fragile!
Best Taylor Couple Moment
They didn’t have much screen time together this week, but I did appreciate the garbage scene where Eric is fighting a losing battle. Why he ever attempts to outfox Tami is beyond me.
Tim Riggins’ Finest Moment
Tim understanding the ending of Of Mice and Men, how George became “the kind of man he said he never wanted to be” was pretty hot. Look at him being all literary and shizz.
The Taylor Advice of the Week
Eric talking to Tim at the church dinner, reiterating Tami’s ultimatum after arguing with her about it, was a chef’s kiss moment (and one that reaffirms my view that Eric definitely leans more toward Keith Mars overall).
Eric: “As usual, my wife is always right.”
Post-Game Breakdown:
- I actually missed Tyra this week.
- Every time I write one of these posts, most of my drinking is because of Matt. I feel for him and his grandma’s struggle; my dad had dementia and that’s not an easy thing to deal with. Especially at such a young age and without much support. (I get that his dad’s having his own struggles, but c’mon, dude.)
- WHERE did Lyla get that video? From the library? From the local Blockbuster?
Come back next week for Meredith C.’s recap of “What to Do While You’re Waiting.” My question for her—and you, gentle readers—is: Would you rather: Hang out with Buddy or attend a Crucifictorious show?
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I have SO MUCH love for Matt Saracen. He’s just a natural with his grandma – she does so much better with him because he doesn’t make her nervous, unlike his jerk of a dad.
The Tim and Landry plot is one of my faves of the whole season! I love that Tim tried to time it so he could be supportive without having to actually watch the band, till Landry told him there was a second set coming. I’d attend a Crucifictorious show in a heartbeat!
I’ve recently watched the new season of Criminal Minds, and in it, Zach Gilford plays a super charming serial killer. Going back and forth between the shows has been a hoot. But yes, ALL THE LOVE for Matt. His dad needs to take his example and get his head out of his butt.
Crucifictorious 4 Life!
100% Crucifictorious over Buddy.
Ok, my favourite scene is in the next episode (sorry to keep you on the edge of your seat), but the scene with Landry and Tim, where Landry asks Tim forlornly if he slipped through the cracks and Tim almost cracks up with “I can read, Landry!” is right up there as another favourite. The delivery is *chef’s kiss*. And still one of the most-quoted lines of any show ever between my husband and me.
That is an excellent moment! I love a good reluctant allies pairing! Their scenes together were my favorites of the episode for sure!
Totally agreed—that’s one of the best lines in the show. 😀
Jason going to a record store made me so nostalgic for the days when you could browse CDs and movies and things in person.
He was browsing in Waterloo, yes? It looked really familiar.
– This Landry/Tim storyline is probably (okay, definitely) my favorite relationship in Season One. We never see them interact before this, so it’s two opposite worlds colliding, and both end up the better for it.
– Also, Austin footnote, there is. no way in hell Crucifictorious could ever book a gig at Broken Spoke (where they play on the show). But it sure is fun to see it!
– I initially thought the record/CD store was Waterloo but upon revisiting, I think it might be Half Price Books?
I had the same thought about Broken Spoke. And good call on Half Price!
— Maybe because Jason is more receptive to her relentless determination this episode, but I was actually kind of charmed by Lyla’s contraband educational video 😂 like this girl is a DOER. She has a plan for everything, and maybe we’re more alike than I initially thought lol
— On a highly superficial note: somehow Connie Britton was extra hot this episode?!? Also, infer what you will with this information, but I did look up the age difference between her and Taylor Kitsch (14 years).
— Was very distracted by Julie’s ugly necklace at the game.
— Watching this and knowing how long the Iraq War lasted was just like dramatic irony when Papa Saracen was adamant about not leaving until the job was done, like the series finale aired before the war ended.