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Welcome back to the rewatch, Panther fans, where we are in full penultimate mode. Last week, the Panthers got real muddy in the process of winning against the Brant Vikings, and now they’re headed to state! Waverly and Smash are at a crossroads regarding her bipolar diagnosis, and Lyla and Jason are at a crossroads about pretty much everything. On the plus side, his suit has been settled against Coach to the satisfaction of all parties, just in time for Coach to extend a job offer to Jason! Coach is still considering his own job offer (and move) to TMU, and Riggins is still playing dad to the kid next door, as well as Zaddy to the kid’s mom. It’s such a bad idea, y’all! Finally, in a near-unbearable scene, Tyra is sexually assaulted by a random predator before she fights him off and tearfully divulges everything to her new algebra tutor, Landry.
This first season wraps up next week, and Kandis asked me if there’s anything about it that I’m appreciating anew this time around. I have to say it’s that characters who originally didn’t do much for me, like Julie and Lyla, have won their ways into my heart. I’ve even found some sympathy for Buddy Garrity?! I’m getting soft in my old age.
Refresh your drinks while I refresh you on the drinking game rules:
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!
1.21 “Best Laid Plans”
Tami wakes up Coach right before his FOUR A.M. alarm, which I believe in my heart is grounds for divorce. She has a bad feeling about the potential move to Austin, and wants him to promise he won’t commit to anything during his TMU meeting today. Coach shows a bit of reluctance during the meeting, resulting in the TMU suit telling him that they’ve got another choice lined up right behind him. They need an answer immediately, so Coach gives them one: “Gentlemen, I accept.” He comes home with a bottle of champagne and tells Tami he said yes. She reacts better than I would! But after hearing about Tyra’s assault (more on that in a bit), she realizes how important it is to her to honor the commitment she made to her own job, and she proposes to Coach that she and Julie stay in Dillon until Julie graduates from high school, because of course Julie’s been near-hysterical since hearing about the move.
Coach says “no” without even thinking about it, in one of my least favorite Coach moves ever. He says he couldn’t handle the long distance, but really, he’s unwilling to view Tami’s job as equal to his, or her and Julie’s needs as equal to his own. Tami gets her own licks back in during the annual Panther Football pre-state roast (?) – and then pulls her comedy routine back around to a place of warmth and kindness, showing Coach the error of his ways through her own generosity of spirit. He tells her later, “I love you, I respect you, I’m proud of you, I am in love with you completely. I’m sorry for the way all this happened.” Then he adds, “Austin is gonna be good to this family.” And Tami, hugging him back, says, “I know it is. But baby, I’m not going to Austin.” Cliffhanger ending!
Tyra’s been skipping school since her assault, and her mom’s out of town helping a relative, so she’s just sitting at home all alone with this horrible trauma. Landry stops by to check on her, and he urges her to talk to someone about what happened, but she swears him to secrecy. In a somewhat understandable move, Landry ends up telling first Matt and then Tami about it, and Tami shows up to convince Tyra to report the attack. Tami’s exactly who Tyra needs through all of this, so it really resonates to the viewers why she wouldn’t want to up and move to Austin for her husband’s job when she’s making such a difference with her own. Tyra seems grateful for Tami’s help but is at first furious at Landry for spilling, and she calls him a pathetic geek. She apologizes very sincerely later, but Landry ties with Coach in my Least Valuable Player ranking by going full nice guy, accusing her of getting back together with Tim (they’re attending the roast together as friends) and generally predicting her future in the bleakest and most insulting terms. If you’re wondering if any character alive can get away with the “nice guys finish last” routine, the answer is a resounding no. If Landry can’t do it, no one can!
Lyla’s dealing with a lot this week – Buddy and, uh, Mrs. Garrity tell her and her siblings that they’re getting a divorce, and then they ill-advisedly hash out custody arrangements directly in front of the kids. Lyla storms out and heads straight over to Jason’s house, where she finds him making out with Suzy, who’s in town for a few weeks. She throws her engagement ring at him, gives him a hearty “SCREW YOU!” and then refuses to see him when he shows up at her house later in the episode.
In happier relationship news, Waverly needs a little time and space to focus on healing from her most recent bipolar episode, so she tells Smash he can have a two-week “hiatus” to party and flirt with girls. He seems excited at first, but then cutely goes straight to her house after the roast, politely rejecting a rally girl who’s hitting on him, because he just wants to be with Waverly. Good on ya, Smash!
How many times do I have to take a drink?
8
Did the Panthers win?
It’s an off-week before state, but considering how bad they all are at comedy (except Tami!), I’d say they earn a big L at the roast. Coach gets a few polite chuckles, Smash gets a pretty good one over on Riggins, and Riggins utterly crashes and burns.
MVP of the Week
Tami is there for Tyra, for Coach, for Julie, for Landry, but most importantly, she’s there for herself this week. No one should have this much grace and this much good hair in one package. It is unjust.
The Best Two-Hander of the Week
Jason is officially a “gainfully employed assistant football coach for the Dillon Panthers”! And he seems so happy, like this is exactly where he’s meant to be. His first act as coach is to go back-and-forth in perfect tandem with Coach in order to, essentially, just terrify poor Matt Saracen. I giggled so hard!
Coach: “You think he’s ready?”
Jason: “I don’t think he’s ready.”
Coach: “I’m not thinking he’s ready, either.”
Jason: “I think that if he plays up in Dallas like he played last Friday night, they’re gonna eat him for breakfast.”
Coach: “That’s pretty much what I’m thinking.”
Jason: “I think they’re gonna squash him.”
Coach: “Pretty much like a bug.”
Jason: “Like a flea, Saracen.”
Saracen: “GULP.”
Best Taylor Couple Moment
This is kind of a tough one, because even their warmest conversations are threaded with tension this week, but maybe that’s part of what makes them great, that their love and respect for each other withstands a sort of life-changing difference of opinion. Like, when Coach comes home and says in this overjoyed way that he took the job, Tami is so happy for him in spite of her misgivings, and then they go together to have an open conversation with Julie about it, like the excellent partners and parents they are. Or, that Coach usually sort of tries to be, and Tami just always naturally is.
Tim Riggins’ Finest Moment
Jackie finally realizes that sleeping with her son’s teenage hero might have a negative effect on Bo’s emotional development, and she ends things with Tim, who handles it gracefully and without hurting Bo’s feelings in the slightest. And then he goes to hang out with Tyra as friends, because he says he needs a friend, and honestly they both do.
The Taylor Advice of the Week
Julie’s of course in the absolute bell jar about this move to Austin, and she tells Tami that she thinks Tyra isn’t calling her back because she’s no longer cool in Tyra’s eyes. Tami, who knows what’s actually going on with Tyra, gives an evergreen reply that we could all stand to remember from time to time when we assume somebody’s mad at us or being rude for no reason: “You never know what’s going on with somebody, sweetie. You can’t take it personally.”
Post-Game Breakdown
There’s a lot hanging in the balance as we head into the season finale: Coach’s move, Tyra and Landry’s friendship, whether Lyla’s going to go full Miranda Lambert on Jason. And, of course, state!!!
So a question for you, readers, and for Sarah, who’s back next week to cover the episode titled, aptly, “State.” What man are you maddest at this week: Coach, Landry or Jason?
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