About:
Drinks Taken: 20
Follow the whole rewatch here!
Last week was the Pantherama gym dance, and I hope you keep that fun memory tucked in close, because there’s nothing like that this week. Y’all. Y’ALL. This episode felt like a punishment! I had to recap the actual murder AND the big Eric/Tami fight in season two’s first episode, and now I get this?? PLUS Carlotta-Matt sex?? The universe is so rude.
But it is my sworn duty as a recapper to discuss the good and the bad, so let’s pour ourselves a big-ass cup of cheer “brace yourself” and review the rules by which we die of alcohol poisoning:
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
I didn’t answer Sarah’s question on if Noah knows about Julie’s feelings, but I feel like if he was at all confused before, he shouldn’t be after this episode.
2.08 “Seeing Other People”
Riggins probably got the least-worst plot this week, so let’s start there. After stewing in the consequences of his actions staying with Ferret-loving, Undies-wearing Roommate, Tim’s begging Tami to ask Coach for his jersey back. Coach’s response: “Let me tell you something about Tim Riggins. That look you’re talking about, he’s had that silly look his whole life long. Ever since he was a little kid, he’s been getting away using that look.” So…no, then?
The Roomie takes Tim a-huntin’, because there’s “more to life” than football, and that’s apparently drinking in nature, clacking antlers together so you can kill Bambi. “I mean if you don’t have stomach to take it down yourself,” he tells Riggins, “you better just be eatin’ chicken.” Tim is starting to buy into it—until he realizes Roomie’s other “more to life” is cooking meth in a backyard Airstream. He practically runs back to the football field, having seen a glimpse of what his tightie-no-so-whities future could be, and it was frightening.
Matt is finding excuses to turn down empty-house sex with his cheerleader girlfriend to go home and moon over his grandma’s adult home-health aide, who has decided to pretend they never kissed by ignoring him and then getting angry when he doesn’t understand her mixed signals clearly mean it never happened, okay??! He spends the weekend moping and serial-killer-watching Carlotta work with Grandma Saracen, until she is overwhelmed, I guess, with confusion and lust and kisses him again. Matt takes Smash’s BAD break-up advice and says he wants an open relationship so cheerleader-girlfriend will be so disgusted with him that she breaks it off instead. This leaves Matt free and clear to—and excuse me while I throw up in my mouth a little—finally have sex with Carlotta. Look away, fellow Saracen-lovers, look away from this mess!
Eric and Tami are operating on different frequencies right now, and it’s really messing with their marriage. Eric, who has apparently never been denied regular sex before, is getting irritable that Tami is “yukking it up in the hallways” with Glen. Tami doesn’t seem ready for sex or even being touched much; she spent so long being the sole caregiver to her family she’s yearning for some adult time. She goes to play Bunco with coworkers, leaving Eric to watch Gracie (NOT “baby-sit” as Eric starts to call it before Tami SHUTS that shit down). He’s in such a snit when she returns, saying she and Glen “yukking it up in the hallway” at work is “goofy” and “disrespectful to him and this family!” Tami snidely asks if it’s also disrespectful to god before he drops, “And you need to pay more attention to your family!” Tami’s face is all of our faces:
She tells him to sleep on the couch so she won’t throttle him in his sleep can get a good night sleep to focus on her family, and at least Eric has the sense of self to know he fucked up. The next night he finally, well, not really apologizes, but he admits what he’s really upset about, and they hug.
Does Eric know what else is stressing Tami out at work? No, because if he did he would not be whining about Glen, that’s for sure! Tami sees Julie flirting her ass off with Noah the English Teacher in the hallway, so she drags him into an open classroom—which is still within earshot of a LOT of students—to read him the riot act. He’s condescending but smartly doesn’t say anything incriminating, and then Tami goes from reasonably concerned to, ah, a bit unhinged:
“I want you to be clear about something. I can have you fired. And I can have my husband come over and beat the crap out of you. And I can have you thrown into prison. Do you hear me? If you lay one hand on my daughter. What do you have to say to that?”
I’m afraid her threats will steal focus from his possibly sketchy behavior if he files a complaint about her. I don’t remember how this ends but this whole scene makes me grimace.
Of course, word gets to Julie that her mom flipped her lid on Noah, so she drops her lunch tray and bursts into an incandescent rage at Tami in her office. Aimee Teagarden must have been tapping into some lived experience because she was practically spitting. Tami is flabbergasted and rendered mute as Julie runs off. I’m glad Julie has Shelley to kvetch to, but I don’t know if I agree with Shelley’s hypothetical “how would you feel if our mom did that to you?” to Tami, because IF Noah actually IS a predator—screw Julie’s delicate feelings, she’s being manipulated!
Finally, we get to the most fucking bonkers subplot. There is NO WAY this random, female cop asks Tyra to speak to her attempted-rapist’s brother because said bro wants to “talk it out” with his dead brother’s victims. In WHAT WORLD? Tyra agrees to avoid suspicion, but later has a panic attack over it, so Landry offers instead, partly for her, buuut I think mostly for himself.
It goes about as well as it could, which is to say, BAD. You can have complicated feelings for your brother who kept you fed when your mom was drunk, dude, but you don’t need to be putting that emotional load on the people he harmed! Brother-of-rapist whines, “I just don’t understand how he could do that, he wasn’t like that.” Landry issues a smackdown:
My vindictive side is screaming at Landry to NOT feel guilty for taking a serial rapist out of the world, but he is a better person than I am, and the guilt is weighing on him. The last scene of the episode is Landry walking into the precinct, alone, and declaring that he was the murderer to a roomful of shocked cops.
How many times do I have to take a drink?
20, but we apparently forgot how much of a dingus Eric is in this season, so there should’ve been a lot more
Did the Panthers win?
They lost the game in the opening scene, which I’m petty enough right now to say, GOOD.
MVP of the Week
I’m going to have to give this to Lyla, aren’t I? She was barely around for this hour—which probably worked in her favor—but when she saw Landry tearing up and sitting alone, she got up from her bible study and went to comfort him. Their conversation, which basically boiled down to “the truth will set you free”, persuaded Landry to go and turn himself in and, hopefully, will be the beginning of the end to this heinous plotline, so THANK YOU, LYLA.
Smash’s Misguided Call of the Week
I haven’t discussed Smash yet, because his major plotline was all filler no killer, but also slightly hilarious. He’s off touring his top-pick university, the vibes are good and the team (mostly) loves him. He’s out having a “good” (read: horny) time at dorm parties and strip (?) clubs (a salacious-but-TV-appropriate club scene at the very least) when he makes eyes at a hottie by the pool. She takes him to her dorm room, but right when it’s getting good, her gigantic football-player boyfriend shows up (the one dude who disliked Smash earlier) and literally chases a boxers-clad Smash off campus.
The boy can move. And while things were a bit tense between them earlier, Matt is the one Smash calls to pick him up, enduring Matt’s good-natured ribbing. See, it’s much more fun when y’all are friends!
Work BFFs Glen And Tami Are So Cute
Glen thinks would be easier if Gracie just spits up on Tami’s other shoulder instead of trying to clean off the one. Who knew we’d end up liking you, Glen, after our first meeting?
Best Taylor Couple Moment
Obvs when they finally get to the heart of what is really wrong: they spent almost a year apart and they miss the easy intimacy they used to have before they added all these new stressors to their marriage. See what happens when you use your words, Eric?
Tim Riggins’ Finest Moment
My heart melted a bit when Tim ran back onto that football field and wouldn’t take a “no” from Coach Taylor for an answer, as he now desperately knew what could await him without some positive influences in his life. As I honestly cannot remember, hopefully this is the upswing part of Riggin’s redemption arc for season two. His sincere, individual apologies to his teammates went from:
“Firecrotch, we’ve been playing since PeeWee, and I let you down. I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.”
To:
“4-6. Hey look, I don’t ever recall seeing you play in any of the games, and I don’t think you ever will. But I can tell you the effort you put forth on practice days is undeniable.”
And devolved into:
“I apologize to everyone here, and if you can find it within yourselves to let me make it up to you in the showers, I’d appreciate it.”
But it was kind of adorable (as much as dudes being gross with each other can be).
Most Dramatic Taylor Moment Of The Week:
I almost want to give it to Tami for stooping to the “I’m gonna sic my boyfriend on you” school of threats, but it’s clearly Julie’s moment to lose as she rages against her mom for trying to protect her from a predator:
The Many Constipated Pissy Faces of Coach Taylor:
At one point he literally tells someone to “wipe that smile off your face”; man certainly took his own advice! I don’t think we saw him smile in a non-mocking way once.
Post-Game Breakdown:
Are Lyla and Landry the only major characters who haven’t had an inappropriate, sexually-charged moment with an adult thus far?? (Tyra, Riggins, Jason—whom, btw, I just realized wasn’t even in this episode and I didn’t even care—Julie, now Matt). Can we stop using this as a plot beat, please??
I’m giving them grief over this Tami and Eric storyline, but I DO think it’s nice that they’re highlighting something that does often happen to couples after major life changes, and doesn’t get talked about with much nuance on television. And if even a solid duo like the Taylors can go through a rough spot but get through it, it may give hope to others.
I tried so hard to whittle this review down but SO MANY THINGS happened!
I’m tired, peeps. For you and for Mandy, which plot line from this episode are you most O-V-E-R? Meet back here next Wednesday for Mandy W. to us how “The Confession” of Landry goes.
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You are doing the lord’s work here – I salute your perseverance!!!
I would way I’m most over the murder but Jesse Plemons continues to kill it, so I have to go Carlotta and Matt. JUST… barf!
“Kill it” – no pun intended!
Lol! Gracias. Yes, Landry tearing up made me want to tear up, he’s definitely doing his all with this ridiculous plot.
– “The Many Constipated/Pissy Faces of Coach Taylor” lollll Stephanie!! Masterful work here, truly.
– Yeah, this episode was rooouuuuugh. Thank you for your service. In terms of which storyline I am PRAYING will end as soon as possible, Carlotta and Matt for SURE. It’s just so ick. I mean, the teacher / Julie thing is gross as well but at least nothing has actually happened so far.
– Tim’s apologies on the field!! I really do think the best thing coming out of S2 is the Tim Riggins Renaissance.
Yes, Tim is still a butt-head sometimes but he’s becoming much more manageable to watch for me, lol.
Thank you, thank you, you don’t know what I went through with Canva trying to find a fillable 9-square picture grid but it was worth it. Did I like this episode? No. Did I have a lot of fun writing this recap? YES.
– The Swede, Glenn, ferret guy – this season has excelled in casting brown-haired actors to be disgusting. (Unlike you, I’m still a Glenn hater lol)
– Why is the show painting Tami as the villain for getting in the way of a problematic student/teacher relationship?! Obvs the monologue was TOO MUCH, but general sentiment is completely right, especially for a town with apparently rampant inappropriate adult/teen relationships!!!!
– Also trying to humanize the dead rapist, like what are we doing here? Sure, people contain multitudes, but when they do a rape, I no longer care that they were nice to their mom!!!!
– The way my jaw DROPPED when Eric said Tami needed to pay more attention to their family. The same Eric who was gone for the better part of a year, that Eric?!??!? ALL THE AUDACITY.
– Katrell’s girlfriend saying “Let me see your tummy” lolololol great pillow talk, writers.
– Smash’s advice was awful, but I do like him and Matt being buddies, especially after how contentious their relationship has been in previous episodes
– Echoing everyone else’s gratitude for you taking one for the team, Steph! WOOF.
– Lol, aww, Glenn makes Tami happy and he’s not judging her anymore, so I’ll let her take the small wins where she can!
– I assume the whole “meet the brother” plot was to push Landry and while it was yuck at least I don’t feel like the show was TRYING to make me sympathize for the rapist…this scummy brother was complaining but Landry was pretty forcefully pushing back like, nah that’s bullshit, too bad so sad. I think him confessing in the end was more just about his inability to keep such a secret in, that he took a life, no matter who it was.
– Yeah, I hated Shelley trying to make Tami feel like she was wrong for telling a potential predator to back the eff off. Like, what, do we want to wait until Julie is taken advantage of and THEN go off??? Also Shelley was, at the top of the episode, sex-shaming Tami for not giving it up to Eric to constantly because “men have needs” and such, so I don’t really trust her judgment!!
– Not gonna lie, if Tami had slapped Eric after he said that I would’ve cheered, lol. Kyle Chandler DOES do a very good job with the subtle facial expressions after he says wild shit, like as soon as it comes out of his mouth he has a face like, oh no, that was dumb, emergency emergency! But he stubbornly doesn’t walk it back (which is also very true to life for many, sadly).
– True, Landry did quickly shut down the “But he was nice sometimes!”. Maybe it feels like the show realized they went too far in making him a scum (the attempted rape and then the history of serial rapes) and were like, “Should we add a counterbalance?” Or maybe just the clunkiness of the whole premise, asking to meet your brother’s victims. I’m not articulating my thoughts well lol but the whole thing is a giant WHY.
– YES, Shelley pulling the mom card seemed extreme. This is not the same as their mom being controlling, like there is a valid concern??!?!? Especially when Julie JUST got out of a situationship with an older man, like there is known behaviour!
– Really incredible to revisit these episodes after how we’ve lionized Eric for years lol IS THIS YOUR KING?!??!