At the church dinner, shit goes down. Coach lays down the law with Riggins and makes it very clear that his wife, as always, was right and that from now on - no pass, no play. Julie needles Matt about why his father didn't come, which causes him to get all pissy and snap at her. She slinks away, under the watchful eye of her ever-present mother. Oh, Tami. It would be awesome if every once in a while she'll just start to rub her hands menacingly while bathed in a red light and say something cryptic like "That's right, my pretties. Enjoy your bar-be-que . WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!" and then disappear in a puff of smoke.
Finally, the big game. Not surprisingly, Matt is faring terribly under the harsh gaze of his father and even his grandmother is there and holy crap! A Smash Williams sighting! Apparently he's more or less the only one on the team, and I guess the cheerleaders must have caught the Tim Riggins Apathy Bug because Smash has to get up on a bench and yell to get the crowd going. Guess that's where he was this whole episode - perfecting his cheer. Evil Dad continues to shout "encouragement" at his frustrated son, until eventually, in the fourth quarter, Matt gets a big chance to pass to Smash for a touchdown but overthrows it and blows the play. Coach pulls a heartbroken Matt out of the game, and Smash goes on to win it all anyway.
"I don't know where I am!"
Afterwards, in the parking lot, Matt decides to cause a scene. He refuses to get in the car with his father and tells him to go to hell. They get into a "no, MY life is harder!" argument for a few minutes until, as is the Saracen way, they both storm off in opposite directions. Evil Dad drives away and Tami offers her home to Matt for the night. I wonder how Coach is going to feel about that. Better not give the kid any BLANKETS.
Finally, FINALLY, it's time for the Crucifictorious concert! Woooo! Landry is playing (and by playing I mean incomprehensibly screaming death metal Christian music) to a completely empty house, save for the few unfortunate souls who happened to be at the wrong bar at the very wrong time. Ah, but lo and behold, the slothful Tim has somehow summoned enough energy to put on a shirt and come witness the trainwreck himself. He informs Landry that he got a B- on his oral report, genuinely thanks him for all the help, and apologizes for missing the show. But not to worry Timbo, the second set is just beginning, so Landry makes him stand up front and shows him how to head bang, much to the delight of myself and viewers everywhere.
Lyla sneaks into Jason's window with a ladder in the middle of the night á la Sam in Clarissa Explains It All, but he wakes up and tells her she could be, "like, a glamorous jewel thief". Hehe. She says if it's going to end between them, it can't end like it did the other night and that she was only trying to be close to him again, to which he replies that he's really trying. And then the kicker: she says "I love you," and he says, "I know." Er, okay Jason. Way to retain your crown as King of Ambiguity.
Matt is over at the Taylors', and has told them everything about Oklahoma and Grandma and the home and the dead puppies and all. Coach tells him that he'll do whatever he can to keep him there, heck, Buddy Garrity will eat Evil Dad if he has to. Matt says he hates his father, but Coach firmly tells him not to make that mistake and proceeds to drive him home. Matt enters to find his father tenderly putting Grandma to bed. They share a Meaningful Look. Probably because Dad just poisoned her or strapped a bomb to her dentures or something.
"I hate my father so much I'm going to consume my hoodie right here and now just to see the look on his face."
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Comments (12)
Thanks for the recap. I love this show. Matt Saracen is the cutest character on TV right now.
1 of 12 | Posted by sluggerbun
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Posted on January 7, 2007 12:49 PM
Great recap! I really think this is just about the best show on television right now. I'm with you on Matt's jerky Dad... just go away!
2 of 12 | Posted by midwestliberal
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Posted on January 7, 2007 4:23 PM
I am in love with Matt after this episode!! I am so worried, though! About this show, I mean! Crap -- I'm gonna get into it like Conviction and then NBC is gonna break my heart again. : (
Thanks for the recap!
3 of 12 | Posted by dainsey
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Posted on January 7, 2007 8:35 PM
awesome recap for an awesome show...
If we all agree this is the best show on TV right now, we just have to convince every one we know to watch. The plot is not that difficult to pick up on... And who would not get addicted to this writing and these kids???
And while MAtt's dad was a jerk, did anyone else think he looked alot like Matt will look in 15 years?
4 of 12 | Posted by dent
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Posted on January 8, 2007 5:31 AM
Hello!
I had to stop reading before I finished the first page to sign in and comment on how funny this recap is! Love it! I wasn't sure that I wanted to read a recap on this show. I love FNL and watched all of my recorded epi's for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I watched all of them in 2 days! Hee hee I love this show. But, I was aprehensive about the depressingness possibility of this recap. Not so! Funny funny funny, thank you!!!
5 of 12 | Posted by sweetleaf
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Posted on January 8, 2007 7:16 AM
Matt's jerk dad has to go! Hopefully back to Iraq and they'll never mention him again! Lyla and Jason getting back together didn't surprise me... I think she was sorry for cheating on Jason, and she really loves the guy. This show rocks, I hope it doesn't get the ax!! Great recap as usual!
6 of 12 | Posted by Jojobear
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Posted on January 8, 2007 8:41 AM
I got hooked on this show a couple of weeks ago (I watched all the episodes online while at work). It it is an okay show. If you think Tim is hot, check the actor out in The Covenant. Damn.
The fact that this show is about football but does not actually show that much football is nice. It shows the story that a lot of football shows miss.
7 of 12 | Posted by carol
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Posted on January 8, 2007 10:10 AM
Thanks for the great recap! I continue to thoroughly enjoy your screenshot captions.
I hope they're going to make Matt's dad more three-dimensional. I can see why a character like him would be distant from his son and not able to deal with the stress of his mother's Alzheimer's, so hopefully the writers will bring that out instead of making him out to be Pure Evil.
I don't like Jason and Lyla together. Her chirpy can-do attitude about his paralysis gets more annoying every time she spouts her "we can do this together!" platitudes. I'd much rather watch something develop with Lyla and Tim---and Jason find someone new who can actually handle being with a disabled person.
Landry is the best. Every time he comes on the screen I know something quotable is about to happen.
I'm really loving this show and these characters. NBC, please don't cancel it!
8 of 12 | Posted by gatsby
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Posted on January 8, 2007 8:29 PM
Thanks for another stellar recap Screampillar. I just got to watch the ep last night, and there has yet to be a really subpar episode yet. I'm heartened to see a little more activity in the comments. Maybe we can break into the double digits . . . woo hoo! It would be a shame if this show doesn't survive. Hopefully NBC will have the faith to stick with it for another season and maybe it will pick up some viewers in summer reruns. I don't get why this show isn't a hit. Great writing, appeal for adults and teens, and MILF/wondermom Connie Britton to boot!
I'm a little more sympathetic to Matt's father's character. The guy has two weeks home and probably just wants some quiet and he's bombarded with hassles, which he probably has trouble dealing with due to a combo of PTSD and guilt about leaving his son to deal with more than he can, or should have to, handle.
Additionally, most soldiers who serve in combat or dangerous deployments think of their fellow soldiers in their unit as family, and with his belief in what's he's doing in Iraq, and his sense of duty and loyalty to them I'm sure it is unthinkable to Matt's father to "pussy out" of his deployment and leave his comrades to fend for themselves.
The last scene where Matt's dad is shown displaying some tenderness toward grandma makes it look like they will be developing his character further.
It wouldn't surprise me if we end up seeing Matt moving in with the Taylors when dad goes back to Iraq and grandma goes into the home, which would make for some great drama having the feared boyfriend living under Coach's own roof.
9 of 12 | Posted by JasonR
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Posted on January 9, 2007 8:11 AM
I think Matt's dad would be a more three-dimensional character if only they got an actor who could emote more than the same semi-blank, semi-indifferent face than the guy they chose. The writing of his character isn't terrible -- I think it does speak to what JasonR refers to above. The damn guy just can act to save his life, and it's killing the character.
In any case, I dig FNL, but I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that it'll be wiped off the schedule either at the end of this season or the beginning of the next one. I mean, look at the number of people who comment -- it's like a fractional percentage of the Real World Denver's postings, and come on, that show sucks (although, yes, I watch it religiously as well, so who am I to judge).
10 of 12 | Posted by dubbledubs
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Posted on January 9, 2007 10:12 AM
Dubbledubs, I'll give you that. It's either bad acting or bad direction. The actor was obviously chosen more on his physical resemblance to the actor who plays Matt than for his acting chops, or he's playing the Saracen deadpan thing a little too hard. I'll give him another episode before I pass judgment.
11 of 12 | Posted by JasonR
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Posted on January 9, 2007 12:59 PM
I love this show, but I don't think it will survive. Especially since it will soon be up against American Idol. They should move it to a different time following a better show to keep it alive.
12 of 12 | Posted by trixie12
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Posted on January 9, 2007 1:14 PM