Friday Night Lights – Recap & Review – A Sort Of Homecoming

photo: directtv

Friday Night Lights
A Sort of Homecoming

Original Air Date: Nov 18, 2009

Andi – Associate Staff Writer
andi@thetwocents.com

This week, Caffertygate continues to be the death of Tami; someone stays firmly in the closet; Riggins confesses his beauty pageant heartbreak while being sweet and helpful, thus sealing his own doom; Tami and Coach are adorable ALL THE TIME; and Julie and Matt are trying not to hate each other. Also, Buddy Garrity is helpful again and Devon convinces Julie to go to a gay bar with her. And your recapper got a flu shot so none of the following is my fault. Just so you know.

We open on Slammin’ Sammy Mead telling us via the airwaves, of course, that Panther football isn’t doing so hot. Their last game ended in forfeit and Luke Cafferty is gone and no thank you very much Tami Taylor and oh woe is Panther football for ever and ever amen. Tami is not amused. In fact, she spends the rest of the episode freaking out about these random consequences of Caffertygate (No new library due to lower football revenue!) and demanding chocolate from poor small-town candy store clerks, in which to bury her sorrows.

The Lions appear to be in a holding pattern. At least until the end of the episode. Vince and Luke fight on the field. And in the locker room. And in the halls. And in a parking lot. Until the cops finally decide that they’re really sick and tired of their crap and arrest both of the little twerps. In all fairness to Luke, Vince did steal his wallet.

The cops call Coach (I’m assuming this is because of that whole second chance to get straight deal from episode one) and he chews into them like a particularly stiff piece of beef jerky before managing to finagle Vince’s release so the douchebag doesn’t have to go to juvie. Then he leaves them both in the middle of friggen nowhere and they have to walk home… kinda like he did with Tim way back when. This whole episode is like a season one throwback, my God.

In between dealing with those numbskulls, Coach proposes a pep rally to bolster the football spirit and the snaggle-toothed principal decides that it’s okay to throw one since they’re free. He gets to work on this Homecoming themed rally with the 1983 State Champion Lions as the guests of honor. It’s a great idea, but none of the alumni want anything to do with coach and it isn’t until he invites them for dinner and Buddy Garrity shows up (apparently, these old players have a whole lot of Garrity-love) that they decide to support Coach. Jess Merriweather tosses in a helpful hand (When she’s not blowing off Vince to pretend Landry is her boyfriend and then actually making out with Landry after they determine that they’re definitely not dating, natch.). She convinces her grumpy, former football playin’ dad to host the pep rally at his BBQ restaurant.

The rally goes off without a hitch and the former State Champs do that season one praying thing and everyone is reminded that they live in Texas and therefore must love football or else. Joy!

Crazy annoying fangirl Becky and her mom partake of some beauty pageant squealing and decide that she needs a new dress, like omg, for the upcoming event, which leads to her mom totally, like, flaking on her. Becky’s all, “ONYD biatch,” but is miserable anyway because her mom sucks. Tim, because he’s really just a nice guy with daddy issues, under all that bad boy exterior, takes her dress shopping. He tries to make her feel better by confessing that his mom never took him dress shopping either, which is counterproductive, because she’s just falling for you more, you dork. Oh, 33, what are you doing? When is Lyla coming back to knock some sense into you?

Devon, having heard some tell of a gay bar on the outskirts of town, asks Julie to go with her as moral support. Jules, of course, is super weird about it at first, wondering if Devon is hitting on her, but agrees to go. She’s actually super cool about it when they get there. You know who isn’t cool about it? Ass. Coach, who is spotted playing pool with some unseen fellow. The two spot each other and Julie waves, but Ass. Coach weirds out and makes for the door. Later, she tries to tell him that she won’t out him, but he acts like he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Poor closeted Ass. Coach.

Matt and Julie are kind of saddening this week. They start the episode off over fries and college applications. Her only criteria, apparently, is that the school is located at least 500 miles from Dillon. Matt makes all kinds of annoyed and sad faces about his girlfriend and her complete failure to acknowledge that he’s gone and given up the next step in his educational career in order to stay near her. Sometimes, Julie’s a little bit too blond. I’m just sayin,’ So Matt does what Matt always does when life is too confusing – spends some time with Riggins.

Riggins, of course, is all pumped to go hunting with Billy, but when he shows up at the house with a rifle in each hand, looking like a waaaay hotter version of my old roommate Puke (you don’t want to know where that name came from, trust me), Mindy loses her shiznit and goes all feral pregnant nag on Billy’s sad ass about it. Needless to say, Billy will not be going on a hunting trip with Tim.

But you know who will? Saracen! Tim wanders into the pizza joint, all, “Seven! No Chicago? I’ll have some of that pizza. You playin’ any ball?” So Matt’s all, “Riggs! Nope. Here. Nope, doin’ the art thing. No San Antonio?” And Tim’s all, “That sucks. Nope, college is lame. I’m goin’ huntin’. See ya.” And Matt’s all, “Hey, can I go too?” and Tim’s all, “Yeppers. See ya Thursday.”

So, a-hunting they go. Two minutes into the trip, Matt randomly fires at something he maybe thinks he might have seen, which sends Tim sprawling all over the place, only to end up right on his ass in the bushes. “No gun!” Tim yells, snatching the rifle from poor, dim Matt’s hands. Hee hee!

That night, over a fire and some beer, they talk about Jules and missing Lyla and college and it’s so damn reminiscent of season one that I’m really touched and I really miss Street. They even say, “Texas, forever.” Wibble.

Riggins drops Matt at Coach’s house so he can say that he’s sorry he’s been snapping at her and being weird, but when he gets there, she breaks down in tears and explains that his father was killed. Matt’s stunned blank.

Jeez. Way to end an episode, Friday Night Lights. I think I need some chocolate. Contribute to the chocolate fund by commenting below.