TVSquad

(S01E12) This was a strange episode of Friday Night Lights. Not that it was bad, just that it seemed to lack the polish that earlier episodes have had. A couple of the stories seemed rushed, or maybe a little disjointed. For example, the resolution to the cliff-hanger from last week.

After leaving us with the news that Henry Saracen would be returning to Iraq and sending Matt off to live with the relatives in Oklahoma, I expected some kind of drama over that. I think we all knew that Matt wasn't going to be leaving Dillon, but the machinations of the town to keep him would be the story. Apparently there were bigger fish to fry though as they just cut that plot thread off at the bud and Henry tells Matt he's staying. For a second there I thought I had missed an episode or something.

Despite the weirdness in the transition from last week, I liked how the Saracen's story played out. Henry gets points for trying, but it clearly wasn't working. No matter his intentions, it was good of Buddy to give him a job, even though he knew as well as we did that Henry is not a car salesman. "It's never a bad time with 5.9% financing." The story was summed up perfectly with Matt's line to Julie, "I wanted him to want to be here, not just be here." In the end, things returning to how they were before is best for everyone.

Finally we get some long overdue background on Tyra. This was another story that felt rushed to me. We got all of 30 seconds to establish that Bob is a creepy, lecherous guy. "You ladies have a genetically superior ass." And then the next time we see them we jump right to him slapping Angela and Tyra going after him with a poker. It was a good scene, but something that could have been set in motion long ago. The scene with Tyra and Angela at the fair was really good. "People do have fights, but they don't have fights every day, and they don't let men beat the hell out of 'em."

I did like the way that the relationships of mother and daughter mirrored each other, leading up to the meeting with Riggins. I actually thought they were going to go the other way with it, having Tyra take Riggins back, but was pleasantly surprised when she said she couldn't. The end, with Angela choosing Tyra over Bob was a nice moment, and with this story they have finally moved Tyra's character past being that slutty girl to someone we care about.

The story with the Street family this week is a good example of where they did set things in motion and let them build slowly. We've heard rumblings and mentions of the lawsuit for a while now, and this week the stuff hit the fan. It was another reminder of just how important football is to the community when Clint wouldn't talk to Jason. His reaction to finding out was exactly as I expected it to be. He seemed adamant that Coach Taylor not be involved in the lawsuit. So his angry tirade at his parents was right in line with how things had been going.

The reaction from Mrs. Street was really well played. It added gravity to the situation. As good as things are going for Jason, there are a whole world of problems, and expenses, that have come with it. Also well done was the confrontation between Mitch Street and Eric. "I don't want to sue anyone, it's killing me to do this. But since I'm already dead, it doesn't matter." It's a tough hand the Street's have been dealt, and there are no easy answers. While it's easy to look at the situation and say it was an accident and nobody is at fault, you can see their side of it.

That made for a tough week for Eric. Along with the worried anticipation over the outcome of the Arnette-Meade vs. Buckley game, he has the situation with Street giving him grey hair. And we can't forget the interest from UT and the possibility that Eric might go coach for them, even if the writers didn't mention it. I'm still undecided on the final meeting with Jason at the end of the episode. Eric let him off the hook to a degree, but I think that relationship could sour quickly if we see Jason in court saying that it was Eric's fault for not teaching him how to tackle.

Julie got some good stuff this week as well. I loved her reaction after her missed date with Matt. Both how she just accepted why it had happened and helped him, and how she reacted when she got home. "I love you guys, and you guys are my best friends." Julie is a good girl.

And through all of that, we have "Waverlash." It was fun to see Smash flummoxed by a situation that was so out of his control. The Matt/Julie culture plan was so ill conceived and would obviously be found out, but he charged ahead anyway, and stuck to the story even after it quit working. I like how this story is going. Like Tyra, they have taken the time to round Smash out and make him more than the over-confident jock that he initially appeared to be. He's still going to be Smash, because as he says, "I can't be nobody but the Smash." But there is much more to it than that, and those things are what make the show so good.

Overall, a little disjointed, and not my favorite episode, but good progress on the overall story. With Buckley's unlikely upset of Arnette-Meade the Panthers are now in the playoffs, so the tension will be upped for everyone. It should be fun to see how it plays out.