Another very solid episode. Again, I appreciate Coach Taylor having to really struggle and work his way up from nothing again. We've seen him have difficulties with the Dillon Panthers, but this feels like a whole new level for him and that helps to breathe some new life into the show as it enters its fourth season. The fact that the whole East Dillon Football team is on the outs with him, refusing to practice after they feel like he quit on them by forfeiting creates an interesting obstacle for him, and one that doesn't offer many easy answers. His struggles to get through to Vince, and his journey to a part of Dillon that he clearly does not fit into well, and probably doesn't see very often, is a nice touch as well.
This show is, frankly, better than most at showing families and children who live "on the wrong side of the tracks," but seeing Vince's neighborhood and the kid's mother and environment adds a whole new dimension to the types of families and settings that are shown on television. I liked Vince taking a lot of convincing and returning the $20 coach gave to Vince's mom to get his whereabouts, and I appreciated the subtle desperation in Coach when trying to get everyone to show up for his special practice.
That meeting and the special practice itself were unique in that they featured Coach apologizing to his players. He usually only allows dissension in very limited ways, but this was him coming to his team on a more even-level with them, offering both regrets and promises not to do it again. The burning of the jerseys is a little blunt with the symbolism of a fresh start, but it works, particularly with his amusing closing comment that he's going to have to find the money to buy new ones. Though realistically, we knew the team was going to return eventually, otherwise there's no show (or a very different show), that moment still had stakes, and the boys walking onto the field and Vince being the first of them to toss his old jersey into the fire had real meaning.
I also really liked Tami's story here. I commented to Mrs. Bloom at the time that Tami often feels like a much more good-natured Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. Whether it's deftly relaying Mr. McCoy's threat to jeopardize the legitimacy of old Dillon High state titles to the boosters in order to neutralize it, or committing Buddy to hosting the school fundraiser after he goes over her head to get a scoreboard approved, she knows how to play the game and still stick to her guns and her principles. It was nice to see her stand up to McCoy and win out in the end, and yet the show does well not to complicate the situation by having her face boos at the pep rally for her role in getting Luke sent to East Dillon.
Luke's part of the story had a lot going for it as well. The actor is a newcomer, but I really appreciated his scene where he broke down and begged Tami not to send him to East Dillon, hoping to get to keep his spot with the Panthers that you could tell meant the world to him, and then while still crestfallen, apologizing to her for lying and trying to keep a stiff upper lip. It's a great introduction to the character that establishes his motivations, his weak points, and his basic decency in way that really works.
The other character introductions in the episode aren't as successful. Landry has yet another ready-made love interest in the form of Miss Merriweather. There's a slap-slap-kiss vibe the show is clearly going for, and it reeks of cliche (especially the old disapproving dad routine), but I like both performers so far, so maybe they can save it, and with any luck, the show can tackle the issues of cross-cultural dating with more grace and better results then when they tried this with Smash.
Similarly, Tim Riggins is the latest in the show's latest recipient of inexplicably good luck when his one-night-stand leads to him having a place to stay that just so happens to be adjacent to the home of Becky Sproles, his latest inevitable love interest. Becky has been nothing but annoying so far, so the combination of the contrived plot development and the prospect of more Becky makes this one a weak spot. That said, I loved the scene where Tim offers to help Coach. It's heartwarming, and Kyle Chandler does an incredible job at showing how touched he is by the gesture despite wanting to keep up his staid exterior.
Lastly, we're thrown headlong into a pretty generic jerk mentor-disbelieving mentee situation with Matt and his new art internship with the metalwork/underwear guy. This one has cliche written all over it, and I have no doubt that despite Matt's frustrating, he and his new teacher will hit some obstacle, then find common ground, and Matt will learn to really appreciate him and grow as an artist. Maybe it's a rule on FNL that in even-numbered seasons, Matt has to be paired up with a useless stock character in a dead-end storyline. Let's hope the show does better than it did with Carlotta.
Still, there's a lot to like in this episode, particularly the parts that focused on the trials and tribulations of the Taylors, who remain a combined force that elevate the quality of the show even when the rest of an episode is more hit-and-miss.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-08-09T23:04:31Z
Another very solid episode. Again, I appreciate Coach Taylor having to really struggle and work his way up from nothing again. We've seen him have difficulties with the Dillon Panthers, but this feels like a whole new level for him and that helps to breathe some new life into the show as it enters its fourth season. The fact that the whole East Dillon Football team is on the outs with him, refusing to practice after they feel like he quit on them by forfeiting creates an interesting obstacle for him, and one that doesn't offer many easy answers. His struggles to get through to Vince, and his journey to a part of Dillon that he clearly does not fit into well, and probably doesn't see very often, is a nice touch as well.
This show is, frankly, better than most at showing families and children who live "on the wrong side of the tracks," but seeing Vince's neighborhood and the kid's mother and environment adds a whole new dimension to the types of families and settings that are shown on television. I liked Vince taking a lot of convincing and returning the $20 coach gave to Vince's mom to get his whereabouts, and I appreciated the subtle desperation in Coach when trying to get everyone to show up for his special practice.
That meeting and the special practice itself were unique in that they featured Coach apologizing to his players. He usually only allows dissension in very limited ways, but this was him coming to his team on a more even-level with them, offering both regrets and promises not to do it again. The burning of the jerseys is a little blunt with the symbolism of a fresh start, but it works, particularly with his amusing closing comment that he's going to have to find the money to buy new ones. Though realistically, we knew the team was going to return eventually, otherwise there's no show (or a very different show), that moment still had stakes, and the boys walking onto the field and Vince being the first of them to toss his old jersey into the fire had real meaning.
I also really liked Tami's story here. I commented to Mrs. Bloom at the time that Tami often feels like a much more good-natured Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones. Whether it's deftly relaying Mr. McCoy's threat to jeopardize the legitimacy of old Dillon High state titles to the boosters in order to neutralize it, or committing Buddy to hosting the school fundraiser after he goes over her head to get a scoreboard approved, she knows how to play the game and still stick to her guns and her principles. It was nice to see her stand up to McCoy and win out in the end, and yet the show does well not to complicate the situation by having her face boos at the pep rally for her role in getting Luke sent to East Dillon.
Luke's part of the story had a lot going for it as well. The actor is a newcomer, but I really appreciated his scene where he broke down and begged Tami not to send him to East Dillon, hoping to get to keep his spot with the Panthers that you could tell meant the world to him, and then while still crestfallen, apologizing to her for lying and trying to keep a stiff upper lip. It's a great introduction to the character that establishes his motivations, his weak points, and his basic decency in way that really works.
The other character introductions in the episode aren't as successful. Landry has yet another ready-made love interest in the form of Miss Merriweather. There's a slap-slap-kiss vibe the show is clearly going for, and it reeks of cliche (especially the old disapproving dad routine), but I like both performers so far, so maybe they can save it, and with any luck, the show can tackle the issues of cross-cultural dating with more grace and better results then when they tried this with Smash.
Similarly, Tim Riggins is the latest in the show's latest recipient of inexplicably good luck when his one-night-stand leads to him having a place to stay that just so happens to be adjacent to the home of Becky Sproles, his latest inevitable love interest. Becky has been nothing but annoying so far, so the combination of the contrived plot development and the prospect of more Becky makes this one a weak spot. That said, I loved the scene where Tim offers to help Coach. It's heartwarming, and Kyle Chandler does an incredible job at showing how touched he is by the gesture despite wanting to keep up his staid exterior.
Lastly, we're thrown headlong into a pretty generic jerk mentor-disbelieving mentee situation with Matt and his new art internship with the metalwork/underwear guy. This one has cliche written all over it, and I have no doubt that despite Matt's frustrating, he and his new teacher will hit some obstacle, then find common ground, and Matt will learn to really appreciate him and grow as an artist. Maybe it's a rule on FNL that in even-numbered seasons, Matt has to be paired up with a useless stock character in a dead-end storyline. Let's hope the show does better than it did with Carlotta.
Still, there's a lot to like in this episode, particularly the parts that focused on the trials and tribulations of the Taylors, who remain a combined force that elevate the quality of the show even when the rest of an episode is more hit-and-miss.