7.5/10. I appreciated the conflict between Tami and Coach, with Tami wanting to stay in Dillon at least until Julie graduates, because they've put down roots, Julie is in love, and most importantly, Tami feels a responsibility to the students at Dillon High like Tyra that she can't just abandon. Coach is understandably resistant to the idea, because he doesn't want to have to be apart from his family. As I've mentioned before, one of the best lenses to understand Coach Taylor is just to process him as a more serious Hank Hill, and Coach shares Hank's traditionalism and values, to where the idea of having to be separated from his wife and daughter would seem out of the question to him. But I really like the juxtaposition of the two of them, because they both have understandable motivations that are irreconcilable, and as you could see in the roast, there's a real love and respect between the two of them that makes no one the bad guy and makes each of them firm in their positions. The fact that the show goes on for four more seasons makes me suspect how this particular stand off will turn out, but I'm still interested to see exactly how it's resolved.
The theme of this episode seems to be relationships in various states of being either in sync or disrepair, and how those issues get resolved. We finally (hopefully) get the end of the Lyla-Jason Street relationship when Lyla discovers Jason with Suzie. Jason not having the decency to, at the very minimum, break up with Lyla before he want cavorting about with Suzie makes him pretty despicable here. Lyla's still not a great character, but her seeing two of her idols fall (her dad, in another failed relationship, as well as Jason) leaves her in a state of "to hell with you all" that's an interesting turn for her. Jason's still a weak link, but in terms of believability, he at least has better chemistry with Suzie than he did with Lyla which helps.
We get dribs and drabs of a lot of other relationships. Tim's neighbor predictably breaks up with him because the two of them getting too close but then breaking up would be too hard on Beau. The storyline is so paint-by-numbers that it's hard to get too emotionally invested, but there's still some pathos when Beau is asking Tim if they'll still hang out. In another short storyline, we see Waverly offer Brian a 2-week "hiatus" during state as she needs to take a step back and handle her bipolar disorder with calmness and structure. In a bit of maturity, Smash turns down the opportunity to go party to instead go check on Waverly and offer her some cake from the roast. I'm still not crazy about how they're depicting Waverly--being bipolar is a tricky thing to dramatize--but I at least appreciate how they use it to show Brian confronting things outside his fairly narrow focus and view of the world and become a more sensitive person in the process. There's also Julie telling Matt that she's moving, and while it's brief, the meaningful expressions they both have tell a lot of the story of their relationship as well.
Of course, there's Tyra and Landry, an unexpected relationship that has a pretty serious rocky period here. I appreciate the way the show dug into Landry's dilemma and Tyra's resistance and Tami's insistence. This is still something of a weird storyline, but I appreciate the way the show seems to be taking it seriously. On the other hand, using it as a springboard to Landry and Tyra having a romantic relationship, particularly Landry's speech about how Tim wouldn't appreciate her or treat her right, and he would, feels miscalibrated. I do like the two of them together, which makes me willing to forgive a fair amount, but it still feels kind of uncomfortable pressuring a girl about a relationship after she's been sexually assaulted.
Overall, a good episode to lead into the season finale.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-07-02T18:28:22Z
7.5/10. I appreciated the conflict between Tami and Coach, with Tami wanting to stay in Dillon at least until Julie graduates, because they've put down roots, Julie is in love, and most importantly, Tami feels a responsibility to the students at Dillon High like Tyra that she can't just abandon. Coach is understandably resistant to the idea, because he doesn't want to have to be apart from his family. As I've mentioned before, one of the best lenses to understand Coach Taylor is just to process him as a more serious Hank Hill, and Coach shares Hank's traditionalism and values, to where the idea of having to be separated from his wife and daughter would seem out of the question to him. But I really like the juxtaposition of the two of them, because they both have understandable motivations that are irreconcilable, and as you could see in the roast, there's a real love and respect between the two of them that makes no one the bad guy and makes each of them firm in their positions. The fact that the show goes on for four more seasons makes me suspect how this particular stand off will turn out, but I'm still interested to see exactly how it's resolved.
The theme of this episode seems to be relationships in various states of being either in sync or disrepair, and how those issues get resolved. We finally (hopefully) get the end of the Lyla-Jason Street relationship when Lyla discovers Jason with Suzie. Jason not having the decency to, at the very minimum, break up with Lyla before he want cavorting about with Suzie makes him pretty despicable here. Lyla's still not a great character, but her seeing two of her idols fall (her dad, in another failed relationship, as well as Jason) leaves her in a state of "to hell with you all" that's an interesting turn for her. Jason's still a weak link, but in terms of believability, he at least has better chemistry with Suzie than he did with Lyla which helps.
We get dribs and drabs of a lot of other relationships. Tim's neighbor predictably breaks up with him because the two of them getting too close but then breaking up would be too hard on Beau. The storyline is so paint-by-numbers that it's hard to get too emotionally invested, but there's still some pathos when Beau is asking Tim if they'll still hang out. In another short storyline, we see Waverly offer Brian a 2-week "hiatus" during state as she needs to take a step back and handle her bipolar disorder with calmness and structure. In a bit of maturity, Smash turns down the opportunity to go party to instead go check on Waverly and offer her some cake from the roast. I'm still not crazy about how they're depicting Waverly--being bipolar is a tricky thing to dramatize--but I at least appreciate how they use it to show Brian confronting things outside his fairly narrow focus and view of the world and become a more sensitive person in the process. There's also Julie telling Matt that she's moving, and while it's brief, the meaningful expressions they both have tell a lot of the story of their relationship as well.
Of course, there's Tyra and Landry, an unexpected relationship that has a pretty serious rocky period here. I appreciate the way the show dug into Landry's dilemma and Tyra's resistance and Tami's insistence. This is still something of a weird storyline, but I appreciate the way the show seems to be taking it seriously. On the other hand, using it as a springboard to Landry and Tyra having a romantic relationship, particularly Landry's speech about how Tim wouldn't appreciate her or treat her right, and he would, feels miscalibrated. I do like the two of them together, which makes me willing to forgive a fair amount, but it still feels kind of uncomfortable pressuring a girl about a relationship after she's been sexually assaulted.
Overall, a good episode to lead into the season finale.