“There Goes the Neighbourhood”
January 4th, 2007
Every series tends to have a character or two that are incredibly versatile – they can be thrown into a scene with pretty much any character in an ensemble and get the best out of them. Part of what made Friday Night Lights’ first season so effective was that almost all of its characters fell within this category. This season, characters have been far too isolated for us to watch this magic take place…and then Tim Riggins moved into the Taylor homestead.
The funny thing about this episode is that its title is patently false: if anything, it finally regained the sense of neighbourhood and environment that makes this series what it is. The show even mentioned the whole concept of the elephant in the room, and with the murder storyline dead and gone perhaps that is the case – all of a sudden we’re returning to drama that seems real and not sensationalist. After spending far too long in the police station, Friday Night Lights heads back to the football field and the lives of its residents – the result is perhaps the season’s finest episode.
I want to start with Landry here, whose return to form is far too sudden chronologically but I don’t even care. Finally, he is starting to reference West Side Story and awkwardly ask Julie for advice on how to deal with Tyra. Switching gears to his own complicated romance (justifying the reference to the Sondheim musical), Landry is at least returning to his geeky self even if it’s a little sad to see his romance with Tyra prove incompatible with her public image. The storyline doesn’t quite give us the Landry we grew to love, and I’d like to see him talk to Matt or show up in football scenes every once in a while (Adding him to the team was a pointless exercise), but it’s a start. He ends up at the big dance with her, and her declaration of love…I still don’t buy this relationship, but Tyra’s request for time at least postpones the awkwardness.
Tim Riggins entering into the Taylor household brings on two immediate reactions, that being the eyebrows of both Julie and Shelly rising to extremely high levels. Tammy can only watch in horror as Tim hooks up illegal cable to be able to access porn, saves Julie from a tornado, and flirts up a different kind of storm with Shelly. He’s not malicious in any of his actions, which makes it more charming then anything else. He is simply a destabilizing influence, and it’s a smart choice. Tammy can only watch as every member of her family falls victim to his charms, especially Eric and Tim’s 5am ping pong match.
It provides Julie a fairy tale alternative to Matt Saracen, who unfortunately happens to bring his sexy nurse girlfriend to the same joint where Julie and Tim are hanging. Her reaction is raw and emotional – it is how a teenager would react, and it’s nice to see Julie rebounding nicely from her annoying teacher fling and returning to a far more interesting storyline. She gets plastered, and then Riggins has to save her from herself – protector Riggins, much?
The best part of the episode, however, was how the entire episode all related to the central concept of the episode – the tornado destroys a rival school, and the result is their football team needs a place to practice. The storyline worked because their quarterback flirts with Tyra, and Landry ends up decking him and exacerbating the situation. This connection between storylines is a great step forward, and the episode felt like a cohesive whole – Tim’s invasion of the Taylor household leads Shelly and Tammy to a breaking point, and the invasion of a rival team certainly leads to the Dillon Panthers getting a bit more fired up. For perhaps the first time this season, the smaller neighbourhoods created in the series felt like one.
The episode’s coda has Riggins getting caught leaning over Julie, which leads to Taylor kicking him out…which was kind of sudden and fairly unjustified considering his behaviour. Honestly, it feels like a footnote, and I don’t know where to place it in the timeline of things. Riggins’ inability to fight for himself in the situation is perhaps justified by his character, but it was still an odd conclusion. Still, a strong and cohesive episode.
Cultural Observations
- Seeing Taylor head back into actual Coach mode, with real anger and frustration, was an interesting change – it was finally a return to a characterization I enjoy greatly.
- There was also a storyline for Buddy in here, where he pined after his soon to be remarried ex-wife, but it really wasn’t worthwhile. Still, it was not a blight on the episode, so let’s consider that a positive step.
- There was a big dance central to the episode, but it really only existed as a romanticized notion that Julie and Landry are forced to reject after they no longer going to find a date. That is, until Julie finds Riley – an English Lit major who she meets at a party. He seemed charming enough before Riggins threatened his life. Her drunkenness was definitely a charming turn for Aimee Teegarden, however.
- Some observers who joined me for the episode’s conclusion noticed a rather alarming level of cleavage from Adrianne Padalicki.
Cultural Learnings 