Upping the Ante

Mark here... Laurel and I are sitting down for the next episode of Friday Night Lights, "Upping the Ante".  I've made us some blue cheeseburgers with heirloom tomatoes and sweet potato fries with honey mustard dipping sauce.  This episode wasn't totally riveting but there were some interesting points.

The episode picks up on the tension between Jason and Buddy Garrity as the Garritys have Jason over for a barbecue.  The tension between the two of them bubbles over into an argument about Lyla's future and Jason's ability to take care of her.  Jason blows up and announces that they are getting married.  This prompts Buddy and Lyla's mom to walk away.  Later, Lyla and Jason are talking and it's clear Lyla has changed from the beginning of the series.  She's suddenly concerned with going to school and all the things she was ignoring prior to Jason's injury.  She clearly still loves Jason, but isn't willing to just be taken care of.  This isn't to say she thinks Jason is incapable of providing, but its hard to deny the situation has forced her to realize she needs to be independent, something she should've realized before.  Of course, Jason isn't happy with this.

Separately Tyra and Julie form a bond when Matt is pulled away by the football team during a date and Julie needs a ride home.  Tyra proves a good mentor to Julie.  Sure their backgrounds are different, but they are both smart and Tyra's worldly enough to help Julie.  This is particularly clear when Matt asks Julie to babysit his grandmother, she calls on Tyra to help and Tyra excels.  She brings along some white wine and does grandma's toenails!

Another storyline was Tim Riggins needing his absent dad's signature on a form to get out of a speeding ticket.  His brother warns him about going to see their dad, but it ends up being a bonding experience.  There is a point where they are talking and it's clear Tim is drinking beer and the dad is drinking soda...made clear to us by the bottle vs can.  The whole thing plays out well, though I can't help feeling anxious about the ultimate outcome.  The two are playing golf, if Tim wins the dad has to come to a game.  Dad wins and Tim is angry and it doesn't end well, but then at the end of the episode the dad shows up at the game...

Hey Laurel here...first of all dinner was delicious!  Mark started with really good ground beef from our local fancy butcher, McCall's.  but beyond that the meat was seasoned so perfectly!  Might be the best burger I've ever had, at least in a really long time.

Ok on to the episode...The only thing I wanted to add is the situation between Smash and Coach Taylor.  We see Coach giving Smash a really hard time.  Smash is relegated to team manager and forced to do the team laundry, fold towels etc.  But later in the episode Coach goes to visit him at home showing that he does still have compassion for and respects Smash, he's not just making him be the "ball boy" for no reason.  In the end we find out he is letting Smash start in the next game, which as we know is dicey for Coach.  He is really sticking his neck out.

Just to add a little to what Mark said I'm so glad Tyra and Julie are becoming friends.  I feel like they have so much in common, they are both smart independent girls, it's just that Tyra's mom has no self respect and her sister is a stripper while Julie's family is totally perfect.

Also I think it's important to note that Julie and Matt are really on the rocks now because Matt is totally getting sucked into being a football star.  The whole reason Julie was willing to give Matt a shot in the first place was because he was sort of the anti-football player, he was on the team but didn't act like a football A-hole like all the rest of the guys.  But now he is getting into all the attention and accolades (what teenage boy wouldn't) and Julie feels like she's not getting what she signed up for...it will be interesting to see how this plays out.