April 4, 2007: Why Are You Gonna Jump Off That Cliff?
Can I take a moment here to reiterate that I hate promos for shows I care about? Promos are supposed to give you a teaser to keep you coming back; they are not supposed to give away key plot points. In any case, next week's episode looks fantastic, and that's as far as I'll go.
The more I thought about it, the more I considered last week's episode to be a high point in an exceptionally strong freshman season. Compared to that, of course, this week was going to be a bit of a come down. Part of it has to do with the fact that we're being set up for the final episode, so while we got many great little moments, something tells me they're saving the bonafide A-material for next week.
So let's talk about those little moments. The meeting that Coach and Jason had with Saracen was hilarious. Jason had the best line in the scene when he explained, "I'll take care of Julie. I'll give her a nice call and tell her there's a new girl in town and that girl is me." Jason has the makings of a great coach, but kind of a crappy boyfriend. Maybe that's not fair, considering all he's gone through and considering that Lyla was not exactly the greatest girlfriend. But I'm not sure that this Susie girl is quite right, either. At the very least, this should teach him to cheat indoors (one would think he would have learned that when he saw Lyla and Tim making out outside of his window).
It was a relief that Landry told Tami about Tyra. It was obvious that Tyra hated being taken to the police station, but no matter how horrible she felt, it had to be done. I don't know what it is about this show, but even though I've watched a lot of procedurals, when Tyra was getting her bruises photographed at the station, it was more affecting than 10
SVUs put together. Things seem to be looking up for her now, in whatever direction she chooses to go, and I'm praying that it's not too much to hope that nothing derails her.
As for Coach and Tami sigh. Maybe I'm just as immature as Coach, but if I can't have both of them, it just won't be right. At the same time, I have to side with Tami, only because I don't want them to leave Dillon. She's made it quite clear she's not going, so perhaps it's not such a stretch to say that he's going to have to renege on the TMU acceptance.
One of the only things in this episode that can be said with certainty is that Smash is a very different person than he was in the first episodes. It's not all about "The Smash" anymore, as evidenced by his "I missed you" to Waverly. The old Smash would have definitely taken her up on that offer to screw around. On the other hand, Tim seems to still be grappling with the same issues that have plagued him throughout the season. It was nice to see him finally take a step toward mending things with Tyra. But just about the only thing that makes the Bo scenes bearable to watch now - that story line has become more grating for me every week - is that he's made it clear that he doesn't want to abandon someone the way his dad abandoned him.
On a brighter note, what about the roast wasn't a delight? From Buddy stealing Smash's joke (how did he find out about that, by the way?) to Tami's witty speech about Coach - "He loves ya'll kids, every single one of ya'll - it was just a scene where I couldn't stop myself from smiling. Even Julie's reaction to Tim's "How 'bout Saracen sleeping with the coach's daughter?" line was perfect: "Nothing quite like athletes doing comedy."
Here's the latest on
FNL's possible renewal. I'll warn you before you read it that it's not the most fantastic news in the world, but it's not the worst. To cheer you up, check out Matt Roush's
latest dispatch on the acclaim that our show is garnering. And on that note, I leave you all until next week. As Buddy Garrity said, "We're going to State!"
