"May the Best Man Win"
A big "Thank You" to the incredible, wonderful, unbelievably talented writers of this show for writing an episode such as this. It didn't have the sense of finality that we got with last year's "State", but it did give us closure. With the exception of Jason's baby (something that I have to admit doesn't exactly have me jumping out of my chair, screaming that life just won't be fair if I don't have the chance to hear Erin the waitress's decision), we weren't left angry and unfulfilled, should the show not come back. It was a classy way to potentially go out, and other shows should take note of it. Plus, for once, the Panthers managed to win a game by a landslide, with Coach Taylor even gifting the other team a touchdown. 45-6, baby, and he still came out the bigger man.
The smaller man turned out to be Peter Berg's hilarious Morris McArnold (what a name), who, after accusing Eric of stealing both Tami and football plays, picked a fight with him at a swanky Italian restaurant. I love the man as the show creator, but I was gnashing my teeth along with Eric when Moe was holding Gracie Bell at the game. Who'd have guessed that the most obnoxious man on the show would be the one who gave Dillon Memorial Hospital a much-needed helicopter? He was a bit like an angrier, bitterer version of season 1 Buddy Garrity. In fact, the only way this episode could have been better would have been if
Buddy had thrown down with Moe.
Now that Tyra and Landry - of the final touchdown we may ever see the Panthers score - finally, and effortlessly together, we have a new non-couple to deal with: Tim and Lyla. I'm pretty sure that during her experience at the ranch, she realized she wasn't over Tim, no matter what she keeps telling herself and her boyfriend, and she loves that Tim is never going to give up. I loved the scene around the dinner table at the ranch ("Like that Russian Lit degree is doing her a lot of good while she's shopping for shoes at Neimans!") as the embodiment of the anti-Tim existence, but in the end the overall experience left her wanting, ahem, more. (On an unrelated note, since when does Lyla want to go to Princeton? That was kind of out of the blue.)
Despite the epic Taylor banter, the sublime sight of Landry scoring a touchdown, and what I'm guessing was supposed to be the heart of this episode (Jason's dilemma), Smash is what this week was all about. We have to add Gaius Charles' lately stunning performance as Smash to the increasingly long list of un(der)appreciated talent on this hidden gem of a show. His final realization that his future isn't what it was supposed to be, and his mother's attempt to cheer him up ("I got your favorite dessert. I knew that would put a smile on your face.") just radiated honesty - something I've come to expect from this show, but by which I am consistently blown away. He gave up on the promise of immediate money and possible fame with the Arena League, for what will ultimately be the more fulfilling option: Whitmore College. We should all be so lucky as to end up like Smash.
Were you listening tonight, Ben Silverman? I certainly hope so, because the kindhearted coach of Whitmore summed up
Friday Night Lights in a nutshell: "We don't have the size - we have the heart." It wasn't a loud or particularly showy moment, but it was honest and it was real, and it would be a damn shame to lose that kind of television.
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