February 7, 2007: I Think You Got Your Story
In the aftermath of
Mel Gibson,
Michael Richards and
Isaiah Washington, did we really need yet another perspective on celebrities saying stupid, insensitive and utterly indefensible things? I was fatigued by it all (though I am still disgusted). However, after watching this episode, my appreciation for this gem of a show was yet again renewed. I'm not sure whether this had anything to do with the recent spate of somewhat similar incidents in the entertainment industry - certainly it was written before Greysgate, part II occurred - but the story line was mercifully subtler than anything I would have expected it to be, which I definitely appreciated.
I refer to Mac McGill as a celebrity because I am sure that in the town of Dillon, he is. He was caught in a somewhat relaxed and unguarded moment, so one has to ask, is he racist or is he a terrible speaker? I'm leaning heavily toward racist, even though he may not think of himself in that regard. However, dismissing an entire group of people as "junkyard dogs" has to come from somewhere, whether he can acknowledge his motives or not.
Smash has undergone a radical change since being given his second chance. Watching him step up into a leadership position for his friends was a wonderful moment, and his methods were impeccable. Unfortunately, Tim was beyond disappointing. Telling Smash that he should talk to his "boys"? Wow. We got hints of this about Riggins in the earlier episodes, but it was still kind of a kick to the gut to watch it come from someone we've all really started to care about, as opposed to Mac, whom we never really saw too much of before this.
Of course, Tami's attempt to bring civilized discussion to the issue was a disaster, as most people could have expected. I love her for trying, though, and so it was tough to see it all fall apart and to watch her break down when she got home. Coach proved himself a consummate cheerleader (and husband) when he said, "You never shy away from difficult subjects; they know they can trust you," and, best of all, "You're my wife, and I'm damn proud of you."
Speaking of the Taylors, let's talk about Julie, who has gone into full-blown sullen teenager mode. Hanging out with Tyra has obviously been a bad influence: How stupid do you have to be to cut PE three times when A) your mom is the school's guidance counselor, and B) your father is the head coach and probably knows the PE staff very well? And getting picked third by her boyfriend for the powderpuff team - which was punishment to begin with - didn't really help that. Of course, her saying, "Matt's been yelling at me all day about stupid quarterback stuff," and her father's subsequent, "Matt Saracen's got you as quarterback? Wait, come here, honey. What do you mean he's got you as quarterback?" led to my absolute favorite scene in this episode. Watching the two of them practice football at night in the driveway was worthy of
The Wonder Years.
The powderpuff game itself was fantastic on so many levels: Landry as the referee warning Coach Taylor; Tyra sacking Lyla and telling her off; and Matt attempting to give a pep talk. All were freakin' gold, and writing won't really do them justice. So if you're reading this without having seen the episode, please go check it out. It's so worth it.
Jason has really rebounded fast from his situation just four or five episodes ago, which (surprisingly) doesn't seem to be going over really well with Lyla. We'll see what happens with that soon enough, but I, for one, really hope he makes it to Beijing. Though I'd hate to see him leave Dillon for good....
In short, a wallop of an episode, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
