He's Back, Baby!
MacGregor is out and Taylor is in. Chris Mulkey by Bill Records/NBC
Episode Recap: "Backfire"
Who didn't have a little flutter in his (or her) heart when Coach Taylor, back in his Dillon Panther blues, stood up in front of that room like nothing had changed and said, "Let's go. Let's have some fun today"? What a way to end an episode that already just seemed to fly by.
Aside from that weird, Mafia-like threat from Coach MacGregor ("I have a family, too, and you just remember that. I'll be seeing you again"), Eric's homecoming was nothing less than joyous. Julie and Tami are well on their way to patching things up, especially now that it looks like the grungy Swede might be out of the picture. Matt Saracen has someone back on his side again, and Buddy should probably be considered the town hero.
Ah, Buddy. We may have just been witness to the only game in Panther history that Buddy honestly wanted his beloved team to lose. It was quite a sight to watch him hold back a grin as Smash got blocked again and again, leaving Dillon with a humiliating loss on their own field. When he wasn't successfully defending the board against MacGregor's lawsuit, he was offering a job to Lyla's new ex-convict love interest - the only one in Dillon who
doesn't want to go back to "Statem" har har har - and showing all of us that Lyla's obnoxious tendencies come straight from her mother. I nominate Buddy to be the team's rallying mascot now that Jason seems to have turned his back on his team and town.
It was always obvious that Jason was desperate for some kind of miracle cure. And while I shouldn't be allowed to judge him, considering I have no idea what it must be like to a paraplegic, it's still hard to believe someone would put himself at even more of a risk. His drunken rendition of "I'm Gonna Walk-a" to the tune of "La Cucaracha" showed him to be simultaneously bitter, a lousy drunk and a kind of hopeless idealist. When Tim Riggins is the voice of sane decisions, you're in bad shape.
And yet Tyra and Landry may be in even worse shape. Sure, they're off the hook for now - the stalker's body has been found, and the police have closed Tyra's attempted rape case thanks to her identification, but Landry is starting to seriously crack, and seems about ready to throw in the towel and confess. I'm not sure how much longer Tyra can keep him contained, especially with anxiety-inducing events like what went down in the coffee shop. When those cops stood there, eyeing Landry (and Matt too, but poor Matt was completely oblivious),
I almost had a heart attack. I can only imagine what that moment was like for the former frontman of Crucifictorious.
Finally, making a triumphant comeback (like Coach Taylor, woo!), is my compilation of the best lines of the episode (woo! again):
" "He does like me."
"Well, he doesn't love you, and that's the difference."
" "You go out and get loaded tonight. Catch syphilis."
" "He
just got home, Buddy."
" "You, being from [another town], wouldn't understand. Here in Dillon we win seasons, we don't win games."
I'm pumped for the big Panther turn-around. Taylor better not screw it up! What did you think of his homecoming? Leave your comments here!
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