Friday Night Lights - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Like the dark clouds over Dillon in this week's episode ("A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall,") NBC's impending renewal notices have had FNL fans reaching for their umbrella for the past couple months. But with the advent of Spring comes the rumors that not only will the series be renewed, but that it will get two 13 episodes seasons, thanks to a continuing deal with DirecTV (EW's Michael Ausiello says it "will be announced any day now"). So there's that.

But getting to the action, there's just one more game to win to get to State, and like the first season's penultimate game ("Mud Bowl,") everybody involved needs a shower afterwards. Tim calls the game "one for the ages," and it did seem to provide a lot more drama than any other thus far this season. The axiom goes, when the ground is wet, run the ball, and Joe McCoy expects his blue-eyed son to follow that rule, regardless of whether Coach Taylor calls the plays or not. Coach sticks to his game plan, no matter what, because COACH TAYLOR DON'T PLAY NO GAMES. The Panthers may have won in the end (garnering the win boldly like they went for renewal - going for two!) but it was on a pass, and dadgummit if that didn't fly in the face of Pa McCoy's rule.

That, of course, leads us to one of the storms that's been brewing all season, that of the relationship between QB1 and his control-freak of a father. But even the darkest of clouds could not have prepared us for the rain of paternal punches that fell upon poor J.D. in the Applebees parking lot (hittin' good in the neighborhood). Most of the aftermath is yet to come, but having the McCoys not named Joe seeking shelter at the Taylors fit with both themes raised in the episode, that being shelter and division.

Of the other storylines involving division and shelter, Matt and grandma Lorraine's story resonated the most, even as short as it was. Her deterioration has been slow and drawn out, but now that Matt's about to graduate, decisions have to be made. Seeing her cling to her slippers felt all to real, and provided just enough levity to make Matt's quick change of mind more believable. She needs the kind of shelter that he can't provide on his own or with Shelby in tow.

Meanwhile, Lyla is quickly finding out shelter with the Riggins boys is not really shelter at all, but just another storm waiting to happen. As much as Buddy deserves the pain he gets here, I can't help but feel sorry for him hearing Ernest Tubb's pleading "Have You Ever Been Lonely" play on the radio as he talks with a suddenly sage Tim. Lyla finally forgives and returns, but of course, even in victory, karma still comes to Buddy, as she's now likely to follow Tim to San Antonio State thanks to daddy losing her college savings. That's "Karma's a B*tch #2" for Buddy if you count the redistricting (more division theme) that the school faces thanks to his insistence of funds going to a scoreboard instead of solving the school's educational needs. That makes it Karma 2, Buddy 0.

The Tyra/Landry stuff was mostly a retread of the past, as slyly referenced with song "Same Mistake Twice" by The Old Nationals playing in the background. The other music in the episode was dominated by more of Evan Johns (three songs,) all pulling from the same great Austin rocking classic Rollin' Through the Night. Come to think of it, the other FNL episode that featured three Evan Johns songs was another McCoy-centric one ("The Trouble with Being J.D. McCoy,") so perhaps Johns is the chorus for that family's ills. If so, it's not a bad one to have, punching papa or not. Speaking of the McCoys, the episode's title of course refers to the classic song from Bob Dylan, and some lyrics to the song naturally sprang to mind while thinking about their storyline:

Oh, who did you meet my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
...I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded in hatred
And it's a hard(x5) rain's a-gonna fall.

Playlist: Friday Night Lights - Episode 3.11
1. "If I Had My Way" - Evan Johns & His H-Bombs - Lyla beats Billy at a video game.
2. "Same Mistake Twice" - The Old Nationals - Tyra runs into Landry while shopping for the bridal shower
3. "Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)?" - Ernest Tubb and Mel Tillis - Buddy asks to talk with Tim
4. "Lay Back Down" Eric Lindell - Landry helps Tyra with the bridal shower preparations
5. "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" - A choir sings as Tim takes Lyla to her church
6. "Best Friend" - Mario Matteoli - Landry & Tyra set up for the bridal shower
7. "Bar-B-Cutie" - Evan Johns & His H-Bombs - The game starts
8. "Rollin' Through The Night" - Evan Johns & His H-Bombs - The Panthers win against the Mustangs

Previously: The Giving Tree (Episode 3.10)

Friday Night Lights - Hole in the Bucket

After last week's 'meh' episode, FNL gets back on track this week with "It Ain't Easy Being J.D. McCoy," a solid hour that felt like hanging out with good friends. "Good times," as Riggins might say, with actor Taylor Kitsch channeling David Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey) from Dazed & Confused, and a majority of Riggins time we get this week (especially the great tour of Dillon) felt a lot like Richard Linklater's wonderfully lazy classic.

That's not to say that nothing happened, because Matt and Julie finally got down and did the dirty(!) The whole scene was shot with such reverence for the act that we saw nothing, instead were left to figure it out from Aimee Teagarden's impressive acting of the morning after. First checking herself out in the mirror (I'm a woman now!) and then with the smiling furtive glances she exchanges with Matt later at church. So she got the flower last week (tatoo on ankle,) and now Matt hath plucked it.

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, there's a hole
"Well, fix it!" - Coach Taylor

While there wasn't much for Coach (Kyle Chandler) to do this week, his presence was felt pretty much everywhere. Take for instance the J.D./Riggins storyline. Now that J.D. is QB1, we anticipated seeing more of him, but few figured on seeing all of him -- via the time-honored tradition of the Naked Mile. Coach recognizes J.D.'s like an exchange student on the team (thanks to his stage mom of a father) so having the team drunk take him under his wing was like tossing him in the deep end to get him swimming with the rest of the team.

Meanwhile, Street and the strange house flip storyline move to its inevitable FUBAR moment, hilariously played like a Flip This House episode gone horribly wrong. Billy shooting himself with the nail gun after boasting of his construction experience (backed by Jay Reatard's "See-Saw") made this head scratching plot all worth it -- especially with the bloodstained note on the wall that greets Jason later ("WE'LL FINISH IN THE AM!") Coach steps in and throws some water on Street's pity party. It all gives Scott Porter's delivery of "There's a Hole in the Bucket" to his son over the phone a touching moment that's well earned.

Meanwhile, the rodeo clown Cash continues to befuddle this season's version of Tyra. If the character wasn't transparent enough, the music that plays whenever Cash talks with her at Applebees* is always about lying. Last week it was The Walkmen's "If Only It Were True," and this week it's the Eagles of Death Metal song "Now I'm A Fool" that clues us in that he's a phony. Meanwhile, this episode marks the beginning of FNL's attempt to bring the great Evan Johns to the world. A legend in his former haunts of both D.C. and Austin, Johns has three songs in this episode, and, I'm told, even more to come in future episodes.

*NBC's product placement of Applebee's was especially oderous this week

Speaking of music, I can't believe I've waited this long to say how excited I am that Landry's band Crucifictorious is back, and better than ever. Thanks to a lineup change, the promising freshman Devon takes over at bass, the band appears to be giving up on their Christian Death Metal approach and moving on to songs about heartbreak. Laments the band's former bass player, "I thought we were going to be bigger than Crimson Thorn!"

Playlist: Friday Night Lights - Episode 3.06
1. "The Hump" - Heavy Trash - the naked mile
2. "Lessons That Burn" - Evan Johns and The H-Bombs - Eric catches a naked JD
3. "See Saw" - Jay Reatard - house flipping plans
4. "Now I'm A Fool" - Eagles Of Death Metal - Cash visits Tyra at work>
5. "Pain Of Love" by Evan Johns and The H-Bombs - Tim takes JD on a tour of Dillon
6. "Strung Out" - The Bacon Brothers - Tyra works on the decorations
7. "Where I Stood" - Missy Higgins - Cash's ex stops by Tyra's house
8. "Boudin Man" by Evan Johns and The H-Bombs - The Panthers win
9. "It's So Right" - Josh Rifkin - Tyra confronts Cash
10. "Black Dirt" - Bumblebeez - The school dance starts
11. "Orange Blossoms" - JJ Grey & Mofro - Tim & Lyla run into JD at the dance
12. "Safer When" - C'mon - Tim & Lyla take take JD to a party
13. "Spaceships" - Bumblebeez - Cash shows up at Tyra's house
14. "Remember When (Side B)" - The Black Keys - Tim & Lyla rescue a drunk JD
15. "Canadian Girl" - The Walkmen - Eric arrives at the dance

Previously: Flip This QB, Flip that House (Episode 3.05)