Friday Night Lights -- Episode 115 -- Blinders

Where else but on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS could rampant racism and powder-puff football co-exist so peaceably? And both carry such weight? I love this show beyond the telling of it, and it's not just because of my colossal crush on Tim Riggins. How can you not love a show that turns Landry Clarke into a zebra with an attitude?

The Panthers win the first playoff by a score of 30-10, ending the game with a kick-ass play where Matt, Tim, and Smash all touch the ball and Matt ends up as a receiver in the end zone! WOO HOO! That was SWEET! Coach T is proud as punch of our boys in blue, and jubilation reigns in the locker room. Kyle Chandler's pretty no matter what, but this particular combination of pride, relief, and outright joy looks FANTASTIC on him.

We've got two basic storylines in tonight's episode -- the powder-puff football game and the fallout from racially volatile remarks made by an assistant coach after the playoff win, so let's get the more minor plot points out of the way: Smashmama's thinking about buying a house, but her loan's not approved, and she wonders if it's because she's black. Jason tries making a move back toward normalcy by going back to school, but feels he doesn't fit in and decides to just get his GED instead. Why? Because he's earned a spot at quad rugby training camp in Austin, which could lead to a place on the national team. Oh, and Trouble's mama, Double, has been "working late" with Buddy at the dealership. Uh-huh. And eww.

Let's start with the serious and move to the sublime.

I've never liked Mac McGill, not since he watched Voodoo's game tape with Buddy Garrity behind Coach T's back, but even I'm surprised when two reporters double-team him into implying that black players have more natural ability and white players are smarter. Think that's bad? He refers to players like Smash, Baxter and Voodoo (all black, mind you) as "junkyard dogs." *boggles* His remarks get hashed over on the radio and it snowballs from there. Everybody's got an opinion, from Slammin' Sammy's listeners to Panthers we've never heard speak before, dividing pretty much along racial lines. When Coach T tells Mac he needs to make a public apology, Mac says what's done is done and an apology isn't going to change that. Coach T mans up and says flatly, "I'm not making a request." So Mac gives what one of the black players calls "a lame-ass excuse" on television, and it makes things worse, not better.

Smash and Waverly have gotten all lovey dovey, which is sweet to see. She takes Mac's comments way more seriously than Smash, whose response is, "I'm not Jesse Jackson. My cause is football." He doesn't want to be distracted, but she urges him to bear the "burden and blessing" of being black and stand up for what's right. At the Alamo Freeze, Smash and Matt have a nice moment where they agree that Mac's wrong wrong wrong, but then Smash and Tim have a fraught moment when Tim tries to get Smash to talk to his "boys" about the friction on the team, and Smash tells him to get lost; that they're together for football, but not "for real." It's a valid distinction, but it makes my heart ache to see Smash and Timmy so at odds with each other again,

After Tami breaks up a fight between black and white students, she plans an after-school forum to help keep the kids from beating the crap out of each other in the hall, and gets Coach T to encourage the team to attend. Guess how well that goes over? Yeah. The initial scuffle looks like small potatoes compared to the scrum that demolishes the "dialogue" at Tami's well-intentioned forum. After Smash observes the ugliness, he goes to Mac at the field house, but Mac's in no mood to talk. He threatens to bench Smash if he doesn't let the matter drop. "I'm tired of this crap," Mac says. Yeah, well, you're not the only one, Mac, so let's talk about powder-puff football!

Tami wields her guidance counselor powers and forces Julie and Trouble to participate in the powder-puff game as punishment for cutting PE class. Lord only knows what she'll do to them if she finds out about the five-fingered discounts and how they contributed to the delinquency of a Grandma. Tim coaches one team; Matt the other, and Landry's officially the official. Good to see you, Landry, you loquacious freak! I've missed you! When it's time to choose teams Tim picks Lyla! The shameless Tim/Lyla 'shipper in me is convinced that's significant. Matt picks Trouble. Then he picks some other girl. And then, finally, he picks Julie! Matt, you are D-U-M sometimes, boy. Later, the "coaches" put their "players" through their paces on the field. I'd like to state for the record that Tim Riggins can be my personal trainer any day of the week. He's got the girls panting, flushed, stretched out for him with their legs spread...just like every other day of the week, basically, except they're doing it on the field instead of under the bleachers. Trouble takes over Matt's team in disgust, telling one player, "You throw like a girl!" Heee! Julie makes Matt grovel a little, but finally agrees to play QB. Later on, a blistering lecture about trust from Coach T to Julie gets shelved when he hears that she's playing quarterback. It's ADORABLE. He takes her outside and teaches her some QB stuff, while Tami looks on beaming. It helps soothe the familial tussling that Julie's Trouble-induced rebellion stirred up.

During the powder-puff game, Trouble discovers her inner linebacker and sacks Lyla, then gets all up in her face about Buddy's handsiness with Double. Landry enjoys his refereeing authority to a hilarious degree. Julie wears Matt's jersey number and plays QB like she was born for it, running one of her daddy's plays for the win while Grandma holds up a "JULIE QUARTERBACK" sign in the stands. It's pure bliss to watch; a great example of what the show does best.

We get a couple of sublime moments to end the episode. One's a conversation between Tami and Eric as he struggles to help her feel better about trying to get the kids to express themselves. Connie Britton's quivering lower lip should totally get an Emmy nod for that scene. Then Smash gathers together the black players (with some help from Waverly) and when they come to practice, they stand their ground and refuse to participate. Ooooooh. They take off their helmets and stand strong and proud against Mac. Then, with Smash in the lead, they walk off the field. *gulp*

As usual, I can't WAIT to see what happens next!