Putting last week’s rant behind us, it seems like Friday Night Lights hasn’t forgotten its roots. “Pantherama” was by far the best episode of the season and if the show can keep it up, it will be back on the horse, until the WGA stops it.
Tami and Eric are back doing what they do best, besides being the most awesome couple on TV. They’re back to playing parents to everyone who needs it, and they’re doing it great.
Santiago seems like he’s here to stay, and it’s going to be interesting. Buddy is missing playing the “dad” part now that he was kicked out of home, so he’ll just pretend to have one with Santiago. It was nice to see Tami and Eric working together in order to settle Santiago, even if it’s with Buddy, as everyone benefits from this.
Smash, on the other hand, is far from being fine, and thank god Eric is there for him. Just like last year and the steroids, Eric is trying to save Smash from himself, and save the team from Smash’s stupidity at the same time. But here’s what didn’t click for me. It seemed like in the first season, after the steroids story, Smash got wiser and less impulsive. Now, however, he’s acting like the Smash of the early episodes of season 1. I mean, not even Smash would be dumb enough to think he will never get injured, especially after his football career was almost cut short last year. It’s like all the growth he went through never existed, just like Riggins, and that’s what irritates me.
Julie continues to go after men that are wrong for her. Seeing Matt having fun without her sent her to the next available wrong guy, this time it’s the new hot teacher. Yes, they haven’t spelled it out for us, but it’s obvious that she’s falling for him only to be hurt again, just like with the Swede. Tami is already sensing it, and once Eric hears about it, it’s gonna get wild. Because Eric and Tami are the best TV parents today.
But not everything was drama. There was some fun in this episode, which is something that was missing this season. It was nice seeing Lyla and Tyra working together on the entertainment for the Pantherama, even if it wasn;t exactly the kind of entertainment that Tami was hoping for. It was also a nice touch to have Landry stay in his tank top while everyone took their shirts off, because it fit well with his character. This plot also allowed Matt to develop something with hot Carlotta, who obviously likes him, even if itn’t the same “like” that Matt is hoping for.
All in all, this week’s episode was a big improvement over everything we’ve seen so far. If they can keep it up, FNL will be on the fast track back to awesomeness. Now all that left to hope for is that there are enough episodes left before the WGA strike starts to take its toll on the show.
