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Feb. 10th, 2011 06:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geebsTV Commentary:
Friday Night Lights- So last night was the last episode ever of FNL. And it was a beautiful end to such a wonderful show. So, since I'm about to go into detail under this cut, if you're a long time FNL watcher, don't read this until after you've seen it, as I'd hate to spoil things for you. I mean, there were so many tear jerker moments. Of course, some people might get annoyed that everything worked out in the end for everyone and how unrealistic and blah blah blah. But frak those jerks! I think one of the underlying themes of this final ep was family. All the characters on this show have formed such deep strong bonds with each other. And we, the audience have been there through it all. Everyone on this show deserves kudos for bringing the characters to life, making them so very real. Because they're all such great characters, you can't help but want the best for them. So I'm glad everything worked out all happy and neat, because you want to leave these characters knowing things are going great for them, because you care about them so much.
So, anyways, on to the ep. Matt's back in town, and he wants Julie to marry him. He asks her at the Alamo Freeze, and she says yes!! Unfortunately, he forgot to clear it with coach first, so Julie wants to do a takeback and begs Matt to ask her dad first. Now, even though Matt is the "good guy", and would prolly make a fine husband for any girl, they're both young, and that's all Coach sees when Matt broaches the subject. As such, Coach is seething, and goes so far to say that he'll never let Julie marry him. Matt tells him he already asked, so tough shit! He was just trying to be courteous.
Coach and Tami are still having a tiff over his super-team coaching offer vs her dean of admissions offer, but this enough to temporarily unite them. They take the young couple to dinner to talk, and Julie says they're not getting married any time soon, its more like a promise to each other. And sure, they're just starting their adult lives and there will be many obstacles in their way, but Julie tells them they got married when they were her age. And they've been through so much and made it through, and she draws inspiration from that, confident that she and Matt will have what they have.
Heh, of course, this is a little much for Tami, since while they have worked these issues out in the past, it was mostly compromises for Coach's stuff. She wants it to be her turn. Eventually though, she knows they both won't back down, but she loves her husband too much to choose that over him, so she tells him she won't take the job. But! Coach realizes how important this job is to her, and turns down the coaching position to go to Philly.
One of the more beautiful moments in all this was when Matt and Julie were with his grandma, and she dug out her old wedding dress for Julie, and then she kissed the ring (which was hers) on Julie's hand and asked her to call her grandma now, because she was family. It was a heartfelt moment, and not the only time in this ep where people were telling each other they were like family.
It was weird to say Landry for such a short time, I wish they'd done a little more with him than having him help Matt out with asking for the Coach's blessing to marry Julie. I mean, he's been there from the beginning. And his two significant gfs are both still around. I was hoping to get some reference to that. Not that he would get back together with either of them, but just some acknowledgment he wasn't just Matt's sidekick and he had other connections in all this.
Speaking of those, sounds like Tyra and Tim admit they still love each other. But Tyra is not settling any time soon. Just like from the very beginning of this show, she didn't want to get stuck being a townie. She tells him she wants to go into politics- and she wants to be like Tami, only on a bigger scale. So, even though we don't see them actually interact at all this ep, I like they at least reference the fact that Tami had mentored her and how she was such a huge influence on Tyra.
Heh, and it looks like banging Tyra last ep (okay, prolly the bonding time with his nephew this ep too) changed Tim's attitude, as he went from definitely going to Alaska, to, maybe going to Alaska. Billy is happy to hear that.
As for the rest of the Riggins family, Becky's mom is back in town, so she's moving back with her. Mindy is clearly upset, but then Becky re-assures her at how incredibly grateful she was to Billy and Mindy and they're not getting rid of her that easily. They're always gonna be family. Mindy's like her sister. And Tim is apparently her brother- because she's gotten over her crush on him and after Luke comes over and apologizes for being a friggin idiot last ep, she's definitely with Luke.
Weird, I never realized Alicia Witt never met Luke, but she's cool with her daughter dating him. As long as he doesn't knock her up again!
Jess, wondering if there's a place for her on the new super Panthers team, asks Coach if he would consider letting her tag along (this was before Coach decided he was letting Tami have he way) and Coach definitely implied he would look after her. Unfortunately, her Dad is building a new franchise in Dallas, and moving the whole family there, so her hopes of being Coach's protege are dashed. But, Coach knows the Coaches in Dallas, and he's gonna put in a good word for her, and Jess is incredibly grateful.
Heh, they kinda gloss over how this will affect her and Vince, because Vince's issues this ep is that despite all that happened with his Dad, he wants him to be there at the game. At first he says he'll watch it on TV, but it wouldn't be wise for him to go. Vince is sad, and Coach sees this after Vince tells Billy he only needs one ticket when he's handing tickets out for the team, and takes a ticket to Vince's dad. Coach lets him know this is possibly a once in a lifetime thing for Vince (unless he makes State again next year, heh) and he should try to be a real father for once, and show up. Vince's dad does the right thing and shows up at the game to support his son. Meanwhile, Vince tells his surrogate dad, Coach, once again that Coach changed his life for the better and he'll always be thankful for that.
As for the State game they don't focus on the actual game too much. Just snippets of the plays, and you don't actually know the score until the climax. And of course, its Dillon down by 6 with only 3 seconds left and a lot of field to cover. But, Vince has thrown the long bomb before. And we see him throw it, the whole crowd focused on whether the receivers will catch it in the end zone... and they cut to eight months later! I should get mad at the show for such a dirty trick, but at least you find a few seconds into the ending montage that the Lions did win state.
You know, I think I said in a previous post that going into this ep, it didn't matter if they won, the way the story was going. It wasn't as integral to the plot, particularly since the Lions were dunzo after this game anyways. But that was BS. I think the audience still wanted/needed to see Coach win one last ring in Texas and have these kids get this sense of accomplishment.
In the epilogue, Coach is coaching a Philly HS team, Tami's is the Dean of Admissions. Vince is star quarterback of the Panthers- and even Tinker, who figured he wouldn't be playing after the championship game because he didn't think he was good enough to make it there, was right there with him. Becks and Luke are still together, but he's leaving for the Army.
Matt and Julie are living together in Chi-town, though since we don't get a look at their hands, not sure if they're just doing the couple thing, or if they did go through with the marriage. Jess is in Dallas, and Coach, true to his word, was able to put in a good word for her, and it looks like she's got a position as an assistant Coach (or is it assistant to the coach, since I assume she's still a student. Can students be assistant coaches?)
Tim decides to stay, and he and Billy are building a house on his land, just like he said he would to Tyra. Heh, we end with Coach with his new team, and telling him the classic "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts" line (which Buddy put on a plaque in the super-Panther's field house), and they just look at him blankly, unaware of the answer. But he'll teach them.
Friday Night Lights- So last night was the last episode ever of FNL. And it was a beautiful end to such a wonderful show. So, since I'm about to go into detail under this cut, if you're a long time FNL watcher, don't read this until after you've seen it, as I'd hate to spoil things for you. I mean, there were so many tear jerker moments. Of course, some people might get annoyed that everything worked out in the end for everyone and how unrealistic and blah blah blah. But frak those jerks! I think one of the underlying themes of this final ep was family. All the characters on this show have formed such deep strong bonds with each other. And we, the audience have been there through it all. Everyone on this show deserves kudos for bringing the characters to life, making them so very real. Because they're all such great characters, you can't help but want the best for them. So I'm glad everything worked out all happy and neat, because you want to leave these characters knowing things are going great for them, because you care about them so much.
So, anyways, on to the ep. Matt's back in town, and he wants Julie to marry him. He asks her at the Alamo Freeze, and she says yes!! Unfortunately, he forgot to clear it with coach first, so Julie wants to do a takeback and begs Matt to ask her dad first. Now, even though Matt is the "good guy", and would prolly make a fine husband for any girl, they're both young, and that's all Coach sees when Matt broaches the subject. As such, Coach is seething, and goes so far to say that he'll never let Julie marry him. Matt tells him he already asked, so tough shit! He was just trying to be courteous.
Coach and Tami are still having a tiff over his super-team coaching offer vs her dean of admissions offer, but this enough to temporarily unite them. They take the young couple to dinner to talk, and Julie says they're not getting married any time soon, its more like a promise to each other. And sure, they're just starting their adult lives and there will be many obstacles in their way, but Julie tells them they got married when they were her age. And they've been through so much and made it through, and she draws inspiration from that, confident that she and Matt will have what they have.
Heh, of course, this is a little much for Tami, since while they have worked these issues out in the past, it was mostly compromises for Coach's stuff. She wants it to be her turn. Eventually though, she knows they both won't back down, but she loves her husband too much to choose that over him, so she tells him she won't take the job. But! Coach realizes how important this job is to her, and turns down the coaching position to go to Philly.
One of the more beautiful moments in all this was when Matt and Julie were with his grandma, and she dug out her old wedding dress for Julie, and then she kissed the ring (which was hers) on Julie's hand and asked her to call her grandma now, because she was family. It was a heartfelt moment, and not the only time in this ep where people were telling each other they were like family.
It was weird to say Landry for such a short time, I wish they'd done a little more with him than having him help Matt out with asking for the Coach's blessing to marry Julie. I mean, he's been there from the beginning. And his two significant gfs are both still around. I was hoping to get some reference to that. Not that he would get back together with either of them, but just some acknowledgment he wasn't just Matt's sidekick and he had other connections in all this.
Speaking of those, sounds like Tyra and Tim admit they still love each other. But Tyra is not settling any time soon. Just like from the very beginning of this show, she didn't want to get stuck being a townie. She tells him she wants to go into politics- and she wants to be like Tami, only on a bigger scale. So, even though we don't see them actually interact at all this ep, I like they at least reference the fact that Tami had mentored her and how she was such a huge influence on Tyra.
Heh, and it looks like banging Tyra last ep (okay, prolly the bonding time with his nephew this ep too) changed Tim's attitude, as he went from definitely going to Alaska, to, maybe going to Alaska. Billy is happy to hear that.
As for the rest of the Riggins family, Becky's mom is back in town, so she's moving back with her. Mindy is clearly upset, but then Becky re-assures her at how incredibly grateful she was to Billy and Mindy and they're not getting rid of her that easily. They're always gonna be family. Mindy's like her sister. And Tim is apparently her brother- because she's gotten over her crush on him and after Luke comes over and apologizes for being a friggin idiot last ep, she's definitely with Luke.
Weird, I never realized Alicia Witt never met Luke, but she's cool with her daughter dating him. As long as he doesn't knock her up again!
Jess, wondering if there's a place for her on the new super Panthers team, asks Coach if he would consider letting her tag along (this was before Coach decided he was letting Tami have he way) and Coach definitely implied he would look after her. Unfortunately, her Dad is building a new franchise in Dallas, and moving the whole family there, so her hopes of being Coach's protege are dashed. But, Coach knows the Coaches in Dallas, and he's gonna put in a good word for her, and Jess is incredibly grateful.
Heh, they kinda gloss over how this will affect her and Vince, because Vince's issues this ep is that despite all that happened with his Dad, he wants him to be there at the game. At first he says he'll watch it on TV, but it wouldn't be wise for him to go. Vince is sad, and Coach sees this after Vince tells Billy he only needs one ticket when he's handing tickets out for the team, and takes a ticket to Vince's dad. Coach lets him know this is possibly a once in a lifetime thing for Vince (unless he makes State again next year, heh) and he should try to be a real father for once, and show up. Vince's dad does the right thing and shows up at the game to support his son. Meanwhile, Vince tells his surrogate dad, Coach, once again that Coach changed his life for the better and he'll always be thankful for that.
As for the State game they don't focus on the actual game too much. Just snippets of the plays, and you don't actually know the score until the climax. And of course, its Dillon down by 6 with only 3 seconds left and a lot of field to cover. But, Vince has thrown the long bomb before. And we see him throw it, the whole crowd focused on whether the receivers will catch it in the end zone... and they cut to eight months later! I should get mad at the show for such a dirty trick, but at least you find a few seconds into the ending montage that the Lions did win state.
You know, I think I said in a previous post that going into this ep, it didn't matter if they won, the way the story was going. It wasn't as integral to the plot, particularly since the Lions were dunzo after this game anyways. But that was BS. I think the audience still wanted/needed to see Coach win one last ring in Texas and have these kids get this sense of accomplishment.
In the epilogue, Coach is coaching a Philly HS team, Tami's is the Dean of Admissions. Vince is star quarterback of the Panthers- and even Tinker, who figured he wouldn't be playing after the championship game because he didn't think he was good enough to make it there, was right there with him. Becks and Luke are still together, but he's leaving for the Army.
Matt and Julie are living together in Chi-town, though since we don't get a look at their hands, not sure if they're just doing the couple thing, or if they did go through with the marriage. Jess is in Dallas, and Coach, true to his word, was able to put in a good word for her, and it looks like she's got a position as an assistant Coach (or is it assistant to the coach, since I assume she's still a student. Can students be assistant coaches?)
Tim decides to stay, and he and Billy are building a house on his land, just like he said he would to Tyra. Heh, we end with Coach with his new team, and telling him the classic "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts" line (which Buddy put on a plaque in the super-Panther's field house), and they just look at him blankly, unaware of the answer. But he'll teach them.
