Kidnapped

Friday Night Lights. Seriously, people. Start watching it.

Last night's episode was absolutely amazing. But then again, they all are.

I'll start the re-cap with Jason & Lyla. Lyla's dad Buddy is dead-set against them being together, and he's been treating Jason like the scum beneath his feet, just because he's in a wheelchair. And needless to say, he was furious when Jason announced that he and Lyla are engaged. Now honestly, if I was a parent, I can somewhat understand his hesitation in watching his beautiful, young daughter wrap herself up in a relationship with a guy who is a quadreplegic. However, Buddy should also know Jason well enough to know he has ambitions and goals and intelligence, and that he's not going to make a waste of his life. I hope Jason stands his ground with this one!

Smash Update: He was working his ass off to get back in Coach Taylor's good graces following the whole steroid fiasco, and the Coach wasn't making it very easy on him. That is, until his wife told him he needed to straighten things out with Smash before the kid lost all of his confidence, and that set up my favourite scene of the night: After having a heart-to-heart with Smash, the Coach and his star joined in a game of pick-up football with some of the neighbourhood kids, and there's nothing that makes you smile from the inside out as much as watching men playing with kids - it was so sweet! Of course, Smash has stayed clean and has done everything he's been ordered to do, so Coach Taylor told him he'll be back in the line-up for playoffs.

Then we have Tim Riggins, who needed his dad's signature on some court documents or else he would lose his driver's licence. So Tim took off to find his estranged father, and he ended up spending a few days with his old man despite his brother Billy's warnings to steer clear of him. While I've never been Billy's biggest fan, I really liked seeing how much he worries about Tim and cares about him. In any case, Tim was soaking up the father-son time he was spending with his dad, until he asked his dad to come to his game. Tim was heart-broken when his dad told him he couldn't go back, and he must've felt that the bonding time he'd put in was all for not, until the night of the game arrived and there was Mr. Riggins in the stands, ready to cheer him on. Yet another lovely Friday Night Lights Hallmark moment!

So this brings us to the whole Matt & Julie situation. Now, I'm not sure what the deal is with high school football in Dillon, Texas, but apparently once you make the playoffs, all of a sudden the other football players and rally girls decide to kidnap the star quarterback every time he turns around. And that would be Matt Sarracen. Shy, quiet, nervous, awkward Matt Sarracen, who would really rather just hang out with his girlfriend, but instead he's getting hustled off into cars with screaming girls who want him to strip down in hot tubs and kanoodle with them while taking photos for the school calendar. The first time Matt was kidnapped, Julie was very understanding, and hitched a ride home with Tyra. Then he ditched her so that he could make an appearance on a local TV show, and again, she was very understanding. She even agreed to "baby-sit" his Grandma for him. (And she invited Tyra along. I'm not liking that friendship at all. I know a few weeks ago I said I had gained some respect for Tyra, but now she's lost it again. First she took Julie to a strip joint, then she shoplifted while in her company. And then she gave Matt's Grandma wine and painted her toe nails. Black. Ugh.)

The straw that broke the camel's back was the last time Matt was kidnapped and taken to a party where the rally girls were snapping photos of the football players for their calendar. Matt didn't tell Julie about this particular kidnapping, but she found out about it when she saw the rally girls passing around the photos. Undoubtedly, she wasn't impressed seeing her boyfriend stripped down to his boxers in a hot tub with the cheerleaders. (I, on the other hand, loved it). Julie just looked so hurt, especially when Matt lied about where he'd been. The thing is, though...I feel sorry for him, too. I understand why she's mad, but she must know Matt well enough by now to know that the whole time he was there, he was uncomfortable and wishing he was at home with her. It's just...Well, he's QB1 and sometimes he has to take part in these silly football parties. Surely to God Julie can understand that! I hope these two can work it out...They really are one of my favourite TV couples!

So that puts a wrap on this week's FNL re-cap. Stay tuned next week...From the preview they showed, looks like it's going to be intense!!