Friday Night Lights

Previously on FNL: Tara had the hots for Cash, the rodeo cowboy, and actually had to yell at Landry to drive the point home. At Billy's urging, Timmy agreed to help him steal a bunch of copper wire. Matt's Mom came back to town and just wants to help. Coach knows JD has the best throwing arm he's ever seen, but he also knows "what he's got" with Saracen; Coach also knows that benching Matt in his senior will kill him.

Panthers Field on a Friday night! Coach yells encouragement to his QB on the field, which is Saracen, as Slammin' Sammy VOs that alternating two QBs has left the team "dazed and confused". Matt does what he can, shouting directions and pointing for players who're mixed up, but it's no use - they run out of time for the play, and we're told it's the third delay. Panthers fans are extremely frustrated, but not as much as Coach, who literally hurls JD on the field. JD has the same problems, fortunately, backing up into one of his own players and shouting for him to get in a different position. Slammin' Sammy VOs that Coach's indecision has caused a "certified disaster." There are some times when you can't toe the line, Coach; sometimes you have to roll the hard six, to quote one of my favorite TV father figures. The opposing team scores, and all Coach can do is pace the sidelines like a caged lion, snapping "Aw, hell" over and over. As we catch a glimpse of the scoreboard, which is 0 to 13 for the Non!Panthers, Slammin' Sammy VOs that if the Panthers lose this game, they can kiss this season goodbye. Well, the scoreboard also said that it was the last two minutes of the first quarter, Sammy, so shut up, wouldjaplease? Coach calls JD and Matt over, using words like "calm", "steady" and "composure", and then sends JD out on the field. Montage time! JD throws a short pass to Riggins and then another to 16, working his way down the field. This is not lost on Matt, who looks utterly woebegone on the sidelines with the D. On the next play, JD pulls back and lets one of his shiny, hail-mary passes fly: he hits a Panthers receiver in the end zone, and the Panthers fans erupt with jubilation. "Matt Saracen has been hangin' tough, but JD McCoy is en fuego tonight!" Slammin' Sammy crows, but the other team still has momentum - they score another TD. Coach calls the team together and announces that JD is in, that they're going up the field and they're going to win the game. Wow. Coach, I have to say, I really wish you would've taken Matt's feelings less into account and just benched him earlier, because now the boy is going to be shattered. Slammin' Sammy notes that it looks like "the torch has been passed", and there's less than a minute to go. There's :36 on the clock, to be exact, with a score of 36 to 39, Not!Panthers, by the magic of television. JD passes to 33, who almost makes it to the end zone. Coach decides now is the time to put Matt back into the game, and tells him the play to use as Matt runs out. The other team scrambles to put their defense together for Matt's inevitable ground game, but it's chaos: Matt snaps the ball and even Slammin' Sammy thinks it's a handoff to Riggins, but no - Matt's kept the ball, and thank God, he practically walks into the end zone. Lorraine shrieks happily and high-fives random strangers in the crowd; Tami and Julie hold each other and jump up and down. Coach just takes his headset off, exhausted. The crowd, however, is all about JD. His mom and Monty rush the field; the Panthers lift JD up on their shoulders; he pumps his fist at the crowd. Aside from a few players slapping Matt on the back, everyone's focused on JD. As Matt walks out of the end zone, Slammin' Sammy tells us that "there is another king in the castle: JD McCoy has arrived and he is the real deal, ladies and gentlemen!" Matt removes his helmet and walks off the field alone, most likely wondering not for the first time what the hell you have to do to get some recognition in this town, and we go into the inspiring credits.

Chez Taylor. Julie peels carrots as Tami rushes about getting dinner ready. Tami passes Julie and asks "what that  mess is" on Julie's leg, asking if she was drawing on herself with a marker. Julie, whose hair looks stunning in this episode - shiny and straight, with her fringe braided and tucked behind one ear, very fetching - breezes that it's a tattoo, and asks if they want tortilla strips on their salad. Coach says yes; Tami says surely Julie means one of those lick-and-stick tattoos, smirking that that's a little young for Julie - well, yes it is, Tami, which is why the tattoo is real. Coach and Tami blink and turn to stare at their oldest daughter. Tami freaks the hell out, y'all, demanding to know why her perfect, flawless daughter has marred herself for life with this - this heart-shaped atrocity! Be happy she didn't get something in Etruscan, Tami. Julie explains that she was on her way home from work with her paycheck, and she always wanted a tattoo, so she did! Coach asks if she thinks that's how she's gonna spend her money, Tami is still processing the "real tattoo" bit, literally screeching that Julie has "ruined her skin forever!" I have way too many friends with way too many cool tattoos to be on Tami's side here; substituting "tattoo" with "quitting college and backpacking through Tibet" might prompt a different response. Julie rolls her eyes and raises her eyebrows, remarking that Tyra said Tami would have a problem with it. Oh, Julie! You do not misdirect to your friends in order to give you more credibility! You just fell back into 'entitled teenager' form. When Tami asks what that's supposed to mean, Julie says Tyra was there when she got it, and Tami snarks that that is fascinating. Julie starts shouting back at Tami, lobbing her snark right back at her, and Eric throws his hat into the mix, telling Julie not to speak to her mother that way. It's a full-blown shouting match on all sides for a minute, and then Julie ends it as she storms out: "It's done, it's on my leg. Deal with it."