This season was a huge disappointment and also for the
record, I broke up with Matt and I’m glad I did so. I’ll get to that at some
point.
First of all, I thought that both Riggins (Taylor Kitsch)
and Lyla (Minka Kelly) were seniors in season one, but apparently, that is not
the case as they are both still in high school.
Tim must deal with his older brother, Billy (Derek Phillips),
dating the single mom next door. He moves out of the house and for a time lives
with an odd, mentally unstable guy who, as it turns out, owns a meth lab. Tim
returns home, but upon returning to collect his stuff, steals some money to pay
the mortgage on his house. Naturally, this doesn’t turn out that well, but he
pays him back. Also, he joins Lyla’s church all to attempt to get her back
though that doesn’t work. He also goes to Mexico which causes him to get kicked
off the football team, though that eventually sorts itself out. He also spends
some time with the Taylors, but is kicked out after rescuing a drunk Julie
(Aimee Teegarden) but Eric (Kyle Chandler) misinterprets the incident as a
rape, though eventually Julie comes clean so things are good between Tim and
Eric, thank goodness.
As for Lyla, over the off season, she became a born-again
Christian, determined to spread the word wherever she can, including inside a
juvenile detention center. Here, she and her father (Brad Leland) take one of
these, Santiago (Benny Ciaramello) under their wing. He eventually moves in
with Buddy after his home situation falls apart and even joins the Panthers.
Despite the odds, Santiago settles in and defends his foster father from some
of his thug friends. Okay, back to Lyla. She gets a gig hosting a show on the
Christian Radio Station and falls for her partner, Chris (Matt C
As for Jason, his role is more of a stretch now that he has
finished with high school. He goes to Mexico to get some stem-cells shot in his
back so Tim and Lyla go down to talk him out of the whole thing. He doesn’t go
through with it, but the moment that sticks with me is when he throws himself
overboard. Obviously, he doesn’t die. He quits his coaching job and moves in
with his friend. He, then, gets a job working for Buddy which, after a rough
start, goes better than expected. After a disasterous first date, he enjoys a
one night stand with the waitress who rescued him, Erin (Tamara Jolaine). Then
she turns out to be pregnant. Jason is thrilled because he was told that was
basically not possible. The season literally ends up in the air with Erin
deciding on whether to have the baby or have an abortion. Heavy stuff. He
certainly pleads his case well, after all, this baby is truly a miracle, if its
actually his. This is certainly a good example for the case of pro-life.
Smash (Gaius Charles) doesn’t get too many plot lines and
the ones he does get are somewhat lame. Colleges are after him and he doesn’t
listen to his mother’s advice. Side note, Mama Smash, aka Corrina (Liz Mikel)
is easily my favorite character this season, she doesn’t deal or take any crap.
He picks a college only then to have everything shot to hell after he gets into
an altercation with a white guy at a movie theater. This guy was saying some
cruel remarks to his sister and he was just defending her, though he still
shouldn’t have punched him. After this, most schools revoke their offers so he
has to go around begging. In the end, a college with a poor football
reputation, signs him, complete with a full scholarship offer. He seems fine
with that, though the next day, he had a grim look on his face in his room.
Wonder how that whole thing will play out.
Now to Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) and Landry (Jesse Plemons).
Apparently, the guy who assaulted her comes back to stalk her after eight
months. He beats her up again, but this time, Landry is around and beats the
guy’s head with a stick-it kills him. Landry struggles with guilt. This shows
real character growth, though the whole thing seemed a bit much for a show
that’s supposed to be about football. Oh yeah, Landry also joins the team and
eventually becomes pretty good. Eventually, despite everything his father (a
police man portrayed by Glenn Morshower) and Tyra, he confesses, but because
Tyra (and to a lesser degree) Landry feared for their life and because this guy
had raped five women in two other states, charges are not filed, so that’s
right, he gets away with murder. Also, thanks to Tami (Connie Britton) coaching
the volleyball team, Tyra joins that team and that goes pretty well. Landry has
true feelings for Tyra but she doesn’t return them considering he’s completely
different from all the other guys she’s dated in the past. Yet, she still has
sex with him. In the meantime, Landry begins seeing this geeky girl, Jean (Brea
Grant), but he dumps her in a heartbeat for Tyra. He’s making a mistake; she
tells him as much. At the end of the season, he and Tyra are together, but I
seriously doubt that it will last.
As for the Taylors, I don’t like them as much as last
season. Eric (Kyle Chandler) is at TMU in Austin, so he misses many of his
brand new daughter’s dirty diapers. Tami (Connie Britton) is barely keeping it
together. Julie (Aimee Teegarden) is a brat, flirting with another lifeguard at
the pool who turns out to be out of her league and a jerk. She is cruel and
unhelpful to her mother and could care about having a baby sister. She even
tells her mother that Tami lost her once Gracie was born and Eric left. Tami
even slaps her. Yikes. Then Eric screws over the current coach, MacGregor, and
gets his old job back at Dillon but then complains about his low salary. But the
boosters had to pay off the old coach so there isn’t as much money left for
Eric. I don’t feel sorry for him. Sorry. Mentioned earlier, Tami also becomes
the girls’ volleyball coach which she loves though it causes her to ignore
Julie (who losses her annoying act to some degree) and forget about her driving
test. But who knows if Julie actually gets her license? Also, Tami’s sister,
Shelley (Jessalyn Gilsig) who is a pain though she means well. Because of her
departure, the Taylors are forced to put baby Gracie a day-care, a decision
which Tami struggles with. “But that’s our gift, not our burden,” as Eric
calmly puts it. Julie also has a crush on one of her teachers, but he’s only in
two episodes and Tami puts a stop to that immediately, thank goodness.
Now to Matt (Zach Gilford), this one was nothing but
disappointment. I felt so bad when Julie dumped him, though she later regretted
her actions. But then Matt’s grandmother gets an in-care nurse, Carlotta
(Daniella Alonso). First of all, since when could they afford an in-care nurse?
First, the two don’t get along that great and Matt even has
a cheerleader girlfriend, but his feelings for Carlotta grow and he loses his
virginity to her. They are together for a brief time, but then she leaves abruptly
for her home and family in Guatemala. Good riddance. Then, he completely loses
it, calls a teacher a mean name, drinks and skips school, and has a breakdown
in the shower. He tells Eric that everyone leaves him, Eric left him, Julie
left him, Carlotta left him, and even his dad picked Iraq over him. He plays
the scene so well. I’m still glad I broke up with him.
I think that’s pretty much it. The season was horrible
compared to the first. Still, the acting is fantastic and the characters did
change throughout the season, dealing with the crazy situations thrown at them
realistically. Still, I am disappointed, but I can’t stop watching. Grade: B
(overall), C+ (plot lines), B+ (acting)
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