Pear
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Post by Pear on Nov 16, 2013 19:36:17 GMT -5
The fallout of the Jason Street injury isn't a pretty sight; although the community can pray together, our characters deal with it in different ways. For example, Lyla's relentless optimism arises from the seemingly perfect nature of her former situation: she was dating QB1, and she had her whole life mapped out. She was ready to fly around with Jason Street, NFL star, and slide down rainbows while the sun danced in the sky. Now, though, she's holding on to a sliver of those crushed dreams; she believes she's doing the right thing (and she does have a bit of a point. You can't wallow in self pity, or you won't get anywhere, and it's nice seeing her be the first one to really support him. However, wishful thinking can also be detrimental). Yet, she doesn't understand that maybe the right thing for Jason isn't what she's doing.
I really like the parallel between Lyla and Tim here; Jason's an essential part of them both, and the injury is a crushing blow to all three. Yet, Lyla and Tim are approaching the situation differently. He isn't able to bring himself to visit Jason, instead taking his anger out on Smash and beating himself up for what happened. It's heartbreaking to see him watching those game tapes of the injury, unable to come to terms with his best friend's plight. Stop watching those tapes, man!
So while those two are dealing with all of this, Matt Saracen's been pushed into the spotlight. The thing is, this is a kid that isn't entirely sure who he is. His grandmother believes in him, his coach believes in him, and he's blinded by the spotlight. Not many others believe in him, though; prove them wrong, Matty. It's a realistic situation, but in this town and in this sport, he has to adjust quickly. The episode does a great job at expanding upon Coach and Matt's relationship, and it's awesome seeing how quickly Coach can get a good grasp on Matt's situation. All he has to do is show up at his house. His job and his family are on the line and he's a bit frustrated, and he makes sure Matt knows it. Of course, he also actually cares about and wants to understand Matt as a person and a player. That scene on the field is gorgeous and heartwarming, and it shows you just how fantastic Coach is.
Yet, amidst all this fallout, perhaps Jason Street is the one handling his injury the best. He accepts reality, but he doesn't pity himself; he's frustrated, but he's a good, hardworking kid. He's selfless about the injury, worrying about the community and complimenting Matt's creativity, and in another one of those "OH JEEZ THIS MAKES ME WANT TO CRY." scenes, he lays it all out for Coach, breaking down and apologizing for letting him down. Coach's response? "Damn, son, you didn't let me down." Ahhh, so much power and emotion in that one line. You're killing me, Scott Porter and Kyle Chandler. This episode sums up why Coach is the perfect fit for the job; although he wants to win, he'll listen. He'll understand. People will believe in him with every cell of their beings.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-Opening credits! I love them. The music is amazing; it's a perfect Explosions in the Sky song that wasn't even written by Explosions in the Sky.
-This episode marks the introduction of Smash's mom, and she is fantastic from the get-go. Tyra vs. Corrina is a joy to watch.
-Tami Appreciation: Although Coach isn't all that happy about her getting the guidance counselor job, she deals with it in a mature, understanding way. Like I said last week, these two really understand each other. Also, good for you, Mrs. Coach, for going out there and doing what you want to do instead of being miserable with the book club folks.
-Okay, so I understand Jason Street's injury was devastating and everyone cares about football here, but some of those Dillon-ers are insufferable. They have no right to act like they're affected that much by the injury; maybe it's just me, but I dislike those kinds of people. Ugh.
-Grandma Saracen admiration of Coach is sweet. Still, that's pretty much how I'd act if I met Coach.
-Buddy, no. You are not better than Coach.
-Matt is not like the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
-"Devil Town" montage! I adore this choice of music; it fits in so well with the show's world and is a nice reflection of Dillon.
-I haven't exactly figured out how to insert the pictures where I want them to go. I also can't make them bigger, so anyway, below is Coach, Mrs. Coach, and Matt all being adorable. Attachments:
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2013 19:45:50 GMT -5
OH THANK BATMAN YOU ARE STILL DOING THESE
Good write-up; I think you got everything right about this episode. I really liked how the fallout of the whole Jason Street situation was handled, from Coach talking to Saracen to Riggins holding himself responsible.
This is such a good episode that I think Coach going to Saracen's house is maybe only my third favorite moment of the entire thing, and I think Saracen is maybe my favorite character in the whole show. There was probably a solid month after I finished the first season where you could have come up to me and just said "Matt Saracen" and I probably would need an hour to pull myself together. The two best moments of this episode, in my opinion? Tami Taylor telling Coach that if anyone could survive this, he could (how could you not love her after that?) and Coach visiting Jason Street in the hospital.
Corrina Williams and Grandma Saracen are just wonderful. It's kind of a shame that the Tyra/Corrina stuff was so brief, because Corrina is an absolute grand master in Restrained Mom Fury.
Edit: Thanks again for posting this.
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Pear
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Post by Pear on Nov 16, 2013 19:57:34 GMT -5
OH THANK BATMAN YOU ARE STILL DOING THESE Good write-up; I think you got everything right about this episode. I really liked how the fallout of the whole Jason Street situation was handled, from Coach talking to Saracen to Riggins holding himself responsible. This is such a good episode that I think Coach going to Saracen's house is maybe only my third favorite moment of the entire thing, and I think Saracen is maybe my favorite character in the whole show. There was probably a solid month after I finished the first season where you could have come up to me and just said "Matt Saracen" and I probably would need an hour to pull myself together. The two best moments of this episode, in my opinion? Tami Taylor telling Coach that if anyone could survive this, he could (how could you not love her after that?) and Coach visiting Jason Street in the hospital. Corrina Williams and Grandma Saracen are just wonderful. It's kind of a shame that the Tyra/Corrina stuff was so brief, because Corrina is an absolute grand master in Restrained Mom Fury. Edit: Thanks again for posting this. Saracen's just so endearing; Zach Gilford's amazing, and while on the surface, his storyline isn't anything new--second string QB forced into the spotlight--he's in a situation that I'm sure many can relate to: having talents that he doesn't quite know how to utilize. Also, it helps having such an amazing cast, where when you put any two characters together, you're bound to get some great moments. Also, in that Tyra-Corrina scene, I like how Tyra keeps walking toward the car, as she doesn't get right off the bat what Corrina really means. I love Tyra, but oh man, no one crosses Corrina. Agreed on the top three moments of the episode, and no problem! |
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 16, 2013 21:19:45 GMT -5
You know I often say FNL is more defined its moments than most TV shows, and when I realised this was the episode with THAT moment, Coach and Matt on the field, when nobody believed in him or even got his name right on the radio... that moment.
Wait, where was I?
There was something childlike about the Jason Street and Lyla Garrity relationship in the pilot. The call and response, the two kids with their perfect lives planned out ahead of them. Lyla's arc at this point is what happens when your child fantasies hit the cold, harsh light of the real world. She can live in denial or she can grow up.
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Nov 16, 2013 22:24:03 GMT -5
Pear: Love the show, enjoy the review. Sweet and succinct. Matt Saracen's my favorite character, because he's played with such puppy dog-like earnestness by Zach Gilford. Of all the protagonists, he's the one with the highest personal stakes; sure, Street has been grievously injured, but he never had the responsibilities that Matt's dealt with.
To post photos:
You only get three attachments, so use them wisely. Go to the "add attachments" button, and find the three files you want to use. Upload them all. When they're uploaded, click "Done". Put the cursor wherever you want a photo to go. Remember, you can justify left, center, or right with the buttons on the toolbar. Open the "Edit Attachments" button, and click "Insert" next to the photo you want. Click "Done", then move the cursor to the spot you want the next photo. They'll stay small, but are clickable. You can also insert photos from the internet, or a photo sharing site of yours. Those links are endless. Simply put the cursor where you want, click the button with the photo frame on it, and paste in the URL. You can also post video this way, just with the "Videos" button instead.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2013 11:43:37 GMT -5
Pear: Love the show, enjoy the review. Sweet and succinct. Matt Saracen's my favorite character, because he's played with such puppy dog-like earnestness by Zach Gilford. Of all the protagonists, he's the one with the highest personal stakes; sure, Street has been grievously injured, but he never had the responsibilities that Matt's dealt with. To post photos: You only get three attachments, so use them wisely. Go to the "add attachments" button, and find the three files you want to use. Upload them all. When they're uploaded, click "Done". Put the cursor wherever you want a photo to go. Remember, you can justify left, center, or right with the buttons on the toolbar. Open the "Edit Attachments" button, and click "Insert" next to the photo you want. Click "Done", then move the cursor to the spot you want the next photo. They'll stay small, but are clickable. You can also insert photos from the internet, or a photo sharing site of yours. Those links are endless. Simply put the cursor where you want, click the button with the photo frame on it, and paste in the URL. You can also post video this way, just with the "Videos" button instead. Re: Street It's funny, but I never felt as bad for Street as I did for some of the other kids - mostly Saracen and Tyra, and later Vince, even the other East Dillon kids. A lot of this has to do with Street's spirit, I think; even at his lowest points, he never seemed resigned to his fate the way that many of the others did. As hard as it was to see him rage at Riggins and Herc, it meant that he still gave a damn.
Some of this is Street coming from good parents, whereas many of the others never had the support that he did. Don't get me wrong, being poor and having a rough home life certainly represent Circumstances, but Street survived one of the worst things that could happen to a person. I am, of course, talking about Lyla Garrity. Being paralyzed was pretty bad, too, I suppose. |
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Post by CallMeCarlosTheDwarf on Nov 18, 2013 19:36:48 GMT -5
Matt Saracen is legitimately my hero.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2013 1:51:21 GMT -5
Matt Saracen is legitimately my hero. Not a bad one to have. And welcome to the Tolerability Index Forum! |
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outforawalk
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Post by outforawalk on Nov 19, 2013 16:34:43 GMT -5
Thanks, pear. I am quite enjoying both the reviews and show itself so far! Without knowing where anything is going, it does seem impressively fully formed right out of the gate. There is more of a sense that these characters existed before the pilot episode than is generally the case. With no effort I can imagine what life was like a year ago for any one of them, whereas in many shows it feels like the pilot is the beginning of that universe... *poof* and then there was a cast of characters!
Anyway, now on to more episodes! I have successfully restrained myself from the binge-watching thus far.
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Pear
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Post by Pear on Nov 19, 2013 16:51:15 GMT -5
Thanks, pear. I am quite enjoying both the reviews and show itself so far! Without knowing where anything is going, it does seem impressively fully formed right out of the gate. There is more of a sense that these characters existed before the pilot episode than is generally the case. With no effort I can imagine what life was like a year ago for any one of them, whereas in many shows it feels like the pilot is the beginning of that universe... *poof* and then there was a cast of characters! Anyway, now on to more episodes! I have successfully restrained myself from the binge-watching thus far. Yep, well said. And no problem. If you're restraining yourself because you want to follow along with the reviews, then you don't have to anymore. Go ahead and binge; I'm only fully covering a select number of season 1 episodes. In fact, the next post will touch on episodes 3-8, unless someone else would like to review one of those episodes. |
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outforawalk
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Post by outforawalk on Nov 21, 2013 17:36:40 GMT -5
So between last night and this morning (there was a power outage which allowed me to stay in bed until noon watching FNL instead of getting up and getting dressed) I got ahead of the review schedule... whoops. HOWEVER! I have no regrets because this show is fucking great. I have probably teared up 3 or 4 times by now, and I am not generally all that empathetic of a person.
I have no idea which character I like best, and why choose, but I do want to note that I absolutely love it when Coach and Mrs. Coach fight. Not because I want them to suffer, but because their fights are amazingly written and acted and they convincingly seem to love each other throughout the whole damn thing. That is some aspirational marriage-fighting there. I'm honestly jealous I never had such good fighting role models.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Nov 21, 2013 17:48:29 GMT -5
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Post by NewHereAgainoZach on Nov 21, 2013 18:39:27 GMT -5
So between last night and this morning (there was a power outage which allowed me to stay in bed until noon watching FNL instead of getting up and getting dressed) I got ahead of the review schedule... whoops. HOWEVER! I have no regrets because this show is fucking great. I have probably teared up 3 or 4 times by now, and I am not generally all that empathetic of a person. I have no idea which character I like best, and why choose, but I do want to note that I absolutely love it when Coach and Mrs. Coach fight. Not because I want them to suffer, but because their fights are amazingly written and acted and they convincingly seem to love each other throughout the whole damn thing. That is some aspirational marriage-fighting there. I'm honestly jealous I never had such good fighting role models. I believe the consensus is that theirs is the most realistic marriage ever shown on TV. Show of hands? |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2013 19:49:20 GMT -5
*raises hand*
I've said this before: I'd rather watch Coach and Mrs. Taylor argue than watch most couples get along.
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Pear
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Post by Pear on Nov 24, 2013 12:50:06 GMT -5
Update on the next review, which will basically just consist of bullet points about episodes 3-8...it'll be delayed a few days, but I'll try to get it up before Thanksgiving.
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