photo credit: scott mcdermott

*SQUEAL*

Can you believe we got a third season of this wonderful show?!? What tipped the scales? Was it the mini-footballs inscribed with "CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE" that we rained down on NBC HQ? Was it the quad rugby-inspired stressballs? Or could it have been my sending all 100,000+ words of both seasons' worth of recaps to Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman? Okay, it was probably that deal NBC made with DIRECTV, but still -- it's a gift, and I'm thankful for it.

I don't know about you, but I've found myself wanting to live according to the gospel of Friday Night Lights. Things like, "There's no weakness in forgiveness" and "Stick together and it all works out" have become part of our family's lexicon, along with "You can't put a price on happiness" and "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!" Now we can add one more, an echo from my one of my other gospels, The Sound of Music: "When a door closes, God opens a window." If last week's locker room scene was a love letter to the fans, this episode -- which may be the last we're given -- feels like a whole huge Valentine's basket, complete with chocolate and jewelry. Thank you Peter, Jason, Jeff, Kyle, Connie, Taylor, Scott, Gaius, Zach, Jesse, Adrianne, Minka, Aimee, Liz, Derek, Brad, Kevin, Benny, and Louanne. We love you, too.

Oh, my God, y'all. There's only one more episode after this! I can't believe it. I don't want it to be over! I'm so upset I feel like skipping school and getting drunk. Oh, wait, I don't go to school anymore; my idea of playing hooky is staying up late to watch Las Vegas and pouring another glass of chardonnay. I'm a wreck this week, in case you couldn't tell. I watched the episode with a pen in one hand and a Kleenex in the other. Before we even got to the opening credits I was a snotty mess over Matt cutting up Grandma's toast just the way she likes it, and it only went downhill from there.

You know that feeling that you get right near the end of the school year, when you realize summer's coming and nothing will ever be the same? I've had that feeling this week. Now there are only two new episodes left, and I'm already feeling nostalgic. It's especially bittersweet since the show seems to be returning to the rhythm and flow of the first season; it's an ensemble cast working at its absolute best. We won our second season, but we probably won't get to see it in its entirety. I'll take this platform and this moment to plead for renewal for a third season. The people of Dillon still have stories to tell. I'll be sitting right here, waiting to hear them.

Hi! Fill-in recapist for Ran here, y’all. So, what did you think of this week’s episode? I didn’t run right in here and bang out a recap like I usually do when recapping this show. I had to think about whether I really liked it as much as I thought I did. Then I had to go read a couple of reactions from friends and it seems to be mutually agreed that a lot of what happened this week should have occurred earlier in the season.

When I first saw the episode title, I read it as "Jumping The Guns" and assumed that one of those Taylor girls had finally succumbed to her libidinous nature and pounced on Tim Riggins. You have to admit, the social experiment of the Taylor Home for Wayward Boys hit a big snag thanks to the wayward Taylor girls. Between "Shels" and "Jules" (and his own checkered history, which gave him exactly zero inches of wiggle room) Tim ended up out on his keester. Again. That's mighty poor payment for keeping Julie from losing her vir gin gin to a shaggy-haired pipsqueak who's now in the running -- along with Guy's third ferret, Cooter -- for Vermin I'd Most Like To Squish.

A force of nature ripped through Dillon this week, leading to pounding hearts, emotional outbursts, tumult and chaos. That's right, Tim Riggins moved in with the Taylors. Oh, yeah, and there was also a tornado.

Friday Night Lights S2 Cast

I don’t mind saying I’m totally intimidated every time Ran asks me to cover a FNLs recap. I mean who can even come close to that wit, I ask you? My own style tends to lean towards making fun of the characters and lots of cussing, which is probably to compensate for said lack of wit. They packed a ton in this week’s episode, so, let’s dive in!

“I WANTED TO KILL HIM, SIR”: Oh Landry, you are one stubborn son of a bitch. But, you’re shooting yourself in the foot, son. Listen to the nice Detective. He’s trying to save your geeky ass. And I don’t mind saying I’m quite perturbed with Landry for putting Papa Clarke in the position he’s in now. When ‘probing’ questions about whether Landry felt his or Trouble’s life was in danger, so they can cop a self-defense plea, fail, Detective Tamber goes out to talk to Papa, who’s waiting very uncomfortably out in the hallway. Landry follows, interrupting and being totally pissy about the whole thing. “We weren’t done in there. I came here to confess!” I realize, at this point, he actually does want to go to prison. He feels he deserves it. But when has a teenage boy EVER known what was good for him?

Usually, my show makes me think about the big stuff: family, marriage, community, religion. Not this week, though. No, this week, I'm pondering men's underpants. In the generation since I was privy to more than one man's skivvies on a regular basis, have things changed so much? Do high school boys really wear boxers? With their bait and tackle just dangling out there in a sea of plaid? Whatever happened to tightey whiteys? To keeping the boys close to home? Is that an honor now reserved for beer-bellied, meth-making, ferret-loving guys named Guy? It's like the producers are thumbing their noses at me after my display of Kitschflesh in last week's recap; either that or they know that if they'd sent Gaius Charles on his 3.8 second dormdash in a pair of nice, athletically supportive burgundy jockey shorts, the entire quotient of female viewers (and perhaps some of the male) might have spontaneously exploded.

What am I thankful for this year? Once I get beyond the givens of reasonable health and family happiness, a couple of things come immediately to mind: One is Tyler Hansbrough, bless his ferociously competitive heart, who came back to play at Carolina for another year instead of leaving for the NBA, in hopes of taking his team to the NCAA championship. Go, Heels! And I'm especially grateful that when production shuts down in early December, the well-oiled machine that generates Friday Night Lights will have completed fifteen episodes. Fifteen! Not just scripted, but filmed! Done! Finished! Good job, y'all!