"He's Got a Great Heart and I Want Him to Have a Chance"Thanks to TVGuide
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TV-Show-Blog/Friday-Night-Lights/Quothes-Got-Great/800027588 Episode Recap: Pantherama!
Move over you man-slut, Matt Saracen. You've been replaced in my heart by Santiago. How sad, how ridiculously heart-breakingly sad was that look on his face in the very last shot? It just hurt to watch. I'm still shocked at the never-ending evolution of Buddy Garrity this season, and taking in Santiago for reasons beyond helping out the Panthers — in fact, because as trite as it sounds, he needs a son as much as Santiago needs a father — was so sweet and unselfish, that it would have shocked me a year ago. But this season's a whole 'nother thing, and Buddy's redemption has made even the most cynical of northeasterners (me) just want to start blubbering like I’m watching Lifetime or something. Sure, he has a ways to go, as evidenced by Tami's, "You've got a lot of steak and you've got a lot of sausage; get some vegetables in here," but it's a wonderful start, and for Santiago's sake, more than Buddy's, I really hope it works out.
And then there's Matt, who, as I've already pointed out, seems to be taking his time making up his mind about who he wants to date. Should he date his girlfriend, or his nurse? Or should he date his girlfriend and just kiss his nurse? Well, I'm still no fan of the cheerleader (too perky and obnoxious for my tastes, even if she does know her cars), but imagine if things go south with a girl living in your house. It can only end badly for our good friend, QB1. Make me eat my words, please, Matt.
Meanwhile, Matt's decidedly ex-girlfriend Julie is over-the-moon for her newspaper advisor, Mr. Noah Barnett (Austin Nichols), graduate of Columbia Journalism and former employee of the Milwaukee Journal. Barnett is a rather ambiguous character, isn't he? Tami obviously thinks something fishy is up in his relationship with her daughter, but I'm not so sure. I'm hoping that LanTyra is going to be the only, "Ripped from the headlines," type drama this season, and that we'll be spared the teacher/student thing. I don't think it's heading that direction, because I think that this is just about Julie needing to have a crush on someone. It's just creepy that it's her teacher that she has a crush on. Barnett seems smart enough not to make a decision that could ruin his career the same way that dating the daughter of two of his colleagues would.
I think maybe everyone in Dillon needs to just sit down with Smash's mom for 5 minutes in order to be told right from wrong. Smash may disagree, but she only has his best interests at heart in wanting more than just a football career for him. He may think, "College isn't a goal, it's a means to an end," but she knows what any former teammate of Jason Street should realize, namely that an athletic career is somewhat less than a secure future. Even if he does make it on to a top college team, there's no guarantee he'll go pro. And the sad thing is that it's not just about ego with him, because he obviously wants to give back to his mother and sister. But what do I know? He's very talented and maybe there's a very great possibility that he could, in fact, go pro. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this situation — especially anyone with a high school or college football background.
Worth mentioning are Tim's self-imposed homelessness, and Tyra and Lyla's choreography. In Tim's case, I won't have much to say until I see how living with the man with the ferret works out, and the Tyra and Lyla thing was a cute diversion. Nothing more, nothing less.
No new episode next week, and I'll be on vacation anyway, so let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. See you all in two weeks for what will hopefully be the beginning of the end for the whole murder debacle.