Friday Night Lights 4x07

In The Bag

By Katherine Keller
January 25, 2010

We open with a series of snippets.

Sad Julie in her bedroom. She apparently spent the whole weekend crying.
Somebody's been rustling cattle from the Cafferty ranch and Luke's dad tells him to plan on missing some school this week so they can rebuild the whole fence. Luke's unhappy, because if he misses school, he can't practice, and if he misses too much practice, he can't play. But Luke's dad doesn't have the money to hire somebody to fix the fence.
While the boosters hate Tami, the staff of WDH loves her. Under her leadership they've won a Blue Ribbon Award for Academic Excellence. Glenn, the teacher Tami mentored back in S2, presents it to her as the rest of the staff claps.
A semi pulls into Becky's front yard. "He's here he's here he's here!" she shouts and runs out to hug her daddy hard. He hands her a teddy bear and teases her about how she's getting so big. Cougar tells him that he'll be sleeping in the guest room, because she's rented out the trailer, and Becky has to go to school now. He offers to drive her, but Cougar hustles Becky into the car.
Out on the EDH field, Coach Taylor hands Vince a red jersey and proclaims him the new QB of the team. (Hello, shoutout to S1.)

And there we have our opening storylines, but I'm sure a few more will get woven in as the episode progresses. This is FNL after all.

Julie's filling her broken heart by signing up for every club that EDH has, including the Book Club, which Landry tries to talk her out of because this week's book is Twilight. "You do realize that he was my best friend, too," Landry says. "Yep," she quips back, "And that's why I signed you up for Academic Smackdown." Hee! (But I like that they're taking time to deal with the fact that Landry also feels abandoned.) Landry is afraid that Academic Smackdown is going to be full of losers and nerds (oh, the irony) but quickly changes his tune when he sees that Jess is there. She's so thrilled when he sits next to her — not! Turns out she does Academic Smackdown every year. Principal Levi shows up and mentions that WDH just got a Blue Ribbon and exhorts them to study so they'll make a strong showing. Later at practice, Julie is on edge and bossy (causing Jess to deliver some epic eyeroll) as she hounds her teammates, Landry takes her aside and says that hey, he misses Matt too, but Julie's adamant that it's "Not about Matt."

Coach is incredulous when Luke tells him why he missed school. He doesn't care if Luke fixes the fence in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, Luke just needs to get to school so he can practice. The next morning after what's clearly been a few hours of fence building, Luke leaves, telling his dad that he'll be back later after school, and he'll stay up until midnight and get up at dawn, but he is going to school. Luke's dad yells at him. (And again, we have a class issue. In rural farming and ranching communities, it is not uncommon for parents to pull their older children out of school for days at a time — out of necessity — to help on the farm or ranch.) The long hours and early mornings have Luke falling asleep in his lunch. As he snags a few fries from Luke, Tinker finds out what's going on and offers to ask the team to help build the fence.

Tim, Billy, and Mindy hold up the line at Wattaburger as they scrounge for change in the cab of Tim's truck. They've almost finished pooling their nickels and dimes when Mindy shouts in pain. She's having serious contractions and she's only seven months. As she begs them to get to the hospital ASAP, Billy instructs Tim to make sure they get the food before they zoom off. (Oh Billy, I love your sense of priorities.) The verdict is not good. Mindy needs to stay in the hospital for 24 hours of observation, and needs complete bed rest for the next two months. Billy reassures Mindy that he and Tim will take care of her, but, like a lot of Americans, the Riggins family has no health insurance and will have to pay out of pocket for everything. When the doctor tells him Mindy is likely to have more pre-term labor, Billy looks like a deer in the headlights when he realizes his expenses just tripled.

Becky's dad (who bears a certain resemblance to Walt Riggins, and I don't think this is coincidental) takes her to the pound to pick a dog. She's excited and happy, and assures him that yes, she can take care of a dog, it gets lonely with her mom working all the time. Why isn't she on the cheer squad or part of any clubs? I know she's supposed to be alienated and lonely, but it seems a bit artificial at this point. She asks her dad if he's ever moving back to Dillon. She understands her parents aren't getting back together, but if he lived in town, she could see him more. "Give me a little time, I'm working on it." Oh, that's a carefully vague answer. I sense heartbreak in Becky's future. She smiles and ends up picking a small black and tan mutt.

The playful mood in the EDH locker room changes when Principal Levi and two police officers arrive and silently march into Coach Taylor's office. They heard a rumor that Vince has a gun in his locker and they are here to inspect it. Coach is not so hot on the idea, but Principal Levi insists. Everybody watches as the cops rifle through Vince's locker and pronounce it clean. Vince is mortified, but hurt and bitter look he gives Coach (who looks ashamed and uncomfortable) speaks volumes.

Over dinner, Coach Taylor vents to Tami about his day and what happened with the police. Tami points out that his hands were tied, but, say the police had asked to open Landry's locker? I believe Coach when he says he honestly doesn't know what he would've done. By the end of the scene, Coach comes to the realization that he's going to have to have a very uncomfortable conversation with Vince. The next day he calls Vince in to his office and asks if Vince has a gun. A long pause follows before Vince says no.

Tim overhears Becky's dad talking on the phone and it's clear that the topic of conversation is a crying baby. "Trouble at home, huh?" he asks. Becky's dad changes the topic to Tim's football glory days and gives him some advice: "Don't ever get married. Don't ever have kids." Tim plays it casual, but he is on to this guy like ants at a picnic, asking, "You don't like your kids?" Becky's dad says he loves his kids, but not the responsibilities that come with them. Oh, and Becky doesn't know about the other family and let's keep it that way. Before Tim can reply, Becky storms on to the patio, Cougar in hot pursuit. Cougar is taking the dog back. Uh-oh.

Julie drops by Grandma Saracen's. Grandma and Shelby are happy to see her, and accidentally let slip that Matt's already called them several times. He hasn't called Julie once. Oh snap!

Tim and Billy still have the longhorn bull they bought last year! His name is Kit-Kat. Hee! You just know Tim gave him that name. Oh, but where are they having this discussion? Down at the Landing Strip. Hannah, one of the strippers, reveals that the dancers want to have a co-ed baby shower / fundraiser for Mindy to help out. Billy and Tim like the idea but where to have the shower? "Riggins Rigs," Tim says. Billy thinks those may be the smartest words that ever came out of Tim's mouth.

As Tami and Glenn review the curriculum (dropping Stephen Crane in favor of something "a little fresher") Glenn suggests that Tami should have a party to celebrate the award. Margaritas and karaoke, here they come! Over a round of shots, the teachers and staff speak up, thanking Tami for getting it done despite politics and football. Later, when the cab comes, Glenn hugs Tami good night and accidentally kisses her. It's just a peck on the lips, but the damage is done. Glenn is mortified (and probably afraid he just lost his job). Tami calmly says they'll talk about it later, and they do, as Glenn sets up for the Academic Smackdown. He's almost a caricature of liberal guilt as he says how sorry he is for being a cave man who "mouth raped" her. But Tami, who knows he didn't mean to, forgives him.

"I'm Vince's mother, Regina." Looking frail and shaky (but "working on it") Regina visits Coach at school, thanking him for making Vince QB, because seeing him so happy and proud means a lot to her. "I didn't give it to him, he earned it," Coach replies. The next morning, Coach shows up just as Vince comes down the stairs, and as Coach talks to him about how QBs make decisions and lead, Vince asks his difficult question. Why does Coach Taylor care for him? "Coach, if I break my ankle and I can't play for you no more, are you going to come around here?" (Yeah, Vince, he would, but you don't know that yet.) Vince talks about how hard his life has been, and Coach reminds Vince that going to juvie would devastate his mother. ("Who makes sure the bills get paid?") Coach promises to give Vince everything he can, because Coach knows this about more than football, this is Vince's chance at a better life.

It's Academic Smackdown! Julie starts her morning on the wrong foot when she finds a mix CD that Matt made for her and plays it on the drive over and ends up sobbing at the microphone (but she gets the question right). As she gets back to the EDH table, Jess kindly whispers, "Take a break, we've got you covered." Backstage, Julie cries in her mother's arms. Tami comforts her, telling her it will pass and she will start to feel happier again.

Late in the afternoon as Luke and his father work on the fence, Tinker shows up to help out. (The rest of the team has "some party" to go to.) Much, much later that night, Luke's dad talks to "Tink," thanking him for coming and doing such good work. Tink replies about how Luke's a good teammate and a leader, and if he's helping Luke, he's helping the team.

Landry drives to a rest stop for a rendezvous with Tyra, but she's a no-show. He leaves a long, rambling, Landry-speak message on her voicemail and comes to the conclusion that they're over. He asks Jess out the next day and she accepts.

The party at Riggins Rigs (Mindy is present, enthroned on her chaise lounge) is as raucous as the one that Billy and Tyra threw back in S1. The girls are dancing, the music is pumping, the money is flowing in. It's all good until ANG comes up to Billy with an idea about how Billy can start making some real money. I scream at Billy to run, but he doesn't.

Becky also shows up at the party. Mom's working, dad's at a bar, the dog is gone. She sighs wistfully about how she can't wait until her dad moves back. Tim takes her aside and levels with her about her dad: "This is what they do, your dad, my dad. They leave and they don't come back. They buy you things so it's not uncomfortable the five minutes a year they're in your face." She bursts into tears and runs off. Her father's understandably pissed when he finds out, and Tim calls him on all of his bullshit, but it's not until he mentions, "And, I slept with your wife," that fists start flying. Tim proceeds to pound the snot out of Becky's dad. That resemblance to Walt Riggins wasn't coincidental after all, because it's so clear that Tim's working through his daddy issues, too.

Vince raps at Coach and Tami's door, apologizing for the lateness and then hands Coach a small brown paper bag. A look passes between them and Coach shakes Vince's hand. (As an aside, I like that the first words out of Coach's mouth were to ask if Vince was all right.) Coach and Tami talk about it early the next morning. The contents of the bag are going to disappear.

As Luke goes to release the cattle now that the fence is fixed, he gets his leg caught between the gate and the rails as one of the cows crushes it. He cries out and crumples over in pain as soon as he's freed.

Tim goes to the pound and asks for Becky's dog. My heart melts with joy. "All right, you tell me what your name is going to be." The dog whines and barks and Tim translates that as "Skeeter". As he pulls over a few miles later to let Skeeter do his business, it's at the edge of twenty-five acres for sale. Tim looks out at the rolling hills and, oh, Timmy, you're still dreaming about that ranch, aren't you?

Cue credits.