'Friday Night Lights' - Season 5 'Right Hand of the Father' Recap

Written by Bob Suggs Thursday, 11 November 2010 00:00

TV Shows - Ended - Friday Night Lights

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['Friday Night Lights' - 'The Right Hand of the Father']This Episode "The Right Hand of the Father" explores family, both on the field and off. Buddy has problems with his son that need his attention, Vince has to come to terms with his father getting out of prison and Julie spent the night with her 'TA' which happens to be married.

Alright, Now let's break it down...

After last week's rally girl drink-a-thon, it wasn't surprising that there were ramifications. Reflecting today's reality, where nothing is done in private, the top football stars were caught on video at the party and the images appeared on a local version of YouTube. 

It's no different than when Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart was filmed in a hot tub with a gaggle of girls and it looked really bad. That was how the rally girl party looked.

Eric (Kyle Chandler) and Tami (Connie Britton) were called to the principal's office and told to get the students in line ... or else. Eric had to find a way to instill discipline or his players were be suspended from school. Coach Taylor's tough talk is always backed by appropriate action even when it hurts. 

"I'm not holding you to a higher standard. I'm holding you to our standard," he told his players, and when two failed to get the message, Eric kicked them off the team. Fortunately, neither were Vince (Michael B. Jordan) or Luke (Matt Lauria). 

Tami had a more formidable task. She tried to convince the rally girls to respect themselves and avoid parties like the one on the video. She told them to be better and respect themselves, but most of the girls laughed at Tami's authority. Maura (Denise Williamson), in fact, was later found making out in the storage room. Clearly, she thinks being a rally girl for any boy will make her popular. 

Ironically, at college, Julie (Aimee Teegarden) was in a somewhat similar quandary. Was she trying to be a rally girl at the university level? She acted on her attraction to Derek (Gil McKinney), the teacher's assistant, even though she knew it was wrong. Tami would have told her it was a mistake, had Julie asked her mom. 

Instead of keeping her distance, Julie went to the professor's salon. She didn't feel comfortable. She was feeling as isolated as she did at school, and she was drinking wine like it was water. That was a recipe for disaster.

Perhaps because she got nowhere with most of the East Dillon girls, Tami was anxious for a small victory. That's what she got when she convinced Eric to let Jess (Jurnee Smollett) be the equipment manager on the football team. Tami knew how Jess loved football and wanted to be part of the team, so while this was just a crumb, it was something. And Jess was psyched. Vince hated it, but so be it. 

Vince's bigger issues were with the return of his father. He was paroled from Huntsville Prison and Vince's mother let him back into the house. Vince resented him and everything he represented. Worse still was when mom said, "Give him a chance for me. Let's be a family." Did she know what she was asking of Vince? 

Vince couldn't talk to his father -- or his mother. But he could talk to Coach Taylor. He was angry and surly and Eric let him vent. Eric reminded Vince of how far they'd come together, and that Eric was proud of him. But Eric expected Vince to be better. Vince blew a gasket at that because he didn't know how to be a better man. Nobody had taught him. Eric filled that role. He is his teacher. He told Vince that striving to be better is the essence of character. 

The lesson was learned, at least on the field, because Vince single-handedly led the Lions to its third win. Eric was proud of Vince's performance, and Vince's dad felt that pride, too. Out of respect to Vince, his father left the house, but not Dillon. He'll be around. Did he and Vince take a step in the right direction? Perhaps. 

Another father story was the subplot about Buddy's son. What can Buddy (Brad Leland) do for his child who's living 1,500 miles away with his mother? Well, like Eric told him, instead of seeing Buddy Jr.'s rebellion as a problem, Buddy had to see it as an opportunity. With resolve, Buddy called his ex-wife and told her to send Buddy Jr. home to Dillon. His father was ready to straighten out the son.

Will Tami and Eric soon have to straighten out Julie? Julie's one-night-stand with Derek, including his day after apology, was heartbreaking. Julie Taylor knows better. Julie Taylor is better than that. Or as her father might say, she should be striving to be better than that. It'll be interesting to see how things progress...




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