TV Club

Week 12: Joe McCoy, the Face of West Dillon Oppression

Connie Britton as Tami Taylor in Friday Night Lights 

David, I can’t believe you are dissing Tami’s lawyer, who had that great line about how there is law, and then there is life. He represents the principled plaintiff’s lawyer, a true and honest tribe, and if he has to work in a small office because of his principles, so be it. Tami is lucky to have him because a life of waiting for a lawsuit to get you your job back is no life at all.

You’re right, Hanna, that there will never be justice for that trashing of the East Dillon field. It’s forever the symbol of the haves trampling the pride of the have-nots. Which makes it, I suppose, the opposite of Carroll Park. Eric and Tami were clumsy white knights. Joe and Wade are the forces of entitled oppression. Their single facial expression is the smirk. It’s not enough that they have the superior football team; they have to rub East Dillon’s nose in its relative poverty. On the other hand, before I get utterly carried away by sanctimony—what should coaches do when their players do mischief and won’t admit it? The answer is that if it’s mischief that does real harm, the coaches are supposed to get them to cough up the truth. Has Eric been tested in that way in a previous season? I think the answer is yes, but I can’t quite drag the scene out of my memory—readers, help?

Next week is our season’s finale. Predictions: How many points will East Dillon lose by? What will be the face-saving play that makes the loss OK? Will Tim skip town, and will Matt, too?

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