Y’all think I’m going to talk about Smash, right? Or maybe Matt’s mom coming back into his life like a bad penny? Or Tami relinquishing ground like some Soviet general setting up a pincer for the German army?

I will. I’ll get to that stuff. But first let me tell you how I know this show we love is back.

Season 1: Landry’s got a crush on Tyra. Aww, isn’t that cute? The geek’s got a thing for the hot girl. But, well, I mean he is a *TV* geek, so he looks like Matt Damon and can play varsity for the best football program in Texas. Tyra thinks the crush is cute, but let’s be real. She’s in *high school*. She’s not going to appreciate the allure of the geek until several years’ worth of mindless goons have used her up.

Season 2: Murder! Mayhem! Dad (a cop) destroying evidence! And lo and behold…Tyra falls into Landry’s arms. Ugh. Again, this is at least seven years too soon for Tyra to be smitten with a geek. And as for Landry, he *killed* a dude and dumped the body. C’mon!

Season 3: Tyra has moved Landry into the Friend Zone against his wishes. He’s fighting back against the inevitable, denying to himself that anything has even changed until the moment he can no longer deny it.

You’ve all heard the rule: write what you know. Well, in the first season the writers wrote from experience. Experience with pain and hurt and disappointment. Experience going for the girl who was out of reach. Experience with watching that girl make bad choice after bad choice. In the second season, someone decided to write fantasy. Wish-fulfillment is fine and dandy for fanfic, but FNL reaches great heights on the wings of reality. Landry was Mary Sue last year and it sucked.

This year, we’ve obviously returned to emotionally true stories about the girl who wants to be friends. The girl making bad choice after bad choice who wants to keep the dependable, reliable, puppy dog around for when times inevitably go bad. It hurts Landry, and it hurts to watch because it is true.

And bad choices? You can’t do much damn worse than a pill-popping rodeo clown cowboy. Fucking Tyra. I just want to slap that girl for being an idiot. Which is a lot better than last year, when I didn’t believe or care at all about what she was doing. So writers? Good job returning to your roots!

Now on to the rest.

I especially enjoyed the sleight-of-hand the writers pulled off with Tami. For almost four full episodes, the Jumbotron controversy has been built up into a feud of epic proportions which she diffused with a few kind words and a small grenade tossed on Buddy’s lap. What seemed a week ago to be heading to a confrontation that might end in her dismissal ended with a ceremony instead.

Looking back on that storyline, it’s pretty clear the goal was just to bring Katie McCoy and Tami closer together. Over the next few weeks, I foresee the two of them cementing their bonds and bringing the McCoy and and Taylor clans into tight orbit. The increased stress on Coach and Matt from that will be an interesting development.

And if *anyone* in Dillon needs more stress in his life, it’s Matty Saracen. I don’t know what his moms’ deal is. Maybe she was sincere. But I can’t see how this plays out well for Matt and Grandma Saracen. Best case scenario, Mama Saracen injects herself into their lives, makes Matt feel better about himself, takes some of the homelife stress off his shoulders, and bolts like before. Worst case scenario I can’t even calculate. Though I imagine it would have something to do with money in a mattress and Grandma in a group home. Or maybe a meth lab out back. No way to be sure.

Finally, a few words about Smash and Smash Momma. We couldn’t possibly have ended on a better note than Smash, his smile swallowing his face after a touchdown, trash talking Riggins. Two on two football, played for the love of the game with friends…this hearkens back to Street mentoring Saracen under the lights, and Smash and Coach playing streetball with a group of kids. Those moments when we’re reminded how deeply football is embedded in the DNA of these kids, how fathers pass the love on to their sons, are what give the show emotional heft. Letting Smash go out like that, playing ball with his friends, softened the blow at least a little.

Let’s just hope they have money in the budget to keep Liz Mikel around. The school could use a new nurse, don’tcha think?

What did everyone else think?