Discussion of Episode 1.04: Who's Your Daddy?

Originally aired October 24, 2006.

Coach Taylor must find a way to bring the team together against its biggest rival; Jason Street's new roommate at the rehab center makes him realize his recovery potential.

Bumping for discussion.

What a great episode. Coach and Tami under the table was hilarious. Grandma Saracen roaming into somebody's house and taking a bath was heartbreaking. And Matt's sucker punch to the Arnette-Mead QB was awesome. Anybody want a Twizzler?

Hey Sharnina,
I didn't get to watch the show last night because I had to go to a funeral. One of my high school classmates was killed in an auto accident. It was a horrible wreck and our class had to do several things to help his family prepare for the funeral today! I am going to watch the show again and I will post my comments later.
Thanks again for pulling up the threads!

This was the first ep I felt was a bit uneven. I never bought into the Reyes fight drama. I never liked Herc or found him remotely funny, badass, or inspiring; just juvenile, old lady bossy, and incredibly irritating. And VooDoo skated dangerously close to negative stereotype for me. So I couldn't love the ep 100%.

But as we always say, the worst FNL ep has moments that beat anything else on network TV, so their were some very good things for me also.

I did like both the Tami at the grocery and Tami and CT under the table scenes. The table scene could have gone all Lucy and Ricky, but never did, and I did think it was funny but stayed away from slapstick that would have been out of tone for FNL.

The opening sequence of the kids at the party was very good as well. We had not seen the kids hardcore party before, but here they are. I loved when Smash called Voodoo "DooDoo". Princess Julie shows up, all regal "I'm above this", and promptly gets her shoes puked on. Matt is delighted to see her there, but she announces she has to go see if vomit comes out of suede. Matt, as always at a loss for words, manages to get out "Good luck with that."

Then there's Tim, pulling deliberately at a beer and lustily eyeing Lyla, up and down. And there she is, ponytail down, looking routine Lyla gorgeous, and clearly not thinking about Jason as she eyes Tim right back. This is the first time we see that something not related to Jason or his injury is, and probably has been, sparking between them. Didn't see that coming. And I didn't think it meant she did not mean everything she said about her feelings for Jason. This attraction seemed in addition to Jason, actually for both Tim and Lyla, not instead of Jason. You knew then this was going to get incredibly complicated, especially for Lyla.

Because next she's pulling Tim into a classroom and just hoping she escapes the inner ring of hell because of him, and having "floods of feelings", except they're for Jason. Then she's standing at the top of the bleachers watching him practice, and so he half kills some poor JV blocking dummy. Bu t she's gone when he looks back. I loved the little moment at the end where he did sort of a double take, looking back quickly again to make sure she really was not there anymore.

And then, there's the famous "Excuse me laundry, you seem to be in my way" scene in Lyla's room. If anyone was left doubting Lyla and Tim had a little something-something going on, or that the actors could set the screen on fire . . .

The table scene is what sold me on the Taylor's. lol It was realistic and comical at the same time, without being over the top. I swear I fell in love with them right there, and they've been my favorite tv parents ever since.

Goalee, Surprise...I agree with everything you said an more! The Tim and Lyla laundry get together was sort of an "in your face this is it kind of thing!" When I first watched it I almost fell out of my chair. I did not expect it at all. Not after she told Tim that they could not continue to acknowledge their feelings! Then, well you know how it hit everyone watching! Perhaps this is when I actually started to think that Tim and Lyla were not just starting something out of the blue. This is when I started to think that they had feelings that they had placed in the back of their heads for a long time. I know that I didn't think it was wrong and I don't really know why I didn't think it was wrong. I think it was because, like you, I saw that sparks between the actors that were jumping out over the tv screen and it was so clear that they were really better suited together than Lyla with Jason.

Matt and Julie were so sweet together. Even before they actually had a true scene together, it was so clear that they would become a couple. They were sweet and pure at this point. It was fun watching their romance blossom. It was even more fun watching Landry try to hit on Julie and then watch him try to coach Matt with Julie. Landry is the best guy to coach you right on out of a relationship

I agree with you about Voodoo. He was really just like you would think a displaced teenager would be but he was also a bad and mean kid. I have no idea what school would have allowed him, no matter how well he played football, to remain in school. His attitude was so ugly. He was nasty, disruptive and so disrespectful. I think, in reality, he would have sent him packing. This is where reality and fiction clash. It doesn't matter what the town wants, when it comes to a disrespectful, ugly acting, kid from some other state, who wants to disrupt an entire team and the school, the bottom line is he gets to go back where he came from. As a matter of fact Voodoo was not like the majority of the students who were caught up in the Katrina mess. Voodoo acted like the coach and everybody were at fault for his situation. I have never in my life seen anyone that angry with people who were trying to help him before. I have seen some angry kids but nothing like the Voodoo kid.

I do think that the Voodoo arc was a good way for the writers to explore how far a town and it's people will go to win a championship. They were willing to take any behavior, any disrespect, anything, just to get that boy on the team and keep him on the team and win the championship. Voodoo was the next best thing to Jason Street and they wanted him, no matter what. What the town and boosters didn't know was that Voodoo was well on his way to making the team a thing of the past because he wanted it to be the "All Voodoo show, all Voodoo. all of the time." Coach Taylor was not going to stand for that type of behavior. It is hard trying to gain and keep the respect of teenagers and the coach had enough on his plate. He did not need a disrespectful, hard headed, kid on his hands who was acting as if he was going to be the next number 1 drarft pick for the NFL.

As usual, this was another great episode.


The coach and Tami were great under the table. How many times has a wife wanted to just get her husband, right there, when he has done something that put her in a big mess and she has to pretend that it is just fine to the public.

I just wanted to add a few thoughts about "Who's your Daddy" You can see the sweetness and charms of Matt and Julie as they talk at her dance recitial. Without the pressures of school or football. Just two kids talkin' and lightly flirting with each other. Which worrys Coach about a suggestion he gave Matt earlier.

Love him or hate him. Herc knows what Jason is goin' thur. And whats up ahead for Jason too. The lawsuit, losing friends that mean the world to him like maybe Coach, relationships changing cuz your different people now like maybe Lyla. The stress from the accident might cause his parents to divorce. I thought that scene was soo powerful. Herc just keeps rammin' his wheel chair into Jason's. Who at this point was not doing therapy. He told the therapist he was tried and wanted to lay down and rest. When Jason knocks the glass of water off the table. Herc smiles and says "I knew you had some fight left in you." As Jason looks down at his hand. But the sweetest scene with Jason and Herc is with Tyra. Herc is totally speechless. As Tyra talks to Jason. Herc looks Tyra up and down and all around. Love the look on Herc face as Tyra kisses Jason. And then asks Jason, "Who the hell was that?" "That's Tyra......Sparky!"

This episode starts with alot eye flirtin' and lustin' from the Tim and Lyla, who are still lost on life's highway. So many at the party notice them lookin'. The girl with Lyla notices Tim and says he been "gawkin' at them all nite." Lyla starts to stumble an answer but the girl thinks Tim is after her so Lyla stops with an , "Oh!" Then the girl tells Lyla that Tim has "totally dumped Trya." Love Lyla's big eyes as she hears this bit of news. Yep, it's the first clue that sumpin'~sumpin' has been is goin' on between Tim and Lyla. And Goalee is right it's separate from Jason. Now they've got a flood of feeling. She's got em' and he's got em'. I love the way he says "me too" to her flood of feeling. You can't see his face but you can tell he's sincere by his voice. He wants this... whatever this is....he wants it. She just wants to forget it and escape hell. And is quite rude and harsh with Tim.
When she leaves he looks stunned and shocked. Like what just happened here. But Lyla is givin' mixed signals. As she watches Tim on the practice field. He sees her. He looks surprised. And makes a hard hit to impress her. But when he gets up shes gone. And he does that double take look over his shoulder. Just checkin to see if he missed her. But, now he knows Lyla is thinkin' about him. And he can't stay away. So there he is waiting for her in her room. When she walks in and sees Tim. She stops dead in her tracks. He looks over at the window twice, so I'm thinkin' thats how he got into her room thur her window. She whispers "What are you doing here?" She looks surprise and confused. But after he says her name softly "Lyla". The look on her face softens a bit. She warns him about her dad, but he not leavin' he just shuts the door. "Lyla.... I can't.....I can't stop thinkin' about you....I can't" She says, "no". But, he's thinkin' from what he saw during football practice that maybe she does care for him. So he continues to look at her intensely and pushes the laundry out of her hands, which she drops and just grabs Tim. And again she takes over the kiss. But this time Tim guides her to her bed. What happens here......is left to our imagnations. They are both lost and lonely. Its sexy....ponignant.... and maybe a little breathless.

Oh my goodness, you left me breathless for sure! What a beautiful observation. Tell me something, doen't this show just get better each time you watch it? I can watch the episodes 5 or 6 times and I still find them as fresh as they were the first time they appeared on the screen.

When they moved to the bed it was pure delight. They were so sweet. So much in love (or heat) but it was clear, Jason was not a part of this. I know Lyla wanted to blame the first kiss on being confused about Jason and upset about Jason but the second time, no excuse, no excuse at all. I have always felt that they had felt something for each other for a long time. Jason was in the middle. He was always there. Everytime the camera goes to Tim as he looks at Lyla, even when Jason was there, in the first episode, you could see a spark in his eye and the connection had nothing to do with Jason.

I have to say that I don't usually condone this type of relationship. I am not about cheating and living to talk about it but for some reason, with these two, I just didn't think it was wrong. When Lyla found out that Tim and given Tyra her walking papers, she could only give one of those smiles that says, "Ok, you want to play?" "I'll play with you." "I'll play with you right now!" It was as if she was free for the first time in a long time and she was free to act on her feelings without having to pull back. She knew it was not right but she also knew it wasn't wrong either. She wanted him as bad as he wanted her and there was nothing to keep them apart, not in her bedroom, not at that moment... Oh, just thinking about that scene can be very upsetting

Sooo... what did you think about the rest of the episode?

I believe Teach ERASED the rest of the episode and just kept rewatching the above scene She knows it too well !!

Sharnina, you asked me how did I really feel about the rest of the episode. I suppose my posts have not been as in depth as they should have been. I also took time to watch it again and look for the things I missed before, like Tim nodding toward the window in Lyla's room.

Whenever I look at this episode I cry a bit for Jason and Matt. Matt for having to take on the world and care for his grandmother. I know that Matt needed to go with the team that night and do what they did because they had to believe that Matt was going to be a true leader and that he was all about the Panthers and he was ready to bond and be the leader. His grandmother was always on his shoulders. When he started to beat the car with the bat and couldn't stop, I felt like he was letting all of his anger out on the car. He was angry with his dad, himself and evern angry with grandma. Why, of all the times in his young life did all of this have to hit him now?

The coach is a great man. He had to take care of Matt and he did. He made it to Julie's dance recital only to realize that Matt is really liking Julie and he just told him to get a girl in the back seat of a car! What an expression came on his face when he saw Matt with Julie!

The Booster Dinner was a mess. I still want to know how Julie kept going to the store since she could not drive at this point! The Voodoo portion of the episode, I could do without. Voodoo was just too mean and too selfish to ever have been a member of the team. Buddy did a bad, bad thing when he brought Voodoo to the Panthers. He did not fit, could not fit and did not want to fit.

I just cannot hold back...Jason, Tim and Lyla. Tim and Lyla are not as wrong as they appear. I don't think I would have said this some years ago but this is why I don't think they are not wrong. Lyla was in love with the healthy Jason. Lyla planned on marrying the healthy Jason. The Jason we are now seeing is not the one she fell in love with and that is the problem. She needed to step back away from her relationship with Jason and she needed to see if he is actually what she wants and needs and if she is willing to be a caretaker to Jason. However, she didn't give herself much time to think, did she

That is part of this type of situation, what is the girl going to do? Just continue as if nothing has happened? Well something did happen and it is effecting her to the point that she is feeling guilty all of the time. Guilty because she was not hurt. Tim, guilty because he was not hurt. Well, they needed to get over it and deal with it. I know they tried and I think that season 3 will bring them together. You can't just sit up and profess to love someone out of guilt and then end up getting married to them. That is wrong.
Okay, enough about this episode from me. That is, unless someone says...

How do both you and Lyla think what happened in this episode wasn't wrong? Especially if you don't condone cheating? I'm not trying to be arugmentative here, I just have to ask because I don't understand. This is one of the main reasons I was so turned off of the character of Lyla Garrity in the first place. At least Tim had given Tyra her "walking papers" by the time this bedroom scene took place. Lyla was still very much in a relationship with Jason, albeit a strained one because of the accident but still a relationship. One that had been pretty darn serious too. So color me a little confused. lol

When you begin a relationship with a person it is based on how you relate to that person at that time. You have no idea what will happen in the future or how you will feel about that person if things change. You have not, at this point, taken vows in front of the whole town. Jason and Lyla made a mistake. It is a common mistake, they started a sexual relationship before they were ready. Sex is a strange part of human nature. Once you go there, it is hard to turn your back on it. Relationships involving sex can be beautiful but when you are a teenager and not really ready to turn your back on having a life, sex can be the awful. That is what happened to Lyla. She did not start a relationship with Jason in the wheelchair. She started her relationship with him being whole and complete. Now, all bets were off. She didn't know how she felt. Was she ready to be assigned a life of caring for Jason? She realized that she would have to cook for him, clean him, dress him. Was she ready to do that? No, she wasn't. She thought she was and she fooled herself into thinking that she would be ok with it. That is the reason the writers included the scenes in the first place. She was so upbeat. So sure that Jason would get well and be whole again. That was on the surface. She knew better.

I think that I don't think what she did was wrong because she needed to step back from Jason's injury. She needed to examine herself. She had to let the guilt go. Now, if she still felt the same way about Jason, injury and everything else, after she stepped back, then she was free to follow her heart and be with Jason. That would have been okay too. The fact that she continued to doubt herself and her devotion to Jason is sad but it is true, It happens everyday. Not that it makes her a bad person but it does make her a real person.,

All of the women Jason has dealt with post Lyla have only known Jason in the wheelchair. That is the differece. They had no regrets. They never saw him play football. They had not felt his arms around them as the two of them stood in the rain. They had their eyes wide open when they went out with him. Lyla was the old Jason and you know, I think Jason knew it.

That is one of the reasons I have always said that for Tim, this thing with Lyla has always been there. He didn't look up one day and see her. I will grant you the first kiss was about Jason and what are we to do type of thing but from the bedroom on, they wanted to see where it would go. She wanted to be with him.

When Lyla stepped back and looked at the situation, she knew she was not ready for that type of commentment. She wanted to be but she wasn't. There is a difference between being married and taking vows vrs. dating and having sex and pretending that you are going to get married. Sex makes you feel closer to the person you are dealing with, too close in most cases because when the big let down comes, it hurts even more. If Lyla had tried other relationships and then she decided that she could not and would not live without Jason, then she was ready to help him as he accepted his fate. She flat out was not ready and she tested the waters with the one guy that she had wanted to be with for a long time. She had to find out. Perhaps Tim was just waiting there in the first place. He wanted her too. They wanted each other and frankly it had nothing to do with Jason. They had realized they were attracted to each other long before Jason was injured. As a matter of fact, I kind of think they had something going on before Jason and it was stopped short. I am speaking from the level of seeing this kind of thing play out. It always works out for the best. It ended with Jason letting her go and she had to accept it. They paid each other back but they could never be together again because they were not the same people we met at the beginning of the first episode.

Seriously, teach, every thread cannot be about Tim and Lyla. You've been around long enough to know to have the foresight to move a conversation over to the appropriate thread if you see that it is going in a particular direction.

I don't see that or believe it, sorry. All of this is just my opinion of course, it's cool that you believe that.

As for the relationship thing, cheating is wrong regardless imo. It only takes 20 seconds to break up with someone, and if Lyla was confused or had doubts about their relationship or found herself attracted to (or sleeping with) someone else while still with Jason, she should've broken it off with him first/immediately. Going behind his back, especially while injured, was just tacky and classless. Had she ended things before things heated up with Tim, I might actually have a use (and some respect) for her character. As it stands now, I don't.

I also enjoyed the dance recital scene. The look on Matt's face while he's watching Julie perform was soo sweet. And watching it dawn on Coach that it was HIS own daughter he told Matt to get in the back of a car was priceless! lol

I agree with both of you. I promise I won't say another thing about Tim and Lyla until something important happens (lol)!

Lyla broke up with Tim to go back to the unhealthy Jason, Lyla worked determinedly to win back the rightly pissed-off and wheelchair-bound Jason, and Lyla agreed to marry the permanently disabled Jason. I don't think Jason's health had anything to do with their "problem", and I thinks its unfair to the Lyla character to suggest she somehow "bailed" because of Jason's disability. Not what I saw. But we better move this to the "Lyla" thread.

Both Lyla and I think what she did with Tim while Jason was hurt was very, very wrong. I remember her calling it the "worst thing I ever did." When did she say it wasn't wrong? And I would never say that because it was heinous. Yes she wasn't married to Jason, but she was committed enough to make sleeping with his best friend while he is dealing with permanent paralysis horrible.

I'm interested that Tim gets more of a pass. Yes he had broken up with Tyra, but he had not broken up with Jason as best friend. Only slightly less heinous than the girlfriend, IMO. And we better move this to the Tim/Lyla thread.

Done and done!

Just a few more thoughts on "Who's your Daddy". One good thing that came out of the Voodoo fiasco. Was finally Tim and Smash could agree on something. Although they were teammates they didn't get along or think the same way. Smash is proud and bold. Tim broods and is laided back. But they both felt the same way about Voodoo. They didn't trust him or like him.

The scene between Matt and Coach Taylor. When coach goes to get Matt from the hospital is so endearing. Matt has such a full plate high school, football, job, aging grandma. He trys so hard at all these things. But one of the best things about Matt is his integrity. He won't tell who trashed the QB car. He wouldn't tell guys who beat him up and he won't tell coach either. But coach doesn't press him for answers. Instead coach Taylor does what he does best, builds the confidence and character of young men. He compliments Matt. And tells him "you can do anything you set your mind to." "You're different kid than you were two weeks ago" Matt asks "I'am". Coach says, "You are!" Which is great cuz he gettin' nothin' from his dad.

I love Coach and Tami. They are so real and sexy as a married couple. She is mad at him for a number of reasons. He doesn't think her job is that stressful, the Party, not helpin' with the Party. I loved it when he came home for the party. And Tami asks,"where's the ice." "The ice I forgot to get." But, he has been to the store. Cuz, he got cranberry juice and carmel apples. Which have nothin' to do with the party. But He looks so proud of his purchases. And smiles. He is such a guy. l love it.

The scene under the table, she lookin' to escape for a few minutes. But he wants her to be all smiles and help him host. But she is a little too mad right now to help him. She's got Bar-b-que sauce on her face and her hair is pinned back. She's just not in the mood to be Dillon's Football Queen. I loved Eric restin' on all fours. Holdin' a kichen towel to his face. Too cute.

But those ladies sittin' behind Eric and Tami. You know the "Bookclub Ladies" I love those ladies. They have noticed Eric's derriere. That's pointing in their direction. "That man's gotta fine jaw line. . . .Yes he does!" As they raise a glass of wine and toast Eric's Panther Pride. I think I'll take a hint from these ladies. And go open a bottle of sumpin'.

Great post. You really are one for details!