A good part of "The Right Hand of the Father" is dedicated to an anti-alcohol message. After a video of the drunk puppet girl is released, East Dillon High is thrown into a frenzy. Coach punishes his players, Tami brings in a speaker, and personally tries to connect to the girl.
That's fine, but why now? We've seen plenty of drunk, passed out high schoolers before, but none of the hubbub. It seems as though Eric and Tami only care about the image of the school and not necessary the well-being of the kids or else they'd have done more to curtail alcohol use before.
As the episode title suggests, there are father issues, most prominently, Vince's father issues. His dad is released from jail and Vince is not happy. His dad's been absent for years and strolls back into his life as if nothing changed. Michael B. Jordan is great, bringing out all the emotion he can between the confrontation with his father and talk with Coach. In the end, after Vince wins the game, his father leaves, but no before telling him how proud he is.
There are also a few smaller things going on. Buddy Jr., who may or may not be a fourteen year old pothead, is coming home. Jess becomes equipment manager, adding more trouble to Vince's already full plate. The scene where Vince and the team walks through a corridor of screaming fans is a perfect example of what's going with him. Despite his exceptional performances on field and respect from everyone, his personal life is riddled with holes and very few people know about it.
Predictably, Julie sleeps with her TA. To be frank, Julie has had so many guy problems that another one just doesn't seem significant to worry about.
Gracie Bell for the episode's second best performance? "Think about it, Daddy," was sooooooooo cute!
Score: 8.8/10
Thursday, November 11, 2010
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