Well after a week where I dropped the ball and didn’t get it written on time, here’s the recap for Friday Night Lights Season 4′s penultimate episode “Laboring”.

Everyone feels the pain this week.  This is one of those episodes where they take our beloved characters and just wreck their worlds, which make for some of the best FNL episodes.  In particular Kyle Chandler and Michael B. Jordan both put in some of the best performances on television period in this episode.

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If you remember last week it was discussed that the Lions and Panthers would be playing against each other.  Nope not in this episode (which btw starts off the day after the last episode left off).  But the Panthers have gotten the league to inspect the Lions’ beat up field trying to get the game moved to their stadium.  The Lions field is in sad shape but they give Coach the week to fix it up.

Back at home Julie is finally getting around to talking to her mom about joining Habitat For Humanity full time.  Her mom tells her she’s living in a fantasy world pretty much.  This is really the only scene in which Julie is a big part this week.

Tim is working at the shop when he gets a call from Billy who is wearing his hilarious underwear.  Mindy is going into labor.  This whole scene is hilarious and re-affirms the Riggins brothers as the jokers of the show.  Billy pretty much freaks out and Mindy just storm out and leaves him looking for his pants.  Tim heads for the hospital to meet them.

Even though he just was shot mere hours ago Juvie and Jess are attending the wake of Calvin.  He tells her he can’t go to the cops because he’d go to jail.  His gang buddy drives up and asks him if he’s up for revenge and Juvie says yes.

We are treated to a montage that shows the town of Dillon’s division between the two teams.  It’s like a civil war.  Except things are going to be anything but civil. Meanwhile Tami has problems of her own.

She’s in the newspaper and they’re saying she encouraged Becky to get her abortion.  She’s even getting phone calls calling her a murderer.  Shit is bad. Landry surprises Jess outside her house with a new bike, you know since he destroyed the last one.  She’s not in the mood to talk though as she’s on the way to Calvin’s funeral.  Landry apologizes and said he didn’t know.

Back at East Dillon High they’re fixing up the field with some new turf.  Luke wants to help but Coach tells him the only thing he can help with is refilling the Gatorade but then apologizes.  He tells Luke that he really just wants Luke to focus on getting his hip better and that’s all he cares about.

At the hospital we learn Billy has been kicked out of the delivery room by both Mindy and the nurse.  Apparently he drank 5 energy drinks so he’s pretty hopped up.  Yet another comedic break with the brothers Riggins.

Since the Lions’ field is still under construction they are practicing in Carroll Park.
They aren’t very happy about this so Landry comes up with a plan.

Him and the rest of the Lions wind up on the Panthers field doing something.  What exactly we are not privy to yet.

The school superintendent drives 50 miles from his home to visit Tami at hers.  He says things have gotten out of control and they want her to read a statement.  Actually it’s an apology.  And if she doesn’t do it she’s going to get fired.  Tami is not happy about this, since she did nothing that calls for an apology. Back at the hospital Billy decides since he’s the father he’s going back into the delivery room.  It’s been 40-something hours now too.  He storms in and they let him stay.

In the morning Coach and Julie are headed out and make a discovery.

Coach kind of shrugs it off in front of Julie but is obviously disturbed.  He tells Julie that she needs to help out and leave her mom alone for this week because it’s going to be a very hard one and if she does they can talk about “the building houses thing”.  The next scene is Coach driving to work trying to clear the graffiti off the car while listening to the radio where they are disparaging the Lions.

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It’s now time to find out what the Lions did to the Panther’s field in the middle of the night.

They totally covered it in toothpicks.  I feel so sorry for whoever on the production had to actually do this.  It’s pretty funny and the Panthers have to spend 2 1/2 hours cleaning it up.  When Coach finds out about the prank he punishes the Lions with some exercises.

Tami has gone to a lawyer to see if she has any options.  He tells her that she is clearly in the right and if they fire her for not issuing the apology it’ll make a great wrongful termination suit, but then warns that these cases could drag on for years after which she probably wouldn’t get her job back and during she’d be hard pressed to find a job as a high school principal.  She has some thinking to do.

At school Tami is faced with a group of protesters blocking her path.

At the hospital it’s time for Tim to meet his new nephew.  Who’s middle name is Hannibal.

At the BBQ joint Juvie’s gang buddy says he found the guy who shot Calvin and if he’s ready to go and get him the next night.  He says he is.  Juvie also sees Jess kiss Landry and then tells Landry he’s glad she’s with him because she deserves a good guy like Landry.

That night things are afoot at East Dillon High.

Some “mysterious” people drive huge trucks onto it and destroy the new turf and tear down the goalposts.  It’s terrible.  The next day everyone gets a look at the distraction and the cops are called in.  Buddy tells them it’s obviously the Panthers but they say they’re not going to jump to conclusions.  Coach is just broken at this point.  The East Dillon principal tells him they never had problems like this before he came to the school.  Dude really hates Coach.

Tami and the Panthers coach call Coach Taylor as he stands on the bleachers and looks out over the destruction.

The Panther’s coach tells Eric if it’s any of his players he’ll kick them off the team in the least convincing way possible.  Eric asks to speak to his wife privately.  He says he really doesn’t know what he’s going to do.

I know this recap is long, but this episode has a ton of important story going on so let’s continue this all on Page 2