(S02E01) And we're back for another season with the Dillon Panthers. You have to think that there is some pressure on the folks behind the show as they kick off this new year. The renewal was great and all, but I suspect it came with some helpful suggestions as to the kind of numbers the network is looking for on Friday nights. It should be interesting to see how the show performs on the new night.

Over the summer we lost eight months of Texas time, but that really doesn't matter. For the most part, we pick up all of our ongoing stories where we left off last spring. Anything we really need to know is handed off to us as we are reunited with these characters again. Since the show kicked off with Matt and Landry at the pool, let's start there.

This was a really good way to start out the new season. The Taylor family dynamic is still my favorite thing about the show, but the relationship between Matt and Landry comes in a close second. Hearing the two of them banter eased us right back into the flow of the show and set the tone for the episode very well. They also had a couple nice lines in there with Landry's WWRD (What Would Riggins Do?) philosophy and Matt's "Captain of the S.S. ta-tas" description.

Matt seems to be right about where we left him last season. I thought that the championship game may have served as some sort of milestone, instilling him with some much needed confidence, but it doesn't appear to be the case. He's the same lovable, nervous, guy we've known all along. And that fact is one of the things causing problems for him once again, as we see in his relationship with Julie.

He clearly knows that something isn't right with Julie and the Swede. Despite that, he just lacks the wherewithal to actually take action and do something about it. It's something we see again as Matt talks to Eric about the direction the new coach is taking the team, instead of voicing those concerns with the coach.

For her part, Julie is hardly innocent, but she does gain some leeway from the viewer, and from her father, based on what we know about her. Her acting out isn't coming from a bad place. She's confused, and growing up and stumbling occasionally as she finds her place. That doesn't excuse the way she has treated Matt here, but it is one of those mitigating circumstances. I did really enjoy the scene she had with Eric when he picked her up from the bar.

Getting back to the new coach (Chris Mulkey), the Tennessee Tyrant as Slammin' Sammy called him, I think we have big things to come from this story. Matt's objections are the first seeds of doubt, and now that he and Riggins have crossed horns that is only going to build momentum. My bet is that Coach McGregor doesn't see the end of the season. Who would take over? I think the smart money is on Mac, with the dark horse being Street. And the long shot, a returning Eric. Whether he makes it through the season or not, it looks like it is going to be a bumpy trip.

Along with his run in with the new Coach, we got a pretty good look at where Riggins is now when he bumped into Lyla. There little exchange with Lyla's line "Yesterday I was baptized and accepted Jesus as my lord and savior. What have you done recently Tim?" was a good one, and gave us a very good picture of both of their situations right now. Riggins seems to have reverted a bit to the Riggins we met early in season one. I was actually surprised with how crass he was with her and I'm hoping we'll get some back story on why he's changed back as we move along.

Lyla continues to be something of a mystery to me. I really thought she had turned a corner last season when she stood up to all of the other cheer girls and owned her actions. It seems that the weight of the Street/Riggins triangle, compounded with all of her parents problems, have her searching for something. The question now is which one of these two will affect the other more?

And speaking of Buddy, do you find that you take some kind of weird satisfaction in seeing things go so wrong for the guy. He's an easy character to loathe, and given the headaches he caused for Eric last season, it was nice to see him get the boot from practice. It's hard to feel much sympathy for him where his marriage is concerned either. It's clearly a bed that he has made. I do think that the more interesting part of the story though is going to be how it all relates to his daughter.

As bad as Buddy looks in all of this, Eric scores some points by going to see him and trying to offer what advice he can. Unless of course, you get caught up in that nagging question... If Eric's time back in Dillon is so short, what is he doing hanging out with Buddy? That question aside, Eric and Tami continue to be my favorite part of the show. I was a little surprised by just how quickly they got to baby Grace, expecting a little more pregnant Tammy before we got there. It works with the way the rest of the show was fast forwarded though.

The conversation they share after Carl called and told Eric that he was needed back in Austin early was great, with Eric working so hard to justify why he has to leave. Trying to convince himself of it as much as he is trying to convince Tami. And Tami breaking down in tears because she knows that as much as she hates it, there's nothing that she can do to change it at this point. This is what she signed up for.

Unfortunately, with so many characters, something has to give, so we didn't really get much with Street and Smash in the opening episode. Street seams to be at a crossroads as he transitions into a coach. The hard-nosed approach of Coach McGregor and his friendship with Riggins and the other players are leaving him stuck in the middle and there are going to be choices to be made. Smash, like Riggins, seems to be back in season one form. This is "The Smash" and he's ready to take on the world.

Now, let's get to that other thing. I was all for every bit of the Landry and Tyra stuff, right up until the end. It really continued what was started in season one very well. Landry is still a bit of the puppy dog, but he is putting himself out there and taking a chance. That's always been fun to watch. And Tyra is growing and changing. I was even on board with the return of Tyra's attacker because I thought it would be good to put an end to that thread. But when the whole thing went I Know What You Did Last Summer on us, the first doubts started creeping in.

This story really has the potential to go off the rails. It just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the show. But I do qualify that as "has the potential" and "doesn't seem to fit" for a reason. The writers of Friday Night Lights have earned the benefit of the doubt at this point. They've done enough things right that I'm reserving judgment on this story until I see how it is going to play out. It just stands out because it seems like such a departure from what we have come to expect from the show.

So there we have it. I wouldn't call this a great episode, because so much of it was about catching up and setting things in motion. I would call it a very good premiere though, because with that hour I am right back in the Friday Night Lights story, and very much looking forward to seeing what the rest of season two will be bringing us.