How about that for a first kiss, huh?
Throughout much of his adolescence, it’s likely Landry’s fantasies revolved around a scenario like this: His impossibly gorgeous object of desire slipping unannounced into his room, sidling up next to him on the bed, and giving him a night to remember. I would also guess that this was the first time any girl has kissed him, and for that girl to be Tyra gives it a special charge—or would have if the circumstances weren’t so fraught with confusion and dread.
One week after the VBM (Very Bad Mistake) of Landry braining Tyra’s attacker with a pipe, I’m beginning to regret calling it a VBM at all. Much as I hate to consider Landry as a killer—however understandable his actions were at the time—the situation has shown him in a new light and drawn out facets of his character that might not have surfaced otherwise. When he and Tyra go back to the scene of the crime to look for his missing wristwatch, I worried that the conversation was going to turn on how to cover up their misdeeds. But then Landry considers how no search has happened yet and speculates, with not a little empathy, that the man he killed may not have anyone around who cares enough to look for him. Naturally, the VBM brings some instant intimacy into his relationship with Tyra, since they now share a secret that virtually requires them to be together.
Later, in probably my favorite scene in a solid episode, the two have a fight prompted by Landry asking his assigned Rally Girl whether she thinks all humans are capable of evil. Tyra wants him to suck it up and act like a man, but then Landry shows us what being a decent man is all about; after the VBM, a decent man has trouble living with what he’s done, has empathy for the victim, and is as concerned with the state of his soul as he is with covering his tracks. He also lays bare his feelings for Tyra in a way that chastises her for denying they existed at all. Clearly, our boy isn’t going to settle for playing Milhouse anymore; if they ever have another movie night, I’m guessing he won’t acquiesce so readily to watching Fried Green Tomatoes, that’s for damned sure. When Tyra slips into his room at the end of the episode, it’s both a sweet and bitterly ironic moment. Landry finally got the girl of his dreams, but does she really reciprocate his love or is she confusing it for something else?
(Right now, I’m not so sure. I think she’s being honest when she calls Landry the best guy she’s ever known—or something to that effect—but that doesn’t mean he’s ultimately the right romantic partner for her. Tyra is used to destructive men being a part of her life; she takes after his mother in that sense. Landry doesn’t really fit into that model and it honestly takes some getting used to. They’re in a very raw, volatile place right now and I can see some problems down the road, regardless of how the VBM resolves itself.)
And oh yeah, there’s some other stuff going on this week, too! More great scenes involving Eric and Tami, even if they’re not sharing the same space. There’s just never a bum note between Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton on this show, and here the actors and writers are right on point about the stress of being apart, especially with a newborn around. Without Eric around to take some shifts with the baby, who’s crying nonstop, Tami is at the end of her rope; Britton nails the bleary-eyed misery of a sleepless, beleaguered mother working without her support system. Still, she’s a strong woman, and it just kills me to watch her poignant efforts to keep her husband in the dark on just how miserable she’s feeling. (And has anyone, in the history of anything, cried as convincingly as Britton?)