I cannot stress enough how excellent the opening scenes of FNL are. You figure of what kind of town this is as well as how much pressure Eric is under
you figure out the characters’ home lives
Tim with the beer
and the fact that his older brother is the authority figure
Matt taking care of his grandmother
who loves him dearly
you figure out the class differences going from Matt’s house or Tim’s house
to Lyla’s house
and the fact that she’s in a two-parent home
and the transition of her as a cheerleader
to Jason, the golden boy, who isn’t even at home — we’re introduced to him in his uniform, getting interviewed because this is what his life is supposed to be —
is so organic because her little brother just made a crack about her making out with him and of course the cheerleader and the quarterback are going out like they’re Barbie and Ken.
And Smash who is arguably as talented in his position is also first seen in his uniform, getting interviewed and his demeanour, his swag, is very different, once again showing the kind of character he is
we even figure out how Tyra is perceived and again transitioning from this scene to Lyla at home with her parents and her rice krispie squares is fantastic
how Landry thinks of himself
we get sociopolitical tensions
personal tensions
hierarchies
and it’s under 7 minutes. And by the end of the episode all of the tropes we’re introduced to are subverted.
Fucking. Excellent.
