Last night’s episode of Friday Night Lights was a disappointment after the stellar return last week, but perhaps, like the way the Taylors are finding their new life, that was inevitable.

Coach Taylor, for example, finds himself without a football team after his forfeit. Mrs. Coach Taylor finds herself without a fan base after Buddy blows the whistle on a great Panther player who is illegally registered at Dillon (Note to Tami: Stop stepping up to podiums, as nothing good ever happens for you there). Tim Riggins finds himself sleeping in his truck and working for a very crabby Billy for no pay and even less respect.

It was slow going in this episode, as we must build new back stories for our characters, and create new ones for our new friends. For example, Landry has a new love interest introduced. Matt has a new mentor (who likes to use a blow torch nearly naked). Vince is being developed as a character, as we see his grim living conditions and his drug-addict mother. And we meet former-Panther-now-Lion Luke Cafferty, he of the fake mailbox. A weepy, but polite, young man.

So it was utilitarian episode, in which plots were created, and moved forward, but it was, well, sort of boring. Lots of Coach Taylor staring at nothing, Tami waiting for the boos or the threats to die down (and yes, FNL writers, we get it: Joe McCoy is a bad, bad man. Stop lighting him and shooting him at angles that make him look like Satan).

And what was with the weird dude at the gas station? Was he just a man who needed to get to Lubbock? Was he a local who was stalking Coach Taylor in order to give him advice?  Was he an angel sent by Vince Lombardi to get Coach Taylor back on track? And what the hell is your inner pirate? And didn’t you find all that talk about limp swords (complete with hand gestures) sort of off-putting?)

Tami, of course, found her inner pirate first, and brilliantly put Joe McCoy back in his place, at least for a second. Coach Taylor found it second, apologizing more in this episode than he probably has in his entire life and then burning his uniforms. Tim Riggins finds a place to live, and maybe a new love interest, and maybe a place with the Lions as well.

Of course the most compelling parts were the struggle between Tami and Eric, as the husband and wife team was strained by the pressures of the Lions vs. the Panthers. Luckily, they had their moment on the couch at the end, he smelling like a camp fire and she smelling like chardonnay, and they were able to come back together. But it’s going to be hard. Panthers and Lions aren’t meant to live together.

What did you think? Not as good, but still good? Do you have a favorite new character?