3.05 Every Rose Has Its Thorn Recap

The Panthers are thoroughly confused with Taylor’s platoon strategy — switching out Saracen and J.D. running different offenses — during Friday night’s game. Team McNulty takes the opportunity to make two early scores, causing announcer Lannie Albright to mention that if the Panthers lose this game, they can kiss the season goodbye. When Dillon takes its third delay penalty due to confusion, a furious Taylor calls for a time-out.

Taylor gives J.D. and Saracen a pep talk. They have to stay calm and toe the line and their strategy will pay off. When McNulty scores again, Taylor puts J.D. in for the final 30 seconds of the game. Riggins makes first down on the five yard line, and Taylor puts Saracen back in the game to run the winning goal. The crowd erupts in cheers, but they’re all for J.D. and his amazing performance. Saracen leaves the field unnoticed.

Tami notices a small tattoo on Julie’s ankle. When Julie admits that it’s real, both Tami and Taylor hit the roof. Taylor wants to know if that’s how she’s spending her money and Tami is devastated that Julie has marred her natural beauty forever. Julie’s prepared for the onslaught — Tyra said her parents would be upset — and claims it’s too late for them to do anything about it now.

Jason rushes to clean the apartment he shares with Herc before Erin arrives with baby Noah. Jason wants to make plans to move in with Erin, and promises that he’s going to figure out a way to make more money so they can have a life together. Exhausted from extra waitressing shifts, new mother Erin wishes she could think about the long term.

Riggins overhears Buddy berating his real estate agent, Missy. Buddy needs to sell his old house right now, and is willing to dramatically reduce its price. Buddy gives Missy a sales strategy: tell everyone that when all the scared rats are leaving the sinking market, the real entrepreneurs step in.

Riggins quietly watches TV while Street and Herc brainstorm a way to make some cash. Invoking Buddy’s words, Riggins proposes they buy Buddy’s house and flip it. Street and Herc don’t have enough money for a down payment on their own. Claiming he and Billy have copper wire money, Riggins insists they can all go in together — as long as Jason can sell Billy on the idea.

The bullpen is a mess as all the coaches discuss strategy. Taylor wants to keep running the platoon and add more plays, but McGill puts his foot down. The team’s strength isn’t more plays, it’s J.D. Saracen is a tough kid and deserves their respect, but it’s time he knew the truth. Later that night, Taylor knocks on Saracen’s door to tell him he’s QB2 as of Friday. Shelby drives up with Grandma, effectively quashing any further dialogue. Shelby knows something’s wrong, but Saracen stays mum.

Tyra meets with Tami in her office. Tami wants to know what’s going on — Tyra has been skipping school and screwing up her grades. Tyra admits that she has a boyfriend, but Tami’s aware that Cash is no boy. If their relationship is what Tami thinks it is, it’s a one-way ticket to nowhere. Tyra doesn’t think it’s any of Tami’s business, but Tami knows it is — she cares about Tyra and doesn’t like what she sees.

Jason does his homework, and gives Billy the hard sell on the plan to flip Buddy’s house. Billy does need money for his new life with Mindy but he’s unsure. Riggins closes the deal, invoking Buddy’s rats in a sinking market strategy. Delighted, Jason tells Billy and Riggins to meet them at the bank tomorrow with a check for the down payment. Billy and Riggins look at each other — now they have to sell the copper wire.

Cash meets Tyra, who’s upset over a C on her history test. For Cash, a C would mean celebration. Tyra points out that he’s a cowboy and she’s trying to get into college. Cash pops another pain pill for his broken shoulder, earning a sympathetic kiss from Tyra. That night, Tami tells Taylor she feels old and out of control. First Julie’s tattoo, now Tyra is going off the deep end. Cash is an old-fashioned bad influence, and that’s a slippery slope, which Tami knows from experience.

Jason stops by Erin’s to soothe cranky Noah so she can sleep. He tries to share his good news, but Erin falls asleep, so he tells the baby instead. Meanwhile, Billy sets up a meet in the middle of nowhere to sell the copper wire. Riggins is disgusted to see Billy’s crazy friend Guy. Buyer Dan-O lowballs Billy, but Riggins wants to get the deal done. When Guy insists on a deep cut, then insults Mindy, Billy jumps him. Riggins pulls Billy into the truck and they drive off as Guy shoots after them.

Billy and Riggins are late to the bank meeting, embarrassing Jason and Herc. When the Riggins brothers finally show up, Jason admits he played the crippled football player card and got the loan — they just need a check by tomorrow. Riggins admits that they had a hiccup. When he said they had copper wire money, he meant they had copper wire. Herc ends a potential fight, saying he might know a guy to buy the wire.

Saracen finds Shelby on the curb outside his house, waiting for her radiator to cool off. Shelby wants to run something by Saracen: she can rent a chair at the local beauty salon and stick around until he graduates. Saracen tells her to do whatever she wants and goes inside. Herc’s friend offers the guys twice what Dan-O would have paid for the wire, cash. The deal is done, just as Lyla walks in, wondering what’s going on.

Cash pulls Tyra out of class for a ride in the country to see a newborn foal, touching Tyra’s heart. Tami and Taylor ask Julie to talk about her tattoo. What was she thinking and why didn’t she discuss it with them? Julie knew they would say no, and the tattoo doesn’t mean anything — and it’s her ankle. Insisting that until Julie hits 18, it’s her ankle, Tami has arranged for them to drive to San Antonio to have the tattoo removed.

Buddy is delighted when Missy brings him papers to sign to sell his house — until he sees the names on the dotted line. The guys are celebrating the house purchase when Missy calls Jason to inform him that Buddy refuses to sell his house to that “clown car full of idiots.” Tyra stops by Tami’s office to insist she’s wrong about Cash. He’s a good guy and Tyra has her priorities straight. As Tyra turns to leave, Tami spots a tattoo running down her spine, and immediately thinks of Julie.

Buddy tells Jason it’s not about him; it’s about Riggins, who already has his daughter. Refusing to take no for an answer, Jason is determined to close the deal, so he can provide for Noah and win Erin’s heart. He enchants Buddy, running him through one of his greatest football plays — that’s the guy Buddy is selling the house to.

Alone in the locker room, Saracen throws helmets in frustration and despair when Taylor steps in. Saracen did everything Taylor told him to do, including winning State — is it all because J.D. is better than him? Taylor fumbles, claiming his job is to win games, so right now it’s J.D. Saracen wants to quit, but Taylor won’t let him. Saracen agrees to come to practice and sit on the bench, but he’ll hate it, and Taylor will, too.

Finally in possession of Buddy’s house, Herc and Billy are arguing about décor, when Erin stops by on Jason’s request. Excited, Jason shares his plan to flip the house to earn their family nest egg, but Erin shakes her head no. She’s going to move back east to her family. Her life is too hard, no matter what Jason has planned. As Erin drives off, Jason resolves that his plan is still going to work, refusing to lose faith.

While driving to San Antonio with Julie, Tami pulls the car off the road for a talk. Tami was a wild child in high school and almost dropped out. Amazed, Julie asks what happened. Tami was lucky enough to find Taylor, but she knows all about the slippery slope, and the tattoo has her worried. Julie promises she’s not going down that road. Tami allows Julie to keep her tattoo, guaranteeing she’ll wind up paying to take it off herself when she’s 30.

Saracen returns home to find Grandma berating Shelby. When Grandma huffs out, Shelby asks if she can come to see Saracen play. He explains that now isn’t the best time — he stepped up when the team needed him and did his best, but it wasn’t good enough. Acknowledging his great job, Shelby wonders if Saracen ever considered taking a break. What are they gonna do — shoot him for quitting the team? Saracen shares a smile with Shelby, then grimaces through practice, sitting on the bench.

Source: NBC

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