“Friday Night Lights” — How Did I Get Here
What’s in the box?
We are so close. Every week the show has improved on the previous episode, inching ever so slowly to its former greatness, but it just isn’t there yet. There were far more problems with this season besides the god-awful murder plotline and most of them have been course-corrected except for that damn murder. Why, Landry? Why couldn’t you have just gone to the cops? I mean, it only makes sense, right? More after the jump…
So we might as well start with the bad. The whole Landry/Dad/car-torching sequence was far too over the top for its own good. Whatever emotional connection we were suppose to have gained when the dad confronts his son, it was quickly squandered by this C-Movie stunt. If the cops were advanced enough to pull carpet fibers off the dead body how would a torched ‘78 wagon not attract, say, exponentially more attention. It’s illogical and artificially inflates the importance of everything around it. What I find most frustrating is that every step along the way where the writers had the ability to bring this story to a close (or at least lowering the stakes) they have done nothing to defuse the situation and maybe have only made things worse. It’s kind of unfathomable, really.
On a much, much brighter side of the series, everything this week involving Jason Street was triumphant and heartbreaking, though not melodramatic like the last act of his Mexican adventure the previous week. Here, Street returns home and comes to the eventual realization that he does not belong in this town, that the town has served him well, but that he’s outgrown its usefulness. In the episode’s greatest scene he gives coach Taylor a box full of his old football videos and memorabilia saying that the team might benefit from seeing them, and that he isn’t that person anymore. What I love about this scene is how it is a total tearjerker but the characters work their way through it rationally, stone-faced but with unmistakable passion.
I’m luke-warm on the notion of Lyla’s new former-juvi friend trying out for the team. While I certainly appreciate the effort to get Riggins back in the coach’s good graces (which hasn’t happened yet, by the way) by showing the kid a thing or two, he feels like little more than a device to make this happen. Outside of the Landry nonsense, Friday Night Lights most consistent problem this season has been that of the writer’s device to propel plot. Between the two, I’d always take the latter, but it does have the effect of disrupting the natural flow of the series which has always been its biggest selling point. All that said, I loved the scene were Seracen and Smash joined in to run some plays. It’s great to see that these characters play football because they love it, not because its their way out (though it is that too).
The most fun from the episode came out of the Taylor’s recent financial strife, mixed in with the arrival of Tami’s sister — both creating some priceless reaction shots from Eric (the highlight being the look on his face when he sees Julie all dolled up in that Brazilian dress). It also allowed Connie Britton to again put on an acting clinic as she basically covered every emotion imaginable over the episode’s 43 minutes.
The series is getting there. Slowly, very slowly, but progressing nonetheless. Let’s hope they can figure things out before the scripts dry up.
Tags: Friday Night Lights, NBC
November 13th, 2007 at 10:04 am
I actually hated the sister character. So shallow- I’ve seen that sister on every show where someone has a family and well, a sister. “Oh look, its’ the crazy irresponsible little sister again!”
And why must that sister always be the LITTLE one. Some of us little sisters are starting to get offended.