Friday Night Lights "Thanksgiving": Deep-Fried Turkey

The fourth season of Friday Night Lights has come to an end, and even with a few flaws in the finale, it solidifies itself as the best network television drama we saw all year.

Is it so bad that we kind of knew how it was going to end for the Lions? I mean, you know you're getting turkey for Thanksgiving, but since we spent the season getting deep-fried like Buddy's turkey, the result tasted so much better. From the outset ("East of Dillon"), it seemed inevitable that Coach Taylor would mold this underdog of a team together to enact revenge on the McCoys and those Panthers who had forsaken him. It was an unlikely win, to say the least, but we had to crawl over broken glass to get here, so the victory, however improbable, had to happen -- we earned it. And LanceLandry had to make that 7246 yard field goal -- it was the whole reason Eric inexplicably turned him into a kicker (we'll just call that Checkov's foot).

This was an ambitious season, to say the least, with the writers finding a balance between introducing all the new characters, a new setting, giving proper goodbyes to some characters while giving face time to the beloved characters -- all done in a compressed 13-episode season. It's understandable, then, that many stories were introduced and left incomplete (Matt's pantsless svengali artist, Big Mary's return to football, Stan's gay bar revelation, etc.), and many back stories left to our imagination (Vince and Jess, Luke's parents, Jess' father). The great Jesse Plemons was underused as Landry, but was redeemed with the game winner. Similarly, the Tim and Becky relationship was missing something, but when Tim hands her the snow globe for safekeeping, all is forgotten.

Speaking of Tim, his selfless act of taking it all on his shoulders may feel a bit convenient for Taylor Kitsch availability issues with season five*, but all the scenes with Billy as a father helped make this plausible. Tim doesn't want to see his nephew grow up with out a father like Billy and him. The scene of them saying goodbye is all the more heartbreaking looking back on Billy's heartfelt toast at the Taylors for Thanksgiving. Seeing Tim toss his #33 to Billy reminded me there was a nice symmetry with the opening episode, where Becky asks "Didn't you used to be Tim Riggins?" When the cops arrived last week ("Laboring"), they greeted him with "Aren't you Tim Riggins?" to which he replied, "Used to be." The football hero is gone, only the brooding man child remains.

*It's worth pointing out, that season five -- and the series, for all intents and purposes -- just recently wrapped production.

One inevitable turn that didn't feel earned, though, was Tami Taylor's transition from West Dillon principal to East Dillon guidance counselor. We pointed out the season three finale parallel last week, with Tami in Coach's shoes this time, and it played out mostly as expected. But even forgetting the large pay cut she faces, how unlikely is it that a school district would agree to making her a guidance counselor for the very school she's being accused of giving bad guidance? We all knew she'd have to end up at East Dillon somehow, like everybody else we care about, but this felt awfully forced. If anything, she should be forced -- more like releived -- from Panther land for cheering so loudly for her husband's Lions. (Who can blame her, though, right Slammin' Sammy?)

So as we say goodbye to another season, complete with a fitting The Wire-like montage to a Steve Earle tune ("Goodbye"), it's worth thinking about the next, and last, season. All the team should be back, except Landry (unless they shave another year off him), so might we expect a return to the state championships for Coach? We don't yet know the fates of Landry and Julie, but they'll surely get their goodbye arcs. The good news is that Adrianne Palicki (Tyra), Taylor Kitsch (Tim), Zach Gilford (Matt) and Scott Porter (Jason) will all make appearances, helping to bring the series full circle. Something to look forward to, even as we lament the end of the series.

Even though you knew the bullet points were coming, I hope they feel earned:

• There was a nice bit of music symmetry with Vince's run for a touchdown being backed by Obits' "Talking To The Dog", a song which we heard when we first meet Vince running away from the police.
• I feel like we'd already said goodbye to Matt, so it was surprising to get another chance. Part of this goodbye, though, was on Julie's terms (point of deflowering or not).
• Jesse Plemons did a great job riding the many emotions that Landry went through: Pride (the Crucifictorious demo -- which we need to hear), heart break, anger, elation and anticipation (Chicago here we come).
• Michael B. Jordan (Vince) did so much with what little time he had on screen. "I don't think I'm the one who can give it to you." And yet give he does.
• Gracie Belle did finally get herself some pants.

Playlist: Friday Night Lights - Episode 4.13
1. "Remember Me As A Time Of Day" - Explosions In The Sky [download]: Coach Taylor gives speech
2. "Sway" - Heartless Bastards [download]: Thanksgiving day practice
3. "Glittering Blackness" - Explosions In The Sky [download]: Pre-game montage
4. "Lonely, Lonely" - Taking Back Sunday [download]: Game starts, McCoy throws TD
5. "Talking To The Dog" - Obits [download]: Vince runs in for score
6. "Just Got Paid" - Mastodon [download]: Panthers come back
7. "It Ain't Gonna Save Me" - Jay Reatard [download]: Lions respond
8. "Evil Eye" - Fu Manchu [download]: Beginning of second half
9. "Sea Of Japan" - Earl Greyhound [download]: Luke gets into the game
10. "Make It Take It" - Amanda Blank [download]: Luke is out of the game
11. "Goin' Home" - Dan Auerbach [download]: Slammin' Sammy talks about the game on the radio
12. "Goodbye" - Steve Earle [download]: Final montage starting with Tim ending with Matt

Previously; "Laboring" (Episode 4.12)

Friday Night Lights "In the Bag": Fill the Void

In the wake of last week's goodbyes ("Stay"), "In the Bag" focuses on the characters left behind, specifically on how they cope with their loss. That, and poking fun at Twilight.

"Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated."
Lamartine (French poet)

One-man wrecking crew Matt has really done a number on Julie here. Not only is our Thomas Wolfe wanderer out of the picture, but he's left no word save for Grandma and Shelby, and just ask feckless Becky how finishing 2nd runner-up feels. After a few good nights of crying, Julie begins the desperate business of filling up the emptiness she's feeling with whatever she can find, and that leads us to our theme for this week's episode: filling a void.

Besides Julie, we have Landry, Tim and, by episode's end, Becky all finding a way to fill the vacuum left behind thanks to a loved one's departure. On the football side of things, Coach finally fills the empty position of quarterback by naming Vince QB. Heck, even Billy's financial situation is a hole that needs filling, both by some (now) classic FNL fully-clothed stripper dancing and the "business opportunity*" that Vince's Friend of Bad Influence hints at near the end.

*What business could a car thief have with an auto repair shop? Mmmm ... my hope that Tim wouldn't get dragged into some chop shop work went out the window with the last scene of #33 looking longingly over some real estate that he has no funds for. Run while you can, Skeeter!

Getting back to Julie and her empty void-filling, we should be glad she drags fellow Matt victim Landry into her Academic Smackdown endeavor, as it conveniently counts one Jess M-E-R-R-I-W-E-A-T-H-E-R as a member, and she's a perfect fit for the Tyra hole Landry's no longer leaving vacant. Aimee Teagarden, who's whiny portrayal of Julie has been a weakness in the past for FNL, shows how much she's grown as an actress with her scenes of denial ("It's not about Matt!") and acceptance (falling apart to Tami backstage). That she can make that final scene work with both a telegraphed literary reference (Thomas Wolfe) and the schmaltzy "Fire" by Augustana playing in the background makes it all the more impressive.

The satellite story of Tim and Becks took a another turn with Tim trying to take on a big brother role by stepping in to protect her against a villain he recognizes all to well: the deadbeat dad. Protecting Becky may backfire, though, as she's still keen on him filling the role of boyfriend, not big bro (or, for the again vacant father). And we get introduced to Skeeter the whining dog, who gets thematic double duty, first filling the void as proxy for trucker dad, then for Tim, who's feeling a bit lonely after Lyla's departure.

So much more, but let's just leave it to the bullet points:

• Not sure what point the karaoke kiss storyline has except to show how great Tami is under pressure. Connie Britton's facial reaction to Glenn's "I mouth-raped you"? Priceless.
• "Get the food!" Glad to see priorities are in order for Billy -- burgers first, then baby.
• While it's true that Julie was reading Melville when we first met her, it's not too unlikely to think she'd rip through some Twilight post-breakup. Matt left her high and dry like Edward ... maybe there's a Jacob to fill the void?
• "Does anybody need to read Stephen Crane anymore?" Yes. Come to think of it, Crane's The Red Badge of Courage might serve as a nice metaphor for a certain group of football players struggling to turn their season around.
• This is the second time we've (barely) heard an Obits song this season. Someone is obviously a fan.

Playlist: Friday Night Lights - Episode 4.07
1. "Talking To The Dog" - Obits [download]: Mindy has contractions in drive-thru w/ Tim & Billy
2. "Something Bigger, Something Better" - Amanda Blank [download]: Tim & Billy get idea for Landing Strip
3. "Car Wash" (Rose Royce) [download]: Tami & Glenn watch teachers singing karoake
4. "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (Simple Minds) [download]: Glen does karaoke
5. "Girls' Night Out" - Jessica Erin [download]: Glenn tries to kiss Tami while waiting on a cab
6. "Fire" by Augustana [download]: Julie listens to Matt's CD mix
7. "Top Of The World" - Pussycat Dolls [download]: Mindy's baby shower / fundraiser.
8. "Outta Control" - Baby Bash featuring Pitbull [download]: Billly is offered a 'business opportunity'.
9. "Patron Tequila" - Paradiso Girls [download]: Becky shows up at the Riggins' Rigs party & Tim tells her the truth about her father.

Previously: "Stay" (Episode 4.06)