Spoiler Alert...Below are some random thoughts on last night's Friday Night Lights. So before reading any further, watch the ep, chase some oranges, then read what I have to say.
Buddy Garrity- "A man can't leave if you erect a statue of him in his honor."
And so for the time being, Coach Eric Taylor remains in Dillon. Buddy and the rest of the boosters did not erect a statue of the stoic Coach, but the fans and the players certainly did enough to keep Coach around for a while. As we close in on the end of what has been such a fantastic series, last night's episode not only did a fantastic job of recognizing what Eric Taylor has meant to this town, but what Kyle Chandler has meant to this show. As each member of the Lions got up on stage to say how much Coach meant to them, I felt like it could have been every fan of the show getting on stage to thank Chandler for bringing the heat week in and week out. With the end in sight, is the questioning over for what happens to Coach in the end? I can't imagine so. Will the series end with him undoubtedly staying around to coach the Lions for all of eternity? Will he change his mind in the final episode and take his talents to South Beach...err where ever that Florida college is located? Or will he start to question it again, and then leave us all in the dark? Personally, I'd like to see him move on.
Speaking of Buddy's quote at the top, how on point was he this week? At the end of the day I'd argue that, like Hurley of Lost, Buddy Garrity is really what Friday Night Lights is all about. His love of this town and this community gets to the heart of this viewer, if not all of them. Between him desperately fighting to get Coach to stay in Dillon, and him pouring his heart out in order to help Tim Riggins get out of jail, Buddy was killing it in every way he could this week.
And yes Tim Riggins is out of jail and has returned to Dillon. Although he was never a peppy man, prison has definitely put Timmy Riggins in a somber mood. What the ending to his character arc will be is one of the most intriguing questions to the end of the series. Does he take another run at Becky? Will he head back to college? Will he forgive Billy and stick around to live out his life with his brother? Riggins has always been my favorite character on the show, and I'm just happy to have him back with us for the final few eps.
Finally, like Alan Sepinwall, I am "skeptical that he (Luke) hasn't gotten any interest from colleges." This another case where Friday Night Lights changes characteristics or attributes of a character without ever showing those changes in progress. Luke was the best new player West Dillon had seen in a while when East Dillon stole him away. He was as talented as Luke on offense last season, and has become the best defender on a team challenging for the state championship. How he won't be playing football in college is beyond me. Sure he won't be an NFL prospect, and hence should find other interests, but football is definitely in his future and should still help him get an education.
*Alan Sepinwall's review of last night's episode over at HitFix.com
I'm still waiting on the returns of some of our other favorite characters of the past (Landry, Tyra), but for the time being, let's look forward to seeing if the improbable run to a state title can happen to this team of recent misfits. Seriously last year they were a laughing stock of high school football, and now they're one of the best team's in the state. Coach Taylor should be jumping straight to the NFL.
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