Friday Night Lights Review: Never Out of the Fight

I’d forgotten how much I missed Dillon, Texas. The southern charm. The diehard football fans. The small town community. The high school hijinks. All of that was back and at top form. So much so that I was genuinely upset when my DVR cut off the previews for next week’s episode. Oh, how time flies when you’re having fun.

The decision to refresh Friday Night Lights by separating our key players and bringing in a bunch of new faces was a brazen move. So bold that I had no clue what to expect or that I’d even enjoy it. I’m happy to say that it definitely paid off. The show had the same tone and feel, same great acting, same eerily, realistic writing but somehow felt like a whole new show while leaving just the right amount of “the usual” to make the consistent viewer still feel at home.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW
The season kicked off with Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) exploring his new digs at East Dillon. The locker room and field are abysmal, dirty and graffiti-ed. A raccoon has subleted the space, and when students think football, they think Madden. It was tough seeing this Coach, who has given so much to the town, get knocked down so far. He has to agree to hiring a insanely annoying, but obviously well-intentioned assistant. His anger over what’s been done to him and the messy, weak team he has to deal with is palpable. I can’t say that he handles it well, especially after he loses half his team in one day. But I’m so intrigued to see how he builds this team up and makes them champions, learning something for himself along the way.

What I’m not happy to see is how harsh the town is on Principal Tami Taylor (Connie Britton), as the school redistricting doesn’t go over well. As the town gets separated into the haves (Dillon) and the have-nots (East Dillon), the town is up in arms over the inequity and the inconvenience of their children being cordoned off to a “lesser” school. It doesn’t help her case that her daughter remained at Dillon. She also gets a lot of push back and pandering from the annoying new coach Wade Aikman and the smug Joe McCoy.

Vince Howard (Michael B. Jordan, Wallace from The Wire) seems to be the new Smash with more humility. We first meet him as he’s running, very agilely, from three cop cars. A convenient community program puts him with Coach for a second chance, and you know he will whip his butt into wide receiver (and personal) shape before the season’s up. (Let’s just hope he doesn’t find himself in too much trouble along the way.)

Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) only lasted though .5 seconds of college before dropping out and heading home, jettisoning his books from his pick-up truck window along the way. Brother Billy’s having a baby and disappointed in his little brother with the, now, limited future. And quickly, Riggins reverts back to his old ways, sleeping with a cougar bartender and then bonding with her daughter Becky (Madison Burge) the next morning. (Becky also sang a rousing Star Spangled Banner to open East Dillon’s first football game. Utterly hysterical!)

Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford) seems to be doing okay though the world around him appears pretty dim. After deciding to stay with Julie and his grandmother and forgo art at the Art Institute of Chicago, he’s being told by an art teacher at the local community college that he’s not making art, just drawing. He’s toting around his girlfriend during his pizza delivery hours and even has to deliver pies to his replacement QB J.D. McCoy. J.D. is an even more stuck-up and full of himself, making fun of Matt at every opportunity and provoking him into a full on backyard party brawl after making sly comments to Julie and manhandling her.

On top of all the recently discussed drama and struggle, Landry’s pretty lonely at East Dillon without his friends and he doesn’t exactly fit seamlessly onto his new team. Julie doesn’t even want to stay at Dillon and feels out of sync with Matt. And Buddy seemed so sad with all the in-house, football friction after turning his back on his buddy Eric.

WRAP IT UP
Repeatedly throughout the episode, we saw the visual disparity between the bright, blue and yellow Dillon school and the dark and dungy, glaring red East Dillon. It was the kind of subtle, smart directing that FNL does so well. So when I caught about four flashes of the slogan “Never Out Of The Fight” in the East Dillon locker room, I knew that I had captured one of the major themes we’ll be watching unfold this season. East Dillon, Coach & Principal Taylor, Matt, and I’m sure many of our other favorite and soon-to-be favorite characters are seemingly down and out, but there’s always room to fight some more and come out on top.

So what did you think about the NBC season premiere of FNL? Did you miss Tyra, Jason, or Lyla? Worried we’ll be following one team too many? Comment away!

Season 4, Episode 1: East of Dillon (aired May 7, 2010)

For more on Friday Night Lights, click here.

Fridays at 8/7c on NBC

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and Bill Records.