Friday Night Lights Review: The (Emmy-Worthy) Son

This week’s Friday Night Lights wasn’t just another fantastic episode from a fantastic series. It also served as a vehicle for Zach Gilford to flex fantastic acting chops as a son struggling to deal with the loss of his father. Can we say Acting/Best Drama Emmy? Finally, please?!

Every Friday, I am surprised by the rawness and the honesty each actor infuses into his performance, and Gilford is right up there with Connie Britton, Kyle Chandler and Taylor Kitsch in making me believe every second, every word and every scene. And I knew after the final few minutes of last week’s episode that I’d be in for something uncomfortable, painful, real and heart breaking, and boy did I get that and more.

It’s hard not to love Matt Saracen. From the pilot when he was pulled from the sidelines and into the spotlight, he’s never been the luckiest, the most talented or the most “Texas.” Yet, he’s so sweet, often bumbling and mumbling, always trying to do the right thing and ferociously caring about his family and friends, no matter how often he gets the short end of the stick. (And that’s been quite often.)

So when he had to face the death of a man so much a part of him but that he hardly knew, all I wanted to do was help the kid. Each vacant look, trembling word, physical body shake was like a stab to my heart. Luckily with me outside of TV Land, Matt had support from a family that might not be blood but couldn’t be truer in any sense.

Tami was there for Matt when he visited the funeral parlor and the funeral director attempted to get him to pay way more than he could afford for his father’s burial. How crass of the man to invoke the idea that anything less than a $9,000 burial wouldn’t be honoring his father in the manner he deserved or to suggest that the government would foot way more of the bill than they actually would. Again, Gilford’s mannerism and the emotions strewn across his face while sitting in that parlor where he was unable to stay still or even process what was happening around him was terrific. And to watch Tami take over was like watching a lioness protecting her cub. She excused Matt and then ripped into the guy for trying to take advantage of the poor boy before getting straight to business.

Riggins and Landry were there for him, on the football field with beers, to take his mind off things. Of course, he couldn’t as he lamented over having to give a eulogy and say kind words about a man he barely knew in front of a bunch of strangers. Then there was the even more devastating revelation that he didn’t even know if the man in the box actually was his father. The idea Riggins proposed next made my skin crawl and that was before we got to the parlor. When the director reminded Matt that they’d discussed a closed casket for a reason, the Riggins boys and Landry were so cute drunkenly jumping to Matt’s defense, but only he could make the decision. We don’t get to see anything but the horror and stunned look on his face as he peered into the casket said more than enough.

And finally his second family invited him over for dinner, and after what he’s seen, even he can’t hide that he’s not okay, finally breaking down in tears. He has no appetite then blurts out mumbo-jumbo about how he doesn’t like carrots, and he doesn’t like them touching his meat. Then, he back pedals because he’s being rude to his hostess, and he doesn’t like being rude. But then he gets to the heart of all the nonsense by lashing out how he hates his father. “I don’t like hating people, but I just put all my hate on him so that I don’t have to hate anyone else. So I can be a good person to my grandma, to my friends, to your daughter…I just want to tell him to his face that I hate him, but he doesn’t even have a face.”

Matt storms out as Julie breaks down. She’s helpless to help the person she loves, and it’s so raw to watch this child who’s never had to deal with anything so serious in her entire life. But it’s Coach who’s there for Matt in the end. There’s no niceties, just the offer to walk him home and a comforting hand placed on his shoulder. While TV characters always seem to say the right things with dramatic monologues, all of us in the real world know that more often a loss of words and a heartfelt touch can help us keep it together.

I can only imagine what the fallout will be for Matt and for his lady love, but it was clear by the end of the episode that Matt was starting to come to terms with what happened to his father and more so in his entire life. His eulogy took the form of a story from when he was a boy, basically a view of his father that he’d lost growing up without him where he was funny, a side Matt rarely saw, but a soldier who never knew him could pick up from soldiers’ stories of his father’s Army life. In telling this story, we see a different Matt. Not the one who can’t control emotions of hate for the father who he felt never cared for him, but as an adult who sucked it up and spoke kindly about his father and his father’s pride for his service to his country. And once everyone but Julie was gone, he chose to pick up a shovel and start burying his father himself.

This episode was so powerful, it’s hard to focus on anything but Matt’s storyline but there were some other things of note. The Lions fought hard in a game, putting some more points on the board but not winning. Luke and Vince seem to be working better together though not anywhere near a friendship. More like growing respect. Vince’s skills in the game get him some local recognition. The look of terror on his face when he realizes he has no idea what to say to a room full of young footballers looking for advice, reminded me that Vince still has so far to go. In one episode he goes from learning how to hot wire a car to giving advice to kids about football. Not the best advice, seeing as it is the same advice he got on hot wiring cars. There was also some more Becky and pageantry. Again, I didn’t really care for any of it, but I can always appreciate a different point of view on southern, small town life. It did set up a kiss between Riggins and Becky which will definitely have repercussion since Lyla was back in town for the funeral and won’t be leaving for at least one episode. And Luke finally stands up to his “friend” J.D., now coined J.D. McDick. (It does have a certain ring to it.)

Yet again, Friday Night Lights. You slay me with your storytelling, character development and acting. At the end, I always want more. Can’t wait until next week! How you feel about it?

Season 4, Episode 5: The Son (aired June 4, 2010)

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Fridays at 8/7c on NBC

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and Bill Records.