Friday Night Lights Review: Another Emmy-deserving Episode

All those Emmy nominations certainly appear even more deserved after another great episode this week. Friday Night Lights forced the audience to take a look at the parent-child relationship. What do we teach our children, how do we mold them, how do we support them when they are in need? And with abortion being the central topic, there were so many ways to explore this issue.

Again, I’m impressed by how the writers have integrated the new characters in a way that was slow, so that we could warm up and grow to care about them, and then so seamlessly giving them the more powerful story lines. We pick up where we left off, last week, with Becky’s realization that she is pregnant with Luke’s baby. After going to Tim for some support, he suggests the perfect person to speak to, Ms. Tami Taylor. I love that we’re watching Tim grow up, especially as he plays the “smart” Riggins brother when it comes to all this horrible chop-shop business Billy has them wrapped up in.

You’d think that some of the deepest conversations Becky might have would be with her mother. Cheryl did face something similar, having Becky at a young age and making it work. (The girl is 15 and, at least, alive, albeit severely damaged.) It’s easy to see what the problem was, and Becky’s not dumb. She knows her mother considers her a mistake, something that held her back in life, and while she loves her, the last thing she wants for her daughter is to go through what she went through at her age. Alicia Witt played Cheryl’s emotions so well. There was little she could think of besides getting her baby to a clinic as quickly as possible. To her, there was nothing to talk about or discuss, just actions that could save her and her daughter from the embarrassment they’d face from the community and the hardships that come with having a baby so young.

Enter Tami, the woman with a heart of gold, who stepped up to the plate to have the heavy hitting conversation. First, she does the “guidance counselor” script, offering Becky options. She can go to a teen clinic for more help and get information of adoption agencies in the area. But Becky knows how her mother would feel about this and asks pointedly, “What if I don’t want the baby?” Tami hesitates before telling her that she could lead her to “literature” that would help, and the look on Tami’s face is this beautiful mix of sadness, support and stress. Connie Britton, in this episode (and what seems to be like more to come in the future), deserves her 2010 Emmy nomination. (Not that she didn’t the past four years she was snubbed.) There’s sadness because she feels for Becky but also for this unborn baby. There’s support because it’s Mrs. Coach! Come on! And then stress because abortion is a touchy subject, not just in general but because we’re talking about a teenager here, who had yet to tell her mother and because we’re in the south, folks. But then she honestly tells her what she’d tell her own daughter.

In the end, Becky chooses to get an abortion, not wanting to throw away her life and not feeling like she or her family could support a baby. Her mother, really, gives her no other option too. But Becky doesn’t take the decision lightly, and Madison Burge played her doubt, guilt, and confusion so well. Matt Lauria, who plays Luke Cafferty, should also be noted for his quiet performance of a boy with no clue what to do, especially since he’s from a religious family. He tells his parents which frees up some sense in him to call Becky and remind her that she doesn’t have to do this alone. He’s interrupted by Becky, who said, “Luke, I took care of it, so you don’t have to worry. It was the right thing to do.”

Becky, Luke and their families weren’t the only ones going through growing pains either. Vince gets a rude awakening when he has to call an ambulance for his ODed mom. Once again, we get to see another layer of a new character as Vince breaks down in the hospital, begging his mother not to leave him alone. He swiftly questions about state-run rehab facilities only to find that they’re overbooked as it is. The only option is a private facility which costs $4,000 a month, something he can’t afford. So he turns to Virgil for a pay advance. It’s no surprise Virgil can’t afford this but he promises to help him figure something out and says he’s proud of Vince for putting aside pride and asking for help. It doesn’t work out for Vince, but it forces another parent-child growing moment when Jess confronts her dad about endlessly seeking his approval and getting no support from him only to watch him go to Vince’s games and tell Vince he’s proud. Being faced with the disappointment of his daughter, he goes out to support one of his sons at a Pee-wee game and, in turn, ends up finally supporting his entire family and not letting his football past get in the way. Unfortunately, things don’t end up as well for Vince, who finally gets his mother into a private rehab facility but gets the money from his buddy Calvin who initiates him back into the crew by gifting him with a shiny, new handgun.

Rarely does emotion and set-up go hand in hand, but FNL turned in one of the most emotionally tense and gratifying episode since “The Son.” (Zach, I wish Emmys gave out honorable mentions.) I do miss Coach, who took a backseat to Virgil in coaching, taking Virgil’s advice to lay off Vince and let him be natural, because Vince is like Virgil when it comes to field personality and talent. Yet, with the nomination Kyle Chandler earned (deserved for the past four seasons as well), I’m hoping to see more of that tough yet in tune and loyal Coach that we all know and love be there for Luke and Vince.

So what did you think about “I Can’t?” Have the newbies grown on you or are you still missing Gilford and screen time for our old faves? Can we get a hooray for FNL‘s Emmy nominations?! Until next week…

Season 4, Episode 10: I Can’t (aired July 9, 2010)

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Fridays at 8/7c on NBC

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and Bill Records.