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Friday Night Lights Season 4, Episodes 6-9 Review

13 Aug

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EPISODE 6– “STAY”

This one’s all about people leaving, but while there’s a sense of melancholy–as is the case whenever you’re separated from someone who’s close to you–there’s also a sense of hope and freedom. Both Lyla and Tim know their relationship is over, but that doesn’t prevent them from enjoying the time they have together in this episode, nor does it take away from the times they shared prior to this. Lyla’s finally taking control of her own life, something we certainly didn’t see when she was still tied to Jason Street.

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Friday Night Lights “The Son” Review (4×05)

25 Jul

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Here lies Henry Saracen.

Here lies Matt Saracen’s father, the father he hated, the father who wasn’t there for him, the father who’s now in a coffin, buried under the dirt that leaves Matt’s shovel. He wasn’t a monster, but he wasn’t a good father, either. The responsibilities that should’ve been his were taken on by his son at an early age, and Matt’s had to deal with situations that many teenagers have never had to face because there’s always been that one constant in their lives: a supportive family.

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Friday Night Lights “In the Skin of a Lion”/ “A Sort of Homecoming” Review (4×03/4×04)

21 Jul

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Dear Coach Taylor,

I wish I could give you all the money you need for your team, you wonderful man. I don’t know why everyone isn’t already throwing him or herself at your feet, trying to kiss that amazing personality, whether or not they think of you as their dad or their boyfriend or both. Have you ever thought about a job at the Landing Strip? Wear just your cap and your jacket of fatherly goodness, emblazoned with the lives you’ve touched and a “Tami Taylor is always right” sticker that never comes off. She’s always got your back, and you’ve always got hers. Compromise. It’s a beautiful thing, even when you’re lying about that damn personal check.

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Friday Night Lights “East of Dillon”/ “After the Fall” Review (4×01/4×02)

17 Jul

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Everything looks different! It’s East Dillon and West Dillon as we open the fourth season of Friday Night Lights, and although there are a number of major contrivances–it really seems as if East Dillon springs up from nowhere–it’s clear that the show’s going to use this new status quo to explore different characters, different schools, and various racial and class tensions. Season 1 placed Coach Taylor into a new and sometimes hostile environment, but season 4 places him in a situation in which he has no foundation to build upon. The pieces aren’t in place; he has to find them and put them together.

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Friday Night Lights Season 3, Episodes 5-7 Review

16 Jul

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*I wrote reviews of episodes 8-13 a while back, so I’m just going ahead to season 4 after this review. In case you’re looking for 8-13, here are some links:

Episode 8: “New York, New York”  

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/20/friday-night-lights-new-york-new-york-review-3×08/

Episode 9: “Game of the Week”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/22/friday-night-lights-game-of-the-week-review-3×09/

Episode 10: “The Giving Tree”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/26/friday-night-lights-the-giving-tree-review-3×10/

Episode 11: “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/10/31/friday-night-lights-a-hard-rains-gonna-fall-review-3×11/

Episode 12: “Underdogs”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/11/03/friday-night-lights-underdogs-review-3×12/

Episode 13: “Tomorrow Blues”

https://polarbearstv.com/2013/11/12/friday-night-lights-tomorrow-blues-review-3×13/     

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Friday Night Lights Season 3, Episodes 1-4 Review

5 Jul

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EPISODE 1, “I Knew You When”

We’re back! It’s amusing–but also refreshing and understandable–how season 2 is pretty much swept under the rug here, fast-forwarding a bit as the show seems to wash its hands of whatever mess it got itself into. I appreciate the way this episode focuses on the natural conflicts and connections that arise between our central characters, some of which include the parallels between the Coach-Smash and Mrs. Coach-Tyra relationships; the Taylors are, as expected, being awesome people, and they seem to have taken it upon themselves to help foster a bright future for their respective “kids”. These are the struggles I want to see from people like Smash and Tyra (love her smackdown of the Asst. Principal), these real-life difficulties that interfere with their outlooks of the future.

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Friday Night Lights Season 2 Review

23 Mar

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Season 2 of Friday Night Lights begins with a fractured family, with Coach Taylor at TMU and with Mrs. Coach and Julie remaining in Dillon. In a way, this is reflective of the entire show this season: the pieces of the puzzle are present, but they never quite fit into place, never gelling in the way that the brilliant first season does. There’s a hell of a lot of potential, but much of it is squandered in favor of melodrama or storylines that have no place in this show.

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Friday Night Lights “State” Review (1×22)

15 Mar

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“When Jason Street went down in the first game of the season, everybody wrote us off. Everybody. And here we are at the championship game. 40,000 people have also written us off. But there are some who do still believe in you, a few who’d never give up on you. When you go back out on that field, those are the people I want in your minds. Those are the people I want in your hearts. Every man at some point in his life is gonna lose a battle. He’s gonna fight and he’s gonna lose. But what makes him a man, is that in the midst of that battle, he does not lose himself. This game is not over; this battle is not over. So let’s hear it one more time, together. Clear eyes, full hearts, CAN’T LOSE!”

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Friday Night Lights “Mud Bowl”/”Best Laid Plans” Review (1×20/1×21)

9 Mar

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“It’s a football game. What you need for a football game is a football field, 22 kids, and a pigskin.” 

Sometimes, simple is the way to go. Sometimes, all you need to do is go out and participate in something you love, a passion that’s part of who you are. This is exactly what Coach and his players do in “Mud Bowl”, a thrilling, intense, and pretty much perfect episode of television.

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Friday Night Lights “Extended Families”/”Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes” Review (1×18/1×19)

7 Mar

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EPISODE 18, “EXTENDED FAMILIES”

As mentioned in the title, this episode is about various family dynamics and how they play a role in shaping our characters’ decisions and attitudes. For example, we have Tim Riggins essentially integrating himself into a new family, which certainly makes sense due to the events that transpired with his dad; that sense of disappointment is manifesting itself in a desire to prove something to himself through Bo and her mother. Although as of right now, I have to say that these two new characters don’t do much to really peak my interest, I’m sure Kitsch will handle it well. I’m betting this will go down the “sleeping with Jackie” road.

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