The Saddest Friday Night

We have this expression on the show, where we say, "We’ll ‘FNL’ it." We take stories that have the potential to be very cheesy and melodramatic and we play them not that way. That’s a testament to [the] way the stories are written, to the filmmakers, to the actors. It’s just the way we’ve been doing the show.
- Zach Gilford, Matt Saracen on Friday Night Lights (FNL)

Since I took the time earlier to praise Mad Men for, what I felt, was its most exceptional episode, it only makes sense that I do a little bit of gushing about Friday Night Lights' recent tour-de-force, "The Son".

I've often thought about all the different factors involved in liking something, in this case, liking a television show. There is always a feeling of privilege, like you know a great secret, when there is a show (or anything) that isn't widely watched. Mad Men, for example, is just about the hottest show around, so good luck making any claim of "finding" that one. Friday Night Lights, however, despite how fantastic it is, is still a show flying under the radar. Maybe it's the sports thing, maybe it's because it's actually on on Friday nights, I don't know. But I do know it is excellent.

It is currently airing its fourth season on DirecTV and after two strong initial episodes, I thought the following two started swimming in some murky waters in terms of continuity and direction. The fifth episode, however, staked its claim as one of the all time great FNL episodes.

I've noticed there is pressure as a blogger or a critic to make superlative judgements. In order to make a review memorable or worthwhile, it can feel like you have to find out the specific way in which your focus is the best or worst at something. As a result, the titles assigned can be forced, strained, and even downright incorrect. So, whether it's the best at it or not, I will say this: FNL makes you care about its characters.

Nobody on the show exemplifies this as well as Matt Saracen*. Matt is the emotional heart of the show. He is the one that viewers (most of them anyway) identify with. They might wish they were more like Tim Riggins, but they know they're a lot more like Matt Saracen. Matt is a good kid, not a perfect kid, but he is selfless, kind, and generous. He gets dealt the worst hand, over and over again (well, aside from becoming the QB1 on a state championship football team) but he keeps on going, shrugging off obstacles and doing what he knows he has to do to support himself and his grandmother. That's why, I think, "The Son" reaches a height that it can only achieve with Matt as its center.

* See? Here come the superlatives again.

To recap, at the end of episode four, we find that Matt's dad has been killed in Iraq. Episode five (the one I'm talking about) then proceeds to take us as close as a television show can to the hurt that a character can feel. In a world where we are so conditioned to try and get lost in TV and movies and books, it very rarely happens that we actually forget we're processing fictional events. There is no Matt Saracen, but it sure doesn't feel that way. Chalk much of this up to the absolutely amazing performance from Zach Gilford in this particular episode.

Matt has shown his pain in many ways throughout the series, but it has rarely been pure sadness. Matt has been angry and depressed and lonely, but he's never been so lost and vulnerable as we see him here. Furthermore, his hurt keeps getting closer and closer: first we see him confess to struggling with the eulogy and express his lack of fulfillment with his own life; then the devastating scene where he just gazes at his father in what should be a closed casket; and, finally, at his lowest point, not being able to eat and breaking down in front of his girlfriend and his parents. This last scene is heartbreaking. The Taylor family is wonderful in this episode, knowing the line between when they can help him and, in the case of Eric following him out the door, when they cannot.

It is peculiar that human beings can become so emotionally involved with stories and characters they know for certain to be make believe. It is, I suppose, this phenomenon that is the essence of storytelling. We want to care about people outside of ourselves and even outside of our world. When we are truly rewarded for such a faculty, it is an experience that stays with us. My thoughts often wandered to Matt Saracen over the last week. I even watched the episode a second time only a few days later--something which I rarely do. It'll be a shame to see Zach Gilford make his inevitable move from the show, but I'm at least glad we got to see his crowning achievement before he left.

And if you still haven't seen Friday Night Lights? Do yourself a favor and get on it.

In the words of good ol' Tim Riggins, Texas forever.