09 October 2007

Friday Night Lights S2 E1 - Last Days of Summer


The best thing about Friday Night Lights is that it is a believable little TV show, with a believable story and believable characters. It did not need episode arches and story build-ups in order to deliver a fantastic episode. It just had to feel authentic. And that might have been messed up, as Season 2 opens.

I could not contain the tears the first few minutes. I was so glad the show is back on air. But sometime after that, the mood changed. It had the same set of characters I love. But aside from one little scene with Tami crying upon learning her husband and her have to be separated by work again.... no other story drew me in. From something believable, it has become melodramatic. Changes are supposed to expected. But the season opener felt like it's going in the wrong direction.

It was a case of too much vs. too little. Everything changed rather quickly. And as a viewer, I felt that I was made to absorb it all at once with very little information.
  • The Garrity's are in a messy set-up. Lyla has found Jesus but doesn't hesitate to unleash acerbic comments towards her mother. It's obvious what has happened here but I still would like some details.
  • Riggins supposedly grew up last season. Now he's back to being a jerk again.
  • Smash had a ten second scene, maybe less, and that was it.
  • Julie's issues is something I cannot understand at the moment. She says the reasons why, but it did not satisfy me. I needed more.
  • And finally, the murder story.....ah, how do I begin digesting that? It was a generic storyline that seemed like it just had to be thrown into the story. Fine. But did it have to be on the first episode? I would have personally liked that they just did away with it and never really gets its closure (like Dr. Melfi's rape in The Sopranos). Besides last season, they sort of indicated that that has passed.

I'm not happy. The balance is lost. But I am hopeful. Bring back my show, please.

Episode Guide from TV.Com
Changes in the team force Dillon Panthers to work harder than ever before to achieve the same level of success they had last season. Losing Coach Taylor to TMU might prove to be their biggest setback. Tyra gets a shock visitor. Matt and Landry struggle with their everyday life, as it is not what they expected.