Friday Night Lights returned this week after the required holiday break with the final seven episodes left in the can. Fortunately, the show followed the trend started before the break, showing that the slump is over.
If anyone ever had any doubts about it, Eric Taylor proved it once and for all this week. He is DA MAN. While the entire episode was a “guys” episode, with Tim and Landry playing key roles, Eric was in the center of everything as this episode was about him reasserting his authority, in the house and on the field.
First there’s Eric’s professional authority. Following a tornado that hit Texas and destroyed their Larrabee rivals’ school, the Panthers played host to this team. But the Larrabee guys turned out to be total douches, and not only that, the head douche is their coach. See, there is only one decent football coach in Texas high-school football, and his name is Eric Taylor. With both teams sharing the training field and locker room sonce were bound to get messy, and it didn’t take long. It started with some practical jokes but when things escalated into fights, the Larrabee coach dared to put his hands on Riggins. This forced Eric, who kept telling his kids to take the high road, to step in and mark his territory. He showed Larrabee it’s his house, and humbled the visiting coach. This was Eric at his best.
But then there’s Eric at home, which went from good to better to worse. It started with his decision to let Tim Riggins stay with them until he gets his head straight, and to add some testosterone to the Taylor household. At first this turns out well, with Riggins protecting Julie when a hurricane hits Dillon and the two guys sharing late night ping-pong sessions, but later Eric gets to regret this decision. It started when the single women of the house started to treat Tim like the eye-candy that he is. But Julie went a bit too far and had too much to drink at a party (With Riggins seemingly staying sober, there’s a shocker). Riggins was very protective of her, not only scaring a$$holes away but also taking her home and getting her into bed. Not in that way! But just like in any good TV show, this is the moment Eric Taylor wandered in. And boy, if you’ve thought you’ve seen Eric mad before, trust me – you haven’t. The way he threw Tim out, with his teeth clinched, trying hard not to beat the crap out of him, was just amazing. Sure, he war wrong, but nevertheless, Eric Taylor is DA MAN!
So while Tim, Landry and Buddy were also featured this week, it was all about Eric. Kyle Chandler gave one of his best performances ever this week. We got to see different sides of Eric Taylor, from the fun-loving to the fatherly to the downright scary bada$$ at the end of the episode. Chandler’s Eric Taylor is one of the best constructed characters on TV right now, thanks not only to the amazing writing on this show (Go WGA), but also thanks to the actor performing what was written. I don’t want to take anything away from the entire wonderful cast but this week was simply a great Kyle Chandler showcase. With Friday Night Lights having more episodes left than most shows currently on the air, this could be its best chance to catch new viewers. If we get more episodes like this one, those new viewers will stick with the show.
