"This is all yours for the taking son. It just depends on how bad you want it."
Any show can have a great pilot. A pilot usually has a hot shot director at the helm and a lot of money thrown behind it. More often then not, a show that has a great pilot is often a major let down in episode 2. Somehow Friday Night Lights manages to avoid this problem and delivers an episode that is just as strong and emotional as the first.
The injury to Jason Street really ramps up the pressure on everything. Coach Taylor, Matt Saracen, Riggins, Lyla and her dream of a perfect life and everyone’s faith are really going to be tested because of what happened to the once promising Quarterback. This town revolves around this high school football team and this episode really shows it. 2 instances really stick out in my mind when it comes to showing this. The first being "Slammin" Sammy Meade on the radio calling Streets injury a "devastating blow" to the team and the town, and then the very next second proceeding to tear poor Saracen apart. The other scene that was really telling was Tami’s triumphant debut at the the book club. I use book club very loosely because the whole get together basically breaks down into a bunch of football moms telling Tami how her husband should be running the team
This episode had a lot less action and storyline development in it than the pilot. There is not even any game action. What makes the episode so fantastic though is a tour de force by Kyle Chandler. In finding Chandler to play Coach Eric Taylor, they really could not have made a better choice. The man owns every scene that he is in. The thing that he seems to have mastered so quickly are the scenes in which he does not say anything. Chandler does such a good job of portraying every emotion that he and the audience is feeling by just one smirk or one look. His scenes with Connie Britton are when this is the most obvious. The chemistry that these 2 show as husband and wife is so pure and genuine that it is difficult to believe that they are not actually married in real life
And lest we forget about the chilling scenes that Coach and Saracen have together. Coach knows that his job basically rides on turning this shy artist in to a real QB 1. At the same time he realizes that this is just a kid. Add to that a kid who has a ton of responsibilities that most kids his age do not need to worry about and Coach Taylor can really empathize with him. The first few minutes of the pilot episode, we expect Eric to be a role model and a guide for Jason Street. However, for better or worse, he now needs to guide Matt Saracen, and as we can see from the scene they have on the empty football field, its going to be an entertaining ride.
Another fantastic episode that matched the Pilot. I give it a 10 out 10. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Cant Lose.
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