Friday Night Lights "Don't Go" Review

In the last scene of "Don't Go," Vince plainly asks his Coach to stay in Dillon, to remain his head coach. More succinctly, he says: "don't go." I imagine Vince's plea mirrored the DirecTV audience as the series neared the end. "Don't Go" marked the beginning of the end of the series. The drama throughout the season suddenly took a back seat to the realistic possibility that Coach Taylor might leave Dillon, Texas. The entire episode felt different from any other episode this season. The energy was different. The writing resembled a love-letter, which makes sense because two characters were celebrated, and I suspect each of the final three episodes will have a love-letter quality to them as the writers, actors, and the crew bid farewell to fictional Dillon, Texas.

"Don't Go" celebrated Coach Eric Taylor. None of the characters wants their Coach to leave for a Division I program because, for so many of the football players, Coach literally changed their lives. His departure fills guys like Tinker, Hastings and Vince with doubt and fear. What would happen if the stabilizing influence in their life left? The episode doesn't answer that question but Coach understands the impact he's made on his players lives. Coach took each man and instilled in them a sense of discipline, respect, loyalty and an unwavering work ethic. As each kid told the coach how they felt about him, Coach nodded and mouthed thank you. While Coach appreciated the grand gesture set up by Buddy, he couldn't shake how good Shane State's offer is until Vince told him how he feels about his Coach. Vince told him that he'd probably be dead or in jail if Coach hadn't pulled him out of a cop car and made him into a football player. The conversation's enough for Coach to announce his decision to remain in Texas as the head coach of the East Dillon Lions.

During the best scene in the episode, Eric and Tami quietly talked about their evening at the Banquet as well as the future. Affected by the honest outpouring of love and support from his players, Eric felt more motivated than ever to bring his boys to State, to let them experience the experience of playing for the state championship. "They deserve it," he told his wife. Tami reminded him that he deserves what Shane State's offering as well. Eric contemplates his wife's words and kisses her head. Maybe Vince's plea wasn't the key to Coach's decision to remain in Dillon. Maybe it was a combination of everything he experienced in the episode--the reminders of why he coaches high school football and why he left TMU in season two. In Dillon, he's a difference-maker. The character of a man carries him through the rest of his life. Coach can mold a man's character in Dillon more than he can while eating oranges as the head coach of Shane State.

Coach talked about the character of Tim Riggins at his parole hearing. Billy asked Eric to be a character witness in hopes that the prison would send Tim home. Indeed, Coach acted as a character witness. In one monologue, the writers captured the arc of Riggins and his coach. When we met him, he was a drunken, irascible teenager who was content with wasting his God-given football abilities. Over the years, with the aid of coach, he became not only an exemplary football player but, also, an exemplary man--a man whose character eventually put him into the very prison he hoped to be free from. Billy didn't influence his brother, didn't help him become the man that he is. Eric did. And that's important.

The strain between the brothers might not heal before the end of the series. Riggins is a man of few words but his words pierce the heart of Billy as they await the parole meeting. Riggins doesn't want his brother to speak because he's done enough damage. The secret between the two brothers remains. No one knows that Tim went to prison for Billy, so that Billy could raise his family. Time will tell if Riggins can forgive his brother or if Billy will admit the truth of what happened. Billy does speak but it's Coach and Buddy Garrity who probably made the difference. As Buddy talked about the heart of Tim, about how he'll have love and support as well as a full time job, Tim smiles for the first time in a very long time. When he's released, he lives with Billy. The atmosphere is awkward, tense. For Tim to find complete happiness and peace, he and Billy need to resolve their issues.

Meanwhile, Vince returned to the man he was in "Expectations." Oklahoma Tech's offer fell through. Vince realized that he needs to go through Coach, to return his roots as a football player and to finish the work he and Coach began together. After all, he's only a junior and time exists for his college future. Vince's mother stands up for her son again, telling Ornette that Vince needs a father, not an agent. Vince becomes the starting quarterback again and repairs his relationship with his coach. The only person missing from his life is Jess but three episodes remain for those two to become a couple again.

"Don't Go" is without a doubt the best episode of season five. It packed so much emotion into every scene. It's the kind of episode one should watch to get a sense of how great Friday Night Lights can be. It wasn't just about Coach's decision to stay or leave. The writers used that particular plot point to highlight Eric's relationship with everyone around him. FNL isn't about football. It's about family and friendships and how people need other people to survive and thrive in the world.

Other Thoughts:

-Luke faced the possibility of not receiving a scholarship. He re-discovered another part of his life that he loved though--farming.

-Tami had a brief subplot involving a panel about colleges. We met a woman from a fictional college who nodded in approval at what Tami said about the importance of sitting down with individual students rather than evaluating them on test scores alone. Perhaps Tami has an offer of her own waiting in the wings that will uproot the Taylor clan.

-Bridget Carpenter wrote the episode. Michael Waxman directed it.

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