Friday Night Lights "The March" Review

"The March" is a busy episode of television. Four playoff games happened for the Lions in between the beginning and end of the episode; Levi informed the faculty of East Dillon High that layoffs would happen and he informed Coach that the football program needs to make budget cuts; Tami received a job offer in Philadelphia; Ornette became a loose cannon--someone Regina and Vince fear and do not trust; Tim Riggins moved out of the Riggins home, punched Billy in the face as Billy wondered how long his brother will hold prison over him--"the rest of my life, if need be" was Tim's response.

"The March" needed to accomplish a few things before the final two episodes. It needed to bring the Lions to the state championship. It needed to drop one last source of conflict and questions for the Taylor family. It needed to show how different Riggins has become since his imprisonment etc etc. It's sort of a quasi-transitional episode. The episode lacked a cohesive theme because the writers went from plot point to plot point without taking a breath; however, "The March" brought together the various themes FNL established in the early episodes of the season well. Certainly, "The March" had wonderful moments but, of course, there are things to criticize.

The March towards State unified the team in a way it hadn't been unified since "Kingdom." The team ran three miles every three days with frequent stops at their coaches house. The scene before the credits rolled showed how far the team had come since their opening day forfeit in season four. Coach made them into a team. Coach had a small smile on his face and Mrs. Coach had a beaming grin. The March towards State took the team into enemy territory and, seemingly, they responded wonderfully with blowouts in every game except for the semi-finals. Maybe it's a testament to their belief in one another or their Coach's ability to coach, to game-plan, to strategize against the mighty football teams of Texas. In true FNL fashion, the semi-final game came down to one play with two seconds remaining in the game, and the Lions trailing by 4. Rather than call a fade pattern, Coach opted for a QB sneak. The Arnett-Mead line met Vince at the line of scrimmage, Vince avoided tackle and ran the football in the end zone to clinch a berth in the State title game. The team celebrated and returned home to a celebration.

Now, I've stated my opinion about the Lions' realistic chances at the State championship game. I recognize it's television and the audiences would rather watch a team compete for the State title rather than a .500 record. The way they won is highly improbable but it's FNL where miraculous wins happen weekly for the teams of Dillon, and it sets up a satisfying conclusion to the Lions' arc. The real issue in the episode is Levi's bad news for Coach Taylor. The district's bankrupt. The re-districting didn't succeed as expected because Dillon can only support one football team. The Lions and Panthers will form one team next season. Obviously, the news effects Eric because he just turned down a lucrative offer to coach for Shane State and, now, he might be unemployed. This piece of news suddenly makes the state championship more meaningful, more urgent because it's possibly the last opportunity for the East Dillon Lions to be their own champions, and it's probably Coach's last game as a high school football coach because, let's face it, the family will move to Philadelphia.

Oh, Philadelphia, my beloved home town. Last summer, Ted Silary of The Daily News wrote a piece about the FNL crew filming in the Philadelphia area. The piece didn't give away any plot details but it's easy to put the pieces together. The Taylor family will move to Philadelphia where Tami will work for Temple University or, rather Braemore University, on North Broad Street. Her offer, itself, is improbable but so was her promotion from guidance counselor to Principal of West Dillon. At a certain point, one just has to roll with some of the writers' storytelling decisions. With two episodes left, I'll roll with it. But Dean of Admissions? Really?

The March to State and Tami's offer are the only good things that happen (and, well, Jess gets to shadow Coach because she wants to become a high school football coach one day--the storyline's very sweet). For the rest of our characters, things couldn't be worse. Ornette's regressed into the unstable, drunken, drug-dealing man he was when he went to prison. Regina could easily fall off of the wagon, and she tells her son that she needs to attend a meeting over his game. But when she shows up, it's a rare moment of happiness for mother and son in their dark story. Hopefully, her presence signifies her strength to overcome her husband and her temptation. We'll see though.

Tim and Billy's relationship is broken. Billy promised his brother to take care of Becky. When Tim learns of Becky's job at the Landing Strip, he loses it on his brother and punches him in the face. Mindy and Becky yell at Tim for his behavior and fail to understand his motivations. But they don't understand. Tim leaves the house for the old trailer he used to rent from Becky's mother. As he sits there in the darkness, it's hard not to wonder how anything good can happen for him with only two episodes left. My hope is, some old friends return to Dillon like Street, Lyla, Saracen, Tyra and Landry. We'll see though.

"We'll see" sort of sums up what happened in "The March." Can the characters find some happines and peace in the final two episodes? We'll see. Will Tim and Billy repair their relationship? We'll see. We'll see what happens with the football program, and the Taylors future. We will see, indeed.

Rolin Jones wrote the episode. Jason Katims directed it.

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