[In my best sports announcer voice] WELCOME TO THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE FYA FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS REWATCH PROJECT! LET’S PLAAAAY SOME FOOOOOTBALL!
Or rather, let’s begin our celebration of the best show about football that’s actually not really about football. As I announced last week, we’re heading to Dillon, Texas to dissect and praise (and yeah, when it comes to Season 2, rant about) one of the greatest series in TV history. If you’ve seen Friday Night Lights, then I don’t need to persuade you to join us on this epic journey. If you’ve never seen it, I hope these first few installments will convince you to give the show a shot, because I guarantee you won’t regret it. Like, by the end, I fully expect a thank you in the form of baked goods, cheerleader style. Because the characters? They will become fully formed, real-as-hell people in your life, and you’ll never want to let them go.
On a personal note, this series means a lot to me because I watched it in real time with a group of friends while living in Austin (where it was filmed) and hanging out at some of the spots from the show. We were so devoted that we ended up being extras during the final season—don’t worry, I will make a point to highlight when you can SEE ME IN AN EPISODE—and I will always be grateful that I got to live in the beam of Friday Night Lights.
If you’ve followed along with any of our previous TV Rewatches (Buffy and Felicity, for example), you know that we structure each recap with certain categories, and I’ll explain our brand new FNL categories below. And you also know that it’s not a proper Rewatch without a drinking game!
The Friday Night Lights Season 1 Drinking Game Rules
Drink once every time:
You want to give Matt Saracen a hug
Tami Taylor drinks a glass of white wine
Tami Taylor says “y’all”
Landry Clarke goes off on a tangent
You’re Team Tyra Collette
Buddy Garrity makes you roll your eyes
You think, “It’s JUST football, people.”
The quick camera cuts make you reach for the Dramamine
Drink twice every time:
The Panthers score a touchdown
Tim Riggins makes poor choices
There’s a classic Coach Taylor pep talk
Grandma Saracen says something sassy
Take a shot every time you hear:
“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose!”
“Texas Forever”
Finish your drink when:
Hands slap the Panther “P”
Jason’s incident happens
Book club admits they don’t read the book
And now it is truly my honor to kickoff this Rewatch Project with the pilot episode, which does what any exceptional pilot should do: it sets the stage, it draws you in, and then it locks the series into your heart forever. Texas forever, that is.
1.1 “Pilot”
Coach Eric Taylor has just been promoted to the head coach position of the Dillon Panthers high school football team, lead by the all-star quarterback Jason Street. Street and Coach Taylor have worked together for the past few years, and now it’s their time to shine—and the whole town of Dillon, TX is counting on it. Football is second only to God (and on Fridays, it might be in the #1 slot) in this small community, and Jason’s future is so bright, a sports network has sent out a video crew to follow the team in the week leading up to the first game. We meet Smash Williams, a Black running back whose talent is only outweighed by his swagger; this guy won’t let anything, including rampant racism, get in his way. And then there’s Tim Riggins, whom we first see waking up shirtless (helloooo) on the couch, surrounded by beer bottles, while his older brother, Billy, reminds him of the importance of showing up to practice. Rounding out the team is Matt Saracen, the back-up quarterback (i.e. he never plays) who lives with and takes care of his grandmother.
We also dive in to several relationships. First (and most important!): Coach Taylor and his wife Tami… and I guess I should mention their teenage daughter Julie who will annoy me to no end this season. Tami is both incredibly supportive of Coach as well as his biggest challenger. In addition, she’s hot as hell with the best hair you will EVER see on television, and she doesn’t quite fit in with the local moms/wives. This episode also makes a point to highlight the real love and loyalty between Jason and Lyla Garrity, the beautiful head cheerleader who’s Perfect with a Panther “P”. Lyla’s dad, Buddy, runs a car dealership and is definitely the big dog in town; to say that he’s invested in the football team is a massive understatement. While Lyla and Jason are super serious, Tim and Tyra, the resident smokeshow who DGAF, are physical but I would use the term “dating” loosely. Oh yeah, and Matt has a crush on Julie, who is supremely uninterested in dating a football player, even one whom, as Matt’s bestie Landry points out, doesn’t really play.
The pilot does an incredible job of establishing the stakes, not just for the football team but for the residents of this town. The Panthers need to bring home the state championship, and that’s that. People on the radio are talking about it; everyone at the opening of Buddy’s new dealership are talking about it (including the mayor, who tells Jason Street to get mean and start listening to death metal); elementary school children are even talking about it. Coach Taylor jokes with another coach that “it’s only football” but we know that’s exactly what it is: a joke. Football is everything, and winning is paramount.
After a week of brutal practices (Tim is drunk at one), it’s finally Friday night, and the game begins. The Panthers score but then the tides turn, and suddenly, they’re down by 6 in the last quarter. Desperate to tackle the player with the ball, Street takes a massive hit and can’t get up; it appears he has a spinal injury, and he gets taken off the field into an ambulance. Everyone is stunned, but the game must go on, so Coach calls Saracen, looking TERRIFIED, off the bench. At first, he’s straight up awful: he makes the wrong play, and then he throws the football directly into the helmet of one of his teammates. Y’all I can’t fully describe how excruciating it is to watch this! Like GAH! But then!!! Coach pulls him aside for a brief pep talk, and when the game resumes, Matt gets the ball to Smash, who scores (drink)! Okay I swear we won’t always give a play-by-play of the games on the show but this one, this one matters. And it’s so intense! I’ve seen it at least four times before but honestly I’m still at the edge of my seat. With only a few seconds left, Saracen hurtles the ball aaaaaall the way down the field, a Panther catches it, and they win the game! HOLY SHIT!!!
The mood abruptly shifts from victory to loss, as both teams kneel down and Smash leads a prayer (yes, it’s Texas) for Jason. The episode concludes with people streaming into the hospital to keep vigil: we see Julie hugging a sobbing Lyla; Tim and Smash (who can’t stand each other) fist bumping in greeting; and Coach, his face grave, approaching Jason’s bed. It’s a punch-in-the-gut ending, and even though we’ve just met these characters, it’s impossible not to grieve along with them.
How many times do I have to take a drink?
21
Did the Panthers win?
Barely but YES!
MVP of the Week
I probably don’t have to explain this one but, yeah, this is the section where we will highlight the character who achieved the biggest personal win in the episode.
Matt Saracen
I think it’s really telling that the first relationship we see on screen in the pilot is Matt and his grandma. The tenderness, the genuine affection, the sweet teasing—it just give my heart a big ole squeeze!
So Matt wins this episode for several reasons. There’s the literal win of throwing that last pass, and there’s the victory of making it off the bench. But mostly, I’m awarding Matt the MVP award because he’s a freaking awesome grandson. And because the poor thing has a ROUGH road ahead. (Let’s just say, we’re going to make heavy use of that drinking game “hug” rule.)
Most Devastating Play of the Week
In this category, we’ll dive into a pivotal moment or plot point in the episode. It might be the Most Exciting, the Most Frustrating, the Most Satisfying, etc.
Of course, the most defining moment in the pilot (and you could argue, Season 1 as a whole) is Jason Street suffering a spinal injury on the field. It’s shocking to the point where I still gasp every time I see it happen. The way the episode pans the crowd and shows people’s faces shift from surprise to concern to absolute dread is so, so powerful, and the way Jason remains polite through the whole ordeal (thanking the medic) just slays me.
Best Taylor Couple Moment
Duh, this section is dedicated to our favorite TV couple!
Early in the episode, Coach is watching game tapes in the living room while Tami peruses the real estate listings for houses. She finds a house with “his and her closets” and proceeds to totally bliss out while Coach keeps his eyes on the TV—he could NOT be less interested but that doesn’t deter Tami from waltzing out of the room (in a clip that will eventually end up in the opening credits), waving her arms and hips around, and repeating “his and her closets.”
It’s hard for me to describe how very “them” this scene is but yeah, it’s so them.
Tim Riggins’ Finest Moment
Obvs we have to devote a category to #33, who may make bad decisions but never looks bad doing it.
It might be hard to immediately see Tim Riggins’ appeal if you’re new to the show. But trust me, there’s a reason why the ATX FYA Book Club celebrates Taylor Kitsch’s birthday every year, and it’s because of moments like this scene at the backyard party, where Tim casts a charming spell on Jason (and even Lyla) as he talks about their future. He’s so magnetic, so surprisingly poetic, when he raises a beer and says: “Here’s to God, and football, and ten years from now, Street, good friends living large in Texas.” And then he utters the show’s iconic phrase, “Texas Forever.” (Drink!) But it’s not even over yet, y’all! Because he then proceeds to grandly proclaim: “Let’s touch God this time, boys.” Saaaw-oooon.
The Taylor Advice of the Week
Coach and Tami are fountains of wisdom, so this category is dedicated to their sage advice.
Normally I feel like this is pretty cut and dry, but while Coach’s attempt to calm Saracen (“Then you throw the ball to our guys. Do your best.”) is kind, it’s his speech over the episode’s final montage that really got me:
“We must all carry this in our hearts: that what we have is special. That it can be taken from us, and that when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls. It is these times, it is this pain, that allows us to look inside ourselves.”
Um, should we add a drinking game rule about crying?!!
Best/Worst Small Town Moment
This is an optional category to highlight the upside of living in a small town but, more often than not, the downside.
I cannot HANDLE when the two women (including Lyla’s mom) ambush Tami at the dealership party and invite her to book club because it is TOO REAL. It is “bless her heart” as a one act play. It is “Mary Kay” as a lifetime career. It is an altar call for passive aggressive Southern women everywhere. Like, Tami should BEWARE but also I would totally go and bring the wine.
Post-Game Breakdown
Wow, y’all, just wow. This pilot never ceases to amaze me. It’s powerful and emotional and immediately so immersive. I feel like I bought a house in Dillon and have been showing up to football games for years without realizing it. Also, to state the obvious, the cast! Jesse Plemons, who just this year won the Best Actor award at freaking Cannes, is out here playing the most lovable, Christian-metal-loving dork! Kyle Chandler! Connie Britton! Taylor Kitsch! It’s a wealth of talent, and it won’t go untapped.
I am soooooo excited that we’re just getting started, and I have a question to ask next week’s recapper, Stephanie: who are you most excited to revisit? As in, is there a character you love/hate who may change your opinion during this Rewatch?
Join us next week for “Eyes Wide Open,” and in the meantime, I wanna hear from y’all. Are you diehard fans? First-time viewers? Hit me up in the comments!
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Diehard fan, and super excited to be rewatching this show (though I accidentally watched the pilot the night I got my period, so THAT WAS FUN). Your recap made me cry all over again. Such a good show. Ugh. (Side note, and I know it may be sacrilege but…Riggins never really did it for me; it’s Matt Saracen for me all the way.)
Awwww yeah, I’ve found my Saracen-loving people! I’d apologize for how many times he may be featured in my posts, but we’re rotating through like 7 recappers, so it’ll probably balance itself out, haha.
So glad you’re joining us for the Rewatch, Emmanuelle! (Sorry I made you cry haha.) And no hate for Saracen–he’s such a sweetie!!!
Grandma Saracen in her housedress & slippers 🥹 I just love her & Matt’s relationship…
I haven’t watched this in SO LONG. I forgot how much character development happened in the first half of the episode alone; so efficient and effective!
When Julie compared Smash to the “the hulking African Zulu harpoon-hurling whale killer”, I SCREAMED. (Also feels very ‘written by a white guy’ for a teenage girl to stan Moby Dick so much.)
It is “bless her heart” as a one act play. It is “Mary Kay” as a lifetime career. It is an altar call for passive aggressive Southern women everywhere.
Some of your best work, Pitre 🏆
Thank youuuuu, thank you. (That scene really jumped out at me upon rewatching–maybe because I’m closer to Tami’s age now and I am VERY familiar with these “types” of ladies.)
Does this rewatch mean you will FINALLY finish the show 🙂
Haha, yes, I think Meredith is COMMITTED!
Agreed!
Great opener, Sarah!! I’m pumped to get back to a proper rewatch!! I probably watched this show after it all aired because y’all convinced me to, but I quickly became a big fan. This episode is really a stand-out; it so quickly makes you care about these people, and just STEEPS you in the small-town way of life. The only thing I can’t handle is the shaky cam and extreme close-ups. Like, it’s a VIBE, and it makes the show feel SO different from everything else out there (especially other teen soaps), but god damn do I hate it for my visual enjoyment (and screengrab recapping purposes).
“Steeps” is the perfect word, Stephanie!!
I cannot express how excited I am for this rewatch. I love this show SO MUCH that it inspired me to open an etsy shop!
Will never understand that after the (I don’t want to admit how many times) multiple times viewing this pilot I still cry every time! Great recap, totally captured all the episode had to offer. Team Saracen For Sure! But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy watching 33!
Luckily for us, you can root for more than one team, i.e. Saracen AND Riggins!