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TV Diary

 Memorial Day seems like a terrific time to revisit a strong "Friday Night Lights" episode--"The Son."

This is the one where Matt Saracen learns that his dad (a soldier) is dead. "Friday Night Lights" had a slightly frustrating habit of treating characters as pawns, and the reemergence of Saracen's dad--at this particular moment--felt a little bit convenient.

Even so, the hour is thrilling, because it explores ambivalence in ways that feel unusual for TV. No one mourns when Gus Fring dies on "Breaking Bad." Everyone mourns when "the quarterback" dies on "Glee." In "Friday Night Lights," Saracen's dad is neither great nor truly terrible, and, in a way, this makes his death especially painful. Matt has unresolved anger. He doesn't know what to do about that.

Matt's private crisis leads to one of the most exciting scenes I can remember from TV Land. The Taylors have invited Matt for dinner, and Matt is in the midst of a full breakdown. Tami politely asks what is happening, and Matt says something like this: "I can't stand to have my carrots touch my chicken." He says it again and again, sort of like chanting.

Then he says, "I can't be rude. I can't be rude. I shouldn't be rude, but I really don't like that chicken."

This is so interesting to watch, because it feels plausible. Matt surely spent most of his childhood *not* addressing issues with his father; now, the anger is manifesting as a helpless response to carrots-and-chicken.

It's this type of little scene that "Friday Night Lights" handles so well, and I remember the chicken discussion more easily than I remember the actual burial.

What a great show!
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