Texas Forever.

Friday Night Lights

On Wednesday, the final episode of one the most well-reviewed, natural, well-written, and well-acted shows in television history played its final game: Friday Night Lights. I haven't seen the finale yet; I'm just delaying the inevitable. I am not ready for this show to end. Friday Night Lights' story has not run its course. There is still so much to be told about Dillion Texas and the Taylors.

Throughout it's five seasons, FNL has created memorable, fully-realized characters who could be your neighbors, your football coach, your quarterback and so forth. They have tangible hopes and motivations; I don't think I've seen a show with more believably written characters than Friday Night Lights. There's been no melodrama; everything that's happened, it makes sense characters would do those things. I totally bought that Landry would kill Tyra's assaulter, even if the show kind of forgot about that weird storyline. I definitely believe that Tim Riggins would take the fall for his brother's chop shop. These plots may seem out of the realm of ordinary, but they are real and believable in the FNL world.

Not only where these character well-written but the acting was over the top phenomenal. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton had the most amazing chemistry. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were married in real life. They fight like every other couple and they work through their troubles like every other couple. Their marriage has been so beautiful to watch. I've even seen them grow closer as the show progressed. They are one the most functional and one of the best TV couples out there...ever. They may never be able to be topped.

Other actors really grew into their characters and got better as the show went out. Taylor Kitsch went from being a broody, mumbly character to a character who really used physicality well. Those eyes...speeches were being spoken with those eyes. And his comedic timing got better. Zach Gilford began taking on seriously heavy story lines and ran with them. Who could forget "The Son?" Or even the pilot? Adrianne Palicki grew her character out of a stereotype into one of the strongest female characters on the show, next to Tami Taylor of course.

And then there's Michael B. Jordan...he and his crew had to come in season four and be the new cast as the kids we'd grown to love moved on. They weren't "pale imitations...but worthy replacements," as Alan Sepinwall so eloquently wrote. They were new characters with new story lines...not better, just new. It's really hard to change a cast and keep the story lines good and the audience interested. The FNL writers are just that good, probably because one of their fearless leaders is Jason Katims, the creator of Roswell.

Friday Night Lights is inspiring and heartwarming, as seen in the episode "Mud Bowl" or heartbreaking, leaving you crying and feeling lost as a viewer, like in the "Pilot". The writers have done such a great job making this show about much more than football or your run of the mill teen drama. FNL is about family, town, team, culture, love, commitment and so on, powerful themes that make for fantastic story lines. This show's writing has been so consistently strong, with a few holes, but there are some episodes that no matter how many times I see them, it's like the first time.

I just can't say goodbye to this show. I imagine I'll be doing a lot of crying during that final episode, especially when the theme starts. I look forward to seeing the actors move on to new projects but they will always be residents of Dillion in my heart.