Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights: Saracen unplugged

I like Matt Saracen because he seems like a real person.

He struggles with things that I would like to struggle with—like football and home life and whether Julie Taylor and I should be more than friends (yes, we should).  He acts the way I would act in certain situations, all self-aware and awkward.  And he can always be counted on to be the second wheel, the punching bag, and everyone’s favorite fallback.

For a year-and-a-half, that is exactly what he has been.  His humanity is tragic in its own bashful way.  Sure, some things go his way, like the coach’s daughter falling for him and Jason Street breaking his back, but for the most part, he’s pretty down on his luck.

Or at least he was.

In the latest episode of Friday Night Lights, Saracen was downright unrecognizable.  He told off two of the three members of the Taylor family in less than 15 minutes.  He refused to let in to Smash’s preening, even though it meant going to the bench.  And he showed off a newfound confidence that no one knew he had.   

Considering his current situation, his moment of boldness was due.  He currently rooms with a crazy old lady who likes talking about the birds and the bees.  He must deal with sexual tension from a live-in nurse with an accent no less.  His role on the team has been decreased thanks to Smash’s running, and he looks like a sixth grader in his pads.  His best friend killed a guy, his dad is in Iraq, and he got dumped for a foreigner.  I would want to tell a few people off, too.  Meanwhile, in storylines I care significantly less about:

• Quite possibly the worst Mexico trip ever finally came to an end when Lyla and Tim succeeded in getting Street to give up on paralysis cure by shark.  Actually, they didn’t so much convince him as make him want to throw himself off a boat.  Either way, Street’s still paralyzed, which I guess was the goal.

• Fortunately, their trip did not end there.  On their way home, they decided to stop for a drink, and born-again Lyla locked lips with Street and Riggins in the span of 30 seconds.  Then she excused herself to pray, which is the exact same line some girl gave me in high school.

• If drawing a pass interference is what it takes to be popular, then I was going about high school athletics all wrong.  Landry got a hero’s welcome after making the play that led to the play that won the game.  His success was short-lived, though, when Tyra broke up with him, citing his loserness while secretly citing his dad’s over-parenting.  Poor Landry.  I can’t imagine a worse feeling.  Except maybe the time he killed a guy.

• The Taylors get it on, which is about all I want to say about that.

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