It has been a tough weekend for me and I should be better off getting some rest (69 hours of work in the past four days) but “Friday Night Lights” Season 5 Episode 3 was just too good that it motivated me to write this journal entry. Oh, not just write but also to research. (Scrap that. Searching episode names in IMDB and copy-pasting is not “research.”) I am straining my eyes again, but what the heck – let Future Jeff worry about that.
“Friday Night Lights” S05E03 was so remarkable (more on that later as I do not want to spoil my readers) that I think it was one of the best TV episodes this year. It had great drama and a good ongoing theme. It was probably the best episode of this TV series in 2010. It was so appealing that “#fridaynightlights” became a trending Twitter topic on the week of its release. It made me ponder on which TV series episodes shown this year are the best. We might have a weaker TV season for most shows but I am definitely sure that this year produced several outstanding episodes.
What is my criteria for the best? These episodes should make you rave about the show, stand up and clap as the credits roll. These episodes should make you cry with joy and say “Wow! That was legen – wait for it – dary!” OK, I am exaggerating but you get my point.
Although, these episodes are truly legendary
To be consistent in avoiding early spoilers, I am listing the more popular shows like “Lost” at the beginning. Also, I put a cap of two episodes per TV show to avoid filling this list with “Mad Men” episodes.
Lost Season 6, Episode 8: Ab Aeterno
Summary from IMDB: The mysteries behind Richard Alpert's arrival to the island, his immortality, and his alliance with Jacob are revealed--plus more details about the purpose of the island and the relationship between Jacob and the smoke monster.
Several Losties love theorizing on how things came to be on the mysterious island. Why was there a ship in the middle of the island? Why is there a polar bear? Why is Richard Alpert always wearing eyeliner? “Ab Aeterno” was the episode that provided sensible answers to the mysteries most specifically on Richard Alpert. There was little background on this pivotal character as his point of view was not shown in previous episodes. “Ab Aeterno” was successful in providing a convincing storyline about Richard. It was an escape from the ongoing drama as it purely focused on Richard, Jacob and the Smoke Monster. It was well-done that it felt like a mini-movie with an introduction and an end. The best thing for me about this episode would have to be Jacob’s biblical-like line for Richard.
Jacob: Look at this wine as what you keep calling ‘hell.’ There’s many names for it: malevolence, evil, darkness. And here it is swirling around the bottle and I won’t take it out because if it did, it would spread. Cork is this island and it is the only thing that’s keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man (Man In Black) who sent you to kill me believes that every man is corruptible because it is in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn’t matter
Richard: Before me, were there others?
Jacob: Yes
Richard: What happened to them?
Jacob: They’re all dead.
Richard: Why would you let it happen?
Jacob: Because I want them to help themselves – to know the difference between right and wrong without me having to tell them. It’s all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything.
Lost Season 6, Episode 16: The End
IMDB Summary: Locke searches for Desmond to achieve his goal of destroying the island. Jack, the newly-appointed "protector" of the island, sets out to stop him. In Los Angeles, the survivors slowly reunite and recall their island experiences.
It was a very good send-off for the greatest TV series of all-time (unless “Mad Men” surpasses it in the next years). “Lost” closed its final chapter with a philosophical spin on purgatory and heaven. Several may have been disappointed because a lot of the mysteries were not revealed, but it did not matter to me because a lot of the mysteries in this world also remain unsolved.
This finale had me writing a six-pager so if you want to get into the deeper details, click this
Grey’s Anatomy Season 6, Episode 23: Sanctuary
IMDB Summary: Seattle Grace Hospital is hit with a crisis like no other in its history.
The summary in IMDB is starting to get lamer and useless.
“Grey’s Anatomy” Season 6 was a lackluster season but I almost forgot about how mediocre it was because of this shocking first part of the season finale. The husband of a dead patient went to seek for revenge by killing doctors and other people in Seattle Grace Hospital. Most people did not see it coming so “Grey’s Anatomy” fans like me got shocked when the gunman unexpectedly shot Dr. Reed in the head. What ensued was forty hours of traumatizing drama as the characters (which we have grown to like) were put in peril. I even went out and tweeted that it was the most horrifying and most traumatizing TV episode I have ever seen. Normally, I overreact on such situations but in this case, I still believe that this is the most horrifying episode ever.
Mad Men Season 4, Episode 7: The Suitcase
IMDB Summary: Don deliberately delays returning an important call from California, because he knows it's bad news about Anna. Instead, he keeps himself occupied by forcing Peggy to miss her birthday dinner to pull an all-nighter with him for a client.
Easily the best episode this year. I once hesitated in declaring it the greatest “Mad Men” episode, but I think it is the best the show has ever produced as well. I was catching up on “Mad Men” for most of the year but this was the very first episode that I watched on time. (“On time” in the Philippines means watching the episode one to three days after its showing in US.) I literally clapped after watching this episode because of how great the acting was. The episode was just about two of the major characters but Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) carried the show like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart carried one hour of the Iron Man match in Wrestlemania XII. Don and Peggy’s heated exchanges about career, recognition and overwork belong to the best and most genuine verbal clashes I have ever watched. The episode was also monumental for revealing Muhammad Ali’s relevance in history.
For the record, I have watched this episode for more than five times already. And, I am not getting tired every time I re-watch it.
Mad Men Season 4, Episode 9: The Beautiful Girls
IMDB Summary: Sally makes an unwelcome surprise visit to the office to see Don. Peggy tries to stop an acquaintance from publishing an article that could get her in hot water. Roger Sterling tries to reconnect with Joan.
It was tough to choose the second best “Mad Men” episode as we have a lot of other outstanding ones this year: “The Crysanthemum and the Sword,” “Waldorf Stories,” “The Summer Man,” and “Hands and Knees.” Actually, you can talk me into choosing the season finale (Tomorrowland) even if Don made a stupid decision. Little by little, I am starting to understand how better a plotline it was for Don to choose Megan. But before Don creates an advertisement about “Should I be who you want me to be?” I will discuss “The Beautiful Girls.”
This episode showcased another breakout actor. This time, it was a child actress – Kiernan Shipka, who plays Sally Draper. It was heartwarming and disheartening to watch Sally Draper as she was a charming daughter seeking for her father’s approval and she was a desperate daughter hoping to escape the wickedness of her mother. Nevertheless, it was a warm treat to see Don and Sally having a good family time – an underrated theme in shows and movies because it is not controversial enough. This episode also featured the untimely, unexpected and funny death of Ms. Blankenship. “Mad Men” seems to have a good grasp of dark humor.
Friday Night Lights Season 5, Episode 3: The Right Hand of the Father
IMDB Summary: No Summary.
Wikipedia Description: Someone from Vince's past resurfaces. Julie connects with a faculty member. Eric tries to instill discipline in the team. Buddy is troubled after learning something about his son.
Why is it that they always use “connect” as another term for sex?
Here we are at the most significant part of my writeup. “Friday Night Lights” S05E03 might have weak sub-plots like Julie “connecting” with a faculty member but the episode still elicited applause from me because of the ongoing theme all throughout the episode and the drama behind Vince Howard and his father. For a theme-based episode, it may not be as well-written like “Mad Men” but it was still one of my favorites.
Obviously, the theme was about character. The episode began with the faculty discussion on a Youtube video of an intoxicated rally girl. It was disturbing that East Dillon’s principal wanted to have some had to reprimand his players. He made a speech about how his football players should maintain a high moral standard. After all, they are public figures who serve as role models. He enforced the players to wear formal attire before games and to do outreach. It promoted decency and prudence to them. But like most youngsters, the football players misunderstood it for being something that they are forced to do. Why wear coat and tie on a hot, sunny day? It showed an underrated moment: the teenage rebellion on being conformist. They hate following rules. But just like young students, they still have to learn a lot about prudence.
The message about character was further emphasized in the talk about responsibility to the group of females in the rally girl party. Tami Taylor went out and demanded for respect from the uninterested students as they were busy texting and gossiping while a teacher was talking in front of them.
The Buddy Garrity storyline was also very good. It is amazing how “Friday Night Lights” transformed Buddy from being an unlikeable character in Season 1 to a very likeable character in the next seasons. Buddy received a call from his wife (who lives 1,500 miles away) who demands him to talk to his son as she suspects that he is doing drugs. Buddy was initially frustrated because after all the years that he was ignored, his ex-wife suddenly needs him because of something she could not handle. It came off that she just talks to him when she needs him (in short, she’s a user). I feel for Buddy, but I fully agreed to Coach Taylor when he said that Buddy should stop thinking about him and his ex-wife and just focus on his son. Coach said the convincing point which was, ‘it is an opportunity’ for Buddy to be close to his son. By the end of the episode, Buddy did the right thing by deciding to take care of his son.
Now that I have discussed the sub-plots, let us go to the main plot: the Vince Howard story. Vince’s dad just got paroled after years in prison. His absence damaged his relationship with his son. Obviously, Vince’s dad was not a good role model as well. This explained why Vince was a thug. His family was a mess so he had nothing to do but follow his father’s tracks. Of course, he improved a lot ever since he joined Coach Taylor’s football team. He transformed into a responsible leader who is main source of morale support for the East Dillon Lions. But just like most character transformations, there are some past characteristics that show up every once in a while. Vince was one of those who hated following rules. Because of this, Coach Taylor asked him and this led to the following exchange:
Vince: These rules… these are stupid. Shirts. Tie. Whatever high standards you’re looking for, this ain’t it!
Coach: Close that door… Close that door.
Coach: When I first met you, you were coming out of a police car. People said you were a punk – you’ll never last in a field. Do you know that they still believe that?
Vince: Screw them! I work hard for everything I got…
Coach: I know you do. And you have to be damn proud about that. I am. I am proud of you. Your teammates are proud of you. It’s about character. It’s about striving to be better than everybody else.
Vince: Coach, my dad just came out of prison. He’s staying with me in my house and I can’t stand him. My mom – she asked me to forgive him… to be better. And you’re asking me to be better. I don’t know how to be better because he never taught me how!!! HE NEVER TAUGHT ME HOW TO BE BETTER! Because he’s not around! I’m supposed to be better! I’m supposed to be better!
Coach: Listen to me. I said, 'you need to strive to be better than everyone else.' I didn't say you needed to be better than everyone else. But you got to try. That's what character is. It's in the trying.
Damn, that was awesome! “Friday Night Lights” hits the right spot again with regard to sports moral lessons. Actually, they took it to another level because this is one of the underrated life lessons that people forget these days. With the fast changing of times, values are lost or are set aside. The importance of character is forgotten. The shirts and the ties might seem impractical, but it teaches the football players the value of prudence – to be responsible on how they appear and dress in front of people. It makes people respect you more. It is a subtle outcry to the drunk rally girl who dresses inappropriately. You wear the formal attire not to feel comfortable but to look presentable and
respected.
(Segue: I am adding some insights on character based on my observation from the characters in this episode)
The bigger message was about the ‘striving’ part in character. Coach Taylor hits the right note on this one. Character is not only about being better. It is about putting things into action to be better. Character is not only limited to the people in the higher class of our society. Even the unprivileged ones are entitled to have character. Yes, even ex-convicts like Vince’s dad. I don’t know if ‘better’ is the right term but the point is, you strive to do what is right. More importantly, you strive to do more and better than what is supposed to be. That is character. Disregard the past. Just do the right thing as of the moment. That is character. It is not about thinking how bad this person has done to you. It is about moving on and doing what is supposed to be morally right. It takes character to set aside the biases on a person (just like what Coach Taylor did when he accepted Vince despite his lawbreaking ways in the past). It is so normal for people to count how many times a person does bad things. Of course, there is an emotional aspect in it. However, it takes character to shut all your emotions, move on, and do the right thing. This is why we have Buddy Garrity setting aside his hatred and pride in the end. He chose the right thing which is to take full responsibility of his son. Because of character, Tami Taylor went out to help the wild rally girl. Tami did not look at her as a lost cause. Instead, it was an opportunity. Because of character, Coach Taylor provided Buddy with the sound advice. Because of character, Vince – amidst his frustrations – focused on the game and won it for the Lions. Because of character, they did the appropriate things, and they even did more than what was expected.
It takes character to see an opportunity when there seems to be a lost cause. Because in character, your mentality is fixing, not blaming. This is why we had Buddy, Eric, Tami and Vince striving to fix things at the end of the episode. Why? Because they are striving to be better than everybody else.
Yup, I literally applauded after I watched this episode.
These are the episodes where the writers strived to be better than everybody else.
Magis.
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