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1st season – 90% – There are TV series where I hope for quality and there are those where I already pretty much know from the genre that it has to be good. And I have never been so convinced about any teen show as I am about Friday Night Lights. A combination of romance and sports, consistently topping the charts in genre rankings? I was defenseless against it. Especially since my all-time favorite series is One Tree Hill, which is thematically similar though set long after the teenage years. Many themes or characters seem like they could have come straight from it's little basketball brother, but the Friday Night Lights world shines differently. Much more civil and gentle (with storylines that very rarely cross over into soap opera territory), yet still in a slightly more family-oriented spirit. People talking about divorce or infidelity have a tough time in this community, because they pray before the game, during it, and after it, and even occasionally at a party when they're talking about the next game. That doesn't bother me since the story is set in Texas; I can believe that it's giving me an authentic experience. The games are a feast for the eyes, and the omnipresent handheld camera is especially well suited to them. As they decrease in number, even the least important match makes me tremble, even if these tense moments occasionally borrow from highly clichéd sports movie tropes. But with the wind of emotion at my back, I am willing to forgive even that. And because I enjoy the storylines about football, school, and relationships, I quickly settled in this town. I'm not giving it the highest rating just because some specific storylines and characters (Smash) entertain me less than the main ones like Tim or Lyla. But most importantly, I have become attached to the coaching family. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton stole the series right from the first episode and prove why the phrase "Coach Taylor" is a pop culture term in the U.S. 2nd season – 70% – A bit of the wild, which might have flown in from another channel. I understand why the creators decided to spice up their sleepy town with new themes. After all, second seasons are perfect for that, since we've gotten to know all the characters in the first one, in the second one their personalities are explored and the plotlines move to the far limit of tolerance until sometime in the third or fourth season, when everything starts going back to its roots. Friday Night Lights follows this structure perfectly. Almost every teenager experiences a moment that doesn't quite fit into their character development. Julie is chasing happiness, Tim is balancing on the edge of danger and crime, and Matt becomes a Casanova, and that's just scratching the surface of the most widespread character about-faces. Lyla, Tyra, and Landry simply draw the shortest screenwriting straw, and even though they all handle it with aplomb, it's an unnecessary collection of clichés that becomes even more unnecessary because they get lost due to the writer's strike at the time. But through some incomprehensible mystery, I still want to live and grow up in this town, even though I can't understand the reasoning, either by the main characters or by myself. 3rd season – 80% – A return to the basics, where all the favorite story patterns are confirmed, the familiar schemes are switched out, and some constants leave. These moments are like a total emotional waterfall, no matter what kind of relationship the viewer has with the character. The moments when main characters step down caught me a bit off guard, but thanks to the endless charisma of the most important figure, I will gladly witness everything that awaits Dillon. Despite stretching the themes to the limits of credibility, I still feel at home here. During the bittersweet ending, when every emotion is reflected on the faces of the main characters in the archetypal way, I understood why this sports saga is turned to again and again in the U.S., even though the transparency of the individual motivations can sometimes be a bit too much for me. 4th season – 80% – The riskiest move a high school series can make. Partial restart with new characters, complemented by familiar faces, without a clear creative direction for them. The magical newcomer, Becky, immediately steals all the scenes, while Jess or Luke are surprisingly empty and unnecessary even in the most important moments. However, the whole season is primarily a somber story of three sad men, namely Eric, Tim, and Matt. They all feel that they have passed their prime and they are now just waiting to see what fate brings them and which way it will shake them. The way they rise from the greatest catastrophes or slaps in Texas plains never ceases to fascinate me. 5th season – 80% – It is almost unbelievable that such a popular and objectively excellent series could not avoid the hated creative move in almost every season where an interesting character from the previous season suddenly disappears, in many cases never to be mentioned again. Whether it was Waverly, Noelle, Santiago, or mostly J.D. McCoy, they all had more or less significant impact on the story and then disappeared and never came back. This is to be expected in teen dramas, but to have such a twist in reserve for literally every season is maddening for the viewer. This time, something similar happens even within a single season, when possibly the most important storyline comes to an abrupt end (Epyck) and a heavily promoted new character starts slipping into the background shots a mere few episodes before the final episode (Hastings). And yet the current storylines work perfectly. Michael B. Jordan stands out with his phenomenal performance, although his character Vince sometimes lacks appeal, he overshadows everything with his civility and believability. Luke is the complete opposite. The scripts repeatedly put him in the position of the nice, good guy, but I can't stand any of his decisions, and combined with Matt Lauria's stubborn or expressionless face, he is easily my least favorite main character. Despite that, I will always have a weakness for the Texas swan song. The returns of all the familiar faces, whether they last for a few episodes or just a few minutes, break my heart and prove how well-written the characters were. And with my weakness for bittersweet endings, I can't help but dramatically wave my hand with the winged phrase "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!" on my lips. (15.09.2022) (vähemmän) (lisää)