Friday Night Lights Review: "Kingdom"

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Julie Taylor got SLAPPED. Okay now that we got that out of the way, let's talk some football. In "Kingdom" the Lions set off on a road trip to face the team they famously forfeited to last season. Coach warned them not to play revenge football, but how far can Kingdom push them before they snap?

From the second the bus broke through the "Revenge" banner at the East Dillon send off, Coach Taylor's no revenge speech seemed to falter a bit. Then when the team pulled up to the hotel and it said "Loins" instead of Lions, well we knew it was on.

Vince on FNL

However, it wasn't until they'd played one half of the game and kept getting screwed by the refs, that the Lions took matters into their own hands. This was only when Coach gave the go ahead to play by their own rules. After all, as Vince pointed out, they're not the same team they were last year.

This season's Lions are stronger, they're better, they're more of a unit, and most importantly they respect themselves more. Granted they don't respect their bodies enough not to get disgusting wire brands to showcase their new "bond" after winning the game, but I loved that scene anyway.

Not to reference the Panthers (c'mon I loved them for three seasons so it's hard not to) but they had a lot of bonding moments and a lot of time to showcase what brought them together. This is something the Lions had been lacking until now. Two of my favorite scenes in all of Season 5 took place in "Kingdom" when it showed the guys getting closer.

Besides the twisted drunken bonfire scene, I felt the scene where all of the boys were talking on their porches the night before the game was one of the best to date. The best part about the whole thing was watching Coach's face as he sat hidden, listening to the boys converse. It was a happy and satisfying moment.

It's good to have an episode that shows strength and unity for a change rather than conflict. However, this isn't going to last long now that Vince drunkenly spilled the beans to Luke that TMU wants him as well. In addition, Coach may have had a talk with Vince and his father about recruitment, but I'm not too sure I trust his father yet.

Things we learned this episode? Tami misses her baby girl more than she lets on, Triple A is for ladies, Billy pulls his pants all the way to the ground when he pees, hotel candy and porn are not free, never brand yourself to show your bond with your teammates, lipstick isn't Buddy Jr's best look, and most importantly as Coach notes at the end of the episode, the East Dillon Lions are definitely on their way.

Oh yeah and that small matter that Julie Taylor taught us before running home to mommy: DON'T sleep with your married TA. Better yet, ladies, don't sleep with any married men.

Kingdom Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 (20 Votes)
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Friday Night Lights Season 5 Episode 5 Quotes

Coach we're not calling Triple A, Triple A is for women.

Billy

I wanna go to the playoffs this year, you wanna come with me?

Coach Taylor