For those not in the know, "Friday Night Lights," a fantastic but low-rated drama on NBC, has drawn scorn from its fans this season for a storyline in which two of the main characters Tyra (Adrianne Palicki) and Landry (Jesse Plemmons) killed a man in self-defense and disposed of his body. The soap opera-style plot twist, dubbed "The Incident" by fans and bloggers, admittedly didn't fit in with the show's earthy, realistic tone. However, I felt that the vehement hatred it inspired in fans was a bit of an overreaction. Yes, the storyline was a bit over-the-top, but it never ruined the show for me, due mainly to the terrific acting by Palicki and Plemmons. Still, I was happy to see the story come to something of a resolution last week.
Landry, plagued by guilt, finally confessed to his crime. At first, he seemed bound and determined to take the fall and do time for a crime that was clearly in self-defense. But, at the urging of Tyra and his own loving police officer dad (Glenn Morshower of "24," another cast standout), he tempered his story, and admitted that he was in fear for his life.
There was a somewhat corny mislead after the confession, when an anxious Landry saw the police at his door. Oh no, we thought, he's headed to the slammer. Nope. Turned out, they were just there to tell him that he was free and clear.
Well, let's hope that's the end of it. While I didn't hate the story as much as other fans, I did find it distracting. And, I felt it undercut the character of Landry, seen in the first season mainly as comic relief. I look forward to the return of his wisecracking yet sensible persona.
Unfortunately, the show is on hiatus until next year. And even then, it's only matter of time before "FNL," like so many other shows, runs out of new episodes due to the writers strike.
But I prefer to stay positive, so I'm looking forward to the remaining episodes, which I pray are Incident-free.