a football award and going to extreme measures to take care of his family, and Luke ending his friendship with J.D. after the events of the previous episode. Becky kisses Tim, but he rebuffs her advances. Luke and Becky also have a one-night-stand after a chance encounter at a convenience store. Reception "The Son" has received unanimous praise from critics. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a perfect 10, stating "this episode was Friday Night Lights reminding us that yes indeed, this is still one of the best shows on television – one that can pack a punch like few others can." Alan Sepinwall of HitFix.com stated the episode "was probably the season's best balance between moving lots of stories forward while still providing the show's trademark emotional wallop." NY Magazine called the episode a "small masterpiece." Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly said the episode "had moments of the usual terrific FNL boisterousness, but for the most part was a solemn affair with beautifully crafted details." While critics praised the episode as a whole, most of the praise went to Zach Gilford's performance in the episode, with NY Magazine stating that it "would be downright disrespectful" to talk about anything other than his performance. Awards and nominations Soon after the episode aired on NBC, Popeater.com launched a Facebook campaign to get Gilford nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance, with over 8,000 people joining and other media outlets picking up on the campaign before nominations were announced. While Gilford did not receive a nomination, the episode was nominated in the Writing for a Drama Series category, the first time the show was nominated in the category. Time awarded the episode #1 in its ranking of the ten best television episodes of the year. In The Futon Critic's annual "Top 50 Episodes of the Year," "The Son" was named the #3 episode of 2009. On BuddyTV.com's own Top 50 list, the episode came in at #2. The episode was also nominated in the Drama Episode of the Year category for the 2009-2010 Gold Derby TV Awards. References External links "The Son" at NBC.com Friday Night Lights (TV series) 2009 American television episodes Television episodes about funerals