Jesse Plemons Shares His Thoughts on Landry’s Murder Plotline in Friday Night Lights
Jesse Plemons Discusses Controversial ‘Friday Night Lights’ Storyline
In a recent interview, Jesse Plemons expressed his surprise over a particular storyline in Friday Night Lights, where his character, Landry Clarke, commits murder. The series, known for its intense drama, took a dark turn in its second season with this shocking plot twist.
In the scene, Landry intervenes to protect Tyra Collette, played by Adrianne Palicki, from a stalker at a gas station. In a moment of panic, Landry strikes the assailant with a pipe, resulting in the man’s death before they dispose of his body in a river.
Speaking on Entertainment Weekly’s The Awardist podcast, Plemons recalled his initial reaction to the script, stating he was “pretty shocked.” He added, “They didn’t tell me that something bad was gonna happen or I was going to be killed off or something, so I wasn’t worried about that. But it was kind of a double-edged sword because, on the one hand, I was as shocked as everyone to read that script where the comedic relief kills for love in high school.”
Plemons highlighted the show’s commitment to realism, raising concerns about balancing an extreme storyline with the series’ established tone. “How am I going to not sink the show with this and try and keep it as real as everything else?” he pondered.
During the production, the team experimented with various methods for the murder scene, ultimately settling on the pipe as the weapon of choice. Plemons recalled, “I did end up killing him multiple times with bottles and then we reshot it with a pipe or something. It’s a weird, weird, weird thing we do.”
By Season 3, both Landry and Tyra were cleared of the crime, and the plotline was effectively put to rest. Plemons, who appeared in all five seasons of the show from 2006 to 2011, can currently be seen in the awards contender Bugonia.
