On the Outside Looking In (Friday Night Lights)

In its original American broadcast on NBC, "On the Outside Looking In" was seen by an estimated 3.38 million household viewers with a 0.9/3 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 0.9 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 3 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast watched it.^[3] This was a 6% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by an estimated 3.57 million household viewers with a 0.9/3 in the 18–49 demographics.^[4]

"On the Outside Looking In" received critical acclaim. Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8 out of 10 and wrote, "This very solid episode took another look at the specific side of the football culture that includes the rally girl – a topic early on in the series that had been ignored for awhile."^[5]

Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade and wrote, "I now realize that I overrated last week's episode. Not that it was a bad episode. It wasn't. It was probably even a necessary episode, bringing everyone up to speed on where everyone is and what they've been up to since last we saw them. But, man, this week's episode made me realize I'd forgotten just how great this show could be."^[6]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "With last year's shift to East Dillon, FNL has become an outsider's story, and that's rarely been more overt than in an episode like this, with one story after another about characters who embody the title “On the Outside Looking In.”"^[7] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "For anyone who thinks there’s not enough football in Friday Night Lights, this week's episode, titled 'On The Outside Looking In,' had enough for a full season, as far as I was concerned. That's because I'm one of those FNL fans who has no interest in football, so I usually just appreciate the quick cutting during the games and the helpful sportscaster-voiceovers telling me who's winning and losing."^[8]

Andy Greenwald of Vulture wrote, "Sometimes it's about putting your head down and pushing the plot forward. Thus week two of this young season was a low-scoring, low-key contest. The offense spread the ball around to a lot of different characters without too much forward progress. But there's plenty of time left on the clock."^[9] Alison Winn Scotch of Paste wrote, "There are many incredible things about Friday Night Lights. You'll no doubt read all about them throughout my recaps this season. But what struck me while watching this episode is that the writers have pulled off the unthinkable: unlike nearly any other TV series set during high school, the show has seamlessly transitioned the cast while making me care just as much about this second string as I did the first. In fact, with my tear count ratcheting up even higher than last episode, I'd say that I'm almost as invested in the lives of Vince and Luke as I was in the lives of Riggins and Saracen. And that's saying a lot. A lot."^[10]

Todd Martens of Los Angeles Times wrote, "There are plenty of standard TV issues handled in Friday Night Lights. You've got your mother-daughter fights, your teenage pregnancy and, of course, your mysterious bad girl who smokes cigarettes in the bathroom. Yet the series, set in the fictional town of Dillon, Texas, largely has skirted clichés."^[11] Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 star out of 5 rating and wrote, "Does their budding, yet forbidden relationship remind anyone else of "the Swede" from season two? Well don't get too down in the dumps over the rankings and suspension, because Coach Taylor and I both have just one word for you. State."^[12] Television Without Pity gave the episode an "A–" grade.^[13]

• "On the Outside Looking In" at IMDb