"The Right Hand of the Father" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American sports drama television series Friday Night Lights, inspired by the 1990 nonfiction book by H. G. Bissinger.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 2.99 million household viewers and gained a 0.7/2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
Vince (Michael B. Jordan) is told by his mother that his father, Ornette (Cress Williams), is being released from prison on parole but he refuses to see him.
Eric (Kyle Chandler) promises the principal that he will take action and grounds the players by forcing them to perform community service across town.
Vince returns home to find Ornette, who attended the game anyway, packing his stuff and apologizing for missing the past years.
"[5] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "The Vince stuff was good enough on its own to make “The Right Hand of the Father” the strongest episode of this young season, but I'm still waiting for the show to knock me out for a whole hour the way I know it can.
And I don't know about you, but I thought the hour peaked early, with the unexpected verbiage of sweet little Gracie Belle, who burbled, “Think about it, Daddy!”"[7] Andy Greenwald of Vulture wrote, "Friday Night Lights is good — no, excellent — at a number of things.
"[8] Todd Martens of Los Angeles Times wrote, "After two solid episodes laying the groundwork for the drama to unfold over the course of the next few months, the series was ready to get its hands dirty.
No more setting up was needed, and the show’s trademark intimate camera angles were ready to pop in and out of all the various action happening in and around Dillon, paying no heed to hitting every detail.
"[9] Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3 star out of 5 rating and wrote, "Despite the Lions' victories, I still felt a bit blue after watching.