Aw, Riggins. You break my heart. You want it all — in that Dillon, Tx kind of way. You want the hero worship that comes with football. You want to not be the guy that's stuck in Dillon. You want the gorgeous girl. And bless your deep waters, you want to grow old sitting next to your brother at his chop shop, even if he literally takes a leak in the sink when the bathroom is occupied.
After the Panthers lost the State Championships, our boy Tim took a few minutes to leave his cleats on the field. It was a hand on the heart moment. These characters are too real. This is all our lives. We come and we go and we break and we heal and we fuck up and we wonder who we are and where we fit and you can put us on Mars or in Dillon, Texas and we still want to do something and leave our cleats on the field and say, I was here and I did this and it changed me.
Want and change were certainly the themes of this episode. Tyra wrote the college essay to slay all college essays with the help of her good knight Lance Landry. Her dreams for her future had the weight and passion that I think is often missing from people who feel trapped and can't imagine their lives anywhere else. Her mom's pep talk last week, allowing that Tyra would and could surprise them and be more than a pretty face, was hopefully ringing in her ears. Her mom isn't much, but she got that right. The last line of her essay: "I can't wait." Go Tyra.
As Landry was helping Tyra organize her thoughts, I (actually Adam) wondered if he would become a teacher and I think it fits. Landry is a very smart and kind kid. Maybe a bit of a pushover, but I'm sure Tyra repays him in sexual favors, since they did hook-up again in this episode. I assume that wouldn't happen with other students.
Also, Landry getting a touchdown was exactly as it should be. Sometimes I think it's a good idea for good things to happen to good people. Go Landry.
What does JD want? The push-pull with his dad and his coach is tearing him up. Saracen got pulled in as QB for the second half of the championship game, because JD couldn't get his head in the game. He's furious at Coach and scared of his father and for his father, since CPS paid the family a visit. Tami was legally obligated to drop a dime on the McCoy parents following Joe's temper tantrum on JD's face. I felt for Tami. I think she wanted the chance to counsel the family and help them through what she hoped was a one time thing. I'm not sure where I stand.
In this case it further pissed off Joe. Alienated JD from Coach and ended Tami's friendship with Katie. And that doesn't help anyone. In other cases, maybe it would be the intervention that a family in crisis needed. It looks like in the next episode Joe goes after the whole Taylor clan. I'm looking forward to seeing how Coach handles that one. Go Coach?
Last episode of the season coming up this week.
Now what am I going to talk about ...
Oh, Lost! How amazing was Evangeline Lily last week? The sobbing at Aaron's bedside did me in. So good.
