I'm doing him by episode because he's had so many that I love.
...And three episodes in, I realize that he's going to have like a hundred and this is going to be a REALLY long post.
Pilot – I’d be remiss to not mention our first introduction to Taylor Kitsch (‘s body). We ride along with the camera to a little and somewhat rundown house that can only be the home of Riggins Running Back #33 because that’s what the sign in the yard tells us. We enter the Riggins household and find him shirtless (be still my heart) lying on the leather loveseat. The coffee table in front of him littered with beer bottles.
Pilot – close-up of Tim Riggins. He raises his head and says, "That's not racism, man, I just don't like him.": "My name is Tim Riggins and I play fullback." "I just like to hurt people." Cut to him taking someone down on the field. The interviewer asking him if he smelled alcohol on his breath and Riggins denying it. And then the “Black Betty” sequence that I am going to cheat on and call it a team thing (or a coach thing) and not a Riggins thing.
Pilot - "Here's to God, and football, and 10 years from now, Street, good friends livin large in Texas. Texas forever. Yo! everybody, listen up. Let's do it! Let's touch God this time boys. Let's touch God."
Eyes Wide Open - Tim is riding in the back of Billy’s pick-up truck. Billy yells back to him that he saw the tackle and he doesn’t think Street is ever going to walk again, let alone play football. Tim listens in silence, cocks his gun, and shoots into the field.
Eyes Wide Open - Tim, in the locker room watching a football tape. He rewinds over and over and we realize that he’s watching that one particular moment on the tape. He’s sitting in the dark, alone, watching the giant screen. At first his face is blank, then his nose twitches, then his mouth. (*sob*)
Eyes Wide Open - At the diner, Tim is looking out the window or at his own totally gorgeous reflection. There’s a group of girls whining and crying about what happened to Jason. Tyra is fed up now and she says to the girls, “Seriously. Stop crying. You don’t even know Jason Street.” Tim just sits there being all brooding and hot. “So how drunk are you anyway?” Tyra snaps at Tim. And you want him to say something. Anything. Because he hasn’t said anything in like forever. He walks over to Smash’s booth all purpose-driven and tells Smash to get up because he’s in Street’s booth. Smash suggests to Tim that he “go home and sleep it off, man”. Ouch. Matt (at the counter) and Tyra (in their booth) cringe. He doesn’t appear drunk to you though, ftr. Just really hot and brooding. (maybe Taylor Kitsch’s acting isn’t evolved enough yet or maybe Tim Riggins just broods more darkly when he’s drunk) Tim says nothing but you’re tense because you know he’s going to say something or haul off and hit him. Instead though, he says, “You’re right.” Stunned silence from Smash (and you). Riggins tells them to enjoy the rest of their evening and turns to walk back to his booth. And you can’t tell for sure but you think Tim really is going to let it go. Until Smash says, “Hey, smile, Riggs. God don’t like ugly.” You scoff at this because Taylor Kitsch and ugly don’t really mesh in your brain but before you have a chance to really think about it, Tim hurls a glass that whips right above Smash’s head and shatters and startles the shit out of everybody. Tyra jumps up and goes to Tim while Smash’s gathering holds him back. Tim walks out.
Wind Sprints - Tim's on top a hill drinking beer and then hitting the empty cans over the hill with a golf club. (gorgeous) Tyra parks her pick-up next to his. Tyra asks him if he thinks she’s going away. He responds to her in a hurtful way, “you don’t seem to want to get the message.” She looks like a hurt girlfriend for a split second before she screams at him that he thinks he’s such a tough guy but he can’t even go see Jason in the hospital. He says nothing as he lifts the beer can to his mouth. She starts back to her truck. He asks, “How’s Smash?” She starts to go into the defensive girlfriend mode and tell him they didn’t really do anything then she remembers she’s a badass and says he’s slept with half the rally girls. Tim tells her, “We sure do have something special”. Hurtful. He just likes to hurt people. Instead of backing down though, Tyra lashes out some more. Trying to hurt him back, she tells him he’s “just another mediocre football player who’s going to grow up to drink himself to death”. Then she tells him if she gets in her truck she’s never coming back. Tim dismisses her with, “I get it, Tyra”. Now she has the look of a hurt girlfriend and observes that they’re really breaking up and “that’s all you say? That’s great.” Tim goes back to hitting beer cans over the hill with the golf club.
Wind Sprints - The boys are getting back on the bus after exhausting wind sprints in the rain late at night. Coach stops Tim and tells him that what happened to Jason wasn’t his fault. Tim says, “I didn’t even try…” and Coach says, “It is not your fault. I want you to let yourself off the hook.” Tim says, “yes sir” obediently and starts to get on the bus. Coach grabs his shirt and says he owes him a practice. Tim affirms and starts to get on the bus again. Coach tells him he can walk home and they’ll “call it even”. Coach gets on the bus and they pull away. Poor, tired, wet, smoking hot Tim starts walking in the rain to Pearl Jam.
Who’s Your Daddy? - Tim is sitting in what appears to be a girl’s bedroom. Lyla walks into her room and stops dead in her tracks when she sees him. He gets up and starts to approach her as she’s asking,. "What are you doing here? My father is right downstairs." Tim closes in on her and says, "Lyla... I can't. Lyla... I can't." He looks like he's about to cry as he reaches out and takes the laundry basket from her hands and kisses her. Who’s your daddy, indeed.
Git ‘Er Done - Eating breakfast at the kitchen counter, Riggins hears the knock on the door. "Yeah?" then smiles as Lyla enters. He pulls out a stool and she cheerily hops on it. He feeds her a forkful of waffles. She asks if Billy’s home. He says “no”. They smile at each other and kiss.
El Accidente - Tim pauses at Jason’s door; and quietly says, "Six." When Jason tells him it took him long enough to get there, Tim apologizes telling him that his truck isn't running and that he had to hitch a ride. Jason is irritated and tells him he should know why he asked him to come. Nervous Tim asks, "I do?" Jason answers, "six weeks, man. Six weeks." He tells Tim that his big event each day is going to “the commode. I gotta go the same time every day 'cause I gotta teach my body to crap on command." He tells Tim that Lyla is driving him crazy. He tells Tim that he is dealing with all this all alone. "I need you here, Tim. You are my best friend. I expect you here. I expect you here."
El Accidente – Tim, Lyla and Jason at the lake. Tim says, "The three of us... we'll rise up.. together… get through anything... anything at all."
Homecoming – Panther Homecoming, the boys all walk out onto the field behind Timmy who is pushing Jason in his wheelchair out onto the field. Tim gives them the go ahead sign and they all run and cheer themselves out to the field. Then the team surrounds Jason and they yell “Clear eyes! Full hearts! Can’t lose!” Tim has a great game and Coach gives him the game ball. Tim gives a speech about how he never really believed in the one team one heart stuff that Coach always talks about but now he does and he knows where they get their heart… from Jason. He hands Jason the ball and says, “I love you like a brother, Six. Like a brother.”
Crossing the Line – Tim and Billy at the grocery store. They’re arguing over how things cost money and Billy buying peas. (Tim about the peas: “You’re kidding me, right?”) They get to the checkout counter and Billy is removing items to bring the total down. Tim puts a magazine on the conveyor. Billy yells at him that they don’t have the money. Tyra shows up and offers to pay for it. Next thing we see is Timmy and Tyra getting it on in the meat locker (or something).
Crossing the Line - After a fight with Billy, Tim shoves him and says, "You're not my father. I'd be better off alone," as he walks out the door.
Crossing the Line - Tim goes to watch Jason play in his frighteningly violent wheelchair game (with Lyla). When it’s over, he goes over to him to congratulate him. He kneels in front of Jason’s wheelchair and Jason punches him in the face (eep). When Tim gets home, Billy sees his eye. When Tim tells him what happened, Billy hands him the bag of peas for his eye and gives him half of his sandwich.
Full Hearts – Tim pulls into his driveway and sees some of the team waiting for him. He knows they’re mad at him for sleeping with Jason’s girlfriend. He kind of nods like he knows what’s coming and they smash his truck with baseball bats. Later, as he’s cleaning out his truck, Tyra stomps over to him and slaps him across the face. “Anybody but her.”
Full Hearts - Tim gets hurt during a game. A bit later, Coach asks him if he has one more in him. He says he does. The team is impressed with him for toughing it out and all is forgiven (as it should be because hello? It’s not really their business who he sleeps with).
It’s Different For Girls – Lyla is sitting in the cafeteria trying to ignore two boys who are harassing her. Tim Riggins comes over and chases them away. Lyla asks Tim why he’s “sitting with the school slut". She explains to him that it’s different for girls and he can’t sit with her because he’s making it worse. Tyra asks Tim in the hallway what he was doing with Lyla in the cafeteria and tells him he’s making it worse for her. Tim tells her to stay out of it. She searches his eyes and is like, “You’re in love with her.” Just then, Tim’s face tells us that he just realized that too.
Nevermind – When Tami asks him if he knows what
The Scarlet Letter is about and he tells her it’s, “about a gal named Scarlet… obviously.” So Landry is assigned to tutor Tim. They are supposed to be reading
Of Mice and Men. Tim says he hasn't read the book yet and walks away with Landry calling after him, "What do you want me to do, read the book to you myself?" Cut to Landry, reading to Tim while he lifts weights. Landry asks him to repeat what he just read and Tim says “something about a river”. Landry asks “and what does that river look like?” Tim continues lifting, "It's real pretty, Landry." Landry chuckles and continues reading to him. One of the assistant coaches asks Coach Taylor what Riggins is doing. "Studying," he answers. Later, Landry and Tim are sitting on the bleachers at the football stadium finishing the book. Landry asks him what he supposes is “eating them two guys”…Tim thinks for a minute and says that the guy shot his best friend and now he’s the kind of man he never wanted to be. Landry is kind of careful at first, trying to keep Tim talking about it but then yells out “Exactly!” and blathers on a bit and asks how this relates to Tim. This shut Tim up. He tells Landry to just do it for him. Landry isn’t giving up though. He wants Tim to reflect. “This.is.a.book… about.two.best.friends… whose dreams… get crushed. There’s not something in that head of yours that you can relate this to?” Then he tosses the book down and leaves Tim sitting there by himself. “The only thing I ask of you is ganas. Desire.” (This is probably more a favorite Landry scene, I suppose.) Tim later goes to see Landry with his band (Crucifictorious) play to tell him he got a B minus and appreciates his help.
What To Do While You’re Waiting – This is really one of my favorite scenes because everything about it is beautiful. The ferris wheel in the background, the anticipation of the town waiting to find out if the Panthers made it to State… it’s just gorgeous, this episode. But. There is WAY not enough Tim in it. So yeah. Tyra has just had a fight with her mom’s boyfriend and then her mom. She’s throwing a big pink bear into a trashcan. Tim walks over and asks her if she’s okay. She says she’s not and tells him about Bob. Tim says with sincerity that he’s sorry. She says that all the women in her family let men treat them like crap. Tim lets out a sigh and says that’s what he wants to talk to her about. He tells her he is sorry for everything he’s put her through, “For that thing with Lyla. I was a complete jerk and I’m sorry.” And asks her for a second chance. She says she’s wanted to hear that from him so many times but she can’t take him back now because that would make her a hypocrite. “I guess time is everything.” (I think I have a youtube video of this somewhere around here.)
Little Girl I Wanna Marry You - Again with the not enough Tim but my favorite Tim moment in this episode was so awww. Tyra asks Tim for a favor. “It’s not going to involve thank you sex, or make up sex, or any kind of sex.” But Tim does it anyway. She wants him to ask Buddy to interview her mom. (The only reason I can think of for her to send Tim is that he’s a big shot football fullback and Buddy is President Booster.) He goes to Buddy’s dealership. Buddy tells him that his timing is terrible and Tim replies, “I get that a lot, sir.” (awwww) He listens to Buddy talk about Henry Saracen and the inappropriateness of Tim asking him for a favor (since he was the one fucking his daughter that led to all the Lyla is a slut stuff). Tim tells him that he knows he’s a big man in Dillon but all Tyra is trying to do is help her mom. (awwww) Buddy agrees to interview her.
Upping the Ante – Tim gets a traffic violation and is told he needs a guardian’s signature to keep his license. So he sets off to Corpus Christi to find his father… at a golf course. They have dinner and go bowling. Tim asks whether it is a good idea or not to stay there tonight. After some hesitation, Daddy Riggins thinks it sounds okay. They’re sitting outside around a fire talking about Jason. The conversation moves to Billy and Daddy says Billy saw some things that he’s not proud of. Tim says, “Dad, I was ten. I wasn’t blind.” Daddy asks if he’ll be in trouble for missing practice and Tim says it’s worth it.
Tim and his dad are teeing off and Daddy gives him six extra strokes. Tim says they should “up the ante”. If he wins, Daddy has to come to the game on Friday. Later, Daddy Riggins is (over) celebrating is win and Tim says “if you didn’t want to come to the game, you could have just said so. It would have been a lot easier.”
Tim drives back home. He walks in the door and tosses the signed paper in front of Billy and grabs a beer.
Blinders – Matt calling a seriously risky play. Tim says, "It's all you, Seven. How are you feeling, Seven?" Matt replies, "I'm feeling good Riggs." Tim exclaims, "Alright!"
Coaching Powderpuff football. Awesome! “This is now about stamina!” “Kick her knees!”
Black Eyes and Broken Hearts – Tim and the JV players he’s coaching in line at the cafeteria. Tim asks one of them about a play and when he pauses, Tim says, "Too late. Play's over. You waited too long to make a decision, and we lost the game. We're not going to State, and the whole town of Dillon hates you. You're never gonna laid your entire life. Fact. How's that feel right now?" A second JVer makes a comment. Tim tells him if he wanted him to talk he’d have asked him. Then he makes all three of them put down their lunch (and I believe one of them brown-bagged it). Tim tells the JVers to look over at Smash’s table and that they are looking at a quitter.
Smash gets tackled during their game against the Cardinals. The tackler follows him along after the play is over saying he’s going to break him in half. Calling him tar baby. Cut to Tim’s reaction to overhearing this. Smash continues to ignore him but Tim runs over and punches him through his face mask. Awesome.
I Think We Should Have Sex – (This is usually what I tell my husband after we watch this show but I didn’t title the episode.) Tim and his dad are hustling pool and drinking beer. The hustled guys are pissed and Timmy throws a pool ball at one of them, hitting him in the side. The guy didn’t see who did it and nobody tells him. Tyra is there to witness it. She goes to tell Billy that Tim is drinking again and it’s “right on schedule”. Billy tells her he tried to warn him to stay away from Walt but he didn’t listen and now he has to deal with it.
Walt is at practice telling Coach he should play Tim more. Later, they find a $3,000 camera missing. Coach goes to the Rigginses’ and Walt answers the door. When he denies knowing anything about the camera, Tim overhears and says, “He said he doesn’t know where the camera is.” Coach leaves and Tim follows him out the door asking if he’ll be asking all the other fathers about it.
Tim finds the camera (in some shed outside. This is when he walked past what I thought and still think was a pool and I asked Peter Berg to please show Timmy in the pool.) and shows his dad. Then tells Walt to get out. Walt says, “look how easy this is,” and leaves.
Tyra is at work and Tim goes back to the kitchen to ask if she can take a break. She can’t because it’s too busy. He pleads with his eyes but somehow she still doesn’t take a break so he tells her to forget it and leaves. And somehow she forgets it and lets him leave. (seriously. Is this girl blind?)
Tim is standing outside the hustling bar. The tosses the bottle and goes inside. He sees the guy he hustled and silently says, “come get me”. A bunch of guys follow him outside. The bartender calls Tyra and tells her Timmy’s about to get beat up. Tim is running at the guys, they’re hitting him and he’s not hitting back. He gets back up and smiles at them all bloody and (*sob*) gets hit again. Tyra pulls up with Billy and they run over. Billy tells the guy, “he’s just a kid.” (*sob*)
(And this is when I first started wanting Tim to move in with the Taylors.) Tim pulls up to the Taylors and knocks on the door. Coach opens it and sees his face all fucked up and asks him what happened. Tim hands him the camera. Coach asks him if he’s alright. Tim chokes back tears and says “yes”. Coach invites him inside but Tim says he’ll just see him at practice. (For having such a teasingly enticing title, this episode breaks my heart every time.)
Extended Families – Tim is under his truck fixing something (hummina hummina) and some little kid comes over being all loud. Tim asks him if he can shut up and the kid, Bo, says “I don’t know, can I?” Tim tells him that he has to because he is incredibly hung over.
Tim comes outside with his hat on backwards and sees the gutter that needs fixing over at Jackie and Bo’s so goes over and fixes it. (I love handymen.)
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes – My absolute #1 favorite scene of the entire season. As a matter of fact, it's so good, it deserves its own subtitle.
The Great and Noble Men of Dillon Panther Football - Football field at night. Smash pushing Jason. Matt with his hoodie. Matt asks what Smach means by "bi-polar." "It means she's crazy," Smash answers. Jason says it just means she has issues like everybody else. Smash says he’s dealing with it like a man by hiding in the bushes. Jason laughs and they (we) hear Tim's voice over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen. I present to you the great and noble men of Dillon Panther Football." Jason smiles and Tim comes back. They’re all drunk. Matt starts talking about getting caught and losing game time. Jason asks, “What would happen? Bench you? Start me?” and he’s wheeling around the field narrating a fake play. Tim wonders what Matt’s problem is. Smash wonders how anybody’s could be worse than his. Tim says, “I just tried to make out with my next door neighbor who is at least in her mid-thirties. I pretty much got put through the wall so I think I win.” Jason says, “no. Chair says I win. Every time.”
In the morning, Tim (who is still drinking) and Jason are up. Smash and Matt are still asleep and Matt has his hand on Smash’s stomach. Tim says, “This is so Brokeback, man.” They laugh and Tim asks, “Friends?” Jason answers “Yeah always. Texas forever.” Tim repeats, “Texas forever, man.”
Mud Bowl – Coach tells the team they are going to build a football field. Smash doesn’t like the idea but Tim tells him to “just embrace the suck”. Heh.
Billy asks Tim where he’s going. Tim says he’s going to Jackie’s. Billy says, “Look I may not have a PhD in stupid like you do, but this is going to turn out badly.” Heh.
Best Laid Plans - Tim is getting out of his truck and Jackie comes over to him. He smiles and starts talking about tacos for dinner. She says they can’t have any more dinners because she doesn’t want Bo to get hurt. Tim says he didn’t think he was hurting him. She says he’s not now but she can’t put him in that situation any longer. She leaves Tim still not out of his truck.
Tim pulls into the driveway. Bo is waiting for him with a football. Tim kneels down and asks Bo if his mom has talked to him yet. Bo says she mentioned Tim would be busy but he figured “since we’re obviously buds” that Tim would make time for Him. Tim agrees but says he does have a lot going on right now. Bo says he’ll be back later and Tim says all right. As Bo is walking away, Tim asks, “Hey! Who pushes you around?” Bo yells “Nobody!” And Tim, still knelt over, watches him leave.
(I loved Tim interacting with Bo but not so much with Jackie.)
Tim pulls up to Tyra’s. Tyra guesses that the “old lady you were getting with dump you?" Tim is a bit taken aback and says, "interesting," and asks where she heard, she replies, "Small town, Tim." She tells him she’s not there to screw his brains out. He says he’s jut there as a friend. She asks if he knows what a friend is and then tells him what her definition of friend is (which interestingly enough is somebody who asks her to do things and hang out and that is exactly what he was doing there so I'm not sure exactly where she was trying to go with that) and says, “That's a friend.” Tim asks her to go the roast with him and that they shouldn’t overthink everything.
“How ‘bout Saracen sleeping with coach’s daughter!”
State - Tim runs over to Jackie as she's getting out of her car. She tries to avoid him but he tells her he wants Bo to have his State game tickets. No strings attached.
At the parade, telling Tyra with his eyes he was sorry for giving her tickets away.
At the parade, Billy passing Bo over to Tim.
Tim. Timmy, my Timmy, oh how I love thee.
