A sort of family
Oh, FNL, must you always break my heart? Damn, this show is beautiful, and not just 'cause of the pretty boys. (Although those are nice too.) This episode wasn't perfect, although I still loved it. Things I did not love:

1. The fact that Eric Taylor is apparently the only decent man who coaches high school football. Seriously, does every rival coach have to be an absolute fucktard who wants to whip out his penis and a ruler every chance he gets.

2. Jessalyn Gilsig. Just in general, but also because Shelley is smug, superior, and passive aggressive. Not to mention that she was totally flirting with Riggins and that's beyond inappropriate.

3. Coach Taylor breaking my goddamn heart by throwing Riggins out at the end.

4. No Jason Street. The fuck, people?

Fortunately, there were many things I absolutely adored. Weirdly, more than one involved Buddy Garrity.

1. Buddy taking his kids to the Go-Kart/arcade place. His unbridled enthusiasm and unfettered joy at being with his children was beautiful.

2. Buddy and Eric in the laundromat, particularly Eric's deer-in-the-headlights look as Buddy prattled on about winning back his ex-wife.

3. Sweet little alien baby Gracie. So ugly and so cute all at the same time. And Tim Riggins WITH baby Gracie? MADE OF WIN. I need a screencap of that, stat.

4. Tami and Eric still being the best married couple on TV.

5. Adriennes Palicki's haircut.

6. Landry finally telling Tyra that he can't wait forever for her to figure out what she wants. Way to grow some balls there, boy. The brawl in the cafeteria was pretty awesome too, especially when Tyra went to town on Napoleon Dynamite.

7. But what I loved most of all was whatever it is they have started with Julie and Tim. At first I was all ready to jump on a Julie/Tim down-'n'-dirty bandwagon, but as the episode progressed, I realized that what Tim Riggins needs most of all is a family. And for a brief, shining moment, the Taylors gave that to him. Seeing him in protective big-brother mode, both at the store and at the party, was a beautiful, beautiful thing. And when she was drunk, and getting a little handsy, never once did I think that he was going to take advantage of her, and that made me love him even more. This is not to say that, somewhere down the line, after they've become best friends, I wouldn't be totally okay with him falling for her. But not quite yet. :) And dude, he totally washed his hair! I can only hope that next week, the misunderstanding is somehow resolved, and Eric will let him come back to the house. Because doesn't he deserve a break already?