friday night lights: taylor kitsch leaving after season four

It’s a fact Friday Night Lights fans are well-accustomed to by now.  As in real life, turning 18 and graduating from high school often means leaving town.  Of the Dillon High students we followed in season one, only Julie Taylor, Landry, and Riggins remain.  And while Julie and Landry are now seniors, Riggins has already finished high school and made an unsuccessful go of college life.

Although Riggins has romanticized Dillon–he currently has his eyes and heart set on a big piece of land on the outskirts of town–his choices lately haven’t been so great, and there is growing concern over what this could mean for his departure, which will happen at the end of this season, with the possibility for recurring status next year.  TV Guide Magazine says it best:

He has joined his brother in an illegal chop shop endeavor to raise extra cash to buy land. He has also entered into a romance with an under-aged girl. Either one of these scenarios could conceivably land Tim in jail, possibly taking the fall for his older brother, Billy, who is about to become a first time father. But [showrunner Jason] Katims resisted commenting on the possibility of sending Riggins to the slammer, saying instead, ‘You’ll just have to watch.’

Considering all of these factors, it sure sounds like the chop shop project will have serious fallout, unlike the infamous copper wire incident of season three.  This could potentially mean jail time or necessitate Riggins skipping town for a while.  Personally, I think it would be good for him to get away from his no-good brother and especially from that hussy Becky.