Ted Lasso recap: Tripping in Amsterdam
“Sunflowers” crams a lot of subplots into its hour-plus runtime
TV Reviews Ted Lasso
Will it surprise you to learn that “Sunflowers,” the sixth episode of Ted Lasso’s third and final season, takes its thematic thread from Chet Baker’s “Let’s Get Lost”? Probably not given that one of the many (oh so many!) subplots in this episode centers around a jazz club, a Chet Baker anecdote, and yes, even a rendition of that famed jazz classic. The song celebrates that fateful night you get lost and, of course, then find yourself (or yourselves, if you care to read the lyrics). And that’s exactly what the Ted Lasso creative team have crafted in this Amsterdam detour of an episode: Continuing a rather frustrating trope that’s afflicted almost every outing this season, the episode found all of its characters scattered around, being the main character in their own subplot, echoing one another’s desire to get lost and to ultimately find themselves.
Does that sound rather heavy-handed if not outright pedantic? Well, yes. But then Ted Lasso is arguably the most self-indulgent Emmy-winning comedy series in recent memory. Clocking in past the hour mark, “Sunflowers” captures both what makes the show great, yes—but also exactly why it’s struggling in this final season as it caters to its own worst instincts. What began as a true ensemble comedy has slowly morphed into a series of disconnected storylines that only intermittently intersect, and “Sunflowers” shows us why such an approach is producing diminishing returns. And so, since the show insists we follow disparate subplots, let us have the recap following suit:
I. Keeley & Jack, Aurora Borealis
Not much to say here other than I’m a bit miffed we didn’t get to see much of this romantic, outdoorsy adventure!
II. Richmond, Teamwork
With the whiff of a filler set piece, this subplot had all of Richmond’s players remembering that the best way to spend a curfew-free night in Amsterdam is to not go see tulips, not eat Dutch food, not attend a private party, and definitely not bear witness to a sex show and instead to have a pillow fight(?). Sure, they got to learn about enjoying their time together and to value play over fun, I guess, but other than giving each of the players chance to offer funny (and not so funny) one-liners, this was arguably the least entertaining Amsterdam foray.
III. Coach Beard, Piggy Stardust
Easily a call back to last season’s truly surreal “Beard After Hours” episode, we get here only the barest of glimpses at the night Coach Beard had after apparently not doing drugs in front of Ted when he arrives dressed up the next morning in an outfit that visually calls forth the kind of wordplay humor Richmond’s coaches love best.
IV. Roy & Jamie, The Bike Ride
Is Roy the most self-actualized and self-aware character in the Lassoverse? His ability to emotionally regulate when confronted with an epiphany about where his rage is coming from (trauma about his grandfather and bike riding) and to acknowledge such emotional baggage in the span of a minute was impressive.
But, really, this tidbit of a late night adventure was just an excuse to find Brett Goldstein having a ball with the brief “Roy learns to ride a bike.” No wonder it had to be sandwiched in between so many other storylines. This is a funny but one-note joke.
V. Leslie & Will, Le Jazz Hot
Leslie will never not surprise us. With every episode we keep learning that his inner life is much more robust than what his suit and tie demeanor would suggest and this journey to the world of Chet Baker was yet another example of that. Also, I was happy to see Will get some more airtime (and I’m left wondering what was that drink he ordered at the bar).
VI. Rebecca, “Gezelligheid”
I didn’t have “Rebecca gets to have her own mini-romcom in Amsterdam” in my Ted Lasso bingo card but, hey, I’ll give the show’s writers props for surprising me. Do I wish sometimes that Rebecca’s storylines didn’t always center on her romantic life? Sure. But if we’re going to keep pursuing variations on “Can she have it all?” I’m happy we at least got to witness her letting her hair down (literally!) and having a meet-cute in a canal with a very hunky Dutch man who’s a great cook and an all around gentleman. The entire scene, quite literally borrowed out of any one Harlequin novel, serves as a reminder that once Rebecca lets herself enjoy her life she finds the most peace (notice how her eerie calm demeanor all but surprises Ted and Coach Beard in that final singalong moment).
VII. Ted, Triangle Ted Talk
I audibly rolled my eyes (yes, audibly) when Ted noted at the start of the episode that soccer drives him nuts. His sentiment is at the center of why the premise of Ted Lasso is funny in the first place: imagine a clueless American football coach taking on a soccer team; hilarious, no? And yet, to hear him in year three still making these asides about the sport he’s dedicated (and uprooted) his life for feels…disingenuous?
Thankfully, “Sunflowers” serves as the wake-up call our Kansan coach needed. And yes, it required a “trip” of the placebo kind that guided him to a Van Gogh exhibit and later to the Windy City section of the amazingly named Yankee Doodle Burger Barn. It was there where, after being inspired by Vincent’s many failures and his commitment to nevertheless find beauty in the world, that he found the mental stamina (guided by the Bulls, a BBQ sauce, and a Ratatouille-like moment) to seemingly come up with “Total Football” on his own. Perhaps more to the point, Ted was able to spend time alone and really commit to wanting to coach soccer, to help his team in ways that go beyond pat platitudes. Sure, “Triangles TRY ANGLES” does feel like the ramblings of someone thinking they’re high, but at least the sentiment feels rooted in a desire to actually, you know, play soccer.
VIII. Colin & Trent, PRIK & Ache
Easily the most affecting of the Amsterdam night outs. I’ve been itching to find out what if anything Trent was going to do with the knowledge that Colin is living a closeted life. And I’m happy to report the series did not disappoint. Rather than offering up a self-serving gotcha journalistic moment or even a scandal-riddled plot, Ted Lasso went the classiest route possible, having two queer characters talk frankly about what it means to come out on their own terms, at their own time.
“My whole life is two lives, really.”
What a simple and heartbreaking line. Especially as it’s followed by Colin announcing his desire to live his two lives as one, a wish that feels both obvious and yet needlessly complicated. (Oh, I guess I buried the lede: he’s telling all of this to Trent Crimm, who shares his own coming out journey!)
This tender moment which, I’ll admit, I groaned at given the way Colin (in true “LGBTQ Representation Matters!” way) manages to ground his sexual identity in a romantically codified stricture—all he wants is a fella he can kiss like the guys do their gals!—nevertheless hit the mark in capturing why soccer players and other public figures struggle with bridging those public and private lives. I was particularly taken by Colin’s admission that even as he’s acknowledged his ache; he knows we shouldn’t expect all aches to be healed. Thankfully such a heart to heart was followed by a deliriously fun looking dance party!
Phew! See? Those are a lot of subplots to cram into one hour.
Can Colin, Ted, Rebecca, et al. carry the lessons they’ve learned in Amsterdam back to the U.K.? Will this mark the much-needed pivot Richmond so desperately needs? Will every little thing really be alright? And, more importantly, will this finally bring its characters back together for more cohesive storytelling? Here’s hoping.
Stray observations
- “Then I met the most lovely couple and they invited me for a threesome.” This has to be the throwaway line of the episode, right?
- BRB, booking a flight to Amsterdam to attend Thunderdong at PRIK.
- I’m sad, though not surprised, to find out that Yankee Doodle Burger Barn isn’t a real place, mostly because it’s absurd enough to feel real (and a perfect indictment of the way cultures are othered in such eateries).
- I’d feel sad for Dani for not getting to see a tulipán if I didn’t continually find myself frustrated at his one-note character.
- Okay, who owns a beautifully art decorated boat like that in Amsterdam I can AirBnB?
78 Comments
…once Rebecca lets herself enjoy her life she finds the most peace……and a child’s bedroom! Another part of the psychic’s prophecy fulfilled?This was a very nitpicky review of one of the best episodes in awhile, tbh.
I picked up on that too. I was surprised that after seeing that that we didn’t hear anything about Mysterious Amsterdam Boat Guy’s daughter, but I guess he did mention he “almost tore apart his family,” so maybe they didn’t want to overplay it.
I thought they were going to go somewhere with the child’s bedroom (she can’t have kids but she can still be a mother to one who needs it, right?) but in hindsight I suspect it was just there to signal that Dutch Hunk was not some womanizing player.
Yeah, I thought the same thing, or if not now, at least in the long term. But you may be right. Rebecca may just have to find some other hot single dad on her side of the pond.
The psychic also predicted that Rebecca would be upside down and drenched, but also be safe. It’s pretty obvious the Amsterdam meeting was the fulfillment of the main part of the psychic’s prophecy.
I am very nervous about the potential implications of the last line “oh yes we did” from Boat Guy. I’m hoping against hope he meant something vague related to their minds meeting or something and not “we had sex and you don’t remember because you were too drunk and also the psychic said you’d be a mom surprise.”
I think it was absolutely the “we made a serious connection” implication. I don’t think they would push that kind of storyline this late in the game and they made a point of showing him, cover her up and give her privacy to sleep.There is also the comparison between their two ex’s. “It didn’t happen to me, it happened for me” furthers the path Rebecca has been on as she moves past her Rupert issues (or seems to be)
I interpreted it as “oh yes we fell in love” and yeah, in absolutely NO way read it as creepy. As you mentioned, they went out of their way to show him covering her up when she had fallen asleep, etc; the guy gave me some weird vibes but by the end I don’t think they were going for anything other than exactly what was presented: a very nice, very respectful man who (rightfully, and correctly) found himself bowing down to Hannah Waddingham.
I think it was the very light blue eyes that can go slightly serial killer looking when the person doesn’t blink enough
I’m choosing to believe he meant a soul encounter.
Ohh I thought he said “I wish we did”
I get criticism but can we hire reviewers who actually “like” the shows they are reviewing, maybe. And don’t hand me the “I used to” and “tough love” This was a great late Ted episode and all you could do was crap on it because you wanted another show
Eh. I’m okay with people having their own (flawed) opinions. The real meat is always in the comments anyway.
Eh, you want truly maddening reviews look no further than Betancourt’s takes on Shrinking, which include such gems as “the characters go on hikes too often” and “why does the show keep finding excuses for the friend group to spend time together as friends?” Comparatively his Ted Lasso reviews are just kind of tedious and nitpicky rather than truly bizarre.
Reviewers are under no obligation to only review shows they like. It’s actually refreshing hearing negative criticism about a show’s flaws, although this “review” didn’t do much of anything besides a quick recap
Oh, I don’t read them. I go straight to the comments, that’s where all the smart, thoughtful content is. They should just post the title of the episode with no article.
I can’t decide if Ted Lasso has changed or if we’re changed. What seemed hopeful and life-affirming during the height of the pandemic now feels corny and maudlin. Also, Shandy is the Cousin Oliver for a new generation.
Sure, “Triangles TRY ANGLES” does feel like the ramblings of someone thinking they’re high
It’s also exactly the kind of corny pun that Ted loves.
Did anyone else notice that Ted actually wrote “TRY ANGELS!” on the last line?
I did.
This was great through I must point out that in Montreal they say going for shishtaouk, not shawarma. That line about Canada liberating the West had me thinking there must be a Canadian in the writers room.
It must be. The whole “America is responsible for all freedom” thing is such a well-known trope that adding Canada into the birthday song seems like the kind of thing that a restaurant that seems to take care in getting the surface-level details (but not anything even a mm deeper, like knowing that Chicago is the Windy City or that there was a popular musical that was set there and took its title from the name of the city) right.
Or just someone familiar with the Netherlands (i.e. Brendan Hunt). Canada is well loved there because Canadians liberated it from the Germans during WWII. It’s exactly the kind of detail Dutch people would put into a song like that.
Considering this was every bit the filler episode that ‘Beard after Hours’ got slated for, there was so much to love this week.Trent and Colin’s chat was great, not sure why anyone thought that Trent would out Colin. That never felt something he would do, even the cynical version of him from season one. Glad they bonded on their respective stories, I do hope that Colin’s fella from earlier isn’t gone for good. It was also a bit heartbreaking that no one else on the team knows Colin’s truth, even Isaac. Hopefully he gets the chance to be his truer self with his team mates, if only because the whole Richmond team seem like a family and it would a shame if he couldn’t fully be himself around them.Roy and Jamie’s bike ride was fun, though Jamie’s stories of his two previous trips to Amsterdam were bittersweet. Geez Jamie’s dad was a massive prick….sorry prik.I wonder if we’ll see Rebecca’s boat guy again. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t, but he seemed like a nice guy and it could interesting to see where things might progress.Higgins trip to Red Light District with Will was nice, really enjoyed seeing Higgins play bass at the jazz club. That is one talented dude.The Nate ‘jump scare’ appearance was intriguing, like why was he on Ted’s mind? I wonder if Ted will seek to resolve things between the two of them and hopefully squash any lingering bad feeling?Also Ted invents Total Football….just 50 years or so after the Dutch did. Cool.
I wonder if we’ll see Rebecca’s boat guy again. It won’t be the end of the world if we don’t, but he seemed like a nice guy and it could interesting to see where things might progress.Since his appearance fulfills a couple of the psychic’s prophecies (see above), it’s a good bet we’ll see him again.
FWIW, IMDB has the actor only appearing in one episode.
IMDB has very incomplete info about who’s in the last five episodes of the season, so I’m not putting much stuck in those listings.
I thought Jamie’s story was one of the darkest things the show has ever done. “Jeez must have been traumatising”, “Dunno, don’t remember”, contrasted with the incredible detail with which he recalled the trip he took to Amsterdam with his mother. They’ve done such an amazing job through seasons 2 and 3 of explaining his behaviour in season 1 while believably developing him as a person.
I think Ted visualised Nate because Ted associates him with clever strategies on the pitch, and his brain was trying to come up with one.
Not sure if that’s what they were going for, but I suspect Ted’s brain was still very much in conflict. He’s in Amsterdam but also “at home” in this restaurant, especially when he’s served his favorite KC barbecue sauce. Elvis was singing a line about going home when Ted walked in. This season is set-up with Ted at a crossroads and not knowing why he’s still there and not going home—but maybe Nate is one of the reasons why he’s there? He feels like he failed Nate and can’t walk away from that? There’s so much beauty inside us all and Ted, like Van Gogh, keeps looking for that beauty.
I’m not sure where anyone would get “filler episode” from either this or Beard After Dark episodes. They are clearly anchor episodes more than anything.
I love both episodes, but some reason there’s a general opinion that Beard After Dark is a bad episode.
As I understand it, season 2 was given an extra two episode order. One of which was Carol of the Bells and the other was Beard. One got slated the other didn’t.I’ve yet watch an episode of Ted Lasso I didn’t like. Then again I don’t have to critique shows on a weekly basis, so maybe those folks see things I don’t?
“where anyone would get “filler episode” from either this or Beard After Dark episodes”The “Beard After Dark” story wasn’t broken with the rest of the season. It was written after the season was extended by two episodes. It is explicitly filler.
I think Richmond would fully support Colin and it wouldn’t be a problem. But this is pro sports – he could be traded or leave for another team at any point, possibly to less accepting teams and in less accepting countries. Once it’s out of the bottle, it’s hard to put back in.
Ted Lasso is seemingly ending after this season and I can’t see anyone at the club wanting to transfer list Colin, so I doubt we’d see that turn of events.
I just hope Colin is on a path to be able to be his truer self amongst his teammates/surrogate family. As that seems to be what the show is about.
I don’t think we’d see that happen, but it would be something that the character himself worries about. He may trust his teammates, but still want to protect his career.
So I have no doubt that the Richmond bunch would be 100% affirming of Colin’s identity and his right to love who he loves. I in no way would extend that confidence to the British tabloid press or opposing fans. Colin doesn’t want to be a figurehead, or turned into a punchline for rival supporter groups, or a martyr in the press.
Am I the only wondering about the “hot dutch guy”s line at the end about how he and Rebecca did actually get it on? Since she passed out/feel asleep, how did they have sex unless it was non-consensual?
She was asking if they had sex, his “Yes we did” was that they fell in love.
The foot massage brought her to completion.
I admire how they didn’t feel the need to put in any funny bits or jokes, AT ALL, in this episode.
There’s this aspect about Ted Lasso that has probably been discussed even here in detail in that as much as the show has been a huge hit in North America, in England it isn’t really that huge of a thing. I’d actually expand on that in that as much as I follow European football, Ted Lasso isn’t the kind of a presence there as one might expect considering its cultural status.The reason I bring this up is that this episode kind of hit on a core issue of the show in that here Ted, our main protagonist, comes to a realization about the actual nature of the game. Which I think reflects on a certain oddity of the show as as much as it is centered on an European football team, it is almost bafflingly uninterested in the actual nuances of the game itself.It’s always been a disconnect I’ve had with the show as it is fundamentally asking us to root for a character who doesn’t seem to have that much passion towards the sport he is managing.
Your point is well articulated, but…….Ted has been very up front about what kind of show it is from Season 1 episode 1. Ted cares about helping people grow into the best people they can be first, and winning games in whatever sport it is second. He tells Trent Crimm this twice so there is no mistake. Whether you or anyone thinks this is a smart way to go or not, you can’t say you weren’t warned what kind of show this was.I am hugely into sports-perhaps to an unhealthy degree. In my youth you could always find me (badly) playing some sport, and now that I am old you can always find me watching a sport. So I get it. But Ted Lasso is not really about the sport itself, and it wore that on its sleeve from the start.
I agree on a lot you wrote and because of that it didn’t bother me that much during the first season. I got what the show was and had no issue rolling with it then.To me, this started to become a larger issue as the seasons went on and there was this idea that the team itself had ambition to be better as a sporting team, yet at the same time the manager of the team didn’t seem to be that interested in contributing to that success in a meaningful manner. That started to distract me personally and I am slightly glad that they are now at least addressing that.By the way, none of your counter-arguments actually address what I wrote. I didn’t say the show was bad or somehow disingenous about what it was about. Even if all you wrote is true, there is that disconnect from the actual sport of European football in the show, which I think is a part of why it is having difficulties reaching audiences in countries where European football is a big thing.
I think what I wrote directly addresses what you are saying:“The reason I bring this up is that this episode kind of hit on a core issue of the show in that here Ted, our main protagonist, comes to a realization about the actual nature of the game. Which I think reflects on a certain oddity of the show as as much as it is centered on an European football team, it is almost bafflingly uninterested in the actual nuances of the game itself.”I did not write that you said this was a bad show. I wrote that it is strange that you regard this as an “oddity” that is “baffling” when it has been baked into the premise of the show from episode 1 scene 1.You and the author of this piece are not the only ones who have expressed this opinion, and it is a perfectly valid opinion to have. But I don’t agree with it, because the show has clearly sign posted what it is about from the start. And the show has actually addressed the exact point you are making-Coach Beard called Lasso out on that specifically when he was refusing to bench Roy. And Lasso wants the team to win-which is why he relied on first Beard and Nate, now Roy and Nate for strategy while he does what he is good at-inspiring and leading.
But I think my confusion with your argument is that just because the show said this is what it was at the start doesn’t make it immune to criticism, especially as the years roll by.Yes, the show was clear about what Ted Lasso was about when the show started. Yes, it worked then. Yes, it is not as effective now to some viewers. Saying that well, this is what the show declared itself to be doesn’t change of those aspects.
No one is saying the show is immune to criticism. You are saying that it is strange that a show that was never going to focus on European Football is not more focused on European Football as the years go by. I am saying that it is fine to feel that way, but the show made it clear from the start that it has no interest in focusing on that. It is like finding it strange that Star Wars is about a war in space. I can see why it bothers you and others that Ted doesn’t know anything about football three years in. Really I do. It is not very logical. But there was never any expectation that the show would be about his growth as a football coach/tactician. The “fish out of water” thing is the point of the entire exercise.
Yeah, I struggle with criticism that a show isn’t just a very different show, ha. I’d probably enjoy it with a tad more realism and focus (the season 1 balance was much much better on that front, I thought, especially the Beard/Lasso argument you mention. But at a certain point critiquing Ted Lasso for not being more about a coach living and dying with wins and losses is like criticizing ER for not being funny enough, or Frasier for not having more jump scares. It’s just…not what it’s going for or pretending to go for, and I don’t think there’s much to be gained by not taking the show for what it is and judging it accordingly.
I don’t mean to just keep this discussion going for the sake of it, because Hiemoth and others are absolutely entitled to their own evaluation of the show. But Jayrig5, this is exactly what I mean and very well stated. If a person is criticizing Lasso for not being a Football show, that is fine but it goes to the very nature of the show. “ I don’t think there’s much to be gained by not taking the show for what it is and judging it accordingly.” is exactly what I am trying to say, written better than I wrote it.
I think in almost every junket they all but say “It’s not a show about soccer”Since the very beginning
Ted’s passion isn’t supposed to be for soccer, it’s for helping others find the best in themselves and see it in others.
Yes and that has absolutely nothing to do with my criticism. Ted’s task and job is to be a manager of a football team. While I do think there is a great deal to admire in a want to help others. Yet the environment he does that is related to a sport he hasn’t seemed to care that much about.That’s my criticism and the lack of connection here.
Ted’s task and job is to be a manager of a football team.
Sure his job is to be a manager of a football team, but he was hired specifically as a motivator of men since he had zero background in the sport. It’s hard to criticize the character for not caring about the sport when he was literally supposed to be someone who has no tie to the sport.
Ted was hired to make the team loose. This was meant to hurt the owner’s ex, who used to own the team. Ted is, in fact, making the team loose. Beard is correct that it is cruel and absurd to think you are making professional soccer players happy by making them loose.
Yes, he was hired in the hopes that the team would tank and lose* every game, but it’s obvious that the reasons given for his hiring have nothing to do with soccer and everything to do with motivating players.* BTW, please learn the difference between “lose” (opposite of win) versus “loose” (opposite of tight). I read your comment first thinking he was helping them “get loose”, ie relax and play free, and it made no sense to me until I remembered that apparently half of the internet can’t spell the word “lose”.
“but it’s obvious that the reasons given for his hiring have nothing to do with soccer and everything to do with motivating players.” This is inaccurate. Ted was not hired to motivate players. Please see my original comment above.
So you’re saying that in the show Rebecca was open with Ted from the beginning about wanting the team to lose? Because that’s what I’m talking about. Yeah she told him later on, but he was hired by her as a motivator, not a tactician.
“[H]e he was hired by her as a motivator, not a tactician.” I must admit it’s possible I missed this, though it is hard for me to believe they (atypically) bothered to flesh-out this much detail in the (silly) story. Ted Lasso has very charming characters but a meandering, disconnected, unfocused plot, so it is very hard to pay attention fully while I answer email and fold laundry.
I think it’s because it’s an idiotic mess of a show that was cobbled together from a commercial, and the star hates it and wants it to end asap?
What? It’s a comedy set in a football club, it’s not actually about football. Ever seen Scrubs? It was a comedy set in a hospital that was never about medical procedures. Or how about the Love Boat? It was a long time ago, but I don’t think there was a lot in there about actually piloting a cruise ship. This is how fiction often works.
I am extremely concerned with the potential implications of the last line “oh yes we did” from Boat Guy. I’m hoping against hope he meant “we fell in love” or something and not “we had sex and you don’t remember and also the psychic said you’d be a mom surprise” ick.
I think it’s all about making new connections – covering up the tracks
with fresh snow as Beard put it. Rebecca literally fell head over heels
to meet that flying Dutchman (he said he was military and had flight
memorabilia all over the boat), Rebecca needed to make a new connection
with someone to wipe Rupert’s tracks away. His breakup mirrors hers and
he says “but, with time, I realized that this thing didn’t happen to me,
but for me, you know?” She has literally let her hair down and the look
on her face – to me – registers that she’s starting to know that too.
The through line from seeing Wingsnight last episode to rephrasing to
Roy his line about ‘someone who deserves you” and going from hating that
‘depressing’ song (Three Little Birds) to leading the team to sing at
the end totally relaxed and with meaning was the point. How one could
watch this show for 2 1/2 seasons and think they would introduce her to a
rapist now is beyond me. That guy fell hard for her in a respectful
albeit quirky way. Whether he shows up again is not the point. Rebecca
now knows she’s deserving of someone who makes her feel like she’s been
“struck by fu#*kin’ lightning”. I don’t know if this is the last we’ll
see of him -either way, I’m OK with that.
Idk, I like Ted Lasso very much but it is just a sitcom that lives in a fantasy bubble where nobody dies (at least no-one you know), people have sex without consequence and psychics are real. And did I mention a football coach knows nothing about football and an owner who will stick with him even in failure (13 managers have been sacked already this season in England) so I get irked when I read reviews that profess to like the show and then review all the things it didn’t do, or isn’t doing when none of it is in the show’s mantra. “I read “moby dick” I mean it’s a classic and all that but there’s not enough jokes, homosexuality, geopolitics or guns and it’s mostly about shipping and whales which was disappointing for this reviewer. It might have been better if it was about a guy and a car and spying.”
Hot tea, vanilla vodka, one tulipe, windmills, bike rides, memories, granddads, letting your hair down, a good conversation, appreciating what you do, appreciating where you are, getting closer, kissing freely, Van Gogh, Chet Baker, Piggy Stardust… I like that Ted Lasso has its own rythme. This episode was quiet and warm. For an hour, it made you want to let go too, made you want to stop standing in your own way. I need some gezellig in my life and it was exactly that. Also, Sam coughing up feathers in the bus at the end… You, lovely people, indeed.
I’m American, but I lived/worked in the Netherlands for a few months. It’s not a perfect country (as my Dutch friends are quick to point out, but to borrow your words, I always found it a “quiet and warm” place. There is something just so lovely about it and I don’t know if I’d ever have the courage to make it my home but I hope it’s part of my 3rd act. I really love that place and felt this episode captured the country’s energy so well.
Lovely of you to share. I hope it’s part of your 3rd act too.
I’m from Western France. Amsterdam is not so far away and I’ve been thinking, for awhile, that I should go check it out. I’m the kind of person who wonders too much. That’s part of what I meant when I wrote about standing in your own way. I should go see Amsterdam, right?
Trent and Colin having their heart-to-heart while sitting on Het Homomonument, the first monument in the world honoring gay people killed in the holocaust, was a particularly sweet touch.
The entire scene, quite literally borrowed out of any one Harlequin novelOh, it was? Which one? You surely must know since you used the word “literally”. Or is it possible that it wasn’t literally lifted from a Harlequin novel? Please get a dictionary and look up “literally”, it’s not a mere emphasis. I’d expect a professional writer to know that.
A “B-”?!!! I think this was one of their best episodes ever
1) You don’t know how to review television (it’s not a beat-by-beat recap)
2) You’re fucking insufferable
I think this episode would have felt a lot better if we didn’t know this was the show’s last season.
Also, this has been a problem for a while now, but everyone on the show has become a bit homogenized. I don’t really see a reason why Rebecca should be familiar with the works of Kenny Rogers.
I also feel like “the team” has replaced Sam as a character, which again, might be better if we weren’t so involved with this character in the previous season.
The internet tells me Kenny Rogers charted several #1 hits in the UK and Rebecca would have been a small child when that song came out but it’s still likely she would be familiar with him. And since the word “believe” figures so prominently in this series, it fits. (Side note: I know WAY too many lyrics to songs that were released before I was born)
No Yankee Doodle Burger Barn, but Breakfast in America is a mainstay in Paris.
https://breakfast-in-america.com/
The scene for the Burger Barn was shot at the tacky/weird interpretation of America bar at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel at LHR. So it kind of exists (Trans Am coming through a wall!) but without the Jackrabbit Slims-style welcoming committee. https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/lhrss-sheraton-skyline-hotel-london-heathrow/dining/ (A blatant Tarantino hat tip in this scene…)
Colin wants to feel able to kiss his fella out in the world, like the other guys kiss their partners. He’s not just pining for love, like a perfectly acceptable romcom hero, he wants to flaunt it without care.
It wasn’t a Ratatouille moment Ted has on his BBQ sauce bender, but a direct reference to 1959’s Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land. The Spirit of Adventure is Donald’s guide to learning about Pythagorus and triangles, and the animation style used is a dead ringer.
Just going to note that I feel you’re being too hard on this season. I’m hesitant to provide a final verdict until the finale, which I know is not a luxury that you have. But I’ve been thoroughly entertained this season, and I think it’s pretty necessary to split them all up to give them room to grow. I’m pretty confident that it will all unify in the last few episodes.The Amsterdam episode was the best of the season, for me anyway. Just great stuff.