Ted Lasso recap: Has this show lost its way?
In "We’ll Never Have Paris," Nate and Keeley feel like they're in their own little bizarro Ted Lasso spinoffs
TV Reviews Ted Lasso
Last week, I was thrilled when Ted Lasso went back to its season-one roots and remembered it was a soccer show where its central sport served as a metaphor, yes, but also needed to serve as, you know, an actual sport being played and coached. Any inkling that such an episode would spell what was to come after was dispelled with “We’ll Never Have Paris.” This one, yet again, felt like three intermittently interlocking shows strung together by a game ensemble who have had the difficult task of playing specific scenes without any regard for what their characters would have done an episode or two ago.
Namely, I think I’ve watched enough of this final farewell season to confidently say that this Emmy-winning darling has lost its way. Am I about to base that entirely on the “tell don’t show” faux pas that characterized that saccharine “Hey Jude” singalong wherein Coach Beard spelled out not only the lesson of the episode but also the reason why the busker was singing that iconic Beatles song, all while a child of divorce drama played out in front of him? I wish!
This episode was full of moments, scenes, and outright storylines that made me wonder what had gone so terribly, terribly wrong with this once affable kindcore fish-out-of-water comedy series about a bumbling American football coach in London.
At least we got that last part in spades this episode. Ted’s entire schtick is his homegrown folksiness (see: that endless Paris, Ohio bit), and, if nothing else, we got to see him yet again out of his element. I will admit I did not for one second buy that Ted, who has done so much work on himself over the past two years, would suddenly become the kind of rom-com sitcom stooge who hires (or gets his boss to hire) a private investigator. But even if I did buy such a plot point, this episode didn’t really end up having a serviceable ending: Co-parenting with an ex is hard; watching said ex move is hard; doing both at the same time (with grace!) is incredibly hard. But beyond that, what else did we learn this episode? Other than that Ted is a big Beatles fan and that Henry is as well?
Maybe I’m just getting tired of these personal B-plots feeling so needlessly maudlin and so situation-specific (as opposed to character-driven) that I found myself out of patience with this episode barely moving the needle forward after what felt like a decisive storytelling shift with “The Strings That Bind Us.” I keep hoping there’s just a lot of table-setting for the final episodes because so far…we just shuttle between plots with little rhyme or reason.
Cut to: Nate and his budding relationship.
I really hoped Nate’s storyline would pay off this episode (and it got so close!) but it truly feels like he’s in a spinoff that’s been smuggled into Ted Lasso, replete with a bunch of new characters who we’d complain couldn’t measure up to the OG series regulars. What do we often see in Nate’s scenes if not an attempt to be either the anti-Ted or the new-Ted? At least he gets a more interesting romantic scenario that seems to be moving in some positive direction. (Just as in the wider Lassoverse, it’s wrapped up in self-help platitudes he’s supposed to import into his coaching and right back into his life.)
Because, yes, I know the takeaway is that he’s slowly realizing he needn’t see Ted as an enemy and that he clearly misses the camaraderie at Richmond. But boy was that Love Hounds meeting hard to watch. As was the Diamond Dog ones; find me with Roy right outside annoyed at all the howling.
Cut to: Keeley and her leaked tape.
If Nate is in his own little bizarro Ted Lasso spinoff, Keeley seems to live in a “Can a girl have it all?” one wherein she’s started a new agency, started dating her boss(!), and only interacts with our series regulars when they drop by for glorified guest starring cameos. (Her bit with Rebecca was a joy to watch, a reminder that squandering Juno Temple’s comedic chemistry with the likes of Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, and, yes, Phil Dunster is a disservice to actor and show alike. Notice how those three interactions were the highlights of Keeley’s plot this time around?)
What I’ll point out about Jack and Keeley’s breakup storyline was how rushed it all felt. Wasn’t Jack the one who a few weeks back was squashing office romance rumors by confronting Keeley’s employees and telling them they were dating? Why did she become a corporate wallflower who introduces Keeley as “her friend” to an acquaintance and refuses to be empathetic about Keeley’s plight as she deals with such a blatant breach in privacy?
Halfway through the episode, I wondered why we were getting such a nothing drama of a fight between them only for the writers to handily dismiss Jack and her relationship with Keeley with such casual flair that I now worry I have to complain about a same-sex relationship being used as a plot device so that Keeley falls back into the arms of Roy—or, more likely, as she does here, Jamie. In either case, good riddance to Jack, whose murky ethical compass was clearly the biggest red flag you could ever find in a partner.
At least her moment with Jamie was quite lovely. Maybe next episode we’ll see Keeley back on her feet and perhaps (shocking, I know) working on anything whatsoever while she’s at the office? We can only hope.
Stray observations
- I guess everyone knows Dave Grohl learned to play the drums with pillows?
- If you missed it on first view, the two comments under her viral video that made Keeley furious were: “My wife wants to know why we’re out of tissues” and one that basically read, “I bet she released it herself.”
- “The Great Awankening”: for a show known to go oh-so-low to find the easiest wordplay to make, it seemed odd to so single out this horrid pun, no?
- Speaking of, the conversation between the players around what constitutes consent, ownership, and the various ethics surrounding nudes and NSFW content was… fine? It felt like a rapid-fire debate team match up rather than an organic locker room conversation. (It also felt particularly, dare I say, aggressively heterosexual? Like, is “delete everything” really the only solution here?)
- Which brings us to Colin. First Trent, now Isaac…looks like our closeted footballer won’t be in there for too much longer.
- Love the Jamie detail wherein he thought password with two s’s was a good enough password.
- Sometimes Ted-is-a-folksy-American works for me. Other times (like when he says “mercy buckets”), I worry I’ll hurt my eyes from rolling them so hard.
210 Comments
The only thing that’s lost its way here is the quality of the reviewers on this site. Truly the bottom of the barrel here.This is so surface level pedantry that I long for even the garbage FAQ style recap I just closed out of disgust. What happened to critical media analysis? Did it all go to video essays?This is performative ignorance on the level of the average YouTube comment. The sheer ignorance so astounding that I find it hard to believe you are getting paid for this and didn’t just ChatGPT it with the prompt “write me a review of a show whose episode I didn’t like and make it seem like I have any idea of what I am talking about”. Truly the most immature drivel I’ve ever had the displeasure to read around here, and that includes recaps of The Masked Singer and those articles that were basically recaps of twitter threads with no discernible input from any author.The ignorance on display here truly makes me wonder if you were born post “The Fappening”.
It’s crazy how many words you used to say absolutely nothing lol
Reading that comment, I was reminded of an observation someone made that some Ted Lasso fans see Ted as Superman because being as generally decent as he is is as far out of their reach as Superman’s powers are to mere mortals.
I think that’s THEIR point.
Is it? I read the review and understand what the reviewer doesn’t like about the show. Meanwhile I read that comment and still don’t know what the commenter has a problem with, just that it’s “performative ignorance” and the “most immature drivel” with zero specifics so I have no idea what part of the review is the issue.
“It’s crazy how many words you used to say absolutely nothing” -The AV Club
“This review was insipid, and repetitive, and it says unenlightened things, and it repeats itself, and I should also add that it’s ignorant and says the same things over and over again. The whole entire review makes lots of generalizations, just like literally everything else on this entire website, and those generalizations are not smart, and it just keeps making them over and over again.”
“And I’m sorry, the review didn’t even cover the Snapple product placement which elevated the show to new heights!”
Never trust an mf’er that says “truly” this much
I couldn’t help but think of this:https://www.theonion.com/i-appreciate-the-muppets-on-a-much-deeper-level-than-yo-1819583976
Erik, you’re an old timer and we know how you roll. But your post was surface level pedantry. I long for the days of quality comments from you but you are truly the bottom of the barrel here.This is performative contentious claptrap below the level of a Tik-Tok video about Mentos and Coca-Cola……all spurts and sticky wetness with nothing to show for it after except a big bitchy mess.Truly the most sophomoric screed AV Club has seen with no discernible evaluation as to what you found so measurably positive about this episode.Honestly the ignorance on display truly makes me wonder if you were hacked.
That reply was *chef’s kiss*. I deserved that <3
Ehh, still love ya bro,
Jane you ignorant slut 🙄ORIgno rant
The show sucks ass, Aaron.
Word count doesn’t always equal quality. Sometimes it’s more important to just get to the point.
Depends on what the SEO demands.
There’s tons of reason to criticize this site, and its editorial content, but not because they gave a critical review of your favorite little show lol. They make actual points on what doesn’t work, unlike your response
It’s weird, because I agree with you so much regarding the generally quality of reviews on this site these days, and yet your comment is posted under one of the few critics here who actually manages to be, dare I say, critical in their analysis? Almost as if you’re angry at them not for the quality of their work, but solely for disliking a show you like and expressing their opinions about it? But that would be preposterous.
Anyway, I thought the worst thing about this episode was that it tried to run Nate through his plot arc with Anthony Head totally off-screen
The review has been rewritten since Erik wrote this.
Chill. it’s just a TV review x
This review was a detailed and specific analysis of why the episode sucked and catharsis for those of us stricken by a terrible episode of a show we once loved. Your comment however was a chatGPT-level nonspecific takedown of any online review.
It’s so funny how many years comments like this have been on articles when the easy thing to do is not come on this site anymore
I don’t think most people recognize how personal this episode was for its creators. I’m not going to go into details but it’s all discoverable with just a quick look at the opening credits. The episode may have been a bit didactic but I can overlook that because certain storylines are not hypothetical and are clearly very important to its creators, both on a personal level and on a cultural level. The review itself is okay. I don’t agree with much of it but that’s not really the measure of a good or bad analysis. I can disagree with good analyses and vice versa. But the fact that the reviewer doesn’t seem to recognize why this episode was made is surprising to me. In fairness, it’s obviously possible to know the background and still judge it harshly and that’s fine. But it’s not like I was examining the episode for clues. It just seemed very obvious from the get-go, so, at best, I’d say the review lacks context.
Agree. Not sure why you are getting shouted at by others. I think you nailed it.
Not sure why you are getting shouted at by others.
Probably for writing a long, unhinged, rage-filled, vitriolic rant over a review of a television episode.
You must be new here. Black and white binary thinking and violent angry disagreement is the MO around these parts nowadays. Especially viciously attacking anyone who dares criticizes this site and the type of politics it stands for.
You brought politics into it, not anyone else.And “violent angry disagreement” describes the original comment you’re defending here, lol.
Have you tried just not being an asshole?
The writing on Kinja must only be praised. No say bad things about article.
Was reading this review hurtful and you want to throw that back at the writer? I promise I’m not trying to defend AV Club; I’m curious and wanting to figure out why I keep coming back to this site.
Catharsis after holding back for so many mediocre reviews. I realise I have turned into THAT AVC punter with this comment, but it does grind my gear to see this turn into a high school newspaper post mass firing their actual great staff.
OK people, but my comment caused the entire review to be rewritten so there’s that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
No it didnt???
Yeah it did. See other comments noticing the same.
Oh no, how dare a critic actually be critical of the hugging show.
I’ve followed the previous author of the season 1 and 2 Ted Lasso reviews on this site, Myles McNutt, over to Medium, where he writes for a column he made called Episodic Medium. There, he and some other old AVC club castaways write (actual) in-depth analysis on episodes of TV. It does cost $5 a month, but I think it’s worth it.The only reason I come back to this site is to roll my eyes at the loss of quality.
Thanks for sharing.
It’s crazy that you dismissed my reply bc you’re a soft bitch lmao
The magnificent Hannah Waddingham is not the “likes’ of anything. If this reviewer is worried about wasting Juno temple’s comic talent, blame it on the writers. These actors are all excellent.
lol you both need to go outside and stop jerking eachother off about how much you hate your lives in essay form.
I was turned off by the end of season 2 when they started relying on sitcom tropes that wouldn’t have been out of place on chuck lorre or ryan murphyshow.I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the team discovers they have dyslexia, only for it to be completely forgotten by the end of that one episode when it is brought up.Roy and Keely breaking up because the writers wanted more tension, was the final straw for me and I didn’t bother with season 3 at all
… Manuel, are you okay?
He has to watch ted lasso so probably not
Well, he’s getting paid to not try, so…
Yeah, it’s not just the way the show has drifted further and further not only from being about soccer, but from being an actual ensemble. And one of the regular commenters (I’m so bad with names) has been on point in observing that the writing for Keeley’s character has increasingly reduced her to her sexuality and love life, and this episode really underlined that. “The Awankening” is an obvious reference to “The Fappening,” but also, it felt like the writers really wanted the show to comment on this and deliver lessons to the audience, which is always weird to me, even when I agree with the lesson being imparted. As an adult with a strongly developed sense of morals, I don’t watch TV to be lectured on right from wrong. And was there a point in the broader story beyond just breaking up Keeley and Jack? There had to be ways of doing that that didn’t involve humiliating Keeley. I guess there is the moment with Colin and Isaac, which, we’ll see where that goes.I don’t get why this show will bring up obvious character beats or plot points and then not follow through with them. Clearly Keeley was bothered by Jack referring to her as her “friend,” but then that never comes up in their argument. Jack is worried about her own public image after the leak… but the public image of dating the head of a company she funds, let alone the ethics of it*, never came up before? I think you’re right, they just yo-yo some of these side characters based on whatever story they want to tell without much care to character consistency.(* – speaking of ethics and not following through, the show just never delves into the questionable-or-worse ethics of some of these relationships. Rebecca dating Sam was potentially concerning as an employer-employee relationship; Jack dating Keeley is the same; Dr. Jacob dating Michelle, let alone after being her individual therapist before the couples counseling, is wildly unethical. Yet the show just seems to continually and consistently ignore this.)I thought Ted’s story was the best this episode, because at least it’s rooted in problems and concerns he’s had before, and therefore I didn’t find his behavior as implausible or the ending as corny (as obvious as it was) as you did.Nate’s story is fine enough, I guess, in that it’s starting to unveil some decency in him and hopefully steer him in a direction where he takes charge of his own life and figures out what he wants and values instead of being so invested in others’ opinion of him. Even if it took something of a Manic Pixie Dream Hostess for him to get there. (His complete failure to launch West Ham’s own version of the Diamond Dogs was pretty funny, though.)And Jamie’s own growth has been great; even if we get scant little time of it this episode, that scene with Keeley was really good, and underlines what you’re saying about how good she is with the rest of the cast and what a disappointment it is that she’s basically been shunted off to the side in her own almost entirely separate plot from the rest of them.
I’m like halfway through season 2 and one of the growing weaknesses is that the show seems to be becoming more about romantic relationships than the team. Sure Rebecca and Sam are cute but I really do not give a shit about them having a relationship.
There are times the show gets better about this, and times it doesn’t.I always found the show best when it was more focused on football, or perhaps more accurately, the way Ted’s methods work over time and bring the team together and the ways the characters grow and change as a result.It’s especially noticeable that it’s the two major women characters who increasingly only have stories about their love lives. It always bugs me that we’re told they’re such bosses and great at their jobs, but we only see them dating, and almost never working. I want to see them do boss shit!
So far it seems to have worked the best when it was stealing the plot from Major League and focusing on Jamie becoming less of an asshole. Roy/Keeley was fine because Roy is fuckin awesome, season 2 has more Roy so that’s good but Ted’s panic attacks and Rebecca’s love life don’t really do much for me.
I will say that Jamie’s arc continues to be one of the best, possibly the best, in the whole series.
That’s positive, great character arc right there.
I do love how he’ll say things now like “because I’m famous” but it’s with a sly grin because he knows everyone will give him shit for saying it and he’s fine with it.
I will say that Jamie’s arc continues to be one of the best, possibly the best, in the whole series. Agreed – and I love that he’s evolving into a sweet, empathetic person -while still being dumb enough to think spelling “password” with 2 “s’s” is going to fool anyone.
Yeah, it’s a fantastic example of someone changing for the better realistically and without compromising their essential character.
“I want to see them do boss shit!”And then we can complain that seeing them working on projects that have nothing to do with the team puts them in their own spin-off show.
Well, you can do whatever you want.Rebecca owns the team. Working necessarily involves the team. And I think there are a lot of good stories to be told about how a powerful woman navigates her industry in what’s really still a man’s world.Keeley is already almost entirely isolated from everyone else, so it’d be a lateral move in that regard. But the only thing we’ve really seen her do work-wise this season, as a supposed Boss Ass Bitch PR Genius, is hire her wild friend then not give her any direction, which unsurprisingly blew up in her face.
It’s just another incongruity with the show. We keep being told Rebecca and Keeley are powerful and capable and strong women, but almost all we’ve seen from them in the story the last two seasons revolves around their personal lives. Apparently in Ted Lasso world, all it takes to be a girlboss is gossiping over cocktails with your fellow girlbosses about who you’re fucking.
Yes! I don’t understand quite how this show fumbles the bag with workplace relationships when that’s the bread and butter of most workplace sitcoms. I can’t put my finger on it 100%, but the way everybody’s dating everybody and up in their business about it (the Diamond Dogs feels like that group of coworkers who go silent when you come in the room) is icky; yet The Office did this all the time.I guess there are fans who find it charming; there is a large contingent of fans who desperately want to see Ted and Rebecca together (I don’t see it; you think you want to see Mario and Peach in real life?).
The cynic in me says that they don’t want to deal with workplace relationship ethics in the show when the creator of the show based a character on his girlfriend and hired her as a consultant, actress, and writer.But, also, they could just *not* write multiple stories where bosses are fucking their subordinates. I guess that option didn’t occur to anybody in the writers room.
I didn’t know about this. It explains so much.
Keeley Jones is based on Keeley Hazell, who was dating Jason Sudeikis when the show was created (and might still be, I don’t know). She was a consultant on the show, she plays Rupert’s new wife Bex, and now she’s a writer on the show as well.
Thanks, this is very interesting context.
they don’t want to deal with workplace relationship ethics in the show when the creator of the show based a character on his girlfriend and hired her as a consultant, actress, and writer.In a nutshell.
But dammmmmmn.
It’s not like ignoring the questionable ethics of these situations has kept them out of mind.
I liked your comment but I take issue with describing Jade as MPG. Nate was improving before he started dating her, not because of, and Jade is not eccentric, whimsical and super feminine.
Was he, though? We saw a couple of moments where his innate decency peeked through, but I don’t really feel like he was improving as a person during his time at West Ham. It just seemed like Jade went from having no interest in him whatsoever to being willing to go out with him and date him from one very minor moment– and apparently his relationship with her is going to be what “fixes” him, which is really where the MPDG comparison comes from.It’s certainly not the most implausible thing the show has done, but given how repeatedly we see Jade have nothing but disinterest and disdain for Nate for so long, the flip felt a little sudden.
I didn’t feel like Nate was improving, either. There is something missing from his arc. We jumped from bad Nate to almost redeemed Nate without any seeming impetus for that change. It feels like there’s a big hole in the middle of his character development, so it does make it seem like he gets the girl and starts to “get better.” It is like this close to the sort of story an incel tells: Everything would be better for me if I could just get a girl to pay attention to me. (I know it’s not entirely that, but absent any real reason why Nate is changing, the only thing in his life this is different is that he has a girlfriend).
It is like this close to the sort of story an incel tells: Everything would be better for me if I could just get a girl to pay attention to me. (I know it’s not entirely that, Glad you said it; I got annoyed commenting on the Nate/Jade subplot and almost called the story-angle Incel-adjacent, but calmed down (IIRC).
After the seeing the cruelty he was capable of (cornering and abusing Will in the locker room when they were alone was skeevily “bad-boyfriend who’s all-fun-and-laughs-until-everyone-else-leaves and then he gets ugly”) the idea that getting himself a nice, TV-pretty girlfriend was all he needed to stop being a self-obsessed bad guy, was offensive.
(Yup, it’s not entirely that, but the breadcrumbs laid throughout previous episodes seemed to hint only at generalized discomfort in his new environs, not any real evolution in character.)
It’s true: the morals of dating a superior at work are NEVER explored in this show. It’s always queasy watching the show pretend that just because two people are cute, it doesn’t matter if one has financial control and power over the other. Ted’s ex wife dating her fucking marriage counselor is so batshit that I can’t even believe the show wants us to think of her as an ok person.Our two women main characters only plots are reduced to who they’re dating and sleeping with. On a show that tries to be as forward thinking as it is (Delete the posts, says Isaac, not really understanding how the internet works), the misogyny of not allowing your women characters to have any agency outside of who they’re fucking is ludicrous. Wasting Hannah Waddingham to reacting to Ted’s dumb questions about hiring a PI is a staggering loss of talent.Clearly I need a little Ted Lasso moralistic sprinkling of “everything is fine, all of the time, everyone deserves forgiveness forever!”, because I say fuck trying to redeem Nate and Ted’s ex wife. They both made awful decisions that hurt people, and the show isn’t giving us enough reason to want to change our minds about them.
“Ted’s ex wife dating her fucking marriage counselor is so batshit that I can’t even believe the show wants us to think of her as an ok person.”Given how acrimonious the Jason Sudeikis – Olivia Wilde split has been, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop on what an awful person Michelle really is, because I’m sure Sudeikis has an axe to grind there. That said, I’m really struck that nobody ever mentions how unethical this behavior is from Dr. Jacob – I’ve seen multiple people point out that in real life you could lose your professional license for this, but no one on the show has even raised a peep about this.But broadly, I agree with your comment. It’s queasy, indeed, and it makes the moral and ethical lessons the show tries to deliver on other topics ring hollow when it just refuses to address this huge elephant in the room. (And spot on about the major women characters– the show loves to tell us over and over that they’re badass girlbosses, but the only stories they ever get are about who they’re fucking, and we rarely if ever see them do any real work.)
I agree with virtually all of this, and the trend of so many characters in ethically questionable relationships is a great observation. It wouldn’t even be bad that the writers do this, if it was an intentional theme of the series, but it doesn’t seem to be. There has been no point or greater message to why we keep seeing this trend.
Right! No one questions these relationships or is really anything but supportive of them, there’s no indication they might be unhealthy, the problems that arise in these relationships never come from the ethical concerns, etc. Even the most obviously unethical one, Dr. Jacob and Michelle, is one where we’re supposed to see Dr. Jacob as something of a Bad Guy from Ted’s perspective, and yet, nobody at all has raised what a flagrant violation of professional ethics— like “potentially lose your license as a therapist” flagrant— he’s committing.
I harped on the ethically murky relationship between Rebecca and Sam last season, and I stand by that. Adding the Dr. Jacob/Michelle and Jack/Keeley relationships and it’s getting to be a bit much. My main bugbear is just how much the development of the female characters has stalled out after season one. One of the best things about the first season was the friendship between Rebecca and Keeley. It was the kind you don’t often see between women on television, notably lacking in cattiness and jealousy. It was genuine, mutually supportive, and hilarious. Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham have maybe the best chemistry of any of the cast. And it’s been utterly squandered by centering so much of their characters around relationships and sex. Season 2 would have been a great opportunity to explore the dynamics of being a female owner in a male-dominated league. Same for Keeley this season trying to raise her profile as a businesswoman. Instead, we’ve gotten lovesick Rebecca mooning about over babies and smitten Keeley taking up with her boss (in what increasingly seems like a queer-baity diversion before she gets back together with one of the guys). Both of these characters could have been better integrated into plots centering around Ted, the team, and the rest of the established ensemble.And for the love of god, where is Dr. Sharon? We get one phone call early in the season and then nothing. We know Ted is still a work in progress, we know he needs more help. The fact that he’s not relying on her invalidates a lot of the progress/things he learned in season 2. Season 3 has had some amusing moments, some very funny scenes, and some really confounding overall development. It’s still enjoyable to watch, but I can’t shake the feeling that it could have been so much more cohesive.
Great comment. I found myself repeatedly agreeing as I read it.My wife is catching up on the last few episodes, and we just saw last week’s— the “fuck yeah!” moment of Jamie figuring out what the team needs at halftime of the Arsenal game, and then orchestrating the second-half goal from midfield like a quarterback, is so so good, probably my favorite sequence of the season. That’s what I mean when I say the show is better when it focuses on football and how that reflects how the Lasso Way has changed people for the better. And then I find myself baffled as to how they can follow that with an episode that’s so preachy, overlong, and pretty much discards everything that makes the show great.The show doesn’t have to focus on football all the time (even the follow-up scene after the game at Sam’s restaurant is fantastic, because it’s another example of the team applying the Lasso Way to real life), but I feel like we’re hardly even getting the character development anymore. We’re getting great characters and their relationships squandered, as you said; we’re getting preachiness on certain moral and ethical issues and blatantly obvious ignoring of other moral and ethical issues; we’re following too many characters on side stories that separate them from the team and inevitably focus just on their sex and dating lives. The show seems to increasingly have traded the process of growth and change and the value of those friendships for stories about dating and sex, and I think it increasingly suffers the more it does that.
The show is at it’s best when it’s running it’s own version of Total Football, one that realizes that the character of Ted and his vision of Richmond is what the other characters have to function through. That’s not to say that all the ensemble needs to constantly be interacting with Ted, but that when characters get disconnected from Ted and from the culture he’s building, they don’t seem to go anywhere. Keeley is a key example of that this year. She has had basically no relationship to Ted or the team, no interaction, in S3. So she’s just sort of spun out into her own universe. Smarter plotting would have allowed her to be at her business but still involved in Richmond football. How hard would it have been to keep her involved? She was already doing the team’s PR. It might have been a good opportunity to pair her up with Trent Crimm some, perhaps helping him with the ins and outs of the clubhouse. Or she could have been working on a larger PR push for the team or the league. And Nate, he leaves Richmond and spins out of Ted’s orbit, and that could have been a great opportunity to really explore what happens when someone grows jaded at the Lasso Way. But they’ve largely kept Nate and Ted separate, and not really done much work to illustrate how and why Nate changes. He just sort of exists in stasis until the plot needs him again. I’m also baffled by how a show that works so hard to grapple with the problematic elements of Western masculinity has then also engaged in some of the least introspective work with its female characters. The reliance on romance plots for Rebecca in season 2 and Keeley in season 3 has been really disappointing. At times I wonder if there are any women in the writer’s room. Because so much of the women’s plots on seasons 2 and 3 just feel like a room full of dudes sat back, looked at each other and said, “So, uh, whadda we do with the girls now? Like, babies? Lesbianism? What do women, like, do?”The best moments of this season so far have been the ones that highlight the way people develop within the confines of the club’s culture. Amsterdam was great–Roy and Jamie on bikes was priceless. The team cleaning up the restaurant was pure joy. Likewise, in season 2, the highlights for me were the Christmas episode and seeing Ted finally buy into the ethos he’s been preaching to others by reaching out and being vulnerable with Dr. Sharon. When it’s good, it’s good. I just wish the “just OK” parts were a little bit better, a bit more focused, a bit tighter. Then they could still be just OK, but also useful in moving the story forward.
I’m also baffled by how a show that works so hard to grapple with the problematic elements of Western masculinity has then also engaged in some of the least introspective work with its female characters. The reliance on romance plots for Rebecca in season 2 and Keeley in season 3 has been really disappointing. At times I wonder if there are any women in the writer’s room. Because so much of the women’s plots on seasons 2 and 3 just feel like a room full of dudes sat back, looked at each other and said, “So, uh, whadda we do with the girls now? Like, babies? Lesbianism? What do women, like, do?”I’m still trying to figure out why the show dropped the “Keeley hires her model friend” subplot like a hot potato. It could have been an opportunity for Keeley to grow into the mentor figure that Rebecca is for her. Or it could have been an opportunity for her to grow closer to Barbara and learn that there’s more to running a business than hiring your friends on a whim because you recognize their “potential.” They kind of try for the latter—minus the growing closer to Barbara bit, who remains weirdly superfluous—but Keeley seems to learn nothing and suffer no professional consequences for the Shandy debacle and oh who cares never mind here’s a new love interest!
Yeah, they missed an opportunity there. As far as I can tell Keeley didn’t even attempt to guide or steer Shandy towards tasks and areas she had the skills for and was good at— recall that Keeley gets the idea to hire her in the first place because Shandy shows how knowledgeable she is on the shoot— instead just kind of hoping it would all work out somehow. There’s a great potential story there in, say, Keeley learning from Rebecca’s mentorship on how to mentor someone herself, whether or not it succeeded. But the show didn’t even try.
You cited the very quote I was “for g*d’s sake YES”ing to.
And yeah – DUH – why didn’t they use Keeley’s friend to help her grow as a manager, and why not do something with Barbara?
A previous comment is still greyed and this may not make it to post, but FWIW this this particular thread (incl Thundercats, Coati, Capt.Tragedy, etc.) has been a pleasure and a relief to read.
Hot take: Ted Lasso is a Romantic Comedy around a football club, NOT a football show with romantic undertones.
You might be right that it is now. When it was at its best, though, it was the other way around.
“Clearly Keeley was bothered by Jack referring to her as her “friend,” but then that never comes up in their argument.”Because Jack doesn’t let it. The argument was all about Jack and when it might become not about Jack she left.“Jack is worried about her own public image after the leak… but the public image of dating the head of a company she funds, let alone the ethics of it*, never came up before?”Jack isn’t concerned about the ethics, she’s concerned about the optics. She doesn’t have to care about the ethics any more than Rupert does. What would Rupert do? He would not only not care about the ethics, he’d think it was a credit to himself that he fucked the head of the company he funds and there’s nothing that anyone else could do about it.
Nate’s story is fine enough, I guess, in that it’s starting to unveil
some decency in him and hopefully steer him in a direction where he
takes charge of his own life and figures out what he wants and values instead of being so invested in others’ opinion of him.
It’s funny, my main takeaway from Nate’s storyline was that he’s still as much of a twat as he’s always been even though he’s trying to be more Ted-like. The whole “Love Hounds” thing where he completely ignored his one assistant who had an actual problem he was dealing with (as opposed to “this girl I’ve gone out with once doesn’t want to label our relationship”) shows that he’s still a fully self-centered prick who doesn’t give the slightest shits about anyone else.
At this point it feels like you’re trolling. Jesus Christ, you’re the worst.
“Last week I was thrilled the show went back to its season 1 roots” – C+
“This show has completely lost its way” – C
Yeah, it’s a little funny because last week I mentioned that I largely agreed with the review but I would have given it at least an A-.
No
I feel like the writers on this show were, like, “Okay—we’ve proven we can be funny! So we don’t need to do that anymore, let’s try to be . . . something else this season.”
This was a pretty mediocre episode of Lasso. Probably the first one I’ve watched where I just wanted it to end. Some poignant moments-as usual-but overall seemed lacking. Let’s hope the final episodes come through a little better.
This whole season has been an absolute miss for me. I loved Season 1, was tepidly enjoying Season 2, and I hate Season 3. If this weren’t the final season, this episode would’ve been the one that made me stop watching altogether.
I actually liked that team talk about the ethics of the “Great Awankening”, and how anyone who chooses to look at those photos and videos is just as culpable as the hackers who released them. What I find curious though that there is no mention of the responsibilities and security failings of the service these photos and videos were stolen from, since this is an AppleTV+ show and it was Apple’s iCloud that was breached in the real life Fappening. Guess the show was a little too afraid to bite the hand that feeds them.
there was a plot point in the recent apple movie ‘ghosted’ about using apple’s own air tags to essentially stalk someone, and it almost comes off as advocating for it in the movie itself.
Maybe because you don’t know what actually happened. iCloud was not breached. The celebrities were phished. This is why it only affected them and not everyone else. There’s only so much you can do to protect morons from themselves.
“What I find curious though that there is no mention of the responsibilities and security failings of the service these photos and videos were stolen from”
I’d love to know how you think that part of it would be handled in a show about football players and their coach.
I gotta say, Henry completely stonewalling Dr. Jacob at the end was wholly satisfying. Also, Dave Grohl learning to play drums on pillows definitely I feel isn’t common knowledge, and this is coming from someone who considers himself a big fan of both Nirvana and the Foo Fighters (although bringing up Dave Grohl as a drummer is interesting, I’m curious if he’s as well known as a drummer as he is as a frontman considering the lifespan of both bands).While I have never worked in that high level of sport, I am curious if there is relative ease for coaches of other teams to go to opponent’s matches of their own free will. Obviously, buying the ticket would be fine but I have a hard time seeing someone like Pep go to a Man U game.Was there a point to the Jack/Keeley relationship? Was it to say “Oh, same-sex relationships can be just as toxic as opposite-sex relationships”, because if that was the point, then good God was it a waste. Also, pour one out for the employees of Keeley’s PR firm, who are almost certainly going to lose their job (I have a hard time seeing Jack, as the character has been written so far, continuing to fund her work after this breakup).Finally, I gotta say, Mae has turned into kind of a bitch this season. Her character has been written more into the Richmond fandom, and it’s kind of disappointing. Though, her giving Beard and Ted the business for Henry’s West Ham shirt was pretty funny (and come on, you can’t blame a child for wanting to see someone he considers a friend in Nate).
I’m pretty sure everyone knows Dave Grohl is a drummer. My daughters, who only know of Nirvana as a historical artifact, know Dave Grohl plays the drums. He can play just about anything he gets his hands on but the drums are what he’s really best at.
It was a little like ‘really?’ that Mae was going to refuse the kid service, just because he went to a rival match. I was hoping she was playing around, but no it seemed like Beard had to genuinely talk her into it.
Maybe the whole story arc is that Keeley and Jamie were not mature enough for each other at the beginning of the show and now both have grown and matured and are now perfect for each other? The total football romcom long game?
Too much like the end of How I Met Your Mother to like it all that much.Or maybe I’m just not keen on Roy ending up alone. It’s a bit late in the season to drop that hot teacher of Phoebe’s back into the mix.
The show does take a sharp turn into the cheese zone quite often. The cringy Hey Jude scene is a prime example. Roy will take over as head coach when Ted reunites with his wife and returns to the US, he will be okay.
That’s my call as well. Too many moments with Ted and the ex being good together to ignore. The theory for now is he goes back to US with her, Beard stays, Roy moves up, maybe Nate returns after Rupert pulls some horrible bs. Keeley either rejoins Jamie or chooses herself. Rebecca finds boat guy.
Hm. This could work
The episode that did things you say you were “thrilled” by was still just a C+ for you. I agree the show is unfocused now, but I’m not sure I can really take your POV entirely seriously anymore.
I’ll never not laugh at this show’s absurdly expensive musical budget. The only time it makes me laugh! I get the impression that apple was desperate for a hit here and they absolutely cranked the turd polisher up to 11.Actually, the other funny element of Ted Lasso is the blubbering weirdos who enjoy it dropping the “kindcore” mantle and going full evil in these comments. Your hero would not approve!
It never ceases to amaze me how often the people who talk about “nicecore” and “hopepunk” and learning how to be a good person from TV shows like that, just turn into the most vicious, rage-filled psychos if you criticize their precious shows (which, apparently, have not actually taught them anything about how to be a good person).Hell, you see a lot of it in the comments here!
I’m evil so Ted can be nice.
A thing that hasn’t happened and that you couldn’t point out an example of if you wanted to. 🙂
What are you talking about? The first comment here is a great example. I’ve seen plenty of crazy over-the-top unhinged reactions to criticisms of the show. Did you not see the “Not liking Ted Lasso means your masculinity is threatened by eating pussy” tweet from that lady during season 2?Anyway, it doesn’t matter, since you just flat-out called me a liar but in the most polite tone you could muster, and since you think I’m a liar, I see no point in continuing this conversation.
Woah! You are so hardcore and cooler than anyone else! Thanks for stopping by with all your wit and wisdom.
Might I suggest…not watching the show?
You’re so fucking edgy, bud.
Liking a show doesn’t mean its main character is your hero or that you want to behave like them. I liked The Sopranos, but I have yet to become a mafia boss.
Well, this was not a great episode. And as I finished watching, I reflected on how there seems to be a Law of Diminishing Returns with this writers’ group – both here with Ted Lasso and with their Lasso-adjacent Apple TV+ offering Shrinking – a show I initially loved but abandoned halfway through the season, even with the sterling performances of Harrison Ford and the rest of the cast.Lasso S1 will always be a classic for me, but S3 – and especially this episode – is making me think it’s a good thing the series will end soon. Why? Well, for starters, why isn’t Ted talking to Dr. Sharon? Because they can’t afford Sarah Niles to come back and do a speaking part? Or because it’d be too quick of a narrative fix? I mean, they can afford to give speaking parts to a bunch of players we definitely haven’t heard from before for that incredibly forced dressing room discussion of privacy and fame, which took up far too much time for what it genuinely had to say, but apparently it’s more relevant (?) to the plot to have Ted pull a quasi-S1-Rebecca and send a PI after Michelle and Dr. Jack in Paris on a dirt-digging expedition? Why? To juxtapose Rebecca then and now to show how much wisdom she’s accrued? We already knew that. (For that matter, having Rebecca be the calming Font of All Wisdom this week instead of a fleshed-out character did Hannah Waddingham a great disservice, but I digress.)The Keeley/Jack stuff played out just as sickeningly as I expected, and once again Juno Temple is basically used for some lipstick lesbian scenes that I couldn’t help but think were gratuitous, simply because Juno and Jodi Balfour are clearly so attractive (even when Balfour wore the Nick Cannon-inspired togs to mini-golf). And once again, Keeley’s sexual freedom became a bigger deal than her larger story about independence and ambition. I just hated that the conflict that drove Jack and Keeley apart was (once again) about some provocative Juno Temple-wanking thing (of all the callbacks this show has done, calling back to S2’s masturbation-over-Roy’s-retirement for this arc was the least essential for me), instead of appealing to Keeley’s innate good sense and instincts. It made me feel like the reason Keeley got upset is that Jack didn’t find the video “fucking hot” enough to stand up for it rather than be ashamed of it, which might play if you consider Keeley a one-note footballer-shagging sexual predator, but doesn’t when you see Keeley at the end of S1 and through most of S2. I will say, though, that seeing Jamie and Keeley at the end of the ep was the closest I’ve come to seeing the Keeley I fell for earlier on in the series, and it was a welcome sight.As for Nate and Jade, it was… cute. And, really, it plays into Nate’s whole state of arrested development, so it was at least consistent – as was the disastrous attempt at a “Love Hounds” meeting (more on that in a bit). What I didn’t like was how Nate handled seeing Ted at the West Ham game, and his text to Rupert afterward. I know we’re supposed to hate that Nate second-guessed his initial reaction to Rupert’s move to ban Ted from future matches, but that first text wasn’t all that great either. It made him look like a real dick, to be honest, and it really lends weight to other commenters here who say that that is what Nate is by nature – when it’s clear the show does not believe that. Again, I think the writers are being a bit inelegant with this arc – maybe I’ll retroactively change my mind when it’s complete at the end, but for now it didn’t sit very well.Not enough Roy this week, either.I will say that my personal letter grade was bumped up by one and a half solely for the sight of Higgins sprinting into Ted’s office after being summoned for the Diamond Dogs. Goddamn I love that man.
Always enjoy your observations. Probably the most insightful and closest to my own thoughts that I read in these comments.
Had a chuckle thst you praised the comment as “insightful” and then said it was closest to your own thoughts. Great way to compliment yourself. Hat’s off to you!
Yeah, I’m pretty great. Sometimes, though, other people find ways to articulate things I was feeling but couldn’t find the words for, and they deserve credit too.
“Probably the most insightful and closest to my own”
Sorry, I can’t make out what you’re saying, what with your stuffing your own cock down your throat so aggressively.
(Very insightful and happy to see that someone else bailed out of Shrinking like we did)
I wanted so badly to like it, but it just never came together for me.
Well I am glad the Keeley-Jack romance storyline is over hopefully, anyway. Feel bad for Roy blowing his attempt to comfort Keeley & get back on her good side, especially because that perhaps opened the door for Jamie, whose fault the hack was, but who Keeley forgave because he took responsibility for it & was concerned about her. I don’t hate the Nate storyline as much as I expected, but it is not great.I loved how enthusiastic Trent was about joining the Diamond Dogs I don’t even like “Hey Jude” or Coach Beard, but that was a fun scene The stakes are a little higher this time with Colin possibly being outed, but I feel sure that Isaac feels that his responsibility as captain applies to everyone on the team regardless of orientation
“Feel bad for Roy blowing his attempt to comfort Keeley”
Yeah, I feel really for the guy, making it about himself. Poor fella.
I’m pretty sure they are setting up a real possibility that Ted is going to leave and go back to the states potentially to be closer to Henry.In a lot of ways, it would also make sense for end game to be Keeley and Jamie now that both have grown into themselves and grown up.
Yeah, I was assuming that Ted would go back to the US and Nate would take over Richmond.
“I’m pretty sure they are setting up a real possibility that Ted is going to leave and go back to the states potentially to be closer to Henry.”
WHOA, you think so?
What a massive faux pas by Coach Beard and Ted this episode. You never wear your team’s gear to a sporting event in which your team isn’t playing.
Ted wasn’t wearing his team’s gear, just normal clothes. Beard was deliberately wearing them because he hates Nate.
“Beard was deliberately wearing them because he hates Nate.”
He doesn’t hate Nate, you tool. He hates the team and the team’s owner.
Do you not get that Beard did it completely intentionally? He mentions that he needs to stop off at home first, what did you think he was getting?
Judging by this review and some of the other comments below, I feel like I must be in the minority in liking this episode (and season 3 generally).Ted getting worked up over whether or not Jacob was going to propose worked for me. Rebecca giving Ted sound advice really worked.Nate slowly returning to his pre “wonder kid” self, by way of his relationship with Jade, worked for me.Keeley and Jack’s break up became more inevitable the more we got to know Jack. While it didn’t do Keeley the best for agency/character development, overall it worked for me.The biggest thing to happen in the episode, was the storyline that got least amount of airtime. Colin and Isaac’s friendship has changed now that Isaac knows Colin’s secret. While this could see things go south for their relationship, I don’t think Ted Lasso is that kind of show. I daresay that Isaac will be more upset that Colin didn’t trust him enough to come out to him.Things will be initially rocky, but will ultimately resolve themselves.
I agree with you on Isaac. He was upset that Colin was keeping the secret, not so much what the secret was. I think Isaac will tell him that and they will remain friends, which will provide Colin with the confidence to come out. And Trevor will co-write his book.
I’ve noticed a bad trend where reviewers/fans seem to think mental health improvements go on a straight line and there’s no chance of setback.
Exhibit 1: The whining over Jaime Lannister going back to Cersei after being with Brienne. That was perfectly in keeping with the character. Jaime is addicted to that toxic relationship and he fell off the wagon. That it comes after having something good happen (Brienne) is even more accurate.
Exhibit 2: Wanda Maximoff. You idiots really thought she was FIXED at the end of WandaVision? Are you kidding? Of COURSE she was vulnerable and ripe for a dark turn.
Exhibit 3: Ted Lasso. He’s working on himself. That means he’s still working. That means he can have bad days at work. Or days where he doesn’t do the work as well. Or he gets lazy. Or the work piles up. And then you have moments like where he loses it over the idea of Dr. MindRape proposing to Michelle in Paris.
Lost its way back in season 2.The Frank Grimes episode was the Christmas episode.Season 1 was this perfect encapsulation of kindness versus cynicism, and a pretty thrillingly unflinching look at the latter. It was brave in its kindness.Season 2, though? Kindness WAS its weakness, because it conflated it with pure cornballiness.There was no turning back from the Christmas episode WHERE IT MADE SANTA’S EXISTENCE CANON.
That delete your pics convo is being passed around on Twitter very unseriously
Week after week I read these reviews out of morbid curiosity. And I don’t think Manuel actually ever liked this show or liked it for the right reasons. Watching the way these characters have grown and developed is beyond inspiring. Plus, in a show about change and dealing with change, the fact that Ted and company would respond differently than they would 2-3 years ago makes sense. And to answer your question why Jack would play big shot in front of Keeley’s staff and crumble in front of her college friend is because A) Jack was love bombing and impressing her and B) Like Roy, probably upset the video wasn’t for her. Each week you trash the show for not being what you want instead of what it is: A show that reminds us to love our enemies and be better than we were.
“beyond inspiring” are you okay? seriously, what happened to you?
Last week, I was thrilled when Ted Lasso went back to its season-one roots and remembered it was a soccer show where its central sport served as a metaphor,lol, you don’t get the show at all…
This show has *never* been about soccer. Not even for a second. The EPL is simply a delivery method for, well, everything the show actually IS about. It’s like saying The Office is a show about paper sales.
But The Office wasn’t a show where Michael Scott appeared to be a buffoon but was actually slowly and steadily making everyone around him better paper salesmen. He was just a buffoon of a boss.You can say the show is “not about soccer,” but the soccer framework is how we see how Ted’s methods slowly influence everyone around him for the better, and how everyone, including Ted, grows and changes as a result. Lately the show feels like the writers are less interested in that process of growth and change than they are in who’s fucking whom.
I was about to post the same thing.It’s like people who got upset when Mad Men had episodes that weren’t about advertising.
Actually, he does. Perhaps you just see it differently. You might try not being so dismissive of perspectives different than your own.
In what way does he get the show?
Every week it’s the same negative review template… too much characters, not enough football. Ted Lasso isn’t Welcome to Wrexham.“For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field.” – Ted Lasso S1E3
Ted Lasso from the first episode has been about Ted’s world view, how it affects those around him and his desire to make people the “best version of themselves”. It’s always the same thing, too many off the field B and C stories/not enough football. The whole point of the show is the character arc each and every one of these characters take… Ted, Roy, Jaimie, Keeley, Rebecca, Issac, Colin, Trent, Sam, etal. are all on a journey from where they were, to where they are and beyond.For example. the author posits that they are confused by the Jack/Keely story this week, completely ignoring the point that in the start of the show, Keely was just a model/footballer girlfriend and despite the progress she may have made in the series, there is still a bit of that persona at her core and that leads to her insecurities being on display this week. They did Afterall make a point of displaying her “TV Hotel avatar” thing in the Amsterdam episode was a subtle reminder that she isn’t that far out from that old lifestyle, despite her recent successful pivot.That it is taken a step further and criticized as the writers reducing it to a plot device for her to run back to past loves is a bit much. I didn’t see any desire in either of her interactions with either Roy or Jamie. But I could have missed it.It’s fine if the reviewer isn’t interested in Nate’s evolution from Kit Man to Premiere League coach and how he’s effected by his insecurities, but to be dismissive each and every week of a wide range of characters and complain that the show isn’t as one dimensional as they want it to be, seems like a blind spot and makes me think they just don’t get it. A show that is 90% Ted Lasso standing on the sidelines during a game/practice sounds like a boring show, but that is my opinion.
Ted Lasso from the first episode has been about Ted’s world view, how it affects those around him and his desire to make people the “best version of themselves”.But increasingly, it hasn’t been about that. It’s been a diffuse show that’s split into four or five entirely separate plots, most of which have little to do with Ted’s influence on people and have a lot more to do with various characters’ love lives (while, weirdly, ignoring the various ethical quandaries in said love lives), and that keep a great cast of characters separated much more often than they bring them together.The show is better when it focuses on soccer because that’s the main vehicle by which we see Ted’s influence on others put into practice and how it works. (Jamie’s realization in the locker room at halftime of the last episode may have been the most satisfying moment of the season.) Other than Jamie, though, we really haven’t seen much of that influence ongoing.
Well yeah, because Ted’s got his own shit going on. And he can’t be there for everyone forever. It’s much more interesting to see how his influence is still affecting these characters even though they aren’t directly receiving it at the moment because Ted’s still going through the aftereffects of his divorce.Nate growing without Ted is interesting because we’re seeing him go from “I have to show everyone around me how tough I am all the time or else I won’t get any respect” to “I should be my genuine self and fuck the people who don’t respect that.” Keeley knows how to stand up for herself and her values even with someone she both loves and is in some ways beholden to by refusing Jack’s insistence that she apologize for the sex tape. Rebecca is figuring out how to move on from Rupert and enjoy the moments in life for what they are, past and future be damned. And it’s that last one that’s so interesting because she’s able to turn around and give that right back to Ted in this episode, pointing out how he’s missing an amazing moment that he could be sharing with his child because he’s so fixated on Michelle.Yeah, this is all a different show from S1. That to me feels like a good thing? Ted being able to fix everyone’s problems by just being Ted is less interesting than seeing these characters use the emotional toolkits he’s helped them develop to deal with problems on their own.
It’s much more interesting to see how his influence is still affecting these characters even though they aren’t directly receiving it at the moment I’m saying we’re not seeing that. We’re seeing a bunch of dating stories.
We’re seeing a bunch of dating stories.Bill Lawrence has been making this type of show for his entire career, it’s always weird to see criticism over it.Keeley and roy/jamie/jack is in the forefront right now, but there have been a dozen other non-dating relationships that have been influencing her character arc. Ted, Rebecca, sassy, the players (via PR), the people in her new office among a bunch of others.Nothing about this show is 1 dimensional, as long as you are willing to look.
Can we be dismissive of people still using “lol”?
I’m genuinely not sure you’ve watched the show before this season, because most of the things you’re complaining about have always been there. Ted being folksy? Uh, that’s kinda central to his character? The weird comment about how people don’t know Grohl learned to play drums on the pillows? It’s not like the dude has written a memoir and talked about stuff like that in interviews in the last couple years, right? Also: Beard explaining “Hey Jude” to a literal child who absolutely would have no frame of reference for what the song means or why it was written is not “tell, don’t show”… it’s completely natural and something that happens in, y’know, real life. I have to explain meanings to my 12 year old all the time. It was fully in character, and fully understandable that a child wouldn’t get the nuance, and fully understandable that Beard would talk him through it in that situation.
“Ted being folksy? Uh, that’s kinda central to his character?”Betancourt never seems to grasp the central conceit of the character—namely, that Ted genuinely is a folksy, corny, down-to-earth guy, but that doesn’t mean he’s dumb or can’t contain hidden depths. So many of Betancourt’s gripes with the character amount to “how could this flyover hillbilly hick rube possibly be aware of Twin Peaks?” He seems baffled by the very thought that people from…yuck…Kansas might have wider interests than NASCAR and John Grisham.
As a Kansan and Twin Peaks fan, I appreciate this.
“The weird comment about how people don’t know Grohl learned to play drums on the pillows? It’s not like the dude has written a memoir and talked about stuff like that in interviews in the last couple years, right?”
Or the fact that people who are married tend to talk to one another about their interests. The idea that it’s insane that two people who were married for many years might know the same pop culture tidbit is the very definition of a nitpick.
The kid said he was a Beatles fan. I knew what Hey Jude was about by the time I was his age.
Maybe you should stop writing tripe about a show you clearly no longer understand. I don’t know if you ever knew your way, but you certainly do not know. Just stop.
Clearly not enjoying it. You are aware it’s a comedy? The Hey Jude stuff was a bit childish and saccharine but that’s been happening since the celebrity auction in the first season. Keeley’s been a martyr to open sexuality since then as well. Teds still embarrassing; Roy still abuses assaults and intimidates everyone but no one gets hurt, Jamie’s still an idiot with a heart of gold.It’s a very childish show where nothing really bad happens and people are good all along even when they do bad things. So why get upset now? Nothings changed. Same show different jokes. I can’t help feel you are reviewing it poorly because it’s not the show you want it to be rather than the show it is.I’m fine with it. It’s funny. It’s engaging. I don’t hate it.
To answer the question – no. No, it has not lost its way. Thanks for asking though!
1. I don’t think this was the best episode of Ted Lasso. It still had some really good sequences, but overall it was not as well executed as usual. 2. I don’t think this means the show has “lost its way”. It is the same show it has been with the same themes. After the first season a lot of folks got pretty big expectations about what they wanted Ted Lasso to be, but it really has not changed very much. What some people seem to want from it has changed, which is fine, but I am still happy.3. The show continues not to be about soccer. I think the acknowledgement of that basic fact is pretty key to a fair appraisal of the show.4. I think all the Diamond Dogs sequences are pretty great, and Trent is a fantastic addition.5. Ted is really right about Paris. My wife and I met in London while we were both studying abroad. We took a trip there two weeks into our relationship, and even though there was no proposal at the time we started talking seriously about our future at a sidewalk cafe and were married a year later. I attribute our 25 year marriage to the fact that not even I can manage to screw up Paris.
“5. Ted is really right about Paris. Now here, let met tell you an anedcdote that LITERALLY contradicts what Ted said COMPLETELY.”
Good…job?
“This week, on a very special Ted Lasso…”
The show started to lose its way the moment fucking Santa Claus appeared at the end of “Carol of the Bells” and ruined what was otherwise the best episode of the series. It’s been downhill from there: Coach Beard’s weird episode, steadily increasing runtimes, the shift from comedy to drama, Nate’s heel turn, etc.I’m reminded of the comic book Bone. For the unfamiliar, it’s basically what Walt Disney’s take on Lord of the Rings would look like. It started off as one of the funniest and most charming comic books I ever read. However, as it went on, the story shifted from comedy to epic drama and lost most of its charm along the way.
or cerebus.
Bone was amazing all the way through. Cerebus was also amazing, but in the second half it was amazing in a “look at that semi truck full of fireworks crashing into a gasoline tanker” kind of way.Ted Lasso (for better or worse) shares the fact that it’s written in English with those two works and basically nothing else.
Nothing about the Michelle/Ted-moving-on storyline works because it’s overshadowed by how insanely gross and unethical it is that a therapist and marriage counsellor is dating his former patient. That dude is a straight up predator and the show doesn’t seem to realise it.
Yeah, it’s really wild how that just keeps never coming up. It’s so weird that this show spends so much time on dating and relationships but never addresses any of the obvious ethical problems in certain relationships.
I dearly wish Sassy, also a therapist, had crashed that breakfast date
“That dude is a straight up predator and the show doesn’t seem to realise it.”
Also? In the real world, this type of thing happens all the time, and Michelle is an adult who can make her own decisions, thank you very much.
They do it over and over and never really consider how wrong it is. Rebecca and Sam, Jacob and Michelle, Jack and Keeley. There are real power differentials that are unethical.
Was I the only person who was mystified by the relationship between Nate and his new hostess-now-girlfriend….?She seemed to hate him and think he was a total knob, in past episodes. All his I’m-an-important-guy routines didn’t appear to impress her at all, they just made her think he was more of a twat. But now, all of a sudden, she’s his girl? You might expect he made some grand romantic gestures that changed her mind, but no — she never saw his diorama, it was run over before he could show it to her. (And in fact, her view looked to have begun to change before that anyway.) So why her change of opinion about him? I felt like I missed something? First she was too smart for him and unimpressed, now she seems like his brainless arm-candy.
So, Jade first took interest in Nate when he brought that model Rupert set him up with on a date to the restaurant. The model was clearly disinterested in the whole thing, but Jade was eavesdropping and heard Nate talking about how much he loves the food there and what the restaurant means to his family. It was the first time Jade had really seen him expressing sincerity instead of trying to impress people, and then after the model leaves she shares the baklava with him.It’s still a bit thin, but there is a catalyst, at least.
It’s a little jarring, but I think they tried to soften the abrupt turnaroud with the implication that some time has now passed. (The ep starts by announcing that Richmond has been on a winning streak for a little while now).The thing about this hostess is it could be assumed that she never liked Nate. But it could also be assumed that maybe she had liked him for a while, and just fucked with him because she could. The actress is brilliant at those unreadable expressions, but that’s what they are- unreadable. However, regardless of if she liked him first, or if she didn’t but changed her mind, what the show should do is make it clear what she sees in him, because they haven’t.
I think she’s always liked him, or at least found him annoying weird, but at the same time, a harmless and friendly face. And it wasn’t so much fucking with him but more waiting for him to ask her out and show some kind of personality and talk to her like a normal person instead of trying to order food, kissing up to the manager, or being a braggart. She seemed a little jealous and disappointed when he brought that model around. It’s also England, and that blank, unresponsive, deadpan is the MO for some of them.
While you are right that the show should be spending more time digging into her personality and past better, at the same time, she seems naturally reserved and quiet like Nate and how she comes off as unreadable, understandably where and why they’re hitting off.
Yea it’s hard to tell because for the longest time, I thought, just like the OP, that Nate had 0 chance. But her jealousy at bringing that date around was such a key moment. (So in my head canon, she must have enjoyed watching him squirm because dude would be sweating and she wouldn’t give an inch, lol)
And she certainly appreciated him defending the place when the model was insulting it, so we got a little something there. But there needs to be more explanation on what changed. Now she seems proud of Nate’s status, and telling him to enjoy his wins, when that’s what he’d been trying to do before!
Exactly.
I don’t think and never got the impression that she hated him or thought he was bad or anything, or else she would’ve directly expressed it and flat out turned him down, and would’ve been rude to him. If anything, she was waiting for him to make his move as far as asking her out, and in general show some kind of personality other than him ordering food, kissing up to her boss, and showing off. When he finally did, she was impressed enough to want to do a date and learned in the process that maybe they do have much in common and I can see it as far as her also being quiet and awkward.
If anything, I wish the show would’ve dived more and deeper into her background to see how much in common they do have.
Jade is in a position where she can see people relate to each other when they aren’t noticing her. She sees him when he’s trying and failing at his important-guy routine, but she also sees him when he’s earnest.It’s not so much that she has changed her opinion but that the has different opinions about the the different parts of him. We haven’t seen him try to pull his important guy routine when out with her and I bet if he did she’s just walk out of scene.
Funny to see that the review posted three hours ago has been completely rewritten and still sadly isn’t much better. You had so much wrong the first time, and was flipping through my deleted items to see if I’d perhaps read a review from another source, but no. It was definitely AV Club. I was never a fan of the fawning A+ stuff that used to be common place here, but now you seem to be going further in the opposite direction.It’s fine to be critical of the show, but this was one of the better episodes of the season. I’m not saying any of these have been A material, but it’s certainly better than the C you gave it. I do wonder why Ted in a moment of crisis didn’t call back to his old shrink, who I know has left the show but that would seem a lot more natural to me. So that definitely rang false. It was good that Rebecca at the end finally got him straightened out.The Hey Jude scene was nice. Glad Richmond has won 4 in a row. Nate having his redemption moment was predictable but a lot better than seeing him acting like an ass. Felt weird to see the Captain, a true leader of the club get everyone to wipe their phones of photos and videos, but then show total disrespect to Colin and take the phone out of his hands. Not cool. I am sure that this will be a subject for the final 4 eps.Off to find a better review than MB. He never ceases to fail me.
Thank you, I felt like I was losing my mind. Parts of this review have been completely re-written, and the tone is totally different.
I must have missed the original entirely then. I thought this was well written enough, whether or not you agreed with it (I mostly but not entirely did, or had different reasons for having similar reactions to the episode).
Jesus, just when I think the A.V. Club couldn’t be any more unprofessional, they massively edit an article after posting it? What the actual fuck?
While I agree with the reviewer that the episode and this season have really gone down the tubes, a couple of paragraphs of slapdash recaps ain’t cutting it for me.The previous reviewer, Myles McNutt, now does actual in-depth reviews over at Medium, with his column Episodic Medium. It does cost $5/mo, but I think it’s worth it for actual TV journalism
“Felt weird to see the Captain, a true leader of the club get everyone to wipe their phones of photos and videos, but then show total disrespect to Colin and take the phone out of his hands.”
He thought Colin fucked off because he didn’t want to delete photos.
Not sure how that’s disrespect on McAdoo’s part. He was ensuring that the most vocal proponent of “Team Let’s Look At The Awankening Photos” actually deleted them.
If anyone remembers, what was changed between the two versions of the review?
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It’s wayward and close to woeful. They seem to have no idea what to do with any of the characters and it’s just not funny or clever (or particularly sweet) anymore.
Season 1 was great, 2 not so much, 3 really dropped the ball.
As a big soccer fan, the less the show deals with the nuts and bolts of the sport itself, the better, since they’re so terrible at it. I understand explaining soccer tactics to an audience that doesn’t know much is hard, and obviously the premise is that Ted doesn’t know anything, but making the players, fans, announcers, and others seem completely ignorant is just silly. The whole “Total Football” debacle was the last straw.
*yawn*
During the “Total Football debacle” my daughter, who plays soccer and is 12, briefly looked up from her video game and said, “Total Football is just football; that is the way everyone plays now and why I, a defender, [very] occasionally score.”
Your daughter is wise and exactly right. Every single player on Richmond would have been playing some form of Total Football since before they were your daughters age.
Has this show lost its way?No.
It was an ok middle chapter of an ok story.
If you’re expecting more then that’s on you.
Also if you’re a TV series reviewer that doesn’t remember that shows can focus on character relationships more in later seasons because we’ve gotten to know the characters through their actions in earlier seasons, then perhaps it’s you who have lost your way.
This article is making a compelling case against anti-unionization because AV Club should be embarrassed by this article being posted on their site.
“Ted Lasso recap: Has this show lost its way?”No.
I legit do not know what you want out of this show. Because the only thing I’m coming up with is that you want it not to exist.
A lot of the messages this episode felt forced, I’ll definitely grant that. But I still don’t understand the dislike of the romantic arcs. Football isn’t a necessary component of personal development. What we’re watching is Ted’s impact on these people as it widens into the world and reverberates back to him.Also: Ted’s arc has to end with him returning to the U.S., so these people are going to have to live their lives without him and his guidance (and football) at some point. we just shuttle between plots with little rhyme or reasonThe directing was a little lackluster this time around, so the rhythm of the episode was definitely off. But thematically, everything held together. There were parallels between storylines and even scenes, so I’d argue there was plenty of rhyme and reason to showing us what we saw when we saw it. Wasn’t Jack the one who a few weeks back was squashing office romance rumors by confronting Keeley’s employees and telling them they were dating? Why did she become a corporate wallflower who introduces Keeley as “her friend” to an acquaintance and refuses to be empathetic about Keeley’s plight as she deals with such a blatant breach in privacy?There’s a big difference between announcing your relationship to a bunch of corporate underlings and announcing it to your circle of high-society friends and family.Not to mention the timing: Jack was all set to introduce Keeley to the important people in her life until the video was leaked. Then she did everything she could to keep Keeley under wraps until she issued a corporate-mandated apology. I mean, they went to mini-golf instead of the big polo fundraiser. There weren’t supposed to be any important people there, but oops! Hen do! (I think that’s what they call bachelorette parties, right?)Anyway, I don’t think this episode was a slam dunk, but I liked it well enough. A solid “B” entry in the Ted Lasso oeuvre.
While I’m here: I don’t understand the complaints that Keeley is being reduced to her sexuality this season. She’s had more than one important moment of growth as the head of her PR company. She had to fire a good friend for doing bad work, and she had to discipline a coworker for being inappropriate in the office.Is her sexuality a big part of her character? Sure. But so are her work and her friendships. She’s certainly had more story time devoted to those things than Colin, who one could argue has been turned into his sexuality at this point. How many times do we have to see him make the same lame “straight” jokes in the locker room before he comes out and everyone accepts him?
What was the “discipline a coworker for being inappropriate in the office”? I don’t remember that.Even the Keeley/Shandy plot, though, feels like it left so many potential stories unexplored. It didn’t seem like Keeley tried to mentor Shandy or steer her in a direction where her talents would be most useful. Whether that succeeded or failed, there could be a lot of material in the effort, in how Keeley grows and learns from it, getting advice from Rebecca on mentorship, etc. Instead, Keeley just kind of left Shandy to do her own thing, and unsurprisingly it didn’t work. But it doesn’t seem like the experience had any consequences or changed Keeley in any way, either.
No.
I mean the real life hack was called the Fappening so it was a fairly equivalent pun. My main complaint about this episode was how at times I felt like I was watching some sort of AI generated HR video featuring Ted Lasso characters lecturing me. It’s the same feeling I had while watching Rutherford Falls on Peacock which I show I really wanted to like.
This was arguably the best episode of this strange season. This was back to form and very very strong. Odd review.
The thing that bugged me most is, isn’t Keeley the head of a PR agency? This was an amazing moment to show her actually being good at it. When people have public scandals, they GO TO PR AGENCIES. Instead Keeley is shown dithering and ultimately not doing anything. The show missed a great opportunity to show Keeley actually being competent at her job.
Her inability to look at it from a PR rep perspective made me think of the Mike Tyson quote. “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”It’s one thing to spin a clients issue, quite another when it’s your own tape on the internet.I would hope the next episode would show her being able to process it, think about it objectively, and react in the way she needs/wants to and show she is good at her job.This episode focused on her processing it and getting varying degrees of support. Rebecca being wholly supportive, Roy being jealous, Jamie acknowledging his culpability and Jack being embarrassed/disapproving.
Three words: “I regret nothing.”
Had a bit of a “Very Special Episode” vibe to it. And it centered on an issue I could not care less about because its a ‘celebrity social media problem.’ But that’s not even what doesn’t make it interesting. Besides the fact that what we saw PG-13 at best anyway (on an adult comedy with a half dozen ‘fucks’ every week, prudishness about sex is amusing), everybody having more or less the same stance on the matter- even in the locker room scene- doesn’t make this the debate I think the writers were going for. It just makes it preachy.On the positive ok side, Keeley and Jack’s only conflicts up to this point were “Oh no, awkward office romance!” and “Oh no she gives me too many gifts!” so I actually appreciated something with a little more substance this time. Except where I thought it was going went completely unaddressed. Jack better be back, because this can’t seriously be how it ends, lol. Knowing what to do with Keeley now that she’s less involved with the club, has been weird. She and Rebecca (who has been aimless since serving her function as Ted’s antagonistic boss) both have been a struggle for the writers since Season 1. On the positive side, Nate’s failed attempt at Diamond Dogs was great. Maybe even underrated. One needs to be as charming as Ted to even make that work. Nate has associates, but no friends, and of course, when the one guy wants to talk about caring for aging parents, it’s clear that isn’t the male-bonding material that makes the cut. It’s such a brief scene, but its comedy rooted in how they built their characters, and the show needs more of this.
Ted Lasso is Asso?
“This show was fresh and enjoyable in its first season, but is it now less good in its third season?”Pretty much every series has a specific goal or perspective in its first season, and pretty much every series drifts away from it as audience response and the evolution of the writer’s room alters that. And they should! Writers don’t know how audiences or critics will react to characters, plotlines, casting, direction, or what current events or life circumstance will impact what they had in mind…shit changes.It’s naive and unrealistic to think some show will emerge fully-formed in its first season, and stick to some predetermined plan for 3+ seasons that remains totally consistent in quality, tone, and argument. Not even Breaking Bad or The Sopranos did that. Ted Lasso S3 is fine. Good, even. The sky isn’t falling.
Can you imagine how boring the show would be if it stuck to the season 1 premise of “fish out of water slowly wins cynical people over with his homespun optimism”? Reviewers would be complaining that the show was spinning its wheels and needed to do something fresh.
Agreed that this wasn’t the best episode. I don’t think there was anything particularly wrong with the structure or with the disparate storylines, and I don’t think this is evidence of the show “losing its way.” Nah, my primary issue with this episode is that it just wasn’t very funny. The laughs-per-minute rate was dangerously low. The only scene that elicited more than a sensible chuckle from me was Nate’s disastrous attempt to recreate the Diamond Dogs.
Jack seems pretty toxic. I’m extremely curious to see if this show has the balls to make a lesbian the villain. Once in my life I had a crush on a bisexual girl and one time at a party someones hot cousin from the US showed up and the girl I like was very obviously trying to be flirtatious with her and so I ended up competing for a girls attention with another hot girl. It was a weird experience so it’s nice to see Roy dealing with this. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that on TV before
From funny to insipid in one episode. Legendary.
And now we know that a “Hey, Jude” live performance ends whenever the singer decides it ends, and not before. You *will* participate in all “na-na’s” until then.
Juno Temple’s the new Rosanna Arquette. She’s going to demand roles where she’s the hot chick until she’s in her 70’s.
Good, bad, or indifferent, this was the episode co-written by Keeley Hazell. I presume it’s more than a little about Keeley Hazell.“Why did she become a corporate wallflower who introduces Keeley as “her friend” to an acquaintance and refuses to be empathetic about Keeley’s plight as she deals with such a blatant breach in privacy?”It establishes that her prior actions were not because she is bold and confident but becuase she views the office workers as Little People whose opinions Do Not Matter. It turns out she exists on the same plane as Rupert.“The Great Awankening”It’s an allusion to “The Fappening”
I just saw a movie with Juno Temple called the Brass Teapot. Movie was ok, but she was good. The makeup and hairstyles they use on this show make her look hideous and it was a shock seeing her look so much more attractive. Turned her from British hot to hot.
“aggressively heterosexual” There. You said it. They soon will be coming for us. And no one will be there to defend us. We have seen that before and it will happen again.