Ted Lasso [TV-series 2020-...] - As Sweet as Apple+ Pie

[Annara Snow]

12 hours ago, Mlle. Zabzie said:

This was a weird ep. BUT I want to re watch to get all the references.  Fight Club was obvious.  Maybe a little of Talented Mr. Ridley with the bit in the Club?  Others?

Most obviously, After Hours, as seen even in the title.

[Slurktan]

Not necessarily a singular reference or anything but the ep gave me a very Edgar Wright vibe.  But that could just be me.

[Soylent Brown]

I'm not enjoying the second season as much as I did the first, but Jamie's dad is played by Gruey, so that's something at least.

[Annara Snow]

11 hours ago, Soylent Brown said:

I'm not enjoying the second season as much as I did the first, but Jamie's dad is played by Gruey, so that's something at least.

I don't know who Gruey is... 

*looks him up*

Kieran O'Brien? Fitz's son from Cracker??? It's so weird because he was still that 20 something kid in my head till now.

[Heartofice]

Oh just realIsed who you meant by Gruey now! Wow that’s a face I haven’t seen in  a long time 

[Werthead]

He was Vest in Band of Brothers and Nathan in the outstanding (and underrated) 24 Hour Party People. He was also famously in 9 Songs where he became the first British mainstream actor to, er, achieve happiness on screen.

James Lance ("Ted Crimm, The Independent,") is another great 90s standby actor who felt like he was in everything. He was great as Ben in I'm Alan Partridge and Daisy's boyfriend Richard in Spaced, who studied in Hell ("what?" "Hull,"). Oh, and he was a total dickhead as Lachlan in The Book Group.

[Heartofice]

James Lance is someone who seems to have appeared out of nowhere as an old man in Ted Lasso because the last thing I saw him on was Alan Partridge, where he was irritatingly young and good looking 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Is the difference between season 1 and season 2 that the focus is almost entirely character driven with very little in the way of plot to hang the character development upon?

[polishgenius]

That was a good episode but it's annoying that it's yet another episode with no moving on from Man City. They seem to have done this twice, now - put the bottle episode in a place and made it in a style that reflects the episode directly following it- in the Christmas episode and Rainbow, romcom tropes, in this instance, less explicitly similar but having no football at all to concentrate on character building.

It's also a bit annoying that several people found out about Sam and Rebecca and not one of them went 'you're his boss, you're twice his age! What are you DOING!', and that they put that plotline on pause so there probably won't be negative fallout before the season finale, meaning it'll roll on through next season.

 

 

Still, taken on its own it's a good episode, not like the mushier early-season entries. 

[ithanos]

I hate big buts and I cannot lie? ahahaha

[Darryk]

The previous two episodes really elevated the series IMO. The After Hours episode felt like an acid trip but it was so funny and well written. The funeral episode was quite powerful; monumental acting from Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham. It's gone from being a comedy series to one of the most emotional things I've seen on TV in awhile.

[Liffguard]

The more recent episodes this season from about episode seven onwards have been a massive improvement over the schmaltzier early episodes. There's conflict again, and the characters have flaws. But without a consistent through-plot on which to hang the character development, the season still feels very aimless.

[Slurktan]

6 hours ago, polishgenius said:

That was a good episode but it's annoying that it's yet another episode with no moving
It's also a bit annoying that several people found out about Sam and Rebecca and not one of them went 'you're his boss, you're twice his age! What are you DOING!', and that they put that plotline on pause so there probably won't be negative fallout before the season finale, meaning it'll roll s. 

While the boss thing will likely be relevant.... there isn't any reaction to Rupert and his younger wife like that so why would there be for her and Sam? The show is basically characters being positive about everything and always has been, why would it change for a boring plot like that?

[polishgenius]

3 hours ago, Slurktan said:

While the boss thing will likely be relevant.... there isn't any reaction to Rupert and his younger wife like that so why would there be for her and Sam?

 

Well, first, Rupert is meant to be a sleeze, so no-one's commenting on extra sleaziness - him dating a much younger woman feels like one of the establishing factors of how sleezy he is.
But even with that Keeley Hazell is 35 and there's no indication the character isn't meant to be that. That's a lot different to a 21 year old even if Anthony Head is also older than Hannah Waddingham. 

[ithanos]

I wonder what Rupert said to Nathan at the end there? If its a portent to sowing discord within Richmond coaching staff or maybe luring him away to another club, then picking out an unsure Nathan is a great move on Rupert's part. Need more Rupert.

[Werthead]

9 hours ago, ithanos said:

I wonder what Rupert said to Nathan at the end there? If its a portent to sowing discord within Richmond coaching staff or maybe luring him away to another club, then picking out an unsure Nathan is a great move on Rupert's part. Need more Rupert.

I'm impressed how restrained they have been with Rupert. You have a shitbird antagonist played by an outstanding actor right there, I would have assumed they would have deployed him much more frequently.

[Mexal]

17 hours ago, ithanos said:

I wonder what Rupert said to Nathan at the end there? If its a portent to sowing discord within Richmond coaching staff or maybe luring him away to another club, then picking out an unsure Nathan is a great move on Rupert's part. Need more Rupert.

My guess is Rupert is clearing out his shares to buy another team and lure Nathan away.

[Mlle. Zabzie]

Liked the episode for all the reasons stated.  I would like to see more Sassy, for myself. 

A few other things:

1.  So, they left us with Keely getting back to back confessions of love from Jamie (who acknowledged that it was an unfair and crappy thing to do) and Roy (which, was, well, nice and came with a nice apology).  I like Jamie's arc.  I would like to see him find someone non-Keely.  I'd like it to be weird.  Like, I'd love it if he randomly meets an actuary and falls head over heels.  Or better yet, someone from a ladies team (whether football, basketball, or whatever) who is like as good as he is. But that felt kinda real.  

2.   I love the way they use music in this show.  Honest question - was the whole ep a giant Rickroll?  Wondering if things will play out (like the Nathan thing) so that we find out that there was something else going on the whole time.  Also loved the interspersed "Cat's in the Cradle" instrumentals.  On the nose, for sure, but I LIKED it.

3.  I felt that the ep was really honest about grief, loss, and anger.  Families are COMPLICATED.  People are COMPLICATED.  While they play on tropes for sure, they aren't at all afraid to shy away from characters being fully actualized people.

4.  I thought the Sam stuff played out ok, actually.  It is a little ick. The people who know are Team Rebecca through and through so they just want her to be happy.  I thought it was right for Rebecca to cut it off herself. 

They have two more eps to wrap up the season.  Really curious to see where it goes.  Football has not been a focus this time. Would love it if the last couple eps got back to the pitch a bit more.

[3CityApache]

19 minutes ago, Mlle. Zabzie said:

They have two more eps to wrap up the season.  Really curious to see where it goes.  Football has not been a focus this time. Would love it if the last couple eps got back to the pitch a bit more.

I second this. We don't even actually know if they have a chance for promotion this season. Probably would be strange, provided 8 draws at the beginning, though getting to play-offs should be doable I guess.

[Iskaral Pust]

I initially thought this was the season finale and I was nonplussed bu the lack of narrative resolution, but thankfully that’s not the case.

I have to admit it: I’m really disappointed with the writers’ choices to frame Rebecca.  First she’s a bitter divorcee whose position of authority is unearned and derived solely from the divorce, who then goes on to be incompetent in her role primarily from emotional, selfish self-sabotage to lash out at her ex-husband, despite the pain it will cause to many others (employees, fans, etc).  This looks like a particularly regressive trope.  And then they have her indulge in an exploitative sexual relationship with a junior employee because it makes her feel good.  It would have been so easy to write a different background that fulfills the character and narrative arc without needing so much selfishness that clashes with her fundamentally decent, self-aware and competent persona.  For example, she could have been a career football exec through her own competence, who decides to sabotage the club (hire Ted) in the short term in order to force out an irresponsible owner so that she can then lead a consortium to buy the club and lead them into the future.  Then she could have a relationship with anyone with a conflict of interest — in the media, at another club, a player’s agent, etc — without turning into Harvey Weinstein.  Do better, writers.

@Mlle. Zabzie I’m glad I’m not the only one who picked up on the Cat’s In The Cradle samples throughout this episode.  The Rick Roll was front & center, but the emotional drama for both Ted and Rebecca was very Cat’s In The Cradle, and I found myself humming that after the episode.  I like their use of music in general in the show, although my wife doesn’t recognize most of the songs as I do.

Sassy and Rupert are criminally under-used.

Overall I think this show is more likable than funny.  It’s a ray of unquestioning positivity and suspension of disbelief at a time when that’s appreciated, but I doubt it will ever be remembered as good comedy.  Even this retcon of personal tragedy onto Ted’s Ned Flanders persona feels like a superficial graft.  Daddy issues (Jamie, Rebecca, Ted) and insecure need for external validation (Keeley, Nate, Rebecca, Ted, even Roy to some extent) drive most of the characters, and the resolution is to always wrap them in a cozy blanket of compassion.  It’s good humanity but poor comedy.