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


Veltigar

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It's been clear since Episode 1 that Ted has some fairly serious psychological issues going on and his folksy saying and relentless optimism is doing a continually less-effective job of cracking over some gaping problems. He had a full-blown panic attack in Season 1, he has a serious drinking problem (which the show has elided) and he's happy to talk to everyone else about their deep-rooted problems but only ever wants to talk superficialities about himself.

The arc of the show, I'm assuming, is Ted building everyone up but losing it himself, and then the people he's helped will help him in the end. Considering the limited, three-season run, that seems like a very solid (if unoriginal) arc.

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So, Nate’s an asshole who simply doesn’t understand how to handle success.  A symbol of the anxiety and rot underlying Richmond and Ted?

There also seems to be some freudian symbolism.  Nate as Id, Beard as Ego, Ted as the Superego tormented between the Id and Ego?

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There was definitely an early and mid-season dip there, but it does feel like they've turned it around fairly quickly.

The lack of a discernible season-long arc outside of Ted's problems (which started last year) is odd, though. The team has been relegated but they've pulled off a shock win against Spurs and they've had a run of success since making Roy assistant coach, but it's completely unclear if that's put them back into promotion contention. The first season finale suggested the arc would be fighting back to promotion in Season 2 and then a Leicester-like Premier Champion run in the final season, but without knowing where the company is relative to the competition, it's impossible to work out what the stakes are.

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So, Nate’s an asshole who simply doesn’t understand how to handle success.  A symbol of the anxiety and rot underlying Richmond and Ted?

Nate's semi-heel-turn was set up in Season 1 when he used his first burst of confidence to lay into the team-members before identifying a few positives, and his ever-present negativity and assuming the worst about every single situation has been there since the start.

What's interesting is that earlier on, people had problems and Ted would resolve them before the end of the episode with a homely speech and everything was golden. This season, people are having problems, it looks like they're solved, but then they are blatantly not and they resurface again. That's more realistic and more interesting, but I'm wondering if it will start working against the show's reputation as 100% escapist fun (or if the show not growing beyond that is a good or bad thing).

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4 hours ago, Werthead said:

There was definitely an early and mid-season dip there, but it does feel like they've turned it around fairly quickly.

The lack of a discernible season-long arc outside of Ted's problems (which started last year) is odd, though. The team has been relegated but they've pulled off a shock win against Spurs and they've had a run of success since making Roy assistant coach, but it's completely unclear if that's put them back into promotion contention. The first season finale suggested the arc would be fighting back to promotion in Season 2 and then a Leicester-like Premier Champion run in the final season, but without knowing where the company is relative to the competition, it's impossible to work out what the stakes are.

Nate's semi-heel-turn was set up in Season 1 when he used his first burst of confidence to lay into the team-members before identifying a few positives, and his ever-present negativity and assuming the worst about every single situation has been there since the start.

What's interesting is that earlier on, people had problems and Ted would resolve them before the end of the episode with a homely speech and everything was golden. This season, people are having problems, it looks like they're solved, but then they are blatantly not and they resurface again. That's more realistic and more interesting, but I'm wondering if it will start working against the show's reputation as 100% escapist fun (or if the show not growing beyond that is a good or bad thing).

My take is that the show isn’t “escapist” it’s cynicism free.  Nate’s turn isn’t really cynical.  It’s angry and the anger is real.  It makes me sad because Nate is simply looking for a weaker target to take his anger out upon and neither Ted nor Beard seem to have noticed Nate’s abuse of the Kitman.

I wonder if Roy will.  He was the one who stopped Jamie and his cohort’s abuse of Nate.

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20 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

My take is that the show isn’t “escapist” it’s cynicism free.  Nate’s turn isn’t really cynical.  It’s angry and the anger is real.  It makes me sad because Nate is simply looking for a weaker target to take his anger out upon and neither Ted nor Beard seem to have noticed Nate’s abuse of the Kitman.

I wonder if Roy will.  He was the one who stopped Jamie and his cohort’s abuse of Nate.

There was a good analysis I saw that Beard forcing Nate to apologise gave him the wrong impression: not, "You're acting like an arsehole full stop," but "You can't be an arsehole to a player, remember your place," so Nate felt okay transferring his anger to an easier target, one less able to fight back (though we should note he used his anger on probably the most passive, least-assuming player on the pitch).

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30 minutes ago, Werthead said:

There was a good analysis I saw that Beard forcing Nate to apologise gave him the wrong impression: not, "You're acting like an arsehole full stop," but "You can't be an arsehole to a player, remember your place," so Nate felt okay transferring his anger to an easier target, one less able to fight back (though we should note he used his anger on probably the most passive, least-assuming player on the pitch).

Yeah.  I’m very curious as to where they are going with Nate.  His success seems to be making him a worse person.  Perhaps that’s the point?  Ted’s grace is very sincere.  He wants to be decent to everyone.  Yet, Ted chose to wait for Roy to act to protect Nate in season 1.  

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On 9/5/2021 at 6:00 PM, Werthead said:

The team has been relegated but they've pulled off a shock win against Spurs and they've had a run of success since making Roy assistant coach, but it's completely unclear if that's put them back into promotion contention.

I only watched the first season today so I can't speak to how season 2 differs, but this was true in the first as well. You can surmise they're in the relegation zone or thereabouts because, well, they would be, they're not winning games, but the show never actually starts addressing it till what, three episodes from the end? 

I mean, ultimately, it's not a show very interested in the actual football, in the rhythms of the season or how clubs or transfer systems or league systems or contracts or coaching genuinely work. It's just not what it's there for. 


Which isn't a knock, because I watched all 10 episodes in one evening, but I'm reasonably certain without seeing the second season yet that probably next episode, maybe the start of the finale, they'll go 'Richmond have to win this game to get promotion' and build up to the finale from there. 

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9 hours ago, polishgenius said:

 

I mean, ultimately, it's not a show very interested in the actual football, in the rhythms of the season or how clubs or transfer systems or league systems or contracts or coaching genuinely work. It's just not what it's there for. 

 

While that is true, football was still the frame for which that season hung it’s characters and narrative around. It was what was moving the story forward. You don’t need to know much about football to follow what is happening but you still got a sense of the situation and the ins and outs of football, if even at a high level.

The second season ( first 4 episodes anyway, ive given up for now until convinced the show has a huge jump in quality) could erase anything football related and you probably wouldn’t even notice. 
 

The show doesn’t need to be about football to be fun, but football was part of the foundation of what made the show work in season one. Without it, the show seems to just meander around without a direction. 
 

Im also not convinced by any of the discussion above about deeper motivations or looking deeper at any of the writing. There is nothing so far to suggest that there is anything deep or clever going on with the way it’s written or that it’s building up to something better. The show just seems to have run out of steam, didn’t know what to do with its second season and just steam rollered into making more episodes 

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Season 1 was the panacea for lock down blues I didn't know I needed. I don't dislike this second season, but I'll hang in there until the season plays out. I wish I hadn't caught the synopsis for the next episode...

Spoiler

but it seems the football angle for the remaining episodes may centre on an FA Cup run to the finals.

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3 hours ago, Heartofice said:

The second season ( first 4 episodes anyway, ive given up for now until convinced the show has a huge jump in quality) could erase anything football related and you probably wouldn’t even notice.

Wait, you haven't watched episode 5 yet? C'mon, Charlie Watts passed away a couple weeks back. At least watch the Rainbow episode for Charlie.

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So yeah, having watched through Episode 5 now, the Christmas episode is terrible (I mean there are a couple funny moments and I probably hated it less than I should coz I was braced for it but it's bad) but Rainbow is super. Weirdly they both do similar things in that they both completely lean into the show's inspiration by romcoms, but the difference in writing and indeed acting (the Christmas ep at times honestly feels like it was filmed in a day and they only had time for one take of everything) is enormous.

Roy is just so much fun.


On the structure of the show early doors: yeah, I don't think the problem is lack of a football framework, I think it's that season 1 had a strong immediate hook and tension - Rebecca, and then Rupert, as antagonists- whereas this one doesn't really have any antagonist. That means its build up to the business end has been mushier, though you can definitely see the blocks now even in episode 5 for the longer plot, with Ted slowly breaking down and obviously Nate.

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4 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

What was the weird tension between Ted and Beard?  The same thing as Beard’s explosion at the end of Season 1?


I suspect a combination of that and Beard being upset that Ted is letting his vulnerabilities get in the way of his job too. 

Mostly that episode was super and the show is really back on track, but the real-lifisims around the age and power gap make the Sam and Rebecca plotline really hard to buy into. 

Anyway we're definitely into the 'dark forest' episode five told us is for sure going to happen.

 

And yeah. Roy is the real MVP here and the writers know it.

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14 minutes ago, polishgenius said:


I suspect a combination of that and Beard being upset that Ted is letting his vulnerabilities get in the way of his job too. 

Mostly that episode was super and the show is really back on track, but the real-lifisims around the age and power gap make the Sam and Rebecca plotline really hard to buy into. 

Anyway we're definitely into the 'dark forest' episode five told us is for sure going to happen.

 

And yeah. Roy is the real MVP here and the writers know it.

Sam’s way younger than I thought he was and yes, that relationship has huge hurdles to overcome with regard to age and power differentials.  Roy showing that kind of compassion to a man he hates just makes me love the character all the more.

Why isn’t there a regulation pitch size?  That’s really strange.

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10 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Why isn’t there a regulation pitch size?

 

Makes it more fun. Tbh I suspect it's a tradition that no-one has a will to change because most people didn't really learn to play football on pitches at all - ie the pitch size is not an important part of the rules and it'd feel like it'd be diminishing something by making it that way. 


I gotta admit, that is one joke that is starting to kinda play itself out- Ted suddenly learning of things he could not possibly not have already known after a year or more in England/football. Like fish out of water is part of the charm, but him not knowing we have free healthcare makes him look like an idiot. 

 

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6 hours ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said:

Why isn’t there a regulation pitch size?  That’s really strange.

I was a little surprised by that as well.  Yet, after thinking about it for a bit, there are no specific rules about the size of a boxing ring or the outfield fences of a pro baseball field.

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14 hours ago, Teng Ai Hui said:

I was a little surprised by that as well.  Yet, after thinking about it for a bit, there are no specific rules about the size of a boxing ring or the outfield fences of a pro baseball field.

It's because the rules of football emerged ad-hoc over several decades and people moaned when they tried to create a standardised size, so they came up with a set of maximum and minimum sizes, and a requirement for the rectangular aspect-ratio.

Most modern pitches are 105x68 metres (115x74 yards) with an area of 7,410 square metres (76,900 square feet) which is more or less a standardised size, but tons of older pitches vary from that.

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3 hours ago, Werthead said:

It's because the rules of football emerged ad-hoc over several decades and people moaned when they tried to create a standardised size, so they came up with a set of maximum and minimum sizes, and a requirement for the rectangular aspect-ratio.

Most modern pitches are 105x68 metres (115x74 yards) with an area of 7,410 square metres (76,900 square feet) which is more or less a standardised size, but tons of older pitches vary from that.

Interesting.  Is there a class element to the sports people follow in the UK?

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Football, boxing, darts and snooker working class (football's become more for-everyone in the last 20 years and there's been some, ahem, resentment about big clubs clearly catering to the middle classes, but it's still working classie at heart).

Tennis, rugby, cricket, golf more middle class/people with money (though rugby depends on location a lot too, and rugby league - as opposed to union, the overall more famous version, or at least the one more covered by media based in London - tends to have a more working class fanbase based in more northern areas). Cricket tends to cross class boundaries a bit more though I think, and it's also very popular with immigrant populations from India and Pakistan regardless of class.

F1 tends to be followed by anyone in my experience, but obviously for the most part only reasonably well-off people can regularly participate in motorsports.

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