Ted Lasso (new seasons… new reasons)(spoilers)

[dbunting]

7 hours ago, Datepalm said:

I'm with the guardian - maudlin ending, insufferably, cheap in a lot of ways, both narratively and emotionally.

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The most honestly-earned emotional arc of the show was Ted actually accepting the end of his marriage in Season 1, and they threw that out. The rest was just pretty blah and I honestly found some unwatachable. The Diamond Dogs are awful now. The believe sign is awful now. The singing team was awful now. It was also bizarre that Coach would even have to get as far as the plane before realizing he's not leaving a serious relationship and a job to hang with Ted. It never occurred to me that Beard was somehow expected to go with Ted as the default position. Like yes, it's a close friendship and apparently professional partnership, but, um, they're both adults and not actually attached at the hip. It's not really been a plot arc that they have level of co-dependence where it needs to be overcome.

Also, there are direct London-Kansas City flights in this world?

 

Did you see the episode where Beard explained his and Teds relationship? He credits Ted with basically saving his life, shitting on Ted again and then Ted still saving him again, so yeah they did cover this pretty well.  The singing part, yeah I was eye rolling at that.

 

[kairparavel]

As a latecomer who binged the whole thing in under 2 weeks, and who wasn't into it initially...I loved it. The finale was almost perfect (to me). I cried a lot. Of course I'm a perimenopausal lady with some very raging hormones and unbalanced emotions so YMMV.

It left everything in a good spot to never need return to, but if they did I'd watch because Ted Lasso himself is no longer necessary.

[Datepalm]

@dbunting,

Spoiler

Sure, and I thought that was a relatively strong piece of this whiny-ass season (precisely because it wasn't fully saccharine), but I still don't see where that's necessarily led to that level of codependence. I mean, you could certainly infer it, it's potentially there, but that hasn't been explored or made a thread in the show. Beard is loyal to Ted, that's been consistent, but he himself has never had an arc about choosing between Ted and Jane, or exploring his life back in the US, or separating his life from Ted's, or whathaveyou. It's not a bad moment in and of itself - and I'm actually a Beard fan, I loved his surreal wander-through-London plotless WTF episode in Season whatever - it's just out of the blue.

 

[dbunting]

3 hours ago, Datepalm said:

@dbunting,

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Sure, and I thought that was a relatively strong piece of this whiny-ass season (precisely because it wasn't fully saccharine), but I still don't see where that's necessarily led to that level of codependence. I mean, you could certainly infer it, it's potentially there, but that hasn't been explored or made a thread in the show. Beard is loyal to Ted, that's been consistent, but he himself has never had an arc about choosing between Ted and Jane, or exploring his life back in the US, or separating his life from Ted's, or whathaveyou. It's not a bad moment in and of itself - and I'm actually a Beard fan, I loved his surreal wander-through-London plotless WTF episode in Season whatever - it's just out of the blue.

 

I guess I just saw it differently. Ted and Beard were a pair who went through hell together and came to England together.  Beard and his GF were broken up more times than anyone in the world and at that point in the show they weren't even engaged so why would it be strange for Beard to leave? 

[Corvinus85]

The Beard moment was totally within character. He often came out at strange moments with a revelation or something sage to say. Could it have been taken place before the airplane? Sure, realistically. But it was a circle back moment to the first episode. The show started with Ted and Beard in the plane about to land in London and Ted questioning if they were doing the right thing.

[Veltigar]

I thought it was a very good ending, although I'm sad that Richmond didn't Leicester it. This felt too much like a rethread of Rocky's message. For once I would have liked to see a bit more wish fulfillment, especially since there isn't a real message attached to them being second.

In general though, I have to say they managed to stick the landing. If I ever rewatch Ted Lasso, I'm sure there are episodes in the middle of both season two and three (mostly three though) I will skip, but in general I do think it holds up reasonably well. I do still think they made some very odd choices with all the time they had available (Rebecca's storylines this season, but even more so Keeley's dreadful girl boss storyline).

There is quite a few things I would have done differently (for example, Jamie getting together with the teacher who first hit on Roy would have been a nice ending to his arc or I would have liked to have seen Rupert not push his coach, but remember the boy he once was and end up supporting for AFC Richmond) but in general I think the good outweighs the bad. The central message that niceness, forgiveness and support can make a difference is one I wholeheartedly enjoy.

[Corvinus85]

8 hours ago, Veltigar said:

I thought it was a very good ending, although I'm sad that Richmond didn't Leicester it. This felt too much like a rethread of Rocky's message. For once I would have liked to see a bit more wish fulfillment, especially since there isn't a real message attached to them being second.

My initial reaction was disappointment, too, for them not winning the title, but later I realized there was a nice parallel to season 1's ending when they got relegated. At the end of season 1, they needed to get 1 point but also hope for a miracle from another match - that miracle occurs but they mess it up at the end drawing because of Jamie wins it for Man City. So they had it in their hands and dropped it. This time, they won the match, they did everything they could, showing they improved probably as much as possible but lost the title because of things out of their control.

But I do wish the show had thought of another team winning the PL, not Cheat City. But I guess you don't get a Guardiola cameo and then not have them win the fictional Pl win.  I just realized they don't need to win the Champions League this Saturday, they already got the treble thanks to Ted Lasso. 

[Veltigar]

8 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

My initial reaction was disappointment, too, for them not winning the title, but later I realized there was a nice parallel to season 1's ending when they got relegated. At the end of season 1, they needed to get 1 point but also hope for a miracle from another match - that miracle occurs but they mess it up at the end drawing because of Jamie wins it for Man City. So they had it in their hands and dropped it. This time, they won the match, they did everything they could, showing they improved probably as much as possible but lost the title because of things out of their control.

But I do wish the show had thought of another team winning the PL, not Cheat City. But I guess you don't get a Guardiola cameo and then not have them win the fictional Pl win.  I just realized they don't need to win the Champions League this Saturday, they already got the treble thanks to Ted Lasso. 

Ah, I didn't consider that. 

Still, when I think about it, I don't think it sways my opinion. I would have wanted an extra slice of wish fulfillment from the show's final season. Also because it would have been a more definitive ending. Now they have scope to launch a Tedless season of Ted Lasso in which they win the league.

[dbunting]

I saw some article that listed the call backs and a couple caught my eye.

One I knew I had seen it before but couldn't figure out where.  Mae straightens a picture on a wall in the pub. It was the same picture of Geronimo from the final episode of Cheers, Sam Malone straightens it at the very end. Cheers ended 30 years ago on almost the the same day, May 20th 1993! It gets deeper, that picture itself was hung to honor Coach. The actor, Nicholas Colasanto, had it in his dressing room and he died in real life after season 3 I think and the crew hung it out for him. Jason Sedakis is the nephew of George Wendt NORM!!!! from Cheers and it must have been a nod to him and that show.

The other I totally missed. The pinball game they were playing was The Wizard of Oz. A stranger in a strange land story. One who left Kansas and at the end of the story returned to Kansas and their family. 

[Myrddin]

On 6/1/2023 at 7:52 PM, kairparavel said:

As a latecomer who binged the whole thing in under 2 weeks, and who wasn't into it initially...I loved it. 

Same. I binged watched the whole thing in under two weeks, not even realizing the perfect timing of having the series finale airing just days before I was ready to watch it.

It was a fun show, and I laughed a lot over these past two weeks. Roy Fucking Kent is my spirit animal and I enjoy quoting him to my teenage sons to annoy them. Oi! Whistle! WHISSTLE!

Hey. It's better than the Ted Lasso-like puns I usually abuse them with.

Maybe because I watched it so fast, and accepting it for what it was, but the whole show carried pretty well from beginning to end. Yes, the writers' voices could be heard through the characters at time (most notably during the team discussion around deleting nudes from their phones - an episode written by Keeley Hazell, so I'm sure the subject was close to her heart). But the show was about confronting yourself and supporting others to do the same. I'm ok with the unrealistic fantasy reality that lets that message play through.

I loved the relationships across the whole show. No, not the romantic ones. I'm glad they kept that largely tied up with Roy-Keeley-Jaime (with the short lived Rebecca-Sam thrown in). But relationships like Rebecca and Keeley's. We need more strong female relationships shown on screen that are reciprocal like that (Rebecca pushed and mentored K to be her own boss, and K fully supported R to overcome her own doubts and embrace her strength).  I was afraid Sassy was going to break that up or at least get offended that her best friend had a new best friend. I was happy to see the friendship so easily expand. 

Yes, the show was a fantasy where everything turned out right in the end, but it was like that from episode 1. It's a happy-go-lucky show and I enjoyed it, even as I enjoy other shows with all darker gray characters. This is a breath of fresh air.

Anyway. Very late to the soccer football game, but so glad I watched it.

I'll probably tune in for the inevitable spin off, but it'll be hard to catch this lightning in a bottle again.

 

 

*Regarding Jake not watching the final game: I think that's more of a joke about Americans not caring about the game than a sign he and Michelle are breaking up. "I'm ready to watch 90 minutes of no goals" is something I've heard a lot. Honestly, if I wasn't married to a Latina and have embraced the game, I'd probably be saying the same comments. 

[Heartofice]

Thought the last 2 episodes were actually very good, a lot of fun and got to the heart of the key characters:

I now have mixed feelings about the series as a whole. At it’s best it’s charming and an effortlessly easy watch. The problem is that at its worst it’s offensively twee and irritating.

I’ve hated 2/3rds of this season and most of last season, yet it somehow manages to save itself at the end.

Some structural decisions have really hurt the show, it can’t handle longer episodes or seasons so is plagued with filler, and that filler is corny and twee and preachy.

I often consider recommending this to friends but mostly have backed away since season 2, I don’t need the backlash 

[Consigliere]

On 6/6/2023 at 6:43 PM, Heartofice said:

Thought the last 2 episodes were actually very good, a lot of fun and got to the heart of the key characters:

I now have mixed feelings about the series as a whole. At it’s best it’s charming and an effortlessly easy watch. The problem is that at its worst it’s offensively twee and irritating.

I’ve hated 2/3rds of this season and most of last season, yet it somehow manages to save itself at the end.

Some structural decisions have really hurt the show, it can’t handle longer episodes or seasons so is plagued with filler, and that filler is corny and twee and preachy.

I often consider recommending this to friends but mostly have backed away since season 2, I don’t need the backlash 

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you.

The last couple of episodes did end well but it took me a while to finish up because I was leery about the length of the episodes. This series does not handle lengthy episodes at all well.

There was a great deal of seasons 2 and 3 that was pointless fluff that ensured that I'm never going to be bothered to do a rewatch. While I am happy that the show ended in a satisfactory manner, I'm also not going to recommend this show to anyone.

I don't see the point of the show continuing. I think it ended well enough despite many issues and should be left at that. It can only go further downhill from here.

[Heartofice]

10 hours ago, Consigliere said:

There was a great deal of seasons 2 and 3 that was pointless fluff that ensured that I'm never going to be bothered to do a rewatch. While I am happy that the show ended in a satisfactory manner, I'm also not going to recommend this show to anyone.

You could potentially just watch 4 episodes a season and miss literally nothing. Almost none of the side stories were relevant in the end. 
 

There was a line at the end where Ted says ‘it was never just about me’.. which is actually telling. Maybe the show wasn’t about him, but he should have been the emotional centre of it, with all stories emanating from his presence. Him being there should be the catalyst for events and changes in people. Instead characters just go off and do things with zero interaction with Ted. Maybe that is the most baffling bit of the Keely storyline, it’s so tangential to everything else and disconnected. Ted and Keely have barely been in the same room as well.

Maybe the writers saw the show as an ensemble piece but they were wrong.

[Luzifer's right hand]

Got Apple for a month or two and catched up. I enjoyed it but I would so season 2-3 did not approach season 1 in quality.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Luzifer's right hand

[RedEyedGhost]

1 hour ago, Luzifer's right hand said:

Got Apple for a month or two and catched up. I enjoyed it but I would so season 2-3 did not approach season 1 in quality.

Before you drop it, make sure that you watch Bad Sisters.

[Luzifer's right hand]

54 minutes ago, RedEyedGhost said:

Before you drop it, make sure that you watch Bad Sisters.

Thanks for the recommendation!

[Heartofice]

1 hour ago, RedEyedGhost said:

Before you drop it, make sure that you watch Bad Sisters.

Agree, Bad Sisters is.. GOOD!

I also think Black Bird was decent 

After that just cancel your subscription 

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

5 hours ago, Heartofice said:

Agree, Bad Sisters is.. GOOD!

I also think Black Bird was decent 

After that just cancel your subscription 

I really enjoyed “The Essex Serpent” and “Shrinking”.