Television Ted Lasso Season 3, to air March 15

[TheLeon]

I just went back and watched that scene from the s2 finale. Roy surprises her with a SIX WEEK trip, leaving TOMORROW. I don’t care what your work status is, that’s a huge thing to spring on someone. 

[Greatoneshere]

2 hours ago, EternallDarkness said:

 

If I recall the trip was for a month. But even had it only been for a week, if you are just starting up a company you aren't going to go away. If anything you'll be putting even more time getting it off the ground. 

 

1 hour ago, TheLeon said:

I just went back and watched that scene from the s2 finale. Roy surprises her with a SIX WEEK trip, leaving TOMORROW. I don’t care what your work status is, that’s a huge thing to spring on someone. 

 

Again, I agree, that's longer than I remember. But the bigger issue was her somewhat flippantly telling him to go alone (whether well intentioned or not), not so much that she couldn't/wouldn't go with him. That's how I took it anyway.

[Mercury33]

We’re really going to get hung up on how realistic the evolution of Ted’s soccer knowledge is? 
 

I viewed Zava more as a Ibrahimović more than Messi or Ronaldo. So it wouldn’t be crazy for an American to not really know him. 
 

Also it JUST dawned on me this season that Rupert is ALSO Rupert from Buffy 🤯

[Greatoneshere]

4 hours ago, Mercury33 said:

We’re really going to get hung up on how realistic the evolution of Ted’s soccer knowledge is? 

 

It's pretty clear Ted is more a manager of the team than an actual coach, leaving actual coaching duties to Beard and Roy. Is it sort of flippant and unprofessional at this point that Ted still hasn't even bothered to learn how football works, etc.? Yes, but since he wasn't hired for his football knowledge in the first place he probably thinks he doesn't need to bother now and mess up the team's dynamics.

[Guest]

Ted Lasso is best when it is a comedy and not a vehicle for Sudeikis to deal with his real life divorce situation  

 

I don’t know why it made me laugh so hard, but I loved Jamie correcting Beard 😂

[stepee]

Idk if I wanna wait for the for season (which is all the way until the end of May) or start this hm hm

[Greatoneshere]

58 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

Ted Lasso is best when it is a comedy and not a vehicle for Sudeikis to deal with his real life divorce situation  

 

I don’t know why it made me laugh so hard, but I loved Jamie correcting Beard 😂

 

Jamie correcting Beard was one of the lines of the episode! It was great, I was laughing pretty hard too. And I agree about the divorce situation, but given that plotline predates his actual divorce, it does need to be addressed. 

 

The question now is was there an actual time when Jason Sudeikis called Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles picked up and did a Donald Trump impression?  

[Moa]

Spoiler

I feel like this show does a really good job of showing the often conflicting drives to be understanding to others and to be understanding to one's self. Ted goes out of his way to prioritize the feelings of everyone around him over his own emotional needs, and it's wearing away at him. He was unable to lead his team in the match against West Ham because he couldn't even acknowledge his feelings about Nate's betrayal to himself, let alone turn those feelings into something productive. What I love about the show, and Ted specifically, is that it's not just a "sad clown" thing. The point isn't that just because he's peppy on the outside doesn't mean that he can't be an interior mess. The point is that because he's so empathetic towards, others when he finds himself in a conflict with someone, he's prone to taking their side against him.

 

[Mercury33]

Loved the latest episode

[MarSolo]

I remember thinking “oh great here they go giving the team the half time motivation to win the match” and instead the video of Nate ripping up the sign actually goes to make the team TOO aggressive and sinks them further into the hole.

 

Also, are they establishing that Nate also has a crush on Rupert’s secretary in addition to the woman at the restaurant?

[Greatoneshere]

So was I the only one confused by Rebecca's tryst with a man who lives on a boat in Amsterdam? He lies to her that they had sex? This seems . . . bad? Clearly setting up an accidentally getting pregnant plotline by someone whose name she doesn't even know but uh what is with the lack of consent? She passes out on the couch and later he tells her "they didn't" but once she leaves he says "they did"? 

 

What a weird turn in an otherwise solid episode. I think its clear the show has changed and become much more of a drama by season 3.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Greatoneshere said:

So was I the only one confused by Rebecca's tryst with a man who lives on a boat in Amsterdam? He lies to her that they had sex? This seems . . . bad? Clearly setting up an accidentally getting pregnant plotline by someone whose name she doesn't even know but uh what is with the lack of consent? She passes out on the couch and later he tells her "they didn't" but once she leaves he says "they did"? 

 

What a weird turn in an otherwise solid episode. I think its clear the show has changed and become much more of a drama by season 3.

My wife and I were discussing this and were also unsure of whether the the boat man meant they had sex, or something else, maybe more of the emotional variety? I leaned towards that, especially because Rebecca doesn’t explicitly ask if they had sex. I think it is “no we didn’t have sex” BUT “yes we did fall for each other”.

Because, yeah, it’s really weird if the plot line is “Rebecca gets blackout drunk and…??? by rando creeper on a boat”…

 

[Greatoneshere]

3 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

My wife and I were discussing this and were also unsure of whether the the boat man meant they had sex, or something else, maybe more of the emotional variety? I leaned towards that, especially because Rebecca doesn’t explicitly ask if they had sex. I think it is “no we didn’t have sex” BUT “yes we did fall for each other”.

Because, yeah, it’s really weird if the plot line is “Rebecca gets blackout drunk and…??? by rando creeper on a boat”…

 

My wife and I basically had the same discussion. But given all of Rebecca's pregnancy stuff and prophecy stuff this seems like one of those "I got pregnant in Amsterdam" type things for a TV show. I feel like the take away when anyone asks: "did we?" is sex, no one asks that about: "did we . .. fall for each other" so I dunno, just weird.

[Guest]

Just now, Greatoneshere said:

 

My wife and I basically had the same discussion. But given all of Rebecca's pregnancy stuff and prophecy stuff this seems like one of those "I got pregnant in Amsterdam" type things for a TV show. I feel like the take away when anyone asks: "did we?" is sex, no one asks that about: "did we . .. fall for each other" so I dunno, just weird.

Oh, I think boat guy clearly meant to say to Rebecca that they didn’t have sex. I just would say his “we did” to himself is more open ended.

[Greatoneshere]

4 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

Oh, I think boat guy clearly meant to say to Rebecca that they didn’t have sex. I just would say his “we did” to himself is more open ended.

 

Yeah I'd agree with that but man the direction and editing played it really poorly, very strange.

[Guest]

Just now, Greatoneshere said:

 

Yeah I'd agree with that but man the direction and editing played it really poorly, very strange.

absolutely agree. Honestly, regardless of what he meant it should not be this much of a question since the implications of both are dramatically different. One of actually pretty sweet, the other is possibly (probably!) criminal given the last way we see Rebecca prior to that conversation. 

[Greatoneshere]

2 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

absolutely agree. Honestly, regardless of what he meant it should not be this much of a question since the implications of both are dramatically different. One of actually pretty sweet, the other is possibly (probably!) criminal given the last way we see Rebecca prior to that conversation. 

 

Yes exactly. You're very kind interpretation is very sweet. The other is a bad scenario. If they were trying to do some "Before Sunrise" thing (one of my favorite movies and trilogies) where you're not sure if they did or didn't, it failed. You never question the integrity of the characters in Before Sunrise, but I did immediately of the boat man here.

[TheLeon]

I’m guessing that at some point in the next couple episodes, we (and Rebecca) will think that she’s pregnant with that dude’s baby. But it’ll be a false alarm, so luckily we won’t have to think too deeply about the implications of that scene. 

[Kamusha]

It clearly shows that they went to bed without have sex. Even shows him going back to this room after tucking her as to lot leave room for interpretation.

 

It's important to note that she never explicitly asked if they had sex, but it was implied that's what she mean when she asked "did we?". If she directly asked if they had sex and he said "yes we did", the scene would read much differently. How his line is that what happened between them was everything he had wanted from that night and was much more important than sex alone.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

Easily the best episode of the season and one of the best episodes of the series. 
 

I had started wondering if Rebecca being a mother would be metaphorical, like the team and players would be her children. like all the literal psychic predictions lead us into thinking her being a mother will also be literal But then with Dutch guy I’m not so sure. Maybe she drunkenly hopped his bone. Though my initial reaction to his “we did” was more about having a connection than sex. I guess we will see. 
 

Im so glad Trent and Colin had a good talk too. 

[Kal-El814]

Catching up on this now.

 

Episode 4:

 

What does this show want me to think of Keeley at this point? I feel like the first 2 seasons were building her up to be a "not actually dumb" kind of character that cares a lot about her friends and takes herself and her job seriously. Now she's making obviously terrible nepo hires and doesn't even know the name of who funded her company? Or that she's a woman? It's a bit goofy that the team takes Ted's whole vibe to heart to such a degree that they've become more open people, but have a reaction to Nate's trashing of the Believe sign that Ted would very obviously not want them to have. How the supporting characters on this show behave is just totally dependent on whatever that scene needs.

 

The show also seems to think the Ted / Nate dynamic is much more interesting than it is or ever has been.

 

Then the show does a really great job of threading the needle of how Ted talks to his wife about her relationship with their therapist. I think that would be a really easy bag to fumble, but they didn't. Good stuff.

 

Episode 5: 

 

Roy's revenge plan was great. I'm glad that Keeley fired her friend, that arc wasn't long but it was already too long.

 

Was nice to see Ted interact with the team outside of a sewer this season!

 

I wonder if the Zava experiment is actually over? If he ends up on West Ham I'm going to shit myself.

 

Again with Keeley... she's fucking her boss now? I guess we'll see where this goes, but ugh.

 

Nate remains so much less interesting than the time spent on him suggests.

 

Episode 6:

 

HOW DOES TED NOT KNOW WHAT A FRIENDLY IS. HE MUST HAVE COACHED MANY FRIENDLIES SINCE HE HAS BEEN RICHMOND'S COACH.

 

The stuff with Trent and Colin ending up with Trent also being gay was the only angle that a show like this could reasonably take, so I'm glad they didn't fuck it up. And I'm always glad when queer characters get shown in a positive light.  But much like with Keeley this season I just don't know that the juice is worth the squeeze. There are only a few episodes left and it would be wildly out of character for the team to react negatively to Colin being gay given that main characters like Jamie and Roy don't care about Keeley being bi.

 

I agree with other folks here that boat man's parting shot to the camera was weird. I think the obvious intent is that "yes we did" is meant to imply that they made a connection, not that they had sex. But Rebecca is clearly asking about sex, so I don't know why they'd gum things up like that.

 

Anyway the last 2 episodes were very entertaining and more in line with what I think the show does best in general, those foibles aside. I just wish that if Nate's relationship with Ted is going to be one of the focal points of this season that there was a better foundation for that reconciliation to be built upon.

[Kal-El814]

Everything Nate and Keeley related continues to be an enormous snooze (a bit odd that Nate’s quest to not be a creep involves him and his dad making intricate objects that I feel would creep the bejeezus out of someone you’re not currently dating) but this was an otherwise charming episode.

[Moa]

These last few episodes have been great. The Amsterdam episode is probably my favorite in the show, although the "did we" scene was weird kind of regardless of what the ultimate meaning was. Everything else about that episode was just as magical as it was supposed to be.

[Greatoneshere]

3 hours ago, Kal-El814 said:

Everything Nate and Keeley related continues to be an enormous snooze (a bit odd that Nate’s quest to not be a creep involves him and his dad making intricate objects that I feel would creep the bejeezus out of someone you’re not currently dating) but this was an otherwise charming episode.

 

Yeah I feel the same. It's also weird that last season and even moreso this season so many characters and their storylines are isolated from each other. I hate when this happens on shows that work because they are ensembles. I understand you want to build out supporting characters by enriching their inner lives and worlds but you can do that without needing to dedicate actual time to separate characters and scenes. I mean, when was the last time Keeley and Lasso even really talked or spent time together? What happened to the Higgins/Lasso/Rebecca/Keeley morning talks while Rebecca has biscuits? This isolation really ruins the interplay that made season 1 great. But I'm still enjoying the show.

[Kal-El814]

2 hours ago, Greatoneshere said:

Yeah I feel the same. It's also weird that last season and even moreso this season so many characters and their storylines are isolated from each other. I hate when this happens on shows that work because they are ensembles. I understand you want to build out supporting characters by enriching their inner lives and worlds but you can do that without needing to dedicate actual time to separate characters and scenes. I mean, when was the last time Keeley and Lasso even really talked or spent time together? What happened to the Higgins/Lasso/Rebecca/Keeley morning talks while Rebecca has biscuits? This isolation really ruins the interplay that made season 1 great. But I'm still enjoying the show.

 

I feel like showing that Rebecca still has Ted's biscuit box on her desk and them texting one another shows that they're still tight. I appreciate that approach but would appreciate it more if the space it freed up was being spent on stuff other than Nate and Keeley being dumb, or a potential angle where the team isn't fully on board with Colin coming out after they all decided to rebuild Sam's restaurant.

 

I just can't get into the Nate stuff. I don't think we know enough about Jade to have her be anything but a foil for Nate becoming less of a chud. But like... has he? Yeah he didn't spit on the mirror this time to transform into heel Nate and it's nice to show him with his family. But we know that Nate is ultimately a good guy whose self doubt occasionally manifests in destructive or toxic ways. Nate's face turn is going to be dependent upon a reconciliation with Ted and this show is almost certainly going to let that happen. And that's good, that attitude is the main thing I like about the show! But there's just no meat here. Nothing Ted has done to Nate is even close to being on the same level of potential betrayal as his wife ending up with their marriage counselor and then keeping it a secret, something that Ted handled with more understanding and compassion than could reasonably be expected. So we're just left waiting for the inevitable, while Rupert tries to "corrupt" Nate with sports cars and models. It's just not interesting.

 

I mean in an episode where Sam's father is finally on screen, Sam's patience and kindness is tested, and we get really great moments like Sam's dad talking to Rebecca, Sam's dad seeing that the restaurant is named after him... all that hits so much harder than everything with Nate. It's such a weird misplay.

 

Anyway I'm not especially well read and certainly not a big fan of classic English literature, but even I know Sense and Sensibility was initially published in three volumes. And looking online, it seems like there were 750 copies of it printed. So Jack buying one that has Jane Austen's autograph and then writing Keeley's name on it is like rolling a blunt with a page from a Gurenberg Bible, it's fucking insane.

 

That said 100% loved the Mike Tyson's Punch Out reference, 10/10, no notes.

 

EDIT - the more I think about it, the more I actually dislike the Nate / Jade thing. Why is she interested in him? Throughout the show a good half of their interactions have been either him being an asshole to her or him doing stuff that is adjacent to stalking if we're being charitable.

 

Hey, Jack spending time and money on Keeley... that's potentially bad! Nate waiting for a restaurant to open so he can peek in at Jade and making her a pop up book... that's good!

[SuperSpreader]

They gotta fire Ted jfc

[Kal-El814]

Another really charming episode when it comes to Ted. Potential issues but he works through them, his concerns and his fears are understandable, and he ends up making the right decision. Am I forgetting if they established why Jacob was at the bar for breakfast with Ted’s ex and son? I get that he’s there for the trip generally but like… take a walk? Good on Ted for dealing well, but that seems like a big ask. 
 

Nate and Jade continue to bore. They seem to be setting up some kind of confrontation between Rupert and Nate, likely about Nate’s relationship, but it’s still just not interesting. 
 

I think the show did a good job of handling the topic of celebrity leaks in broad strokes; men online are often too willing to seek these things out, which is gross. Presenting that as a violation is both accurate and a good thing for the show to do. But the stuff with Jack was weak. It’s not unexpected that someone Keely’s age would have made those kinds of videos for a lover and the “are there more videos” thing is silly. We didn’t need more of a problem than Jack expecting Keely to apologize when Keely was the victim. Roy being a shit was an unfortunately real moment. 
 

 

[TheLeon]

I‘ve started riding the 10 second skip button every time Nate shows up. I’m just so done with his whole thing. 

[SuperSpreader]

1 hour ago, TheLeon said:

I‘ve started riding the 10 second skip button every time Nate shows up. I’m just so done with his whole thing. 

[Kamusha]

Nate was never my favorite character but was fine with him "going bad" if it meant him finding confidence in himself and finally evolving as a person. Sure it's cheesy as hell but so is this whole damn show so might as well have some fun with it. Hell, even give him an eyepatch. I was all on board for evil Nate.

 

But the producers are more interested in keeping him the same stupid character as before but in different situations. Are you telling me that he's the coach of a major soccer team and he still bumbles himself through every single interaction?

 

I normally don't get secondhand embarrassment because I'm too cool to let that shit affect me but Nate introduces a new, untold level of cringe. During his scene I can't even barely look at the screen it is so hard to watch. The best episode by default was the Amsterdam ep because he was in it for like half a second.

[Kal-El814]

4 minutes ago, Kamusha said:

Nate was never my favorite character but was fine with him "going bad" if it meant him finding confidence in himself and finally evolving as a person. Sure it's cheesy as hell but so is this whole damn show so might as well have some fun with it. Hell, even give him an eyepatch. I was all on board for evil Nate.

 

But the producers are more interested in keeping him the same stupid character as before but in different situations. Are you telling me that he's the coach of a major soccer team and he still bumbles himself through every single interaction?

 

I normally don't get secondhand embarrassment because I'm too cool to let that shit affect me but Nate introduces a new, untold level of cringe. During his scene I can't even barely look at the screen it is so hard to watch. The best episode by default was the Amsterdam ep because he was in it for like half a second.

 

The strange issue with Nate is that there's an extent to which he's the "most realistic" character on the show. Not every dude that does misogynist shit is just a straight up asshole that actively hates women, not every successful man is actually confident, not every person has the self awareness to know that what they're going is stalking, etc. 

 

But the way he's written on screen just doesn't address ANY of that in an interesting way. Again, why does Jade even like him? Most of their interactions involve Nate being a jerk at best or again, STALKING her. I'm supposed to care that he's a nice guy deep down, so it's okay for him to just wait outside her work despite them having no actual relationship at that time? Why have the "let's keep it casual, actually you're my boyfriend" thing that resolved itself in 10 minutes? We know Nate is a wet noodle, he's in a relationship with someone he's been sweating for seasons now and can't say that he wants to be with her?

 

Again with Ted we get insight into his struggles with mental health, we see him trying to do the work. With Nate it just turns out his dad was potentially a stalker too. And Nate's mom and Jade just... happen to be fine with that. Yay?

[Greatoneshere]

I'm not sure that was an episode of Ted Lasso. Felt more like one of those mediocre ensemble romcoms that come out every year. Continuing to silo characters and their storylines from the great chemistry of the ensemble cast is just doing this show no favors, and the inconsistent character writing (Keeley's girlfriend goes from announcing to the workplace that she and Keeley are together to being a corporate shill and introducing Keeley as "a friend" in this episode doesn't track, as one example). 

[Brian]

I caught up with this season. The episodes are longer than ever but everything feels really rushed and characters are yo-yoing all over the place. I enjoyed the show more when it was a slice of life style of show. 

[stepee]

It’s an okay season of tv but most of the fun comes from seeing more of characters you liked during the first two really good seasons. I think overall as far as continuing the quality of the show, they’ve whiffed on the direction a bit.

[Kal-El814]

2 hours ago, stepee said:

It’s an okay season of tv but most of the fun comes from seeing more of characters you liked during the first two really good seasons. I think overall as far as continuing the quality of the show, they’ve whiffed on the direction a bit.

 

You can have an easy, breezy, fun, ensemble cast kind of a show. You can do the dramedy thing. You can do this all at once. But you can't waffle and this show as of season 2 is a whole damn Waffle House.

 

The hardest thing this show has asked any of its characters to do is Ted dealing with his shit. And the way that he rejects toxic masculinity, the way that he's emotionally intelligent, the way that he's navigated his relationship with his wife and their former counselor has all been really lovely to see. But it makes the rest of the stuff seem dull next to that shine.

 

It's a high class issue to have but it's still an issue.

 

Something like what happened with Roy last week is the most interesting this show has been this season outside of Ted's personal life. Roy has grown and matured since the first season to a great degree. His relationships with Ted and Keely are in no small part responsible for that. But he still can't help himself when he's talking to her and trying to be supportive. That 45 seconds in the most recent episode where he realizes he fucked up and it hurt Keely and he knows it and he went from trying to be supportive of her to looking to get forgiveness FROM her... that's really interesting! Best intentions and growth vs. instinct and immaturity, wanting to support a friend but still feeling entitled to the shit you gave up when you stopped being their partner. There's actually STUFF there! That one scene has been more interesting than literally everything to do with Nate in the last two seasons.