#anti ted lasso

[lunar-years]

okay. at risk of being too harsh on Ted...

I genuinely do not think he's a very good coach. And I do not mean that just in the obvious "well he doesn't even know anything about the sport he's head coach for" way, even though like, yeah, duh that really is a crucial point. I mean it in like, he's genuinely not as good at managing and delegating and working alongside his fellow coaches! The way he acts and the ways he manages the team so rarely feels...collaborative? I've been thinking about it a lot after reading posts from other blogs about how he constantly brushes off/ignores Beard's advice and also sends Jamie mixed messages and stuff and it's like. YEAH. It's all very "Ted makes the final decision" about everything and that's deeply goofy because Ted literally knows the least about the game out of all of them!!

We see him ignoring Beard's advice to bench Roy, and ignoring that Beard is actually trying to help the team win, as it is their job to do, until Beard finally snaps at him in s1. When he decides to reject Jamie he doesn't pause to consider it or discuss it with anyone, and even afterwards when he does have the coaches "take a vote" it feels...very performative? Like no matter what they said, it was always going to be Ted's decision in the end, and if they disagreed with what he'd already decided he wanted to do, he was just going to do it anyway.

Then he gets in Jamie's head about being a team player and passing the ball a to the point where it's actually hindering Jamie's role on the team and the strength of his performance. And even though Roy recognizes that, rather than going to Ted about it and making different suggestions, he comes up with the whole signal thing which in hindsight sort of feels...very much like Roy trying to package his complaint in a way that will be digestible to Ted's approval? Like, "oh we'll give him the signal so he doesn't feel bad about playing the way we need him to play. but ONLY when we give him the sign don't worry we'll still control it!" Instead of just being like Ted, look, I don't think your strategy for Jamie works at all and here's what we need to do instead.

It almost feels like none of the assistant coaches really feel comfortable questioning Ted's judgement...because he doesn't foster a space for them that welcomes that kind of feedback from them. Even with the Zava thing, he doesn't listen to Jamie, and Roy and Beard don't question it, BUT Roy offers to individually coach Jamie. Because Roy knows what's happening with Zava is bullshit, and he'd rather pull Jamie aside and deal with the problem himself in the way that he can, rather than talk to the head coach about how it's bullshit. And the ONE time Beard and Roy go off and try something against Ted's wishes (showing the Nate video), it massively backfires and they scramble over themselves to apologize while Ted feels even more vindicated in never valuing their input. It's like a never ending cycle of bad management. and the WORST part is that Ted will TELL them he wants to know their thoughts and hear their strategies, but then he doesn't follow it or he just goes off and does his own thing, so it results in like...a level of unintentional condescension, I think.

At the end of the day, I do not think Ted has bad intentions or is going into this stuff intending to walk over the other coaches, but it happens because his purpose and goal for the team is fundamentally misaligned with what the other coaches value. Ted wants to make the team better by changing the culture at Richmond (at least until he checks out and loses interest in even that) and Beard & Roy (& Nate) want to focus on helping them win matches. I also DO think there's something in all of this that could have been a very compelling major factor in Nate's downward s2 spiral. I've always said that to me the most lackluster part of Nate's arc was not his redemption but his downfall--which had a basis that was severely under-explored onscreen. When he leaked Ted's panic attacks, it felt so severe and sudden a leap because there wasn't enough to back up Nate's headspace throughout the season, even thought the basis is THERE. The foundation for Nate feeling ignored as a coach and having his input constantly undervalued is THERE. They just don't ever let the characters properly explore it, or god forbid allow Ted to reckon with how he's ostracized all of his coaches to some extent.

[davey-in-a-minivan]

ted lasso season 4 possible... i can't do this

[itspileofgoodthings]

maria i don't watch ted lasso but i need you to tell me everything it's doing wrong, i trust you

Chelsea!!! You sent this so long ago and I’ve just been mulling it over in my head ever since. First of all, thank you for your trust, I am honored lol.

But also, I probably don’t have a great answer as I am out of practice speaking coherently on something’s issues! But I’ll try.

I mean, I think it gets a lot wrong. if I had to break it down! I think there’s two main things wrong. The first one is that there’s a core of rot behind its core principles. And that always leeches through eventually in a tv show, and in this one I think the specific way it does that is its refusal to question any of its moral principles or even just engage with them honestly. And this makes for really boring television. In a certain sense, you always know exactly where a storyline is going to go or the thesis statement that a set-up is going to land on before it goes there. It never surprises you. Too many examples to name but one of their basic moral principles is that a one-night stand/casual sex is not only fine but good and healthy. So every time that happens on the show you know that the characters are going to be praised/reassured for it and/or if any complications do arise it’s made VERY clear that it’s not the casual sex’s fault. And it’s not like I’m going to agree with most shows about this (it’s so evil!!!!!! It destroys people!!!!!!! It is damaging and devastating the romantic landscape!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but there are ways of engaging with it as a storyline that are so much more honest than anything Ted Lasso will ever dare to do. (Friday night lights, which is the show’s antithesis in every way, frequently has casual sex and without preaching and probably even without meaning to honestly traces the consequences of it in exciting and real ways.) and basically that’s the problem with the show over and over. It professes to want to say something profound about morals and culture and life but you know beforehand exactly what you will see and learn. You can see the moral “punchline” so to speak coming from the second they open their mouths. And there are better and worse ways that that can play out. The show’s belief that taking care of your mental health/talking about it and the importance of men specifically sharing their emotions is a) valid and b) can play out in some cute and funny ways. But even then the show is still not going to surprise you. Ted will call up the diamond dogs, they’ll talk about what’s wrong, there will be some quips and they’ll end on one of them saying some therapist-speak (mostly) truth and everything will be resolved. So even when I enjoy it (and I do! I like pretty much all of the mental health conversations) it is never as brave as it thinks it’s being.

The second thing is that the show just hates romance! Or, the problem is that the show is so committed to surprising its audience (derogatory) when it comes to the romantic relationships that it will torpedo perfectly good ones and give you no resolution or closure. And tv couples are NOT the place to put your “surprises.” Like. They broke up Roy and Keeley. Which. Why? Put it back! This is so dumb! And they’re clearly not going to let Ted and Rebecca get together because they want to avoid doing that. Which is okay! But it’s like—then give us something else instead. Give us some kind of resolution/satisfaction. Just? It’s so tired and again not nearly as exciting or unpredictable as it thinks it is. They’re not actually interested in the romances themselves, just what they can say about them to the audience. Which seems to just be a vague lecturing about wanting the leads to get together romantically. It’s annoying!

There are some things I like. A lot actually! I love the cast pretty much entirely. Jaimie is so fun and funny. The team dynamics are so fun and sweet. Rebecca is wonderful. (The show’s best storyline was the first season—her trying to sabotage her husband’s team and then realizing she’s sort of accidentally found a family instead.) And there are some good friendship dynamics—particularly Rebecca and Keeley and Roy and Jaimie (sp?). But even those dynamics are held back by the show’s repetitive storytelling. They will never have a conversation (specifically the girls) where they’re not saying some girlboss mantra you could read on Twitter. But anyway back to the positives. It can be funny and have some great one-liners. I love Ted’s similes and references and metaphors. The team is great and they’re fun to watch. I actually really like how they handle the sports side of it and the balance of wins and losses and how that isn’t really the point. (They should focus on it more.) And Ted and Dr. Sharon are a really wonderful pairing where a lot is unpacked. But they drop it and don’t take it as far as they could. So the whole affect is just meandering? Even when it’s fun.

TLDR: I think it’s more surface-level than it thinks it is (something I hate) and it hates romance and clear storytelling and will mess with both for no clear discernible reason. It also has an agenda. Which, good or bad, is not a substitute for complexity and honesty and they often try to use it as one!

[regardstosoulandromance]

so are the ted lasso fans who are anti sam/rebecca and keeley/jack because they’re boss/employee ALSO against tedbecca since they’re also boss employee? or is it fine because tedbecca are a straight white couple?

[coachbeards]

Oh, right. Yeah, no. That…That's a thing.

TED LASSO 2.09 "Beard After Hours"

[marvelling-at-marvel-blog]

I like to imagine that after he retires from football, Dani becomes a match day commentator. Just imagine the pure energy and joy he would bring. I dont think he would be the most insightful, tactiful presenter of the boys from the team who could go on to do this, but he would be the most joyous

It would be the best and most frustrating thing ever. Like the team you loce is down 0-2 and his still so positive. Your lead goal scorer missed the easy goal, but Rojas commentated that his new shoes look amazing and he thinks they bring happiness to the field. He also likes to throw in random facts that he thinks will bring happiness or that someone has told him.

I mean, he chooses this carer because he wants to bring joy and foot all is life.

But there is a rule after the first time that he should not do mexico matches because that brings out a different Dani Rojas and the audiences ears still haven't recovered from the first time.

[countessklair]

you know what, no, i'm not done talking about this. jamie isn't 'dealing with the fact hes not number one anymore/hes not the star'. he literally already dealt with that in SEASON TWO!!!! sure he was still his arrogant prick self but it was in a fun, teasing way meant to make the team and the audience laugh, that was the whole point of The Signal, so Jamie would know he could turn up being a prick!! because he already KNEW he wasn't the star on the team, Roy's whole problem with Jamie when he became a coach was that JAMIE WAS TOO MUCH OF A TEAM PLAYER.

i swear i'm so sick of seeing people act like jamie is just throwing a fit over nothing, he's not worried from a selfish concern (although he has every right to be pissed about Zava stealing his goal, i saw someone else say that Roy would have headbutted the FUCK out of someone for that and they're right and they should say it), but the point is that jamie's biggest concern is that the team, HIS team, the goofy touchy feely himbo team that's anti-toxic masculinity THAT TEAM is regressing. they're not listening to Ted or Beard or Roy, they're just getting on the field and giving Zava the ball and that's not what team sports are about. especially not with a self-centered borderline narcissist like Zava.

also jamie's looking at this from the other side now. he used to be a bully/asshole star player. he was sent back to man city, did some soul searching and growing as a person and as a player and PROVED himself to have changed for the better. he didn't just apologize and go back to acting like a dick, no, he woke up and realized it wasn't ok for him to act like that. so now he's fucking BAFFLED why it's ok for Zava to act like this. Zava isn't an aggressive bully the way Jamie was, but Zava's tell is in his body language. he shakes off Dani and the teams congratulations, stepping infront of and above all of the rest of the team to take all of the crowds cheering for himself and to block the view of the team, he steps in front of ted to block the teams view of their fucking coach, because to Zava, *he* is the only thing that matters. to zava, he is nothing short of the sun and/or god, and jamie is the only one wearing sunglasses and not being blinded by it, and is the only one looking around like 'wtf why is everyone drinking this dickheads kool-aid please get a grip'

[tedtrentconspiracy]

turns out the secret third option was worse than anyone expected

[lunar-years]

I wouldn't say Ted Lasso did any of its abuse/abuse recovery narratives "well" but I do think they did parts of all of them like really well, which is what makes it all so incredibly frustrating. Like, showing how hard it can be to intervene by having the Diamond Dogs be avoidant and non-confrontational despite their mutual concern about Beard's relationship with Jane, but then having Higgins step up and say something anyway (and even though Beard didn't take his advice, it still felt like okay, this is a good, this is a realistic and messy and complicated narrative to tell that nevertheless highlights the importance of speaking up and being there for your friends even if it doesn't always work out how you'd planned), having Beard & Roy jump in to help Jamie at Wembley and Roy respond so well to Jamie's story in Amsterdam, humanizing Rupert in International Break and giving the backstory for why Rebecca fell in love with him and offering them a moment of real connection again without once pushing the narrative that he should be forgiven or that Rebecca even considers for a second taking him back...all that shit was GOOD!!! it was really nuanced and complex and good!! andddd then it ended with the BeardJane wedding, a James Tartt Sr. forgiveness agenda and Rupert morphing immediately into an over-the-top cartoon villain like what 😭 they had the capacity...and yet!!! nooooooo.

[elloras]

+ Bonus Heartbreak -- His hands here:

[deardarlingthings]

I needed to make a post off of this one because... it just explains so much more. This hits so many new tones now- this show is known for their layers and callbacks and now going back to that moment even though it was wrong, he made Keeley practically bid for him as a trauma response. He had another lady he knew bid on him, almost guarantied as a safety net. This man has never known a lick of peace as a child. As a teen. Hell, his father took him to the redlight district to become a man at fourteen years old. A night that Jamie even now, comes to barely remember most likely because he blocked it out. Hell, if he was in the district, god knows if his father was making him do to forget or to be more of a man. a child being forced to lose his virginity to an adult because a parent said that was what you needed to be a man. From a man who abused him constantly. Verbally. Physically. Mentally. Every form imaginable up to present day. Topping that- his mother wasn't exactly in the picture- did she know how bad he was and left him with his father? His mother never fought for him. He has been alone. Building those walls to be like his dad because no one ever messed with him. Jamie Tartt as far as we know, up until AFC Richmond, has not known a father figure, a friend, no support system, no healthy relationships. The one person he found solace in as a kid, the man who he had a poster of on his wall, and someone who coached him one on one for several months while knowing he was being used as an emotional punching bag {and dealt with because in a sense, trauma response, used to it}, feels safe enough to tell him this. Feels free enough around him. Jamie found sanctuary in the one man who he idolized for years. and you bet your ass Roy Kent will protect his loved ones and family. Jamie has found a family in Richmond, and has found that and more in Roy fuckin' Kent.

[regardstosoulandromance]

me hearing the s4 announcement

[cherish--these--times]

I'm not sure if this will help you, but something that has come to help me a lot is just accepting season 3 (and honestly with that ending the entire show) was written poorly. When you take into account evwrything (the pacing, show don't tell, plant/promise/payoff, and Chekhov's gun of it all) they are just bad writers. Accepting this has help a lot because they I don't have to try and answer the question if why they did what they did. I've also come to the conclusion that they also simply do not create content I can enjoy all the way through to the end.

Though, this does not stop me from trying to pin points where they could have adjusted the story to better get to the ending they wanted. It would have been so easy....

Thank you Nonny, I appreciate wanting to help me cope with it. I guess because the first season was so wonderful, I find it hard to reconcile what they established with that they ultimately delivered. In the way it was written and how it translated for each character and their journey.

I get that not everything has to be pink and glitter all the time, but I feel like they pulled a Game of Thrones ending on us by "subverting expectations"... Or maybe they did what How I met your Mother did before it, which is stick to their original ending without accounting for what organically developed over time and should have been honoured rather than dismissed because it didn't fit with what they had in mind before the show even aired. That's when it becomes forced and weird. Even more reckless when they boasted about how they wanted the cast and crew to have creative incentive. Considering how the first season was, and some of season 2, it worked for the benefit of the show. But they can't have it both ways.

I suppose, beyond betraying multiple character arcs this last season (in my opinion), they also had major pacing issues as well as committing the ultimate crime: they told us rather than showed us a lot of things. So much happened off screen, even though episodes were SO LONG, it was infuriating...

Anyway... The more I mull it over the more I see where you're coming from Nonny, thank you LOL

[jamietwat]

Thinking about how Jamie left Richmond with friends on the team and probably came back expecting to have to prove himself but to still have a few friends just to come back to everyone openly hating him and mad at him and not wanting him there or to acknowledge his

Thinking about how in that interview when he was on Man City he was his usual cocky self talking about carrying his team, but he actually didn’t say anything bad about anyone outside or Roy and Ted. He talked about how all of the players on Richmond were good lads except for Roy Kent and called Ted a rodeo clown and Nate showed the team it and they all hated him enough to start throwing shit despite the fact that he wasn’t saying anything he wouldn’t have to their faces if he was still on the team and despite the fact that he was actually nicer to all the players except for Roy than he ever had been in person

Thinking about how Isaac went from being his friend and starting shit with him to breaking a TV because of his hatred toward him when Jamie really hadn’t even done anything to him and Jamie coming back to Isaac hating him as if they weren’t getting up to the exact same shit together when Jamie was there and if Isaac thought he himself was a way better person now and so was Colin but there was no chance that there could be anything redeemable in Jamie

Thinking about how Jamie left and DIDN’T talk shit about the team or make weird personal comments outside of the ones about Roy and Ted that he would have made to their faces if he was still there

Thinking about the way Nate left of his own volition and talked shit publicly every chance he got

Thinking about how Nate came back trying with everyone letting him that easily when HE was a dick in person too, left them of his own volition, and slandered them and made them a public joke for fun

Thinking about how Jamie got kicked out, DIDN’T talk shit about his friends, had to beg Ted to come back against the whole team’s wishes, and then got iced out by everyone whether it was people with a right to it like Sam or people like Isaac and Colin that had been friends with him and decided to treat him like the worst man alive to distance themselves and make themselves look better by comparison

Thinking about how Jamie think his friendships are all dependent on his spot on the team and he’s seen them disappear when he got kicked out before

Thinking about how Jamie still calls Isaac his best friend after this because he thinks he deserved all of what he got and that he was the one and only problem in that situation and how really we never see Jamie and Isaac as close again as they were in season one and there are plenty of other teammates I would have expected him to say over him

Thinking about Jamie watching Nate come back and forgiving him and knowing what it’s like to be in his place but also Jamie watching everyone else forgive him and care about him as a person that easily again while he had to fight for even Ted to let him come back and had to fight to have people even accept him being on the team again and to get them to acknowledge his existence long before he earned their friendship

[struckbyfuckinglightning]

THE WAY I WILL FORGIVE ALL THE HORRORS OF SEASON 3 IF THEY GET RID OF BOAT GUY