#that scene with nate though... why is there such a long shot of ted and trent. ok.

[goldfish-or-smthing]

CRUMBS CRUMBS CRUMBS CRUMBS

[rdng1230]

More Ted Lasso Musings

Before I start let me say once again that this season has contained absolutely wonderful moments and is still a wonderful bit of light in a buuuuunch of darkness. Also spoiler warning.

Cool, so I've figured out what's bothering me this season and its that they're either showing us everything and telling us nothing, or showing us nothing (of actual character significance) and telling us everything. in the showing us everything and telling us nothing category we've got my love Keeley Jones. I feel like we've spent a massive amount of time at KJPR and I still feel like I'm scratching my head as to what they were trying to tell us. They've set Keeley up to be this incredibly competent and bright person, and when they give her her shot it all goes to shit. and I get it "you can't always get what you want" so says the song for this season's trailer, but I'm struggling to understand the thing that she got that she needed that she didn't already have. She had Rebeccas love and support, I mean she has Roy back but this does not seem like the show where the moral of a long story about her starting her own business is that she has her boyfriend back. I actually would love people's take on what you think we're supposed to get out of Keeley's storyline.

Onto the telling but not showing category we got my guy Nate the Great. He has been so totally short changed this season on his redemption arc. It is HARD to become a better person. It is HARD to admit you fucked up. It is HARD to turn against your own knee jerk insecurities and reactions. It is ESPECIALLY HARD to do that in an environment that is actively incentivizing you to act on those insecurities and reactions. So even though I absolutely believe Nate deserving and capable of these huge leaps forward in overcoming his own internal crap, I think we've completely sidelined that narrative of what's pushing him to actually take those huge leaps forward. At the end of season 2, it was clear Nate was really struggling, and I'm not gonna lie I hated the way he treated those around him, like Beard said it was "personal, and weird" but I also felt a huge amount of sympathy and compassion because no one gets that way without something horrible happening to them first. So when the last scene of season 2 happened and he was teased as this big time villain, I was sad, but not surprised. I expected him to get his redemption, but I also expected that to be a really difficult journey for him where he was likely going to get worse before he got better. So now we're in season 3 and he suddenly just makes all these huge leaps forward, they feel from out of nowhere, not because I don't feel like he's capable of it, but rather that should've been more difficult to do, and also it should've been a moment of great personal triumph for Nate! The way I think of it is imagine if Rebecca had just waltzed into teds office in season 1 and confessed about the sabotage with no context. Sure we would've believed her capable of it, sure we would've believed she deserved forgiveness, but we all would've been scratching our heads as to what made her have this reckoning within herself. they would've told us Rebecca changed instead of shown why and how she changed like what they're doing with Nate.

I actually think there's so many parallels between the relationship of Nate and Jade and the relationship of Roy and Jamie. Both Nate and Roy made stupidly bad and self destructive decisions around the end of last season. Both are in a low point in their emotional journeys, almost all of Nathan's emotional scenes have been with Jade while all of Roy's emotional scenes have been with Jamie. The thing is, that's not where their respective internal work really needs to get done? Nate already took the plunge and asked out Jade last season, and Roy already showed real vulnerability when he hugged Jamie after the thing with his dad (not that I think that means everything wrapped up with a shiny bow or anything, but just that each character has much bigger fish to fry in terms of character growth) I do think Nate and Jade have become really cute just as Roy and Jamie's scenes have felt ripped straight out of a fluffy fanfic. but do these scenes actually show us that Nate/Roy are getting better? We've already seen Nate being an absolute sweetheart with the women in his life who he loves, his mother, his niece (even if we didn't actually see her till this season it was clear that they had a very warm and positive relationship) and Keeley, so him being able to be vulnerable and open up with Jade is lovely, but not really that new of a territory. If we could just see Nate having a shift maybe with his coaching staff or the West Ham players, this would feel more meaningful because we saw him struggle way more with people he perceives as part of his own hierarchy structure. Its the same with Roy. We've seen Roy open up to Jamie in the past so their relationship, while fucking adorable, is not doing anything to address the real struggle inside Roy that he's ignoring. It would be way more meaningful to see Roy have moments where he chooses to have joy instead of running away. Instead we get scenes like where the sports pundit squad just says oh by the way Nate left West Ham, in the same way that Ms. Bowen says to Roy that he seems less stuck. Umm what? Since when? what happened? All tell and no show. Or showing only the least character growth relevant scenes and then just be like oh by the way they fixed it.

reblog and comment away because I'm interested in people's take on this.

[sy5starplaty]

My reactions to Ted Lasso 3.05... 

A month after West Ham? Yep. Let’s just skip over that shit show. Next!

Where is North?

Oh? Straight back to that café and... boo! It’s a verbal shite in knining armour.

Hm. Maybe my theory is wrong... OR maybe this is a red herring? Maybe the green matchbook is one too. A green herring.

That’s a lot of cleavage, Keeley... for the fans (who believe something will happen between her & Jack), no doubt. 

"Hire your best friend” didn’t pan out so well there. Well, Shandi wasn’t the best.

Zava sounds like a wonderful husband... but I’m inclined to not believe it. 

The sadistic nature documentarian thing is extra funny since I’m in the process of giffing a nature documentary. :D

I love Beard immediately wanting to defend Henry against a bully like that but... It’s most likely that HENRY is the bully. OH NO! HE’S BEING A SHITE IN NINE-ING ARMOUR!

Uh, Roy... what did you do? Why do you sound like we need Dr Sharon Fieldstone back ASAP?

Higgins always good for a random quote: “Fingernails: what’s that about?”

It’s good I’m making notes for almost all of these scenes because I basically forget what the previous one was every time there’s something new to laugh over. 

But anyway... that tedbecca scene was delicious. 

BYE SHANDI!

Wait... isn’t that couple in this hospital place the same folk who were at the café during that song in 2.02? Does that mean I can do a parallel set with them also? 

Zava blocking Jamie in shot? Perfect.  The music, not so much. 

I was right. Henry was the shite. 

No surprise at all that Zava's gone...

"Why can't the world just have one timezone?" "The sun"

That was some good revenge from Shandi, though.

"Maybe he's dead" "fucking better be"

And now there are candles... And Shandi's vodka (& most likely spit) bottle.

Keeley's failing as a bestie to Rebecca.

Yep, they're gonna do something... And while it's no surprise, it's also feeling just a little bit like Keeley's maybe a bit Sam Obisanya right now. Y'know. 'Cause Jack is her boss. 

PANIC ATTACK!

Not dead. Just retired.

Poor Dani... no one else. Just him.

PANIC ATTACK! ... resolved. He's getting better. And repeating Jamie's words now... and the music is back JUST FOR TED. \o/

And the sign splits again... "That's it. We're doomed."

Ted tears it up again! Yeah! You better recycle that.

Oh no... Waitress seems to have a humiliation fetish. Nate's humiliation that is. Look, as long as she calls him out on his bullshit I'm good with this development.

Ted talks about HOPE while Rebecca looks at the matchbook...

4am. Jamie you better be thankful Roy didn't whack you with a red paint rope.

[hacash]

season 3 predictions

(all of which are likely to be made completely redundant by 2x12 but HEY HO LET’S GO)

Sam. I think the opportunity offered to him by Edwin is too great to pass up but��I just can’t imagine the show and the Richmond team without Toheeb Jimoh. Given that the writers have said they’ve planned these arcs in advance I don’t think he’d be written out for the sake of a new acting gig. Therefore because I’m selfish and desperately hoping he stars in season 3 (and could hardly pop back as a recurring character while on Edwin’s team) I could see him doing a Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec: ‘I want to leave Richmond better than when I joined it’. After what I hope will be a promotion for the team I could potentially see him asking Edwin for a year’s grace to help Richmond win the Premier League, and then he’ll happily take him up on his offer.

I’m also hoping like hell that this would be the push Rebecca needs to see there’s not going to be a future in the relationship with Sam. It’s interesting that although Bill Lawrence has openly agreed that the employee/age difference is concerning, there’s been little acknowledgement of that in the show, so I wonder if there’s going to be fallout in episode 12 in some fashion. Regardless, I think it’s time to say goodbye to Sambecca.

Keeley and Roy. I am firmly of the opinion that they ain’t breaking up any time soon. There’s no way in hell Roy has knelt down in front of Keeley so many times without it meaning something, so I am certain that next season will be the planning of the Kent-Jones wedding. 

I also have a sneaking suspicion that Keeley might end up being the next opening-shot of the season. After episode after episode of her working as Roy/Rebecca/Jamie’s emotional support, we got a tantalising glimpse into her psyche last episode: both with her uncertainties around being featured in Vanity Fair and her ambitions being shaped by her mother’s history. I love Keeley but quite frankly we haven’t had enough of her as plot - I really think/hope she might come to the fore next season.

Nate. I fully believe there’s no way in hell Nate will still be working at Richmond come the end of the season, though I can imagine him walking away in a fit of pique rather than Rebecca firing him. (Frankly, I can’t see Ted letting Rebecca do that.) I think he’ll end up joining another team - possibly with or without Darth Mannion’s help - and, although a lot of people here want this to be a devastatingly humiliating/humbling experience for Nate, I’d love to see this as an opportunity for him to genuinely grow outside the confines of Richmond (which forms way too much of his identity - and let’s be honest, can’t always hold good memories for Nate when he was literally asking his teammates not to physically harass him on a daily basis). I can definitely see someone - HigginsHigginsHiggins - giving him Sharon’s number to call before he leaves, and I like the idea that in the season break Nate could be dealing with some of his issues and returning to the Nate the Great we know and love.

However, I then think Nate will somehow end up back at Richmond. While you could argue that it would be better for Nate to make a clean break, it would honestly be a waste of Nick Mohammed’s bloody sterling acting talents to keep him away from Nelson Road for too long in season 3. I have no idea how a redemption arc here might look, but it would have to be good, and if there’s forgiveness to be offered, it should take more than the space of an episode - although I hope they don’t stretch it out too long. Rebecca and Jamie were forgiven relatively quickly; it would be a shame and a bad look if Nate’s own forgiveness journey was too disproportionately drawn out.

I’d also love to see Jamie, Colin and Isaac apologise for their season 1 bullying of Nate. Much as the bullying Nate suffered doesn’t excuse his shoddy behaviour, Nate’s own bullshit doesn’t excuse what our beloved trio pulled in season 1 - and crucially, we never saw them apologise to Nate or try to make amends. I really love apology scenes and I’d love to see Nate with some friends beyond Ted and Keeley - and that li’l scene in the Liverpool karaoke bar with Isaac, Colin and Nate doing shots together means I want more of this friendship.

Some sort of Jamie/Nate commiseration over shit dads and over-compensating for the emotional wounds they give us? Please?

More Higgins. In many ways Higgins is the emotional rock for our beloved Richmond: he’s the only one not suffering from some sort of untold trauma or struggles, and is able to live with a relationship with an imperfect father and yet be a fantastic father himself. I’d love to see a storyline where Higgins isn’t on the periphery but straight in the heart of the action, potentially adopting a Richmond boy or two along the way. 

By saying this, I mean Jamie. If we get a scene where Jamie is invited around to the Higginses for Sunday lunch I will cry. Much like Nate needs space apart from Richmond to grow and heal, Jamie needs close relationships with people who aren’t Keeley for security - mature familial relationships, and quite frankly the Higginses are the stable family dynamic Jamie needs right now. 

Why the fuck does Colin feel the need to remind himself he is not a piece of shit? Enquiring minds need to know. We’ve had episode storylines that focus on Dani, Sam, Jamie and Isaac; I just want one with Colin where I’m not emotionally devastated by the end of it, thank you Headspace.

This isn’t so much a prediction as a plea, but an entire episode where the Richmond boys are the focus. A night out in Richmond, that long-promised pillow fight, them finally taking Colin to go clothes shopping for something that isn’t a  button-up polo shirt - I honestly don’t care, I just need as much of their antics as Apple TV allows.

On a slightly more realistic note, the Himbos Greyhounds content rose significantly from season 1 to season 2, so I can see the writers carrying on with that arc. 

Ted. Fuck knows. At this point I can’t trust myself to predict Ted’s actions - I do think Nate’s going to be leaving Richmond, and so I can’t see Ted leaving as well. It would be amazing if Ted used the dubiously-written expose (c’mon Trent, you couldn’t have given Ted a head’s up or asked for a quote before the article was put online? forget dubious journalism ethics that just...seems inefficient not to approach him for a comment while you were writing the piece) as an excuse to talk more about mental health in sport. I definitely think episode 12 is going to have Richmond rally around Ted, and so I do hope the article isn’t going to drive Ted further into hiding and that he’ll be at Richmond by the time season 3 comes around.

Ted and Rebecca. I can’t have been the only one that caught that little look by Ted when Rebecca left his office in 2x11, right? Certainly the show has set up a whopper of a truth bomb for season 3, when there’s another heart to heart in Ted’s office, and though it could be anything, my little shipper heart is screaming  some sort of romantic confession of love. I don’t know, it just feels like there is a...a something between Ted and Rebecca that’s going to happen in 2x12, and I can’t help but think it’s going to lay the foundations for whatever happens in season 3 big time.

[hacash]

In no particular order, my thoughts on who might be seen in that all-important first-shot close-up in season 3:

Keeley (In my opinion, most likely. It feels like we’re only starting to scratch the surface of who Keeley is as a person in her own right - as opposed to Rebecca/Jamie/Roy’s support system - so I think most people would argue she’s next for a big character arc.)

Roy (Is another main character and clearly is Going Through Some Stuff in regards to his relationship anxieties with Keeley. It feels like he’s done a lot of character development already though, so may be less primed for a season-wide arc.)

The team as a whole (We’ve never been told the character growth for whoever is in the close up has to be one person, and quite frankly more focus solely on the himbos would make my year. It’s unlikely to happen, but what the hell.)

Jamie (He’s one of the key footballers, and I for one would like to see more of Jamie, particularly given that we didn’t seem to have much follow-up for the scene with his dad or his confession to Keeley. Handing the penalty over to Dani felt like a pretty concrete peak to his arc though.)

Sam (A lot of Sam’s plotlines - Dubai Air, Rebecca, Edwin - felt like they had rather shaky endings, so I’d love to see Sam in a more concrete arc. I loved the post floating around tumblr about Sam’s theme this season being that he’s constantly offered things that aren’t real, and in the end he chooses to do something real himself with the restaurant - so more follow up to that would be great.)

Colin (A long shot, but I can dream, can’t I? Quite frankly if I don’t find out why on earth Colin feels the need to tell himself he’s not a piece of shit, I will be sorely disappointed - plus as Billy Harris’ face journey during the Scene of Pain in Headspace showed, he definitely has the acting ability to take some more of the focus in season 3.)

Isaac (Similar to Colin - it’s a long shot, but we haven’t had nearly enough insight into the inner life of Richmond’s captain. This is a Renaissance Man who cuts hair, cites films, dresses like a Milan model and throws televisions all with equal panache, so quite frankly a good Isaac arc would be delightful.)

Jaan (I suspect this is unlikely compared to some of the longer-lasting characters...but someone else on here pointed out that they may be setting Jaan up for a leadership role in season 3 after his half-time speech, so I’m willing to be proved wrong.)

Higgins (Someone on here pointed out that if Higgins is the close-up of the season he’s likely to go through some emotional trauma - neither Rebecca or Nate exactly had it easy - and so while I would love more stories with Higgins as the focal point, I will only accept this if he goes from high to even higher with absolutely no harm coming to him or any of the family Higgins, please and thank you.)

Doctor Sharon (Similar to Jaan, she hasn’t been on the show for as long as some of the others and so I suspect won’t be the close-up victim...but still, she does have a ‘significant’ role to play next season!)

Coach Beard (I don’t think this is likely - his whole thing is being an enigma after all - but you never know, and it would be nice to get some more insight into Beard beyond his relationship with Ted.)

Rupert (No-one said the character arc had to be positive, did they? Look at Nate. I want him to go from bad to even worse and then get buried in absolute obscurity.)

The Pub Regulars (Will Baz ever get the anger management therapy he so dearly needs? Season 3 may provide the answers....)