#you do not fuck with theatre folk's superstitions

[itsawritblr]

Columbo will firmly instruct you to exit the theater, then once outside spin in a circle three times, then spit over your left shoulder, and then ask the stage manager to allow you back into the theater.

[roamwithahungryheart]

Ted Lasso s3 episode 2 my beloved 🥺💖

Before I get into the main breakdown of my thoughts, here's a bullet point list of my fave bits (there are lots - posting below the cut!)

Ted bursting into Rebecca's office with 'GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!'

'What's it like being the boss of the Keel-E Street Band'

'Forgot how skittish elderly people can be cos of the war'

The entire 'who's on first?' bit

'Got it. What's a CD?'

Roy popping the balloons in his office

Barbara's snow globes

Higgins paying attention to his wife's gossip and using it as networking (their marriage is so wholesome, it's absolutely everything)

The banner at Stamford Bridge - They don't make them like Roy anymore (welling up point #1)

All the references to superstition - we're back on the BELIEVE train and it's moving at full speed

'Will you please go and find out what's going on from your vast network of lip-reading massage therapists'

'Look man, I don't know what your beef is with Trent, but I'm gonna need you to order off the vegan menu right now.'

The Hallmark Christmas movie explanation (he's right and he should say it) - and Roy's reaction

Roy yelling 'CRIMM!' and making Trent jump

'You're overrated, you're overpaid, and you eat too much fucking asparagus'

The Zava chant being Hava Nagila

'Jane & I are gonna go see her friend's immersive theatre show about the menstrual cycle' 'I hope you're not late'

'A lot of folks think it's better to quit than be fired'

Roy opening up at the end of the episode (time to cry)

Ted doing the little batting eyelashes chin-in-hands bit

To sum up - I EFFING LOVE THIS SHOW!!!

[apprenticeofcups]

Why /do/ you think Julian's afraid of ghosts?

WELL SINCE YOU ASKED

Honestly, this is another of Julian’s character quirks I absolutely love: his whole “man of science, afraid of magic” thing and total lack of chill when it comes to ghosts. As comic relief, it’s priceless, but it also makes a lot of sense, because he’s cobbled together from some of the most superstitious demographics there are.

To start, he’s from a culture that’s loosely based on Eastern European elements - whether you think he’s Russian, Polish, Czech, etc., Eastern European folk beliefs are strong, and they don’t preclude intellectualism. In the US, at least, there’s the general consensus that superstitiousness indicates a lack of rationalism (or even lack of intelligence) - but in much of the former USSR, that’s not the case. You can be loaded up with Ph.Ds in Russia, but you still don’t fuck with jinxes. Lots of Eastern Euro folk superstitions are based on folk beliefs of good and evil spirits interfering with our lives, and a number of them deal with ghosts, like appeasing dead relatives so they don’t come back, or clearing old ghosts out of new houses before you move in*.

On top of that, he’s a sailor. Nautical myths and superstitions are such an integral part of seafaring culture that lots of them persist to modern naval culture. Sailors, especially pirates, are hyper-aware of invoking bad luck, and pretty much every sailor from the invention of the boat to today has at least one ghost story in their arsenal, to tell over a pint. 

He’s also (at least in spirit - heh) an actor, and the theatre is chock full of superstitions: the Scottish Play, wearing green, whistling in the theater (coincidentally, that one has nautical origins). Actor superstitions aren’t as ghost-heavy as others, but every theater has its resident ghost, and every theater leaves a light on for them. 

And, of course, he’s a doctor. Even modern doctors are a superstitious bunch (though nowadays, a lot of them abhor the label), usually manifesting in small, personal ways, like a favorite exam room or a lucky scrub top. While it may seem paradoxical, working around life and death can really fuck up your sense of how the world works - perfectly healthy people die during routine procedures; people with catastrophic injuries and decimal odds make full recoveries. Medicine attracts scientific minds, but there’s an inextricable level of humanity and randomness a hyperrational mind isn’t equipped to handle. Lots of doctors talk about being able to “feel” if a patient will live or die, report seeing apparitions of those they’ve lost, etc. - especially doctors who have served in war zones. 

With all that stacked together, it’s a given that Julian believes in ghosts, and he does notice magical happenings, so it’s likely he can see or sense them, on some level. When you put all that together with his inability to let go of past mistakes, general suspicion of the arcane, and tendency to throw himself under every bus he can find, it makes sense that he would assume the worst of otherworldly apparitions. We’ve seen him have a nightmare of loved ones he hadn’t even lost to the Plague, blaming him for their suffering; it’s not far-fetched to assume he’s been “haunted”, in his dreams or otherwise, by people he’s actually lost. ☕

*these are generalizations - obviously, not everyone in Russia, Poland, etc. is superstitious, or subscribes to the same set of beliefs! This is a gross oversimplification of only a couple years’ worth of study, and my knowledge base is primarily limited to russophone countries.