Ted Lasso: (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea
March 21, 2023 9:15 PM - Season 3, Episode 2 - Subscribe
Richmond decides to get a crazy/drama queen/trophy-winning Italian player. Trent Crimm, Independent, embeds with the team to write a book, which Roy is not happy about. Keeley reunites with an old friend and hires her for her organization.
Keeley wants to throw a staff picnic. Barbara: "I can't make it." "I didn't tell you when it was." "I know."
Ted is an 11:11 person...and Beard...and Dani.
All those nos about Trent writing a book and Ted says go ahead...and then later they do the same on Rebecca...
Ted on The Office: "I forgot, y'all did a premake over here."
WHERE IS KEELEY'S MAKEUP?!?! Like damn, she dialed it back a LOT. Probably needed to with the crying and eye makeup all over everyone's shirts, but still. She's so pale! And like, normal-er!...uh-oh.
Rebecca on changing manicurists: "The fumes make me dizzy and I overshare."
Zava: "He's played on 14 teams in 15 years, leaving nothing behind but chaos and trophies."
Rebecca: "Who doesn't love a handful?"
Keeley, still brainstorming group office activities: "Maybe I could hire a shaman and we could do a bunch of ayuhuasca under a blood moon!"
Ted: "I was thinking something like an escape room, but hey, clamato, clamato, right?"
Isaac deduces that Keeley and Roy have broken up through kinesics. "Roy's clenched arse. It's science." Jamie immediately goes to... Roy...to offer his sympathy.
"What's that fucking face?" "It's empathy, you dusty old fart."
"I forgot how skittish old people could be because of the war."
Will offers drinks and breakup sympathy..."Or I could just not say a fucking word."
It's concerning that Ted literally can't read a football strategy book. At least he knows to call it "football" now. "That book really worked."
You know it's bad if SAM dropped an F-bomb.
Roy on Zava: "He's nuts, but he'll help us win games."
Beard screams and TED FAINTS at the news of the breakup. Even more screaming when Roy says he broke up with her. Ted tells Will to get his breakup mix.
(List of songs here, actual mix here.)
"What's a CD?" "Oh boy." Beard is on it.
Roy forbids everyone from talking around Trent. Dani: "Woooo! ... I mean, fuck off, Trent Crimm."
Keeley's old friend Shandy: "I didn't know you owned a skirt that covered your whole arse." and "I saw you in Vanity Fair, fully clothed. And I cried."
Rebecca to her mom: "Wow. Your psychic has actually agreed to let me pay her a lot of money to speak with her. Amazing." Mom: "Well, no, she's considering it."
Scream therapy is also my favorite bit!
Zava's repsonse to Richmond: "It would be a waste of time for us and an embarrassment for him." "That feels like an unnecessarily cruel response."
Higgins on the very rumor-y rumor that Zava will join Chelsea: "There's nothing that Rupert can do." Rebecca: "Oh great, now you jinxed it."
TRENT SHARING AN OFFICE WITH ROY WHILE HE POPS BALLOONS.
Barbara: "So you've hired a former model with no previous experience, no higher education for a job that doesn't exist. Lovely. Well, welcome to the team, Shandy." I do love how Keeley politely chewed Barbara out for that one.
They don't make them like Roy any more!
Rebecca to a rumor-mongering Higgins: "Would you please go and find out as much as you can from your vast network of lip-reading massage therapists?!"
We find out about Rupert's pursuit of Rebecca, specifically his winning line: "It doesn't matter if you ever go out with me. It's just worth it getting to know you." Keeley: "It's a fine line between stalking and romance."
Ted to Roy: "I don't know what your beef is with Trent, but I'm going to need you to order off the vegan menu and squash it."
Roy: "Oi, what the fuck's a Hallmark Christmas movie?" ....
Ted: "Hallmark Christmas movies are movies about women from the big city falling in love with their childhood crushes. It's usually a fella that owns a Christmas tree farm. Sometimes he's also Santa Claus or a prince. They suck, but they're great. But they also mostly suck. But they're also kinda great."
As a Hallmark Christmas movie addict, THIS SUMS IT UP FOR ME, THANKS.
Roy has saved Trent Crimm's insulting review of him in his wallet his entire career. "I was 17 years old. This fucking wrecked me." "I thought I was being edgy." Later, he rips it up. He also tells the team, "You can talk around this prick now."
Zava: "It's an honor for you to meet me." I laughed for five minutes after this.
REBECCA BARGES IN ON ZAVA WHILE PEEING AND TAKES HIM DOWN. Negging strategy, eh? "And you eat too much fucking asparagus."
Dani: "MY FACE SCORED A GOAL!!!!"
Announcer: "I've scored with every part of my body. And that's a ridiculous question."
I do not get how Zava, out of fucking nowhere, suddenly said he didn't want to go to Chelsea and went to Richmond, with like, NO negotiation with them and just the encounter with Rebecca in the bathroom. That was....a bizarre way to win over a player?!?! Weird even for this show.
Ted BATS HIS EYES AT ROY.
Keeley wants to throw a staff picnic. Barbara: "I can't make it." "I didn't tell you when it was." "I know."
Ted is an 11:11 person...and Beard...and Dani.
All those nos about Trent writing a book and Ted says go ahead...and then later they do the same on Rebecca...
Ted on The Office: "I forgot, y'all did a premake over here."
WHERE IS KEELEY'S MAKEUP?!?! Like damn, she dialed it back a LOT. Probably needed to with the crying and eye makeup all over everyone's shirts, but still. She's so pale! And like, normal-er!...uh-oh.
Rebecca on changing manicurists: "The fumes make me dizzy and I overshare."
Zava: "He's played on 14 teams in 15 years, leaving nothing behind but chaos and trophies."
Rebecca: "Who doesn't love a handful?"
Keeley, still brainstorming group office activities: "Maybe I could hire a shaman and we could do a bunch of ayuhuasca under a blood moon!"
Ted: "I was thinking something like an escape room, but hey, clamato, clamato, right?"
Isaac deduces that Keeley and Roy have broken up through kinesics. "Roy's clenched arse. It's science." Jamie immediately goes to... Roy...to offer his sympathy.
"What's that fucking face?" "It's empathy, you dusty old fart."
"I forgot how skittish old people could be because of the war."
Will offers drinks and breakup sympathy..."Or I could just not say a fucking word."
It's concerning that Ted literally can't read a football strategy book. At least he knows to call it "football" now. "That book really worked."
You know it's bad if SAM dropped an F-bomb.
Roy on Zava: "He's nuts, but he'll help us win games."
Beard screams and TED FAINTS at the news of the breakup. Even more screaming when Roy says he broke up with her. Ted tells Will to get his breakup mix.
(List of songs here, actual mix here.)
"What's a CD?" "Oh boy." Beard is on it.
Roy forbids everyone from talking around Trent. Dani: "Woooo! ... I mean, fuck off, Trent Crimm."
Keeley's old friend Shandy: "I didn't know you owned a skirt that covered your whole arse." and "I saw you in Vanity Fair, fully clothed. And I cried."
Rebecca to her mom: "Wow. Your psychic has actually agreed to let me pay her a lot of money to speak with her. Amazing." Mom: "Well, no, she's considering it."
Scream therapy is also my favorite bit!
Zava's repsonse to Richmond: "It would be a waste of time for us and an embarrassment for him." "That feels like an unnecessarily cruel response."
Higgins on the very rumor-y rumor that Zava will join Chelsea: "There's nothing that Rupert can do." Rebecca: "Oh great, now you jinxed it."
TRENT SHARING AN OFFICE WITH ROY WHILE HE POPS BALLOONS.
Barbara: "So you've hired a former model with no previous experience, no higher education for a job that doesn't exist. Lovely. Well, welcome to the team, Shandy." I do love how Keeley politely chewed Barbara out for that one.
They don't make them like Roy any more!
Rebecca to a rumor-mongering Higgins: "Would you please go and find out as much as you can from your vast network of lip-reading massage therapists?!"
We find out about Rupert's pursuit of Rebecca, specifically his winning line: "It doesn't matter if you ever go out with me. It's just worth it getting to know you." Keeley: "It's a fine line between stalking and romance."
Ted to Roy: "I don't know what your beef is with Trent, but I'm going to need you to order off the vegan menu and squash it."
Roy: "Oi, what the fuck's a Hallmark Christmas movie?" ....
Ted: "Hallmark Christmas movies are movies about women from the big city falling in love with their childhood crushes. It's usually a fella that owns a Christmas tree farm. Sometimes he's also Santa Claus or a prince. They suck, but they're great. But they also mostly suck. But they're also kinda great."
As a Hallmark Christmas movie addict, THIS SUMS IT UP FOR ME, THANKS.
Roy has saved Trent Crimm's insulting review of him in his wallet his entire career. "I was 17 years old. This fucking wrecked me." "I thought I was being edgy." Later, he rips it up. He also tells the team, "You can talk around this prick now."
Zava: "It's an honor for you to meet me." I laughed for five minutes after this.
REBECCA BARGES IN ON ZAVA WHILE PEEING AND TAKES HIM DOWN. Negging strategy, eh? "And you eat too much fucking asparagus."
Dani: "MY FACE SCORED A GOAL!!!!"
Announcer: "I've scored with every part of my body. And that's a ridiculous question."
I do not get how Zava, out of fucking nowhere, suddenly said he didn't want to go to Chelsea and went to Richmond, with like, NO negotiation with them and just the encounter with Rebecca in the bathroom. That was....a bizarre way to win over a player?!?! Weird even for this show.
Ted BATS HIS EYES AT ROY.
It was good to see Trent again, although it's a much different side of him, more vulnerable, unsure. Very different body language than when he was a reporter covering the team.
It's gonna be trouble with Jamie who won't be top dog anymore on the team.
The classic "sport movie" thing would be for Zava to cause trouble because of his egocentricity and then Ted turns him around, he becomes a team player and all is good. They've kinda done that already with Jamie though, and I think this show is good enough to not redo this.
So will Zava be the catalyst to lift Jamie to another level? The addition of Zava might also help them portray Richmond as a more competitive team than it seemed, final game for the title against Westham?
It's not really that kind of sport show, but it's the final season.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 6:26 AM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's gonna be trouble with Jamie who won't be top dog anymore on the team.
The classic "sport movie" thing would be for Zava to cause trouble because of his egocentricity and then Ted turns him around, he becomes a team player and all is good. They've kinda done that already with Jamie though, and I think this show is good enough to not redo this.
So will Zava be the catalyst to lift Jamie to another level? The addition of Zava might also help them portray Richmond as a more competitive team than it seemed, final game for the title against Westham?
It's not really that kind of sport show, but it's the final season.
posted by WaterAndPixels at 6:26 AM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
Coach Beard's scream reactions SLAYED ME. And Ted fainting. OMG. And the balloons and flowers and gifts and cards for Roy. LOVE IT SO MUCH.
posted by cooker girl at 7:09 AM on March 22, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 7:09 AM on March 22, 2023 [16 favorites]
Oh man, the reveal of Will in the corner and his awkward reaction - "Single guys night out, let's do shots!" was hilarious!
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:35 AM on March 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:35 AM on March 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
I predict that Will always being thought of as invisible - and therefore hears 'private' conversations all the time - is gonna be a chekovs.. uhm thingy...
It's gonna be important in future is what I'm saying.
[Calling an entire character a Gun feels weird]
posted by Faintdreams at 1:22 PM on March 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
It's gonna be important in future is what I'm saying.
[Calling an entire character a Gun feels weird]
posted by Faintdreams at 1:22 PM on March 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
jenfullmoon, I LOVE your recaps.
I loved Jamie's little smile in the locker room when Roy yells instructions to not talk to Trent. I don't know if it was one of those moments when the actor broke character (like the shot of Roy singing along when Rebecca took the stage at karaoke night) but Jamie's face was full, barely suppressed giggles.
posted by Silvery Fish at 1:38 PM on March 22, 2023 [12 favorites]
I loved Jamie's little smile in the locker room when Roy yells instructions to not talk to Trent. I don't know if it was one of those moments when the actor broke character (like the shot of Roy singing along when Rebecca took the stage at karaoke night) but Jamie's face was full, barely suppressed giggles.
posted by Silvery Fish at 1:38 PM on March 22, 2023 [12 favorites]
God this was so much more fun than last week! And it had people playing football! Wish this was ep 1…
posted by adrianhon at 2:04 PM on March 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by adrianhon at 2:04 PM on March 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
Yeah, I wondered during this episode if it could have been episode 1. What did we learn last week really? But at least this week was a marked improvement and it felt like the show again, rather than last week which felt like it was written by Chat GPT.
posted by crossoverman at 3:04 PM on March 22, 2023
posted by crossoverman at 3:04 PM on March 22, 2023
So i get that the finance woman was placed there by forces external, but has Keeley hired all the rest of that uptight team? Have i got that wrong?
Really enjoyed it, good to feel a bit more momentum vs s2's slight wheelspinning.
Roy Kent is how I feel inside Rick.
posted by ominous_paws at 3:15 PM on March 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
Really enjoyed it, good to feel a bit more momentum vs s2's slight wheelspinning.
Roy Kent is how I feel inside Rick.
posted by ominous_paws at 3:15 PM on March 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
The impression I get is that Keeley didn't get to pick those NOT FUN people, thought I don't think they clearly spelled that out.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:36 PM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:36 PM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
I think the CFO said something like "I've worked with them before and this is as loose as they get" so I assumed they were all placed there by 'the firm'
posted by TwoWordReview at 3:50 PM on March 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
posted by TwoWordReview at 3:50 PM on March 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
It has not been spelled out, but it seems clear that the company that financed Keeley’s business basically issued the staff as well. I truly loved Rebecca marching into the men’s room and ripping Zava a new one over his cowardice. A lot of stuff in the first episode felt superfluous to me. I love Ted’s and the team’s old therapist, but we don’t really need to know about her sex life, and her exchange with Ted seemed pointless. I guess it was just to give us more context about the fact that Ted is feeling at loose ends and as though he shouldn’t even be there. But we got that in the second episode two so yeah, I don’t get it either.
posted by Bella Donna at 4:16 PM on March 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 4:16 PM on March 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
Ok I don’t REALLY think this will happen but I honestly feel like there’s a 5% chance of Ted/Trent endgame here. Maybe it’s just that Trent is a chronic smolderer.
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:47 PM on March 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:47 PM on March 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
I'll say it: Trent and Ted have better chemistry than Rebecca and Sam. And Rebecca and Sam have good chemistry!
posted by cosmic owl at 6:56 PM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by cosmic owl at 6:56 PM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
I would like to inform all Ted/Trent shippers that there is fanfiction and it is good.
posted by Jeanne at 7:58 PM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Jeanne at 7:58 PM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
James Lance [Trent Crimm] Talked His Way Into More Ted Lasso [Vulture / Archive]
posted by ellieBOA at 4:08 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 4:08 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
Is wishing at 11:11 a thing?
posted by willF at 6:43 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by willF at 6:43 AM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
yes.
posted by 41swans at 6:51 AM on March 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by 41swans at 6:51 AM on March 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
Is wishing at 11:11 a thing?
Ever since I was a kid.
posted by LooseFilter at 6:51 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
Ever since I was a kid.
posted by LooseFilter at 6:51 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
A lot of stuff in the first episode felt superfluous to me.
Yep. It seemed to establish Rupert and Nate's relationship (bad) and give us a "what people did over the summer" glimpse and establish Ted's relationship with his son (good) and with his ex (over) and the Roy and Keeley thing (complicated) and Keely's business (weird). This episode seemed like it was moving the plot forward plus, hey, actual soccer!
Trent is a chronic smolderer.
He has an incredible voice and that haircut is a LOOK compared to most other people in the show. I really liked that shower scene with him and Roy. Thanks for the FYI about Zava, I wouldn't have known where even this TYPE of character came from otherwise.
Want to see more Sam stories, he was so great last season. Hope Keeley's business does okay but it's got such a weird vibe to it. Like, sure, Keeley doesn't know all the MBA business stuff but she's clearly got some skills. The show plays her as sort of naive but also shrewd, it's odd. Did not recognize Katy Wix as the CFO but looking forward to more of her.
posted by jessamyn at 8:00 AM on March 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
Yep. It seemed to establish Rupert and Nate's relationship (bad) and give us a "what people did over the summer" glimpse and establish Ted's relationship with his son (good) and with his ex (over) and the Roy and Keeley thing (complicated) and Keely's business (weird). This episode seemed like it was moving the plot forward plus, hey, actual soccer!
Trent is a chronic smolderer.
He has an incredible voice and that haircut is a LOOK compared to most other people in the show. I really liked that shower scene with him and Roy. Thanks for the FYI about Zava, I wouldn't have known where even this TYPE of character came from otherwise.
Want to see more Sam stories, he was so great last season. Hope Keeley's business does okay but it's got such a weird vibe to it. Like, sure, Keeley doesn't know all the MBA business stuff but she's clearly got some skills. The show plays her as sort of naive but also shrewd, it's odd. Did not recognize Katy Wix as the CFO but looking forward to more of her.
posted by jessamyn at 8:00 AM on March 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
no, savetheclocktower , not subtle at all
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/20/590x/secondary/Maximilian-Osinski-Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-Ted-Lasso-4644060.jpg
posted by alchemist at 8:13 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/20/590x/secondary/Maximilian-Osinski-Zlatan-Ibrahimovic-Ted-Lasso-4644060.jpg
posted by alchemist at 8:13 AM on March 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
I do not get how Zava, out of fucking nowhere, suddenly said he didn't want to go to Chelsea and went to Richmond, with like, NO negotiation with them and just the encounter with Rebecca in the bathroom. That was....a bizarre way to win over a player?!?! Weird even for this show.
This guy already has enough money that he'll never have to work an honest day in his life, and he knows that even if Richmond comes across with "Look, we can't pay you, like all of your asking price..." he'll make up the rest in endorsements etc. (or by taking a piece of the team).
posted by Etrigan at 8:24 AM on March 23, 2023
This guy already has enough money that he'll never have to work an honest day in his life, and he knows that even if Richmond comes across with "Look, we can't pay you, like all of your asking price..." he'll make up the rest in endorsements etc. (or by taking a piece of the team).
posted by Etrigan at 8:24 AM on March 23, 2023
I'll make a different prediction about Zava: Rebecca totally called it, and he is no longer the game-changing Maradona-level player without the supporting cast found on a Barca or Man City type of team. And Roy's monologue about realizing when his own skills had faded and what he did (and should have done) is HUGE. He's going to help Zava deal with it, and make him a team player instead of a star -- the role Jamie will step up into that role big-time. And that will add up to winning the championship.
Two quick observations: As a former reporter whose career has uncanny parallels to Trent's, I couldn't be happier to seem him return. Clearly he's going to play a role this season and while I have ideas, I can't really even guess.
And they've said that while the "Ted Lasso story" is a three-seaosn arc, they also said they're looking at possibly telling more stories in the Ted Lasso universe they've created. I have a feeling that KJPR is really a stealth pilot for the Keeley spinoff, and... man, I don't know. Not feeling it, not yet, at least.
posted by martin q blank at 9:19 AM on March 23, 2023 [19 favorites]
Two quick observations: As a former reporter whose career has uncanny parallels to Trent's, I couldn't be happier to seem him return. Clearly he's going to play a role this season and while I have ideas, I can't really even guess.
And they've said that while the "Ted Lasso story" is a three-seaosn arc, they also said they're looking at possibly telling more stories in the Ted Lasso universe they've created. I have a feeling that KJPR is really a stealth pilot for the Keeley spinoff, and... man, I don't know. Not feeling it, not yet, at least.
posted by martin q blank at 9:19 AM on March 23, 2023 [19 favorites]
I would watch an entire show based on Trent or Roy, maybe a girlboss show feat. Rebecca and Keeley if they were doing something I found more interesting than fashion.
posted by Night_owl at 10:00 AM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Night_owl at 10:00 AM on March 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
Also, SOUR YELL!
posted by Night_owl at 10:06 AM on March 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Night_owl at 10:06 AM on March 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Very fun episode. But one thing that struck me as odd is that the show can't seem to decide whether Keeley is good at PR or bad at PR. Like she's clearly not great at running a business, but it seemed like, in earlier seasons, they were making the point that Keeley had real talent at the PR game and was transcending her prior life as just a pretty face. But these first two episodes seem to suggest that she's just winging it. (Although I did get a laugh out of being asked to get an endorsement deal for just "shoes.")
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 10:07 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 10:07 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
The show plays her as sort of naive but also shrewd, it's odd.
For a fun take on this theme, nothing beats the inimitable Judy Holiday in Born Yesterday.
posted by Silvery Fish at 10:59 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
For a fun take on this theme, nothing beats the inimitable Judy Holiday in Born Yesterday.
posted by Silvery Fish at 10:59 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
The snow globe scene says that the CFO doesn’t stay anywhere very long - either because she gets replaced or because the businesses get shut down. I would guess the investors see Keeley as a novelty and only gave her a bunch of semi-competent sad sacks to staff her office with. Which has parallels to what Ted had to work with in Season 1.
posted by cardboard at 11:10 AM on March 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by cardboard at 11:10 AM on March 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
I definitely think Keely is being setup to shine in her new environment, but they didn't want her to appear to be instantly successful. Her hiring her friend to join the team is part of that path forward, where she's recognizing talent - but her friend telling her to get mimosas on the company card, along with Keely's desire to have more "fun" with the other staff, seems like part of that lesson is understanding the type of leader she has to become. I loved that she got up and told out the CFO for treating her friend so rudely. That scene was written well in that it didn't setup the CFO as an antagonist, but as another person who can lifted up to succeed...just like Cardboard said above. Keely is a Ted Lasso in training and this is her Richmond.
I like how Trent isn't nearly the confident sports reporter for the Independent anymore. You can tell he's still trying to figure out his place and the team's (via Kent's barking orders) reaction to him had him kind of swirling in self doubt a little. Strangely, I felt the shower room conversation was a little understated. Clearly, Roy wanted Trent to know that his words could destroy someone's belief in themselves, harm them terribly, and he used himself as an example. And Trent seem to acknowledge he had written harmful words in the past. Then the unspoken agreement was "you better not write anything that will hurt my players" and "I'm not that writer anymore, I won't," but man the silence and the acting carried all that.
there's something about Ted that just feels off. Like he's Ted, but while last episode, we saw a few glimpses under the mustache and sun visor, this episode was more superficial.
Coach Beard's constant screaming, glorious. I love his straight man breaking moments. They're the best.
posted by Atreides at 11:22 AM on March 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
I like how Trent isn't nearly the confident sports reporter for the Independent anymore. You can tell he's still trying to figure out his place and the team's (via Kent's barking orders) reaction to him had him kind of swirling in self doubt a little. Strangely, I felt the shower room conversation was a little understated. Clearly, Roy wanted Trent to know that his words could destroy someone's belief in themselves, harm them terribly, and he used himself as an example. And Trent seem to acknowledge he had written harmful words in the past. Then the unspoken agreement was "you better not write anything that will hurt my players" and "I'm not that writer anymore, I won't," but man the silence and the acting carried all that.
there's something about Ted that just feels off. Like he's Ted, but while last episode, we saw a few glimpses under the mustache and sun visor, this episode was more superficial.
Coach Beard's constant screaming, glorious. I love his straight man breaking moments. They're the best.
posted by Atreides at 11:22 AM on March 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
Ok I don’t REALLY think this will happen but I honestly feel like there’s a 5% chance of Ted/Trent endgame here. Maybe it’s just that Trent is a chronic smolderer.
Doesn't Trent have a husband and a daughter? I thought we met his husband at the pub and Ted made biscuits for Trent's daughter's birthday that he wound up giving to Higgins instead.
posted by tzikeh at 11:48 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
Doesn't Trent have a husband and a daughter? I thought we met his husband at the pub and Ted made biscuits for Trent's daughter's birthday that he wound up giving to Higgins instead.
posted by tzikeh at 11:48 AM on March 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
can't seem to decide whether Keeley is good at PR or bad at PR. Like she's clearly not great at running a business,
She may be good at PR, but this is her first time being "in charge" of a business. Also, she's not REALLY ALLOWED to be "in charge" of the business since it sounds like Barbara is actually running it in all by name, by the money people's standards.
I haven't the faintest idea how it works to (a) have people HAND ME MONEY to run a business, (b) in England, but "we'll give you money to start a business but you can't make any choices on staff or office space" seems...I dunno, is that correct IRL or just a show thing?
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:20 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
She may be good at PR, but this is her first time being "in charge" of a business. Also, she's not REALLY ALLOWED to be "in charge" of the business since it sounds like Barbara is actually running it in all by name, by the money people's standards.
I haven't the faintest idea how it works to (a) have people HAND ME MONEY to run a business, (b) in England, but "we'll give you money to start a business but you can't make any choices on staff or office space" seems...I dunno, is that correct IRL or just a show thing?
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:20 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
jenfullmoon: It strikes me as being very unusual, as someone in the industry.
Still, I suppose if she said flat out to the VC, “look I have no idea who to hire, please help me so I can get up and running” and the VC thought this was a good idea because they perhaps liked her connections and creativity but thought she was a terrible manager, maybe. Outside of that, yeah, it bothered me for being almost completely unbelievable.
Anyway – my new theory for this season is that Trent Crimm will end up working at AFC Richmond somehow. It’d be a nice redemption arc for him being a critical writer, it’d use his evidently voluminous sports knowledge, it’d be fun to imagine him working with Roy, and it’d let Ted bow out and go back home.
posted by adrianhon at 3:29 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Still, I suppose if she said flat out to the VC, “look I have no idea who to hire, please help me so I can get up and running” and the VC thought this was a good idea because they perhaps liked her connections and creativity but thought she was a terrible manager, maybe. Outside of that, yeah, it bothered me for being almost completely unbelievable.
Anyway – my new theory for this season is that Trent Crimm will end up working at AFC Richmond somehow. It’d be a nice redemption arc for him being a critical writer, it’d use his evidently voluminous sports knowledge, it’d be fun to imagine him working with Roy, and it’d let Ted bow out and go back home.
posted by adrianhon at 3:29 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
The snow globe scene says that the CFO doesn’t stay anywhere very long - either because she gets replaced or because the businesses get shut down.
Huh… now I’m wondering if the VC firm has some ulterior motive for funding Keeley’s company, say as a tax shelter or something, and they have no real intention of making it a viable long-term business. And the CFO has seen this process a million times before and is numb to it, and the arc will be her and Keeley teaming up to make it actually successful.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:33 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Huh… now I’m wondering if the VC firm has some ulterior motive for funding Keeley’s company, say as a tax shelter or something, and they have no real intention of making it a viable long-term business. And the CFO has seen this process a million times before and is numb to it, and the arc will be her and Keeley teaming up to make it actually successful.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:33 PM on March 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Twitter thread about how Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudekis came up with the character, via Kottke.
posted by ellieBOA at 2:45 AM on March 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 2:45 AM on March 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
I haven't the faintest idea how it works to (a) have people HAND ME MONEY to run a business, (b) in England, but "we'll give you money to start a business but you can't make any choices on staff or office space" seems...I dunno, is that correct IRL or just a show thing?
I'm a business lawyer and can say that this sort of arrangement is not necessarily unusual. If the VC got equity for its funds and is essentially the majority shareholder of Keeley's firm, it has a lot more authority to dictate day-to-day management. And it's not unreasonable to suggest that the VC would be most focused on making sure that Keeley is managing its investment shrewdly.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:25 AM on March 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm a business lawyer and can say that this sort of arrangement is not necessarily unusual. If the VC got equity for its funds and is essentially the majority shareholder of Keeley's firm, it has a lot more authority to dictate day-to-day management. And it's not unreasonable to suggest that the VC would be most focused on making sure that Keeley is managing its investment shrewdly.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 8:25 AM on March 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Huh… now I’m wondering if the VC firm has some ulterior motive for funding Keeley’s companyRupert is the money behind the firm
posted by fullerine at 9:44 AM on March 24, 2023 [5 favorites]
The CFO having all the snowglobes is because she's good at her job but she never feels a need to stay anywhere. Because she's kind of mean. Because she's built up this wall between her and the other people in the companies in which she works. So she's going to be friendless, and kind of bitter, and Keeley is going to be nice to her and see her as a human and not as a bean-counter and break through all her hangups and give her a reason to stay and work for this company for a longer time and she'll blossom and they'll all be happy together.
posted by nushustu at 7:32 PM on March 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by nushustu at 7:32 PM on March 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Doesn't Trent have a husband and a daughter? I thought we met his husband at the pub and Ted made biscuits for Trent's daughter's birthday that he wound up giving to Higgins instead.
Maybe I've just read too many Ted/Trent fanfics (OK, all of them), but my understanding has been that Trent has a daughter (and a dad) but does not currently have a husband. I think it was pretty clear that Trent was on a date in the episode where he runs into Ted at the pub and tries to get a quote.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 10:07 PM on March 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Maybe I've just read too many Ted/Trent fanfics (OK, all of them), but my understanding has been that Trent has a daughter (and a dad) but does not currently have a husband. I think it was pretty clear that Trent was on a date in the episode where he runs into Ted at the pub and tries to get a quote.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 10:07 PM on March 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
Do we trust Trent? I want to trust Trent.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:05 PM on March 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:05 PM on March 26, 2023 [4 favorites]
I will stand you up in the middle of the goddamn library just to recorpsify you if you suggest again that Trent Crimm is not trustworthy.
posted by Etrigan at 3:07 PM on March 26, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by Etrigan at 3:07 PM on March 26, 2023 [20 favorites]
there's something about Ted that just feels off. Like he's Ted, but while last episode, we saw a few glimpses under the mustache and sun visor, this episode was more superficial.
Ted doesn't know Football.So far, that hasn't really been an issue, because his job as Coach has been to "turn these players into the best versions of themselves." Handling the interpersonal/locker room/attitude/motivational side of things is his responsibility, while strategy, etc. is Beard's (and now Roy's, and at one time Nate's.)
But from what he can tell, he's more or less done his job and made his impact in his little corner of the sandbox. He doesn't feel like there's anything left for him to do here. And he misses his son, which has him looking toward the door in any case. But he doesn't quit things, either. So my read on things is that he's picking up Beard's strategy books now because he feels like if he puts together a really great season, he can justify leaving and justify having been away from Henry for all this time to begin with. But he has no idea how he's supposed to do that.
I think that's why he seems off. Everyone wants him to FIGHT! this season, but he doesn't actually know what that means from him, given his pretty specific skill set and this now pretty harmonious team (where Jamie, of all people, has taken up a de facto leadership position of being basically mini-Ted amongst the players.)
I have a feeling the addition of Zava might shake things up in a way that could use a little Ted Lasso, though.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:01 PM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ted doesn't know Football.So far, that hasn't really been an issue, because his job as Coach has been to "turn these players into the best versions of themselves." Handling the interpersonal/locker room/attitude/motivational side of things is his responsibility, while strategy, etc. is Beard's (and now Roy's, and at one time Nate's.)
But from what he can tell, he's more or less done his job and made his impact in his little corner of the sandbox. He doesn't feel like there's anything left for him to do here. And he misses his son, which has him looking toward the door in any case. But he doesn't quit things, either. So my read on things is that he's picking up Beard's strategy books now because he feels like if he puts together a really great season, he can justify leaving and justify having been away from Henry for all this time to begin with. But he has no idea how he's supposed to do that.
I think that's why he seems off. Everyone wants him to FIGHT! this season, but he doesn't actually know what that means from him, given his pretty specific skill set and this now pretty harmonious team (where Jamie, of all people, has taken up a de facto leadership position of being basically mini-Ted amongst the players.)
I have a feeling the addition of Zava might shake things up in a way that could use a little Ted Lasso, though.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:01 PM on May 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
The scene where Ted asked the team why they were upset and then kept guessing things they didn't even know about yet felt a little over sit-com-esque, but I otherwise really enjoyed this episode.
When we thought West Ham were gonna get Zava, we thought it could be a good thing for Richmond - an ego like that on the team would absolutely wreck Nate, especially if Rupert told him he had to put up with it.
posted by solotoro at 8:46 AM on May 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
When we thought West Ham were gonna get Zava, we thought it could be a good thing for Richmond - an ego like that on the team would absolutely wreck Nate, especially if Rupert told him he had to put up with it.
posted by solotoro at 8:46 AM on May 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I do love how Keeley politely chewed Barbara out for that one.
Keeley's arc this season seems to be about learning how to manage well by doing it poorly first. I expect it will not be about coaching the backoffice staff into being more like her, but for her to acknowledge that a successful team comprises of different and sometimes conflicting personality types, and that it's her duty to accommodate them, not change them.
Where she is at the start:
- doesn't consult her team at all before making serious decisions
- has no idea or apparent interest in the personal lives of her staff
- imagines team building exercises based solely on what she wants
- hires a friend into a position they are unqualified for, whom she cannot effectively mentor or manage
So yes, it was impolite for Babara to say those things in front of the new hire. But Keeley created this circumstance by making unilateral decisions, and providing no forum to discuss them privately first.
Side note: Keeley leaves Chekhov's credit card out on the table, in front of the bad influence, and it seems to bite her faster than I expected. But really that's the CFO's fault -- "here is a thing, never use it" seems contradictory.
posted by pwnguin at 10:57 AM on May 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
Keeley's arc this season seems to be about learning how to manage well by doing it poorly first. I expect it will not be about coaching the backoffice staff into being more like her, but for her to acknowledge that a successful team comprises of different and sometimes conflicting personality types, and that it's her duty to accommodate them, not change them.
Where she is at the start:
- doesn't consult her team at all before making serious decisions
- has no idea or apparent interest in the personal lives of her staff
- imagines team building exercises based solely on what she wants
- hires a friend into a position they are unqualified for, whom she cannot effectively mentor or manage
So yes, it was impolite for Babara to say those things in front of the new hire. But Keeley created this circumstance by making unilateral decisions, and providing no forum to discuss them privately first.
Side note: Keeley leaves Chekhov's credit card out on the table, in front of the bad influence, and it seems to bite her faster than I expected. But really that's the CFO's fault -- "here is a thing, never use it" seems contradictory.
posted by pwnguin at 10:57 AM on May 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by savetheclocktower at 10:23 PM on March 21, 2023 [16 favorites]