Well that was definitely back to Ted Lasso at its best. In a somewhat uneven season, they pulled it all together with aplomb. Laughed out loud a number of times but “Trent Crimm, independent” got me the most.
Good finale.
Despite some stellar episodes, overall I find this season a step-down though. First season is like an accumulation of many small encounters/interactions that makes up a truly unique, refreshing ethos of TV. I liked that they are more ambitious and don't want to repeat themselves with this second season, but in having several big-picture character arcs, I feel the episode-to-episode writing isn't strong enough for that kind of expansion, with their storytelling a bit lumpy, and strained sometimes where the previous one feels effortless. Still enjoyed it a lot, and looking forwards how they progress with a full-blown villain in the next one.
At least a good ending after a bit of disappointing seaso:")
Holy sht, Nate's attitude and annoyingness went from 50 to 100 from the last episode. WTF
His closing scene legit had a supervillain vibe lol. Can't wait for them to take him down a notch next season.
[7.7/10] I appreciate it when things come full circle with a twist. There’s poetry to AFC Richmond’s last game of the season. In contrast to the first episode of season 2, they’re happy to have a tie, because it means promotion back to the Premier League. Jamie lines up to take the penalty kick, only now he’s a different man. He shows the humility and trust in his teammate to give the show to Dani Rojas, who makes up for the pup-pulverizing kick we started this year with. It’s an easy thing to bookend a season like that, but damn if it isn’t effective.
And despite everything, I like Nate’s heel turn. He’s wrong in his actions, and wrong in his assessment, but not so far off either. He’s not wrong to feel a little sidelined or overlooked once Roy came back into the fold. He’s not wrong to have a complex as the towel boy turned manager who worries no one here will take him seriously since they know where he comes from. He’s not wrong that Ted has to rely on other people’s knowledge of the beautiful game to have any success.
Where he is wrong is thinking that if he came to Ted with his concerns, that Ted wouldn’t listen. He’s wrong to use his disgruntlement as an excuse to try to undermine Ted in public. He’s wrong to call Ted a joke given how he recognized and fostered the talent in Nate himself, and everyone else on the team. No, he’s not a brilliant tactician, but he’s a good manager and motivator. And while it’s too much and too far to imagine that succeeding in the real world, within the more graceful confines of fiction, he’s more than proven his value.
Nate isn’t fully wrong, but he’s bitter and envious, and that leads you to see the world in a certain way. He is the negative image of Ted’s motivation, the chance to feel like the “most important person in the world” for a moment when you’re in focus of Ted or Keeley or Rebecca, but with an aching hole when you start to feel underappreciated or infantilized. A good redemption arc is incredible, but an earned, misguided, but comprehensible heel turn is its own thing of beauty. The arc of Nate from overlooked cinnabon to self-made triumph to vengeful foe (he torn down the friggin’ “Believe” sign!) is superb.
And hey, I also like how the show handles the public reveal of Ted’s panic attack. Ted handles it like the mature adult that he is, using it as an opportunity to show humility by apologizing to his team and speaking frankly with the media about how we treat mental health in athletics. Particularly in the shadow of the recent Simone Biles story, it’s wholesome to see the ideas tackled in such a sensitive matter.
But then there’s the romantic stuff. I’ll say this much. I appreciate that at the end of the day, Sam chooses to stay in Richmond, but not because of Rebecca. He wants to stay and continue inspiring kids here, not just where he’s from, and bring more of his culture to this place. It’s a nice zig where I expected things to zag, even as someone who was rooting for Rebecca and Sam. Making it about his journey and not just about their relationship is a canny call. (Plus hey, Okufu promising to buy Sam’s childhood home and “poop in every room” is strangely hilarious.)
I also just don’t care about the Roy/Keeley stuff. Roy’s supportive. Cool! But I don’t know what they’re doing with the couple, or why they’re hinting at potential break-ups or trying to reassure the audience about that or something amorphous going on there. I guess Roy’s insecure about Keeley being independent, and that's something. But they don’t really pay it off, unless they’re saving something for next season.
I’m also not especially invested in Keeley getting her own PR firm. She’s such a cartoon character most of the time, and the show is so chock full of wish fulfillment, and you just know she’s going to stay in AFC RIchmond orbit in season 3 anyway that it’s hard for it to feel like too big of a deal.
The only thing I like about it is that it draws a contrast with her and Rebecca on the one hand and Ted and Nate as the other vis-a-vis mentors. Higgins’ line about good mentors wanting you to move on and great ones knowing you will is well-founded. There’s a difference in the “break-ups” between Rebecca/Keeley and Ted/Nate, and maybe it speaks to the kind of relationships both had, with more Ted could have done even if Nate interprets a lot of things in bad faith.
Otherwise, the other developments are all fine. Rupert buying a rival Premier League club and poaching Nate adds to his cartoonish villainy. Trent Crimm leaving The Independent because he wants something deeper is a little too tidy, but it’s heart is in the right place. And Roy accepting Jamie’s apology about what happened with Keeley, and later headbutting him so they can hug and celebrate together is a great coda for their repaired relationship.
Overall, season 2 is a lot shaggier than season 1. You can feel Ted Lasso having eclipsed its original premise and struggling to figure out how these characters make sense afterward. Not every storyline works. A lot of the material with Roy, Keeley, and Jamie feels particularly aimless, and even though there’s some great Rebecca stuff here, the show doesn’t always know what to do with her. Still, the season takes some big swings, from Ted’s slow acceptance of therapy, to Nate’s steady turn to the dark side, to the outstanding standalone Coach Beard episode. There’s still a lot to harmonize and for Ted Lasso to “figure out how to be a show” in the wake of so many major developments, but also some big creative efforts that are worth applauding and hanging onto.
I have mix feelings about this season. I liked most of the episodes, but I feel like it did lose some of its charms.
That rich Ghana guy storming out was pretty funny ngl.
Also, F U C K Nate.
I saw a great explanation on twitter from one of the writers how we've seen bits of this side of Nate from the beginning. He's been resentful from day one and that roast scene in season 1 certainly showed his glee in tearing people down, even if it was played as a comedic moment that was deserved.
And now seeing Nate being slighted all through the season until it reached a boil here at the end is a great deconstruction of his character. Where we thought he was becoming more confident and a better person because of Ted's influence, he's actually just become more resentful and felt more small as a result.
And the absolute betrayal of him going to West Ham with Rupert is an incredible way to carry his arc through.
Nate's on some Darth Vader - Welcome to the Dark Side vibe. Damn.
F u c k i n g NATE. DAMN.
Better episode than the last few have been. Overall, this season definitely ended up lacking the special something that the first had. What that something is, I have no idea. But it wasn't quite the same. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as special.
Nate's progression is so confusing to me - it makes very little sense. Having success get to his head, sure. But he just went off the deep end in these last couple of episodes. Guess what, dude, wanting credit also means opening yourself up for potential blame. Can't have it both ways.
Only in a TV show would someone buy tickets for a six week vacation without consulting the other person first.
The fact that Trent Crimm, Independent has a stronger character arc than the majority of characters in other shows just tells you how good the Ted Lasso team are in realising characters.
Well, fuck Nate, short and simple. I started the series a couple days ago and just finished it. It's pretty funny, not gonna lie. Roy is definetly my favourite character. Him and Trent Crimm, the Independent. This season was a little weaker that the first one, that's why i think that if they do a Season 3 (i'll search for it now), it should be the last one (maybe with Richmond winning the cup and such, maybe playing the last game against Nate's/Rupert's West Ham). About Nate's ark, in Roy's word, FUCK HIM. Ted and Beard were the only ones that show him interest and respect from the beggining and he is crying like a fucking girl, because now he has to "share the spotlight". Also, how he treats the new helper, like WTF is wrong with you; don't you rememeber than less than a year ago everyone did the same to you? Why do you have to be such a dickhead?.
That settles it, Nate did kill Earl at the start of the season and that was when he first became aware of his power.
Nate’s character arc was weak and contrived. Everyone went out of their way to ignore his behavior for the entire season just so this ending was possible. I was very bored by the end.
I think one of the best part of this episode was when Nate revealed he kissed her and nobody cared. I think that tipped him over.
Overall this season was a let down. I think they should go back again and see why season 1 was so successful. Or maybe you can't make an after story. The story ended with season 1. You can't make E.T. 2.
the whole season in just one quote „I’d be happy to headbutt you Nate!“
Palpatine and Anakin….together again.
Fuck Nate, fucking man child.
I've been lukewarm on a lot of this season, but this one was brilliant. Laughed out loud several times. Proper interesting stuff.
Well it's not like we didn't know something was coming. It was telegraphed fairly well not too on the nose. Finally we find out what's going with Nate and while at least we know. I kinda feel it wasn't necessary. Though I did empathize with how neutered he can feel when Roy doesn't care.
The season concludes excellently and sets up a strong dynamic for the next season so we don't have to spend so much time in Season 3 building up to the conflict.
One of the best of the season.
Beginning to the (almost) end, it gave the "Ted Lasso feeling" from Season 1 that I felt was not as spot on on this 2nd round.
Random thoughts:
- Loved the little crumbs they left in the final 10mins, opening up doors for next season
- I knew about Nate since the funeral. I kinda hated his story arc: it's cool that they didn't gave him a redemption moment, as there's not always a "happily ever after". That said, his whole explanation to Ted made no sense, he was an asshole all season long and it bothered me having the happy "Lasso feeling" spoiled by him. Were the writers showing that not always there's a clear reasoning when you feel hurt, even out of lack of sharing your feelings and misinterpreting those of others, as well as those "others" also having given you for granted even if ever appreciating you?
Who knows.
Still, didn't feel the need for those spitey moments in my Safe-LovelyYetReal-EscapeFromReality Ted Lasso show. Damn it
[tv+] After a first season that convinced by it optimistic outlook on life, the second season seems to strike a difficult balance between bringing more depth to the characters, especially in the coaching circle, but without abandoning the optimism of the first. There is an interesting development in characters like Nate (Nick Mohammed), although it is not well executed, with a certain tendency to the bad description of his motivations, and the tribute episode to "After hours" (Martin Scorsese, 1985) in which we discover the surreal side of Beard (Brendan Hunt), the least stereotyped and most open to unpredictable surprises.
The tendency to romantic comedy as an obsession that the series has to become a kind of Tinder for its characters is worrying. In this sense, it falls into sentimentality very easily, and loses the balance sending the message that love is the cure for all worries. But the foray into psychological issues is brave, especially in the case of Ted Lasso, although surprisingly it wastes such an interesting character as Dr. Sharon Fieldstone (Sarah Niles), who was announced as the anti-Ted Lasso but in the end is underused.
Somehow the second season is still unbalanced, increased by an excessive number of episodes and an irregular timing of them, as if they need a time that they really do not need to explain everything they want to explain (the series is not deep for that) .
I can't believe they've made an enemy out of my West Ham :( ⚒
this was somewhat of an odd season but the episode does a good job of throwing curveballs in the end and setting stage for some new directions next seasons.
So many small emotional payoffs...each exquisite. Can't believe more People aren't fans of this series (judging by the comments and how I can't get my relatives to try it)...it can help you feel good warm and fuzzy in your chest and tummy area, and scrunch up your face and make your eyes leak.... I just love it.
I'm usually way behind on the pop culture references, but they threw in two bigguns for old timers like me:
* Beard "After Hours" was a huge parallel to Martin Scorsese's movie that starred just about everybody at the time it was made, about another guy having the worst night of his life, and,
* Road to Royston borrowed heavily from another movie called, "The Game," which I was a big fan of.
In fact, I kinda' think I'm the only one who got those references, which is strange.
EDIT: Elephant in the room, also they did service to Naomi Osaka! Kudos for that!
That episode made me forget how I bad I felt about this season.
WTH Nate?
Also, I wanted to see Roy on vacations :grin:
Nick Mohammed was right: this episode made me hate Nate even more.
A meh ending to a meh season. The football is very badly done compared even to the first season, and the endless tedium of the one-note Kent and Keeley Krap Kouple is really grating now.
I laughed once in the finale, which shows something isn't working.
Sadly, this has gone from a great show, to just another meh sitcom.
This was a very weird season. On one hand the writing brings horrible, horrible pacing and criminal runtimes for episodes (it never should have gone above the season 1 established 35 minutes - and even thats horrid for a comedy - let alone be 50, no matter how hard they tried to justify that by going deeper) and on the other hand it has a really thorough way to see through emotions and break down the black and white optimism of season 1. In hindsight, season one even feels like a bit of a trolling to pull people in with kindness only to talk to them about mental health once they are hooked. But I must admit, as much as skeptical I was in the first half, I was convinced by a lot in the second. The kindness and pursuit of being better is important, but relying solely on that can't solve all the problems. To have self confidence balanced, not to misunderstand other people's basic kindness into something more which it isn't, or even worse: taking it for granted and abusing it as power, to not shit on people's head below you when you yourself are down - they nailed this scared sensitive / relatably fragile / power hungry fullblowndickhead triangle with Nate perfectly. If he's not beyond saving, and I don't think anyone is beyond saving for Ted Lasso, then I can't wait to see how they sort it out.
Positivity is one thing, knowing how to be good at something and pass that on is the other. Season one only had the former, and I'm glad they added a lot to that, eventhough it wasn't as nearly a smooth ride as it could have been and it scared me a lot that they are going sophomore slump. But they didn't. They just didn't compromise and played the long game, but it worked out damn well.
The show that will define my generation. I am taking this to my grave.
"I mean, look at it out there. Looks like a Renaissance painting portraying masculine melancholy." :joy:
Damn, you know Nate's been charging up his evil powers 'cos his hair's now fully grey lmao.
Not too bad overall for a second season, but the first is still better, imo. More solid, focused more on the soccer / sport aspect of the show while developing their characters through the scenes between matches. I liked that about the first season, 'cos it felt more original-and otherwise the show feels more of just like your standard drama show, with a bit of the sports sprinkled in there, which this season was definitely leaning towards, especially during the middle. I honestly still don't understand the Beard After Hours episode, and I don't think I ever will.
Ted: You known, before living here, I used to think still water was just folks saying it’s still water, you know? Like, it was water and it continues to remain to be water. [Laughs]
Rebecca: Well, there’s no greater education than travel.
Ted: A-freaking-men.
I’m in love with Roy and Jamie. Especially when Roy says whistle whistle.
The grey hair, parking the bus, and that pungent air of entitlement of the kit man/translator. The rise of Jose Mourinho, of the Ted Lasso-Verse.
Mourinho’a avenger timeline. Sure it will be just as mean spirited and annoying. Translator/kit man, same difference.
They've admitted they'd planned season one but were less prepared for season two. How wonderful that it still satisfies so well?
Too bad it’s promoted to f:asterisk_symbol::pound_symbol:k off all those who helped you and get rewarded at the end.
Well Coach Nate certainly turned out to be a royal piece of sh++.
in the words of Amanda Bynes, The Great: I want Roy Kent to murder my vagina
Marbella how the hell on their right mind wants to do to there !?!?!?!?
Alentejo , Algarve , Sintra and Cascais come on people Portugal it’s way better !!!!
Season finale. Great balance between humor and drama. That change of the characters, some for the better, others for the worse. Now waiting for season 3
I only gotta say; Nathan, what a piece of sh:asterisk_symbol:t you are. With the Brit accent and everything!
Shout by ABSTRACTlegendVIP 6BlockedParent2022-01-28T01:28:24Z
Is it weird that Nate’s hair has gotten more grey as he’s become more evil.