Number 216

The Church of Ted Lasso

If you know, you know. If you don't, well...

You know how, when discussing TV Shows/movies, the conversation eventually reaches a point were one person says to the other something like, "Oh my gosh - you have to watch __________!" To be honest, when I'm on the receiving end of that comment, more often than not, I either ignore or forget the recommendation. Not always, but mostly. The rub is when I have taken the time to watch something a friend suggests, I've usually enjoyed it a great deal. Makes me wonder what I've missed all those times I didn't follow through on a friend's suggestion.

Here's why I bring this up. I'm about to make a recommendation and when I do, I need you to understand one thing: Not all recommendations are created equally. Or, to put it another way: Some recommendations are more worthy than others. Or, to put it more bluntly: If you haven't yet watched Ted Lasso (on Apple+), what the f*** are you waiting for? There is not a single piece of media I can recommend any higher than this show. Please, take my word for it, and watch it. It is side-splittingly funny at times. At other times it will make you cry tears of both sadness and joy. The relationships between characters are allowed to breathe and grow, almost always authentic and healthy ways. It is the perfect antidote to the harsh and cynical world we currently live in. But seriously, if you haven't seen it, stop reading right now and go watch it. I can wait until you're done.

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What's going to follow is an episode by episode recap in blog form vs. the usual podcast form. Why? Because I know how to blog and I don't know how to podcast. And, as I expressed above, this amazing show is worth the time and effort. I'm not quite sure how this'll all work out - we'll figure it out together. The one thing I need to stress is that I won't be spending a lot of time on episode details - what song is playing when or what line might be an homage to some TV show from decades past. I don't have the time or energy to research that kind of minutiae. If I know something, I might pass it on, but don't count on it. This is not the "trivia" section on an IMDB page.  Onward.

Oh, yeah. Massive spoiler warnings.

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season 1, episode 1 "Pilot"

Fade in on "God Save the Queen" by the Sex Pistols while a soccer, ahem... football team is practicing, er... training out on the field, I mean pitch. The song ends in a discordant jumble as the camera pans to an impressive but pensive looking woman evaluating a piece of art hanging on the wall of her office. This is Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham). As will become clear as the episode continues, she has recently gone through a painful divorce. Her ex, Rupert Manion, a serial adulterer, surrendered ownership of Richmond FC (the team we saw training), to Rebecca as part of the settlement. 

She asks a nervous looking man if he wants the painting. "It's a David Hockney," he replies, "It must be worth one million pounds." This man is Higgins (Jeremy Swift). He is some sort of administrative executive. We soon learn that his sycophantic nature is a result of his long standing efforts towards deceiving Rebecca by helping Rupert hide his multiple dalliances with attractive, young women.

"You should have said 'yes' then," she says, "put it in the sell pile."

The important thing to note in this first scene is Rebecca's implicit, internal strength. Yes, Rupert 's many adulterous affairs have left her humiliated. A few scenes later it is revealed that the emotional scars she bears from his cruel mistreatment have her behaving with misdirected bitterness. But there is a grit to her, as well. She may be an emotional wreck, but she'll never let the public see that.

How do we know that? In one of the funniest moments of the episode, the current team manager, George, enters the office with the confident bravado that many mediocre heterosexual white men seem to possess, only to be quickly fired by Rebecca. His confusion at this turn of events is trumped by his attempt to belittle Rebecca. She refuses to lower herself to his level. Exit George.

Rupert asks Rebecca if he should prepare a list of potential new hires but Rebecca tells him that won't be necessary... As we cut to a segment of ESPN's Sportscenter, where the host is congratulating Ted Lasso on being named the new manager of the Richmond FC Greyhounds. Who is Ted Lasso? He had been the head coach of the Wichita State University (American) football team, an NCAA division II program. How did Rebecca learn of him? He became famous from a viral video of his energetic, somewhat out of control, celebratory dance when his team won the national championship. What makes him the best candidate to take over the leadership of a premier level English football team? As we will soon learn: nothing.

Brief Aside: In England, there are, essentially, five football leagues. The top level is known as the 'premier league,' the next level down is the 'champion's league, and so forth down to the lowest level. Obviously, the teams in the top level receive the most exposure, are the most famous, and make the most money. One interesting peculiarity to this system is the 'relegation/promotion' rule. Teams that finish at the bottom of their league in a particular season will be sent down to a lower league, while the team that wins one of the lower leagues will get promoted to the next higher league. At the start of the series, Richmond is mired in mediocrity, firmly in the middle of the pack.

The scene shifts to an airplane interior where we finally meet our titular character, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis). He and his best friend, Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), are on their way 'across the pond' to take over the leadership of the Greyhounds. "Are we crazy?" Ted asks Coach Beard (we'll eventually learn his first name, but not until the last episode of season three). "Probably," Beard responds. This brief introduction of two central characters actually reveals a great deal about their relationship. Ted, speaking in his folksy, midwest American drawl, is wide-eyed and seems eager for this new adventure, and readily admits it might be a fool's errand. Coach Beard, somewhat taciturn and shown to be trying to prepare for their new task by reading a book on football strategy, responds to Ted in short, terse sentences. Despite these differences, however, it is apparent that there is a shared affection between the two. As the lights on the plane are dimmed for the remainder of the overnight flight to England, Ted tells Coach that "should we meet each other tonight in our dreams, let's mess around and pretend we don't know each other."

Once they arrive, there is a short scene where they meet up with their driver, Ollie, who is tasked with taking them to the Richmond facilities. It's a small detail, but when Ollie reaches for their luggage, Ted offers a mild rebuke and states the he and Beard can carry their own luggage. This is the first indication that Ted is more interested in kindness, equity, and genuine relationship than he is in putting on the pretentious airs of a premier league level manager. He appears to be utterly disinterested in the trappings of his position. This is confirmed a few minutes later when he and Coach meet Nate (Nick Mohammad), for the first time as they take in the Richmond pitch for the first time. Nick is the very anxious kit-man (a sort of locker room valet for the players), who seemingly has zero self-confidence. Nate is surprised that Ted wants to know his name, and later in the episode, is completely shocked when Ted remembers it.