The success of TL allowed Apple TV to get a foothold into the netflix/amazon/hulu smorgasbord of streaming platforms. Now we get to see if Apple's enormous creative budget can get more and more shows to have similar success. Shrinking seems to have found their audience. I don't believe they'll keep trying to make more Ted Lesson seasons or a movie simply due to "money". That network TV model has gone by the wayside. I also don't believe they have a lot of content left to work with... what are some potential plots/sub-plots for future Ted Lasso seasons that haven't already been covered without becoming more stale? They've had full redemption arcs for Tart/Nathan, the Keeley-Roy-Tart love triangle, mental health/wellness, homosexuality in professional sports, sexual impropriety by owners, adding a new wacky character for attempted laughs (first Dani... then Zava), and ultimate team failure/success full circle.
This last season had lots of filler content no one cared about (Keely PR firm, Keely with Jack, barely used Rebekah or Ted and when they did was lots of moping around about his kid, etc., etc.) Honestly, they should have shortened the season by at about 4 episodes and delved deeper into the better stories. The last 3 episodes were truly excellent and there were episodes throughout the season that were better than others, but honestly, if that's the direction Ted Lasso was heading I think it's fine to just shut it down were it is at rather than muddle and make it worse still. It was a good enough ending, don't ruin it by making further mediocre content.
They could have left it with a little cliffhanger, no matter if they wanted to end it or not. So what is going to happen to the Doctor that Michelle has been seeing?
They played him as a disinterested ******* pretty hard in the final episode. I think she and Ted got back together in the end.
There was a lot of heart in the last episode, but they had more endings than the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Think the best ending would have been with the airline stewardess calling him an ******* and then u walk it off. Humor in last episode was pretty good. Overall season was hit or miss compared to previous seasons, but enjoyed no less. Good show.
I felt like this was a step up from last season where Nate's inexplicable betrayal still doesn't make sense and is only made whole this season like a movie trilogy.... I do recognize that many of this season's subplots were half baked but was dampened by binge watching the first 6 eps. In hindsight, it's like they started with half a seasons worth of material and ended up with 1.5 which wasn't good enough to justify a 4th season(jack, poochie...uh Zava going to another planet). I didn't like the gimmicky stuff they did last year (that nite out with beard) but warmed up to it this season (the polarizing Amsterdam ep) once i got used to their attempts to subvert expectations (ran out of material?). The whole captain not being a homophobe twist felt cheap and contrived but they just kept on going with different characters until one or many hit a sweet spot for you. I really enjoyed the show for it's wholesomeness but not sure if it still holds up on a rewatch. This was a nice balance against Succession where a different group of One Percenters also just ended their run
Eh… they’ve pointed out that it’s meant to go either way… if it’s not the last season/episode, they can say it was a dream and they can do whatever they want. If it is the last season/episode, makes sense that they would show the future happpenings and it isn’t a dream (plus, Ted never met the Dutchman so why would he be dreaming about him?). But of course framing it in a way that Ted wakes up on the plane right after that scene gave them all options.
I just finished the season last night and loved the ending but I agree this season just seemed a lot more uneven and disjointed with story lines that weren’t developed and went nowhere.
Some of it is hit and miss. I’m really trying to Like The Mosquito Coast and Hello Tomorrow but just can’t seem to get into them. I haven’t watched Shrinking yet or Shmigadoon but Might give those a try. I signed up for Apple +for Foundation because I’m a big fan of the Asimov novels but that was disappointing and I’m not sure I’m going to watch the new season.
I liked Nate’s turn to the dark side and explained earlier in the thread why I thought it was good and isn’t as inexplicable as it seemed but actually made sense given the type of person he was. I fully understand why they redeemed him and the idea of he just needs the love a good woman makes sense but seems cliche. I agree with you in a lot of the other stuff. The whole Zava storyline seemed very little thought out and it seemed like they missed the chance to develop him and possible tension between this outsider star, the rest of the team and particularly with the coaching staff. There appeared to be no chemistry between Ted either good or bad with Zava. One thing that I was hoping they would do with Zava is that he was like Aaron Rodgers, a great player but full of himself including with his own weird views and habits. He could’ve divided the team with some like Dani loving him and others hating him. They touched on it a bit with Jamie and Roy but it never got far.
I’m going to spoiler some of this. One of the things I’ve liked a lot about Ted lasso is the willingness to develop characters in some ways unexpected. Other than Nate though handling of the villains hasn’t been good. Spoiler Rupert is clearly the Uber villain and at the end he got his big time comeuppance. Yet they hint at that he is more complicated. In the speech that Rebecca gives to the Akufo group she shows that Rupert is a deeper character then people thought and isn’t the same as Akufo who just wants money and everyone to kowtow to him. Yet at the end they just make a Rupert to be that way. I think it would’ve been more interesting to explore Rupert’s motivations as a complex character than just as an antagonist for Rebecca. In the final episode they show Ted’s ex Michelle and his son Henry getting excited watching the Richmond match while they go out of the way to show Michelle’s new boyfriend Jacob as just bored and disinterested part of that is to contrast him with Ted and imply a that he doesn’t really care about Henry. The problem with that is why then is he even with Michelle and what does Michelle see in him? That relationship is key to the overall plot as it triggers Ted’s panic attacks. It’s also very clear that Ted still has feelings for Michelle but she is a very underdeveloped character. They spent more time developing Ted’s mom in one last episode than Michelle and Jacob in multiple episodes even thought They play pivotal roles in the plot. Overall though I still think this is one of the best shows out there and my criticisms are minor compared to how good of a job the writing and acting is. For me personally my own appreciation of the show is the relationship between Ted, his players and assistance coaches. I see a lot of Ted’s experiences matching my own. The relationship between Ted and Nate of someone you build up turning against you because they feel they are holding you back is someone I’ve experienced. That is why Nate’s turn didn’t surprise me.
