Oklahoma (Ted Lasso S1 E5)

Christian  
Welcome back to the dog track greyhounds. This is Richmond Til We Die an episode by episode conversation about the Apple TV plus show Ted lasso, where we explore the characters, their relationships to each other, and how they're able to make us laugh until we can hardly breathe One moment, and then make us feel with the deepest parts of our hearts the next. For this episode, our conversation is all about Episode Five titled Tan Lines.

Marisa  
Hey, everyone, its Marissa. I am beginning to be okay with podcast. But you know, I'm here always, especially because of my love for Ted Lasso and his luscious mustache.

Christian  
I'm Christian. I'm here because of my love for soccer and delicious barbecue.

Brett   
And I'm Brett, and y'all do we have to talk about this episode?

Marisa  
It's okay, Britt. It'll be good. cathartic even.

Brett   
Are you sure?

Marisa  
I promise.

Christian  
Okay.

Brett   
I'm ready to go on the journey. But before we go on the journey, Christian, why don't you tell us about the incredible soccer garb you are wearing today?

Christian  
Today, Brett? I have on my Vietnam jersey that I got in Saigon.

Brett

Wow. All right.

Christian

My daughter's Vietnamese. And a couple of years ago, we took her back as a family to kind of see the country that she was born in. And the first time we were over there, which was starting to be now like 15 years ago, I bought a Vietnam jersey. But that was when I was first starting to understand soccer and international travel. And I bought it from a street vendor not realizing that sometimes those aren't always authentic. And when you buy things in other countries, the sizing is different. So even though it was an extra large, I could not fit it over my head and it was slightly midriff bearing. So on this second trip, I made sure to go to the actual team store where they sell the official jerseys and try one on and I think this one is still a double extra large. And I am not a person with a girthy frame. But it does. It's a small person if it's nicely

Brett   
tall, tall but small and it looks nice on you. Thank you. You're welcome.

Marisa  
And I just have to say like I'm a little sad. There's no like midriff action going on, especially since we're talking about tan lines today. But you know, it's probably more appropriate this way. missed opportunity.

Brett   
disappointing.

Christian  
Are y'all ready to recap this episode? Yep, let's do it. Ted is excited that his family is coming to visit him in London. But he reveals to Rebecca that he and Michelle have had some marital issues. Rebecca is less than thrilled that Ted is beginning to open up to her.

Marisa  
Then Keeley enters Jamie's apartment to find that another woman is over there just 24 hours after their breakup. She thanks Jamie for helping her feel competent about her decision to dump him then leaves to prepare for his photoshoot.

Brett   
On the morning of the match, Ted and Michelle have an emotional conversation in which she reveals to him that she is still not happy in the relationship. Ted has taken it back but has to focus on the match since Richmond have lost their last four matches.

Christian  
After Ted's pre match talk, Jamie refuses to join the team huddle before they head out onto the pitch. Ted and Jamie have an argument about Jamie's attitude, which abruptly ends when Ted's son Henry enters the locker room.

Marisa  
Jamie scores two goals in the match but upsets his teammates by a showboating. Ted removes him from the match and then gives an inspiring halftime speech in the locker room. rich men go on to win their first match under Ted's leadership.

Brett   
In the final scene, Ted and Michelle decide to end their relationship. They embraced one last time and then she and Henry right away. Beard arrived shortly after to consulted with his company and a cold beer. Mumford and his sons play us out.

Christian  
And that's all the recap we're gonna give you.

Marisa  
I'm a fan of getting to know Higgins The more you know, sees a year later and all. But I do like that we have some healthy relationships, healthy marital relationships that we get to look forward to more of and I love Higgins and his wife, they just have this real playful nature. She seems like a baller, you know, besides like telling Rebecca that she gets like heart disease or whatever.

Christian  
Not cool. One of the reasons it's so convincing is that life for them is a dress rehearsal for this role. They are I mean, they're married in real life. Mary Roscoe and Jeremy Swift.

Brett   
Oh, I didn't know that.

Christian  
Yeah, they've been married for a long time since 1992. Wow.

Marisa  
That's a happy marriage.

Brett   
Yes, I well. I love that. That's the first thing we see in this episode is just a little vignette of their their relationship. And it really helps us to draw comparisons to the other relationship that we see in this episode and how it unravels kind of between Ted and Michelle

Christian  
and there's a lot of depth just With the family, it's pretty hilarious when Ted smacks his head, how if you listen closely, you can distinctly hear each of the different boys Say something. And they're all they're all funny. I love it.

Brett   
This is when watching with subtitles is helpful because you can see all of them.

Marisa  
Yes.

Brett   
And speaking of Higgins, we get to see in this episode a little bit more of his, the inner conflict that he's feeling start to show up. You know, we see that a little bit later in this episode, he and Rebecca are walking and talking together. And he informs her that the match isn't completely sold out. And of course she is, you know, she's happy about that, because her it's all going according to plan. And you can see Higgins is starting to feel more and more uncomfortable by her actions.

Marisa  
Jeremy Smith, I think is so brilliant because he can do so much with like a single facial expression. And I mean, he's just genius and brilliant at that. And also like the one syllable, like just sounds and noises that he makes in response to all over Becker's things. He I just, he's amazing. And one that I think is, I just can't wait to see more of Higgins in the show. Some other characters we don't get to see much of we get to go back to the crown and anchor crowd.

Brett   
Yay. I really love those guys. And may, we're gonna get to see them more as the season progresses. And the x soccer action heats up. But I just I think that the fellows who play bass and Jeremy and Paul are really funny. And even in those kind of bit roles, like the way that they're able to help move the story forward is really interesting. And like one of my favorite things is later in this episode, where when the opposing team Watford scores against AFC Richmond. Everyone's like so upset. And then Paul says nice family though. And then they say damn Apollo don't humanize them.

Christian  
It's especially good acting too, because cagey, the comedian, the guy who plays Paul, this is very much outside of his normal personality. And one of the cool things is, as I've gotten to see these different actors that I haven't seen in places before, and then kind of see on the internet, like what their personalities are to just notice which ones are channeling their personalities in which ones are doing a full like change of gear. And kg is definitely a dude who is changing gear because he is much more of a dominant personality that fills up the room and not kind of the the goofy, bumbling guy that we see in the show.

Marisa  
He's the sweet one on laughs zone. I love it.

Brett   
Another funny thing about those fellows that I just want to flag that happens in the episode is that when Ted's family enters the pub, Mei goes Ted's son, Henry, some darts, and then we see that he has hit Paul with a Dart, and then happens sometimes, I guess. But then Baz is flicking the dar. And he says, I'm just curious. Yeah. So for those of you who have seen the whole season, just want to like, go.

Christian  
We meet a new character who's not really new, but new to us. vulnerable tanto la social shows up in a big way in this episode.

Brett   
Yeah, I feel like he spends most of this episode baring his soul.

Marisa  
But I think, you know, we can't expect anything else from Ted because we see him dealing with some big things, big feelings. And instead of just bottling them up, even though we see him doing that, sometimes we see him talking to Rebecca, we see him talking to the guys in the locker room, in his office, and we're just I think we're getting ready for some, some healthy relationship building.

Christian  
This is a part that I'd kind of grayed out in my mind after the first watching, I'd had this thesis that I was working on that we might talk about on the podcast sometime about how Ted is always helping other people. But maybe he doesn't let other people in. And I was just like, dead wrong about that. When we got to this episode. This time, I realized, like, Yeah, he is trying to put himself out there. There just aren't a lot of people yet who are kind of like up to speed relationally to be able to receive that from him like he is receiving from other people.

Marisa  
And I love that again, coming back to Higgins who started off the episode with his wife. He's the one who really kind of says something to Chad that really connects with him about, you know, marriage and relationship. And it's like, yeah, things are tough and things are hard. But if you're with the right person, like those times don't feel that tough or that hard. And I think he finally realizes something's probably got to change. And so I really like that it's, it's Higgins that gets to help Ted. It's really the team

Christian  
that's helping Ted it kind of takes a team of people and each one of them brings their own strengths. What breaks down as Ted is trying to talk to Rebecca is If you don't get through to Rebecca and really like, who does on a consistent basis other than Keeley, then it's just kind of over. And you can keep trying. But if she's going to rebuff you, she's going to rebuff you what Ted has with. The guys are three people that come from different unique perspectives. You have Higgins, who comes from the perspective of lived experience and having a relationship and kids and being in it for the long haul, you have beard whose relationships are completely dysfunctional, but he can see straight through Ted at all times. And then you have Nathan, who is always honest, and generally knows the right thing to say, as long as he's not interjecting something slightly off topic.

Brett   
I think you're totally right Christian and I, there's just just a really small moment of physical comedy that I want to draw everyone's attention to. And that is, when Higgins is invited into the office by Ted, he like kind of tries perched up on the side table or the little shelf next to Nate. And then he doesn't really commit all the way. And he just kind of like awkwardly steps back. And it's just one of those small moments in Ted last Oh, that I think is just so great. And it's one of the things that makes the show what it is,

Marisa  
again, Jeremy Smith just like details that character so well, and it's just, it's perfect for Higgins, it just works.

Christian  
In addition to trying to be vulnerable with Rebecca and trying to be vulnerable with the guys. Ted, it also tries to be vulnerable with his wife, Michelle. And that whole family dynamic just is not working. So what do you guys think it is? That makes total so so impossible to be married to?

Brett   
I really don't have a good answer. And I think that, I don't know, I don't even know if it's if they're going to answer later in later seasons or not.

Marisa  
They alluded to a little bit with you know, her, TED talks about how his wife, Michelle says, like your constant positivity or whatever that term is that she uses Exactly. But I don't know that, to me is as we keep talking about, like the least believable soccer things in the show. This is this, for me is like the least believable thing in the show. I just can't imagine anyone who's remotely emotionally normal, like not being okay with figuring things out with Ted lasso.

Christian  
And maybe part of the problem is she is normal. To me, she feels a lot of times like an alien who has been dropped into this cartoon world, from the real world. And so all of these things that are happening that, you know, make make sense, like she doesn't make sense, because she's almost too serious. Plays everything too straight in what I think about. In the real world. There are a million different reasons that a professional sports coach or a really good like high level college coach would be difficult to stay married to. And being nice, doesn't make the list like, yeah, there could be like legit reasons that Ted last one in the real world would would be difficult to be married to, but like too nice that, isn't it? So I don't know. Like, it could be, you know, him trying to fix things save, save people all the time, we talked about white knighting. We've seen Ted already, once in this series, tried to solve or numb his problems with drinking, I don't know, like, maybe there's something there. Maybe she or he brings something into the relationship from a long time ago, because they've known each other for a long time. And maybe they've just grown in different ways, but aren't able to fully like outgrow the original them. But clearly, things aren't working here.

Brett   
Yeah, you really just sort of come to the conclusion that she genuinely, if she's being honest, she genuinely just does. She is not in love with him anymore. And for her, it is painful to stay in the relationship because of that. And I don't know, it may be nothing that there's one point where Ted says if there's something I could do to fix it, I would do it in an instant, like I feel there's something I could say or do and I feel like he's probably tried that and they just sort of come to this realization that that's not going to work like this. That switch has been flipped and it can't be unclipped. The other thing that I thought was interesting and strange with this relationship is that they do seem to have like a functioning family dynamic. Like there's the moments where we see them. Yeah, they're all building the Lego set together. And you know, just kind of messing around and then at the end of that scene, that's where we see the whole family laying in that big bed that Michelle and Henry are both asleep and you know the camera pans over to Ted and he is laying awake but he is looking very carefully. And happy and it's just like, knowing what comes later in this episode that really hurts to see his emotional state and to kind of see him feeling okay, because we see him there assuming he's about to fall asleep feeling very content. And then we see him right after he's woken up walking in the alley or whatever you want, like, you know, kind of walking down that little street outside of his flat or apartment. And he looks very jaunty, you know, he's going to get scones, even though he thinks they're like muffins, but they suck all the spit out of your mouth, right. And so we just, we see like, a very concentrated version, a very focused version of his emotional state there. And so that makes what happens next really hard, because after he gives Henry, his breakfast, he walks in, and he tries to make small talk with Michelle, and she turns around, and you can tell she's been crying. And it's just again, it's very hard for us as viewers to understand and and it's a really, it's a gut punch for us, as we're rooting for Ted in this relationship to. And in the midst of this conversation, we hear Ted use this term that he and Michelle employed during couples therapy that requires each of them to be fully truthful with one another about their feelings. The word is Oklahoma, which is also the name of a very famous classic musical. And I think it's fitting that the word that requires Teddy Michelle, to be completely emotionally vulnerable with one another is also a musical theater reference. And as they're having that conversation, Michelle says to Ted that every morning, she wakes up hoping to feel different. And so we still, again, we see these themes of, you know, these focus feelings when you're either falling asleep, or waking up. And that just tells us a lot about the characters in the show.

Marisa  
I feel like Michelle is like this weird, strange villain. And not in a way that she herself is like a bad human or person or anything, but like we're supposed to, we're supposed to think something's wrong with her right? Because we're meant to be rooting for Ted this whole time. So I think the way Christian you put it, like makes a lot of sense that like she just for the most part, the character of Michelle, like does not belong in the TED last a world that we have all been like bingeing on, right. And that, to me, I think gives us an easy out as viewers, and as fans of the show that like, well, I guess it was easy to say goodbye to her because it just didn't, something didn't feel right. The hard

Christian  
work for viewers is to realize that she is convincing and that you do believe that she's hurt. And so there's this conflict there, that is difficult for us, because the conflict between her and Ted does seem to be absent anger, unlike a lot of the other conflicts in this show, but it is full of hurt. And so for us to not know where that hurt comes from. And then for us to feel like, there just doesn't seem a trajectory for that hurt to resolve or, or there's no like redemption arc for that hurt. We have to figure out then what to do with with our feelings. And so like maybe, like my solution there was just to say, like, she doesn't belong?

Brett   
Yeah, well, our brains want to make up a story and with without any more context, we just, yeah, we have to, we have to come up with something. And you know, the two things all upset are both really valid.

Marisa  
I would like to say, as the one out of the three of us whose parents are divorced. For me, like watching something like this, you know, I almost always want the couple to get back together. You know, like, I hate to see that. And especially like I, I feel for Henry, you know, being the the kid involved. And I think all three of us, like as very, very involved parents. Like, that's one thing that I just keep thinking about all the time, like when whenever he's talking to Henry on FaceTime, or when Henry is there, and then just gets right back on the plane and leaves I just think, Oh my gosh, how could I couldn't live without, like, my kids being near to me. And so just, there has to be some resolution there. You know, like, what's the plan? Like, is he always going to live away from his son, you know, for me, more than he and Michelle, I just like, I want to know how it's gonna be all right with he and Henry,

Brett   
a lot of people on the internet have that question to Marissa.

Christian  
We get to the end and the breakup does seem very final. There are a lot of cues there. And some of them for us are reminiscent. But also just like very real multisensory. We see this breakup happening in the rain that kind of reminds us of the shower that Ted takes before the phone call in episode one. And the idea that they're just like standing there trying to seek some kind of shelter from this storm. Just feels very immersive and poetic. Yeah, the Mumford and Sons Also with that, too, it does they make you feel a certain kind of way.

Brett   
More on that later.

Marisa  
I don't know if this necessarily counts as any beard crumbs, Christian, but I do like that we see after the breakup, that beard is just nearby ready without saying anything. Hands off the beer to Ted. And I just thought, you know, everyone can understand that everyone understands that friendship, or at least I hope, I hope you all have a friend like that, that you don't even have to say anything. They're just ready for you to be really excited about something or really upset about something. And they're ready and waiting for you and they have what you need. And you just, you can just sit there in silence with them. And they're, they're okay with that. So I love that about beard.

Brett   
Yeah, I really like their shorthand, how they and they have their special way that they cheers to each other on the bench there. And I like that at the end of the previous episode, you probably remember, we saw Ted chasing after beard and kind of asking him what happened and caring for him. And as they take a walk together after the the gala. And then we see the the flip side of that in this episode, we see you know, beer just being right there ready to kind of care for Ted. And that's it's a great example of a friendship that goes both ways. You know, they're both caring for each other at different times. And it's just, it's a really great example of positive masculinity. And that's one of the things that show does really well.

Marisa  
To cute bromance is

Christian  
someone who continues to have the unexpected thrown at them, but does not really seem to be struggling with it, and instead seems to be thriving in the face of adversity is the unflappable Keeley Jones

Brett   
yet it seems very difficult to disarm or disrupt Keeley.

Christian  
Keeley sees the matrix she can see The Matrix Yes, at a different speed, process everything and come out victorious.

Brett   
Do you think that she can get like information downloaded into her brain to

Christian  
to be determined,

Marisa  
I be you know, upsetting our listeners, but I'm not a nerd. So I don't know what they're talking about. But I do need to say that I love Kaylee. You know, I say that every time. But more than just like being unflappable and not being upset by things that come her way. I have to say as a woman, I don't know that I could like ever be Keeley walks right into Jamie's apartment. There's a beautiful young lady, you know, in what we assume is like Jamie shirt, right? But Keeley like, does not care. She's She's more just like, this doesn't surprise me. This is exactly who I thought Jamie was. She's totally confident. And she's not, like, at all jealous. And I just think like, what a woman like, I wish I could be just like her because I just think and I don't know, any person I know that would walk into a situation like that would have to be insecure, and she shows no insecurity. So either she's just a baller, and she can hide that really well. Or else she's

Christian  
just super comfortable and who she is, which that's what I choose to believe I'm gonna go for comfortable, because if she was hiding and security, then I think it would have eventually shown up in this episode, she has this situation with Jamie. Then she has another situation during the press conference where he's just acting a fool. And she sees it for what it is. And she just kind of lets him flounder, even though she's here on her new gig. And she trusts that everybody else then can see him for who he is. And she's not going to jump in and try to save him. And then she has the interaction with Roy, where she just puts him in his place when he tries to get up in her business. And I think if it really was her hiding insecurity, that at some point in time like she loses it it falls apart and maybe she bites Roy's head off even though it's Jamie's fault or maybe she drags Jamie for filth like in front of this press corps and just tries to make him look like you even more of an idiot than he's making himself look. But I surely mean it like she is unflappable in this episode and is able to not run from things and to not be I guess overly aggressive with them but to simply take them and be

Brett   
a rock as a complete aside there's a really funny moment in the press conference where Jamie when he's acting a fool as you said Christian he like pulls up his sleeve and reveals a tattoo with Chinese characters then he says that it's Chinese for arm and I'm pretty sure that's not what it means but I don't know.

Marisa  
Well you know, I as I was watching that, even the first time I thought it's probably not arm right because it's just kind of a joke like for everyone that like when you get a Chinese character tattoo. That's probably not the character that you got. And so I know that the like Ted Lascaux writers are super clever and fun. So it had to not be arm right? So I lived in China for almost a year. And so I reached out to one of my friends, Jin Jing, and I said, Hey, check this these characters out and tell me Does this mean arm in any way? And she actually I didn't even tell her that I just said, here are these characters Tell me what this means. She said, sunset. Are you wanting to get a tattoo? Like no actually, but thank you so much because this is super helpful. 

Brett   
Wait, it means sunset?

Marisa  
It means sunset. So if you actually like type in sunset until like Google Translate and then like ask for Chinese characters. You can look up those characters and that's exactly what's on Jamie's arm. 

Brett   
What does it mean?

Marisa  
It means that it means that you know, probably his time at AFC Richmond, maybe sunsetting you know, I don't know, or just that he went to a tattoo artist. And you know, he asked for a tattoo at least it's not like something. I mean, it's still like meaningful and kind of beautiful but just definitely does not mean arm.

Brett   
I really thought it was gonna be winker.

Christian  
I think that Jamie Tartt is exactly the kind of person who had to label his body parts.

Marisa  
I think maybe he went to the tattoo artist asked for a tattoo, like a character of arm and they're like, this guy's an idiot. Like, no, I'm

Brett   
not I cannot do this. The tattoo artist was just looking out for him. He actually gave him a better tattoo.

Marisa  
I cannot do this for you, sir.

Brett   
Yeah, he or she gave him a better tattoo. So speaking of Keeley, and Roy's interactions in this episode, you know, they have a conversation in the hallway, as Roy's may be about to enter the weight room, and we see that he's holding A Wrinkle in Time. And there's a funny conversation they have there where he's telling, he's asking her if she's still with Jamie. And she's like, hey, it's none of your business. And she just kind of like puts him in his place. And he recognizes that and he sort of receives that, but then she sort of puts a button on it. And she has this great joke where she says, I'm going to text you every time I have to make a decision. But, you know, I think briefly talking about ROI In this episode, you know, after he gets put in his place there, you know, he was holding the book during that conversation. And I think we see that he is even further kind of taking seriously, this call to leadership that Ted has given him. There's just a few things that I wanted to point out in this episode where he tells Jamie, when they're on the pitch to Hey, check on your team a after Sam gets knocked down, sort of right outside the penalty box. He, during that same scene reaches down to Sam and finds out Sam is actually okay. And Sam is about to jump up. And Roy kind of teaches he walks into the steps of how to be fake injured, which is a very real sucker thing. And then there's also a point before the halftime speech where everyone's kind of chattering and Ted's trying to get everyone's attention. And he says, Hey, like sit down and shut up. So he's, we see this like this transformation is happening more quickly. And I think part of that is because of him being held accountable by folks like Jamie and Keeley.

Marisa  
I would like to go back even one further Brett, the beginning of the episode, we see them training in training on the pitch. And the whole thing starts with Ted getting very upset that Jamie won't make the extra pass. And you know, that's what what gets Roy So, so heated and then you know, starts to tell off Keeley about Jamie is he's like, he wouldn't pass to Sam, he wouldn't pass the SAM. And so we do see like Roy starting to take on this, this leadership in this teaching and to really start to grow in his relationship with Sam too. But I think it's really interesting that when you know, Roy makes that point about make the extra pass. And then we see that Richmond ends up winning the match because Roy makes the extra pass to Sam.

Brett   
Roy has both received that coaching from Ted and then he demonstrates it. Yeah,

Christian  

He's starting to be the little girl. Yes, as Roy is maturing and being related that Ted wants him to be. There's a separation happening. Roy is going in one direction. Jamie is going in the exact opposite direction. It is easy to view them at the beginning I think as kind of peers and in this equal struggle together. But that's not what's happening anymore. Roy is absorbing these lessons. He's modeling for people. He's making other people better. Jamie is more and more and more out for himself.

Brett   
He is making Ted like furious because of his selfishness. Literally pointing at his the back of his jersey and screaming me twice when he scores in this episode.

Christian  
I would say if I scored in a professional soccer match, I would actually celebrate by yelling meet. And so I can see where Ted got a little bit confused there. But I can also understand Ted's incredulity that Jamie was being so me me me literally, about scoring these goals.

Brett   
Yeah, enough for him to Take Jamie off the field, which makes for a really funny moment because then Jamie says, points to himself and says, me. And then once Jamie is taken off the field, you know, he leaves the locker room, we don't see him again in this episode. And the locker room is very different.

Marisa  
Yes, we notice right away, there's changes in the locker room as we come into halftime. And as Ted begins to talk to the team, Isaac scoots, over and like nods to Nate like, yeah, it's all right. Come sit next to me, you're part of us now. And it's like this really neat moment where we see like Isaac starting to grow up, starting to realize his own leadership roles and the inclusion of Nate as part of the team. Jamie's absence has made way for some of that.

Christian  
There's something very sportsy about the whole thing, the idea of addition, by subtraction, and the question of, can you become a better team? If you take away one of the most talented people, because they're taking some other baggage with them? And at least in this instance, in this moment, the answer is yes.

Marisa  
So obviously, like the beginning of this match, we feel like it's Jamie versus the team, right? We sense that tension on the field. Obviously, the fans don't feel that way. They get very upset at Ted's decision. But I think Ted's decision is so bold and so brave, that you know, he's he's true to himself when he says he's not interested in the wins and losses. But he sees that there's no way that he can bring this team together, unless he does something drastic to to fix it. And so he takes Jamie out. And right away, you kind of see this, like the team kind of look at him differently in the locker room. Like, there's this respect, there's this that we're like, the team's actually starting to really like Ted, whether or not they trust him with like actual soccer coaching. I don't know about that. But you can see that they're starting to trust him and they're starting to believe him, and they're starting to like him.

Christian  
Music In this episode, Brett, I know this is usually your section. But yeah, I'm gonna steal your thunder for a second. Okay. I don't know if anybody caught this. But the Jamie tart celebration song from the fans, is to the tune of Baby shark, which, if you're like me and have small children, you know, because it's buried into your brain forever. But I just gotta say, for Ted, having your son worship your arch nemesis, whilst at the same time singing the tune to Baby Shark has got to be the seventh level of hell, and I can't imagine the pain he was feeling in that moment.

Marisa  
I mean, that's the worst of the breakup with Michelle, right.

Christian  
We'll see any other music in this episode? Brett?

Brett   
I think you got it all Christian? No, actually, there is one more moment. We already mentioned this before. But the big musical moment, I think comes in that final scene where Ted and Michelle are ending their relationship. It's the song is called forever. It's by Mumford and Sons. So we've heard lots of Marcus Mumford music all throughout this series, but this might be the first actual Mumford and Sons song that's on the soundtrack. Like in an actual episode, correct me if I'm wrong on that listeners. But the other two numbers that we hear besides Baby Shark which great catch Christian, I must have blocked that out. I got it. The other two songs we hear before this, though, are wishing and hoping by Dusty Springfield, which came out in 1964. And then bring it on home to me by the inimitable Sam Cooke, which came out in 1975.

Marisa  
Can we just talk about how delicious that song is? 

Brett   
Yeah, his vocals are very velvety.

Marisa  
I mean, it's just smooth.

Brett   
I would use the word luscious to describe them.

Marisa  
Just like Ted's mustache and barbecue

Brett   
. And then by the end of this episode, we hear this song by Mumford and Sons, which is came out very recently. And so to me, this sort of symbolizes Ted's inner monologue through this episode and kind of the progression of what he's feeling like he's, he's wishing and hoping can't wait for his family to get there. And then they're having this wonderful time together, doing the Lego set and bring it on home to me is happening. And that's a song that kind of gives you a good feeling and, you know, makes you think, like, yeah, you love the person you're with and be there with them. And then we get to this final scene, which is just gut wrenching. And interestingly, in the scene, there are a lot of lyrics happening underneath a lot of dialogue, which is not super common in a lot of shows. I mean, I the other show I can think of where this happens a lot is Grey's Anatomy. I don't watch a lot of Grey's Anatomy and I've still seen it a lot on that shows. It's probably just Cuz there's like 3 million episodes of that show. But there's a lot of lyrics happening underneath their conversation, this conversation between Teddy Michelle, and again, that's kind of, I think Ted's inner internal monologue that's happening. And one of the lines from the verse that's happening as they're chatting says, My dreams lie with you. But I have many more Besides, and if I can't see them through, our love will slowly die. And then throughout this song in the chord progression, there's this musical thing happening where the five is moving up to the six, and you can definitely hear it even if you have no musical training. And it's basically engineered to make you feel that bitter sweets, kind of melancholy feeling a pulling of the heartstrings, almost literally, literally. And as that's happening, and they're finishing their conversation, there's a break in the conversation. And the music actually turns up on this line that says, think of London, and the girl you're returning. And I just think that's so like that's so purposeful, and so meaningful. And again, it's just another example of just the expert level of music editing on this show that really makes a lot of scenes. And then again, after after, they're completely done hugging and Henry and Michelle are getting in the car. And it turns up again on the exact same line, think of London and the girl you're returning and so it's just the way and then the credits roll. We go on to the next part of the song and it's one of the smart things this show does is it does not have outro music. You know, there are shows like The West Wing where something very serious happens at the end of the episode and then there's that jaunty. Oh, that really changed the mood. But you know, with Ted lassa, we have we've gone out on so many different things already. And it's just it really, you know, you have to live in that headspace as the credits are rolling. And the credits for the show are long, too. So it's long it's going on for a long time. I just I really thought that that was a great, another great use of music and other, we really kind of get into Ted psyche with the songs and yeah, good stuff.

Christian  
The pop culture references in this episode, were a little hit or miss the one that I didn't get until recently was the Ronald Reagan, the actor, which is a horrible impersonation on my part, because I'm not a professional.

Marisa  
I thought it was more like Scooby Doo.

Christian  
So, my apologies. The reason that Brendon hunt does it well, a lot of people have noticed that he bears somewhat of a resemblance to Christopher Lloyd, this happens to be the first of at least two Christopher Lloyd references that we get from Coach beard in this series. And this one is from Back to the Future. We recently watched the Back to the Future trilogy with our kids of various ages. And if anybody wants to know what it's like to be high on drugs without actually doing drugs, just watch Back to the Future to because that movie is inzane. I think a lot of drugs were probably done as they were storyboarding that film.

Marisa  
What year did those coming out Christian?

Christian  
Oh, I don't know. But what I do know is that we had to pause at the beginning of Back to the Future too, because they were talking about it being the year 2015. And it looked quasi super futuristic. And my kids were trying to figure out what happened with the time warping, so we had to explain to them that this is what people thought 2015 is gonna look like. And even though we're in 2021, it doesn't look like that quite yet. And some of this stuff looks worse. And so this is just what us Olds imagined to the future to be like. The other thing that's not really a pop culture reference that stood out to me in this episode was the use of the word linker, which is a carryover from the very first title. So add in specifically, when Ted changes the the definition or as the meaning of the word changes. And he talks about it as being a man who likes to be alone with his thoughts. That is a line that is taken from that original advertisement bit, which is just kind of funny, because we saw a lot of those front loaded into the pilot, which makes sense. And now here we are halfway through the season, and they're still pulling some of those out in a meaningful way.

Brett   
The other great thing about that, too, is not only is it a call about a winker, the great thing about winkers in this scene is that not only is that a callback to the at the early ads, but also whenever coach beard is pointing that out to Ted. Ted says you know it sounds it sounds the same and then coach beard says yeah, but different, which is a callback to episode one when they're feeling the grass on the practice pitch and they say it feels the same but different.

Marisa  
They do that a lot on the show. Like to bring us back and make us feel whole make us feel comfortable. Love a call back. Christian. Did you see any BB queue in this episode,

Christian  
we did once again see Ted sleeping in is Joe Arthur Gatestack shirt, which we like to see shout out some of the classic barbecue joints of Kansas City. And then it wasn't explicitly a barbecue moment. But as we mentioned before, Ted thinking that Jamie was yelling meat.

Brett   
He's probably already made it through all of his Arthur Bryant barbecue sauce, and he's really longing for another taste of barbecue from home. He probably is. And barbecue sauce will come up soon. He's got me on the brain. And why don't you tell us a little bit too about the soccer in this episode, because there was actually a lot of soccer in this episode, especially compared to the last few,

Christian  
I'm probably going to tell you a big bit about it perfect gush a little bit on how well they did the soccer in this episode, there was so much that was convincing. I think this was one of the few episodes that had a lot of actual sports ball sequences. And as someone who watches a lot of soccer, I found those parts compelling, and not cheesy, which just like shout out to the stunt people and the times where they used CGI to get that done. I thought that the supporter culture was incredibly authentic in the pub, when the winning goal is scored. And everybody throws their beer in the air. Like that's something that actually happens at matches and indoors. And it seems just incredibly messy. But that is a authentic way of celebrating when everybody is filled with joy. I love the interactions between the supporters and Ted and between his family. them kind of, you know, showing their passion. But then at the same time wrestling with the humanity of the coach and everything just looked really really, really on point and I enjoyed as a soccer fan, watching those various aspects of this episode.

Brett   
Yeah, folks either really knew what they were doing going into it or really did their homework and it shows. But So was there something that didn't convince you in this episode? Was there something that you notice that made you think, Ah,

Christian  
no, just one thing. AFC Richmond plays a team called Watford in this episode. Watford is a real club that bounces back and forth between the Premier League and the English Championship. And the jersey situation in the show tends to be very authentic. We see with Crystal Palace like there's like really good AFC Richmond, there's like really good later, there's another team that shows up a really big club and they essentially like use the team issued stuff to kick them out. But Watford , like for whatever reason. They pulled something off the Kmart rack and ran it down to the set and threw it on these guys. So it wasn't even a brand I could decipher there was a fake sponsor on the front, Watford would usually have a little bit more red and the golden black would have some kind of designed typically on it. And so it just didn't look quite right. And then the more I slowed it down and positive and looked at it, I was like oh man, these are bad.

Brett   
We're apologizing to you on behalf for the Watford fans.

Christian  
Yep, you guys got done dirty. And your team is usually much more nattily dressed than they were portrayed in this fictionalization.

Marisa  
Brett, Yeah, what's up? Do you have a favorite quote from this episode?

Brett   
My favorite quote is when Roy approaches Ted at the end of the match, and he's referring to Ted benching Jamie and he says, it took balls what you did. And then Ted responds, that's all we got as balls, Roy. That's all we got. And I don't know that I really understand this quote, or that I've wrapped my mind around its meaning, but I just find it hilarious and strangely encouraging. All right, Christian, what was your favorite quote?

Christian  
I'm going to go with Michelle. And when she says, but you're not quitting, Ted, you're just letting me go because of the feelings that it brings up. And also, kind of her giving Ted as a parting gift like that freedom and that permission and as we talked about before, they're not being anger, they're they're just being hurt. And that that is an okay, I guess place for them to sort of just leave things worse. How about you?

Marisa  
You know, anything that furthers the romance between Keeley and Rebecca so mine's toward the beginning of the episode and it's when Rebecca is checking in again on Keeley and making sure she's not gotten back with Jamie. And she she recognizes, oh, Rebecca is like cares about me like hey, and she says, I'll kiss you on that mouth if I could reach those lips. And again, I just love that because as a non tall person, love that and I would feel the same way that Rebecca to?

Brett   
You said that to me a couple of times? No, you haven't.

Marisa  
Just I would say that to Rebecca, not you. That's fine.

Brett   
Okay, y'all, that is our show. We'll be back on the dog track in two weeks with our conversation about Episode Six, titled Two Aces. And the first appearance of dun dun and Dani Rojas - we love him. You can check out the show notes for the links to all the cool and interesting stuff we talked about in this episode.

Christian  
And you can keep the conversation going on Twitter and Instagram. Our handle is @TedLassoPod. We'd love to interact with you all there and hear your insights and observations about the show.

Marisa  
This episode of Richmond till we die is brought to you by gin and kerosine Productions. It was produced by me, Marissa,

Brett   
me, Brett and me, Christian,

Marisa  
Brett, also edited mixed in compose the music for this episode. Classic, super hot. If you enjoy this conversation, please take a moment to subscribe to Richmond. So we die on whatever app you're using to listen to this episode.

Christian  
And wherever you're listening to Richmond Til We Die, we appreciate you. But if you have access to an Apple device, we'd love it. If you would head on over to the Apple podcast app and give us a quick five star review. It'll help more people find the show and hear it. Okay, I'm Christian, signing off for Brett and Marissa. Thanks for listening. Until next time, cheers, y'all.