Ted Lasso's Dark Forest (Season 2 Preview)

Brett   

Welcome back to the dog track greyhounds This is Richmond till we die and 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 are able to make us laugh until we can hardly breathe one moment and then feel with the deepest parts of our hearts the next.

Marisa  

I'm Marissa, you may have been missing out on me being around for some of these bonus episodes because I actually go to work.

Christian  

I'm Christian, our intrepid entertainment reporter who covers all major Ted lasso adjacent events from the comfort of my couch.

Brett   

You work from home? Yes, you get to go to your job on your couch. 

Christian

I do. 

Brett

And I'm Brett and I am so excited that we are just weeks away from discussing Ted Lasso’s season two episodes y'all. Yes. Ah. So Today we'd like to do kind of like an episode zero, giving you a little preview for our conversations about the episodes that are in season two, right?

Christian  

Yes, because a lot has happened and there are also some sweeping big picture things we should probably chat a little bit about before we dive into specific episodes.

Marisa  

Yeah, people got like a little upset about season two.

Brett   

It was definitely a little bit more polarizing and created some more interesting conversation than season one did overall.

Christian

The scientific term is Big Mad. 

Brett

People were big mad online. Yeah. Much of season two actually.

Marisa  

There's a lot of big mad but there's still a lot of Mad Love.

Christian  

Yes. And we're here to talk everybody to The Healthy middle.

Brett   

Okay, so some of the things that we thought we talked about today. We should talk about the Emmys. Yes, we should talk about SNL.

Marisa  

Please yes, that happened.

Brett   

And then for the people who were big mad and or had Mad Love for season two we should talk about the the weird slash interesting slash quirky things that happen with the season two schedule that may have thrown more casual viewers off throughout the season, such as bottle episodes in the middle of the season, releasing episodes at different times and they were originally going to be released etc. And we should also just talk a little bit about how the tone overall season two is a little bit different than season one,

Christian  

Sometimes a big bit different.

Brett   

True. Christian because we are now into Season Two. You are wearing another soccer shirt.

Christian  

I just have a T shirt on today. This is a T shirt of gate three at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, which is where the timbers and the thorns play. And this gate is known as the supporters gate. It's where the supporter sections typically go into the stadium and as an organization as a company. The Timbers slash thorns are having a bad time at it for reasons that we will not talk about today. But it's pretty dark stuff and self inflicted wounds that we may talk about later on during season two because it relates to some things that happen in the show, but today this shirt is a reminder that football is for the supporters. Without the supporters there is nothing. The supporters have been around since before this owner and management came to the timbers and mismanaged things with the timbers and the thorns. And these fans will be around after they leave.

Marisa  

I would like to clarify that Christian is not just wearing a shirt. He also has pants and socks and he left his shoes at the door.

Brett   

Yeah, I did notice that you were dressed down a little bit with your T shirt but I'm glad that it has a really good story and also that it has a deeper meaning much like the T shirts and sweatshirts that our man Jason Sudeikis wore all throughout a word season except for except for at the Emmys at the Emmy in which he wore a blue velvet tuxedo by none other than designer Tom Ford.

Christian  

Holler. It was nice little tie in to the show because he was angling for a Tom Ford endorsement deal that Keeley was unable to land him.

Marisa  

Looks like he got it. He's an every man.

Brett   

Unless it was satirical.

Marisa  

Can we talk about the floppy bow tie though? Like, that was a giant giant bow tie. You know what they say about guys with giant bow ties? Oh,

Brett   

I haven't heard what do they say? Oh,

Marisa  

they just they have to have big hands to to manage the giant bow tie. And well, you know what to say about guys have big hands.

Christian  

Sorry, Kathy. We know you listen.

Brett   

They have big feet.

Marisa  

Gloves, Brett.

Brett   

Whoa. That's right.

Christian  

We were tipped off to this if we as were watching some of the red carpet action, but it was kind of confusing, because with the way COVID is, there wasn't the usual red carpet situation. I don't think everybody hit the red carpet. Or maybe there just weren't enough reporters to take pictures. But you know, you're kind of like waiting trying to see what everybody's wearing. We knew that. Like Hannah and Juno were getting ready because they were posting it on Instagram. But then I think the only Ted Lasso folks who really hit the red carpet and got covered were Jeremy Swift and Jason Sudeikis. And so I was kind of wondering, like, were the rest of them going to come in later? Or are they going to like rotate people through the hall where they were like giving out awards? It was a little bit confusing, because I would have thought that the ladies of Ted Lassa would have totally slayed on the red carpet.

Marisa  

I mean, yes, they slay all day. And like, Juno being all like Cinderella Princess like and Hannah, just like working that coral dress, you know,

Brett   

it was almost the same color as the biscuit box. I mean, it was amazing. Yes, she looks fantastic.

Marisa  

She looks like a badass bitch. Like, let's just be real.

Christian  

You got to go with what got you there.

Brett   

I actually missed the red carpet action. So I didn't realize that that many people were not on there. I did read however, that there were a lot of normal folks who like cover the red carpet like for like, for E Online and things like that weren't doing it this time around what they had, there were a lot of sort of like rookies or newcomers and like kind of covering the red carpet as far as like the actual reporters and like fashion folks. So that maybe to like played into how that all felt after post pandemic first kind of big award show where everyone was there and there was no hybrid and things like that. So

Christian  

could be. What we did quickly learned was that the people from tidal so that we did not see on the red carpet did not in fact, arrive late because so many folks were involved in like the first 10 to 15 minutes of the show, The Show opened with a rousing Bismarck key tribute where various people at different tables and outside and from all over the place. We're taking versus riffing off of the Biz Markie classic, Just a Friend, which was timely because he had just passed away. That also ties into the show because episode one the pilot of Ted lasso, and with Biz Markie making music with my mouth, so it was nice to see him get some representation there. And for Brendan Hunt got a verse in the song. Yeah,

Brett   

you're right and the Ted Lasso folks we do know were there because the first two awards of the night were for supporting actress and supporting actor which were won by Ted Lascaux actor and actresses

Christian  

Hannah Waddingham kicks off the award receiving with a very enthusiastic speech. I think if you're looking for a new ringtone to wake you up pleasantly in the morning, her yelling Juno Temple’s name at the top of her lungs and with all the love in the world would be a good way to go. I thought it was very sweet and touching.

Brett   

When she took a moment and like, was overcome by where she was. I was like, I'm giving a speech at the Emmy’s. I was like, this is like such the energy I would have if this ever happened to me just like not knowing how to react. I also love the fact that right before that there was a weird energy happening because Seth Rogen definitely announced her as Hannah Waddington.

Marisa  

Oh yes, that sounds like a John Travolta move. Remember when he what did he say Adele dizzy? 

Brett

Yes, he had Idina Menzel moment, which is extra sad because because of that, many award shows went to pre recorded, you know, nominee announcing, like with the person like the voiceover that was happening, right, so that people wouldn't have to read them from the cards and so he even had just heard that it wasn't in fact, Hannah Waddington and still wanting to so I think he was a little bit too concerned about the fact that they were told it was an outdoor event, but they were in fact in a tent that looked very much like it was indoors with a roof and walls.

Christian  

Yeah,

Marisa  

he's probably super high also.

Christian  

But she claimed the moment. I think it was nice when she said, you know, she made a plea that they should give more West and TALENT A CHANCE because they will not let you down and you know, it would be good. You know, we'd all like to see more people involved in different aspects of of acting and singing and show business involved in TV and it did pay off.

Brett   

And I think she specifically mentioned West End musical theater performers.

Christian  

Yeah.

Marisa  

You know, we're down. Yeah,

Brett   

And it was a, she did kind of start a theme from the folks who did accept awards for Ted lasso, when Ted Lessa folks did win have kind of point shining a light on other people, whether that's her the co workers or again, like in this case, other folks in in in the West End. Because Brett Goldstein did something similar when he won his award, he basically just gushed about the rest of the cast. He didn't talk about himself at all was that before after he dropped an F bomb on life after because he started with an F bomb and then ended with an F bomb. It was a nice little inclusi Oh, yeah, F bomb, much like was told

Marisa  

like not to. He was told not to curse. But you know, it's just it just happened. He did his best.

Christian  

They had their finger on the dump button. So it was fine. It all worked out. Yep.

Marisa  

Speaking of, you know, talking about Seth Rogen, and you know, white men making it weird. And then women having to redeem a moment. It seemed like there were several of those in the Emmys.

Brett   

You mean white guys making stuff weird? Well, yeah, yeah, we tend to do that.

Christian  

Wasn't a good look for white dudes. Brett Goldstein did a good job. And Jason Sudeikis did a good job. But they had nice tight speeches. Yes. And they had nice tight speeches that weren't that never felt self aggrandizing, which was appreciated. Yeah, I'll

Brett   

just say it like we're looking at you, Scott Frank, who accepted the award for directing for Queen's gambit. And regardless of like, how good or not good you think the speech was, he got played off three times and just kept going. And it was not a good look. It was not a good look.

Christian  

No. And there was such a juxtaposition between the speeches that the women were giving, and the speeches that like, by and large, the white guys were were giving and it was very stark, I think, in tone and in content, in the even in the timelessness of those speeches, like you know, to get music played off three times for a speech that no one is gonna remember, like, what's even the point of that, whereas the best speech of the night, and the most memorable, and the shortest was given by Michaela Cole, who created wrote, directed starred in I May Destroy You on HBO. And so I don't know, the there was a weird vibe as the night went on, because you had kind of those poles that were tugging at each other. And then you have this weird situation in a weird energy, where someone in Hollywood realizes that there was a diversity problem. And so they worked really hard to get people of color to present awards and to be involved with the show. But for the most part, the awards were really kind of only going to white people. And you could even see folks faces as the award ceremony went on, there was a point where Michael K Williams was up for award and the camera pans to Kerry Washington. And, you know, he she realized she wasn't going to win. And there was a sadness there. There was a time where the camera panned to Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson from Blackish. And at that point, like near the end of the show, they're just like, man, we ain't got it tonight, like they're not giving us this award. And there was that kind of palpable awkwardness. And it was an unfortunate and very public case study. And just kind of like the difference between being invited into the space and having equity in the space. Because while some folks have realized there's an issue and tried to be inclusive, the people who vote structurally, they're clearly valuing something's over other things,

Brett   

right? They're either ignorant or clueless, or they're just that that equity is not there. You could feel it getting more and more awkward as like, I mean, almost every acting award went to a white actor or actress, if not all of them. I mean, it was upwards of 75% had to be, yeah, if I remember correctly, and again, it's that weird thing of like, none of it is not deserved. But if you're the Emmy voters and you're you're putting in your vote, it's just one of those things where like, how do you vote in a way that will reflect winners that represent the diversity of the folks that you have nominated and again, like you said, Christian are running the show, like, the host was a person of color the voice over who was announcing the nominees was a person that a DJ DJ, right so it's, it does, like, when when some other person has the quote, unquote, wokeness to kind of like, put all that front and center. It makes it just that much more awkward when Jason Sudeikis wins, you know, actor in his category and he gave a really a really wonderful speech coming Hang on, you know the talent of his supporting cast and the writers and just everyone who's helped bring the show to fruition. But yeah, by that point in the night, it was already kind of like a weird vibe, like you said, so yeah, but I do think people were genuinely happy to see him win that particular award.

Christian  

I think so too. And it's crazy, because, well, I guess a couple of things are crazy. One, it's crazy. That title. So one, so many awards. Like even before this ceremony, there was another ceremony that weekend before. And during that ceremony, Bo Park won an award for an Emmy for casting a title. So they won an editing award, AJ kattiline won one for the hope that kills you episode. And they won another award. Oh, for sound mixing. Yeah, I'm sure you appreciate and those were deserved. And then they won these acting awards. But they didn't win, they got totally shut out of all of the writing awards, which, you know, I'm not going to like stand on the table and say they deserve it over the other shows. It's just funny, because we talk about the writing and how great the writing is so much on this podcast, and then they couldn't like win a writing award for their life.

Brett   

It was funny too, because in the post interview that they had with Hannah, and Brett after their two awards have been given out, they both Hannah was just like, oh, like, I wouldn't have been able to do this. Like when I read it, I just thought the writing is too good. They're gonna need some woman to play this role, who's just phenomenal because the writing is so amazing. And then later in the night, they get shut out of all the writing and directing Awards, which is kind of funny, but you know, like, we were talking before the episode, Christian you and I and saying like, basically if you get nominated in any of these categories, like that's already a W right. And then up to that point, it's it's a popularity contest. It's a what show do I recognize what name do I recognize that I watch? Right? You know, then when there's 160, something dramas and 80 Something comedies like there's no way everyone's watching everything. So it just sort of becomes this like crapshoot of like, who's gonna win what and so even just being recognized alongside other really great shows is, is a win. 

Marisa

No, a win is a win, a win is a win, you don't win, you lose if you're not first nomination is a nomination.

Christian  

The most fun thought experiment for me was to think about what's going to happen next year, because all of these title, so actors who were nominated, put in better performances this year, and you add a couple other people like elevate their game, you know, probably the one person who couldn't get a nomination next year is Jeremy Swift. And that's largely like not any fault of his own. But he just had a very powerful arc in season one and then didn't have as prominent of an arc of season two. So I just don't think you can get nominated. But man, it's going to be tough. Like I think the Ted Lasso folks are going to be scrapping it out. And I bet that there's somebody that kind of gets stiffed of the nomination that we feel like would have probably deserved it just because you can't have whatever six or seven people from the same show now.

Brett   

Yeah, Toheeb Jimoh who plays Sam Obissania comes to mind. Well, will he be nominated? You know, he definitely had a more prominent role in season two than season one. And so he kind of feels like he may be stepped up into that spot that maybe Jeremy Swift character as Higgins vacated so and Nick Mohammed will be much more of a favorite. Oh, yeah, man. Sheesh,

Christian  

big feels.

Brett   

Okay, I do want to talk more about season two. I do want to talk more about Nate. But before we do that, let's quickly just talk about that SNL episode that Jason hosted because even in his acceptance speech in the Emmys, he gave a lot of love to SNL to Lorne Michaels. So let's talk really quickly about that episode that we all watched.

Marisa  

Yeah, we haven't we haven't watched an SNL episode, like on purpose in a very long time. You know, we've watched, you know, some musical guests, or we've caught them, you know, their clips somewhere else, or a certain sketch that everyone talks about, you know, later that we go back and watch, but we haven't ever Well, we haven't sat down in a long time and watched one. So this is definitely on our calendar. And we saved it and made sure that we even knew how to work our actual TV that like has NBC and like, turned it on at the right time and watched it live. Like, wow, we were that call. But I felt like it was a really nice opening. It felt kind of Ted Lassa vibes with just Jason's kind of humble. I don't know, gratitude for being back home somewhere that was really important to him and his roots and sort of where he is today and thinking where he's been. And it felt almost like there was gonna be a joke toward the end of like, where he was going a lot of jokes. Yeah. And it was it was very serious. It was very, like heartfelt and so in that moment, I was like, Oh, that is very, like 10 of him because, you know, he's he's kind of silly and you're waiting for like the laugh or like the punch line. And then you're like, oh, no, he just like really wants us to understand how important this space is. Important, the stages, how iconic so many people that we've seen come and go on that Stage have made, you know, our culture, especially American culture, like those are the moments we still quote and laugh about. And, you know, have gone on to make movies that we all quote and laugh about. And so I just thought that was a really nice moment. And it felt very much like, like Coach lasso.

Brett   

It's a very interesting way to frame an episode like that, too. Because once Jason Sudeikis kind of gives his opening monologue, and it isn't super jokey. And it isn't irreverent, but it is very, you know, like you said, very heartfelt and genuine. You know, then you see these sketches, which are, of course, ridiculous, like, so many of them were just very, very SNL type sketches. But I know for me, it just made me think about like, him coming back and being able to act with these, this new cast that, you know, some of them he's acted with before. And of course, he's visited and been back on several times, but to be a host, and to be in so many sketches again, it was just really, I don't know, to me, it was it was like watching someone have the most fun version of a reunion and to get to sort of like, maybe he was doing a little bit of like, passing on some wisdom, and you know, just like reconnecting with folks. And it was, I don't know, it just made me watch the show in a different way than I probably normally would have with another guest. .

Marisa  

And you usually see when people come to host you know, there's usually a few sketches. They're not in so that they can get some rest and, you know, get ready for whatever's coming up. But you can really see his, his improv chops have not slowed down. And so he was he was in I think, was Was he in everything?

Brett   

I think he was in everybody said, yeah, he had some time to rest with the two long ad spots that they created.

Christian  

I mean, one of the jokes, one of the few jokes from the monologue was that he was hosting SNL for the first and only time or first and last time or whatever. And by the time we got to the end, it was like, yeah, man, they worked. Yeah, like that was you did not come in for a victory lap like you came in to, to work.

Brett   

I can see how he was like he was a regular cast member? Yes.

Christian  

Well, except not. Because it's so competitive. If you ever, like listen to interviews with the cast members, like they'll go and they'll pitch ideas, and they'll think they'll have great ideas. And you can get shut out for like, a month, and not get on camera. So like you're writing and you're participating, but you may not get on. So for him like that was it was a it was an amazing performance from a stamina perspective. And to then also know that he was involved in the writing heavily, because that's just who he is. And what he does,

Marisa  

I think to just like, for me as like a creative person. I like the thought of him kind of going back to his roots and kind of getting revived in this way where it's it's different acting, it's a different style. It's a different energy and motivation. And so like, I don't know, I'm just imagining I'm putting this on him. Obviously, I haven't talked to my best friend Jason in a while. But, you know, I just think that it's probably energizing and feeds that that part of his soul that, you know, you probably don't get when you're shooting a TV show, that's, you know, with cameras, and it's not live and you're not improving as much. And so, I just kind of as a creative person, I like that idea of going back to

Christian  

your roots. Yeah. And I think there would be two things particularly for him now, it'd be energizing, and one would have been working with Cecily Strong. The skits that they were in together were really good and really funny. And she loves theater and she loves musical. She was one of the stars of the Apple TV plus show Schmidt moon which is what had big musical theater energy. And so then for them to like do the Annie sketch with some musical theater. I'm sure that was just

Brett   

really fun for though the one where they were eating people.

Christian  

Yeah, well, you know, it was I'll say this. In my mind, I thought it was going to a much darker place. And it was nice that they lightened it up with eating people. I'll leave it at that. But then the I think the other thing would be energizing for him was when they got to the end of the show and he revived some characters from the past namely the devil and Yeah, and what's up with that guy? Like you know that's that's fun to to kind of revisit those things and to do them well and to not feel like when there's that expectation they're like, Oh no, I'm beyond that but yeah, I'm gonna have fun with this

Brett   

the the the Devil or the Satan bit was really funny. That was probably the one that made me laugh out loud. The hardest especially the Montero reference really got me I was not ready for it is very smart. But so for. What's up with that was Fred Armisen in that original bit too?

Christian  

I don't know.

Marisa

 I felt like he just like snuck in on the saxophone,

Christian  

I would like to see Jason and Kenan do some more work sometime. They're funny dudes, and they still work well together. And it

Brett   

was funny even To me is like whenever Jason was kind of ragging on Lorne, he had like gone to the bathroom or something Keenan and got a really big kick out of that you could kind of see him and like the foreground of the camera like laughing and like hitting his knee and stuff. So yeah, they clearly still have a good rapport. And that was really funny and it was a good energy. Yeah,

Christian  

the one other thing I would just point out is that while there was not there was not a lot of like title. So, in SNL, like in the performances or or the content, there was still some skewering of normative masculinity. Yeah. Which is big title. So energy and it was fun and nice and encouraging to see Jason's fingerprints on that in this other arena.

Marisa  

Yes, especially with the the Mellen sketch. Things that dudes love to do,

Brett   

but the hits to Yes, it's the the crotch the hits of the crush. They're, like, literally and figuratively where they came fast and furious man. And that was a really clever bit.

Marisa  

Brett, do you remember how we watched season one?

Brett   

On our television?

Marisa  

Yep.

Brett   

So you are correct. No, I watched episode one in a bath as I do. And then I said hey, Marissa, I'm sorry that I watched this without you. But we should start watching this show because it seems cute.

Marisa  

Yes. And then we did. But then we had to we made it through episode six or seven say we've been quite a few. And then we had to wait for the last few. Right? We didn't know that. It was a weekly show. We were those people. Yeah, but we had we had we are runway, right. So like, get into the show. And so for me, I think like one of the hardest things for people to deal with in season two was this, like actually having to wait week after week, and especially after we were told, or we believed that we were getting three to begin with? And then you know, like, all of us were parents, like, if you tell your kid, you're gonna get three cookies, and you give them one cookie, they're not happy, like talk about big man. You know, they're big man. And I feel like that's like one of the things that really like sort of stalled how you could devour or like, digest what was happening in season two and how things were changing. And it was kind of the slow boil of like, wait, what's happening? This doesn't feel right. Ted doesn't feel right. Something's wrong with Ted. And we couldn't deal with that. Like we had to wait week after week to figure out what was going on. There were

Christian  

two things at play. And one that you've mentioned, and let's just talk about in a little bit of detail was the schedule. When the show was written and the schedule was announced, it was announced as 10 episodes, Episode One, two, and three, were going to drop all at once, and then the other ones would drop weekly. Then Apple made a couple different decisions. One, they added two episodes to the season. And so the writers decided to make what are called bottle episodes, so episodes that don't affect the overall story arcs. And so they put in the Christmas episode as episode four. And they also put in the coach beard episode, which had a very different vibe to anything that we'd ever seen and experienced and felt before. And then they also decided to stretch out the whole series into those 12 weeks instead of doing that three at the front. So then a few things were happening one, there were people who just didn't even know that it was going to be a weekly series at all, they just assume that the show was going to drop like a lot of shows do and like most of the shows on Netflix all at once and like their people online like I'm gonna take the whole day off work and watch TED last so

Brett   

yeah, it was no fault of ours because I know you were working hard on Twitter to reach we all have to things and to try and warn people because you knew

Christian  

I was trying to give PSAs man I just I just I didn't want people to be disappointed.

Brett   

You know the title. So community thanks you for your service

Christian  

I tried, but even people who were comfortable your own?

Brett   

Yes, sometimes wearing pants Sometimes.

Christian  

It depends sometimes. There are even people who are relatively in the know, there was a prominent soccer journalist that we invited to do an interview on the show. And she said, Well, I'll do it, you know, on this certain date after I've been season two, because I'm waiting for the whole thing to come out. And it was like, three weeks or four weeks before the series was about to end. And I was like, well, actually, and, you know, she just like, didn't know when she heard how the season was gonna play out. Originally, she put an alert in her calendar, and she was gonna watch it all and then they change stuff. And, you know, in the days of like, linear TV, this wouldn't have all been as much of a big deal because things don't change. And you're just very like, clued into what was happening on a week to week basis, your TV Guide would come to your house, or you get it in the newspaper, and you'd read it and you'd plan what shows you're going to watch. He knew when the reruns were, and you would watch like one of three or four stations. And so when something was different than

Marisa  

Brett, do you know what a TV Guide is?,

Brett   

Wow again with the ageism. I was gonna say though, I didn't so much use the TV guy, but like the guide on the TV, like, sure that helped us because you could just search like the office and you could see Yeah, when is it gonna be different this week, I was

Marisa  

way later in life. See my childhood, we had to wait, we didn't even get the TV Guide, because my parents were so cheap. That the only way we could know what was happening was, as we were in line at the grocery store, they were always there. And so you had to like flip to the section with like cartoons and you and you're like, No, like when your shows were coming on. And then that's the only way we knew

Christian  

Yeah, kids these days. 

Marisa

We never paid for TV, we just had like the the you know, eight channels and then like channel 56. We're like Matlock, and Perry Mason was always going anyway, all the old westerns, back to back to your regular programming with Christian here.

Christian  

The point being, the way things are set up now aren't necessarily conducive to shifts and the changes, because Apple already made very clear what the schedule was gonna be in like weeks before it premiered. It was a big pivot.

Christian  

Yeah, it was a big pivot. And it was already going to be a big pivot for people. Because as popular as the show is, so few people caught it, as it debuted that, you know, I think we maybe only watched at max like two episodes in a night. So it wasn't a true binge. But we still had some agency in how quickly we digested it, and it was more upbeat. So you get this prolonged thing. And you have a darker season. And people are purposefully like the writers have talked about it being asked to sit in the discomfort, very different experience, especially when you have interludes in the middle of that.

Marisa  

I think two changes the way that like, you know, as we as we started to watch season one, you know, it was an easy show to tell other people to watch because it was so enjoyable. And each episode, you know, what felt like its own little nugget of like goodness, right? Yep. And like you said, like, once you got through the three episodes of season two is like, oh, I can breathe, they would have just even done that. I feel like, like we could have understood so much more and like, and not sort of like, I think sitting in like an uncomfortable space is good, but like letting your mind you know, sort of go in a million directions and then feel like it's not the same show. I think that's where like people started to doubt you know, what was going on this season.

Brett   

I do think that breaking up the first three episodes because I think Brendan hunt even sort of mentioned on Twitter, like oh, yeah, we always sort of intended for these to be watched together thought would binge them all at the same time. Which when you go back and watch them and you can binge them now it makes a ton of sense, because it's like the chunk that sets up the tone for the season. Yeah, it it makes you feel still a little bit like anxious and kind of like Oh, where are we going with this? But you you feel that Ted lasso touched through that three episode arc? Yeah, right. And I felt similarly I mean, obviously it wasn't as dark or as like anxiety inducing in the first season but really like I think once you make it through the first three episodes of season one is really when you like hit the groove of that show and you're like, oh, like I get the show now like I know it's trying to do it's not just England and America are different. Haha soccer football, lol. Like there's more to that when you see Trent cram and you see how he interacts with Ted and Ted interacts with him and then you kind of understand like, Okay, I know what's happening now. I feel like the same thing would have been true for season two, but just with all those decisions that were made to spread it out and to add more episodes after the 10 episode arc had been written really just like threw a wrench in the way that we consumed it. And not necessarily for like the worse overall, but it certainly did feel different.

Christian  

I think Apple got too cute. Yeah, for no good reason, like, they don't necessarily like need the money or the publicity, I do posit that if they wanted to add the bottle episodes, that wasn't an inherently bad idea, if they would have told me the whole plan and asked me, what I would have suggested was give us the first three episodes, and then take out the bottle episodes and do all the other ones week by week, I would have them put the bottle episodes at the end and spread those out. So I would have put the coach beard one around Halloween, like the week before Halloween, I would have dropped it there because I think people would have been more into that vibe. And then I would have saved the Christmas one for like, I don't know, like Black Friday or something and giving it to people then and then you know, you're still getting like those months of subscription out of people. And you're not disrupting what's going on. And I think people would still sit with the discomfort of season two in that dark forest. But they maybe it wouldn't have played out so long. And on the plus side, you know, the week by week thing, I did think it was enjoyable to interact with people on the internet, and to just like, see people having meaningful interactions with the show together, because that's what we didn't have in season one. Since everybody experienced it at different times. There was a cool camaraderie, right of people who were following the show closely to hold your breath. And, you know, we're holding our breath together for this next week, what's going to happen? So that part was cool. I think it probably could have been arranged in a way that worked better for all parties, though.

Marisa  

I agree. They should really consult you next time. I always say like, Gosh, why don't why don't people just consult me for like everything too. But really, they should just talk to Christian.

Brett   

I look forward to when both of you work for Apple in the future. Yes. Well,

Marisa  

we'll we'll let you know how it's going when we're there. I also think like, this is just me, because I don't do a lot of trolling the internet for conversations about Ted lasso. Like, I appreciate that the two of you do. But like, I didn't know what a bottle episode was. And like, Here I am, like, well, one of the three people on like, the best Ted lots of podcasts out there, like, and I don't even know what a bottle episode is. And like why they do that. And like, you know, but here I am like, I have YouTube mails to tell me those things. I'm like, Oh, now I understand. But then there's other people who like, you know, may not like you to just hanging out with me all the time. And I'm like, Oh, let me tell you about these bottle episodes. And they're like, why would they do that? Like, I don't know. But then I could act like I knew everything about what's happening. But yeah, people just didn't know.

Christian  

Yeah, my wife I think was the beneficiary sometimes of me like prepping her for some things. So the darkness of season two, it was darker, it was more difficult. It was still very meaningful, but it was different. So because I had read and seen cast members talking about well, this is going to kind of be like an Empire Strikes Back dark forest season.

Brett   

A little bit about me very strange.

Christian  

But I was at least able to say like, okay, you know, this is gonna be a little bit of a different ride a different vibe. And there could be some cliffhangers in some painful parts. Hopefully, you know, somebody will kiss their sibling, and we can laugh about it. But there's also going to be some difficult stuff, too.

Marisa  

Oh, you're talking about Luke and Leia. Hey, yo, I know Stars Wars.

Brett   

Well, no spoilers, guys. Yeah, let's let's continue that conversation and talk a little bit more about just the tone of season two, and how how it did feel at times very different from season one.

Christian  

We talked about in this show, how one of the difficult things was so much got resolved at the end of season one, they were either going to have to inject some other villain that we couldn't imagine, or someone in the show that we loved was going to have to hurt other people that we love. And that was difficult for audience members.

Marisa  

Yeah, I think it was really difficult. But I think like, more than more than the villain that, you know, sort of evolved through the season. It was, it was really dealing with like Ted not being like the jolly old Ted that we needed him to be like, yeah, it was dealing with some real stuff. And I think one of the things that that like I really liked about this season was like, people kind of like imagine that I'm a happy person all the time. I'm not a happy person all the time. Like, we all have garbage and stuff. And so I really liked that, like Ted was able to spend some time working on TED so that he could be a better coach or a better friend or a better leader or a better coworker or whatever, and, and it was hard to not just like have him kind of leading each situation or stepping in and giving us the warm fuzzies. But I felt like it was really, it was genuine and real. And it allowed him to get to a place where like, we're able to see him getting healthy so that he can do that in season three, hopefully,

Brett   

yeah, I think it was hard for a lot of viewers to see Ted sort of struggling and to not see him or not feel like he was as in charge and in control of like, his path, his direction, how he was mentoring people, or how he was coaching, like, and I think part of that was because we see that in ourselves, like we can seem so put together sometimes. And we know in ourselves, like just beneath the surface, there's all that anxiety brewing, or that doubt or that discomfort or self criticism, or whatever it is for, you know, depending on who you are. And to see that crack in Ted's armor that we started to see in season one, like it was not a secret, and it certainly didn't come out of nowhere, right, like to see that happen so quickly in season two, and so dramatically, I think was hard for a lot of folks, because I think it just exposed a lot of raw feelings that maybe we all have about ourselves. We liked that Ted was that, as some of our other guests have said, like the dad that everyone wants to have, or like, you know, who has all the answers? You know, it's nice when you have that person around? And it's, it can be scary when that person doesn't seem like they have all the answers anymore,

Marisa  

or that they're able to act confidently enough to have the answers. But I do think, you know, one of the things that still glued Season Two to season one was that we were able to benefit from those characters who had relationships with Ted in season one, like, you know, you see Roy sort of living out his best version of himself because of how Ted was able to work with Roy to bring him to that space. And so, you know, those other people were able to take on some kind of Ted vibes, I guess, when he wasn't able to be that person. Yeah, were

Christian  

times where I thought we might be cruising toward a situation where the show title, so season three, did not have a character title. So in it like that he would be removed and like maybe Roy would be like, totally elevated to take a space or something like that. It seemed like something that they might attempt to do. And so that is not the way that went necessarily. The Dark Forest got pretty dark there for a while.

Brett   

Yeah, in several ways, too. Because like you mentioned, like we talked at the end of our first season about one of the characters are going to have to hurt the others are going to have to hurt each other. And that very much ends up happening here in season two. And we talked about Nick Muhammad's performance as Nate. And yeah, he really, really gave us a lot to dislike and to think about as we wait between Season Two and Season Three. And as we go back and talk about the episodes of season two, just to kind of see his arc and the way that his character has developed even negatively will be really interesting to trace throughout season two

Marisa  

of something that I would like to say, because one of the things that they do through the season to literally color him as a bad guy is he gets more and more gray hair. You know, you notice that like pretty white by the him and my college students have told me you should embrace your gray hair. So I've gone What the youths are calling going Granny, are you just like let your gray hair go? Because it's apparently cool right now. So I just have a problem with like, thinking of gray hairs like evil will pray for you. Yeah, I think that's wrong.

Brett   

I think in some cases it can be evil, but you know, Marissa, the Bible tells us that gray hair is a crown of splendor attained by a righteous life. So

Christian  

Does that make her a Proverbs 31 woman?

Marisa  

I'll kill you.

Brett   

Okay, I take it back. 

Marisa  

Christian and I'm so glad that you still come over to our house in the evenings with your awesome soccer gear on. Glad you wore your shirt and pants. But one of the things I think that our listeners are going to be sad about is that well tell me what are what are we going to have to cut out of our show because they cut it out of season two,

Christian  

only my favorite segment the barbecue sightings which is a bummer. It does make me sad. I am assured that barbecue is still at the core of the show. Because I do know for a fact that at the wrap party for the show they did have Arthur Bryant's barbecue sauce and barbecue and To the Saturday Night Live dinner, Jason Sudeikis wore a throwback, Arthur Bryant's barbecue hat. So it's still, you know, in the ethos of everything's in the DNA, the DNA, but we did not get barbecue references in season two.

Brett   

Yeah, so you won't hear us bringing it up and making Christian educate us on barbecue history, barbecue culture and delicious barbecue sightings in the show.

Christian

However, I’ve got good news for me. Well, they subtracted the barbecue, which is an area of expertise for me. But then they inserted three other areas of expertise for me, so they'll still be plenty to talk about. Because we get to talk about Star Wars A lot, a lot, a lot, which is super exciting. We get to talk about spirituality and religion, because there was a lot of that imagery, and they built entire bits around it. So that's an area of expertise. I'll be fun. And we got a lot of black people stuff this year, finally. And so that is one of my areas of expertise that I look forward to sharing with everybody on this podcast.

Brett   

I'm glad that one of our CO hosts has so many areas of expertise

Marisa  

to say you have three areas of expertise. I'm like, damn, I didn't know we had to come to this like table with areas of expertise because I Brent said, I'm only here. I can like talk about how sexy people looked at the Emmys. But, you know, here I am with just my tea, my literal tea at the table here, and no expertise. But you know what? I'm glad. I'm glad I can be here learning from you.

Brett   

I have a question though. Did you think people look sexy at the Emmys?

Marisa  

I mean, of course like it's the Emmys like people are gonna show up looking sexy link like Hannah Waddingham like, Have you seen her just like, like wear a dress like, like, put up potato sack all that lady and she would like work it like I'm sorry. She's just like, she's a literal, like, like, you know how they talked about her arms in the first season? Yes. Like if I could have a cool like, she's not even a Barbie cuz she's like, way cooler. And like more like powerful and like awesome than that. And she's like, She's literally like the coolest superhero like doll. Like, yeah, anyway, you can cut all that. But yes, they all look sexy bread and butter. You know who look the

Christian  

sexiest? Who is that? Which didn't show up on TV. When Brendan had wore to the after parties. The pants that he wore in the beard after hours episode but dazzled as they were,

Marisa  

you know, I'm wearing those for Halloween. Congratulations.

Christian  

It's a big flex. Yeah,

Marisa  

I'm also gonna wear shirt though, too. Oh,

Christian  

well, you know, I'm going as Danny Rojas I don't have to wear a shirt.

Marisa  

Alright, everyone, that's our show. We've had such an incredible time facilitating this ongoing conversation about Ted lasso. We're looking forward to breaking down each episode and season two. And we have some really fun interviews we're excited to share with you too.

Brett   

But until we see you again for all kinds of fun content between podcasts. Check us out on Twitter and Instagram. Our handle on both is @TedLassoPod. And be sure to check out the show notes for links to our free email newsletter, our curated Ted lassos musical theater playlist and our Patreon campaign where you can support the show and receive awesome benefits.

Christian  

This episode of Richmond till we die is brought to you by gin and kerosene productions. It was produced by me Christian, me, Marissa and me, Brett, if you enjoyed this conversation, please take a moment to subscribe to Richmond till we die on whatever app you're using to listen to this episode.

Marisa  

Hey, y'all, I'm Marissa signing off for Brett and Christian thanks so much for listening. And until next time, cheers y'all.