Review & Recap of Ted Lasso Season 2

Hello again. I'm DeKriven Jones with Cult of Mac, here, recapping Ted Lassow

seasons one and two out of our season three premiere this very week. I am joined, as last time

by my good pal, Russell Davis. Hi, I'm Russell Davis, not of Cult of Mac, but of Cult of Russ

I run my own cult. I'm a little like Jared Lido. We meet on an island once or twice every year

There are a massive... ...at our next retreat. Interesting. I wonder how much of that will make it into the final cut

Spoiler alert. Not very much. Maybe I'll leave this in, though, and just let it to your imaginations

It's Ted Lansel of Season 2, everybody. You can watch a recap of Season 1 somewhere

If you click around, you can find it. You're smart. Maybe it'll be right here or down there

or over there. Who knows where it'll be? That fits with our, I believe

I believe in your ability to find these buttons that Griffin is talking about

You can do it. With that being said, let's believe in ourselves

and talk about Ted Lassau. We both love season one. I've often described it to friends

as like a really tight like Gordian's knot of plot and character development

It's all intertwined. Not like a single line of dialogue is wasted really

It's just, just such a perfect season of television. Maybe not the best television ever, you know

but just a perfectly architected season. Yeah, no, for what it is

for the type of television show that it is, the type of story that it's trying to tell

I'm right there with you. I think season one is maybe some of the

just the tightest sitcom storytelling, you know, this side of Clone High or The Simpsons or, you know

anything I would say is mildly comparable. Season two is not that, in my opinion

No, I'm actually there with you. It took me a long time to figure out what exactly didn't stick the landing with season two

And I think I've nailed it down. In season one, from the architecture of the show that you have Ted versus Rebecca

and you have that sort of season-long structure as he gets them on his side

not for any malicious reason, but just to make them better people. It's an upward battle that they face

But where do you go from the top of the hill Without turning to standard sitcom Inconsequential

Problem of the Week territory Which I think season two Gets a little close to Yeah

I kind of agree with you I just want to say I still think season two

Is a pretty solid season of TV but I agree with you

I think it... Ted enters a room and everybody does that like standard sitcom

Oh, Ted. Like, are you surprised to see him? He works here

He's going to... It's not a party that he's shown up to here

I mean, the most obvious thing is there's an immediate darkness to season two

which it immediately and very quickly plays into with the obvious, you know

the killing of the dog in that first episode. Inadvertent accidental. But it just happens

And that's an immediate tone setter, as it should be, as it's meant to be

That unto itself is not a problem. You know, a tone shift is not inherently an issue

I do agree that I think season two, it definitely comes out you with a bit of a different vibe

It's definitely a different feel. It's definitely a different tone. It's most certainly trying to play a bit of a different game

So we start the season. Richmond has been relegated as well. If you're not familiar with the football tiers, it's basically as if

an NFL team has been kicked down to being a college team

Or sort of like a major league baseball team getting bumped down to a minor league

We open with Danny Rojas, killing their mascot dog, Earl. This gives Danny the yips, as it is known, in the sports

Yeah, in the sports industry. Yeah. Leading them to bring in a sports psychologist, Dr. Fieldstone

who brings a very interesting sort of dynamic to the show. In season one, we see Ted do his charming sort of work on the crew around us

And in Dr. Fieldstone, we see that fall flat on its face

They have a very sort of awkward introduction to each other. She is just not about his happy go lucky sort of nonsense

You know, Ted is kind of like the self-help book. You pick up at Barnes & Noble. Dr. Fieldstone's the actual therapist you go to and you want to start getting serious

So much of season one is about showing how big of a change a Ted last

so like attitude can have on your personal success. And I think season two is all about showing the limits of the Ted Lasso way

Ted himself we see throughout the show is clearly not 100% mentally healthy himself

You know, and that's not a judgment on Ted, just an observation. If season one is Ted offering help season two is about Ted asking for help Yeah Season two very much decontent constructs why Ted is the way that he is And Sharon Fieldstone is like the surrogate for that for the audience because he tries to pull the same charming trick he did on Rebecca

And she's like, interesting. You're using your humor to try and get me to open up

How does he use those to both better himself and better others

And then at the same time, in what ways are they detrimental to him? in what ways do they keep him from perhaps being even the best version

It sounds crazy to think there's a better version of Ted Lassow, and yet, you know, I think what season two is about is revealing that even Ted Lassau

has a better version of himself inside of him. Ted's conversations with Rebecca really highlight that

After initially meeting Dr. Fieldstone, we see how in episode one, how big of a difference Dr. Fieldstone's approach can have on the players

We cut to Ted and Rebecca having a very much season one-esque discussion where they don't really address their feelings or underlying issues at all, and they're not really being honest with each other

One of the things I think is most interesting about season two for me is watching, like you said, deconstruct him but still keep him intact

You know, it's not out to break him down necessarily. It's just out looking at the parts of the machine and knowing what each one does

guys in more detail. That's not the only new character, though. We have a new player on the team

His name is Jan Mas. I love how he's introduced as well. But I didn't make any mistakes

Only you played poorly. Oh, wow. Hey, guys, Jan Mas is not being rude

He's just being Dutch. And that's sort of his thing as a character

I think part of what makes this show, this show is that so much of it is just about watching

different types of people interact with each other. And really, I think Jan Ma's

is fun because Jan Moss is kind of like a rare rude character in this show, but who is still

loved even in spite of or even at times because of how blunt he can be, how matter of fact he is

Yeah, he has a really fun dynamic to the whole team. Cut to Roy Kent on his personal journey

He doesn't really know what he wants to do with himself. Keeley pushes him to go on this Sky Sports

program. So I believe the two talking heads that they have on there are the real people

on the show with the addition of, of course, the prior coach of Richmond that we saw, like, very

briefly in the first scene of season one. Yeah. Yeah. It's like a recurring bit of him, like, swearing on the show and not really fitting in

with their other hosts remotely. And I just love watching it so much

It's funny every single time they do it. Part of what I like about this show is that it's able to take that what I have to imagine is a pretty

specific sort of experience. you know, and making that more universal, more widely

something that we can all kind of talk about and relate to and understand. Cut to Jamie Tart

He's on a bit of a bend. He's going on reality TV shows

They don't want him back at Manchester City. But Richmond doesn't exactly take him back with open arms either

Bearden and Nate and Higgins are all very apprehensive bringing him back

Sam Obasanya, one of their lead kickers, finds out that they're, in talks of bringing him back

And he has a very frank conversation with Ted, where he sort of voices many of the other players on the team

and says that they would not very much appreciate the former bully of the team coming to play again

I think that conversation between Sam and Ted is kind of a watermark moment for the show

is kind of really important. Just really seeing someone like give it to Ted straight

that just, I think it takes major guts and major courage for Sam

at that point in the season to come and be that blunt about the fact that, like, we don't

we don't want Jamie back and we have good reason for that. And I think it's fascinating

I think a hugely fascinating part of the season is the fact that Ted doesn't listen to them

Yeah. What season two redefines as being the lasso way is that, yes, you hear everybody out and you hear their opinions

But he does ultimately bring Jamie back because it's the best for the team anyways

Even Ted Lasso, as much as he wants to be Mr. Lyssin, as much as he wants to be Mr. I hear everybody

But he has to put his foot down. And what I love about this show is that that's not the end of it

Like in the next episode, we see Sam and Jamie and Jamie is not fitting in

They take their time on this plot line. Cut to Nate, now an assistant coach of the team

We see a few little hints dropped in this first half of the season

There's a plot line where he is trying to get a table at a restaurant

for his parents on their anniversary. Yes. And like, you know, and like the first half of that episode is like very much like a classic

oh, hilarious, shy little Nate. But you're not cheering for him when he succeeds

No, no. You start to see what they're starting in season one

You know, you start to see that really start to pay off in season two. I think it's an important point in the season, though

that in the next episode, I believe they're at an FAA Cup championship game

As much as we see Nate personally fumble, and I think it's very important to remind the

audience that he is a good coach with good strategies as ted has a panic attack during the game and has to leave Nate takes control and his strategy scores the team a point

and they win the FAA Cup championship. A lot of shows, when they do this thing where they kind of show the decline of a character

it's just a very fast decline. But you see him take these pieces and these certain parts from Ted

and these certain pieces of advice and knowledge, but then you just see him kick other

to the curve very realistically, I say. And then, but he doesn't lose the ability to be a good coach

As a response to their lessening budget as being a relegated team, they take on a new sponsor

with banter, this dating app. Rebecca has been on banter. You've seen her sort of chatting up this mysterious individual throughout the season

But then it's revealed that it is Samo Basanya. This is the episode wherein they go on their first sort of date together

Let me just say, Sam is so dating. charming. He could probably get me to go on a date with him too. I love the Sam-Rebecca relationship

personally. I think they develop it well. I don't have a whole lot to say about it other than I'm

kind of all for it. Yeah, I like it. I think the Rebecca and Sam relationship is kind of an

interesting examination of sexual politics in the workplace. I think it's genuinely a little

bold and a little interesting to watch a sitcom that's that generally traffics and kind of the feel-good

nature of Ted Masso actually deal with something like this. And in the very same episode

We go back to the Ted and Sharon plotline as Dr. Fieldstone is hit by a car

She's put in the hospital. Ted goes to check up on her and pick her up and, you know, take her back to her apartment

And this is, I think, the turning point in their relationship as well, setting up their

relationship in the second half of the season. Dr. Fieldstone also has to realize that she needs to open up to Ted just as much as he

needs to open up to her. Dr. Fieldstone's plotline, I think, is maybe my favorite in the season

Season one had Rebecca as our main character who is a counter in a foil. Now, you know, she's on the same team as Ted more or less, and one of the things I like about Fieldstone is that she comes in and is a very similar role functionally, but a very different role personality-wise

You know, this is not, she's very much her own character and very much presents her own series of foils to Ted

Watching Ted, a man who you would think would be so into this whole idea of, like, talking your feelings out, right

Like that would probably be like right up his alley. Oh yeah, you sit down, you talk about things, you work through it

And then when you're done, you get to have a hug and drink some chocolate milk or something, right? Like that sounds like a very Ted Lassow type of mentality to have

So to learn as quickly as we do actually know he's highly skeptical of therapy

And then to learn further that that's because of his own singular experience with a therapist in the past being this, you know, the couples counseling

watching him develop, watching him evolve throughout the season. watching that relationship grow and change is one of my favorite aspects of it

And I'll be 100% honest, myself included. I've seen a therapist or two and have come out of at least one of them

not particularly feeling like it helped me that much. I think it's valuable to have a show on TV right now using its sense of humor to do stuff

in that realm and tell stories in that realm. Cut to in the very same episode, Jamie Tart

This is, of course, where in Richmond is going to play Man City

which Jamie used to play on. We see Jamie's dad come back. He's, of course, attending this game

wearing Man City gear, sitting in the Man City section. And we have this extremely powerful scene at the end

where Jamie's dad comes by into the locker room and he's harassing him, harassing the team

And what I love, especially about the scene, is that it's completely silent. There's no music

Everybody's just staring. Nobody knows how to react to this presence that he has

as he's just like tearing down his son in front of everybody

That scene is just heart-wrenching and one of the, like, hardest scenes in Ted Lass

So it's Beard who throws him out of the door and into the door as well

It's Roy who goes over and hugs Jamie in like the aftershock of that event

It's Ted who runs out of the room and calls Dr. Sharon

as it surely brings up some trauma in his past life with dealing with the loss of his father

who we learn committed suicide. So it's a great bit of character writing

And really remembering that, like, it's not a soccer show. Like, yes, it is that

But I think what sets Ted Lassow apart is that that's not really its crocs

It's about people. So we enter the second half of the season with a funeral episode

It is Rebecca's father who's died. A pretty comedic moment. We have the whole team deciding that they're going to go to the funeral as well

and they have this hilarious conversation about dress shoes. What do you get dress shoes

I don't have time to stand in line at midnight and wait till morning to buy new shoes

You don't have to do that for shoes like these, mate. Nobody wants them. Danny Rojas looks like he's been saran wrapped or something walking around in this suit

Rebecca reveals that she's dating Sam and in the same episode, she decides that she wants to go on a break with their relationship

as a way of wrapping up their storyline Winakufu is this billionaire from Ghana who would like to build a national team based in Africa He would like to buy Sam off of Richmond He takes him out for dinner They in a

museum. This is a way of making it explicit in the plot showing Sam and Rebecca's growth as

characters as you have this new plot thread that's trying to pull him away. We go back to Nate

and in this episode he's being prodded by Jan Mas about how he's still wearing a suit that Ted bought for him

last season, which leads him to go suit shopping of his own, so he goes with

Keely, which does instill him with the worst kind of confidence as he tries to kiss Keely

Going back to what I was saying about the Rebecca and Sam plotline, the extension of that to me

is kind of the Nate and Keely stuff, where we see Nate kind of start to hit on Keely

And I feel like we are seeing kind of the flip side to the Rebecca and Sam storyline

And one, you know, we're seeing a relationship that, yes, technically, professionally speaking, is not out of the clear as far as potential accusations of put pro quo are concerned

But, you know, we're given the context as an audience, like, they're both into it

Whereas Keely and Nate, obviously very different side of the same coin

Nate is inappropriately hitting on Keely and we see like there's murky at worst way to kind of do this inner office relationship thing

and there's a way to do this where it's just, it's creepy and gross and not cool in any way at all

Like, there's no debate there, which means it's a confidence born out of, you know, stupidity and arrogance as opposed to a confidence built out of any sort of genuine, interesting human characteristics

Writing off that, Nate feels like he's being kicked down everywhere he goes

So he leaks to Trent Crimm about the truth of Ted's panic attacks

Ted, of course, has been having, like, panic attacks at the funeral and all that. Some of those panic attack scenes are my absolute favorite scenes in the whole show, just in their depiction of a panic attack, as someone who has had to walk out of situations for various reasons, because I think it gets it really right

And I think it's, I think it's important that we have something like this on TV

It's a beautiful show. So we resolve the Sam and Rebecca Line, predictably, Sam declines Edwin Akufu's on

offer. I mean, we all knew what was going to happen. Akufu was really only there, just to show for

the audience how Sam has grown and how important Richmond is to him. Similar to a lot of stuff about

season two, I like exploring the idea of sponsorships, the ethics thereof, through the lens of Sam as a

character, and having that very personal kind of issue and conflict he has with Dubai Air and

like what they're doing and how they're hurting his home region. How do you take something that is

such like a personal issue with a gigantic corporation owned by this person

well, I have this professional obligation and I have this thing that I either want to sign on to do

or think might help me in my career. And then you have to juggle that with just, you know, your own personal morals and ethics

Some good does come out of it. It does inspire Sam to open up his own Nigerian restaurant in Richmond

Yeah, yeah, that too. Which will policy more of in season three. The Nate and Ted relationship boils up

over. Richmond is using Nate's strategy going into the final match of running a false nine

Nate is both upset when they tried doing it and he doesn't feel like the team is

pulling through on his idea. And he's upset when it does work as he feels like Ted's going to

take the credit. So we have this scene between Ted and Nate where Nate says

You made me feel like I was the most important person in the whole world

And then you abandoned me. as accurate as that may or may not be

watching Nate go through this throughout the season I don't think he was as relegated as he thinks he was

watching Nate go from this kind of unassuming character to this to this person who yes is more confident

in his own skin but at what cost you know at what point

you know at what point in season one did his shyness help him more than he thought it

yeah more than he knew that it was yeah because yeah once we see

that he feels more empowered to speak. We see him abuse that power, right? And it's framed as like a bit of a triumph even for Nate to like finally get this off his chest

The scene itself knows that Nate's not 100% in the right. It also just knows that he's earned it that one time

I think season two is kind of watching Nate come to the wrong conclusion and think that what that meant was not you get this free pass once, more you get this free pass every time

use it often and use it well. There have been hints of this throughout the season

Nate defects to Manchester United with Rupert, who has now purchased the team with him as the head coach

And that's where we leave off going into season three. This has been our summary of season two

I'm De Griffin Joe with Colton Mac. I've been joined by Russell Davis, but you can follow at Very Funny Dufus on Twitter

Follow me if you want. Don't if you don't. I'm kind of stupid. so you're not missing much

Nice talking with you, Griff. Nice talking with you, Russell