[S03.E08: We’ll Never Have Paris]

I mean, I wouldn't put it past Shandy to try to do something like this, but I think this was a case of Keeley just getting caught up in a larger hack.

Also, this episode was when I finally broke and had to look up where Jodi Balfour (Jack) is from, because it was driving me nuts that I couldn't place her accent. (South Africa. Now it makes sense.)

2 hours ago, MMLEsq said:

Does anything think Jack might pull her funding of Keeley's business if/since they've broken up?  I could see that happening and Barbara deciding to stay with Keeley rather than moving on to Jack's next start-up project (and her next snow globe).

I would love it if Barbara sticks with Keeley. I think she's developed a grudging respect for Keeley, has maybe even started to like her a tiny bit - she definitely looked like she felt for Keeley in this situation, and like she didn't particularly like that first statement Jack wanted her to put out.

I kind of hope Jack does pull her funding. Not that I want Keeley's business to fail, but I'm so ready for Jack to just go away. It annoyed me that Jack said "I don't know" when Keeley asked if she was coming back because I wanted it to be unambiguously over with them, but surely Keeley wouldn't take her back after what she said and her just walking out like that?

[S03.E08: We’ll Never Have Paris]

4 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Don’t care about Nate and thought it was very on-point that he created the Love Hounds but only wanted to talk about himself and not the other guy’s issue.  He hasn’t changed at all.

For some reason what bothered me the most about the whole Love Hounds thing was that the very last time the Diamond Dogs were 'in session', so to speak, Nate acted like it was completely below him. I haven't forgiven him for his eye-roll and sarcastic "woof" when they agreed to let Roy have a one-time pass to ask for advice. I think I've said this before, but they did too good a job of making him unlikable towards the end of last season for what they're doing with him now to work for me.

[S03.E08: We’ll Never Have Paris]

1 hour ago, Blakeston said:

I thought Isaac came across like an asshole here.

First of all, he had zero business looking at Colin's phone. If he was so concerned about protecting the privacy of the people in the players' images, where did he get off thinking he should be looking at them?

Yeah, that part bothered me as well. It didn't make sense grabbing Colin's phone like that after what they'd just talked about, and it was clearly just a poor way for them to have Isaac find out. Being a responsible captain and wanting your team to do right is one thing, being a dick and stealing your friend's phone to see what he has on it is another.

15 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

DS, DH, and I were having the same debate.  DS thought Isaac is a man of few words who gave Colin a nod of respect while we thought it was a processing nod and ambiguous ending. 

I was with your DS - I thought it looked like a respectful "huh, all right then" nod at first watch, too. But Colin clearly needed more than that and Isaac should've seen it. 

15 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I noticed he didn’t chase after Roy and Jamie and demand theirs.

To be fair Jamie was on Isaac's side in the argument and had just stated that he always deleted everything immediately anyway, and Roy, well. Roy's his coach.

[S03.E08: We’ll Never Have Paris]

Oh, major complaint: Richmond are doing great with their new style of football, Jamie killing it in his new role, and we don't get to see it at ALL? All we get is commentary? Screw that.

[S03.E08: We’ll Never Have Paris]

Good parts: the team excitedly cheering Henry on when he was doing keep-ups during training. Isaac being an excellent captain and person and telling everyone to delete their pictures, and finding out about Colin. Jack and Keeley seemingly heading for their end (please, pretty please). Barbara being kind (for Barbara) to Keeley. Jamie showing accountability, even though he really hadn't meant to mess up.

...That's about it for me this time.

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

14 hours ago, anna0852 said:

My head cannon is that he's maintained his therapy with Doc Sharon. He was delighted that she was someone he could just talk to about himself.

I agree - if not with Sharon, then with someone else. He's acting like someone who's Done the Work. (I don't think it was a coincidence that his breakthrough with becoming part of the team again in 2x03 came shortly after Keeley dumped him in Sharon's office, when before that he was talking about buying them PS5s.)

38 minutes ago, AncientNewbie said:

I see a lot of things that would never really happen in the PL with this level of players. But I also recently was reminded about the year Leicester won it all and the videos of their celebration as they clinched the title, all gathered together in a really casual way at Jamie Vardy's place. So there's some wiggle room on the ongoing suspension of disbelief. 

*starts singing "Jamie Vardy's having a party"*

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

11 minutes ago, PurpleTentacle said:

I thought it was just Nick Mohammed getting grey. To some people it happens pretty early in life.

As a deliberate choice that just seems weird...

Yeah, Nick is nowhere near that grey in real life, or if he is, he dyes it. I remember they came out and explained pretty soon after season two ended that it was a deliberate character thing they'd written in. I keep waiting for his hair to get darker this season as he sheds his ugly side, but so far it seems unchanged.

[Season 3 Speculation without Spoilers]

I still think we're going to see Shandy again, maybe doing something evil-y to get revenge on Keeley. Maybe that could be what brings her storyline to connect with Richmond again, Keeley being in trouble and her Richmond friends coming in to support her. Or maybe Shandy finds out about Colin and outs him and Keeley feels responsible? I don't know, I just feel like we wouldn't have spent all that time on Shandy if she wasn't going to end up being significant at all.

And I don't know if this is something they'd do, but now with Jamie playing in a midfielder role, I wonder if they're going to give him a new shirt. I don't *think* they will, but I still kind of hope so. For those who don't know, certain numbers are usually associated with certain positions on the field and can be a big deal - Jamie's current one, 9, tends to be the first choice striker. But his new position in midfield, if they're going to stick with that, is often 8 or 10 (also quite prestigious numbers - there was a reason why Akufo tried to lure Sam in with the no 10 shirt last season). I saw Richard wearing 8 in this past episode, but Zava had the 10 shirt while he was there and I don't know if someone else has worn it?

I just think it'd be a really neat character development note if they had Jamie finally fully shed the number 9 image he's probably been stuck in for a long time, because that's who his dad wanted him to be, the top striker who gets all the glory.

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

The players cleaning up Sam’s restaurant made me cry. The friendship between the players is, IMO, the heart of the show. I loved all of it- Dani and Isaac mimicking each other, the red string, and Jamie deciding he doesn’t need to be up front.

Amen. Found/chosen family and friendship is my absolute favourite thing. There's a reason why Two Aces is my favourite episode from season one, with the team finally starting to properly bond.

8 hours ago, braziliangirl said:

12 hours ago, Schweedie said:

It bothered me as well, but I saw someone elsewhere comment that they got the impression that Ted and Beard were doing what they were doing with Roy in season one - stepping back until he decided to really speak up on his own.

Love this. Totally buy this theory rewatching the scene and seeing Beard and Ted looks. 

Yeah - Ted is *very* quick to ask if there's something Jamie wants to say as soon as Jamie hums in the dressing room during half time, and he does sort of sound like he's been waiting for it. I might choose to believe that theory.

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

30 minutes ago, angora said:

It really struck me that the coaches were sort of treating Jamie like Zava during training throughout the week. They didn't have him switch positions with another player because they just assumed he wouldn't want to do that. Pre-Zava, Ted never would've allowed that. And crucially, the Jamie of season 3 is very much not Zava, and all of the coaches should've know that. I still love how it came together in the resolution, but I thought it was a misstep that the coaches were excluding him from the technique in the first place.

It bothered me as well, but I saw someone elsewhere comment that they got the impression that Ted and Beard were doing what they were doing with Roy in season one - stepping back until he decided to really speak up on his own. I don't know if I agree, but I do like the theory (although if that's what they were doing I still think it was unnecessary).

30 minutes ago, angora said:

As soon as he went into the bathroom, I was going, "Don't spit on the mirror, please don't spit on the mirror," so I'm glad he didn't do that again.

Yes! That was definitely a moment of progress and I liked that, too. I just wish we'd seen what's actually led to that progress.

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

46 minutes ago, Thalia said:

From what I can tell there are two groups when it comes to Nate:  Group one will accept a Nate redemption arc, but they want to see him suffer first.  Group two wants to see him suffer, period.  We are over halfway through the season and it is beginning to look like the only bad thing that has happened to him is that his new boss tried to tow his green mini. 

Furthermore, we haven't seen whether Nate has changed his persona at work.  In episode one we saw him be a jerk to players and staff alike.  Then all of a sudden we get Nate feeling sorry about Ted and being all Nate v. 1.0 with the hostess at the restaurant. 

Yup. I was (am?) in the group who would for sure accept a redemption arc, if done well. But what they've done with Nate so far this season hasn't *been* a redemption arc. They've just had him go back to acting mostly like his old self as if his heel turn (™ dmeets) never happened, and it feels like it happened overnight after episode one or maybe two. If they'd written him a good arc where he realised how he fucked up and tried to make amends, at the very least fully apologising (instead of just alluding to "the way I left" like he did in the lift), I would've been on board for that. I keep waiting for them to go deeper, but they've spent seven episodes now basically on him just crushing on Jade and trying to decide what to do about it, and again, that is not redemption. Maybe they're planning on going further with him in the second half of the season, but it's coming up on "too little, too late" for me.

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

1 hour ago, Kabota said:

I knew that Jamie is listed as a center attacking midfielder on FIFA 23 now, so was expecting something like this to happen at some point in the season. Such a great payoff for the "little Precious Moments figurine," who they assumed would not play back.

I didn't know that about FIFA, but it makes total sense. Jamie's a Steven Gerrard, with his skills he will absolutely kill it as a centre attacking midfielder. (Man, imagine the old Jamie who was upset about running decoy in ONE play being told he was going to play midfield.)

1 hour ago, Kabota said:

His face when he looked back from the mag board, saw the team listening to him, and realized that he was right where he needed to be, was perfect. Such a well-paced, believably earned maturity arc. He'll thrive as the anti-Zava!

And yeah, that moment was so great. He was completely unprepared for them all coming up to properly listen to him. (Which they should've from the start, really, because he's the only one who's actually played under Pep, and he knows more about these tactics than the others.) If Phil Dunster doesn't get a supporting nomination this season, I say we riot.

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

Oh, one of my favourite moments has to be when Roy chipped in with how Beard and Ted would be called Sharp Dressed Men and then going "God I hate what you've fucking done to me". And then after his second pun, "Make it stop." (A sort of callback to season one's, "He thinks he's mad now, wait until we win him over." "He'll be furious.")

Also, I really loved how Roy's plan for one guy with a string connected to multiple people was essentially what they ended up doing (without the actual string). Jamie as the guy connecting everyone.

[S03.E07: The Strings That Bind Us]

4 hours ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

Love these fools always and forever. Nothing will top last week's episode (prove me wrong, show!), but I like where we're going!

I lost track of how many times I said "God, I love them so much" out loud during this episode, haha. I was hoping throughout that they'd all show up and help fix up the restaurant and they delivered.

3 hours ago, pennben said:

Interesting though, is whether Jack is a Rupert or not within this storyline.  I'm not sure whether we are to see Barbara as jealous or Barbara has seen this all before.  I guess time will tell. 

Ooh, I never even had the thought that Barbara might've seen this before with Jack and being wary of it. That would be interesting.

Enjoyed this episode a lot - probably my second favourite of the season so far behind last week's. I didn't expect them to immediately get a win with the new system, so them losing to Arsenal but there being signs of the new way working makes total sense.

But the stuff with Nate... I feel like the writers messed up last season, if they wanted this redemption arc to fully work. The Nate we see here feels too different from the Nate we saw last season, especially towards the end. They wrote him *too* mean then for this change to feel organic - we still haven't really seen him reckon with the fact that his behaviour was really effed up, and if he hasn't done that, then why did he change back to old Nate? 

But on a happier note, I'm so proud of Jamie (and judging by the look on Ted's face while Jamie was at the board explaining the tactics, so was he). And I felt so bad for him when he didn't get to change positions with someone at training because they just assumed he wouldn't want to do it - they keep underestimating him and how much he's actually changed. Our little Icon has come such a long way. Maybe after that halftime talk they'll get that.

[S03.E06: Sunflowers]

14 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I’m surprised at the number of people who loved this, considering how many hated Beard’s night out.  I found the two episodes very similar and liked - but didn’t love - both.

I think the main difference between them is that that was just Beard. Here, we got everyone. Rebecca's part wasn't my favourite, although I enjoyed it, and if this episode had been just about her I wouldn't have loved it anywhere near as much. But we got so much character stuff for everyone here, most of it very sweet and not just wild like much of Beard's episode was, and that's what did it for me.

[S03.E06: Sunflowers]

28 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Piggy Stardust was unexpected laugh at the last minute. Show was firing on all cylinders.

Yes! I loved that Ted wasn’t phased for more a second seeing Beard like that and immediately got it. Those two are so on the same wavelength.

(I honestly didn’t realise that was actually Beard until he got on the bus, haha!)

[S03.E06: Sunflowers]

23 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I loved everyone else’s storyline and all the callbacks to the past (though if I were a hotel employee I wouldn’t have been as delighted to watch the lobby pillow fight, given I would have to clean up all the feathers).

Isaac is a responsible team captain - I’m sure he made everyone help with the clean up afterwards, heh!

[S03.E06: Sunflowers]

8 hours ago, Kabota said:

The show is at its best when it expertly layers the quirky and charming with the more psychologically complicated. I loved everything about Roy and Jamie's tour, especially the bike lesson. But hearing why Jamie was so familiar with the city was a gut punch. These two really do need each other.

When you think Tartt Sr couldn't get worse, we learn he took his 14-year-old kid to be, basically, molested. Which, although they sort of played the line as a joke, was apparently traumatising enough that Jamie's blocked it out. It's a miracle he isn't more of a mess, really.

50 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Still thinking of and giggling at the moment Roy was on the bike, Jaime let go and Roy tipped over.  I know it isn’t original, but with grumpy Roy and gleeful Jamie, it was just so funny.

My favourite moment there was when Jamie tried to physically place Roy's foot on the pedal and Roy immediately and furiously stepped right off the bike because that was TOO FAR. Also, "I can't turn the other way!"

1 hour ago, Capricasix said:

This is why I’m hoping that Hot Dutch Guy (HDG) will discover who Rebecca is and go to London to find her. Alternatively, she could go back to Amsterdam to see him again. I will accept either scenario.

Yup. Would love that for her.

1 hour ago, Trillium said:

Finally, I’m glad Ted is finally ready to coach. Beard was right, he needed to just clear his mind.

Somehow I especially love that it wasn't even because of the tea, since it was a bad batch. He just got high on the barbecue sauce that reminds him of home.

[S03.E06: Sunflowers]

Oh my word, I missed this show. Loved everything about this episode. And I'm so glad Trent's rainbow mug the other week wasn't a red herring.

3 hours ago, DEL901 said:

I loved Roy’s self awareness when he yelled at Jamie that he was taking out all his displaced anger on him.  And I forget who told Roy that he had to believe he was worthy of Keeley.   

It was Rebecca. "She's off to someone who thinks they deserve her", something like that. Great moment, and he needed to hear it. But I really miss Keeley - I wonder why they've written her so separate from the rest this season. I like the Dutch guy for Rebecca, though.

5 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

Special shout out to the in-room tv with the local highlights. 

Loved that, and I thought it was an excellent touch that Keeley was just dubbed over - you could still see her say "karaoke!"

[S03.E05: Signs]

5 hours ago, Kabota said:

With the team instructed to feed Zava, and he not open to sharing opportunities, the players were, as Roy said, just standing around watching him play. Totally, un-Tedlike mentality, but he's distracted, and everyone seems to have lost the ability to make logical decisions. They were winning at first, but as everyone began to get more complacent, even Zava couldn't carry the team.

At first it came across as a little ridiculous, especially given the montage of Zava's scoring, to hear Jamie say he wants to be better than him. Like with just some extra practice, the average player can become the next Patrick Mahomes. But the more I thought about it, they have from the beginning tagged Jamie as a special talent. Trained up by Man City, he's referred to by Ted as probably the best athlete he's ever coached and "the supposed franchise player." We hear the announcers say he didn't miss a penalty kick last season. He's come across as one of those players who maybe was underachieving because he didn't want/have to work hard and was distracted by the trappings of sport/fame.

Nicely summed up!

And yeah - we saw Jamie do a bicycle kick (like one the goals Zava scored) in the very first episode. I think he's definitely always been meant to to be seen as a special talent who's got the potential to reach the top level. And I think he's always had the drive to be the best, but his first time around at Richmond his selfishness and petulance got in the way of getting there, and after he came back he may have gotten a little complacent - they were playing in the Championship and being the best there wouldn't have been THAT hard for someone like him, so maybe he eased on the gas a bit. Zava was the push he needed to be motivated to take it to that next level.

(I do think that having him and Roy focus on purely physical stuff is unlikely, though, it would've made much more sense for them to focus on stuff like intricate footwork drills, studying videos to learn to read the game better, etc. But that probably would make for as interesting watching.)

Richmond playing as a team, instead of their tactics just being "get the ball to Zava" will make them much better. When we saw Jamie take that one shot at the goal that didn't go in, Zava threw a little fit that he was supposed to pass to him. I don't think there's been *room* for Jamie to step up until now. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Greyhounds (hopefully) pull it together. The football aspect of the show was why I started watching and it's still my favourite part.

[S03.E05: Signs]

7 hours ago, Phebemarie said:

I didn’t get the impression Nate brought the model to his favorite restaurant to show her off.  He seemed a bit clueless about what to do with her. He wasn’t trying to impress her…I think he was trying to share something meaningful to him.

 

25 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I thought he was doing that. Last time he came into the restaurant wearing all his West Ham gear and kind of bragging about how he was buying lunch for the coaching staff that work for him. Jade wasn't impressed at all by that, so the next time he comes back and instead of just introducing the woman he was with as his date he made a specific point of telling Jade that she was Anastasia the model (did he say famous model?). That to me sounds like the first situation didn't get him any attention so he did something he thought was more impressive.

I think it was kind of both. Nate wants to be either liked or admired by everyone and Jade has completely refused to do either so far, and he definitely seemed to think she would at least be impressed by his famous hot date this time - but to me he also seemed sincere when he said to Anastasia that this place was special to him because of its history in his family.

When Jade teased him for calling the baklava divine and Nate said he apparently turns into his grandmother when he tries to impress someone, I think that was the first time in a long time we've heard him owning up to saying something silly and making fun of himself. It was nice, I thought.

[S02.E01: Goodbye Earl]

11 hours ago, Ottis said:

I’m not sure I can remember going so quickly from enjoying and even admiring a show to yawning disinterest. The overly niceness of everyone Ted interacts with started to get stale the last few eps of season one. Buy there was the team and the challenge of relegation and Roy as a back up, so I hoped season 2 would be more interesting. Starting with the story of Earl, and Rojas, and 7 straight ties, isn’t it. And Roy's retired? That’s a mistake. And the “Lust” TV show is ugh. And Ted is jealous of the counselor? Why? This show aimed higher last season.

I remember thinking the season two opener was one of their absolute weakest episodes. The season does improve!

[S03.E05: Signs]

6 minutes ago, Me from ME said:

Didn't Trent Crimm briefly mention a daughter in a past episode? If that is the case then I see a pairing with Rebecca to be the family that the psychic predicted.  I would be satisfied with that since he has shown himself to be someone who would be a good partner for her. He knows football, has come to watch and appreciate the Richmond team and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the game.

Yup, in season one Ted made biscuits for Trent's daughter because she was turning three. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how it goes, either, but at the same time, if they do intend to make that happen this season I think they should've at least had them interact more already.

[S03.E05: Signs]

4 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

It’s like when I made the mistake of cutting my hair super short and then had to go through the ugly regrowth stages with head bands. I can’t figure out what they are going for with his hair.

I believe they're going for Jack Grealish. 😆

[S03.E05: Signs]

15 minutes ago, Trillium said:

Totally agree but let’s fucking get to that part! I was expecting things to start progressing forward this episode but maybe now it will after Ted’s speech. But if next week it’s more if the same…they are running out of time to wrap all of this up.  I still think he and Keeley get back together. They spent far too much of the series setting them up, and in the 3rd act say “Remember that lovley relationship we spent all that time on? Fuck that, it’s over with, here is a random new person, the end”

Yeah, I'm very happy for him to do that work *while* reconnecting with Keeley, haha!

I do think that Ted's speech indicates that we're heading into a new phase of the season. The past couple of episodes have felt very filler-y, with not many storylines actually progressing, but that speech made it feel like go time. If this was really it for Zava and Shandy then spending all this time on them seems like such a waste, and at the same time I'd be perfectly happy not seeing either of them again.