S03.E02: (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea

[Schweedie]

8 hours ago, juno said:

They should be playing in the FA cup. That would be fun to see.

For sure, they would at least play qualifiers for it! I hope we get to see that, too. (That's not a European cup, though, just English teams.)

[Athena5217]

10 hours ago, juno said:

They should be playing in the FA cup. That would be fun to see.

I think they were in the FA cup in season 1 when they were at Wembley Stadium playing against Manchester City

[Dame sans merci]

Their game against Tottenham last season was an FA cup quarter final, I believe...?

[juno]

1 hour ago, Dame sans merci said:

Their game against Tottenham last season was an FA cup quarter final, I believe...?

Yes, my Spurs. Richmond won. But they probably would have been them in real life as well.

[Dame sans merci]

1 hour ago, juno said:

Yes, my Spurs. Richmond won. But they probably would have been them in real life as well.

Hello, fellow long-suffering Spurs fan! Yes, Spurs being knocked out by lower league opposition isn't a surprise at this point, either in reality or fiction...

[juno]

27 minutes ago, Dame sans merci said:

Hello, fellow long-suffering Spurs fan! Yes, Spurs being knocked out by lower league opposition isn't a surprise at this point, either in reality or fiction...

So very true and so very sad. ⚽

 

[kwnyc]

I'm falling on the side of the folks who think Ted is playing dumb about football/coaching/strategy. He didn't get to be a national championship winning American football coach on charm alone.

[braziliangirl]

9 hours ago, pennben said:

Honestly, while there are charming moments, I’m underwhelmed so far. The ‘aw shucks’ is exhausting with Ted. Two years in & you are still wildly uninformed as a coach? Nope. Not amusing at all. It was interesting to me at end, w/Roy//Ted/Crimm & roy talking about how he should have stayed even if he wasn’t up to it to just enjoy it. Maybe point is Ted knows he’s not good & wont fix things, got what he needed in fixing himself last year & even though he knows he’s not the answer, he enjoys these folks & will stay this season, for better/worse for team, because it makes him happy. 

I dID think it was interisting that he was reading Inverting the Pyramid in this episode. Then he did some joke mocking himself but I thought it was different. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Honestly, while there are charming moments, I’m underwhelmed so far. The ‘aw shucks’ is exhausting with Ted.

One thing that has always bugged me is this weird, corn-pone accent that Jason Sudeikis affects as the character. It's really weird because Ted is supposed to be from Kansas, and Jason Sudeikis himself is from Kansas! He knows that's not a Kansas accent. It sounds closest to an East Texas accent. I think he's going for "folksy" or something but as someone whose entire life has been spent in Kansas it's jarring and unnatural. 

[Raachel2008]

On 3/23/2023 at 3:34 PM, Lathund said:

There's certainly no shortate of arrogant footballers out there, but everything about Zava just screams Zlatan. From theh way he looks, the fake bio (Albeit exaggerated. 9 teams in 23 years; but that's quite a lot for a top-level player), the attitude, the body language (Again exaggerated). Will be interesting to see where they go with it. Whichever way they go I'm sure there'll be a lot of ridiculousness. 

Of course it is Zlatan. Too bad they won't have a Mestri or a Crispiano. Oh, boy. That would have been fun.

[shapeshifter]

33 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

One thing that has always bugged me is this weird, corn-pone accent that Jason Sudeikis affects as the character. It's really weird because Ted is supposed to be from Kansas, and Jason Sudeikis himself is from Kansas! He knows that's not a Kansas accent. It sounds closest to an East Texas accent. I think he's going for "folksy" or something but as someone whose entire life has been spent in Kansas it's jarring and unnatural. 

On Quora, there's discussion of Ted Lasso's "midwestern drawl."

I'm not familiar with the accents of Kansas, but looking at the map of Kansas, if he grew up in the southwest corner of Kansas, he would be less than 30 miles from the Texas panhandle.

I do recall people from Central Illinois——which is at about the same latitude as the northern border of Kansas——having folksy accents. And a friend from Ames Iowa (in the center of that state) had a similar accent. 

 

[Athena]

Apple music put up Ted's breakup playlist here. Someone also put it on Spotify.

[DearEvette]

Ok, miles better than the first episode of the season.  This one felt more like Ted Lasso.

The scene in the locker room where they are talking about Roy and Keeley's break up was a stand out.  Everyone was pitch perfect!

Coach Beard's high pitched yelps (I think I counted four of them) were hysterical.

The return of the Pub Crew!  Yaaas!

Rebecca's grey coat an hat were fabulous.  She looked sharp as a razor.

Also I wasn't feeling Keeley's ultra flat ironed/bump it combo.  It was very unflattering, but loved her hair at the game.

I was so glad to see Keeley stand up for her friend.  I am looking forward to see if she has a little bit of Ted Lasso in her and if she can turn around the employees of KJPR that way Ted did with the team in S1.  Also, what a contrast between how she interacts with someone who has been rather short and rude with her vs. the way Nate would have acted.

Higgins' round about relationships and 10-degrees of separation as the way to get news confirmations were great.  And he was never wrong.  LOL.

Beard going to see a play about menstrual periods and Ted admonishing him not to be late.  Hee!

Yeah...miles better than the first episode.

[SnarkShark]

Miles better than Episode 1.  Not perfect, but this was definitely more what I was expecting. 

[AncientNewbie]

I enjoyed it. 

I liked Ted reading "Inverting the Pyramid" and how battered and bookmarked it was since we saw Beard first holding it. I really liked that book so I always note when it shows up. 

I think this season will involve a little more setting the stage for finishing storylines, so eps might be a little slow and characters may have plot points left often for later resolution. 

I do want Roy and Keeley to work it out, but I'm also for (with the show's focus on mental health)(not to fantasy book too much) Roy working some stuff out...he's been famous since he was a teen, and his anger was a large part of what propelled his football success...he has to learn to be a "civilian."

[tennisgurl]

"I haven't been this nervous to play in front of someone since I was in El Chapo's youth league!" 

This was one of my favorite episodes of the whole show, every second was gold. I especially thought that Roy and Keeley had a strong episode, I am convinced that they are inevitably going to find their way back to each other now that they are working on themselves. Roy is dealing with losing the job that he's had since he was a kid, the only thing he's ever done, and Keeley is finally learning how to be a boss, really bringing that Ted energy, connecting with the other employees while learning how to put her adorable pink shoed foot down. 

Roy's face as Jamie tried to hug him was truly an experience, going from confused to shocked to slightly touched to furious and back to confusion. Jamie really has grown, the old Jamie would have made his move on Keeley but now he actually went to check on Roy, complete with empathy face. 

[paramitch]

Oh, thank goodness. This was much better than last week's, which really worried me as a harbinger for the season.

I loved it overall, although I was frustrated with Keeley as "dumb entrepreneur" second week in a row. I appreciated her takedown of the CFO, but she still didn't give basic info we already know on why she hired her friend or why she makes her decisions. She should have immediately brought up the way her friend had instantly saved them time and money the previous evening on the commercial shoot, that she has a lot of experience in the industry, etc. -- not just lamely said something like, "She's really cool" or something.

I love the incorporation of Trent into the main cast -- he's a wonderful character, I love everything about him, and I also trust him to be honest both ways with Ted and the team -- if Trent sees stuff that bothers him, he'll be open about that. I honestly think Trent will make this team better because he won't softpedal the way Ted will. Just a guess.

I'm still frustrated that Ted has somehow stepped backward a bit and doesn't seem to care about winning. Maybe they need to make a call to Dr. Sharon. Who I miss already (although it was awesome to see her living what looked like a happy life last episode!)

I agree with those who think Jamie will save Roy & Keeley from being absolute buttheads about their relationship. The breakup feels very manufactured to me -- I would have bought "on a break" -- I do not buy "we broke up." This was a passionate relationship with so much respect on both sides. They just need to learn to navigate the changes. Grr.

Things I loved especially:

Roy's moment with Trent was just wonderful. I was so moved by his carrying around that newspaper piece and absolutely buy it. I get it 100% on both sides. Loved Trent's humility and apology.

I did love Rebecca handing that guy his ass while also foiling evil Rupert. Oh, man, I never would have guessed how much wonderful Anthony Stewart Head (my Buffy crush!) could make me hate a character, but oh well, that's the power of acting. I want Rupert to die slowly. Onscreen. Multiple times. 

Love how Jamie subtly cares so much about Roy now. It's a continuation on last season's hug with Roy -- he truly loves Roy, sees Roy as the Dad he wished for and didn't get. Roy doesn't get that yet but Jamie does. I really hope Roy sees how good and supportive Jamie is being -- I love seeing Jamie grow so much.

I laughed at the revelation that Beard & Jane are still together, but she is just "threatened by Ted." But if she gets more toxic than this I will riot. I hate that possessive shit.

Minor Complaints:

There hasn't been enough Sam the past few episodes.

I wish we saw Will the towel boy express his happiness that Nate the bully is gone. Because Nate's treatment of him was NOT OKAY. But we never saw Ted or Beard address that, except when it impacted a player, so that bothers me (and yes we saw they were aware of it).

The CFO's snow globes were sweet but also felt clumsy. ALL 50+ of them? I mean, I just don't find that realistic. Maybe if she'd just had 5-10 on her desk, scattered around. A few favorites in her window. But just a gift-shop jumble of them stuck on a shelf (where you can't even really look at them) just felt obvious and beneath the writers. Again, so frustrated!! The writing feels very rusty y'all.

On 3/22/2023 at 3:40 AM, DEL901 said:

I liked seeing Keely start to return to herself.   She started pretty unconfident.  She has no education or training, basically learning as she went when she worked for Rebecca.  Heading her own firm…huge difference and level of responsibility and she was floundering. Then her friend Shandy pipes up with the sort of common sense solution a more confident Keely would have made and I think she started to stamp out of her tentativeness.  Then her CEO was nasty to Shandy and Keely went into protective mode.  She’s going to win over the team the Venture Capital firm forced on her and thrive.

I agree, but I also think the show hurts the believability by having Keeley be THIS at sea starting a business, especially given all that work and study we saw her doing, and her having Rebecca whenever she needs advice.

Keeley may have the occasional mindfaffle, but I have to believe she's smart and capable (and we saw her being effortlessly smart about PR and branding in the first two seasons -- to the point that she is a superstar featured in VANITY FAIR. Keeley suddenly not being able to do her job is an insult to that and really bothers me.

And the office we have seen in this and the previous episode to me is ridiculous. It's not Keeley at all. And even if she's funded by someone else, she would have control over who she hires and whether they are a fit for her personality and style.

So far the people there are dour, silent, and look alarmed every time she speaks to them. Not at all a fit for a Keeley PR firm. I mean, this is so frustrating.

On 3/22/2023 at 4:47 AM, Harvey said:

I liked the moment when Rupert told Rebecca that men get tired of the same old thing. You could see it really pierced her soul. Good acting there. 

Hannah Waddingham is so good at those little micro-changes. You can see Rebecca maintaining poise, even a gracious smile, while she is weeping inside.

On 3/22/2023 at 6:02 AM, Trillium said:

The new player is going to be interesting, but if Jamie Tartt can become empathetic, there’s hope for most people. Except Rupert, he can fuck all the way off.

I love everything you said so much!

On 3/22/2023 at 10:50 AM, Quickbeam said:

I loved the bits where Roy is talking about an old Chelsea game and Trent immediate knew what the score was. He’s 100% a fan. Plus James Lance has the best voice ever. Really amazing. And hair. 

I love everything about Trent Crimm (the Independent!) and always have. I am here for whatever he brings to the show.

On 3/22/2023 at 10:51 AM, kwnyc said:

What fascinated me is that Trent Crimm is in a completely different position now, where he's the one who has to ask for things at Richmond, instead of lobbing poisonous darts from the press gallery. The acting was great: very tentative, knowing he can't be the asshole he was known to be. But that transition started last season when he burned a source (and got fired) because of his admiration for Ted. (WILL he become one of the Diamond Dogs? I bet he will.)

I kept thinking: Trent/Rebecca? Maybe. They kind of click.

1. I agree, and this is such a nuanced observation - kudos.

2. I would ship it in a heartbeat. I'm weak like that. (I will ship Rebecca with anyone but Ted. Please, God, let them stay beautiful platonic friends.)

On 3/22/2023 at 11:30 AM, Juneau Gal said:

YES! All the sno-globes were touching and telling. The CFO has been a lot of places, but she hasn't been able to really live any place. All she has are her sno-globes. I'm hoping for her to become a good ally for Keeley.

There were too many snowglobes for me, but I hope the same thing.

On 3/22/2023 at 5:29 PM, Athena said:

Chef's kiss on the scene between Ted and Roy. Ted was firm with Roy to knock it off and Brett played that abashed expression well. It's sometimes easy to forget that Ted is the gaffer and the boss. I thought both actors were so true to the characters and their working relationship right there. Same with when Ted fluttered his eyelashes at Roy at the end.

100%! That for me was probably Ted's best scene this episode. He was firm, kind, but resolute -- "Please fix how you are behaving. You are better than this." And Roy did it. Which says a lot for both of them. Loved this and hope we see more of this from Ted.

On 3/22/2023 at 10:04 PM, Dac22 said:

New Jamie even has an "empathy" face!

That whole scene was great with Roy being properly freaked out over said empathy face to Jamie's retort about the elderly 'being skittish cause of the war' after the failed hug attempt. 

I loved that scene so much. Loved that Roy was fine with being hugged just needed some warning.

On 3/23/2023 at 4:32 AM, Blakeston said:

They're really emphasizing that Rupert lives in Rebecca's head, and that she's making decisions based on what she thinks will hurt him the most.

By the end of the season, I think she'll be at a place where she doesn't care what he does.

I love this observation and so hope you are right. That would be amazing.

On 3/23/2023 at 10:45 PM, pennben said:

Honestly, while there are charming moments, I’m underwhelmed so far. The ‘aw shucks’ is exhausting with Ted. Two years in & you are still wildly uninformed as a coach? Nope. Not amusing at all. 

This is definitely a huge complaint of mine this season so far, especially since they are leaning into it, with Ted even making fun of his lack of knowledge at the press conference last episode, etc. I know Ted is a good coach. What I want to see is Ted as a GENUINELY GOOD FOOTBALL COACH. I really want this season to show me that.

On 3/24/2023 at 3:04 PM, shapeshifter said:

On Quora, there's discussion of Ted Lasso's "midwestern drawl."

I'm not familiar with the accents of Kansas, but looking at the map of Kansas, if he grew up in the southwest corner of Kansas, he would be less than 30 miles from the Texas panhandle.

I do recall people from Central Illinois——which is at about the same latitude as the northern border of Kansas——having folksy accents. And a friend from Ames Iowa (in the center of that state) had a similar accent. 

Great point. And yeah, Ted's accent has never bothered me. I have family from Kansas and the accents are very close to Okie and Texan (both also in my family) -- it's a drawl for sure, although my Kansan stepmom always said "warsh" for "wash," which was a different twist!

Edited March 27, 2023 by paramitch
Trent, not Ted! (fixed)

[DEL901]

I was thinking about Roy and Ted.   I think Ted regressed after the time with his son.  He misses being around him full time.  

As for Roy, I can’t imagine anyone but Brett Goldstein playing him.  Thank goodness they had such a hard time casting the role and a double thank goodness Brett took a chance and filmed an audition tape.  He’s a good writer, but he’s the one and only Roy Kent.  

Edited March 27, 2023 by DEL901

[Capricasix]

1 hour ago, paramitch said:

my Kansan stepmom always said "warsh" for "wash," which was a different twist!

My dear late grandma, who was born in rural Ontario 🇨🇦 around the turn of the 20th century, said the same thing 😄

[Good Queen Jane]

As did I, as a child growing up in southwestern Ohio.

[Lois Sandborne]

On 3/23/2023 at 6:32 AM, Blakeston said:

They're really emphasizing that Rupert lives in Rebecca's head, and that she's making decisions based on what she thinks will hurt him the most.

By the end of the season, I think she'll be at a place where she doesn't care what he does.

Didn't we already do this though? I especially remember that being a big part of Rebecca's breakthrough with her mom at her father's funeral last season. Deborah confessed she could only be "nice" to Rupert because that way he knows he'll never get to her, and Rebecca learned the value of projecting confidence. I know that changes to self-esteem and confidence don't happen overnight, but I'm disappointed to see Rebecca still pretty much in the exact same place. No way should she have needed an hour to stew and whine in her seat about Rupert getting Zava's attention before she realized she could do the same thing.

 

8 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

"I haven't been this nervous to play in front of someone since I was in El Chapo's youth league!" 

Thank you! I couldn't tell what this line was and was too lazy to rewind for captions. 

[Captain Carrot]

Hat Watch: Beard wearing Jane's hat and currently in a relationship with her.

I have to agree that part of Keeley's journey this season will be learning how to be her own version of Ted to get the office staff working as a team. (And Barbara is her Roy Kent). I do have to wonder if Shandy is going to step up, or if part of what Keeley learns this year is when to make a tough decision and fire her. (I would never want to work for someone that likes to fire people, but you have to be willing to let people go if you're the boss).

Regarding Barbara's snow globes, I don't know how venture capitalists work but I have a feeling that the people they fund (the ones that succeed) eventually get confident enough to hire their own staff. Thanks to her attitude, Barbara is probably one of the first people let go when that happens. She would probably love to stay somewhere long term.

[mledawn]

On 3/22/2023 at 9:12 AM, Schweedie said:

Zava is 100% Zlatan Ibrahimovic-based and I'm so here for it.

I’m just catching up but this was hilariously obvious. I’m sure he is hearing it from everyone in his circle, too. As if his ego could get any bigger. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by mledawn

[Paloma]

On 3/22/2023 at 1:30 PM, Girl in a Cardigan said:

I love that Keeley is doing a bit more to stand up for herself this week instead of being cowed by her CFO, but I wished she did a little more. While she may regret hiring her friend (though having mimosas on the company card does actually seem to be a Keeley / Rebecca idea, but I get that she’s the boss and/or knows her friend better to know that’s not a good idea), said friend did have an actually productive idea at the shoot they just came from, which saved the client money, which made the client happy. And the KJ of KJPR is also a former model, who I’m guessing didn’t go to college,

I love the show, but the Keeley plot is distracting to me because it doesn't seem believable that she could go from someone mainly identified as football star's girlfriend and model (I guess--it was hard for me to tell what kind of modeling she did) to powerhouse PR businesswoman in the last year or so, without any apparent business education or training. It's true that she came up with and implemented ideas for commercial deals for the players last season, but I would think someone wanting to invest a ton of money in a PR business would need to see more experience than that when picking a CEO.

I was even more confused when she ran into Shandy at the shoot and they were talking about being models and Keeley being the one to make it. I don't remember the exact dialogue, but I got the impression that Shandy and Keeley were almost groupies and/or party girls who got commercial (not fashion of other high-level) modeling gigs from being seen with football players. And Shandy did not look like a model to me; actually, neither does Keeley aside from her thinness. They are good-looking but not the type of beauties I usually associate with fashion and commercial models.  

[Crs97]

2 hours ago, Paloma said:

I would think someone wanting to invest a ton of money in a PR business would need to see more experience than that when picking a CEO.

I thought that was the point of the snow globe loving CFO:  Keeley is the figurehead and other woman actually runs the business. It could be better developed, though.

[Paloma]

48 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

Keeley is the figurehead

If that's the point, would they want her as a figurehead just because of her association with football players and history as a model? It just doesn't quite make sense to me from a business standpoint, but maybe we will find out more later.

[Crs97]

Did she get the magazine article before or after the Banter $?  It sounds like she was a pretty famous “influencer” who modeled and was very noticed at all the right things.  Then she starts getting this relegated team noticed and the players all sorts of stuff, enough to get a big time article about her published.  I guess I can imagine the backers wanting to back the “it” girl.

[Athena]

15 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Did she get the magazine article before or after the Banter $?  It sounds like she was a pretty famous “influencer” who modeled and was very noticed at all the right things.  Then she starts getting this relegated team noticed and the players all sorts of stuff, enough to get a big time article about her published.  I guess I can imagine the backers wanting to back the “it” girl.

She got the article at the end of the last season after all your points including Banter $. That was her whole arc in S2. Keeley was a model and it-girl influencer type for years before the show started. In S2, Rebecca mentored her and hired her to do the team's marketing. She excelled and that's why she got the publicity.

[kwnyc]

Yes, Keeley is a self-made PR professional, and must have seemed like a good investment to the venture Capital firm that put money in her business. And, like a lot of startups, they insisted on a grown up in the room, who is Barbara. 

I also think that Keeley took Barbara's nasty dismissal of Shandy as a personal attack: Keeley, as far as we know, didn't have a degree or higher ed, and got her experience by doing her own work for years.

I think Shandy is a wild card, but I don't think they're going to use her as a villain or negative influence. That doesn't fit in with the way they take other New characters.

[Kel Varnsen]

So I am a bit confused by Roy's backstory. He said that there was a game when he was with Chelsea where he realized he wasn't good enough anymore and he didn't want to be one of those old footballers who hangs on too long. So the how did he end up at Richmond instead of just retiring after he made that realization?

[Turtle Wexler]

I’m rewatching S3; I’m really disappointed that they don’t seem to be doing anything useful with Barbara’s character. Her mild clashing with Keeley works because she’s sensible and is trying to help Keeley not make a huge financial mess. I’d rather see scenes with her and Keeley than Keeley and Jack.

[Danny Franks]

Well, it looks like Keeley's storyline this season will be another that I'm not interested - isolated from most of the rest of the cast, doing boring PR stuff with boring PR people, and her friend who will surely be a huge disaster.

Her and Roy broke up because he got a bout of insecurity? Honestly, I'm not really that fussed whether they get back together or not, and everyone being so upset over it got old, quickly. I'm far more interested in Roy exploring the mortality of sports stars and how they deal with the awareness that the end is near.

Roy Kent handled it better than his inspiration, Roy Keane did. At least Kent didn't give an interview slating the fuck out of his teammates and saying they weren't good enough, to cover for his own decline.

Steve Frost as the Chelsea steward was nice. He's been a familiar face for over thirty years, with his Who's Line is it Anyway? appearances. And the Zlatan analogue looks like he might be interesting, though probably not as interesting as Zlatan actually is.

Still, as Cristiano Ronaldo showed, sometimes a megastar joining a club can completely upset the dressing room. I imagine that's what will happen here.

Trent Crimm writing a book about Richmond should be fun, now people are allowed to talk to him, of course. James Lance is just dry enough in this role that he really works against the zaniness of everyone else (yes, I include Roy in that, with his silent, seething balloon popping). And good for Ted, laying down the law with Roy. It's nice to see him being less of a Ned Flanders.

Anthony Stewart-Head is clearly having a ball playing Rupert, with all those incredibly mean, petty lines to Rebecca.

Still can't help but laugh at West Ham being described as "big and shiny... they'll win with or without you."

 

 

[lucindabelle]

Beard was hilarious. His yelps. And not just a play about menstruation but an IMMERSIVE play about lenstruation. Jane being jealous of Ted suggests narcissistic disorder through and makes me nervous…

keely will win over that CFO. 
 

when Roy said “that’s not who I am,”

a bout just enjoying himself, Ted replied “not yet.”

I love that!!! 

[Haleth]

For all the excitement over landing Zava, it's not in the spirit of this show for the team to only start succeeding because of one star added to the roster.  Something must happen where the team will learn they had it in them to do it on their own.

Zava is going to be chaos, much worse than Jamie was.

[LilJen]

“Sorry, yeh… I forgot how skittish elderly people can be because of the war.”