S03.E10: International Break

[Whimsy]

Quote

While some of the Greyhounds head home to play for their countries in international matches, Edwin Akufo brings a business proposal to Rebecca.

Original airdate 5/17/23

[Thalia]

Okay, ten seconds in.  [pause button] Consider my jaw dropped.[/pause button]

[DEL901]

Well, that’s going to take some digesting.  10 down and 2 to go  

Nate quit, but Rupert has put it out that he got rid of him and hinted at some untoward behaviour.   Nate goes home and for the first time, him and his father connect and really talk.  And the Nate apology tour starts….and I’m glad it started with him doing an act of service for Will and leaving a note, not sticking around for praise.  

Nice bit with Jamie wearing Sam’s number.  And loved Roy’s outrage at the thought he is best friends with Jamie.  And glad that Roy seeing the teacher was a fake out… and he had his revelation and apologized to Keeley without knowing how Jack betrayed her.    

Rebecca was a superstar, putting all the guys in their place, especially Rupert, and financing KJPR   

Roy in tie dye.

Rebecca drawing strength from the little soldier Ted gave her   

 

 

 

[Trillium]

Lots of thoughts, but for now:

Boss. Ass. Bitch

[shapeshifter]

11 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Nate quit

How did I (we?) not see this (Nate quits) coming? 
More kudos to the Lasso writing team for (as Ted would word it) writing a plot twist and keeping it under wraps.

[SoMuchTV]

Okay, help. The credits said Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles were in this. We rewound and ff’d multiple times and can’t spot them. Anyone?

And hey, I think I spotted Ted Lasso a couple of times!

ETA:  okay, found them. They were the announcers in the game in Canada who apologized for their language (I think they said “darn” maybe?)

Edited May 17, 2023 by SoMuchTV
Solved my mystery. Also realized the word is rewound not rewinded.

[juno]

3 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Okay, help. The credits said Colin Mochrie and Ryan Stiles were in this. We rewinded and ff’d multiple times and can’t spot them. Anyone?

And hey, I think I spotted Ted Lasso a couple of times!

Yes, it appears that Ted Lasso is now the co-star in a show about Nate. A mindblowingly shitty character that was destroyed, and now the people in charge have decided to spend the entire season trying to convince the fans that heck, he is just a misunderstood, gosh darn, awesome dude. I have never seen any show literally wreck itself to pull a character back and no, I still have not watched a second of Nate this season.

I loved the Keeley and Roy stuff and it saved another relationship heavy episode with 2 characters that have great chemistry.

[SHD]

Using the same song used for Peaky Blinders!

Anything Roy and Jamie is golden.

[grooveshinney]

I loved how teeny Roy’s writing was in his note to Keeley.

[MissL]

I may be awful but I don’t feel bad for Keeley. It was an absolutely terrible idea to start sleeping with the person backing your business. I love her but that was just stupid. 

[anna0852]

Damn Dani!

[Crs97]

Jamie’s smile when Phoebe said he is Roy’s best friend was the absolute best!

Loved Mae and Keeley’s scene.  Loved that Keeley made Roy read his note to her.

Poor Sam.

Feeling a little too neatly tied up.

Maybe the next episode will have more Ted.

[kwnyc]

I sure hope Sam gets some relief from being bullied by a big baby billionaire! That was a sweet moment when Jamie took Sam's number for his debut on the national team. Jamie's gift to Roy was also pretty damn classy. Love that he's happy to pay off Phoebe for swearing (and that she's still keeping it up). She must have enough for college by now!

Keeley also got her walking papers from a big baby billionaire...Jack's VC company thought well enough of KJPR to inest in it initially, and pulling the funding was just a nasty thing to do when Jack stomped off in a huff. Maybe she and the Ghanian rich guy will get together and buy Twitter next.

Rebecca really has been coming into her own these last few episodes. I rather hope they send her off unpartnered...she's finding her own strength and enjoying it.

But hooray for Roy/Keeley! Roy had to give a major apology, and he definitely has changed. I wonder if  he's been doing therapy...because you don't usually see someone work through their major problems that quickly on their own. Or, maybe Roy is an overachiever!

Funny to think that Mae and Keeley had never met...but then Roy didn't hang out at that pub. Don't really care about Beard's axe-throwing date. Or that he has 17 axes. (Though way back when, didn't Ted tell us he was a champion lumberjack?) 

Also giggled that Rupert seems to have gotten rid of his office side-piece, Ms. Kakes, and downgraded to Ms. Bread.

Bumbercatch is Swiss. He's a fascinating guy. (I wonder if his first name is Demebict?) ;-)

I think as we're hurrying toward the end of the series, Ted himself gets to step back and see how what he's taught the people around him works for them.

And, honest to God, still don't care about Nate. In real life, I have a rule that if someone is that toxic and awful, they are out of my mind for good. IF they show any sign that they've turned into a decent person, I'll reconsider having them back in my life. But Nate's small efforts are just that. He's gonna have to prove himself a LOT more. I also think Rupert asked him to do something awful, and Nate quit. I don't know if we're going to find out about it, but I don't believe for a minute it's bad behavior in the office.

(Nice callback to "...nah" as when Leslie said he was going to the red light district in Amsterdam. "...nah."

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by kwnyc

[DearEvette]

I liked this episode but... wow, Ted's absence was even more noticeable.  He showed up in the beginning and in the end.  Luckily the rest of the ensemble pulled through but yikes... the lack of Ted in this episode is glaring.

The best parts:

Roy.  And Roy and Jamie.  I loved that Roy's 'Thing' was the totally made up Uncle's day holiday.  Jamie being a part of it made it even better.  That entire scene was perfect.  Also, the entire dialogue-less scene of Roy walking into the club house in his tie-dyed shirt and everyone's reaction. 

Rebecca.  She was everything in this episode.  I liked the call back to her advice of making herself look big.

Higgins.  Every line out of his mouth was comedy gold.  His telling Rebecca 'All those kids are dead" as he explained Willy Wonka.  And his group The Directors of Beboperations!  And  his telephone game-like network of info getting all the accurate goss.

Barbara.

The not so good stuff:

Man, Akufo is even more of a whacked out psycho than we knew! Poor Sam.  No matter how rich he is, he just shat the bed with a group of other power brokers.  Hopefully all of his pettiness will blow back on him.

The feeling like they are wrapping things up so quickly and nicely in a bow. 

It feels... manipulative.  Too easy.  I hate Rebecca being Keeley's golden parachute.  Again, feels too easy.  Also just like I don't think it was wise for Keeley to get involved with Jack (which.. for good reason as we can see, she was a shady asshole) I don't think it is wise for her to have her friend bankroll her either.  I am just disappointed all around in the Keeley story,

Nate.  The redemption arc ain't redemptioning for me.  Again, feels too easy.  Too many shortcuts in the storytelling.  They are shortchanging his redemption.  It is not convincing to me.  Contrast to Jamie's, his redemption arc was written so well!

Also his dad.  It is nice he and his dad talked and Nate got that look of a light-bulb going off in his head..  And as much as I argued that I didn't feel his childhood was abusive,  it was 100% because I don't think the show canonically committed to that and left too much of a gap in that story.  We were seeing Nate and his dad as if we were coming into the 10th chapter of their story.  There was a lot of backstory that the show could fill in.  And sure enough they did -- to some extent.  The minute Nate pulled out the violin I suspected the crux of what we'd seen in his relationship with his dad was because of unfulfilled potential and disappointment in his choices. I do appreciate that even in all that the show reconfirmed that Nate has a tendency to receive something negatively no matter how good intentioned it is. So yeah, this was all nice, but still strangely unsatisfying.  It feels almost like what they did with Jade. 

Speaking of... I didn’t think any couple could have less chemistry than Sam and Rebecca and then Nate and Jade said 'Hold my beer."

The UGH stuff:

Rupert. 

I have no idea what to think about mean Dani Rojas. 

[dmeets]

This week on “Nate Shelley”… 40 minutes of Nate and others moping followed by 2-minute magical conversations that cure their funk! Poor Dr. Sharon might be out of a job soon.

Unless explicitly shown otherwise, I’m going to believe that Nate was fired and was lying to Jade about leaving on his own terms. That seemed more than “I quit my dream job because my boss is an ass who tried to get me to cheat on my girlfriend” level depression.

I wonder who was that guy with the mustache at the very end of the episode that Rebecca spit tea on. Looked vaguely familiar but couldn’t quite place him… 🤡

[ajsnaves]

I really enjoyed this episode.  But the whole time Nate was playing his violin, all I could think was Chidi's "Picture a wave" from The Good Place.

Rebecca could not find Ted.  Where do we think he was?  I think making plans to go home.

[saracen7]

I really really have not cared for the last two episodes but this one was so trite and disappointing. Everything was hitting people over the head and for a show that often had subtle character moments, I groaned out loud seeing little girl Rebecca and then the little boys in the conference room. Rebecca is a BOSS, but I still don’t believe she’d convince the billionaires nor did Rupert need any sort of humanity. People contain multitudes, but I didn’t need them to have a soft moment. She could’ve realized she doesn’t need his validation or that he has no effect on her a million ways other than humanizing him and then not kissing him. 
 

A few weeks ago I thought it’d be best to just focus on the show as a sitcom because it felt increasingly likely they wouldn’t stick the landing for me. There absolutely were some funny parts here (mostly uncles day), but they were covered with treacley resolutions so I didn’t even get much enjoyment out of that.

Also starting to get really worried they actually will try to pair up Rebecca and Ted with the matchbook and toy soldier (and Ted with the matchbook and magnets the other week). I still think he’ll leave but I’m getting nervous now seeing how the resolutions here have started. 

I did appreciate the Nate apology signed “wonder kid” and the lavender. Will deserves more, but it’s a start. 

[Blakeston]

1 hour ago, juno said:

Yes, it appears that Ted Lasso is now the co-star in a show about Nate.

I'd love it if Ted was a co-star! His role is more like a walk-on.

[reallyjustjen]

I agree that there was a distinct lack of actual Ted in this episode, but his impact was woven in throughout—the Ted-isms, the corny jokes, the Army man.  It feels intentional that Ted himself is a waning physical presence but has a lasting impact on everyone in his circle. 

Jamie wearing #24 on the national team and Higgins being convinced that the Willy Wonka kids were all murdered, were the best parts of what felt like a very on-the-nose episode in too many ways. 

[AD55]

I have been mainly neutral on the question of Nate's redemption, except that I think it has been done poorly. But I HATE that Roy echoed Nate's Jesus fucking Christ when Keeley caught him by surprise. Are the writers seriously suggesting that Nate and Roy have been on similar paths toward redemption this season? Words fail me. Those two scenes make me think that Nate is going to end up coaching Richmond. Ugh.

ETA that I think the shirt Roy was wearing at the end was similar in color and somewhat similar in design to the one that Nate was wearing earlier. Double ugh.

Edited May 17, 2023 by AD55

[Armchair Critic]

I double checked to make sure I watched all of the last episode, I thought I missed when Nate quit.

[twoods]

Rebecca’s speech was perfection.

Was this the first time that I liked Rupert? It was nice to see a different side to him.

I am surprised that Nate actually quit- I wasn’t expecting that at all. It was nice to here his father finally tell him that he wanted Nathan to be happy. I also liked the way he apologized to Will.

Sad Sam always makes me sad. Jamie wearing his number during the match made me teary eyed. I love love love the  relationship with the teammates. Jamie coming to Roy’s party was also a fun scene.

Roy finally seeing the light. It’s about fucking time. 

Edited May 17, 2023 by twoods

[EtheltoTillie]

Can someone please explain what those international matches were?  It seemed like they were playing mixed teams like all stars. 

[HelloooKitty]

I mean, Higgins isn’t wrong. 
 

until he tried the kiss, I thought Rupert might have had a wake up call. I thought, maybe, just maybe, Nate leaving the club and the double date as well as quitting - him “losing”- might have made him re-examine his ways. He hired an assistant he wouldn’t be attracted or tempted by, he seemed sincere in his invite to Rebecca, he didn’t go against Rebecca at the table just to spite her. Then he tried the kiss. Never mind! 

3 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Can someone please explain what those international matches were?  It seemed like they were playing mixed teams like all stars. 

My understand from watching the episode is that each country with enough pro players can make up like an exhibition team for their country from said pro players. Like an all star team. It’s an honor to get chosen, especially if there are lots of players to choose from. 
Mexico, Canada, Wales, Switzerland, and England all chose one of “our” players. 
 

no regular games are played that week, instead, exhibition games are played by each “national” team. Things return to regular play the next week. 

[Schweedie]

35 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Can someone please explain what those international matches were?  It seemed like they were playing mixed teams like all stars. 

Sometimes during the season countries play qualification matches for the World- or European cup, but I got the sense that these were just what's called 'friendlies'. It's a way for the manager of the national teams to test players and see who's going to make the squad for the qualifiers or whichever international cup is coming up, to see how some players can fit into the team, test tactics, etc. Friendlies aren't technically important, but for many players representing their country is their main goal, so being selected is considered a big thing. Some countries like Switzerland or Wales or Canada may not have that many players playing on the highest level, so considering our boys are in the Premier League and doing really well it makes sense that Colin, Van Damme and Bumbercatch (whose first name is Moe, @kwnyc 😄 ) would make the cut. (Eta -- for some reason love the revelation that Bumbercatch is apparently a Swiss national. Sometimes a player has the option to choose which national team they want to play for - Bumbercatch may have been born in Switzerland and moved to England early on given that he sounds London born, or has a Swiss parent.) England are pretty stocked, obviously, so Jamie being selected for the first time definitely shows how well he's done this season.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Schweedie

[Girl in a Cardigan]

Quick thoughts because it's after 1am since I was at Brett Goldstein Live this evening and only got to watch now.

So Roy and Keeley are just back together? I'm into it since the break up never made sense, but it feels a little too easy. I am happy that we've dealt with the Ms. Bowen situation; I never really felt any chemistry with them, but I'm happy that she's done.

I don't get what's happening with Nate, but I guess with two episodes left, we're just rolling with it. So, Nate quit after Rupert invited him to cheat or dump Jade or whatever? Like, Rupert being a scumbag with women is super common knowledge given that Nate worked for him before (or at least the club - who knows how involved Rupert was at Richmond) and in the tabloids when we join the story in season one, but I guess inviting Nate to do the same was a bridge too far? But his dad apologized, so everything's good. And he wrote Will a four word note, so I guess that counts as well. I'm still puzzled by the entire Nate arc this season, but it's become very clear that this is where we are now, so there's no use handwringing anymore.

In a shocking twist to literally only Keeley, Jack's VC firm pulled funding and left Barbara to deal with the fallout. And since it was obvious, Rebecca is clearly going to fund her. While I don't love that it took Roy apologizing to her for being shit for her to get her groove back, I'm just happy that Keeley Fucking Jones seems to be back in the building.

Edwin Akufu is such a delightful weirdo, even as he causes problems for our fav, Sam. Luckily, Sam has learned to roll with it and here's hoping that Edwin finds something shiny to distract him the next time there's a call up.

Rebecca's speech was nice, but ultimately completely unbelievable. I believe that she believes it, but there's no way she convinced those other rich men to ditch out in 10 minutes. Don't buy it, even if I love that for her.

Fav parts of the episode:
1. Roy's Uncle's Day Party, featuring JAMIE TARTT! OMG! I was losing my mind the whole time, especially with Jamie bringing such a fabulous gift for Roy. AND we got to meet Roy's sister, even if she didn't get a name. Plus Roy walking around in that tie-dye shirt ALL DAY was absolutely wild!
2. Jamie checking on his actually BFF, Sam, after Sam didn't get the call up. Such a mature boy, that one!
3. Jamie using Sam's number and getting to play in the game.

I'm sure there are things that I missed since it's late and the episode was over 70 minutes long (my god, the finale will probably be longer than a Marvel movie), but we're moving at a fast clip towards the end and I'm excited to see where it goes!

[EtheltoTillie]

Akufo is such a weasel, but I loved all his hilarious accents for the cancelled reservations. 

[PurpleTentacle]

First of all I want to clarify Perchtenlaufen isn't a german holiday. It's bavarian and austrian. They are weird down there.

Roy looks good in colour, but I think he looks best in "no shirt". Though if he was wearing "no shirt" all the time, I probably wouldn't get any of what's happening in scenes he's in, because I would be too distracted.

After Roy said "I will cut your eyes out", that was a genuine break from Phil Dunster, wasn't it?

You know it's nice that this still has a lot of comedy. A lot of dramedies have the tendency to drift into full on drama in their last season *cough* Barry *cough*. Of course Ted Lasso always tended more towards the comedy than the drama, but still.

This episode was really fun. Roy being in  a place where he can be with Keeley and they can be good for each other is nice. Rebecca getting completely over Rupert is nice. Rebecca sticking it to the asshole billionair is nice. Keeley getting to be her own boss and to work with Barbara was nice. Nice things all around.

[EtheltoTillie]

1 hour ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

Quick thoughts because it's after 1am since I was at Brett Goldstein Live this evening and only got to watch now.

What is Brett Goldstein Live?  Tell all.

[PurpleTentacle]

7 hours ago, Thalia said:

Okay, ten seconds in.  [pause button] Consider my jaw dropped.[/pause button]

I was wondering if I had missed an episode. That was a weird way to reveal that. Especially since they made it seem like Nate was fired. It makes more sense that he quit. But even for that there was very little buildup. This season is really uneven. Seems like they squandered time in the beginning episodes and are now desperatly trying to get everything done before the end.

[justmehere]

Well, I loved it. Did they spend too long in the dark forest before starting to move out of it? Maybe, but sometimes things do resolve in a breakthrough moment, allowing all that has been built up to release. It felt overall like people coming back to themselves - after a time lost in the woods - but I don't think it's all neat and tidy yet. 

Rebecca was ready. She's been valuing herself, finding her power, speaking out where needed, and that day, she found her moment to let go of Rupert. She might have thought she wasn't ready, but it came in the moment. I was a little surprised about the "humanization" of Rupert, but her tapping into those memories was for her. She knew his history and his vulnerabilities. And while he became a bully and remained one, she has become a powerful, self-confident woman who isn't under his thumb anymore. We know that people snap in a negative moment, but sometimes they can also click into place in a positive one. Rebecca did that. Something else must have happened for Rupert to be at all sincere, if he was (more below), but Rebecca has moved on. Yay. I'm interested to see what's next for her. That green matchbook is still hanging around; maybe she'll hop on over to Amsterdam. (Side note: In a way, her speech reminded me a little bit of James Earl Jones' baseball speech in Field of Dreams - how much the sport has meant to people, its legacy.)

Good for Nate, quitting. Yet he would be depressed over leaving his dream job without any guarantee that another club would hire him. He found validation and power in that job, which he thought were so important. He was Rupert in the making. But he finally woke up to things in Rupert he didn't want, was smart enough to recognize (last week) the importance of the good thing he has with Jade, and was smart enough to walk away from Rupert. Even so, it was a big loss for him, and he probably feels like he failed somehow, logical or not. He felt vulnerable enough to go back home, with his judgmental father, which brings more feelings of failure - fulfilling with his own choice what he believes about himself inside. But again, sometimes there is a moment that allows someone to let go. Nate was always sensitive. His father handled things badly with him as a kid, Nate took it the wrong way, and he became highly defensive as a result (not uncommon for very sensitive people). The conversation with his father was eye opening for him - good that Nate had confidence enough to speak up - and now he knows how his father really felt (also saw his father wiping his eyes as he left the room) and sees that he misunderstood, sees that his beliefs were wrong. He can now apply that to other people and situations - and also see that his reactionary behavior was wrong. His amends to Will showed that. I liked that he started there, getting the locker room all set up, which was just the right thing given his defensive outburst when he thought he was fired. It was a step in being humble, too, performing a job he left behind for someone he deemed beneath him. There's definitely more for him to do, but he has had realizations and is starting to take responsibility.

As for Rupert, I did wonder for a minute if something Nate might have said touched a nerve in him. He tried to make Nate in his image, so when Nate refused to go along with the models and then quit... maybe it made him rethink a thing or two, maybe accounting for him being even slightly genuine with Rebecca. But this is Rupert. I think it's more likely that Bex found out about him some other way (or maybe it was Nate?) and threatened divorce, in which he could lose another team; replacing his assistant was a condition she demanded for staying. As for cozying up to Rebecca, perhaps he was testing the waters, like maybe he could get Richmond back from her if he lost West Ham. 

Roy - for a second I was worried about the school teacher, but thank goodness it led to a revelatory moment for Roy. Finally! He'll always be gruff on the outside, but he's kind of mush inside. Love him with Phoebe, and he and Jamie together are gold. I liked him reading the letter to Keely without objection, even though he might have had some in mind. I was glad to see her start after him when he was leaving, figured they'd reunite, but I still applauded seeing him at her place. About time.

Very glad that Barbara stayed with Keely - many were hoping for that and some also called for Rebecca to finance her. Keely's confusion about the "lightning" was great - and I loved Mae's answer about being ready for it. Keely stumbled on her way up the mountain, but she's ready. Could there be problems with a friend giving the money? IMO, not in this world, after the issues with Jack. There's not going to be personal involvement between her and Rebecca, and unless Keely suddenly starts screwing up work-wise, it'll be a success.

Jamie continues to be a good guy - he was so great at the uncle party and then with Sam. Dark Dani was interesting - he takes his role seriously! He also totally confused Van Damme. I feel like Mr. Akufo might somehow play a part in Sam coming out on top, which he will by the end, though I have no further idea about it. It's set up well with him being such a dick and then losing out on his big plan... or maybe not.

Ted was pretty much absent again, and it is very noticeable, but there are two episodes left, and I'm guessing he will be more central now that things are back on track for some of the others. Of course there will be interaction with Nate. His concern was obvious in looking at the article about Nate being gone from West Ham. I liked his comment that he also wants to win. I'd love for Ted to stay in England, but I agree with the idea that he has had his impact on everyone personally (and professionally: even if the team strategy wasn't original, it also wasn't used until he brought it up) and he will move on. (Just please don't go back with Michelle.) --As for Beard... he's such an enigma. Why isn't he a head coach himself somewhere? Will he stay in England for Jane? They seem to be getting along well now. I imagine Higgins will continue to be Higgins.

A very good episode.

 

[Blakeston]

When we learned that Sam had been excluded from the Nigerian team, I figured it was because he denounced the Nigerian government last season.

But apparently that really was just meant to be a cute one-epiisode storyline with no real consequences for Sam (despite him still having family in Nigeria).

[AD55]

1 hour ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

Quick thoughts because it's after 1am since I was at Brett Goldstein Live this evening and only got to watch now.

So, you're just going to toss this off as an aside? I feel like it should have its own thread. 😉

[DEL901]

I think whoever said up to that there was no way Rebecca convinced those old guys not to invest were right… I think after Rebecca gave her speech, Edwin Okufu freaked out and that’s what convinced them not to invest. 

Jack is definitely not an owner of a VC firm.  She is a nepo baby and the board daddy put in place really run things.  

Like the present Jamie gave Roy…but with the Jamie twist of spelling Kent with a “u”.   

Higgins continues to be wonderful and so was May.  And Trent.  

And Keely seems so much more energized in a way she never was at KJPR before when she was beholden to a VC firm.  She knows she doesn’t have to worry about every step and what the money people think. She knows Rebecca believes in her.  

I think Ted has already made the choice to return to the US at the season, but won’t announce it.  He will just slip away because he won’t want a fuss.  

[Harvey]

Nate's redemption is extremely rushed and very sloppily done.

[Lady Calypso]

So, here's kind of where I stand on the entire episode.

It had some very good moments, I really liked where many of the plots went, but I think the build-up to many of these plots throughout the season were poorly done.

Let's start with the main one, Nate. I think Nate's scene with his father this episode was really good. I did like seeing some of the conclusion to his issues with his father. BUT I think Nate's redemption arc has been poorly done all season; they didn't build up his redemption arc enough. I think what would have helped is if a good part of Nate's plot this season was with his family. We had one previous episode with his family in it, but that's it. If we had more of Nate and his father, I actually do think that would have helped his redemption arc greatly. Instead, we get Nate sidelined for the first couple of episodes, have a couple of episodes with him at West Ham, and then they reintroduce Jade for the rest. 

Nate's redemption is possible and they did a decent job this episode, but the issue was the build-up was poor. 

I did like Nate quitting; I'm not sure I loved Nate wallowing because of him quitting, but I think that's mostly because I expected him to be depressed because he got fired. Yet, I do think it makes some sense because he quit the dream job that gave him power and validation. And I wish Nate apologized to Will in person, but I do think his actions showed his remorse so that's a step in the right direction. Overall, Nate had a good episode, even if the previous episodes were poor build-up to this. 

Rebecca's plot was well done. I've loved her own redemption arc this season. There's been little changes in Rebecca that have been building up to her finally letting go of Rupert for good, so I'm glad it seems she's finally gotten there. I loved her taking her power back and telling Edwin Akufu off. I did laugh at the aftermath, where we saw everyone covered in food because he clearly threw an adult-sized temper tantrum at everyone who apparently joined with Rebecca to reject his proposal. 

Rupert's role this episode was odd. We have CLEARLY missed something since his last appearance because he was not acting like himself. He wasn't smug as usual; he was genuine when inviting Rebecca and he seemed more subdued. I know we saw the scene where his new assistant was telling him test results, so I assume it's health related but I also can't imagine Rupert changing just because of a potentially fatal diagnosis. And it also can't just be because of Nate quitting, so the show does have me intrigued with what's going on with Rupert so close to the finale. He's still a piece of shit, but they attempted to add some humanizing moments here, which was interesting.

I know I was supposed to laugh at Dani joining his national team and him turning into a ruthless mean player, but I don't think it quite hit for me. 

Keeley/Roy get back together, which is nice. Roy's build-up hasn't been as great as I hoped. Similar to Nate, he had a great episode here but the build-up to his realizations hasn't been strong enough. 

Keeley almost loses KJPR, but Rebecca steps in. Hooray! Jack strikes yet again, though, which sucks, but I'm glad she's gone for good. And I'm glad Barbara quit and joined Keeley.

Edwin is a piece of shit and what he did to Sam is the worst thing anyone's done on this show (yes, even everything Rupert's done; I mean, buying the Nigerian team off to not take Sam and then humiliating Sam by trying to threaten to run Sam's business to the ground) but Sam Richardson is a delight to watch. You could tell he was having so much fun with playing Edwin's childlike behaviour.

Jamie is such a delight; he continues to grow in subtle ways. Him going to check on Sam and then using his number when he played was fantastic. And his scene with Roy, his sister and Phoebe was fantastic. And we meet Roy's sister, who we saw as Sharon's ER doctor last season!

Yeah, very little Ted; it seems like they're pushing Ted slowly out the door so that, if they want to continue the show, they can easily do it since Ted isn't needed. These people are growing on their own. They don't need Ted anymore to help them on their journey. Still, it does suck to see less and less Ted. 

I did love Ted, Beard and Trent's reactions to Roy's t-shirt.

[Captain Carrot]

7 hours ago, reallyjustjen said:

I agree that there was a distinct lack of actual Ted in this episode, but his impact was woven in throughout—the Ted-isms, the corny jokes, the Army man.  It feels intentional that Ted himself is a waning physical presence but has a lasting impact on everyone in his circle. 

I agree. If this show continues for another season it makes sense to transition to more of an ensemble. Especially if Ted goes home at the end of the season and S4 is really a spin off about the team.

I've also been thinking of Ted and Rebecca, and I don't ship them but I wouldn't be upset if they got together either. She has the money needed to go back and forth to the US when she doesn't need to be in London and great relationships have started out as friendships.

I am kind of shipping Jamie and Roy's sister if we get more of this show. But that's mostly for Roy having to put up with it.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Captain Carrot

[Crs97]

Suddenly I find myself needing Jamie and Roy’s sister to date.

Regarding Rupert’s humanization, in one way I do think we needed to see why Rebecca was ever attracted to Rupert.  We know he love-bombed her, but there had to be more to it.  This episode gave a glimpse into why she stayed with him so long, at least for me.

Van Damme’s expression when Dani crushed the chips had us cackling over here!

[shapeshifter]

 

5 hours ago, HelloooKitty said:

until he tried the kiss, I thought Rupert might have had a wake up call.

10 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Rupert's role this episode was odd. We have CLEARLY missed something since his last appearance because he was not acting like himself. He wasn't smug as usual; he was genuine when inviting Rebecca and he seemed more subdued.

The minute Rupert showed up at the "meeting," I was suspicious that he only wanted Rebecca to be his arm candy.
The other Good Ol' Boy rich dudes seemed to see Rebecca as Still-Good-Lookin' Rupert's wife friend.
Perhaps Rupert's wife# 2 has served him with divorce papers and is helping the mistress sue him for harassment in the workplace. And Nate quit, which means Rupert's WunderTeam is coach-less, especially since Nate did not have a Beard (bad pun?).
Rupert might even be in dire financial straits with the divorce and all. 
So Rebecca and her winning-streak team with her reliable coach represented assets to Rupert. 
Fortunately Rebecca did not need him.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

we got to meet Roy's sister, even if she didn't get a name.

No matter her name. Roy's sister will become Mrs. Jamie Tartt, off-screen, of course, which means Ted can officiate.

[Lady Calypso]

20 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The minute Rupert showed up at the "meeting," I was suspicious that he only wanted Rebecca to be his arm candy.

I had that thought cross my mind, and I think it's part of it.

Anthony Head did an impeccable job showcasing that something was off with Rupert. 

[DEL901]

6 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

I had that thought cross my mind, and I think it's part of it.

Anthony Head did an impeccable job showcasing that something was off with Rupert. 

I wondered if Rebecca was actually a condition of his own admission especially when Edwin mentioned them both being minorities.    Also, maybe he has realized Rebecca 2.0 wasn’t actually an upgrade.  But all good sinceRebecca was finally able to be free of any lingering feelings. 

[Trillium]

Did this show make me feel a tiny bit of emotion for fucking Rupert, other than the typical absolute loathing? Didn’t think that was possible. But then again, they made me love Jamie Tartt, so anything is possible. But he still sucks and I don’t trust him. 

I knew Roy was in the house when Rebecca showed up, if we know one thing about Keeley is that vulnerable Roy is her kink. It does seem like their reunion was a bit rushed but they breakup was dumb in the first place. They were in love, basically living together, she didn’t suddenly stop loving him. She hadn’t been The Independent Woman at all this season, and Roy showing up right then to remind her, that’s all she needed. Maybe I missed it because I was lost in Rebecca’s speech/music, but what did he buy? 
 

I knew Rebecca would own those rich old white dudes, and it did not disappoint.  She started the season in her own head but after Amsterdam she’s been the boss ass bitch we know she is. Loved it 

I’m glad things have turned around but I’ll never be anything other than frustrated with a majority of the first half of the season. It’s like they needed to stretch things out to fill the 12 episodes, yet ending making them longer for no reason. Everything with KJPR seemed completely pointless. Keeley ended up back where she end last season, with Roy restarting her company. Shandy was an utter waste of time and Jack, I’m not sure what the point of another rich asshole character was. We already had Rupert and Edwin. Billionaires suck, we get it. You could do an edit where you remove that all together and lose nothing of the story. 

I also agree that Nate’s story seems like they skipped a bunch of things. I expected a redemption but I wanted him to suffer the consequences of his behavior. He seems to have so far gotten away with being an asshole. I’m glad he apologized to Will, but he needs to have a reckoning with Ted.  Ted needs to not just aw sucks and forgive him immediately. He needs to tell Nate he hurt him. 
 

Two episodes left. To quote Higgins, let’s do this shit.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Trillium

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, Trillium said:

I knew Rebecca would own those rich white old dudes, and it did not disappoint.

Rebecca's speech to the little-boy men is like many imaginary speeches I've delivered in the shower. 
I really appreciate the (male?) writers wanting to show how such a speech would look and sound. Often I've wished my own imaginary speeches could be made into TV episodes or movies. 
But it was still

5 hours ago, Girl in a Cardigan said:

Rebecca's speech was nice, but ultimately completely unbelievable.

completely unbelievable.
But maybe viewers who still have career moves ahead of them will be inspired to deliver such a speeches that will actually have such a transformative effect rather than the truth-sayers loosing their places at the table.

[Schweedie]

The return of Laughing Liam! That cracked me up so much.

Nice callback to Nate's "roast" in season one ("Don't read it, say it to my face") when Roy stopped reading from his letter and saying what he wanted to say directly to Keeley instead. I'm so glad they're back together, but I'm still so annoyed we had nine episodes of them barely interacting at all to get here. It does make sense story-wise to me to have Roy break up with her for the reasons he did, because he is the way he is, but what they then did with Keeley during all that time apart just ruined it. What a waste of time everything around KJPR has been. Except for Barbara. I love Barbara. And I love that she likes clothes that "tell the truth".

Great to see Phoebe again! I've missed her. And yes, Roy, Jamie is your best friend. You may as well own it. Loved how he insisted it wasn't true but then was insulted when Jamie said his best friend was Isaac. (Which was a surprising pick to me, actually - I would've thought Dani, possibly Colin.) And the doctor from Sharon's accident WAS Roy's sister as has been speculated, that was nice. It's good casting, I can see it.

I loved that playing for Mexico brings out Dani's dark side. Rani Dojas, if you will. I don't even know why him being like that makes total sense to me, but it just does. 

The whole Super League thing was actually a real thing that was in the works a while back - a bunch of top European clubs, six of them English, announced that they'd be forming their own super amazing league. It didn't go down well among players, coaches, or fans, and the backlash made most of the founding clubs withdraw almost immediately, so the whole thing fell through. Thank god.

[AD55]

Has Roy said "I love you" to Keeley onscreen before this episode?

[DearEvette]

10 hours ago, DEL901 said:

And Keely seems so much more energized in a way she never was at KJPR before when she was beholden to a VC firm.  She knows she doesn’t have to worry about every step and what the money people think. She knows Rebecca believes in her.

The season failed Keeley on so many fronts, imo, because I think the whole KJPR story lacked even that much depth.  Cynically, I feel like the Keeley story was written just to give Juno something to do because a traditional romance genre storyline requires a third act break up.  So she and Roy got their break up for what in retrospect are dumb reasons that served neither character well, but whereas Roy was a coach with the team and has a built in story, Keeley needed one manufactured for her.  It could have been done really well.  I thought for sure we'd get a Ted-like arc for Keeley where she brought her own stamp to a staid office and morphed them into a good team and had mad some kick-ass business decisions.  But instead I honestly feel like we just got 'Ad Agency Barbie', complete with her pink office.  Sometimes Keeley just looked like she was playing dress up. 

 

9 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Rupert's role this episode was odd. We have CLEARLY missed something since his last appearance because he was not acting like himself. He wasn't smug as usual; he was genuine when inviting Rebecca and he seemed more subdued. I know we saw the scene where his new assistant was telling him test results, so I assume it's health related but I also can't imagine Rupert changing just because of a potentially fatal diagnosis. And it also can't just be because of Nate quitting, so the show does have me intrigued with what's going on with Rupert so close to the finale. He's still a piece of shit, but they attempted to add some humanizing moments here, which was interesting.

The whole time I was watching I kept waiting for Rupert to take his mask off and show his true face.  Look, I know people are not all bad or all good and that everyone falls somewhere in between.  But if the show was going to show us the human and charming bits of Rupert and why Rebecca fell for him in the first place, I wish they had sprinkled that in throughout the series.  Up til this episode he has been 100% terrible to her.  He humiliated her publicly with his serial cheating.  He deliberately knew what buttons to push to make her feel bad every time they met face to face. He even went so far as to get a younger wife with her same name, have a kid (which he knew Rebecca wanted), bought shares in the team under the new wife's name so she could sit in the owner's box with Rebecca every game as a way to rub even more humiliation in Rebecca's face, and tried to sabotage her charity event.  And here we are supposed to see a softer side of him.  I get this is a feel good show, but don't show me a villain through 90% of the show and try to say "well he wasn't really that bad" in the the last 10.  I do think it was necessary for us to see Rebecca definitely over Rupert even when he has his charm offensive dialed to 11.  That was great for us and for her.  But I don't want a nice Rupert.  I need the show to follow through on their Palpatine metaphor with Rupert and pull a  Return of the Jedi!

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Rebecca's speech to the little-boy men is like many imaginary speeches I've delivered in the shower. 
I really appreciate the (male?) writers wanting to show how such a speech would look and sound. Often I've wished my own imaginary speeches could be made into TV episodes or movies.  But it was still completely unbelievable.

I liked what Rebecca's speech represented for her as a character.  But yeah, it wasn't believable.  I mean.. the speech itself was believable if it had come from someone like Ted.  But I never got the impression that Rebecca had this great love of soccer or appreciated what it means to the fans. I always thought she only wanted the team because it was the thing that Rupert loved the most.  And I especially don't find those men being swayed by the speech believable.

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

I liked what Rebecca's speech represented for her as a character.  But yeah, it wasn't believable.  I mean.. the speech itself was believable if it had come from someone like Ted.  But I never got the impression that Rebecca had this great love of soccer or appreciated what it means to the fans. I always thought she only wanted the team because it was the thing that Rupert loved the most.  And I especially don't find those men being swayed by the speech believable.

She definitely started out that way but I do think she's grown to genuinely love football and Richmond. She also has always been a fan of football, I believe. But this is also why I think Rebecca's "family" prediction will be about Richmond. She's learned to not want to spite Rupert with Richmond, she's learned to love and embrace Richmond as her own. 

Plus, there WAS a moment earlier in the episode where Rebecca takes out Ted's mini soldier toy and Sam's Ola matchbook, and she focuses on Ted's toy. Not that I think that's a hint toward a romantic endgame, but I think that was showing Rebecca being influenced by Ted's optimism and love (and need for great speeches!). At least that was my interpretation.

I think what helped the men being swayed was Rupert clearly agreeing with her. That, and Edwin throwing a temper tantrum probably happened right after her speech. I'd like to think even those men recognized what a bad idea it would be to get into business with a man-child once they saw him throwing food.

[Schweedie]

20 minutes ago, AD55 said:

Has Roy said "I love you" to Keeley onscreen before this episode?

He did in the funeral episode last season.

9 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

She definitely started out that way but I do think she's grown to genuinely love football and Richmond. She also has always been a fan of football, I believe. But this is also why I think Rebecca's "family" prediction will be about Richmond. She's learned to not want to spite Rupert with Richmond, she's learned to love and embrace Richmond as her own. 

Yeah, she said in the season one finale that she "forgot how stressful it is when you actually give a shit". So it's entirely possible that she cared very much cared at one point, before Rupert soured her relationship to the club and getting revenge on him became all that mattered.

[Juneau Gal]

Ugh, we are heading to Nate returning to Richmond, aren't we?! Where else,what else would he do? And, if this is the case, the show will have forever ended for me at the end of Season Two. If/when I rewatch, this Season will not be in the rotation. 

Several episodes ago a poster posited that the problem with this Season is that there was too much time between Season Two and Season Three, giving the writers the time to believe al their good press, get big-headed, and lose the thread of what made this show great. I believe we are absolutely seeing this played out in the sloppy writing, dead end storylines, and weird meaningless tangents. Don't make make me sit through 11 mostly disappointing episodes, just for you to miraculously pull all the pieces together at the end, writers, because at this point, it's not going to happen. Anything they pull out of their hats now is going to seem contrived, manipulative, and dismissive to an audience who has championed this show.

[funnygirl]

The writers have grossly overestimated the importance of Nate. IMO He still hasn't actually apologized to warrant forgiveness or be redeemed for his nasty behavior in season 2. His letter to Will is not even close to sufficient. And they've wasted so much time telling his little story while neglecting almost everyone else...

...like Roy and Keeley getting back together. So happy for it, but it's too bad we couldn't see more of the build up to them reuniting.

Rebecca investing in KJPR should've been what happened in the first place, but I'm glad Barbara is sticking around as CFO. 

The spit-take at the end was hilarious. Rebecca looked especially beautiful in that pink dress. 

Roy and Jamie's friendship has been the only consistent great thing about season 3. 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by funnygirl