Ted Lasso - Season 3

[Anonymous]

This weeks episode certainly twisted the Nate storyline. Clearly redemption is coming in the last 2 episodes. In fact there was a lot of set up for wrapping up storylines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t really like the Jade storyline. I thought Nate needed to learn that it’s not how others see you that matters but how you see yourself. He didn’t care about the fawning manager—he cared about Jade because she didn’t seem impressed by him. And he just kept trying to win her over. But neither person’s response to him should have ultimately mattered that much. They are just people at some restaurant.

Regarding whether Nate is redeemable: I agree that Nate dabbled with being mean, but I don’t get the sense that he’s been a bully his whole life. You can be a major jerk a few times and course correct. Would that happen so quickly? Maybe not. I don’t know exactly the role Jade is supposed to be playing in this. The relationship is odd in that she barely speaks to him.

My take on the Jade relationship is that she loves him for him. She asks nothing of him and simply enjoys his company. He is finally seeing what it's like to be loved like that, and to be able to reciprocate it. He's maturing. I did dislike her in the beginning when she was snotty to him at the restaurant, but now looking back, I wonder if she was just entirely unimpressed with the fact that he was some bigshot coach and wasn't interested in fawning over him (like her manager does). It was only after she saw that he really was a decent person, who brought his parents in for dinner and who was kind and respectful, that she began to be interested in him.

She treated him the same before he was a coach as she did afterwards. Some people def just have a "you don't deserve my attention" way about them - in my experience often it turns out they are the kindest, most fiercely loyal people once you do get in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t stand Nate. He reminds me of every entitled male that thinks of himself as a nice guy who is mistreated and unappreciated by the world and walks around with a massive pissy chip on his shoulder and doesn’t recognize that it’s his own pissy passive aggressive attitude that turns everyone off—not that “nice guys finish last.”

But that's the point - he IS recognizing that. He is growing and becoming better.

Not sure why he thought so highly of himself in the first place. He was promoted from a water boy, essentially. He should have been grateful and put in his dues before thinking he was some sort of "wunderkind" that deserved to coach a team.

He obviously doesn't think highly of himself -- almost all of Nate's problems are a direct result of low self esteem.

Also, wouldn't serving as a water boy and then an assistant coach constitute "paying your dues"? I mean, Ted did neither and he's now the head coach of a Premiere League team despite still having a fairly minimal grasp of the game of soccer. So the "pay your dues" insult feels particularly misplaced in this context -- Nate knows more about soccer and has spent more time in low level roles on soccer teams than Ted has.

And yeah, it was the press who called him a wunderkind, and continues to do so, and the nickname was assigned not because he thinks highly of himself, but because he consistently coaches winning teams. He first got the nickname when he filled in for Ted and successfully got a win, and now he's been extremely successful at Westham (aren't they in 1st place? that's not easy) since becoming head coach there.

The irony here is that Nate actually should thing highly of himself and have a lot of faith in his abilities, but he continues to struggle with his self worth despite all this evidence of his well-earned success.

No, Nate was being interviewed and said "It's not like I am some kind of a 'wonder kid' and the reporter said, "do you mean 'wunderkind'? He was the one who started that...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This weeks episode certainly twisted the Nate storyline. Clearly redemption is coming in the last 2 episodes. In fact there was a lot of set up for wrapping up storylines.

The person who plays Nate is such a good actor. He is perfectly believable as a man who is depressed and not sure which direction to go in or what to do next - but who is also rediscovering a side of himself he had forgotten. Very touching. And I love his mom, keeping him fed while he works things out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t stand Nate. He reminds me of every entitled male that thinks of himself as a nice guy who is mistreated and unappreciated by the world and walks around with a massive pissy chip on his shoulder and doesn’t recognize that it’s his own pissy passive aggressive attitude that turns everyone off—not that “nice guys finish last.”

But that's the point - he IS recognizing that. He is growing and becoming better.

Not sure why he thought so highly of himself in the first place. He was promoted from a water boy, essentially. He should have been grateful and put in his dues before thinking he was some sort of "wunderkind" that deserved to coach a team.

He obviously doesn't think highly of himself -- almost all of Nate's problems are a direct result of low self esteem.

Also, wouldn't serving as a water boy and then an assistant coach constitute "paying your dues"? I mean, Ted did neither and he's now the head coach of a Premiere League team despite still having a fairly minimal grasp of the game of soccer. So the "pay your dues" insult feels particularly misplaced in this context -- Nate knows more about soccer and has spent more time in low level roles on soccer teams than Ted has.

And yeah, it was the press who called him a wunderkind, and continues to do so, and the nickname was assigned not because he thinks highly of himself, but because he consistently coaches winning teams. He first got the nickname when he filled in for Ted and successfully got a win, and now he's been extremely successful at Westham (aren't they in 1st place? that's not easy) since becoming head coach there.

The irony here is that Nate actually should thing highly of himself and have a lot of faith in his abilities, but he continues to struggle with his self worth despite all this evidence of his well-earned success.

No, Nate was being interviewed and said "It's not like I am some kind of a 'wonder kid' and the reporter said, "do you mean 'wunderkind'? He was the one who started that...

It's so strange that they somehow made this into a whole storyline. Wunderkind literally means wonder kid, so who cares about him saying it either way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t stand Nate. He reminds me of every entitled male that thinks of himself as a nice guy who is mistreated and unappreciated by the world and walks around with a massive pissy chip on his shoulder and doesn’t recognize that it’s his own pissy passive aggressive attitude that turns everyone off—not that “nice guys finish last.”

But that's the point - he IS recognizing that. He is growing and becoming better.

Not sure why he thought so highly of himself in the first place. He was promoted from a water boy, essentially. He should have been grateful and put in his dues before thinking he was some sort of "wunderkind" that deserved to coach a team.

He obviously doesn't think highly of himself -- almost all of Nate's problems are a direct result of low self esteem.

Also, wouldn't serving as a water boy and then an assistant coach constitute "paying your dues"? I mean, Ted did neither and he's now the head coach of a Premiere League team despite still having a fairly minimal grasp of the game of soccer. So the "pay your dues" insult feels particularly misplaced in this context -- Nate knows more about soccer and has spent more time in low level roles on soccer teams than Ted has.

And yeah, it was the press who called him a wunderkind, and continues to do so, and the nickname was assigned not because he thinks highly of himself, but because he consistently coaches winning teams. He first got the nickname when he filled in for Ted and successfully got a win, and now he's been extremely successful at Westham (aren't they in 1st place? that's not easy) since becoming head coach there.

The irony here is that Nate actually should thing highly of himself and have a lot of faith in his abilities, but he continues to struggle with his self worth despite all this evidence of his well-earned success.

No, Nate was being interviewed and said "It's not like I am some kind of a 'wonder kid' and the reporter said, "do you mean 'wunderkind'? He was the one who started that...

It's so strange that they somehow made this into a whole storyline. Wunderkind literally means wonder kid, so who cares about him saying it either way?

Gotta disagree. The word people use in the context Nate used it is wunderkind. Of course, if Ted had said "wonder kid" and been corrected, he would have used it as an opportunity to poke fun at himself an ingratiate himself to the interviewer. But insecure Nate of course gets defensive and pretends he said it right the first time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t stand Nate. He reminds me of every entitled male that thinks of himself as a nice guy who is mistreated and unappreciated by the world and walks around with a massive pissy chip on his shoulder and doesn’t recognize that it’s his own pissy passive aggressive attitude that turns everyone off—not that “nice guys finish last.”

But that's the point - he IS recognizing that. He is growing and becoming better.

Not sure why he thought so highly of himself in the first place. He was promoted from a water boy, essentially. He should have been grateful and put in his dues before thinking he was some sort of "wunderkind" that deserved to coach a team.

He obviously doesn't think highly of himself -- almost all of Nate's problems are a direct result of low self esteem.

Also, wouldn't serving as a water boy and then an assistant coach constitute "paying your dues"? I mean, Ted did neither and he's now the head coach of a Premiere League team despite still having a fairly minimal grasp of the game of soccer. So the "pay your dues" insult feels particularly misplaced in this context -- Nate knows more about soccer and has spent more time in low level roles on soccer teams than Ted has.

And yeah, it was the press who called him a wunderkind, and continues to do so, and the nickname was assigned not because he thinks highly of himself, but because he consistently coaches winning teams. He first got the nickname when he filled in for Ted and successfully got a win, and now he's been extremely successful at Westham (aren't they in 1st place? that's not easy) since becoming head coach there.

The irony here is that Nate actually should thing highly of himself and have a lot of faith in his abilities, but he continues to struggle with his self worth despite all this evidence of his well-earned success.

No, Nate was being interviewed and said "It's not like I am some kind of a 'wonder kid' and the reporter said, "do you mean 'wunderkind'? He was the one who started that...

Even you agree he didn't appropriate wonder kid/wunderkind for himself, though. Why are we still arguing about this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This weeks episode certainly twisted the Nate storyline. Clearly redemption is coming in the last 2 episodes. In fact there was a lot of set up for wrapping up storylines.

The person who plays Nate is such a good actor. He is perfectly believable as a man who is depressed and not sure which direction to go in or what to do next - but who is also rediscovering a side of himself he had forgotten. Very touching. And I love his mom, keeping him fed while he works things out.

Agree. It's also fits with the redemption idea since he clearly finally realized that Rupert is a weasel.

[Anonymous]

Wow, odd to me that all you folks are discussing is Nate. Least interesting storyline this season if you ask me. Hmmm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, odd to me that all you folks are discussing is Nate. Least interesting storyline this season if you ask me. Hmmm.

So skip the conversation.

[Anonymous]

Back to Nate, I didn't quite understand what his father was saying. He admits that Nate is a genius and that he didn't know how to parent a genius... but how does that excuse a lifetime of emotional neglect? Never anything positive to say about Nate, no encouragement whatsoever. That scene was devastating and made me cry, but I still don't understand why he would have been so cruel and distant to Nate, all of his life.

[Anonymous]

Roy and Keeley 4EVA!!

[Anonymous]

I am sensing I'm going to be annoyed with the end of the show because I feel that they are bringing all the storylines into a nice, tidy, mostly predictable little bow. It's too neat and feels like wish fulfillment/fan service instead of real storytelling.

I think it would be more interesting to watch Nate deal with realizing his dad is never going to validate or support him the way he'd like him to, and for Keeley accept the failure of her business (and her own role in it by choosing to get personally involved with her lone investor) without being rescued by her conveniently rich and totally supportive best friend. I'm okay with Roy and Keeley getting back together but it also serves to highlight how manufactured their split was in the first place.

The way these stories have gone make me worried about the others on the show. I will be annoyed if the whole thing winds up trite and tidy with everyone learning a pithy little lesson but also, ultimately, getting precisely what they always wanted in such a way that the lesson feels cheap and unearned and beside the point.

I found this episode kind of infuriating. If this whole thing ends with Ted re-uniting with his ex-wife and Nate returning to Richmond as a coach and the Greyhounds winning the league title and Rupert getting his comeuppance and Rebecca getting her perfect love... I'm not saying I don't want those characters to be happy, but I don't get what the point of telling this story is if you are going to make them happy in the most obvious ways with very little personal growth. The first couple seasons had real transformations for several characters. This one just feels like everyone getting what the want in the end. That's not how life works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am sensing I'm going to be annoyed with the end of the show because I feel that they are bringing all the storylines into a nice, tidy, mostly predictable little bow. It's too neat and feels like wish fulfillment/fan service instead of real storytelling.

I think it would be more interesting to watch Nate deal with realizing his dad is never going to validate or support him the way he'd like him to, and for Keeley accept the failure of her business (and her own role in it by choosing to get personally involved with her lone investor) without being rescued by her conveniently rich and totally supportive best friend. I'm okay with Roy and Keeley getting back together but it also serves to highlight how manufactured their split was in the first place.

The way these stories have gone make me worried about the others on the show. I will be annoyed if the whole thing winds up trite and tidy with everyone learning a pithy little lesson but also, ultimately, getting precisely what they always wanted in such a way that the lesson feels cheap and unearned and beside the point.

I found this episode kind of infuriating. If this whole thing ends with Ted re-uniting with his ex-wife and Nate returning to Richmond as a coach and the Greyhounds winning the league title and Rupert getting his comeuppance and Rebecca getting her perfect love... I'm not saying I don't want those characters to be happy, but I don't get what the point of telling this story is if you are going to make them happy in the most obvious ways with very little personal growth. The first couple seasons had real transformations for several characters. This one just feels like everyone getting what the want in the end. That's not how life works.

I hear you, there's a risk we're going to see a nice tidy, but trite, bow at the final episode. Of course, this has always been a feel-good show, it's not Succession where posters are wondering about suicide among the main characters. So maybe you get what you pay for.

*** spoilers ***

And, devil's advocate, I do think there's been personal growth. Rebecca found the confidence to deal with the big boys, and she's grown out of her rivalry with Rupert. Roy made a really good apology to Keeley, started wearing colors, and generally got unstuck. Keeley probably does realize that her involvement with her lone investor was a mistake, although I agree it's a little trite that her BFF immediately bails her out. Jamie has learned about teamwork and friendship. And Nate is growing the most of anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Back to Nate, I didn't quite understand what his father was saying. He admits that Nate is a genius and that he didn't know how to parent a genius... but how does that excuse a lifetime of emotional neglect? Never anything positive to say about Nate, no encouragement whatsoever. That scene was devastating and made me cry, but I still don't understand why he would have been so cruel and distant to Nate, all of his life.

The dad apologized for being a bad parent to Nate. I don't think that excused anything. But going forward, you see them playing card games together, so there's hope for a better relationship.