Thread by @danielradosh

How Ted Lasso lost the 🧵

A lot of people still aren't ready to admit it but it's clear that season 2 of Ted Lasso is not good, certainly not as good as S1. And I think the reason is everyone completely misunderstands why everyone loved S1.

Stop me if you've heard this one: Ted Lasso is so special because everyone really loves a man who is Kind, Gentle, Decent, Earnest, Optimistic, Compassionate, Your Adjective Here. And seeing that on TV is so refreshing and heartwarming. But this is not what S1 was about.

For most of S1 everyone HATED Ted Lasso. His boss, his players, the fans, the press. And why wouldn't they? YMMV but as a viewer, I hated him. His cornball jokes are terrible, his puppydog eagerness is annoying af. He's a wanker.

The magic of S1 is in how Ted slowly wins everyone over despite themselves. As they discover his hidden depths, people are surprised to find themselves respecting him and then actually liking him. His annoying persona is still objectively annoying, but we are no longer annoyed.

And as people learn to see the world through Ted's eyes, their other relationships change. Because in S1 everyone else is at each other's throats too, remember? And they don't just generically fight with each other, they have complex antagonistic relationships.

The boss is cruel to her assistant who is obsequious in response. The star player is a dick to his girlfriend but she's just using him to build her brand anyway. Then there's the central elaborate scheme between the team owner and her ex, in which Ted is supposed to be the dupe

All that conflict is inherently fun and well executed but what makes S1 special is how Ted short circuits it by being maddeningly Nice in every circumstance. Completely outnumbered but he comes out on top. The only person not won over to Team Ted (the former owner) is defeated

Somehow the show (and audience) saw all this and thought that because *learning* to love & respect Ted Lasso and each other was such a compelling experience, people must want to see a show in which everyone loves & respects Ted Lasso and each other all the time.

And so S2 has virtually no conflict at all. I had a brief hope for the new psychiatrist who seemed immune to Ted's shtick, but after one episode she both warmed up to him and faded into the background. Every other relationship on the show can now be described as Supportive

Watching Good people Support each other is not a recipe for either drama or comedy. Plus now that Ted's dad jokes don't serve the dramatic purpose of irritating people, they're now apparently in the show just to be funny, and they are not. Two tents? In the year of our lord 2021?

Why does S2 pick up at least a bit whenever Roy Kent is on screen? Because he's the only character giving at least the pretense of not liking other people and being unlikable himself. His snarling is funny! Yet S2 has to hit us over the head with Actually He Has A Heart Of Gold

S2 even shies away from external conflicts. Fine, you want all our beloved characters to Support each other when one player launches a protest against the team sponsor? Boring, but at LEAST explore the fallout! Let's see if Ted Lasso's magic works against a giant corporation

Shockingly S2 even tries to retcon away some of the magic of S1. Rebecca's transformation from conniving bitch was the heart of S1, but now we're told, Don't worry she was always a secretly nice person who gave Christmas gifs to poor kids every year. So what was the point?

Ted Lasso is still entertaining and has some good laughs, and maybe S2 still has time to redeem itself on the big picture, but right now it might be the steepest decline from S1 to S2 in TV history.

This thread will probably get me canceled, but in your heart you know I'm right

This is reaching an audience beyond the followers who know & get me and I'm amused/depressed by how many people think I'm serious when I say "my opinion is objectively right & everyone who disagrees is lying to themself." That's just obviously silly!

https://twitter.com/danielradosh/status/1429447382899515395?s=20