Right up front I was late to the Ted Lasso party. Unlike many of the fans of this amazing series I didn’t start watching until late 2022, finishing the final episodes of season 2 in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. Even so, the waiting for season 3 of the Emmy Award winning season sucked. A show filled with the rare ability to combine heart, comedy and hope while understanding the struggles of simply being human. A show where there’s always something or someone to root for and stories that, even if you don’t follow soccer/football (depending on where you’re from), you can connect with. So here we are, season 3 episode 1 released at last, a wait that many had to struggle with far more than myself. And damn if it wasn’t worth it. As promised this is a spoiler-free review of the first episode but I will be discussing the events up to the end of season 2. Not gonna lie, keeping this spoiler-free is no easy task, but let’s go.
The show does pick up where the previous one left off with AFC Richmond back in the Premier League and Nate is indeed with West Ham, working with Rupert. But Ted is Ted, Roy is Roy and everyone is exactly who we’ve come to love and that is in fact unique (thus far). Typically in film and television, the second sequel normally strays a bit from the structure of the first two iterations to keep things from getting stale. Here people (again thus far) are exactly what they’ve been and that security with a show like this works. Because again, the central theme is that people are human. They all have faults, fears, strengths and weaknesses but the aim is to grow as you feel is best. Last season we saw Ted address his issues regarding his childhood and divorce from his wife, we saw Nate become someone many didn’t like, but personally I could relate with from years back. Per series creator Bill Lawrence & Brett Goldstein, the two season story arc for Nate the Great was pre-planned and fits the often times response of the bullied and insecure suddenly in a position of power and authority. Of anyone on this series he’s the one I hope will come around most. But this episode does carry the same laughs, wisdom and even humility that we’ve come to expect. Simply put, it’s episode 23 and that’s simply enough.
Time will tell as we wait week by week for what is supposedly going to be the final season if that happens. For now, let’s just be happy the wait is over and that Ted Lasso is finally back and suddenly, the increasingly dark world, for the next few weeks gets a little brighter.
Episode Rating: 9
P.S. It’s flying under the radar a bit, but Bill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein have another series on Apple TV called Shrinking with Jason Segal and Harrison Ford. It’s a smaller & slightly more dramatic series than Ted Lasso but still absolutely worth a look. I’ll probably do a spoiler filled recap of that season when it’s done.
About the author – Scott Churchson has been an actor in every way for the past 13 years, from BG to stand in to stunts and principal, a sports writer for the past 4 and is one of the people that created Stream Punk Entertainment. He’s married to a veterinarian, has a cat with three working legs and is just a simple man trying to make his way in the universe.
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