Warning: this article contains spoilers for Ted Lasso.
Update: May 3, 12:56 EST. This article previously referred to season three episode seven of Ted Lasso as the most recent episode, even though episode eight had been released. The article has been edited to reflect this. We regret the error.
Despite some pretty concerning behavior exhibited by its star Jason Sudeikis, soccer sitcom Ted Lasso keeps going from strength to strength. After a bit of a slow start to the latest (and likely to be final) season, the show is once again garnering well-earned praise for its character development, frank exploration of important social issues like homophobia in sports and mental health in men, and generally being hilarious. However, among all the good vibes, there are a few people who have started hating the show for, well, reasons.
This take is completely absurd and shows the commenter doesn’t really have a clue what they’re talking about from a sporting or television-making perspective. For one, the majority of the second most recent episode was about the fictional Richmond FC attempting to incorporate a new tactic into their play, which is about as soccer-related as you can get. In fact, as a Brit, a long-term fan of the game, and a football/soccer tactics and history nerd, I’d argue that, if anything, the show leaned a little too far into the sporting element of this plotline, rendering some of the scenes unbelievable for the sake of jokes (for example, there is literally zero chance that Isaac (Kola Bokinni) and the other players wouldn’t have known who Johan Cruyff was — it’s akin to an NBA player saying they’ve never heard of Magic Johnson).
Additionally, with such a wide cast of characters, there are bound to be multiple plots, although there were only really three in this episode (Ted’s spiralling mental health, Keeley’s (Juno Temple) nudes being released, and Nate’s relationship). Then again, the account that tweeted the above has recently praised Tucker Carlson, so maybe three entire plotlines in an episode are a little too intellectually stimulating for someone who thinks the former Fox host is worth listening to. Or, perhaps they were a little annoyed by the unequivocal stance the show took against hacks that spread celebrity nudes – which would be a bit strange, considering the series has resoundingly been pro-feminist until this point.
The fact is, character development is a huge part of Ted Lasso‘s appeal, so you’re going to get even more changes than most sitcoms. Additionally, a large part of the humor of the first season was Ted’s complete lack of soccer knowledge and his confusing introduction to British culture, specifically soccer culture — something almost every Brit has praised the writers for getting right, especially as so many American shows struggle with it. So, as time passes in the Ted Lasso world, this was inevitably going to shift.
The idea the series has morphed into solely a drama is also not grounded in any kind of reality. Sure, there are dramatic elements in Ted Lasso, but they’ve been there since moment one, whether it was Nate’s issues with his dad, Ted’s broken marriage, or Rebecca’s attempts to move on from her domineering, quasi-abusive ex-husband. And, let’s not forget, in this episode alone, we got some absolute golden lines like “the awankening,” Nate’s attempts at recreating the Diamond Dogs spiralling awkwardly into failure, and other truly laugh out loud moments. The reason the show’s writing gets so many plaudits is because of this blend of drama and comedy.
There’s also the fact that this is highly likely to be the last season of the hit series, which means that a shift to storytelling over a simple soccer narrative was bound to happen so all the plotlines can be tied up. In episode seven, fan favorite Trent (James Lance) pretty much summed up the entire show in an excited, uncharacteristic (yet totally believable — because of that excellent writing) outburst. And now that the soccer component of the plot has a resolution in sight, it made sense the next episode would work on setting up the emotional component of the show’s finale.
Frankly, there are a few things people can reasonably get mad at Ted Lasso about. For all its plusses, it is by no means a perfect show (again, the Cruyff thing). But complaining that it doesn’t have enough soccer in it and focusing too much on drama is about as silly as thinking Richmond could beat Arsenal after just one week of practicing total football. But, as Ted would probably say: “You can’t please everyone.”