Name: ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 Is as Intoxicatingly Optimistic as Ever
Brand: observer.com
SKU: observer-com-19
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 Is as Intoxicatingly Optimistic as Ever

preview

Season 2, freed from the shoe-dropping tension of Rebecca’s subterfuge with Ted, opens with AFC Richmond having endured seven straight draws to start its new season. But what happens on the football pitch has never been as vital to Ted Lasso as what happens in the locker room between its characters. The new season builds on the show’s healthy interpersonal dynamic by revolving around individual quests for self-understanding and improvement. AFC Richmond brings in a sport psychologist (played by Sarah Niles) this season, which provides both a humorous foil and a cheeky route to externalize character feelings and observations.Jamie is learning to let go of the selfish, self-destructive man he was last year in an attempt to become a better person. Roy is suffering an identity crisis as he struggles to define himself outside of football while his relationship with Keely deepens. Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) realizes she needs to be brave enough to allow herself to be vulnerable again as she searches for love. Nate (Nick Mohammed) challenges himself to be more assertive and push forward in his own life. And Ted, the eternal optimist, must learn to be honest enough with himself to acknowledge that even he needs help and support. All don’t just recognize a need to be better, but a desire to be as well.The emotional intelligence of Ted Lasso&nbsp;remains remarkably high. It’s what continues to elevate the series above common feel-good stories, which are often given a pass by audiences to exist as middle-of-the-road creations that opt for simplicity over nuance. But Ted Lasso is a more aspirational entry in this specific lane of storytelling. When conflicts can be created from cultural perspectives, such as Nigerian native Sam’s (Toheeb Jimoh) understandable distaste for American colonialism, instead of script mechanics, and then resolved immediately thanks to a guiding empathy and humanity, you know you’ve created something special.In the opening minutes of the new season’s first episode (“Goodbye Earl”), Ted eloquently espouses on how life and death can make us better people, evoking the heightened dramedy of Lawrence’s Scrubs. The episode also carries a reminder to avoid blanket assumptions as “all people are different people” as well as the insight that “intimacy is leaving yourself open to being attacked.” Pearls of wisdom deployed as easily digestible sitcom bites. Episode 4 (“Carol of the Bells”) combines the cheer and warmth of the time-honored Christmas episode with the, well, cheer and warmth of Ted Lasso. Episode 5 (“Rainbow”) is a perfectly full-hearted send-up of romantic comedy tropes with LOL moments that snap into place with character dynamics. Cinephiles will love it.In reaching for a criticism of this relentlessly upbeat season so far, it’s the over-reliance on Ted’s folksy witticisms. There’s a conversation early on in the season in which he uses three similes and metaphors back-to-back-back.Ted Lasso&nbsp;is really just a pacemaker in the end—it helps your heartbeat and it helps your heart beat., , , , , , , ,We get it: you like to have control of your own internet experience. But advertising revenue helps support our journalism. To read our full stories, please turn off your ad blocker.We'd really appreciate it.Below are steps you can take in order to whitelist Observer.com on your browser:Click the AdBlock button on your browser and select Don't run on pages on this domain.Click the AdBlock Plus button on your browser and select Enabled on this site.Click the AdBlock Plus button on your browser and select Disable on Observer.com.

Season 2, freed from the shoe-dropping tension of Rebecca’s subterfuge with Ted, opens with AFC Richmond having endured seven straight draws to start its new season. But what happens on the football pitch has never been as vital to Ted Lasso as what happens in the locker room between its characters. The new season builds on the show’s healthy interpersonal dynamic by revolving around individual quests for self-understanding and improvement. AFC Richmond brings in a sport psychologist (played by Sarah Niles) this season, which provides both a humorous foil and a cheeky route to externalize...

public

Brandon Katz

Back in the New York groove. 🚨Send news tips about powerful people to tips@observer.com 🚨

‘Ted Lasso’ Season 2 Is as Intoxicatingly Optimistic as Ever

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS