We'll Never Have Paris

...often is knowing how many people will proceed to whine about "political statements" and "LECTURING THE AUDIENCE!" every time a character says something which amounts to more than just nationalism or Western "wisdom" about life.

I don't think I've ever seen so many fans of a show with over a dozen characters receiving prominent storylines - all of which usually come back to the theory that while integrity is important, being tolerant of other people's is also important - then proceed to whine and complain so much because "someone said something they disliked" or "the character I use as my analog for myself wasn't exclusively featured as the lead in every, single episode."

It seems that the people most intent on telling everyone else to "take a lesson" from a work of fiction (rather than just asking yourself what you got from it) are now upset that the show is trying to "teach them a lesson" that they don't like.

Ted Lasso is being taken over by Keeley Jones, whose clumsy, poorly developed story is threatening to end a magnificent series on a low ebb.

Whilst the heart of the show is as strong and wholesome as ever, it kind of feels like an exercise in ticking off the tackling of different serious issues.

This is a really low point for the show - Beards night out got slammed but it at least showed character and was kind of fun, this is entirely miserable, preachy and downright disappointing.

After the high of the Amsterdam episode - which really was great, I just hope there is still episodes more akin to that, than this serious disappointment.

We know that Ted Lasso is not a show based entirely on football but also upon the characters based on the wonderful sport. We have indeed received enough footage of Lasso himself in this episode to be satisfied and yet it feels the whole thing's becoming more of a filler as of late with side-tracks including Keeley's POVs and all that. It's great to see unique relationships but capitalising and putting extra screen-time on them beyond need is boring and side-tracking away from the fun parts of the show. Not to mention all the rich-person themed storylines are often not so streamlined with what Ted Lasso as a show was all about. It's becoming a show-off of commercialism. If they are taking football as a theme, they should justify it. If they are taking people and relationships as a theme, they should try to keep to the themes. Not get into some pompous plutocratic storylines. Else, in the end, it was a satisfactory episode. I hope the show doesn't become a drag by the end of the Season.

This show used to have high quality writing and it used to truly respect its characters to a high degree. I find myself getting really frustrated when watching this instead of feeling relieved and excited because it just feels like the writing crew gave up on character development and just kinda makes whatever character do whatever they want whenever they want it. Also, where's the football? This show was incredible because of how it balanced football, drama and comedy but it feels like football has taken a huge backseat, comedy has left the chat and drama has brainwashed a once beautiful series. I hope that Keeley Jones' character gets justice for how they've messed with her development this season. I hope Roy continues his character development as he trains Jaime to get better and better. I hope Ted and Nate can finally have genuine conflict resolution and I hope we can start seeing football take the centre stage again soon.

PLEASE RESTORE TED LASSO TO ITS ORIGINAL GREATNESS!

I didn't mind any of the episodes thus far this season, some were a lot more enjoyable than others, but this one... ugh To start, I didn't mind the storylines themselves that they were going for. Everything involving Ted was decent, though not the show's strongest, and I enjoyed the soundtrack and look of the show as always, hence the 5 stars. Also enjoyed Nate's side plot, though I don't understand why he's suddenly being redeemed while having completely been on the sidelines the whole season. Maybe there will be a payoff later.

Keeley gets a video leaked online, which is a very tough thing to go through. But to link it with the rest of the show, they give us a locker room scene with the team, with some of the cringiest dialogue I've ever heard. It may as well have been a cheaply made HR training video. But then that's it, other than a few scenes with Keeley's exes (her scene with Jamie was probably the best scene of the episode), they never find a way to make us CARE. Instead, Keeley is in her own side plot with a new character that we don't care about at all. Why? Because the writers never made us care, yet they somehow managed to fill so much screen time with her and Keeley.

I also found many other dialogues, even between characters we've come to know and love, to be very odd, forced, or out of character. Plus, somehow I didn't laugh at all the whole episode. None of the jokes (if there were any?) landed, they only got a slight smile out of me during the scene between Keeley and Jamie. I don't get it?? I feel as though in an alternate universe this could have been a good episode, but the writing was mostly just subpar, seems to be due to new writers for this one. Hopefully the show gets back on track.