Well, Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 7 did not begin as expected.
Rather than picking up where we left off with Ted and Sharon, it opens two days later with Roy and Keeley.
Still, who can resist a montage scored to Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe?
“I Got You Babe” is a particularly inspired choice in this instance because it evokes Groundhog Dog, the movie, and thus the feeling of being caught in a neverending time loop.
This is the first time we see Roy as an overbearing shadow to Keeley, but the montage quickly offers clues on how this is a long-simmering issue, and Keeley is close to her breaking point.
It’s an important storyline because it explores the consequences of Roy accepting the coaching position and moves Keeley and Roy’s relationship past the honeymoon stage.
All the individual scenes comprising the storyline are great, especially the scene where Jamie, of all people, provides Roy with the epiphany on what Keeley needs. The bath scene is swoon-worthy.
While Roy Kent always elevates anything he’s in, his scene-stealing winds up working against the storyline. More than halfway through Ted Lasso Season 2 and this is the first plotline to focus on Keeley’s issues instead of her helping others with theirs.
Keeley: I did also need some space.
Ted: Space from what?
Keeley: Roy. He’s sitting in my office reading Da Vinci Code. He keeps muttering on about the Knights Templar.
However, as the story progresses, the focus shifts from Keeley to Roy. The resolution hinges on him coming to a realization and being the one who takes action to solve their argument.
There was no other way for the story to play out because he was in the wrong and needed to make things right, but in doing so, the story becomes more about him than it does about Keeley.
It doesn’t help that Keeley’s feelings are perfectly understandable — everyone needs space — while Roy’s behavior presents an intriguing mystery. Why is he acting so clingy? Working theory is he’s overcompensating because, in the past, he wasn’t so attentive.
It probably won’t happen, but a scene of Roy having a session with Sharon goes on the wishlist.
Sharon has her plate full with Ted. We miss out on seeing Sharon counsel Ted in the immediate aftermath of his panic attack, but as the episode unfolds, it becomes more understandable why Ted Lasso skipped over the immediate aftermath.
The panic attack didn’t change Ted’s feelings about therapy. Until he overcomes his mistrust of it, neither he nor we will get much out of it.
Ted, the truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.
Sharon
What’s smart about how the therapy sessions are written is how the writing seems to anticipate what the audience will be thinking. Any TV show depicting therapy will be compared to The Sopranos, so Ted lampshades it.
Comparing Ted Lasso to The Sopranos makes for an interesting exercise, especially when comparing the two leads. Ted and Tony are such opposites. They even hold opposite views on therapy — the sole subject where Tony has the more progressive view than Ted.
The writing also anticipates the rebuttal to Ted’s argument for why therapy is bulls**t. As Sharon rightly points out, Ted doesn’t coach for free.
Ted’s sessions with Sharon demand a lot from Jason Sudeikis as a performer. No surprise, he rises to the occasion, especially during the second session when Ted’s rage gradually gets the better of him.
Sarah Niles has the less flashy role, but she is no less adept. Niles does a great job of balancing Sharon’s professionalism and empathy. From her facial expressions alone, we can tell Ted is proving to be a challenge for her.
Like Ted, Sharon finds herself needing to apply her usual tactics in new ways.
Previously we’ve seen Sharon speak in the players’ home language to form a bond with them. Since she and Ted are both English speakers, the language alone is not enough. She needs to learn Ted-speak. Judging from the catchy sayings she’s coming up with, she’s getting the hang of it.
Sharon: Well, I can’t be your mentor without occasionally being your tormentor.
Ted: Ooh, I like that.
Sharon: I knew you would.
She’s going to need every trick in her arsenal because Ted has a long therapeutic road ahead of him.
The one person who could benefit more than Ted to have a sit down with Sharon is Nate. I still love Nate as a character and remain invested in his journey, but he was awful this episode. Those scenes where he insults and browbeats Will and Colin were brutal.
Even with the action during the final scene between Nate and Will happening offscreen, it hit like a punch in the face.
Colin’s takedown was scary not just because of how stinging the insults were but also because the audience knows Colin is fragile. Someone who needs “I’m a strong and capable man” as a mantra must not be feeling very strong and capable. It legitimately felt like Nate could push him over the edge.
Nate: You see, Jamie and Dani are like Picasso and Gauguin.
Colin: Pedophiles?
Nate: Artists, they’re artists. And, Colin, you paint too, but your work doesn’t end up in museums. It hangs at … Well, you’re like a painting at a Holiday Inn. You don’t inspire. You don’t move people. You’re there. You cover a bloodstain. You do the job, so just do the job.
Hats off to all the actors for selling all of it.
With Nate’s behavior becoming more problematic as he receives outside praise, including the possibility of outside offers to manage a team, it begs the question of how dark Nate’s story will go. Is he Ted Lasso’s Anakin Skywalker?
Comments from Ted Lasso Season 1 Episode 10 indicate he may know Rebecca schemed to ruin Richmond, and he must have other dirt. Will he betray the team? It seems unthinkable, but it’s becoming more and more likely.
Over to you, TV Fanatics!
Is Coach Beard Batman?
Can the Diamond Dogs stage an intervention for Roy over his reading choices?
Hit the comments below.
Becca Newton is a staff writer for TV Fanatic.
