Ted Lasso expectations

[schneefink]

DD has been raving about Ted Lasso for months, and I finally agreed to watch it with her this weekend. She acknowledged that she probably hyped it so much that the show will inevitably fall short, but she also loves it so much that she struggles trying to be less enthusiastic about it. I'm also worried about enjoying it less because I expect too much. Please share with me non-spoilery medium enthusiastic Ted Lasso reviews - positive, so I still want to watch it, but not too positive, so I have reasonable expectations.

Comments

[muccamukk]

I'm really enjoying it, but it's not my favourite thing ever. Where it's strongest is people being kind to each other and trying their best even given really shit hands. There's a good deal of extremely corny humour and puns. I did find that the fish out of water football-football gag got a little old. I like how a lot of the romances evolve, and it has an emphasis on people learning to communicate and understand each other, but in a sweet and quirky way. It's also not afraid to go dark so that you get the pay off on the highs, but sometimes the balance doesn't hit right for me.

It's not fantastic at diversity. There's so far been zero queer content, and only two characters of colour with a major arc plots. Though the football team is quite diverse, we don't spend a lot of time with most of the players.

Still, it's the only show I'm watching week by week right now, and I do like it a lot.

[schneefink]

Thank you!

There's a good deal of extremely corny humour and puns.
After watching 1.5 seasons: oh god yes, so much.

I did find that the fish out of water football-football gag got a little old.
Same. Looking up the rules is not that hard!

I do enjoy it so far :)

[smilebackwards]

I enjoy it! It's fun with some dashes of drama and there's a lot of enjoyable characters. Some gifs that I think encapsulate it without being plot spoilery if you're so inclined:
https://smilebackwards.tumblr.com/post/654435508167000064/jesuiskafka-really-upset-this-one-didnt-make-it
https://smilebackwards.tumblr.com/post/651756476482928640/atenexo-teams-gotta-bond-all-right
https://smilebackwards.tumblr.com/post/652920738512240640/starksnstripes-so-wait-wait-what-youre-telling

[schneefink]

I recognize these scenes now! Fun. Thank you :)

[sheron]

I enjoyed watching it and haven't really thought about it much since I finished.

[schneefink]

A very succinct way of putting it. Thanks!

[musesfool]

I enjoy it a lot and every time I've braced for it to be cringey it has not been cringey.

[topaz119]

I think that's very true--you think you know where they're going and that it's going to be a typical sports plot but then it's not, not at all. And where they did go was (as someone said upthread) kind and caring, even when you want to thump the character(s) very very hard.

[schneefink]

I do occasionally want to thump the characters very hard! But yes, overall mostly kind and caring from what I've seen, which is nice.

[schneefink]

That was good to hear. I've watched 1.5 seasons now and there has thankfully been very little second-hand-embarrassment.

[moonvoice]

It is an enjoyable mostly feel-good show with some hurt/comfort moments and a nice panic attack that gets soothed with a hug and the show overall is definitely not perfect and sometimes is a little too fluffy and cheesy for its own good, but if you're in the mood for that, it's nice.

You can generally expect a cast of people who are fairly self-aware, and very few true villains. It's so obsessed with dealing with toxic masculinity (of which it acquits itself fairly well), that it forgot to have any queer representation at all, which is kind of a shame. It's ethnically diverse, and it overuses misogynistic insults which surprisingly everyone seems to ignore - so be prepared for derogatory uses of things like 'pussy' to indicate weakness never ever ever being addressed by anyone in the entire show. (This doesn't bother me as much, I think it's more common in the UK than elsewhere, but I still think it should at least have been gently interrogated).

It's not perfect. I have rewatched it like 10 times already, but I needed a feelgood show. I think you will find it generally enjoyable and if you want something that's a break from a lot of grimdark programming and some hurt/comfort and character growth you'll be pleased. Sometimes it doesn't feel toothy enough, and the fandom is - at least so far - overwhelmingly cishet with overwhelmingly cishet ships, which is kind of a shame re: content on AO3.

[schneefink]

Thank you! That was helpful. I've watched about 1.5 seasons now and I mostly enjoy it so far and look forward to watching the rest. (And then checking out what's on AO3 right after.)