Ted Lasso's Regression Problem

Plus, Jessica takes a virtual tour through a museum gift shop, because who doesn't love a gift shop?!?

Like a lot of people, I stumbled on season 1 of Ted Lasso shortly after it debuted during the height of the pre-vaccine pandemic, and found it a much-needed ray of sunshine during Our Weirdest Timeline¹. While season two didn’t always deliver at that level, I appreciated what it was trying to do with its focus on men, machismo, and mental health. Season 3 came after a much longer wait than usual, with longer episodes than usual, and I hoped it meant they were being very exacting on set and in the edit bay to make Ted’s swan song — as Jason Sudeikis has implied this will be — a divine one. But as we near the halfway point, I am worried some of these characters have been heading backward.

To be clear: I still adore Ted Lasso, and get so much out of it. I nitpick because I care.

But lately it’s reminding me of the first Sex and the City movie, where they spent the first chunk tearing everyone apart so that the movie would have a purpose. I don’t want Ted Lasso to degrade everyone just so i…