Last episode was just an ok for me. The Ted sitting down with the therapist and then leaving and then coming back again just felt a bit like filler. As did the “just text him back” thing with Rebecca and Sam. I like seeing Nate buy into his own press, and then seem like he learned his lesson when Coach Beard talked to him (I loved how he just disappeared when Nate turned around at the door) and then snapped at Colin for something small.
Also the soccer is just waaay pushed to the side this season.
I thought this most recent episode was trash. Not as bad as the Christmas episode, but basically none of the plot was advanced at all. The Roy Kent plot was, but it was only just introduced this episode. Is there anything you’d miss if you just skipped this entirely?
The bird needs a glass of water. That is the whole point of those bobbing birds. I think Ted will “get it” when the bird almost stops, but then keeps going. Bugged me the whole episode.
I might be a week behind. I was referring to the bird on the therapist’s desk that Ted kept starting to bob on his repeated visits. Episode "Headspace.
Fantastic episode! The dual story of fathers and sons (with Ted and Jamie) was very well done. I was scared they would pull an underdog story, but a 5-0 thumping to Man City was very realistic.
(Playing Oasis’ “Don’t Look Back in Anger” after the game was interesting as Noel and Liam Gallagher are well known Man City fans)
Yep, father stories everywhere in this one. Sam’s father contrasted with Jamie’s, and Roy being a father figure to Phoebe. Even Higgins had a moment reflecting, and offering a bit of fatherly advice for Jamie.
I also appreciated the way the match was simply a blowout. I don’t mind the underdog last-minute come-from-behind thing once in a while, but not all the time.
A couple things could lead to big issues down the road: Sam & Rebecca, and all the coaches confiding in each other. Nate might do something rash with that information, or Beard too, since he seems to be going off the rails a little bit. The Sam relationship could blow up in a bunch of different ways.
Thought this was quite a good episode. Guess that happens when you advance the plot, who knew.
Yeah, I think the Sam and Rebecca relationship is a bad idea. The boss angle is doubly bad in a field where selling a player is super common.
Richmond’s season should be basically over after that loss. The results they told us about earlier would mean they’re not really in the promotion race (although I don’t think the show needs to stick to that). Wonder what the thrust for the rest of the episodes will be.
They could still be in the promotion race. At Christmas they were 4-14-4, and they had a 4 match win streak after Roy started coaching. So that’s 8-14-4 for 38 points with 20 games unaccounted for. Maybe there were other results mentioned that I’m forgetting. But if they need to get to about 70 points, then something like 9 wins and 5 draws over those 20 games would do it.
It definitely is possible for a massive turnaround, but they really are leaving it late in the season. There are 4 episodes left of Season 2, so they really need to get on with it… unless this football season in the show is stretched out to Season 3 (and the three season arc isn’t the get back in the Prem and win the whole thing as we all thought it was going to be when Ted said his aspiration).
I will also say at THIS point, when Ted has been a manager for 1.5 seasons, he really should know the sport better. The jokes about offside were cute… in the first season. Now it’s kind of takes me out of the show a little bit.
But are you a football fan? Because for most fans, this is quite evident. Some teams have really small pitches and some have really large ones and the strategy becomes very different as a result (as Coach Beard noted, a wider pitch favors certain teams).
To be fair, not really. I’ve been to a few matches (and had a wander around West Ham’s pitch a couple of times) but it never occurred to me that there wouldn’t be one regulation size.
By the way, I suspect those who hated the Christmas episode for “not advancing the plot” may also dislike the upcoming episode. I think it’s the second of the two episodes added when the ten-episode order was increased.
Though, if the preview is to be believed, it may be a far more interesting episode. At the very least, less saccharine. In thinking back, I think the only think in that Christmas episode that has really carried forward is Ted’s loneliness and Roy’s love for his niece (which was already shown).
