watched your essay on the bear and loved it - saw your comparisons to ted lasso in there and thought 'i wonder if they did an essay on ted lasso!', went to your profile and saw you JUST did one. that's fate! you're my new favourite video essayist - i watch lots of video essays generally on the background but with you i found myself sitting there and actively listening. there are things you say during them where i literally go 'holy shit.' i think in the bear you said something like 'what is social media if not watching all the trains go by' and my partner and i had to pause it and just say WHOAAAA to each other?? so well thought out, well-researched, and still somehow really prosaic. you're a VERY talented writer & essayist and i'm SO excited for more of these!

I've adored so many of your previous videos and the even-handedness and clarity in your writing, and I was so so stoked to see this new one in my Subscriptions page. Ted Lasso is by far the show I've been most emotionally invested in in the last few years, and its excruciating swirl down the drain in season 3 was incredibly painful and felt personal to me - and not even because it became genuinely embarrassing that I was an earnest shooter for it for so long. The lack of respect for its own characters and the art of storytelling will frustrate me forever, I think. Especially because the writers have previously been praised for their intentionality and credence to the initial three-arc structure that they insist they've stuck to all along. Your closing statement is so correct - in a world where it's more difficult than ever to create and proliferate truly meaningful art, it truly let all of us down. Just a tremendous video all around. It's clear that your frustration re: everything that went wrong is primarily due to the love you once had for it, which I relate to deeply. Thank you for all of your wonderful work and your generosity in sharing it with us. Edit: "Forgive me, Hannah Waddingham, none of the above applies to you..." Amen. She will walk into any room and own it, it's true.

You forgot to mention how at NO POINT in the show do they mention that goldfish do NOT have 10-second memories. See! That right there, disproving the goldfish myth, could be symbolic of one of Ted's flaws- the idea that you can just brush off misfortunes with a quaint metaphor, which of course turns out not to be true, as Ted's struggles with addressing his trauma summarily proves in the second season. SO many missed opportunities.

Really interested in your take on the Percy Jackson tv show and how they adapted the book into episodes. Their whole mantra was a faithful adaptation yet I felt they lost the story’s spirit to keep it’s highlights. I still enjoyed it but I think there is an interesting discussion there.

Thank you so much for this wonderful analysis! You really put my thoughts on the last season into words. I was so confused how many people still enjoyed it. It really felt like watching a soap opera satire version of the show.

God, that scene from season 1 where Ted forgives Rebecca; it's initially surprising, then you feel like "yeah that tracks Ted is always kind", before they hit you with the line "divorce is hard". It takes you on an actual dramatic journey, where you feel like Ted of a few episodes ago would not be saying the same thing. Contrasted to the scene in season 3 where all the players agree to delete the intimate photos of their exes, it's completely inert - your comparison to sesame street is great, in my opinion season 2 was very shakey but 3 was where it completely devolved into didacticism. A few months after Ted Lasso finished up I discovered The Bear and it was such a breath of fresh air of looking at the fundamental good in people while still being a show for adults. The episode "Forks" is everything Ted Lasso wishes it was.

as usual, beautifully written. amazing how these essays fly by for their length. Would love to hear you talk about Twin Peaks or Bones in future! Twin Peaks has a lot to sink your teeth into for obvious reasons, and Bones I think has a lot to it in terms of interpersonal dynamics, comments on workplace and how different perspectives function within an interpersonal ecosystem. A bit of an overlooked show in my opinion! Keep on keeping on!

The first season is still rock solid imo Edit: I think it was probably pretty tricky to keep things balanced tonally

Great video, you've got yourself a new subscriber. After really liking the first 2 seasons, I never finished S3. I didn't hate it, I just couldn't get myself to care. You did a great job here, and your passion for good storytelling really comes through. I look forward to new videos, and in the meantime I'm going to go see what you've got to say about Mythic Quest! 😊

great feeling to sub today to a great essay channel and immediately get an analysis on the show I've watched some time ago and fell off season 3. Thank you so much for insightful essays

rlly glad to be subbed to u before it’s cool lol

Do you have any intention of talking about Shoresy? I loved season 1 of Ted Lasso and LOVE The Bear, so I'm curious what you think of it with S3 having just come out in Canada and about to hit streaming for the states!

this got at every single thing that bothered me about season 3. I still adore season one, season two was iffy in many places but okayish, but season three? ugh. moments of brilliance but overall yuck.

Tremendous analysis! Thank you!

This is neither here nor there, but after watching four seasons of "Succession", I can't help but notice how...plain the cinematography is. It lacks depth, which perhaps reflects the core flaw of the show.

49:05 oh man I completely forgot about that. The show fr acted like Rupert didn’t ask that question just a few minutes ago!

Great video.

Great Video

I LOVE DERRY GIRLS

Yeah season 3 is definitely the worst, but it was still pretty good. Season 2 is my favorite though

Eh…