Remember our collective state of mind just three years ago.
We took communion religiously at the anxiety-provoking press briefings at 1 p.m. We were tripping on the Portuguese tartlets of the Dr Arruda. We stuck rainbows and “It’s going to be fine” on the windows sincerely believing that it was going to be fine, at some point. It wasn’t naivety, but a way of clinging to a little hope.
We rubbed our hands with industrial paint stripper. We washed our groceries at the CLR. We were convinced of the pleasure of the 5 to 7 on Zoom (phew!) or on the application house party (arke!) while the confinements lengthened by two weeks, to last for months.
We passed someone in the street and we made awkward jokes about wo, minute, there, you have to keep two meters away, you’re way too close, ah ah, step back! Flashback of Valérie Blais in All on me here.
The empty streets of Montreal looked like an episode of The Last of Us (what a terrific series, by the way). And we were desperately looking for comfort. I found mine, sadly I know, in a Nintendo Switch and Zelda: Breath of the Wildprobably my favorite video game ever.
I finished the “cassette” – unfortunately young people don’t say that anymore – thanks to the wise advice of the author Judith Lussier and the writer Alain Farah, who are also fans of Link and the kingdom of Hyrule. The sequel to Zelda, which is called Tears of the Kingdomcomes out on May 12th and this date should be a global holiday, thank you.
In the great Covidian darkness, the pretty series Ted Lasso Apple TV+ seemed like a perfect lifeline.
The Ted Lasso in question, played by the endearing Jason Sudeikis, was brimming with optimism, and the episodes distilled just enough charm, warmth, and humanity into our whacky world that had turned on the hood.
Ted Lasso showed us that by sticking together and being kind to others, we could get out of the worst situations. Hello, the pandemic sports analogy. Eh boy de boy that we wanted to believe it.
I loved the first season of Ted Lasso, I liked the second, but I wonder if I will finish the third. I made it to the third hour (out of a total of 12) and I, alas! feeling like you’ve already played in that movie or that soccer game, choose.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s not bad, Ted Lasso. It’s very correct, thanks in particular to the formidable actors who know their roles with remarkable comic precision.
It looks like the magic is gone though and we’re trying to kick a deflated ball. Apple TV+ drops a new episode of Ted Lasso every Wednesday, and only the first is currently offered.
The third season of Ted Lasso starts with a feeling of deja vu. Pundits predict a shitty season at AFC Richmond, the unloved club – and still on the verge of being relegated to the Second Division – of fearsome businesswoman Rebecca (excellent Hannah Waddingham). Ted Lasso remains the coach main, assisted by former star Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Beard (Brendan Hunt).
PHOTO MICHAEL TRAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
British actress Hannah Waddingham and American actor Jason Sudeikis at the season 3 premiere of Ted Lasso in Los Angeles, California on March 7
Former AFC Richmond equipment man Nate Shelley (Nick Mohammed) now leads the wealthy West Ham United side, which is owned by Rupert (Anthony Head), the evil ex-husband of gorgeous Rebecca , my favorite character in this comedy.
Of course, Ted and Rebecca will be battling with Nate and Rupert all season long. The other sub-plot concerns the arrival in the Premier League of a superstar from Juventus, the villainous and cartoonish Zava. Three teams will fight for it: Chelsea, West Ham United and AFC Richmond. You can surely guess in which locker room this athlete with the behavior of a diva will deposit his cleats.
While Ted Lasso remains the good, jovial and optimistic trainer, Rebecca has become far too nice compared to her first incarnation. We miss the time when the naughty Rebecca made poor Ted suffer and she sabotaged the chances of winning her own training.
The bubbly Keeley (Juno Temple), who now runs her own PR firm, doesn’t inherit any interesting material to defend in the episodes I’ve seen. Once again, Keeley must prove that she knows how to use her brain more than her model body. I was there, I did that, I bought the t-shirt, as the English expression goes.
Apple does not officially confirm this, but it would be the last season of Ted Lassowhich however collapsed under the Emmy awards in September.
It’s a wise decision. Ted has been good to us. He has softened these difficult times and he deserves to return to his family in Kansas, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.