A review of this week's Ted Lasso, "Greyhounds' Day Off" — with spoilers — coming up just as soon as I as learn about your journey with sleep apnea...
Alan Sepinwall
When I've complained in the past about Ted Lasso episodes being too long — specifically, that several of them have had just enough material to make for a good traditional-length sitcom episode, surrounded by lots of padding — people sometimes respond with a variation of, "I just love these characters, and enjoy spending as much time as I can with them." I respect that in theory — and have felt similarly in practice with this show. Most of Season Two was substantially less tight and consistent than the show's first year, but by that point I had developed enough affection for the larger ensemble that I largely went with it. (Give or take the appearance of Santa Claus, or Beard getting his own spotlight.)
This season, though, it's not just that the episodes are padded. It's that the padding is often actively bad, and in a way that's often insulting to these characters we purport to love. And — in a way that sticks out in a season that's all about Ted and the others trying to establish and elevate a women's team — it's mostly the show's female characters who are suffering.