The Lasso Way

What do you think Trent Crimm wrote about Ted the Lasso?

Reader Discretion: this material contains minor spoilers from Ted Lasso.

Ted’s story finally ended, at least for us, and to be honest, the finale of his story – or “Richmond’s Story” – was really straightforward: Just about everything you expect from a feel-good genre.

It may not have been as complex and Shakespearean as Succession – which just ended a couple of days ago – or as deep as The Wire, or as laugh-inducing as its comedy counterparts. But it taught us something beautiful: TO BE KIND, TO TAKE IT EASY – the exact opposite of the Successions characters’ doings (Sorry for mentioning Succession two times just two paragraphs into the article. I, just, really, really like this show.)

Lasso did everything with a blazingly empathetic heart; he did things for the mere sake of fun. He took it easy every step of the way. When something went wrong, he wasn’t so much upset as he was hopeful. He knew life goes on. He knew that every time he woke up, he had something to be cheered up for, how small it was; maybe as small as gifting Rebbeccas Da Boss his enigmatic sweet treat to see a grin as big as an upside-down rainbow on her edgy face.

He forgave Nate for his actions because he knew Nate is human, and humans make mistakes, they misunderstand. He knew he had to be kind and give. But he also knew that when you give, you take. He may have given a part of himself to abandon Nate from the guilt of disloyalty, but he was sure he would get something back, something even bigger. He just had to be patient. We as humans understand generosity and even when we forget to give it back.

Lasso was released amid the darkest times of our generation – in case you’re just born, the COVID-19 pandemic – and loosened the tightness of our thoughts for its runtime. It wasn’t a perfect piece of art, but it was meaningful and kind. And most importantly, it was a reminder of how good we humans sometimes can be.

So, we should be Teds. He was naïve, but sometimes, naïvity is the way to go. It could make the world a bit more colorful and fun. We should be kind and give to get back so much more. We should be generous and hopeful to be more than just mere animals.

Ted, you reminded us of the things that we sometimes forget. Thank you.