S03 E04 Big Week

quick reactions to Big Week, during a big week

It’s Clergy World Series right now, so I’m throwing this update together quickly. Spoilery talk below…

Another great episode by Brett Goldstein. Very “Tan Lines”-esque—lots of heart, lots of smarts, lots of laughs. They don’t end up being my most rewatchable ones, but they accomplish a whole lot.

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They’re teasing the Roy/Jamie training montage, but making us wait for it. Fine. And as a sometimes-early-morning runner and a multi-year Ragnarian, I love a good headlamp.

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Dr. Jacob is hated by the fans, but Ted confronted Michelle about that relationship in the only way his character could at that stage of his growth: tell the truth, even though your voice shakes. I pumped my fist and can’t wait for more. My stock in Team Stays just went down though.

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Anger as fuel: they emerge from the locker room as “killers,” and as Beard says, sometimes that’s good. He’s right. But it was all rage—they need to learn how to channel it. Meanwhile Ted is on the other end of the spectrum, suppressing anger in situations when it would be natural to feel it. (He’s “ticked” at Dr. Jacob? You get ticked when your Uber cancels on you.) Ted has been so low energy and peripheral this season—some emotional intensity would do him some good. Saying “surprise me” to Roy and Beard as they go into the locker room is borderline malpractice. I imagine all of the characters will start to manage that anger polarity a lot better and move toward one another. I hope, anyway.

In fact, Beard and Roy wanted to show the video right away, and it was Ted’s preternatural calm (passivity) that quelled that. I think it could have been the right choice at that moment, in training—plenty of time for the team to process and channel the feelings of betrayal.

Incidentally, why didn’t the coaches try to stop the fighting on the field? Does soccer not allow that kind of a timeout where they can say “snap out of it”?

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EQ Warrior Alert: There’s a DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) technique called opposite action, in which you deal with a difficult emotion by leaning into its polar opposite and acting accordingly. Feeling afraid? Lean way into bravery. Rebecca’s trip to the locker room during halftime with a “have fun” message was opposite action to a T. (If only Ted had taken her up on it.)

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I don’t get what they’re doing with Jack the VC yet. I liked Shandy more this episode and appreciate that they’re complicating her character. She way missed the mark on the Bantr tagline, which speaks to Keeley’s lack of experience as a boss as much as anything (mentor your friend!), but Shandy seemed very in command of the commercial filming, which was fun.

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Headfake Watch: We see Keeley admiring Jamie’s growth as a person, which suggests to me that they will *not* be getting back together. (I didn’t really think they would, but some are predicting/rooting for that.)

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Rupert toggles back and forth between wanting to be called Rupert and Mr. Mannion. Classic emotional manipulation. That said, I thought Rupert’s advice to Nate was pretty good: say hello to Ted, keep it simple, beat him on the pitch. Of course we are now seeing Nate’s emotional turmoil. I guess we’re meant to be on Team Nate Redemption now? More great acting from Nick Mohammed. The camera footage of him tearing down the sign was played for laughs, but how many of us have been there—so pissed off we can’t even think straight and tripping all over ourselves as we go.  

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We’re hearing “you earned this” enough that whatever Nate’s final resolution will be, it will address that idea head on. Nobody is truly self-made, and I expect the show will make that point.

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A redeemed Nate can do much better than Jade, who came off very stupid in this episode.

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Will Rebecca and Bex become allies at some point? Bex seems wise to the ways of her husband.

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Most important moment of the show: Ted putting the drink down. It wasn’t overplayed but had a lot of import to it.

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Ted and Beard. [Gah, I meant Roy and Beard. I told you it was a hasty update!] Amazing comic chemistry. Could that be the spinoff?

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The Rewatchables podcast has a category for their film conversation: the Dion Waiters “heat check” award, for the actor who does the most with the least amount of screen time. That continues to be Maximilian “passion is a fruit” Osinski.

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This episode is chockablock with callbacks: Oklahoma, applying lip liner, going to Bones and Honey (though it looked different to me?). 

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Michelle’s final expression is inscrutable. About to cry? Smiling at Ted’s growth? It was an intentional choice to cut to her—Ted has closed the laptop at that point. What did you see in it?

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