S03 E07 The Strings That Bind Us

I’m away this week at preacher camp and have enlisted my friend and frequent Crown and Anchor patron Jason Cashing to get our discussion going. Jason is a Greyhound fan and Systems Theory aficionado. He is a Presbyterian minister who lives, with his wife and daughter, in Cooperstown, NY.

However, lest you think I’m in a Lassoless universe this week, I watched the episode last night with cherished friends here, and not two hours ago had a legitimate, 100% contextually appropriate opportunity to say “does my face look like it’s in the mood for shape based jokes?” BOOM.

Take it away Jason!

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Hey there Richmond fans, and welcome to The Crown & Anchor! Pull up a stool in our sadly empty space. Our regular bar matron is otherwise engaged this week, and she tapped (get it? “tapped”?) me to get the conversation going. “‘Four’ on three! Ready?”

Spoilers after the GIF.

Looking for and noting the red string connecting all the pieces at work throughout this episode, here are some of the most notable ones (I think) to start us off:

This episode could easily have been called “The Trip-wired Minefield of (Love)bombs.” Not quite as catchy a title, though certainly accurate. Because all the storylines (and there’s a lot going on in this episode!) are calling us to be aware of what’s going on around us, and perhaps even to be mindful what the ripple effect/impact of all our decisions and actions might be. Which, incidentally, is also Step 3: Awareness. Interesting side note, up until a few days ago this episode was titled, “Boxes.”

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Lots of relational dynamics at play, but where to start? The Nate/Jade dynamic? The Keeley/Jack dynamic (and Rebecca mirroring the over-the-top gestures of Rupert when they were first dating)? The multitude of little ways the members of the team develop in their own individual dynamics for the benefit of the team dynamic (and can we please get more of McAdoo & Dani role-playing as each other?)…LOTS going on throughout!

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Also, would love to see a lot more of Coach Beard and Kitman Will role-playing each other - those two absolutely had it dialed in (Beard bobbling the water bottles like Will once did; Will sitting at Beard’s desk giving Trent the trademark look).

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The “Jack gets jealous” dynamic is one to very much keep an eye on, and the ways in which she is almost nuclear love-bombing Keeley was starting to raise some flags for me. I cheered a little bit when Barbara began alluding to the inappropriateness of a romantic relationship between Jack and Keeley.

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Jaime’s relentless training is paying off! During Step 1: Conditioning, when everyone else is winded/puking, Jaime is still in stride. The goal he’s given is to live more fully into his own self. I love that he recognized how he would have sounded a prick two seasons ago, but now looks for affirmation and gets The Signal from the whole team (and Trent - does he even fully understand what it means?).

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Sam continues to develop calling out unjust practices, but this time we see the blowback & fallout we missed from the DubaiAir dynamic last season. What he does (or could do) in response is a defining moment for him. Loved meeting his dad, who clearly has always been a grounding figure in his life.

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That one continuous-shot locker room scene with the team working in concert and supporting Will as he gathers the water bottles.

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I’m beginning to get truly worried about Roy’s sadism and how it’s manifesting…

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Chuck and Arlo are Waldorf and Statler from The Muppets. That’s probably already been noted somewhere, but it’s still very true.

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Trent Crimm’s giddy excitement and observation that it will work, not because it was the miraculous change of strategy enacted in one week, but because it’s the natural result of thousands of imperceptible moments culminating over the course of several seasons. Did anyone else think Ted was just as surprised to have this pointed out as Trent was in discovering it? It’s The Lasso Way!

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Nice to see Nate coming back a bit from the “dark side,” beginning to synthesize his expertise & confidence with his awkward nervousness (“Siri, how can I tell if a girl likes me?” “You can’t”). Also, Siri is programmed to respond to Nate as “Wunderkind.”

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I’m shipping Sam & Simi, I think more than I ever shipped Sam & Rebecca. But, way to make it awkward in both instances, Dad (Ola)! And the look on Ola’s face when he realized Sam named the restaurant after him.

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Miscellaneous: Baz referencing “Major League” (poor Higgins!). Roy automatically offering puns, a la Ted, and slightly hating himself for it. Rebecca clearly still embodying gezellig. Ola advising to forgive, to rise above, and especially, to fight forward. [Editor’s Note: here at pastor camp we’ve invoked that line several times already this morning.]

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Above all, undergirding all: “What does this situation need now?” Improv, and Systems Theory, and Relational Fluidity all overlapping and supporting one another. Great things ahead in the final stretch of the season (both on the pitch and on our screens), Greyhounds!

Last thought I’ll offer here, in looking forward: The next episode is going to do A LOT in terms of Ted beginning to clarify what he wants and where he wants to be. And Henry is going to be around to help him in that process.

And go!

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