It Does Not Matter If You Have A Genuine Desire To Do Good (kendall) Or A Deep Capacity For Love (roman)

it does not matter if you have a genuine desire to do good (kendall) or a deep capacity for love (roman) or have comparatively progressive politics and are a victim of the misogynistic environment your father created (shiv). because if your sense of self is so intrinsically tied to oppressive capitalist structures, what good are your best impulses, your love, your decency? waystar is them and they are waystar what does any kindness they possess actually matter if they are only capable of acting upon it within the framework of the fascistic, patriarchal corporation that they have no desire to escape?

the thing about ted lasso is it drove up in a bus, slammed right into me, and didn’t even stop to ask if i was okay because tonight’s episode took me by the face and said “our parents aren’t perfect and they never have been and it’s okay to love them the way we did when we were little and still be angry with them for the people they made us into and all we can try to do is be better and lead with the love before the anger” haha

The way so many of the characters this episode had story beats dealing with their inner child was something so powerful to see:

Roy receives an endearingly childish shirt from his niece, which he wears and is then told that he looks happier than ever in it — and then proceeds to tell Keeley how he feels in said shirt

Rebecca is about to have a panic attack, visualizes her inner child in her place, and then works herself through the anxiety, choosing to go to the meeting because that child deserves to stand up for herself

Nate looks through his childhood things, plays the violin, and learns that all along his dad was really proud of him and just wanted him to be happy — and then he does a kind gesture for Will

Keeley reminds Rebecca that all of the men in the meeting were once little boys, and like the mirror scene, this allows her to appeal to the boys inside all of those men as she stands up to them

At one point or another, each of the characters were just kids who had all these hopes and dreams, but life happens and we all deal with shit, but by confronting the wounds they faced in their childhood and healing their inner child — the characters are allowed to grow and move on

TED LASSO (3x11) I’m guilty. Sorry, Jamie.