AtypicalAdventurer

Brilliant, heartwarming show with a constant yet not overbearing 'feel-good' tone. But don't let the fuzzy feelings fool you, this show has plenty of harsh doses of reality too.

Ted Lasso touches upon many painful aspects of the human experience, but the balance between these harsh and heartwarming tones may leave you feeling like you're watching something straight out of your own life.

For me, the most important part of Ted Lasso was its excellent portrayal of positive affirmation within male friendships-- something that is scarecly touched upon in real life or fiction. The friendships in Ted Lasso are filled with love, support, affection, and so many things that men need but struggle to find in real life.

Is this dynamic a realistic portrayal of a competitive sports team? Maybe, maybe not. But the warmth and love shown throughout the series is how men, and all people, should strive to be.

I don't know what I can add to the commentary that hasn't already been discussed a thousand times. The fact that this movie only has a rating of 7.7 at the time of this review, is unfortunately telling as to how many people had/have an issue with a non-heterosexual love story.

The movie itself is beautiful. It is aesthetically stunning, with the Southern Alberta mountains being a joy to behold. The soundtrack composed by Gustavo Santaolalla is rustic, heartfelt, and perfectly captures the strange and particular loneliness these characters feel.

And then, of course, there is the love story. I wish we lived in a world where this story could remain purely ficticious, and didn't have a single tie to reality. Sadly this is not the case, and there have been countless Ennis & Jacks out there who never got to lead fulfilling lives because of the bigoted shackles society cast upon them.

And that is to say nothing of the heartbreak felt by the wives of these men, who also suffered unspeakable loneliness, trapped in relationships out of expectation, never understanding why they were not loved in the same way they loved their spouse.

This movie presents to us not just a beautiful love story, but a time capsule; a glimpse into a very real past that many of us have lived, in one way or another. At the end of the day, we're all human. And it is so unbelievably tragic, that some people never got the chance to feel that way.

As a massive fan of TLOU games, I was very excited for this, though the casting choices made me scratch my head based on appearances alone. However, most of the cast have proven themselves very capable thus far.

Bella Ramsey and Nico Parker, who play Ellie and Sarah respectively, despite not looking anything like the original characters, absolutely knocked it out of the park and nailed the roles. Bella's performance makes me hopeful for the rest of the series.

The main outlier and main concern of mine so far is, surprisingly, Pedro Pascal. Pedro's performance as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones was fantastic, and he quickly became one of my favourite characters. However, his performance as Joel seems to be a little lacklustre, or perhaps miscast.

Joel Miller is a very nuanced character; an extremely vulnerable and broken man who developed a stoic/hardened/detatched/bitter front after his tragic loss. I am not feeling that level of depth from Pedro's performance... so far he just seems a little reserved and aggressive.

*That* opening scene in TLOU game made me extremely emotional to the point of tears in every playthrough. The TV version felt underwhelming by comparison, outside of Nico's incredible performance.

I'm excited to watch the rest of this series, but I do hope Pedro leans more into the role of Joel as the show progresses. Also to the reviewers insulting gamers for their passion for video games, please try to develop a prefrontal cortex at some point in your lives.