Apple’s major hit show "Ted Lasso" centered its return on women’s soccer and nearly every grievance progressive critics prioritize.
asserted
critics → center → soccer
They still said it failed women.
asserted
it → say → women
It should serve as a reminder to Hollywood that trying to please people who are never satisfied is a losing battle.
asserted
who → serve → people
And Hollywood really should stop ruining good shows trying to chase that approval.
asserted
Hollywood → stop → approval
Now, I loved the first two seasons of "Ted Lasso."
asserted
I → love → Lasso
The third season wasn't as good, but I watched the entire thing.
asserted
I → watch → thing
So, when Apple brought the show back after a three-year hiatus, I was willing to give Season 4 a chance.
asserted
I → bring → chance
I didn't make it through the premiere.
asserted
I → make → premiere
During the opening sequence, Ted is working at a Kansas City grocery store and casually stealing food from his employer.
asserted
Ted → work → employer
When a coworker asks whether he worries about getting caught, Ted says he doesn't, "probably due to my deeply ingrained white male privilege."
asserted
he → ask → privilege
It was a throwaway joke that arrived almost immediately, before the show established its new story or gave viewers much of a reason to care.
asserted
show → arrive → reason
It felt deliberate, like the writers were telling the audience exactly what kind of season this would be.
asserted
this → feel → season
Then came the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum scene.
asserted
scene → come → ?
Leslie Higgins visits the museum after discovering that the American Jazz Museum is closed for a private event.
asserted
Museum → visit → event
A tour guide explains how Black baseball players, including Satchel Paige, were denied opportunities in Major League Baseball because of segregation.
asserted
players → explain → segregation
Higgins responds by comparing their experience to women once being prohibited from playing soccer in England.
Using the color barrier in American baseball as a narrative bridge to the challenges facing a fictional English women's soccer team felt painfully forced and over-the-top.
asserted
Using → respond → top
My wife rolled her eyes.
asserted
wife → roll → eyes
I looked at her and asked whether there was any reason to keep watching.
asserted
I → look → her
She agreed there wasn't.
asserted
She → agree → ?
So, we turned it off.
asserted
we → turn → it
I couldn't stomach watching the remaining episodes, but I did review the transcripts of all seven that Apple has released as of Sept. 17.
asserted
Apple → stomach → Sept.
I paid particularly close attention to the first four episodes, which were among those provided to television critics before the season premiered.
asserted
season → pay → critics
Those transcripts confirmed exactly what the opening episode suggested: Gender politics aren't a minor component of the new season.
uncertain
politics → confirm → season
‘Ted Lasso’ made its priorities clear from the beginning
The second episode revolves heavily around whether Rebecca is sufficiently feminist after hiring Ted to coach AFC Richmond's new women's team.
asserted
Rebecca → make → team
Alice Chilton, who helped construct the team, tells Rebecca she is resigning after being passed over for the head-coaching position.
asserted
she → construct → position
Before leaving, Alice asks Rebecca whether she considered her for the job.
asserted
she → leave → job
Rebecca says no.
asserted
Rebecca → say → ?
Alice then asks whether Rebecca considered any woman.
asserted
Rebecca → ask → woman
Again, Rebecca says no.
asserted
Rebecca → say → ?
This sends Rebecca into a panic over whether she is supportive enough of women.
asserted
she → send → women
She begins reading feminist literature and delivers a painfully awkward press-conference speech declaring that women are "just as capable and compelling as men" and that "the future is female."
asserted
future → begin → men
She then introduces the manager of Richmond's women's team, "who just happens to be a man."
asserted
who → introduce → team
The show plays Rebecca's desperation for laughs.
asserted
show → play → laughs
But the underlying conflict is whether Ted, as a man, should have received the opportunity at all.
asserted
Ted → underlie → opportunity
Remember what Ted accomplished with Richmond.
asserted
Ted → remember → Richmond
He took the club through relegation, earned promotion back to the Premier League and then led it to second place after entering the final day of the season with a chance to win the championship.
asserted
He → take → championship
Ted was overqualified to coach a brand-new second-division women's team.
asserted
Ted → coach → team
Yet the show treats Rebecca's decision to hire him as evidence that she might have failed women.
uncertain
she → treat → women
The first four episodes introduce several predictable progressive talking points surrounding supposed oppression of women in sports: lower salaries, inferior facilities, inadequate media coverage and a lack of financial support.
asserted
episodes → introduce → support
One might argue that those are products of capitalism and not some nefarious plot to hold down female athletes, but I digress.
uncertain
I → argue → athletes
…and 72 more, not listed.
The Aporia
