Curiouser and Curiouser! S4 | Ep2

Ted's back in Richmond. The BELIEVE sign is back. And dare we say it... Ted Lasso is starting to feel like Ted Lasso again.

This week, we're breaking down Season 4, Episode 2, “Curiouser and Curiouser!”

Ted meets the Richmond women's team and quickly becomes fascinated by the stories behind the players—especially Boots, a goalkeeper who refuses to wear gloves. But the biggest story Ted uncovers may belong to Alice Chilton, the abrasive, brutally honest coach who has just resigned after being passed over for the top job.

The episode reinforces one of our favorite leadership ideas:

Stats tell you what. Stories tell you why.

We talk about why great leaders get curious about the person behind the résumé, why reputation and identity aren't the same thing, and how Ted uses Alice's own story to see something in her that others may have missed.

We also dig into:

• Is Alice Chilton the new Roy Kent?
• Why “the sting is everything” might be one of the season's biggest leadership lessons.
• Rebecca's unexpected crisis over whether she's really supporting women.
• Why feedback can be right—and still be delivered wrong.
• The looming financial threat revealed by the Higgins Report.
• Roy making biscuits and quietly becoming more like Ted.
• The Time Traveler's Wife Easter egg.
• Ted and Beard's hilariously perfect “You're the Inspiration” moment.
• Roy + Keeley. We're just saying...
• Could Josie's injury open the door for Shannon?
• And what the heck is going on with Poppy Thompson?

For the first time, we're watching Ted Lasso in real time right along with you—so our predictions could be brilliant...or completely wrong.

Either way, stay curious, stay kind, and keep leading it like Lasso.

Sponsors

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Transcript

Season Four Feels Crisp Again

SPEAKER_04 0:12

Hi again, everyone. I'm Nick Nigleo.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

And I'm Marnie Stockman, and this is the Lead It Like Lasso podcast, a Ted Lasso rewatch podcast. We are the authors of Lead It Like Lasso, a leadership book for life, your life.

SPEAKER_04 0:26

Yeah, and we have never believed that Ted Lasso was really about soccer. It's truly a show about leadership, coaching, and culture. And we'll dive into each episode and tell you what we found. And for today's episode, we're diving into season four, episode two, curiouser and curiouser.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Yeah, we are.

SPEAKER_04 0:46

Yeah, we are. So I don't know if the writers know, but words are very hard for me.

SPEAKER_02 0:52

That's a tough one to say.

SPEAKER_04 0:53

And then they throw in feminism, and that's that gets me a little bit as well. But um before we get into the the show summary, I'm curious, Marnie. Did did episode two make you feel better, worse, or kind of the same in terms of where season four was going?

SPEAKER_01 1:12

Oh, better. Let's go. Right. I'm ready.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

This I when you last week predicted that the hazy filming of Kansas City was because Ted was a bit in a haze. And this is back to the crisp locker rooms, uh, thank goodness, locker rooms now of uh AFC Richmond roy's back, uh everybody's weird.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

They need to be Ted's living above the pub. Are you kidding me? Yeah, let's go. How about you?

SPEAKER_04 1:40

Yeah, I think the same. I I think um definitely last week was a setup, and I think I said it last week. It had the potential, right? And I it's different, but it's the same, right? Same but different.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

That was my first note. It's the whole same but different.

SPEAKER_04 1:56

Yeah. So let's we'll dig into it. Let's part in the 15-second interruption. Uh, we'd like to again thank the sponsor of today's episode.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

We're still looking for Apple to sponsor us, but until then, it's us. Every week we talk about becoming a better leader, teammate, parent, coach, or human being.

SPEAKER_04 2:16

And that's exactly where we're what we're gonna spend the rest of our week building.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Through our book, The Business of You and through Blue, our AI coach that helps students and young professionals discover who they are before deciding what they do.

SPEAKER_04 2:29

So if you'd like to learn more, there are links in the show notes.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Thanks for supporting what we do. Now let's talk,

The Women’s Team And A Big Resignation

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Ted.

SPEAKER_04 2:35

Start um, let's start with the show summary. So the show opens up. Ted's back in Richmond and is officially beginning uh coaching the women's team, only to discover that Alice Chilton, uh, Coach Chilton, the person who built much of the team, is resigning after being passed over for the head coaching job. And as Ted gets to know the players, he also starts to get to know Alice and really discovers that there's far more to her story than her reputation suggests. I think we'll be talking about that. Um meanwhile, Higgins completes a report showing that Richmond's women's team has, I don't know, a pretty bleak financial future and can negatively impact the men. Uh and Rebecca wrestles with whether she's really sporting women. Keely's trying to improve the team's, you know, second-class facilities. Roy's dealing with a jealous beard, and by the end, Ted realizes he's already found his assistant coach. Spoiler alert, Alice stays, Beard comes back, and Higgins drops sort of the bomb that the women's team, as I mentioned earlier, could threaten the financial future of the entire club. Did I get it get everything about right? I know we've got plenty of stuff to talk about. Oh, so much stuff to talk about, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So so what do you think? What do you think? I have my thoughts. You tell me if you want me to go, or if you want to go. What do you think about

Alice Chilton Beyond The Reputation

SPEAKER_04 4:03

Alice Chilton?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Oh, well, I mean, how how's how is she not Roy's sister, right? Yeah, that's what I think of Alice Chilton. And one thing that actually, when you were talking about the this summary, it made me think she's assistant manager and wants to be head coach and has said that, unlike Nate, who so a little callback to Nate, who in a temper tantrum said that was what he was aiming for. So I hadn't even thought about that the first two times I watched it before 8 a.m. this morning. Um, but that is uh that was my first reaction. How about you?

SPEAKER_04 4:51

Yeah, I uh I very much enjoyed the character to this point. I think I think she's she's a bit fascinating, a lot. Well, a lot like Roy, just like you said, right? The first impression was that she's rude, she's difficult, she's abrasive, she's they use other words to describe her, sometimes no words at all. Um, but this is where I you know I started to get the feels again, right? Ted starts doing what he does, right? He gets curious, and of all people, Roy gives us the first clue, right? Most people think that she's rude. Uh, I think she's hilarious, um, but she's good. And and I think, you know, how ironic is that? Um, I hopefully uh let's ask Nate if I'm using ironic in the beard if that's the right way.

SPEAKER_01 5:37

Yeah. Um also she's literal, so she's like, I don't get a little riddle. Uh and then Ted's like, it's not a and you know, he's gonna say it's not a riddle. It's uh nope, this isn't gonna play with her.

SPEAKER_04 5:52

Yeah, yeah. But then we see when when their striker Josie gets hurt, right? She immediately becomes nurturing, which yeah, which is a little bit different, right? She's saying, I've got you, right? You're gonna be all right, we're in this together. We come later to find out that um, you know, she's been through that, but suddenly I think our perception starts to change a little bit, right? And that's that's kind of classic Ted Lasso storytelling.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Yeah, yeah. Now, my favorite bit is at the end when he goes and puts himself in the corner.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

There's there are so many petulant child, I said that last week, um, moments with like a beard throwing temper tantrum, uh, you know, and Ted. That's very interesting. But when he turns to the corner and she cracks the little bit of smile, but she closes it back up, she's not gonna let him see that side of her yet.

SPEAKER_04 6:45

Yeah, yeah. So I'm sure we'll talk about that um just the whole interaction more when we start talking about the leadership elements of the show.

SPEAKER_05 6:56

But uh, they also um probably

Rebecca’s Blind Spot And Defensiveness

SPEAKER_05 7:00

not surprising. I I was surprised they they kind of did it the way they did it, but uh Rebecca in this episode starts going through a feminism crisis.

SPEAKER_04 7:12

Um you know, and I think it all initiates with again Alice uh when she origin when she asked, Did you really consider any woman for the job? Right, yeah. Rebecca's response was quick, right? It was no. And she doesn't get curious, she gets defensive, right? And I I think she says, right, um she's talking to Higgins, and I think Keely walks in the room later where she thinks I'm a woman hating monster. Yeah, and and Higgins is like, she didn't say any of that, yeah. Yeah, which is kind of a a little micro leadership moment, right? Rick Becca isn't responding to what Alice said, she's respond responding to what she actually heard. Um, but Keely grounds us and says, right, implications everything. And I think that's kind of funny.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

Once again, healy bringing some uh, you know, because Keely is uh, you know, in the in our previous seasons, such the leader. Uh and in this one, uh Rebecca's kind of protecting her bit. We can chat about that too. But it was good to see Keely had that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:19

Yeah, no doubt. What else did you see?

Callbacks Books Gifts And Easter Eggs

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Can can we talk about brisket with the boss? Come on. Yes. So between Ted dropping brisket with the boss and a royal burrow paper bag rolled up. And Rebecca's like, you really don't have to do this.

SPEAKER_04 8:40

Yeah, uh, but but again, you know, it's funny. Last week I we talked about the fact that Rebecca was becoming Ted. This week it was almost Roy was becoming Ted. And you know, not only with the biscuits, although a little different, you know, with some beef tallow, I believe, um, sugar-free and high protein. Uh, but just in in other areas of the show as well. Um, and and I would be remiss. I mean, did did Roy look a little jacked in this show? He looks like he's been working out.

SPEAKER_01 9:11

What have you been doing there?

SPEAKER_00 9:12

So I agreed, and because he had warned me last week, I mentioned that Rebecca was turning into Ted. So I adjusted putting pieces of it together. But Roy goes in and fixes the locker room for Keely. And remember, Ted fixed the locker room for Keely by covering up her parts last season, and Roy is now doing the same by adjusting the locker room. And I thought, oh, sneaky sneaky.

SPEAKER_04 9:45

Yeah, that's uh I didn't think about that. I just I I they lost me a second when he just pushed over that whole center unit, you know, just by leaning on it. I was like, whoa. Um uh so what else? So I thought this, you know, there was one scene in particular where I was like, oh my gosh, this is this is season one all over again when Ted's on the sideline with with Alice, right? And they're just watching the players, right? And and Alice is describing each of the players. And I swear I I saw Nate and Beard standing next to him, and when they were talking about all whether it was Jamie Tart or Colin or whoever, um, it was just it was a callback to that first season, first or second episode. Uh, I think it was the second episode, maybe it was the first. Um, but you know, I think we're essentially watching, right? That Ted's he's back in Richmond again, but he isn't the same person. Um, and I'm really interested to see how that plays out again.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

So in the callbacks, uh he's talking to Chilton, and she says, enough, which is what Roy, like, I've had enough of your mind games and gifts. What even is a wrinkle in time? So she's already like easy there, grasshopper. So he's gonna have to figure out how to unlock Chilton.

SPEAKER_05 11:15

Yeah, she definitely was that enough. When I first heard that, I was like, oh my gosh, that is Roy Kent. He has said that exact line, and of course, she's got a whole bunch of oils too. Oi, oi, oi, right. Um do you have a recent callback, right? Notice that Rebecca's wearing green. She had the bright green pants on, walking down the stairs, and that's that's the new color.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

New color, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 11:41

Um there are a couple things. I don't know if they're Easter eggs or or not. There are a couple things I wasn't sure about, but I did find it ironic when Ted was doing the press conference, the presser, as they say, and Beard, of course, is being conspicuous, acting like he doesn't care, and he's watching the press conference. In his book, in the book, which is the time traveler's wife. So you've got this man whose kind of old relationship has returned from the the past and he's hiding inside a book about a relationship that's disrupted by time. I I just thought, oh my crazy. You know, so this week I actually caught the big book title, where last week the Johnny Trumane, I missed it. So I'm I was pretty proud of myself for that one.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

Yeah, yeah. I that's I mean, I searched that one too, and creating a deep bond that tests their strengths through constant goodbyes. Um yes, you knew you know they're gonna be together.

SPEAKER_04 12:43

Any idea? I you know, they dropped uh May called uh Beard Mr. Gladstone. Yes, yep. I looked up and I know he was a British PM on a Google search. Any idea what that meant at all?

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Um, so he withdrew in the face of setback was one of the things that I heard about him. And think about how Beard withdrew, right? He was hiding, he was in disguise, he went to another office to get away from Roy. He was hiding behind the book, watching the phone. Um, so I think that is what that was in reference to.

SPEAKER_04 13:24

Oh, we got all the answers. Do you have an answer about Poppy Thompson?

SPEAKER_00 13:28

No, didn't look that one up. What is Poppy Thompson?

SPEAKER_04 13:31

I remember the Lasso sleuths help us out, right? Who is Poppy Thompson? I I did look it up and I didn't I didn't find much on it. Didn't find anything audience will let us see better sleuthing than than I did. And we'd love we'd love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Uh yeah, we would.

SPEAKER_04 13:47

Just please drop us, drop us something. Uh how could they get best place? Leave a like lasso in every social. You can find it.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yeah, uh the YouTube comments pop up, so that that's a good place. Or oh, if they're listening on Spotify, yeah, find us on social.

unknown 14:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:02

Yeah. All right. Not to offend the people that are listening on Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, or their Echo. It's it's we're everywhere. We're everywhere. And we would love a review, just as a random aside, yeah. Any other uh callbacks, uh Easter eggs, pop culture references. I there were plenty others. Oh, I got one. I'm I'm sorry, I I answered my own question. Okay, and it's it's it's nothing more than when Ted and Beard were at the bar and they were discussing their relationship and the Chicago song, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:44

You're the inspiration pops up in the background. Yes, yes, perfect, yeah, absolutely perfect. Yeah, and you know, I'm not the best at recognizing music uh when it's in the background because I'm so focused on what the characters are saying, but that one was so clearly, you know, their song uh that that I couldn't miss it. Uh how about their showers, right? Ted fixed the showers for Roy, and yeah, callback for um he fixed the showers. Oh, also Ted gave Chilton a going away gift. Keely gave Barbara a going away gift, and then Barbara had to pay Keely back because she wasn't going away, or no, she had to buy it herself, and then she wasn't going away, so then she had to pay her back, right? That whole shenanigans. And and Ted asked for a gift back from Alice Chilton. She really didn't even debate that. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

Um, so you have any thoughts on what that gift was? Of course, we never found out.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

I I I I don't even know if there was a gift in there, to be quite honest. I wonder if we're gonna I yeah that's coming back.

SPEAKER_04 16:01

I don't know how or why, but that that is coming back somehow.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

And the so what I I was surprised, frankly, is he was pulling something out that it wasn't a biscuits with the boss box. And so it made me think with the polka dots, keep an eye out for that, because yeah, that the polka dot that'll be back for sure.

SPEAKER_04 16:19

Perfect.

Stories Beat Stats In Leadership

SPEAKER_00 16:20

I think those were most of the callbacks I have. Um everything else is around a couple of the leadership themes that I thought were pretty strong.

SPEAKER_04 16:33

We'll start there. Where where do you want to go first?

SPEAKER_00 16:37

Well, you know me, I'm like the sound of music. I like to start at the very beginning because it's a very good place to start. So let me let me start there.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Um oh, so Hegan spent the night memorizing the acronym of that big binder, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:57

Now, we do leadership trains all of the time, and one of the things we have talked about is the uh the Eisenhower matrix of people doing what is you know important versus urgent, and sometimes you start doing things that waste your time that help you procrastinate instead of doing the urgent or important stuff, and so that is exactly what Higgins doesn't really want to see what's in that report. So he spends a whole night memorizing the acronym of it. Uh, and that is a little self-sabotage that a lot of folks in business do.

SPEAKER_04 17:35

Yeah, absolutely. I don't I don't even know what to add to that, but I think you're you're spot. I'm honestly a little disappointed because uh for those that don't know, Marty and I go out, we do speaking presentations, workshops, um and keynotes. And one of the things that we typically almost always talk about is the fact that stats tell you what, right? But stories tell you why. And I can't believe you didn't start there because I thought that was such a big theme of the show, and I know it was sequential, but come on.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Well, that is the one thing that I think we need to talk about for a long period of time, and it went on throughout the show, which is why I didn't bring it up first, because I think this is going to be the meat of what we talk about. I think that is the most critical piece of this entire thing. Uh, you know, the fact that we state all the time is that storytelling is 22 times more memorable than facts. Uh that is something because we are talking a lot to high school students, folks that are interviewing, and how to interview properly, right? Like that's why we're that's the angle, how to write a college essay. And what we know is that if somebody says, tell me about yourself, and you start listing your facts. I went to this school, I was in this club, I did this thing, I did that thing. Irrelevant. Nobody that doesn't make you stand out at all. What makes you stand out? Your story is what makes you uniquely hu uniquely you. Um, so yeah, what did you want to say about it? Because we could go on for days on this one.

SPEAKER_04 19:15

Yeah, I I I thought we were gonna punt it, but you came back to me since you started it. I'll I'll I'll continue. And we we often talk a lot to young adults, whether they're in high school trying to get in college or they're in college trying to get you know, get their first job, right? So kind of along those same lines, right?

SPEAKER_05 19:36

I thought this entire episode was really about seeing the person behind the resume, right? Boots, we met boots, we have to talk about boots, and the the rest of the team, right, that we met, but she wasn't she wasn't a goalkeeper who refused to wear gloves, right? There was a story there, and Ted tried to pull that out, right?

SPEAKER_04 19:57

Alice isn't a difficult employee, another story there, right? She had torn ACL multiple times, she had a lot of promise, right? I mean, I we can say the same thing. Ted isn't an American coach, returned to Richmond. There's a story we're about to figure out with that. Um and I think the interesting thing, I thought this was really interesting, right? Is that you mentioned Higgins, the Higgins report, right? Whatever acronym that was, right? That was an analytical report really telling Rebecca that the women's team won't work out financially, right? So you've got Ted spending the entire episode saying the numbers aren't the whole story, right? And the data says that Richmond's women's team really shouldn't exist, and then it feels like Ted's saying, let's see, let's see what this story becomes. And I I thought that was kind of the theme of every interaction within the within the show.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

I think it's not just gonna be the show. I think it's gonna be the season. Like the that is the story that they're going to tell.

SPEAKER_04 21:03

Yeah, yeah. So we took uh we'll get back to that, I'm sure, because there are a bunch of different scenes with that, but I do want to get your opinion. We've met, you know, kind of like the first season when we met, you know, Isaac and Colin and Jamie for the first time, right? We were finally introduced, in addition to Alice, right? We were introduced to some of the players. Um and I, you know, they spent a decent amount of time on the twins, yeah. Uh a little bit on the striker, Josie. I I would try to say the twins' name, but I don't think I got it right. They spent some time talking about boots, and I feel like Boots is going to be fun. Yeah, very fun, right? Um any any initial takes from from the initial introduction of the team?

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Okay, so I think it's not a surprise that Beard is weird, right? And I think Boots is going I I

SPEAKER_01 22:00

I have no reason to believe this, but I feel like Bern and Boots are gonna get along because Boots has got like this still uh like the man's not gonna tell me what to do to put on these gloves, and that feels very beard to me. I don't know. Am I off base? What do you think?

SPEAKER_05 22:17

Uh no, I I I I agree. And I think I think she might even be a little deeper than Beard, right?

SPEAKER_04 22:25

She she right out of the gate, I think she gave us she gave us something that we can view kind of through a leadership lens when she talked about the sting, the sting being everything, you know, why she doesn't wear gloves, right? And she boils it down to what's what's the point in life if you're really not feeling anything at all. Um she's literally choosing pain because pain makes the experience real, right? And you know, she goes on to say, you know, I get it, right? And that's there's an issue with that. But it it does bring up, I think, a larger leadership idea, which which is, you know, are we so busy insulating ourselves from discomfort that we're also insulating ourselves from growth? And I I just think you and I are kind of living that on the day, day to day. You know, we just you know, we're sometimes we're talking about, okay, how do we how do we leverage technology to better do the job that we're trying to do? Um, but we were both didn't want to deal with the discomfort of having to learn everything, and we're kind of going through that process of learning, learning it, uh, and it stings because it's pulling us away from some of the things that we know we want to work on, but it is also, you know, we can tell as we talk through it, right? It's driving growth in ourselves. I thought that was a pretty good reminder.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

So interesting, in the leadership workshop that we do for the local community um uh electric cooperative, I had them do activities around uh Brene Brown's book, Dare to Lead. And everybody got to pick. You could do a presentation, you could do, well, you could do whatever you wanted. And one of the um presenters, he brought in, or one of the participants brought in four sets of gloves. One was no glove, one was uh like gardening glove, like a thin glove, one was a heavier glove, and one was uh oven mitts. And they had to unwrap a gift that was saran wrap. And it was interesting because when you were over protect over insulated, as you said, the oven mitt, like she got through nowhere untangling the thing. But the guy with the grippy gloves, uh, they were actually mechanics' gloves, now that I think of it, not garden gloves, he was actually faster than the guy just with bare hands. And uh I thought, oh, that's an interesting leadership lesson, uh, right? The authentic version of yourself or slightly insulated, slightly protected. And I thought, um, so when you just said without the gloves on, I thought of that lesson because that was a good way to demonstrate it.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

Yeah, uh wear sticky gloves. I can't see the thing.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

So is this, I mean, clearly they don't bring it up for no reason. So do they end up winning something because she tries the gloves? Or does she create some new glove technology?

SPEAKER_01 25:27

Like, where do these gloves go? That was that was not a throwaway conversation. We've seen this, you know, these writers are good. This will be back.

SPEAKER_04 25:35

No doubt. No doubt. Now, uh since I kind of went from Boots and the team to kind of the the lesson of the stinging lesson there, I didn't I didn't bring up the one note I have, which I have written down right here, which I thought it was interesting that the one player we didn't see, which we were all expecting to see, which is Shannon. So are we are we thinking that with the striker Josie going down that that's gonna be an opportunity for Shannon to come back into play?

SPEAKER_00 26:10

I hope so.

SPEAKER_04 26:10

Or do we just think she's not in this in this series at all? I feel like Shannon's coming back.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

I I had forgotten about that. I love that you said that. Yeah, this is this is Shannon's opportunity.

SPEAKER_04 26:21

Yeah, okay. Yeah, I was shocked. I was because I was looking for her. I I don't think I missed her, but um you think they would have profiled her if she was if she was part of the team, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

For sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. And Ted would have said something to her. Yeah, yeah. No question. I'm glad you brought that up. Forgot about that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know how the twins are going to play out. But you know, there would be some interesting twin lessons learned along the way. Um absolutely. Uh yeah, that'll be that'll be curious. I don't know what studies we're gonna hear about or what lore fiction modern myth Ted is gonna debunk along twins, but by golly, something's gonna be there.

SPEAKER_04 27:08

Yeah, and I think um the way the twins played out when when Ted asked uh Coach Shilton, I forget the exact word, but which twin was born first, right? And she said something to the effect of who cares? And Ted's like, the twins do, right? So I think episode two, they reinforced the most famous kind of theme of the entire first series, which was curious defeats curiosity really defeats judgment every time. We saw it. Uh we saw it with the twins, we saw it when he wanted to learn about boots, right? When he was trying to figure out um you know what Alice was all about, right? Alice and she plays Roy's part, right? Story is irrelevant, and he comes back and says, right, I just like figuring out what makes folks tick. Um, and it reinforces the whole be curious, not judgmental.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

For sure. I have something that I'm curious about. Uh the sign in the press room that sits behind Ted, the banter is on that sign, which surprised me.

SPEAKER_03 28:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Uh along with Pinter and Sons, Nando's Sons, and Nike.

SPEAKER_04 28:28

Yeah. Yeah. I looked up Pinter and Sons, and it was some business in Ohio. Watch I said that can't be right.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

But um I watched enough British comedy uh game shows to know that Nando's is a British thing, but I was okay, so you looked at that too.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

Yeah. I don't, I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Um, I want to go back to you saying Roy was becoming Ted, so he was being strategic about all of these shenanigans in the locker room, right? And like he and no one gets to know his secrets, but Keeley does get to know his secrets and come on with the conversation of, I think I'm losing someone, and it will be a shame for two people who should be together, not just for them, but for everybody else.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

You know, they are talking about the fact that we all want those two to get back together for sure.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

But even in regular press outside the show, you'll hear Brett Goldstein and Keely say, like, yeah, I think they should get back together.

SPEAKER_02 29:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

And and is this, I mean, all I can say is people go get your friends to watch Ted Lasso because we need Apple TV to pick up season five and six, because it might take that long for Roy and Keely to get back together. So come on, folks.

SPEAKER_05 29:52

Yeah, I you know, I I guess I'm hoping for it. I mean, Roy's certainly hoping for it because he was talking about those two, and Keely gave him the quick out and said, beard. Oh, yeah, yeah. Um, so yeah, I that's definitely something that is on the uh prediction list for sure, but they they spent little time getting that tension, you know, back into play really quick. Yeah. You know when or when they see it.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Yeah, that's exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

You have our attention. Um did you uh catch Alice's? So I always find the post-it notes, right? Pet Ted would hang believe signs, and Alice has got some very neatly organized post-it notes of her own. I caught a few of them. Pressure is privilege. Uh, it's not the opponent you feel, it's the fear, it's the failure itself. Uh, talking isn't doing. I feel like that one right there is going to be Alice's, like, talking isn't doing, Ted. And she's gonna find out that sometimes the talking is the doing.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

Yeah, yeah. I yeah, I didn't I caught the post-it notes. I didn't, I didn't do the the uh the deep dive into it as you did. I just I put a mental note. She's a she's a very organized and post-it note kind of gal. Yeah. Um which is different than Roy. So it's you know, same but different, right? In terms of she comes at it from a very different approach. It's the same output uh or similar output. Um, but I was a little surprised, you know, they talked a lot about, and it was part of the show, obviously, the dossier that she put together for Ted. Uh, but it was very unlike Ted to do all the research, right? That was and and kind of gather. And what a what a touching way to kind of come back to it at the end when he asked her to take the position, or he said he, you know, I found my new coach, and where he was the one who actually did the research on Alice, uh, and that's where we found out that she was indeed a rising star. Um, but she had injury after injury after injury. Um, that kind of pushed her over the edge. And again, it reinforces the know the story, not just the facts um that you that you hear about.

SPEAKER_00 32:10

Yeah, I think Ted's growing up, right? I mean, we all know we all had everybody had an arc, right? And Ted had lots of learning to do, and he has learned some of those lessons already. Not that there aren't more to go, but he is becoming a little bit more, he's got a little bit more of the tactic piece that he didn't have the first season because now he knows some things.

SPEAKER_04 32:35

Yeah. But he but what he always knew, and I thought this was another an adjacent lesson to all the things that we have already talked about, right? But the whole notion of not confusing reputation with identity. And again, we said it right, uh uh Alice's reputation was she's difficult, she's rude, she's a B-I-T-C-H, right? Ted doesn't ignore those things, he just doesn't assume it's the entire story, and he never has, right? And probably because you know that mistake has happened to him so much where people actually have assumed, right, that who he was and and what he did and his reputation was who he was as a person, and they couldn't be further from the truth.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

Well, that is interesting because reputation, identity, and story are typically really closely linked. But when you hear someone's reputation, you should do the work to get the story. Um, because in a shocking turn of events, everything you find on social media is not true. I know, like stand back for that news flash, but very much. Uh, this is just as an aside, and I kind of love it because it's always made me laugh

Budgets Risk And Equality Under Stress

SPEAKER_00 33:55

that it's true. Roy, a budget isn't a real thing. Like it really much is. He's like, it's made up of numbers that someone made up. What did you think of that?

SPEAKER_04 34:05

Um, uh, you know, it's funny. I think he convinced me. I mean, as somebody who's has you know been tied to budgets before, I uh I I was originally on on Rebecca's side, but I was like, yeah, it is all kind of made up. So yeah. Um, yeah, I'm I like it that way. I'm a fan.

SPEAKER_00 34:25

Yeah, that made me that made me laugh. I was like, yeah, I uh more that Roy. Let's see, where are you going with uh with your strategy? Because that's gonna be that's all tied to is Rebecca gonna fund what this is gonna take, right? Who's in? All is she really all the way in. And again, we've talked about when your behaviors, you know, your core values are under stress, you revert to your shadow behaviors or primal instincts. And for Rebecca, high achievers often revert to self-protection, and so you become a control freak. What is interesting is she is protecting Keely, and so don't give Keely the book, let's read it for you know, we don't want to bog her down, and she's controlling about that, which is super interesting because Keely is such a part of her, is such a best friend that her primal instinct of protection doesn't just protect herself.

SPEAKER_04 35:34

Yeah, yeah. I mean, what do you think about Rebecca's reaction just in this entire episode? I you know, I I you know it's it was you know, she had come so far in terms of you know her arc, right, that it seemed like this was a massive re regression, um, you know, in in the whole the whole feminist thing, and and that she just absolutely kind of flipped out and got really defensive.

SPEAKER_05 36:07

Um thoughts on that?

SPEAKER_01 36:10

On the finance piece or the defense?

SPEAKER_05 36:13

No, just on the general reaction, just like over. I'll tell you where I'm going with this.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:18

Um I thought I thought the the general reaction was well, number one, it was funny that she was she's a little bit intimidated by Alice, right? And it was hilarious when she stood in the corner and and Higgins called her out on that right after the Eleanor Roosevelt quote. Yeah. Um But you know, eventually Rebecca realizes that Alice did her a favor, right? She forced her to kind of examine a blind spot that she had.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:48

Um, and then she says something that I think is is is important for all of us, right? She talks about feedback and it requires empathy. I'm gonna read it because I wrote it down. Next time you have something helpful to say, perhaps show a little more empathy and a little less judgment. Um and I think an important point to remember that that feedback can be correct and still be delivered poorly.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

Incorrectly. So if I literally just did role-playing with the group on that today.

SPEAKER_04 37:19

Yeah, yeah. And we Roy learned that lesson over and over again. And it's just another reminder that um, yeah, that can happen. I mean, you just need to, you know, no matter how right you are, right? You need to learn how to deliver it so it gets received the way it should.

SPEAKER_00 37:36

Because she said the quote, no one can, it was uh um Eleanor Roosevelt, right? No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

SPEAKER_04 37:43

Yep.

unknown 37:44

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 37:45

Um, the other thing is uh I think this is becoming very real for Rebecca. It was one thing when it was you know imaginary piece of paper that this women's sports league is happening, uh, and then but it could crush the men's team, and that is some next level accountability to herself, to her livelihood, to the community in a huge way. And you know, a lot of times when people talk about equality, they will say things like, it's not pie, enough for everyone, right? But but the reality of it is is this one could take out the other. So it feels more like pie the way it's being presented to her. Uh and so that's a little scary for her because how do people the the biggest stressor for people for companies is when something threatens the core of your business, right? Or for a human, when I don't think I'm gonna get fed, have a house, eat, etc. And that is what she's seeing is I really want this best version, but I'm a little scared. I know this is the right thing to do, but it could, this is a personal risk to me, not just an idea that might flop. So it's not just the failure, it is the personal risk to her that makes it a lot more real, I think.

SPEAKER_04 39:22

Yeah, yeah. And I think that will be one of the lead protagonists as we kind of go through this entire season, would be my guess.

SPEAKER_00 39:29

Throw out protagonists, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 39:31

Yeah, yeah. I've been watching too many podcasts.

SPEAKER_04 39:35

Listening. Anything else before we kind of roll into predictions?

SPEAKER_00 39:41

Um, you know, I just the quotes around with boots, stats are great, but what's her story, right? Was the the quote that you started with, and the fact that Ted won over Chilton by knowing her story, I think is just so powerful. Uh, the other interesting I there's one little snippet is that you know the the fable of the boy who cried wolf, right? He's always coming out saying there's a wolf and everybody gears up and runs away, uh, you know, and goes and checks, and then they don't believe when there's actually a wolf. The whole time Chilton that Rebecca is lecturing Chilton and Chilton's trying to interrupt and say that, you know, like she's not quitting. She she took the job back, that Rebecca had dealt with enough of her being rude and interrupting that Rebecca finally decided she was over and she wasn't gonna let her interrupt. And this time it was actually important and relevant to the situation, but Rebecca was already done with it. And so that is a also a leadership, like a lesson to learn about yourself in terms of how you present. If like you're constantly doing a thing without the backing of it, when you finally have a back to it, it might no longer be there to present itself because nobody's listening.

SPEAKER_04 41:06

I completely agree.

SPEAKER_00 41:09

Sorry, that was my last. I think that was the last. I mean, I've only watched it twice so far today.

SPEAKER_04 41:18

Uh any

Predictions Plus Newsletter And Reviews

SPEAKER_04 41:20

predictions for what's to come?

SPEAKER_00 41:22

Well, I feel 100% in this one, Beard's gonna get a shaven haircut.

SPEAKER_04 41:30

I I I think you're right. I think you're right. Um anything else?

SPEAKER_00 41:37

Well, I like your prediction that Shannon's coming. I did not even think about that. I I'm I apologize to Shannon that I hadn't thought of her. Um, I think that's a good one. Uh interesting that uh Rebecca's mom's back. I don't I don't know that I have a prediction on that. But what else?

SPEAKER_04 41:54

Yeah, I I think uh I was looking at what I wrote down. Um I inadvertently covered most of them all, or most of them, right? I think Boots is definitely gonna, she matters, right? And um interest to see where that character development goes, as well as the other characters. Um the obviously Keely and Roy, absolutely back in play. Um it'd be interesting to see. I'm I'm curious how the the the Ted, the Roy and the Beard triangle kind of kind of plays out.

SPEAKER_00 42:30

Do the Diamond Dogs play, or is is does Alice become a Diamond Dog? Does that not come into yeah?

SPEAKER_04 42:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:36

Oh, and then Roy and Beard have had three years together.

SPEAKER_04 42:39

Yeah, yeah. So I'm um I'm curious about that. But um, but yeah, we'll we'll see where it goes. Um and then the other thing that I wrote down is what we talked about, right? Alice is is Tes New Roy, right? She's gonna challenge him, she's gonna ground him in soccer, football, reality, and and really just as you were saying, I think she's going to become one of his closest allies for sure.

SPEAKER_01 43:06

Yeah, it's gonna be fun. Let's go.

unknown 43:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 43:11

Absolutely. All right, so uh as we like to say, that's our whistle whistle. Um game's over, but the leadership lessons keep on playing.

SPEAKER_00 43:20

So I don't know that we usually we ever say this. We have a weekly newsletter where we deliver Ted Lasso leadership lessons all year round, even when episodes don't show up. So if you are interested in more Ted Lasso leadership lessons, be sure to subscribe at leaditlike lasso.com. Follow us here, follow us everywhere at Leadit Like Lasso.

SPEAKER_05 43:42

Yeah, for those that missed out, last week I think we talked about the whole notion of recombobulation area.

SPEAKER_01 43:50

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 43:50

Recombobulating, yeah. Yeah. But until next time, uh stay curious, stay kind, keep leading it like lasso. And if you were so inclined, whatever podcast platform that you listen to, we would love a review. Thanks so much, everybody.