Lasso'd: A Show About Hope and Internal Conflict

Lasso’d: A Show About Hope and Internal Conflict

John Paul Derryberry

In the depths of the pandemic, a show on Apple TV long on hope, optimism, and cheesy dad jokes took the viewing population by storm. It was a bit of a remake from the old Major League movies of the late 80s and early 90s; a fish out of water and a plucky sports team fighting an owner cheering for their downfall-- or so we thought. What followed was watching how optimism, encouragement, compassionate teaching/coaching, and forgiveness can change people. I want to add not all people, but more than we realize.

As the second season rolled along, the show did something most of humanity hates; it detoured from external conflict and rode deep into internal strife where 95% of our problems exist, not that we want to admit it. The significant critique of the show was that there was no conflict, but that missed the show's point. The problem facing our characters was their internal thought process, the reflection in their mirror. And oh, how we run away from that problem. It's a lot easier to make your boss out to be a dumb villain, claim society is out to get you, or that your evil in-law is a conniving hench-person in the story that is your life. I'm not suggesting that there are not people in life who play the villain or people in jobs they suck at doing correctly. Are parts of our society set up to benefit one group over others? Yes! We all know people who have enjoyed our down moments a little too much and have had a boss that we wondered out loud, "how did they get promoted?". The facts always say more about those people than they do about ourselves.

What the show correctly demonstrates repeatedly is how most of life is a battle with how we feel about what happens to us and how we react to those feelings. Some of us mask it in toxic masculinity, others toxic positivity, or self-doubt. Some play the forever victim, others cover with anxiety, many with anger, some with indifference, and the list goes on and on. Some of us understand our demons and, on our best days, we don't beat ourselves up too much when we slip into the worst parts of our personalities. Unfortunately, the worst of us allow the wrong side of their characters to run their lives and still blame everyone else for their problems.

None of us can escape that internal monologue in our heads. Yet, we find interesting ways to hide from it or, worse, destructive ways to inflict that negative energy upon those around us. All because it is easier to blame other people than ourselves. That's the conflict of Ted Lasso, that's most of the conflict in life, and even all these years into the grand experiment of civilization, we still struggle to recognize it. Maybe that's why so many people lead with anger or say there isn't conflict unless there is a villain to blame.

Lasso is about most people doing their best not to let their stuff affect the people around them and, when it does, finding a way to apologize. But, of course, some characters are better at it than others, which is the most authentic thing about the show. Maybe we loved Lasso's 1st season because it was hope in the middle of a dark time, but the second season reflects that even after a pandemic where lots of people learned how to make bread, the world didn't change. And that's the truth of life, the world doesn't change. But, people improve, and those people change the world. Best we start promoting people into leadership who want a better place, not just a victory over a perceived villain to hide insecurities. We need more people like Ted Lasso, imperfect, trying to be a better person, openly willing to admit it, and doing his best not to blame others along the way.