Ted Lasso S2E9 "Beard After Hours" Review: Ted Lasso Gets A Filler Episode

 

Release date: September 17, 2021
Running time: 43 minutes

After the semifinal, Beard sets out on an all-night odyssey through London in order to collect his thoughts.

So this is not your typical Ted Lasso episode.  It features almost no Ted, it features almost no soccer, and it is pretty much just an adventure with Beard that feels wholly unnecessary.  But let's start with the good.  The episode has a classic Noir odyssey type feel to it as Coach Beard explores the London nightlife after the shocking loss to Man City.  The epsiode has him confront a few things about his life due to him apparently having reservations about their gameplan and also dealing with his own relationship issues.  And this leads him to some interesting encounters in his crazy night and some funny occurrences.  And there is also a wonderful cameo that recurs throughout the episode.

But this episode really does feel like a filler episode.  It is tough to see how the results of this can have reverberations later down the line.  After such an impactful episode in "Man City," this was a let down because it did not address the big revelations we just had.  It really feels like a "Halloween special" type episode that was just there to let another writer have a go at telling a story in the Ted Lasso universe.  And as much as I like Beard's character as an occasional commentator and strong personality, I just did not really enjoy seeing him for the entirety of an episode.  But that being said, this one does give you some fun activities, a really nice moment for a few of our favorite characters, and the aforementioned wonderful cameo.  So in the end it is a fun episode, just not one that felt like it advanced the story.

Rent it.

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Ted Lasso is available to stream on Apple TV+ with Season 2 Episode 8 "Manchester City" available on September 10, 2021.