It's always hard following up a season like Ted Lasso season 1. It was a tremendous achievement. One of the finest seasons of TV I've ever seen. I think most people would agree that season 2 fell short of season 1, but probably not by as much as it could have. That being said, I think a lot of the blame falls on Apple.

It's clear Apple wanted or maybe needed season 2 of its most popular show to come out as soon as possible. Ted Lasso is Apple's mainstay, its driving force to add new subscribers. And thus it put pressure on the writers and showrunners to add episodes and crank out season 2 as fast as possible. You may have noticed that there were FAR FAR less soccer scenes in season 2, which was unfortunate. That's because it takes time to choreograph all that and make it look good, not that it was stellar from the first season, but at least respectable.

The biggest fault of Ted Lasso was really a failure to develop an overarching conflict the way season 1 did. Instead, this season was filled with micro-conflicts, many of which were resolved within a single episode. The first season's conflicts were so good and so engaging that the lack of them in season 2 made the show suffer. Yes, it's still a feel good show, but didn't have the same must-watch feel with Rebecca constantly foiling Ted. Why couldn't Edwin Akufo have stepped in as the foil for the season instead of just the last two episodes? I think the show would have been better served for the writers to end the first season with a new main conflict in mind, or for Rebecca's redemption to have been prolonged until Nate was ready to step up as the new enemy.

I also noticed this season had a lack of focus on Ted as the center. Ted felt a little bit off-center. I didn't mind his anxiety issues, but there was a lack of moments of "Ted about town." I missed his quiet moments interacting with the townsfolk of Richmond, quelling his doubters, and having those "Dad Tanner" moments with the cast. It was a huge shift. I suppose the writers thought that since Ted had no external conflicts, they had to play up the internal conflicts. Richmond itself seemed to play less of a role, and more of a role was given to the three losers in the bar and Mae.

The coach Beard episode was bad not because it was weird and stuck in there to push the episode count up by one (which it absolutely was), but because it did not further the plot in any meaningful way nor did it change anything in regards to Beard's character.

Roy Kent's opportunity to shine was great. I love his character moments and that his character learns but doesn't change. He is who he is, and all he can be is a better version of that person. I do not want to watch a season 3 of drama between Keeley and Roy Kent. However, Roy Kent's character can't stay stagnant, so I don't know how they are going to stretch him in the next season, but I'm not confident it will be done the way season 2 made it fun.

Honestly, I don't have insanely high expectations of season 3. I'm confident Richmond will win the Piston Cup, I think Nate will be redeemed at the end and stop projecting his father issues onto Ted. He'll dye his hair black (a weird and semi-interesting metaphor for his transformation) again, and Richmond will beat West Ham to shut up Rupert once and for all. But the show will hopefully get back to its roots of having Ted be the focus of the show and having his bright light and optimistic personality transform the people around him the way it did in season 1 because there was literally none of it in the second season.