Hobbies or Interests of Any Kind

I write things (usually stories), read things (usually books), and obsess about things (usually Shakespeare). Basically Nerd and Proud.

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On this day in fiction, Dr. Seward was astonished to discover that Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, was a nerd, instead of a Winchester-toting badass like Quincey Morris.

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I see a lot of posts mocking or complaining about Ted’s Bronco’s speech. Yes, there’s an inappropriateness to comparing a sport’s team to an immutable characteristic (though considering Colin’s grandma never spoke to him after Cardiff City FC’s relegation maybe not as much as we would otherwise expect). There’s still something in the speech that deserves more attention: joy.

Saying “I don’t care” to people about their identity is a) rude and b) means that the person saying it will likely be unable or unwilling to acknowledge that person’s identity-based problems. After all, it’s hard to fix a problem if you’ve decided you “don’t see” or “care about” the issue at hand.

Ted Lasso has previously emphasized the importance of community in hard times: “There’s something worse than being sad — and that’s being alone and being sad. Ain’t nobody in this room alone.” (The show goes out of its way to emphasize that the team mourns Richmond’s defeat in community, while Rupert, whose girlfriend doesn’t care about football, is left alone.) Refusing to care that Colin is gay would mean refusing to acknowledge that he is hurt by homophobic fans or a teammate saying “sounds a bit gay, bruv” in a way that others aren’t. Everyone in the audience knows that, and it would be easy for Ted to make sure the team knows it too.

That, though, is not where the show stops. Because the story Ted tells about his friend isn’t about someone alone in a hard time. It’s about someone alone in triumph. This guy is watching his team win back to back Super Bowls. This should be awesome. But it’s not -- or not like it should be -- because he’s alone. Think about how happy we are shown the fans in the pub are when Richmond is going up. It’s joy for the team but also joy in and with community. Ted’s friend didn’t have that, because people at best “didn’t care” about what he cared about.

Ted’s point is that they care about who Colin is and how his identity affects his experiences. Colin does not have to be alone.

What is the ache Colin has inside? When they win, he wants to be able to “kiss his fella the way the other guys are kissing their girls.” He wants to have equal access to shared joy. Homophobia in football means he can’t have that on the pitch or in front of the press. At least with the acknowledgement of the team, he can now have that in the locker room, the team Christmas party, and team dinners at Ola’s. Queer joy is also important.

This is a reminder to us in the audience that when we “don’t care” about what makes people different, we aren’t just leaving them alone in pain, we leave them alone in joy, which diminishes that joy, and that is also wrong. While the speech may be a “fumble” in its own way (very on brand for many of the characters), it is an important defense of queer joy.

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I get poking fun at Ted for the Broncos speech in “La Locker Room Aux Folles.” It’s easy to feel that an inappropriateness to comparing an immutable characteristic to a sporting affiliation. After all, one can choose not to be a Broncos fan, no?

But people take sports and sports rivalries very seriously. Think about what we see characters in Ted Lasso do. Mae twice throws people about of the pub or declines to serve them because “this is a Richmond pub” (“Big Week” and “We’ll Never Have Paris”). Fans on Tumblr have praised that behavior in her. Colin’s own grandmother effectively disowned him when Cardiff City FC was relegated (“The Hope That Kills You”).

So maybe, just maybe, it’s not the worst comparison Ted could have reached for.

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I feel like I’m seeing a lot of fans accept as a sign of Jamie’s former self-centeredness that he had to grow out of that in “We’ll Never Have Paris” he admits that he initially thought Keeley was with Roy to get at back him. But we’ve been following the show’s events from the Richmond character’s point of view. So we know things other characters don’t. In season one, that means we know a lot that Jamie doesn’t know. Can’t know.

In “Diamond Dogs,” Keeley admits she “fucked [Jamie] to get back at [Roy] for something [he] didn't even know [he] did.” As far as we know, that’s the last time Jamie and Keeley hooked up. But from Jamie’s point of view, that would look pretty much like his ex invited him in for sex and then straight away jumped over to his nemesis. You know, like, maybe, she fucked Roy to get back at Jamie for something Jamie didn't even know he did.

We as the audience, who see her and Roy a lot more than Jamie possibly could, know that’s not true. But why is Jamie wrong for having to work out from context clues that she’s treating him differently than we see her treat Roy?

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You know what would make a GREAT plot twist? Fidelity.

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And yes I mean in the context of romantic relationships, but not only in the context of romantic relationships. Or did AND ROHAN WILL ANSWER mean nothing to you?

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The plot of Henry V

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Every Single Character in Much Ado

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Who's that girl? Background: Lucifer Text: “Who’s That Girl” by Hilary Duff

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I have identified the new GOP slogan

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No, I'm not her Background: Lucifer Text: “I’m Not Her” by Clara Mae

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Let beauty come out of ashes. Background: A Million Little Things Text: “Ashes” by Celine Dion

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I wanna kick myself for fallin' so hard Mama, can you die from a broken heart? Background: Much Ado About Nothing dir. Kenneth Branagh Text: “Die From A Broken Heart” by Maddie and Tae

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Pennsylvania:

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Don’t Forget To Vote

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And now you're cleaned up with a hair cut, nice tie and shoes If things were different and I had a choice, which would I choose? Background: Lucifer Text: “I Got The Boy” by Jana Kramer

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True love ain't always easy Background: Lucifer Text: “She Ain’t Me” by Sophia Scott

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Show up by surprise
At the back door. Background: Romeo + Juliet dir. Baz Luhrmann
Text: “Back Door” Music & lyrics: Kaitlyn Davis Additional lyrics: Emma Grimsley