Apple TV+’s beloved comedy Ted Lasso was an immediate hit thanks to the great characters supported by incredibly strong writing that refused to follow the usual narrative tropes of episodic TV shows. In fact, it was such a hit that Apple extended Ted Lasso season 2 by two episodes, requiring more episodes than the writers had initially planned. To address it, the writing team decided to insert two largely standalone episodes that still fit into the preexisting season arc. One of these episodes was Ted Lasso season 2, episode 4, “Carol of the Bells,” a Christmas outing that immediately became one of Ted Lasso‘s best episodes.
Because of its necessary standalone nature, the episode focused on Ted Lasso‘s characters instead of plot, with plenty of space for Christmas traditions, celebrations, and homages. While it wasn’t narratively impactful, however, it was still full of moments that helped create depth to the characters and fully embraced Ted Lasso‘s generally warm and heartfelt vibe. Unfortunately, “Carol of the Bells” is a perfect example of what television as a medium is losing with the growing reliance on streaming services.
“Carol Of The Bells” Could Not Move The Plot Forward, Which Leaves Room For Christmas Celebration
Roy & Keeley’s Search Pays Homage to Love, Actually
“Carol of the Bells” takes place between matches, so the focus of the episode is on Christmas, not plot movement. The entire 30 minutes is dedicated to the relationships between the characters, told in three plotlines that are dripping with Christmas spirit. Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), remembering her first Christmas post-divorce, brings Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) along on her holiday tradition: hand-delivering gifts to children who wrote to Santa. Watching Ted improvise a reason why Santa’s elves are late is classic Ted, funny and heartwarming.
The second episode added to season 2 became a standalone Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt)
episode that many
Ted Lasso
fans hated
, not realizing it was a brilliant homage to Martin Scorsese’s movie
After Hours
.
Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) plan a Sexy Christmas, a “swinging Santa Vegas-y type” holiday, one of the moments that prove Roy and Keeley belong together. Sexy Christmas is interrupted when Roy has to take his niece, Phoebe (Elodie Blomfield.) In an homage to a Christmas classic, Love, Actually, where a character goes door-to-door to find a girl, Roy and Keeley take Phoebe door-to-door to find a dentist. Keeley does not allow Roy to beat up the boy who mocked Phoebe’s bad breath, but he does help Phoebe give the boy a message of Christmas forgiveness via poster board signs, another nod to Love, Actually.
Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift) opens his home to Ted Lasso‘s AFC Richmond soccer players who have nowhere to go for the holiday. He tells his family to expect one or two players, but because Ted has infused Richmond with so much team camaraderie, 11 show up, many with traditional foods from their home country, creating a cheerful, multi-ethnic Christmas celebration. Rebecca and Ted surprise the team with an impromptu Christmas concert outside Higgins’ house, backed by buskers. While not much happens in terms of plot, “Carol of the Bells” brings Ted Lasso‘s natural heart to a perfect Christmas episode.
Ted Lasso Has The Rare Streaming Standalone Holiday Episode That Can Be Easily Rewatched Every Year
Streaming Services Have Shorter Seasons With No Filler Episodes
Sadly, standalone holiday episodes like “Carol of the Bells” are a dying tradition in our modern era, however beloved they might be. There is a long history of network TV holiday specials. With the traditional network season of 22–24 episodes, a few episodes each season could be counted upon to be bottle episodes or fun, one-off specials like holiday episodes or a musical episode. The shift to streaming platforms is slowly killing those kinds of character-driven entries that may not advance the plot but endear themselves to audiences and help make a show memorable.
The shift to streaming platforms is slowly killing those kinds of character-driven entries that may not advance the plot but endear themselves to audiences and help make a show memorable.
Streaming platforms, in contrast to network TV shows, have much shorter seasons of just 6-12 episodes. With so few episodes, streaming shows are more serialized and wholly plot-driven by necessity. Because of this, they lose standalone episodes that lend depth to a show without having to drive the plot forward, like amazing TV Christmas episodes. The Ted Lasso Christmas episode is an exception to the rule, not the rule; it only exists because Apple requested two additional episodes. With how beloved it is, it just drives home the point of how successful holiday episodes can be and what a shame it is that there are so few of them now.
8/10
Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is an American football coach who moves to England when he’s hired to manage a struggling soccer team despite having no experience. With cynical players and a doubtful town, Ted will have to convince them that he’s fit for the job. Ted Lasso has become one of Apple TV Plus’ most successful shows, earning over 10 Primetime Emmys.
- Release Date
- August 14, 2020
- Seasons
- 3
- Showrunner
- Bill Lawrence
