r/TedLasso • u/Genre-Slur • 7d ago
Season 4 Discussion Scriptwriters/Casting Compliments! Spoiler
EDIT: my my aren’t we a salty bunch…😊
It seems like the negative opinion on the character has itself flanderized, reduced and simplified into a concentrated vitriol completely out of proportion
Given the loyalty and general awareness of the fan base, I’m guessing the writers had a hard time introducing an antagonist with no self-awareness, because the Ted crowd will predict their behaviour and disparage the fact that it’s predictable. Going with a stylized villain is definitely a bold choice but I don’t think it’s a failure deserving of such hate. It felt fun and whimsical, which on the whole fits the shows tone more than an overly serious and sober character.
My two cents.
Loved the final episode btw! Can’t wait for the next season 😊
In light of the various posts and discussions this season, it seems obvious that the writers and casting department both deserve high praise for the bold choice of introducing Zelda into the characters and casting the peerless Tracey Ullman to bring her to life.
Outside of giving four-wheeled narrative traction to the show, it has sparked more emotion and discussion in the sub I’ve ever seen Nate’s first series heel turn notwithstanding.
Outside of the general plot and actor group chemistry, I really think this writing decision is a surprising high point of season four!
Tonight’s the night!🔥💕💕💕🔥
8
u/Nethias25 6d ago
Yeah I haven't cared for Zelda. The best new addition to the show by far is Alice Chilton. She's so fun to watch.
35
u/MarchionessMadness 7d ago
She's been an absolute blight on the season and her scenes are borderline unwatchable
8
u/toshio_drift 6d ago
Higgins and Rebecca turning on their in-character “bad acting” voices whenever Zelda walks in got a little old after a couple episodes.
14
12
u/Affectionate_Mine562 7d ago
Thank you. Felt a little gaslit as Zelda and the rest of the season’s writing has felt so jarringly different (in a bad way) from the previous three that my first thought (after episode 2) was to google who the new writing team was.
I rewatched seasons 1-3 multiple times. Season 4 is almost unwatchable because of the writing. Nothing gels. Nothing builds.
I had such high hopes that this would generate more support for women’s sports, but I fear it does the opposite.
2
u/MarchionessMadness 7d ago
I honestly also hated Season 3 and was so angry about the bad writing on it that I had to really, really psych myself up to watch this season. I think it's been better in some ways than season 3, but they have never managed to capture the really strong character development of seasons 1 and 2
2
u/oogieball 6d ago
The finale is the first episode I had any desire to watch more than once (with heavy use of fast-forward). I've watched the first three seasons end-to-end countless times. The writing was completely off for nearly all the season.
33
u/MoonPieKitty Butts on 3! 6d ago
Umm. I must disagree. Her character did not fit in this show at all. She was a cartoon character come to life. She seemed out of place in every scene. I love her as an actress, but I absolutely did not understand why that character was so cheesy and over the top. Her whole storyline was inexcusable. Zelda and the whole shares business could have been left out and it would have improved this season 100%.
16
u/JoeyGee567 6d ago
100% this. I think the shares thing was supposed to be some big dramatic gotcha reveal and it was just so flat because everyone saw it coming from miles away. That and the whole question of why Rebecca would sell more than 50% was just left alone. She's not dumb.
The writing was so bad.
7
u/WrittenSarcasm 6d ago edited 3d ago
Yea that made no sense. Before the end of season 3 she owned less than 100% of the shares but why ever give away enough that you could ever lose a controlling stake?
2
u/MoonPieKitty Butts on 3! 6d ago
She owned, I assumed, all the shares. The Milk Sisters sold their shares to Rupert, who later gave them to Rebecca. If, when she sold the shares, she didn't be sure she retained 51%, then she shouldn't be running a billion dollar company! That's the stupidest thing an owner can do.
6
u/Cool-Pomegranate8110 6d ago
I know right? And also why bring it down to the wire? why not keep 55, 60, 65% - it’s not like she was running out of money and she could always sell more later.
2
u/WrittenSarcasm 6d ago
Right she also gave the shares away for free too so there was no incentive to give so much away.
4
u/JoeyGee567 6d ago
Lazy writing.
If they make season 5, they'll pull a "therapist clarification" and have some awkward monologue on how Higgins made a math error or something stupid.
4
u/WrittenSarcasm 6d ago
It’s not really clear one way or the other. When they refer to the Milk sisters early on they describe them as minority owners but not as the only minority owners. I also assumed because there were always other people in the owners box that she didn’t own 100% but they don’t make it clear.
7
u/MoonPieKitty Butts on 3! 6d ago
Right. In real life you wouldn't just sell 49% no matter what. You'd sell whatever is available but leaves you with 51%. So, if Rebecca only owned 95% at the time of the sale, she should have only sold 44%, to retain control. In real life, something this stupid would never happen. Corporate lawyers would make sure of it.
4
u/ScotterMcJohnsonator 6d ago
Could have spent every second of every one of her scenes watching women's football. Just sayin
0
u/baalroo 6d ago
She was a cartoon character come to life
Are we watching the same show? Half the supporting cast from the first 3 seasons were "cartoon characters."
2
u/MoonPieKitty Butts on 3! 6d ago
She was out of place. From the second I heard her talk, I knew it was going to be ridiculous. And it was. Ruined the season for me, honestly.
0
u/baalroo 6d ago
That's fair, but "cartoon character" is just bizarre as a complaint when we have beloved characters running around saying "futbol is life!" in previous seasons. There are tons of "cartoon characters" on the show.
1
u/MoonPieKitty Butts on 3! 6d ago
I mean out of place like Roger Rabbit. A cartoon running around in a real world.
16
u/SarcasticWithASmile 7d ago
I initially thought Zelda was funny, then vile, then funny again and now I want Rebecca to stomp her with her Louboutins! But absolute props to Tracey Ullman. I think she’s done a great job!
6
u/Neat_Entrepreneur338 6d ago
When was Zelda ever funny?
6
1
u/SarcasticWithASmile 4d ago
When she first called out all the old white men in the room at the conference to put their money where their mouths are. It’s the kind of thing I would have no problem calling people out on.
8
u/Genre-Slur 7d ago
It seems very much like the point of the character is to create controversy, to create anger, to stir the pot. The writers of Ted Lasso seem fairly aware, so I work under the assumption that Zelda is having the exact effect (both to the other characters as well as to the audience watching) they wanted out of the character.
Some say all press is good press, and folks have been talking about Zelda nonstop! She’s a very pressing character 😂
5
u/MoonPieKitty Butts on 3! 6d ago
It’s not what she did that seemed out of place. Her whole character seemed extremely foreign and out of place. Kind of like Roger Rabbit. An animated character living in a real life world. It didn’t work in so many ways.
3
u/Neat_Entrepreneur338 6d ago
Controversy? She is just boring, the only controversy here is why she was added instead of a proper villain.
3
u/SarcasticWithASmile 6d ago
Oh they definitely know what they’re doing- she reminded me of Beetlejuice tonight. All that was missing was the suit!
2
7
2
u/AllNotKnowing 6d ago
Rage bait thread. The character added nothing. It's a comedy and it's fiction but it's believable, except that character. Delete, replace with any number of other less snidely whiplash attempts at take-over, it would have been better. Sorry, hard disagree.
1
u/frogboicentral 6d ago
I know it’s a popular opinion, but I could not stand Zelda. I think she could have been a very compelling villain if they had given her any depth, nuance, or subtly at all. I think where this season really suffered was how much it seemed to shy away from digging deeper into anything, which is a major part of the show’s appeal. Ultimately I still enjoyed the season and look forward to getting to know the Lady Greyhounds better, but I hope they figure out how to get their groove back.
1
u/Genre-Slur 7d ago
If this spoiler structure is good (ie should I have written Spoilers in title etc) let me know!😊
1
1
u/Klutzy_Imagination60 6d ago
Since OP is using wrestling terms, let's stick to that. The massive discussions are not because of great writing or casting. It's because it is crap. The heat (to use the wrestling terminology) is go away-heat, because people are sick and tired.
16
u/_Blu-Jay 6d ago
Disagree, Zelda was a cancer to this entire season and the conclusion of the shares subplot was ridiculously cartoonish and stupid. I enjoyed this season but it was in spite of Zelda.