I tried to make out the words to that haunting part in The Broken Line and Broken Silence once, and I only missed two!
Me / Bear
But also, something to talk about another time:
I have theorized for a while that the conversation Sauron and Galadriel had, when he returned her dagger (1x03), was an early version of the pitch he gave in the Vision (1x08). The translation of those words makes me believe even more that episode 3 was, indeed, an innocent version of that temptation, planting in her mind the ever increasing desire for peace.
The Choice of Peace
"Perhaps some peace could do you good, as well."
"This is it. You bind me to the light, and I bind you to power."
I've already talked about the danger of giving in to that temptation:
I'M TELLING YOU GUYS, HE KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING!! IT'S ALL UNDERNEATH THE MASK!!
Preliminary thoughts on The Bear, race, power and privilege
I’m a non-Black woman of colour who has spent all of my life in the west…so I’ve consumed a lot of television media that is produced by and for the white gaze. The most obvious way that gaze plays out is when people of colour are non-existent in a cast, or when they are included, are tokenistic, bit players.
A more insidious manifestation is where POC are cast to play parts that could just as easily be played by white folks: characters that have no interiority or external relationships related to their cultural identities, wider communities or individual or collective histories (for example, Mindy in The Mindy Project for most of its run, or the characters of colour in Season 1 of Bridgerton).
I've had some thoughts about how The Bear (thankfully) avoids tokenistic and "colour-blind" representation. I also have some thoughts about how the show models meaningful allyship. I'm so keen to discuss this with folks and hear what others think about it too.
Unambiguous and unapologetic
The Bear is confined in its universe, particularly in season 1 where it’s focus is tightly bound to the physical location of The Beef as the setting for almost every scene. Episodes of The Bear are generally not very long, so time is precious (every second really does count). These factors necessarily limit how deep we can get into each character. But the show is so good at drawing on different means of communication: images, lighting, score, soundtrack, phrasing, callbacks to previous episodes, other cultural references etc, that each episode is like a jewellery box with gems waiting to be unpacked and pored over. I've said that I have started reading this show like a tarot deck because of how rich the symbolism in each episode is.
So despite the constraints of time and setting, characters of colour in this show are also so very rich in their realisation and portrayal. These characters are unambiguously and - this is important - unapologetically racialised: through language (see: Tina’s use - and occasional weaponisation lmao - of Spanish), physical appearance (see: Sydney’s two-tone braids and her stunning, prolific collection of headscarves throughout the show), culturally distinct names (see: Sydney Adamu, Ebraheim, Tina Marrero, etc), food (see: Carmy’s peace offering to Syd in ep 1x03 of Ebra’s family chicken suqaar - a popular dish in the latter character’s birth country of Somalia), etc.
GIF by @chefkids
These may seem like small and inconsequential details to some. In fact I’ve been seeing a lot of commentary from folks online saying that what they like about The Bear is that race isn’t mentioned at all on the show. But make no mistake: race is all over this thing. The examples I've given are only some of the many references to racialised histories and cultures that build out the broader fabric of multicultural Chicago here.
What is not present in The Bear is a script that is wasting time explaining the characters of colour and their rich inner and outer lives to white folks. Those things are just a given and we are invited to witness them being brought to vivid life by this cast and crew. And I am fucking here for it.
Respect and allyship
Another thing I LOVE about this show is the respect given to, and the recognition of, the experience, talent, drive and ambition of its characters of colour.
This is most obvious in the relationship between Syd and Carmy who are signalled as complementary equals in many ways. Others have written on the importance of the representation embodied by Sydney’s character and you should search out that analyses, especially when its authored by Black women. The only other thing I’d say about it is that I love Sydney’s character and I also love endgame Sydcarmy (even if it’s only hinted at in the last second of the last frame of the last ever episode lmao…I will take whatever I can get of these two 😭).
I also see the show’s respect and recognition manifest in The Bear's investment in its staff, particularly in season 2. Everyone who worked at The Beef has a role at The Bear and Carmy, Syd and Nat fund the ongoing training and upskilling of their largely racialised staff to make sure this happens. Ebra and Tina are paid to attend culinary school (Carmy also gives Tina his prized knife for her studies and beyond). Marcus is sent to stage in Copenhagen to develop his skills as a patissier. And then we have The Bear itself - what started as Carmy and Michael’s vision, is now the whole team’s baby, with Sydney literally being made the captain of the ship by Carmy at the end of ep 2x09.
GIF by @savagegood
Part of what was so tragic about Carmy's fridge spiral at the end of season 2 was that he didn't get to see how beautifully the team came through in a crisis. Instead we had him internalising, regressing and lamenting how he had let everyone down. This language centred Carmy as the be all and end all of The Bear (saviour vibes) when this couldn't have been further from the truth (particularly in a season where the man spent so much of his time not in the restaurant but chasing manic pixie no-last-name-having Claire....but I digress).
Carmy is his best when he checks his ego, takes a step back and realises that he is not alone. He is part of a whole chosen family supporting one another at The Bear. And I get the sense that the folks creating this show know that we need more white folks using their power and privilege to step back and facilitate access, and less gatekeeping white saviours taking credit where its not due.
After all, and paraphrasing Viola Davis, the only thing that separates people of colour from anyone else, is opportunity.
12/04/24 Note: I’ve amended this post because I forgot to mention the most pivotal example of Sydney along with her relationship with Carmy. Also made some slight stylistic changes to phrasing cos i fixate on errors lol
Since I put together a rather massive thread about the probable S3 final fuckeries on the dead-parrot site, I figure I'll bring it over here as well :) This is bearing in mind that the show loved using history when it was useful or funny.
Blackbeard's death was in a battle and afterwards, his head was cut off and hung from the bowsprit of the ship, then later as a warning by a harbour. Urban legend said that his headless body swam around the ship, trying to find the head. Stede, meanwhile, was executed by hanging after being captured and tried in Charles Town.
My theory is a giant faking-their-deaths fuckery and this is the collection of extensive foreshadowing in sequential order.
1x01 - He's holding his own head! That's terrifying!
The Swede's flag with a skeleton holding his own head. Given Ed's flair for the dramatic and the urban legend that BB's body swam, headless, around the ship, this feels like a very him thing to do. (also ties in with Blackbeard's flag with just the skeleton in S1)
1x01 - Stede's first fuckery
Stede using mannequins as a diversion so they can escape from the British Navy and the British Navy fall for it. Also, significantly, one of the fake heads falls off.
1x03 - Stede hanged
I facepalmed so hard when I realised that we had already seen Stede get hanged and survive it. Also, the fact that the person who intended to kill him by hanging is the one who dies first? INCHRESTING.
1x04 - "People just see the flag - I don't even have to be on the boat. I'm a ghost"
And he won't be on the boat in the end :D (@wastingyourgum reminded me of this one :D)
1x04 - "He's wearing Blackbeard's clothes. He's on Blackbeard's ship".
Combining this with Stede's fake-heads-to-escape idea, Blackbeard's official 'death' is tied up with a bow :D They just need to find a suitable person to sub in *coughHornigoldcough*
1x06 - "Over here, child!"
HOOBOY this entire episode is basically emphatically pointing at Ed's skill in the art of misdirection. Ed is an expert at fooling people into seeing what he wants them to see. The Master of the Theatre of Fear.
1x06 - The crew fuckery
Stede, the Swede and Black Pete literally holding heads that aren't theirs And once again the allusion to swapping faces/places. "Are those supposed to be the same guy?" "But with very different hairstyles, ja?"
1x06 - "I'm supposed to burn your face off and take your identity"
Stede getting another layer of "how to get away with dying/disappearing" added to his arsenal of knowledge.
1x08 - The Unicorn's head
Oh look. A mythical creature's head is removed by the English, when Ed has been compared to a demon, devil, vampire and kraken. I wonder what that could be foreshadowing 🙃
1x09 - "You've kept the clippings so we can make fake heads and escape"
When in doubt, Stede turns to arts and crafts.
1x10 - "Now that's a fuckery"
Stede has already faked his own death not once, not twice, but three times in ten minutes. Now that's overkill 😂He's done it before, he'll do it again! In Stede's town, wearing Stede's clothes.
2x01 - "He can't possibly look like this"
The S1 propaganda pics are all full/half body, but now, he's reduced down to a head with very snaky looking hair. "He can't possibly look like that" (and this ties into something from 2x04 as well)
In related things, there is one historic piece of art referring to Blackbeard like this, as a disembodied head and I feel like there's a bit of a resemblance going on.
2x02 - "There's some beheadings on here"
Okay, yes, this one is a stretch, but head removal, people. We have more head removal :D
2x03 - "I'm not me, I'm you"
Yes, I know, in the context of the Gravy Basket, but there would be some poetrical vibes if Hornigold's body was the one left in Ed's place so Ed can live a long and happy life. (And yes, fully convinced he was an S3 villain)
2x03 - "I knew they killed him"
Will fully admit I yelped a bit when I saw this scene in higher res than a stream because with the drape of cloth over his head matching the colour of the surroundings, it's gives the illusion of a headless body.
2x04 - "He can't hear you. He's got no head"
Again, the symbolism of the mythical creature without a head. Especially when we see Izzy yelling at it as if its Blackbeard, his own personal figurehead.
2x04 - "Pulls his entire fucking face off. Turns out this one had stolen the face off some Brit and come to my rescue"
Of all the specialist skills for someone in Ed's old crew to have, disguising themselves with someone else's face? :D (That's romance ;))
2x04 - The Head of Medusa
Buttons' transmogrification bowl is under a painting of The head of Medusa (Caravaggio). In the story of Perseus, he used Medusa's severed head to defeat a terrible sea monster (hello, kraken :D) and a King.
And I mentioned earlier Ed's wanted poster had a connection to this episode and look at these images side by side:
Actual incidents in the book that are in dispute btwn Louis and Lestat since you fuckers can't seem to read:
-Lestat wanted Louis for his plantation vs. he is in fact already rich: not really relevant to the show since show Lestat is flaunting the fact that he's extremely wealthy from the start. Louis is not under any illusion that this guy is after his wealth, HE moves into Lestat's house in fact and accepts Lestat's money/gifts/etc. Lestat is a captial p PROVIDER. He said do NOT take that away from me and it's one thing he's 100% right about.
-A cold loveless relationship depicted in IWTV vs. a more loving though still troubled "marriage" according to TVL: again, more or less moot for the show since season 1 depicts Lestat's version of their relationship more so than Louis's. They are clearly in a romantic relationship, had some good times (that were maybe glossed over quickly by Louis but are still clearly depicted through Claudia's diaries) and yet even in TVL, Lestat agrees that Louis's account was an accurate representation of the atomsphere of their decades together and that he deserved all the punishment he got.
-Lestat torturing + killing people for fun according to Louis vs. Lestat's claim that he only killed people who were "bad" and deserved it: kind of already played out on the show when Louis suggests the idea in 1x03, but ultimately it doesn't significantly alter our perception of Lestat cause does anyone actually care that prostitutes stole money from their clients and think that's a valid reason to torture and kill them? Hope not! It's just a good insight into Lestat's mind and how he justifies killing.
-The events after Lestat's murder and Paris: these parts we have to take from Lestat's POV simply because Louis is unaware of things happening when he's not present. Obviously will be a major part of Season 2.
-The scene at the end of IWTV happening or not: the most direct contradiction between the two accounts but this has not happened yet on the show so it has no bearing on anything in season 1.
As you can see, most of these contradictions involve Louis's omissions in IWTV rather than "made up" events. Save for the final scene in NOLA that doesn't actually mean anything to season 1, absolutely nothing about Louis's depiction of events in IWTV is really disputed by Lestat. Louis's turning, Claudia's turning, the "atomsphere" under which they lived leading up to Lestat's murder and Lestat's murder itself are all indisputable. Lestat is revealing more of his motivations and giving us further vampire context/knowledge that Louis didn't have (because Lestat kept it from him btw and he forgives Louis his errors because he knew it was out of enforced ignorance), but that only slightly changes our perception of his actions. It does not throw them into the trash.
It's also very clear that Season 1 is already an amalgamation of the two versions. If they were taking IWTV literally, the show wouldn't even be a romance and it clearly is. It uses Claudia's diaries (a device revealed only much later in the books) to fill in some scenes that Louis may not have been present for like the kidanpping on the train but the two perspectives make the story kind of bulletproof? The reliability or lack thereof of Louis as a narrator is made possible by Claudia's diary being there as a secondary source and when he's at his most unreliable, it's the diary that provides the contradictions. WE see something's off when the diary's pages are excised. BUT you really don't have any basis in the books for a major lifechanging event like episode 5 to be retconned, let alone an event with two people as sources and involved a prolonged recovery period that's also described in painstaking detail by said two people. Like this woman was a lazy writer most of the time but even SHE wouldn't do that cause its like a basic writing tenant not to feed your reader horseshit??
Hi, can you upload more videos of Aaliyah and Cruz? I don't know but for some reason their scenes aren't available in YT.
Hello! Someone actually did upload a compilation of Aaliyah x Cruz scenes on YouTube, but it was unfortunately removed due to copyright issues from Paramount+.
I’ll see what I can do. Might take time, so bear with me. I try to limit the duration of the videos because anything longer than, say, 3-4mins, the file is too large, and I try to avoid compromising the quality of the videos by compressing them.
Save this ask, should you like to, of course ☺️ I’ll link them all back here.
UPDATE | Complete list of Aaliyah x Cruz scenes:
1x01 First meeting
1x02 You have a bathing suit?
1x03 This is my friend Zara.
1x03 My great fantasy is to be ravaged on that beach.
1x04 Let’s swim back before the sharks get us.
1x04 I can make all that bruise go away.
1x05 New bathing suit. For making you the boys crazy.
1x06 I find you a dreamer with money (me).
1x06 I am the one who stands up for you.
1x06 For me to choose love would be the death of me.
1x06 First kiss
1x07 But there is a world inside the world.
1x07 But I do know a place. If you want me to take you there.
1x07 Just the “Come here” scene.
1x07 Look at me.
1x07 I think it’s worse to feel love just once.
1x08 You can see where I get my charm.
1x08 I bet that’s the last of New York I’ve seen for a while.
1x08 Just the “You’re gonna be pretty hard to forget” scene.
This is when I started to really see there's something there. Of course, I saw it when they first met, but here, we get more of Carmy's care and consideration for Sydney when he brings her a plate of food and watches her silently.
When she says the brigade is a mess, he nods in agreement. He knows it's a mess, he knows she's not happy, and he's there to figure it out.
It's that look from Carmy that remains on Sydney's face for me. He's zeroing in on her, and she may have no idea he's doing it. Eventually, she lets her guard down. Isn't that their dynamic? Carmy moves in a way that creates space for Sydney to let her guard down, and even though they're on the same accord without words, he still wants to hear her express herself. Whereas Sydney doesn't have to do much, just her presence makes Carmy unravel. I love this scene because this is where it's established that Carmy learns the dance of how to get Sydney to open up, and he opens up and tells her about Mikey. They're getting personal here, and Carmy initiates the connection that he's spent years without.
1x01 Pilot - Manhandled, thrown, held at gunpoint
1x02 The Tagger - Career in jeopardy/threatened
1x03 The Slump - Really bad day, "cursed"
1x04 M.E. Time - Squeamish
1x05 The Vulture - Angry, spanked twice
1x06 Halloween - Falls from the ceiling, concussion, falls into Terrys arms, handcuffed, painfully slams onto table
1x07 48 Hours - Exhausted
1x08 Old School - Very hungover, aches/pain, reprimanded
1x09 Sals Pizza - Punched, manhandled, talks about childhood trauma
1x10 Thanksgiving - Talks about sad childhood x2, manhandled, choked
1x11 Christmas - Santa fight, held at gunpoint
1x12 Pontiac Bandit - Exhausted
1x14 Ebony Falcon - Chest bumped to the ground, worried, punched multiple times, numb arms
1x15 Operation Broken Feather - Denial, feels betrayed
1x17 Full Boyle - Pepper sprayed
1x18 The Apartment - Daddy issues, feels doomed from eventual homelessness
1x19 Tactical Village - Jealous, heartbroken
1x21 Unsolvable - Very sleep deprived, depressed/heartbroken, drunk
1x22 Charges and Specs - Very drunk, reprimanded, fired
2x01 Undercover - Picked up/arrested, punched, balls knee'd, cuts burn/pain, held at gunpoint, bummed
2x02 Chocolate Milk - Head manhandled, back issues from Terrys 'body slam,' exhausted x2, feelings hurt, tortured (forced to eat carrots)
2x03 The JimmyJab Games - Attacked by fire hydrants, still heartbroken
2x04 Halloween II - Robbed by bears, falls, hurt by barbedwire, arrested
2x05 The Mole - Feels betrayed, exhausted, slapped
2x06 Jake and Sophia - Hurts his hand
2x07 Lockdown - Passes out (flashback)
2x09 The Road Trip - Slapped
2x10 The Pontiac Bandit Returns - Daddy issues, gut punched
2x11 Stakeout - Punched
2x13 Payback - Exhausted, collapse, numb, sad
2x14 The Defense Rests - Heartbroken/depressed
2x15 Windbreaker City - Heartbroken/depressed, obsessive
2x17 The Boyle-Linetti Wedding - Finger pain, hearbroken
2x18 Captain Peralta - Major daddy issues, major denial, abandoned, feels hurt, confrontation
2x19 Sabotage - Suspended, feels betrayed, almost hit by a truck, held at gunpoint, kidnapped, restrained, gagged, life threatened, trust rooted daddy issues
2x20 AC_DC - Painful fall, limping the whole episode, cracked ribs/broken toes/thumb fractured, hit by box, extreme pain, addicted to work, hit by a car, hospitalized
2x21 Det. Dave Majors - Drinks really strong drink, annoyed, nervous, hurts his fingers, goat jumpscare
3x01 New Captain - Punched x3, briefly sad
3x05 Halloween III - Witch jumpscare, exhausted, throws up x2
3x06 Into The Woods - Falls, surrounded by poison ivy
3x09 The Swedes - Annoyed the whole episode, disgusted, briefly held at gunpoint
3x10 Yippie Kayak - Diehard situation, punched unconscious, hostage/restrained, headache, held at gunpoint, checked out by EMTs
3x11 Hostage Situation - Handcuffed/betrayed, daddy issues !??!
3x12 9 Days - Has Mumps, constant pain, drunk from cold medicine, delerious, mump painfully poked multiple times
3x14 Karen Peralta - Slams into multiple things, falls, major daddy issues, angry
3x15 The 9-8 - (Making Boyle jealous), uncomfortable between friends, punched, nards kicked, pain, tackled
3x16 House Mouses - Flattened by Scully, knocked unconscious, restrained
3x17 Adrian Pimento - Knife to throat/restrained, jumpscared, daddy issues, talks about therapy, held at gunpoint
3x19 Terry Kittens - Daddy issues, screaming scared, sleep deprived
3x21 Maximum Security - Worried, beaten up
3x22 The Bureau - Exhausted (1 pullup)
3x23 Greg and Larry - In danger, life threatened
4x01 Coral Palms, Pt.1 - Depressed, Holt jumpscare, hit by gokart, weird wrist, scared of snakes, tackled, reprimanded (redepressed)
4x02 Coral Palms, Pt.2 - Punched multiple times, headlocked
4x03 Coral Palms, Pt.3 - Falls over fence, calf scratched, queasy/gagging, (+great Holt bonding), throat punched, held at gunpoint, shot
4x04 The Night Shift - Crutches, hair intervention, picked up by Terry, limping, pain, falls over fence
4x05 Halloween IV - Terry jumpscare overreaction, betrayed
4x06 Monster in the Closet - Falls through roof
4x08 Skyfire Cycle - Relived trauma pantsing people
4x09 The Overmining - Angry
4x10 Captain Latvia - Cut palm (bleeding), thrown against a wall, unconscious
4x12 The Fugitive, Pt.2 - Betrayed, held at gunpoint
4x14 Serve & Protect - Feelings hurt
4x15 The Last Ride - Bruised thigh, crying
4x16 Moo Moo - Talks about depressing childhood
4x17 Cop-Con - Hungover, chest pain, literally on fire, gag/dizzy
4x18 Chasing Amy - Scared, worried, slams into bars
4x19 Your Honor - Claustrophobic, daddy issues
4x20 The Slaughterhouse - Water & milk drugged, extremely jittery
4x21 The Bank Job - Hungover, held at gunpoint, framed, arrested
4x22 Crime & Punishment - Hardcore framed
5x01 The Big House Pt.1 - Life threatened multiple times, jumpscared, aggressively beaten up x3 (limping/cuts), scared
5x02 The Big House Pt.2 - Solitary confinement, daddy issues/panic, blackmailed, life threatened multiple times, on meth, very jittery
5x03 Kicks - Daddy issues, nightmare, prison trauma, confession/suspends himself, sad
5x04 HalloVeen - Jumpscare x2, prison trauma, restrained, betrayed
5x06 The Venue - Daddy issues
5x07 Two Turkeys - Sad childhood + daddy issues
5x08 Return to Skyfire - Tired, painfully thrown to the wall
5x09 99 - Daddy issues
5x10 Game Night Pt.1 - Emotional
5x11 The Favor Pt.2 - Emotional/daddy issues
5x12 Safe House - Stir crazy, throat punched, tear off mustache pain, held at gunpoint, daddy issues
5x13 The Negotiation - Held at gunpoint, hostage, sad childhood, brokenheart
5x14 The Box - Embarrassed, relationship tested, angry outburst, hit by a chair, bloody nose
5x15 The Puzzle Master - Hand twisted, jealous, hand cramp
5x17 Dfw - Very nervous, shared daddy issues
5x18 Gray Star Matual - Intimidated
5x19 Bachelor/ette Party - Sickly drunk, guilt, heartbroken
5x20 Show Me Going - Daddy issues, worried, scared
5x21 White Whale - Stressed,
5x22 Jake & Amy - Life threatened, jealous, emotional
6x01 Honeymoon - Stressed
6x02 Hitchcock & Scully - Trapped
6x03 The Tattler - Annoyed, angry outburst, therapy denial, betrayed, angry
6x04 Four Movements - Body slammed, beaten up and sobbed offscreen, pain
6x05 A Tale of Two Bandits - Emotional
6x06 The Crime Scene - Bad childhood, sleep deprived, losing sanity, looks horrible, guilt
6x09 The Golden Child - Choking, heimliched, probably broken rib, punched unconscious, kidnapped
6x10 Gintars - Nervous, guilt
6x11 The Therapist - Massively in denial, hates therapists, held at gunpoint/captured, confesses, emotional
6x12 Casecation - Daddy issues/bad childhood, scared, life threatened (bomb)
6x13 The Bimbo - Emotional x2, bad childhood, height insecurity
6x14 Ticking Clocks - Arm punched x2
6x15 Return of the King - Feelings hurt, angry
6x16 Cinco de Mayo - Tazed x2, betrayed, emotions manipulated
6x17 Sicko - Career threatened x2, almost bit, insulted
6x18 The Suicide Squad - Punched, betrayed, imprisoned, depressed
7x01 Manhunter - Undermined
7x02 Captain Kim - Stepdaddy issues/trust issues x2
7x03 Pimemento - Scared of heights
7x04 The Jimmy Jab Games II - Falls from the ceiling, pain, trips, ceiling falls on him, extreme pain
7x05 Debbie - Knocked unconscious, restrained
7x06 Trying - Hungover, sad
7x07 Ding Dong - Daddy issues, uncomfortable the whole episode, emotional
7x08 The Takeback - Angry, feels betrayed, smushed, threatened
7x09 Dillman - Sad, framed
7x10 Admiral Peralta - Punched
7x11 Valloweaster - Trips, therapy
7x12 Ransom - Held at gunpoint, kidnapped, restrained/threatened
Disclaimer: Same as last time! I have no problem with people who ship other things, don't ship anything, or ship Tedependent but don't want/expect it to be canon! This is just a theory... (a TED LASSO theory 😎)
Quick notes:
original post here!
Some of this stuff is new, some of it is old, some of it is my observations, and some of it is from other people... I was just getting annoyed at the old post missing stuff and wanted to have all the Tedependent evidence in one place
I’ll be updating this post if new evidence comes along 😊
PART 1 - The Evidence
Car park/similarities with Michelle
In 1x05 when Ted tells Michelle he’s ready to get divorced, he talks about how their relationship began —at school, in a parking lot. Not only did Ted and Trent visit a school on the day they began to get to know each other, but their last scene of season 2 takes place in the Richmond parking lot, which draws even more parallels between their relationship and that of Ted and Michelle. This post also illustrates some connections between the scene between Michelle and Ted and the one between Ted and Trent at the end of 3x02.
Ted’s focus on Trent
From the very first time he calls on Trent in the press room, we see Ted act differently towards Trent than the other reporters. He makes jokes with him, and Trent responds in turn. Ted also makes Trent’s daughter biscuits, which we never see him do for any other reporter and which also implies that not only has he interacted with Trent outside of work but he’s also met his daughter too, something that he doesn’t appear to do with other journalists.
Parallels between Roy/Keely and Ted/Trent
This is a list within a list! The parallels are:
- Roy and Keeley have their first big romantic moment in the Richmond parking lot, which is also where Ted and Trent's last scene of season 2 is set (and connects to the Michelle parking lot speech too).
- When Roy first invites Keeley on a date, they do a sort of press room roleplay thing. Not only are they just generally mirroring Ted and Trent, but Keeley literally introduces herself as "Keeley Jones, The Independent Woman", announcing herself in the exact same way that Trent usually does, even down to her joking newspaper name, which is literally.... The Independent Woman... It couldn't really be any more on the nose.
- The first scene where we see Roy and Keeley begin to fall for each other is at the end of 1x03, after Roy headbutts Colin in the club and threatens everyone to stop bullying Nate, and we get Keeley and Roy nodding at each other in acknowledgement. As this is happening, Trent is reading out his article about Ted, which could be considered the first time we see Trent beginning to fall for Ted.
- Roy and Keeley also have Phoebe, who's almost their pseudo-daughter in some scenes, similar to how Trent has a daughter.
Twelfth Night
In 2x07, at around 31 mins in, we get a scene with Trent going up to Ted in the pub to ask for a quote. At the beginning of this scene, right before Trent shows up, Mae says to Ted "If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it", which is the opening line to Shakespeare's romantic comedy Twelfth Night. In Twelfth Night, this line is said by Orsino, who is lamenting about a woman named Olivia, whom he loves but who doesn't love him back (I take this to be Ted and Michelle). Orsino then moves on and falls in love with Caesario, a man who is actually a woman called Viola disguised as a man. To cut a long story short, the relationship between Orsino and Viola/Caesario is considered to be a homosexual love story. Bear in mind that lines in this show are rarely said for no reason, and that this line serves no other purpose (and frankly seems a little out of place) than to hint at a romance between Ted and Trent.
Casablanca
At the beginning of the same scene, when Trent sees Ted, he says "Of all the pub joints!". This is a reference to the line "Of all the gin joints in the world, she walks into mine" from Casablanca. As well as this, episode 8 of season 3 is titled “We’ll Never Have Paris”, another reference to Casablanca (although so far some of the suspected titles have been slightly different from the actual title). Casablanca is, of course, an incredibly famous (perhaps the most famous?) romance movie, and it’s interesting to me that not only does it get referenced in a scene between Ted and Trent but it comes up again in season 3.
Also to note: Raja Casablanca is the name of the football club Edwin Akufo invites Sam to join in season 2. Because of this, some people have speculated that the episode title’s reference to Casablanca is actually meant to link back to Sam. I find this unlikely though, as the episode preceding it is titled “Ola’s”, which is the name of Sam’s restaurant, so it would be unlikely to have two Sam-centric episodes in a row.
Trent’s Date
On the same scene of season 2 (we got a LOT from that scene...), we see Trent leaving someone at the door. Many people have speculated that this is his partner or someone he’s dating, which is very likely when you consider Trent’s not-very-platonic tone and way of touching the man. An interesting detail about the man Trent was dating is that he has a moustache, much like someone else we know… 🤨🤨
Higgins
In 2x05 Higgins describes to Rebecca how the first time he met his wife, he embarrassed himself by spilling beer all over himself, and the first time Ted and Trent interact, Ted also embarrasses himself by spitting water everywhere.
Similarities between Trent and Rebecca
There are quite a few similarities between Trent and Rebecca- they’re both very icy to Ted in the beginning, are won over through food (Rebecca through the biscuits, Trent over spicy Indian food), are almost the exact same age according to the pilot script, have strangely similar hair, and the only people Ted makes biscuits for on the show are Rebecca and Trent’s daughter. As well as this, in 1x03 Ted says to Trent “Watch your back, Gay Talese there’s a new iconic profile about to be typed up by one Trent Crimm” then in 1x09 Ted says to Rebecca “Watch your back, Kate Moss there’s a new bad girl on the British modelling scene”. I believe this is a way of twisting the expectation that Rebecca and Ted are going to end up together to have Ted end up with someone similar, but not who people expect.
Final scene of season 2
Ted’s final scene in the whole of season 2 is him with Trent, which is especially interesting as this scene is sandwiched between scenes about the other major romances on the show (the scenes go Rebecca and Sam, then Ted and Trent, then Roy and Keeley). The significance of Ted’s last scene of the whole of season 2 being with Trent can’t really be overstated. Ted Lasso is a show that loves its parallels, and it would’ve been satisfying to have both season 1 and 2 end with Ted and Rebecca having a debrief about the season in her office, but season 2 instead breaks this expectation by having the scene between Ted and Trent after this.
Trailer/last episode release dates
The trailer for season 3 was released on Valentine’s Day, which was likely a deliberate choice hinting that this season will include more romance. As well as this, the last episode airs the day before pride month, which, although less likely to be deliberate, is also an… interesting coincidence.
The Trent trailer
In the run-up to season 3, Apple TV released a sort of trailer/teaser thing on their website featuring Trent narrating the events of early season 1. This is a very strange video- it was released shortly before season 3 but doesn’t contain any new footage apart from Trent’s voiceover and a couple of shots of Trent’s desk, so it’s not really a trailer. It’s also not a summary- it doesn’t contain any information about season 2, or even the events of season 1. It’s also not spoiler-free though- it includes many shots from late season 2 that give away the plot and even has Trent sign off as “Trent Crimm, independent”. So what on earth was this video made for? And why is it displayed on the website with this photo, of all things, as the icon?
I don’t have the answers to those questions. But what I can say is that this video gives off very rom-com journalist falls for main character vibes. And seems to exist for no other reason than to have Trent wax lyrical about Ted for 3 minutes.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
In their last scene of season 2, Trent tells Ted that he doesn't know how to ride a bike, which seems to me to be a very deliberate hint that at some point in the series we’ll get him learning to ride. We know episode 6 is set in Amsterdam, aka the bike capital of the world, and during this episode the song Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head plays, which also plays during a bicycle riding scene in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. As well as this, Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who play the titular characters of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, are referenced in 3x03 and 3x04, respectively, so it would make a lot of sense for episode 6 to have a romantic bike riding scene referencing the film, definitely with Trent in and most likely with Ted there too. On top of this, the film has a lot of queer subtext, which makes it all the more interesting that it’s referenced in season 3 and most likely referenced in a scene between Ted and Trent. Thanks to @crimmcast for bringing this connection to my attention!
11:11 wishes
At the beginning of 3x02, Ted states that 11:11 is his wishing time, and then at exactly 11:11 in the episode, Ted says "Trent Crimm is writing a book about us". While I don't think Ted wished for Trent to write a book about the club since he already knew that was happening, I think that between this and Trent being in the scene where Ted first talks about his 11:11 wishing tradition, Ted’s wishes and Trent are somehow connected. Thanks to this post for pointing this out!
"Goodnight Sport"
Ted says this to Trent at the end of 3x02, and it's significant for a few reasons. Firstly, Ted gives other members of the Diamond Dogs nicknames such as "sweetheart", so this cements Trent's place as part of the group. Secondly, in the scene preceding this, they talk about how sport is an excellent metaphor, after Roy uses it as a metaphor for his relationship with Keeley. This means that, having just used sport as a metaphor for relationships and love, Ted then chooses to apply this word to Trent. Thirdly is the connection to The Great Gatsby, in which Gatsby frequently refers to Nick as “old sport”, with the relationship between Gatsby and Nick often considered to be queer coded.
La Cage aux Folles
Shortly after the first episode of season 3 aired, Apple Music released the playlist, which included all the songs in order in season 3. The final song on the playlist was I am what I am, which is the last song of Act 1 of La Cage aux Folles. La Cage is a musical about a gay couple who run a nightclub, and this song is about Albin refusing to hide his sexuality and go back into the closet. It’s the final song of the show, so if this season follows the precedent set by the previous two and closes with the same character it started with, this song will play over a scene with Ted in it. Apple has recently removed all the songs from the Ted Lasso Season 3 playlist from episodes we have yet to see, which indicates that the playlist probably includes spoilers, which this song, if it’s used as expected, definitely counts as. I’ve seen some people express worries that I am what I am will be misused and that the writers/showrunners may not understand the significance of the song to the queer community and end up using it to express Ted’s acceptance of his mental health or something similar. I severely doubt this- I don’t think a show like Ted Lasso, which so carefully puts in lines that hint at things that happen several seasons later (think the way Roy’s anger at Trent was laid out from the start of season 1), would be so blind as to overlook the cultural significance of the final song used in probably the entire show.
The songs get more romantic after Amsterdam
The songs get considerably more romantic after the Amsterdam episode, and although this could technically be for other couples on the show, it’s a CONSIDERABLE increase—over half the songs post-Amsterdam are romantic, which leads me to believe that Ted either gets into a relationship or things ramp up romantically during/after Amsterdam. Technically, this piece of evidence isn't specifically for Tedependent, but more for Ted having some sort of relationship in S3.
The infamous James Lance interview
These are some quotes from an interview James Lance did after season 2 had just finished airing. I try not to read too much into what actors say in interviews as it can easily be misinterpreted, but his insistence that there’s “something there” in the way Trent looks at Ted as well as that there is something about Trent, to do with Ted, that is yet to be revealed in season 3 is certainly intriguing. He also refuses to answer whether Trent is gay or not. I feel like this is most likely because if viewers knew about Trent’s sexuality, the Colin outing storyline would not be as compelling, as knowing for sure that Trent is gay would essentially rule out him outing Colin.
Season 3 is far more queer than the previous seasons
Season 3 is considerably more queer than the seasons before it, and not just because of the Colin storyline. Concepts like changing your name being integrated into episodes (although I hate Zava and have a lot of opinions about the Zoreaux/Van Damme storyline), Zava’s line about gender being a construct, and even Ted correcting Rebecca about West Ham in the first episode (which, although Ted is technically correcting her on using they/them as a plural pronoun and not singular, is still very queer coded) all make this season have a lot more queer undertones. As well as this, Ted has had multiple… suspicious lines this season. His comment in episode one about the “muscular thighs” of rugby players, telling Beard/Roy to “just KISS”- Ted this season so far has been far more overtly queer coded than in previous seasons.
Height as a metaphor for masculinity
This point isn’t entirely about Ted and Trent themselves, but rather an interesting thought I had about the season’s portrayal of height so far. We’ve had both Ted and Trent comment on other men’s heights—"He’s tall" and "You’re tall" respectively—as well as Nate, whose masculinity was constantly undermined throughout his time at Richmond seen struggling to reach the believe poster. Both Beard and Roy laugh at Nate’s struggles, two men who are confident in their own masculinity, but Ted and Trent do not, as men who, in Ted’s words, have had “guys underestimating me my entire life”. Neither Ted nor Trent are particularly short, and their comments about other men’s heights seem a little out of place, but they are both unconventionally masculine, and the men they direct these comments to are the opposite—Zava in particular, as a successful football player, is masculine in the most typical sense. Taking these lines as nods to Ted and Trent’s unconventional masculinity also makes them queer coded, with non-typical presentations of masculinity often synonymous with queer men.
Unconventional families
A big theme in the whole show is family, particularly found family, but this season doubles down on that with the idea of unconventional families coming up a few times in the first few episodes. Ted tells Michelle that "I love our family, no matter what it looks like", and there's also Higgins' joke about the boy and his father, which elicits a few responses about different unconventional families (gay, sperm donor). As well as this, in this interview, Jason talks about Ted finding “another way to go about living this life” and the idea of moving away from the nuclear family structure, which is all very interesting. 🤔🤔
The House in the Cerulean Sea
As I said earlier, I try not to reference things the actors/creators of the show say or do on social media too much because there’s often a big scope for misinterpreting or reading too much into things. That being said, when Jason Sudeikis likes a tweet comparing Ted Lasso to my favourite book ever, I can’t not say something about it! Because wow was that a moment. Embarrassingly, I somehow never noticed the connections between two of my favourite pieces of media until I thought more about it after seeing this tweet, but WOW, are there connections. I’ll try to give as spoiler-free a synopsis as I can… Linus Baker, the main character, is trapped in a morally dubious job that he tells himself is important and something he enjoys, until he gets sent to observe and report on an orphanage run by Arthur Parnassus, who’s very Ted-coded and shows Linus kindness that he’s never encountered before, making him think more about who he is and what he’s doing with his life. If the Trent connections aren’t already blaringly obvious, consider the way Linus starts the story as an observer and over time slowly becomes a part of the narrative. I’ll stop there because I don’t want to get carried away and give spoilers, but the whole book is SO Ted Lasso coded! (Not just in the relationship between Linus and Arthur, but literally the whole book) I really encourage everyone to read it. Also, um… did I mention? It’s basically a slow-burn queer love story between Linus and Arthur.
The Kinks
In 3x02, we get Trent entering the clubhouse to the tune of A Well Respected Man by The Kinks. Later in the show, around episode 11, Strangers plays, which is another Kinks song. This is a romantic song, and considering the Kinks are already connected to Trent through his entrance in episode 2, this song could be used for a moment between Ted and Trent.
Robert Redford
After Trent shows the coaches the security footage of Nate ripping the believe sign, Ted says to him “May a young Robert Redford portray you in a film someday”, and Trent responds, “Probably Dustin Hoffman”. This is in reference to All the President’s Men, a film about journalists uncovering the Watergate scandal, where Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the main two journalists of the film. The strange thing about this line is that Ted decides to compare Trent to Robert Redford, pictured here on the right, despite him clearly looking much more like Dustin Hoffman, especially with the hair. By comparing Trent to Robert Redford, Ted is essentially saying “Hey, I think this incredibly attractive man should play you in a movie!”. And if that isn’t a gay thing to say, I don’t know what is.
PART 2 - Conclusion
I’ve talked almost exclusively so far in this post about connections between specific lines and other character’s arcs/pop culture references and mostly avoided analysing the chemistry and compatibility between Ted and Trent themselves. This is because I wanted to present as solid evidence as I could, and things like romantic glances are far more subjective and up for interpretation. Something that can seem romantic to one person can be seen as completely platonic by someone else. That being said, I do think the two of them have a lot of chemistry, and their arcs fit together so well: Ted as someone who often hides his feelings and puts on a mask of positivity, and Trent as someone who can see through people’s masks and get to what they really mean. They have had a few romantic moments as well: their last scene of season 2, as well as at the end of 3x02, which both contain lingering looks, and the latter is literally overlaid with a romantic song. As well as this, they just get each other; Trent understands and responds accordingly to every single reference Ted throws at him, and he even enjoys his puns (in contrast to Sassy’s denial of Ted in which she cites his “dreadful puns”). The two of them work so well together, and it would be so beautiful to see a queer middle-aged love story, especially if it tells the story of discovering your sexuality later in life.
The idea of Nate’s downfall was hinted at in season 1 with a few lines and subtle moments, not enough for a casual viewer to notice the first time around but just enough to see it clearly laid out on a retrospective rewatch. We have a lot of season 3 left to go, and a lot of reveals are still yet to be… revealed, likely ones that will be just as surprising as Nate’s downfall was but will, like Nate’s arc, have had just as much subtle set up. Set up like referencing Shakespearian romantic comedies, or building up the idea of wishes at 11:11, or references to unconventional families, or drawing parallels between one relationship and another, or slowly introducing more queer concepts into the show, or referencing one of the most famous romantic drama movies of all time, or—you get the gist. No one can say for sure whether Tedependent will become canon, but it’s undoubtable that the setup is there. Whether the show will actually have the balls to go for it... only time will tell.
Thank you for reading :)
Before I go... In no particular order a huge thank you to @thedanceronthestreets, @crenttrimm, @garaksrod, @firefam, @mandiffe, @wrong-energy, @ishouldbedoingalright and @strawberryswords (as well as others I've probably missed!!) tysm for listening to my delusions and sharing all of your own <3