Barbara Takenaga, Lines To The Center II, 2014,Acrylic On Linen,45 X 54 Inches

Barbara Takenaga, Lines to the Center II, 2014, Acrylic on linen, 45 x 54 inches

Ted and Jamie?

There’s something going on between Ted and Jamie. I’m not entirely sure what exactly, but the show keeps hinting at it, especially during Ted’s panic attacks. 

So to start, I understand that Ted sees himself as Jamie’s father figure. I understand that the way he sees Jamie probably reminds him of his son. But I think there is something more going on here that has yet to be revealed and No Weddings and a Funeral really confirmed that for me.

Let’s start with this Ted’s panic attack in S2E06:

During this scene, Ted is watching the game. The coaches have just given Jamie The Signal and we seem him play more aggressively. The commentators note that there is little time left in the game and Jamie is being carefully defended ever since he made that incredible goal. We see a few shots of Jamie playing aggressively. We see Ted notice this and then notice the crowd. He notices other players yelling and the crowd again and then notices his body is starting to react. When he fully realizes this we get two audio flashbacks. “You’re better than that Jamie!” yells Jamie’s dad in S1E10, the moment Ted (and the audience) knows that Jamie’s dad is tormenting his son, and then “Jamie Tartt?” which is Ted’s son when he meets Jamie in the locker room. 

Both of these clips are about Jamie, and Ted is watching Jamie when they occur. The “Jamie Tartt?” clip is interesting, because it’s a moment that connects Henry and Jamie. But to look at it further, Jason Sudeikis has spoken in multiple interviews about the role of guardian angels in the show. He often sites this moment, when Henry runs into the locker room right when Ted was going to lay it on Jamie as a moment of an angel stepping in and saving someone.

Maybe Ted feels guilt he didn’t step in for Jamie and instead walked away?

But! You will say, Ted didn’t just step away, he later gave Jamie the soldier, and that clearly meant a lot to Jamie (and might have been a better move than interrupting an extremely personal moment). I agree with you! But hey you know what’s weird? Let’s look at the shots that Ted flashes back to during No Weddings and a Funeral:

Hey um...how is Ted “remembering” that first shot? Because that’s Jamie holding the soldier on the bus at the end of Season 1. 

Okay okay, obviously this is TV and we’re not supposed to take this as Ted literally seeing a moment he wasn’t there for. Just like how the shot of him and Henry shows both of them, it’s supposed to indicate the memory of that moment rather than show Ted’s exact POV. So then, what is Ted’s memory of this moment with Jamie on the bus?

What did he imagine would happen when he gave it to Jamie? How did he think Jamie would feel? You might recall that Ted isn’t even the person to give the envelope to Jamie, Beard is. Why didn’t he do it himself? What did he feel then that he is remembering right now?

What is Ted’s relationship to Jamie? Why are his triggers closely tied between himself, Jamie, Jamie’s father, and his son? The simple answer is probably, “Well Ted’s worried about being a bad father, and Jamie’s relationship with his dad reminds Ted of his role as a father and also the role he used to play as a son to his dad, with whom he clearly has a lot of trauma.”

Still, the reason I think there is something more here is because the lack of interactions Ted has had with Jamie since he joined the team. Ted does not speak to Jamie much, and he hardly ever speaks about Jamie. We certainly haven’t seen him talk about the connection between Jamie and his panic attacks. I strongly believe we’re going to get a moment at some point that explicitly talks about this. Or something will happen and these moments are the clues that built up to it. 

TLDR: Ted’s panic attacks are closely linked with Jamie and we should look forward to the moment these two characters finally reconcile. 

crying real tears

ELLIDAEY ISLAND - ICELAND

Finally, some peace from the neighbours…

Fantasia 1940

The Mystical World (Leading you on travels in a mysterious and visionary world). From Taiwan.

靈異世界 [導引您做一趟神秘奇幻世界之旅] （台北：將門文物出版有限公司，1990）

Idk how I hadn't seen this yet, BUT