Laughing My Ass Off Imagining That Trent Asked Ted Why He Ran Off During The Match Because He Didnt Want

Laughing my ass off imagining that Trent asked Ted why he ran off during the match because he didn’t want to have to spell diarrhea

My first reaction once the credits started rolling after the finale was "I hate this". Then I rewatched it and it came down to "I don't hate it as much as I thought". And now I've had almost a week to sit with it and I've started rewatching the whole thing (currently ending s1) and I have to say, I was wrong.

It's not only a good ending, but it's the only way it could have ended. The issue I think a lot of us faced with regards to the finale, was a conflict between what the show is and what we made it up to be in our heads.

The show is about a man who never allowed himself to set roots in England. He's chronically on his phone. He drops everything when Henry arrives in s1. He almost drinks himself stupid because he isn't with Henry for Christmas in s2. He openly questions what he's still doing in England in s3.

He has made a lot of friends in Richmond, but he never allowed himself to get too attached, which I think is at least part of the reason why he never got a proper romance plot. And that's not to say that the love of a friend is less than the love of a romantic partner, that's bullshit. But, in most cases, the kind of love you find in friendship is one that survives long distances with only text, video calls and the occasional visit.

Anyone who has lived in a different country for a limited amount of time (myself included) will tell you that that's exactly how this goes. You meet great people and you love them and it's different after you go back, but that doesn't mean you love them any less. And phones fucking exist, you keep in touch as much as you can.

The show I made up in my head, for whatever reason, was a show about a man who found his home in England. Why did I think that, you ask? I have no earthly idea. It's clearly not how Ted's character is presented. Maybe I thought it'd allow for deeper relationships between characters? Maybe I thought Ted would find romance? Maybe that's what I've been conditioned to think by every other show I've ever watched? None of which is a reflection of the show itself, only of my expectations.

In the end, it all worked out. Not how I thought it would, nor how I hoped it would. But it worked out exactly how it was supposed to.

Artwork by Agnes Pelton

S2.E8 “Man City” // S3.E5 “Signs”

Written by Jamie Lee

'endless column' by constantin brancusi in earthworks and beyond: contemporary art in the landscape - john beardsley (1989)