I agree. This was the episode that got me hooked.

Ditto! I want to have and strive to be a Rebecca or a Keely or a Sassy. I think sometimes I’m a bit of a Babs. A little serious. A little bit not fun. But heart in the right place.

“Fuck off and die, Rupert.”

And she says it all so pleasantly! With a lovely smile.

That’s so true. Sassy is also a fantastic character.

That’s a really importance nuance, thanks for pointing it out.

Also 100% true and such a great point. I hope I’m a Keeley to some of my friends. I feel unequal to the task at times but she’s who I want to be.

She’s that friend who looks you in the eye and tells you the truth. I’ve had a couple of those friends and they’re such gems.

I was already watching Ted Lasso when I saw this post. Now I’m watching a delightful season 1 episode while fondly thinking of and looking forward to my favorite episode. Thanks for that!

I felt that Zava was a way to emphasize the importance of the team over the superstar. It reminded me of “Miracle” when Herb Brooks said, “I’m not looking for the best players. I’m looking for the right ones.”

Zava made Jamie motivated to be better but he also drew a stark contrast between the player Jamie started as (“I’m the one that scores all the goals and I’m the only one they come to see”) and the one he became, who valued more than just winning (“We don’t need him. We’ve got a good thing going here.”) or being the superstar.

Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo. SPOILERS

It follows several people who live in or have come to Sudan in different capacities (aid workers, missionaries, bush pilots, rebels). They are all initially driven by faith in one form or another. But they compromise their beliefs one small act at a time—initially in the service of something ostensibly good—until their purposes for being there are completely corrupted.

It made me feel hopeless. Like no matter what people do for the good, human nature will find a way to destroy it from the inside out. I think I connected with it because one of the subplots is about a young woman who travels there with her church to liberate slaves. She marries a man from the tribe they work with but there are a lot of cultural disconnects that they can’t bridge.

I was early in my dating life and it reinforced that love isn’t enough. It changed how I looked at relationships, especially ones that required one party to give up a lot of who they are to make it work.

As she sees her marriage failing, she becomes desperate to protect it. So when her husband expresses interest in a former slave that had escaped and was being sheltered by the tribe, she orchestrates the girl’s return to her captor. It was so despicable and unconscionable. And she knew it, but she could justify it to herself. The book did such an incredible job of making her sympathetic even as she slowly changed into this person she never thought she’d be; all the little compromises and self-deceptions. The ultimate decision was surprising yet inevitable.

It made me more introspective in my decision making, always asking if this one small thing compromises my integrity or my larger purpose.