I CAN FIX HIM? Nah, he should fix himself.

 

Why we need more Richie Jemovich (The Bear) and Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso) characters

Like me, you may have heard of the famous fan-favorite episode of The Bear Season 2. It was when the asshole of the show underwent the most important character transformation. 

Yeah, I'm talking about the Taylor Swift Love Story episode. It was the most memorable episode and like Zuko from Avatar, Tichie Jemovich was a villain who turned into an ally.

The truth is, I want more of these characters to amplify the positive note that anyone, even the most asshole type of a character can change for themselves.

WHY THE TITLE?

We always hear the quote or popular meme, "I can fix him" but then we learn the hard way about this line. Relationships turn shitty, people experience unaddressed trauma, and people use relationships as a shield to fucking hide the fact that they have a lot of things to do to work on themselves.

But the truth is, the only way for a person to change is to stop looking for new partners and end the cycle of passing their own trauma to their boyfriends/girlfriends.

Which is why the person should fix himself instead of waiting for someone to fix them. (Pardon the continuous use of the word fix but it is the quote.)

The best examples of this trope are Richie and Jamie (wow that rhymed). 

Who are the characters? How'd they transform?

So before I explain further my other thoughts about my favorite theory, let me explain who the characters are. Starting with The Bear's Richie (played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach who I thought was European but was not LOL):

Richie 

Richie, at first glance, is someone who you would hate (or love if you have the same characteristics as him). On the surface, he is hard-hitting, disrespectful, misogynistic, and straight-up TOXIC WHITE MALE. 

He was introduced as the best friend of Michael, Carmy's (Jeremy Allen White) dead brother. He is a close friend of the Berzattos, the lead family in the series. They call him cousin but he definitely has beef with Carmy and other people who are better than him.

He has a seeming superiority complex that absolutely hates. Some notable scenes that I would point out from his behavior are when he calls Carmy a child and refuses to change his haughty attitude towards Carm. (We see bits of these scenes in Season 1).

At one point, Jeremy develops a sort of soft side in front of Sydney, another main lead in the series. They were doing some errands when, Richie was interrupted by a phone call from his ex-wife, Tiff. During the phone call, we see Richie caring about his daughter (as what asshole dads do). He tries to make up for his asshole attitude by doing what's best for his daughter. He was upset when his daughter and his ex-wife moved to another place. His daughter was having a hard time adjusting. I found hints that his daughter may have been bullied? (not sure).

Another notable episode that was very difficult to watch was when Sydney's (Ayo Ediberi) underrated and underappreciated dish was recognized by a food critic. It was definitely a hard thing to watch as Sydney stands up to Richie. The first FEMALE RAGE we see from Sydney.

Season 1 was only the beginning of this unruly behavior. Richie is also more of a dumbass in Season 2. He disagreed with everyone and we see him take an ass of himself during the renovation of the restaurant. He really looked so inferior because Natalie (another Berzatto sibling played by Abby Elliot) would assign him a task that when he fucks it up, it would not be much of a problem for her. In her words, "it won't bite me in the ass."

But then Episode 7, titled Forks, came to the picture. Richie was sent to the best restaurant in the world, where Carm was well-known. At first, Richie feels inferior and the superiority complex comes in. He was assigned to polish forks with a tablecloth or napkin. Forks need not only be spotless but also should be smudge-proof for the customers. I actually didn't notice this detail before but it is definitely a way to help Richie understand that to have his place in a high-end restaurant, he must start fresh and begin with the basics. 

To be honest, I'd be mad doing this type of shit. Polishing forks, washing dishes, etc. However, Sydney also started this type of task and so did Carmy. They were taking off peas from pods, taking off skins from fish, juicing pomegranate and even grating a lemon zest. All these can be done by a fucking child but it takes an excellent chef and a disciplined human being to do it well. 

Richie thought he was being punished because nobody liked him in the restaurant. He even challenged his boss on his first day. But after days or maybe even weeks of washing forks, he was brought to the server or waiter (I think?). He learned how each and every waiter should know how to walk the food to customers quickly and accurately. He also learned how badass the role is. They would also research customers' profiles (which is kind of messy and an invasion of privacy) to know any special food they can serve to the customer and make their day better. This is honestly why I appreciate fine dining because a small amount of food can elevate someone's life. 

After a while, Richie grows (although he struggles a bit) and even meets the head chef, Terry. They bond and have a blast at communicating. He didn't show an ounce of inferiority when his ex-wife recently got engaged. He changed even after losing everything. At a certain age, sometimes we will always feel like we should never change. But the truth is, the next time you may find someone being a chef in his 60s or someone who just learned how to properly clean their room in his 40s. It's okay to go slow. Learn to do shit and trust yourself and the process. Believe. (Wait, that's kind of like another theme of a show right?)

Jamie

Like Richie, Ted Lasso's Jamie (Phil Dunster) is the epitome of a white narcissist douchebag. The kind of guy who your best friend or the most popular girl would date. The type of guy who has awesome talent but lacks discipline and teamwork. 

I guess you could say Jamie has a stereotypical type of character in the first season of Ted Lasso. We see this football star being a trailblazer and a great player. On paper, he should be the best football player in his team or even in the season. However, Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) saw a flaw in Jamie's play, lacking the team leader.

"If you turn that me, into us? the sky's the limit for you," Lasso said.

Jamie didn't quite understand this at first. He was also a standard airhead despite being handsome. He was 

also someone who liked ridiculing his underperforming teammates like Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh). A trait that I personally hated. There were also some narcissistic moments when he was asked if he would rather be a lion or a panda. He chose to be him. (I mean that's kind of a stretch but considering his character, I think that would also be narcissistic.)

Another Jamie-centered episode we saw was when Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez) joined Team Richmond. 

He was just a smidge better than Jamie, who experienced jealousy at a new contender. He was easily baffled and even had to be absent when Ted asked the team to defeat the ghosts in their treatment room (I know how this sounds haha)

In the same episode, we watch Jamie's soft side. We witness the origin of his story that he was just someone who has big daddy issues. He loved his mother a lot and it was sad that he felt like he wasn't enjoying football as much as what his mom asked him to do. Really heartwarming but was ruined by Rebecca's (Hannah Waddingham) revenge.

All these disappointments changed in Season 2. Again like Richie. There was an episode when Jamie met with their ex, Keeley (Juno Temple) to report that Ted was playing mind games with him. But Keeley said, not everyone's out to get you.

That line and Jamie consulting Ted at a bar made Jamie realize that he should maybe just maybe trust Ted (who actually also has Daddy issues). He changed and even made friends with Sam. It was not an easy road. Many people didn't trust him the first time, making it difficult to change. After a few more times, he patched things up with Roy (Brett Goldstein) etc. without having a girlfriend. He even consulted a therapist to basically blab about himself. 

Later on, we see a new man, with new hair who eventually, had a good thing with his father.

Can people change?

I'm not a therapist but I believe that these characters should continue to be in shows to help people understand changing themselves. 

It's not too late to be a generic asshole but change yourself for good period. Of course, there are characters like Bojack Horseman who would never change. They change for a minute but then would relapse to their own ways. In this case, the Bojack Horseman are Rupert Mannion (Ted Lasso) and possibly Carmy (The Bear if he doesn't change).

To cap this long blog post, we always have characters in TV shows and movies who are always revenge-seeking and self-deprecating so it is always refreshing to have good examples in shows and movies.