“You have the power to take a sad song and make it better.”—Coach Beard
We have only five episodes of Ted Lasso left, including this week’s outing. It seems there is still a lot to do and not much time with these characters we’ve grown so attached to the past three years. That puts plenty of pressure on the series to deliver. Some haven’t enjoyed the journey, but I’ve found beauty in the storytelling. That includes this week’s outing, which takes the focus from the Pitch to the relationships for many of the characters.
At center focus is Ted (Jason Sudeikis). His team is thriving on the field thanks to Total Football and the transformation of Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), who turns out to truly be the hero Richmond Football needs. The team’s won four straight and are surging again. A re-match with West Ham is coming, but this week it’s about Ted’s guests.
Michelle (Andrea Anders) and Dr. Jake (Mike O’Gorman) have come to London, bringing Henry (Gus Turner) with them. While Ted gets some time with his son, Michelle is winging her way to Paris thanks to a surprise trip from Jake. Ted is instantly concerned, believing that means a proposal is on the way.
He turns to the Diamond Dogs, who indoctrinate Trent Crimm (James Lance), for advice. They urge him not to fret about things that haven’t happened. But Ted can’t let it go. He turns to Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) to use a private investigator to find out what’s happening in Paris. Rebecca thinks it’s a bad idea, but she feels for Ted and relents.
On his free day with Henry, Ted and Beard (Brendan Hunt) want to do something fun. Henry wants to see a Football match. Unfortunately, there’s only one game going—West Ham. So, Ted takes Henry and Beard—who wears his Richmond uniform. There, they wave to Nate (Nick Mohammed), who seems touched to see Ted.
While at the Pub, and after begging Mae’s (Annette Badland) forgiveness for going to the West Ham match, Ted gets a call from Rebecca. She has his answer but, instead, exhorts Ted to forget about what he can’t control and focus on what he can—Henry. Ted, finally, heeds the advice. He joins Henry and Beard in time to sing Hey Jude and finish out the day strong.
Turns out, when Michelle arrives she doesn’t have a ring. More than that, Ted spots an awkward exchange between Henry and Jake and then Michelle and Jake. Could it be the opening he’s been waiting for? Ted’s been feeling the pull from home this season, and as we move toward a conclusion, it’s fair to wonder what that happy ending looks like for Ted. As Mae said in the pub, “Nothing’s impossible Ted.” We have four more episodes to find out.
Keeley’s Invasion of Privacy
In the other major storyline, Keeley’s (Juno Temple) relationship with Jack (Jodi Balfour) is going well… that is until a video she sent to a previous boyfriend leaks online. Keeley is devastated by the invasion of privacy, while Jack goes into spin-control mode. That soon leads to a statement of apology Keeley is meant to post on all her channels.
The problem is, she doesn’t want to apologize. She turns to Rebecca for advice and Rebecca affirms her feeling. She urges Keeley to push Jack about the statement and give her a chance to be the supportive partner Keeley is seeking. Keeley does just that but Jack, it seems, is concerned more about the optics. Could this be the end of their relationship?
Keeley’s video also inspires plenty from the team, which engages in a long discussion about privacy. That, likely, is meant for the benefit of the audience. But it leads to the players agreeing to delete all photos and videos from their devices to avoid shaming any of the people in their lives. Colin (Billy Harris) seems to resist, so when he walks off, Isaac (Kola Bokinni) follow him out and snatch his phone, uncovering Colin’s secret.
A few weeks ago, Colin espoused the hope that one day he could live in the open. His secret is out to some degree, what will this lead to? We’ve seen this Richmond team develop quite the bond and I hope to see that continue.
For Keeley, her personal violation led to interactions with Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Jamie. Roy goes first, approaching her outside the stadium. What starts strong quickly devolves as Roy naturally fails to say the right thing. In contrast, Jamie swings by her house, offering a heart-felt apology. Turns out it was an e-mail to him that was stolen, leading to Keeley’s private message becoming part of the public record.
We’ve seen Jamie grow the most from the pilot episode. He’s grown on the field as a player and leader, but he’s also grown as a man. I am thrilled to see it.
Nate’s New Relationship
The final big storyline for the week involves Nate and Jade (Edtya Budnik). Their relationship has progressed but Nate remains too timid to say what he wants, or even ask Jade where they’re at. He tries to assemble his own West Ham version of the Diamond Dogs but it goes down in flames.
Finally, at the end, Jade affirms that Nate is her boyfriend, knowing he’s wanted that the whole episode whether he’d admit it or not. Jade cares about Nate because she sees the man he could be and wants to be. It’s the same reason I root for Nate. Jade has brought that softer side out and I hope he leans into that as we move toward our final episode.
Nate made himself a villain, but I don’t want to believe that’s who he really is. Can he make amends with Ted? Has he learned to appreciate what he had in Richmond? I hope we see it.
Best Scene:
We haven’t gotten much of Rebecca and Keeley together in recent weeks, but we got a delightful scene in this week’s episode. It was nice to have the friends back.
Pop Culture References:
People: We got shout outs to Oscar Wilde, Jack-the-Ripper, The Beatles and Dave Grohl, who apparently learned to play the drums using pillows.
Plays and Films: We got references to Les Miserables, French Kiss and Sex and the City
MVP:
This week’s MVP is Rebecca. She stepped up in support of her friends in a big way, first for Keeley and then for Ted.
Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.
The Music City Drive-In 
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