Ted Lasso Season 4 Mid-Season Review

There have been highs and lows in Ted Lasso Season 4, but episode 5 has us believing the series is still more than capable of delivering the magic.

Episode 4 was definitely much better, with a ‘cliques’ situation that let Ted (Jason Sudeikis) do what he does best, leading to an enjoyable pub quiz where we started to meet some of the players. Still, as I kept watching the series and we got closer to the mid-season point, I couldn’t help feeling quite disappointed by a fourth season where most of the returning characters seemed not only less interesting, but less like themselves. Yes, these episodes never outstayed their welcome, but most of the AFC Richmond team – particularly an uncharacteristically detached Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) – felt like they had regressed to previous versions of themselves, with the series dedicating more time to humorous banter and quick glimpses into their lives than to actually showing us some substance.

But just when I was starting to lose all hope of Ted Lasso ever going back to being the kind of series it used to be, episode 5 took me by surprise, with an hour of storytelling that finally delivered what we’ve been waiting for all along. “Riches of Embarrassment” proves that the Ted Lasso magic is far from gone, and that it’s time to start believing again.

This week’s episode starts with the sight of Ted eating a burger alone, and the Lady Greyhounds immediately coming to the rescue, interpreting it as a “cry for help” and gifting Ted a new pair of jeans, which leads the coach to realize that it might be time to let his players actually know him. And if you’ve been keeping up, you already know that Ted’s best speeches come when he’s under pressure, so Richmond’s first-ever televised match – which sees the Greyhounds play against Chelsea, for the first time at Nelson Road – might be just the occasion.

But the most Lassoing comes from Rebecca, and given how the character has been depicted so far in Season 4, it was about time. In the first two episodes of this new season, all we’ve seen Rebecca do is buy clothes, debate reports, really enjoy barbecue sauce, have awkward conversations with both Keeley (Juno Temple) and a boyfriend (Matteo van der Grijn’s Matthijs) with whom she has absolutely zero chemistry, be worried about not being enough of a feminist, be wary of women’s sports investor Zelda Southport (Tracey Ullman), and fail to be invested in the team she helped establish.

“Riches of Embarrassment” finally lets Rebecca be herself, and while Matthijs wanting to ‘take a break’ after some changing dynamics in their relationship doesn’t exactly come as a shock, what she does during the actual match – which won’t be spoiled in this review – is exactly the rewarding ‘boss ass b*tch’ moment we needed to believe in the football club owner again.

Keeley and Roy (Brett Goldstein) are having a bit of a moment, which is the direct result of Ted Lasso not only leaving things unsolved in Season 3, but also of the series never telling us why they broke up in the first place. Episode 4 shows us that they both clearly still love each other, as a “has it been long enough yet?” from Roy confirms that Keeley was the one who put their relationship on hold. That’s when she explains that she doesn’t want to be placed on a pedestal, which leads her to ask Roy to go on ten dates before approaching her again about this. With a reluctant Leslie (Jeremy Swift) bearing witness to their exchange, Roy begins his quest to complete the task in as little time as possible, until an unexpected meet-cute changes everything.

Episode 5 confirms that Roy has been seeing someone, but the show could go in a number of directions from here, each guaranteed to disappoint some fans and satisfy others. What I’m more hopeful about is a potential love interest for Ted that I didn’t see coming, one that also comes with a reminder that Ted’s mission has always been “to help [others] do what they do best” – which is exactly what the coach needed to hear in that moment. And speaking of love interests, we might finally be getting rid of Beard’s (Brendan Hunt) ex-girlfriend Jane (Phoebe Walsh), who has been holding back one of the series’ best characters for way too long. Here’s hoping Beard’s storyline becomes about more than a toxic relationship in the rest of Season 4.

As for Keeley, we find out how she feels about Roy’s love life soon enough, but the Lady Greyhounds’s new Chief Marketing Officer also preoccupied with doing well in her job. Up till now, her scenes in Season 4 have been underwhelming, so much so that I often found myself focusing on her clothes instead of her actual storyline. Thankfully, “Riches of Embarrassment” comes with a reminder that she’s allowed to have fun while doing important things, and while it’s a lesson that the Keeley we know from previous seasons was already familiar with, it’s still wonderful to see the character shine again.

More than that, Keeley is responsible for the scene that made me realize what I’d been missing about Season 4 all along. At the end of the episode, we see the CMO apologize to center back Lizzie (Faye Marsay) and goalkeeper Boots (Jude Mack) for “f*cking up” with her approach to ticket sales, which resulted in the stadium being half-empty. Lizzie reassures her that they’ve never played to such a big crowd before, in their usual home games, but it’s Boots who delivers a moment that’s just as epic as Rebecca’s own speech, immediately realizing what’s actually going on in Keeley’s brain and addressing those very worries. “Those voices in your head – tell ’em to shut the f*ck up, OK?,” she tells her. “You smashed it.” she tells her, “You smashed it.”

After the pub quiz in episode 3, I found myself wondering if the enjoyable but lukewarm moments we had been getting in Season 4 of Ted Lasso up till then were enough to justify these new episodes. But just like that, this brilliantly written scene answered that question, showing me the ways in which Season 4 differs from what came before. The Lady Greyhounds aren’t Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), Roy Kent, Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh), and our favorite players from previous seasons; they already know who they are as a team, and the fact that it took them so long to get to where they are makes them more resilient and self-aware than their male counterparts.

At the same time, Ted’s reaction to Alice’s actions in episode 5 shows us that Ted isn’t the same coach either. In Season 4, he’s learned from his mistakes, and he’s ready to make the decisions he wasn’t ready to make with Nate (Nick Mohammed). Which means that Season 4 isn’t done surprising us yet, and a completely different season of television (and possibly more to come!) might be in store for us.

Season 4 of Ted Lasso has been far from perfect, with just enough satisfying moments to balance out the disappointing ones. But halfway through the series, things are definitely looking up, and I am starting to care about these players enough to be very excited about what’s to come, especially now that we’ve gotten our Ted, Rebecca, and Keeley back. I have a feeling that the best of this fourth season is yet to come.

Season 4 Episodes 1-5 of Ted Lasso are now available to stream on on Apple TV+.