After more than a three-year layoff, Ted Lasso returned for season 4 on Wednesday, Aug. 5.
The season 4 premiere focused on catching up with where Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and the rest of the gang were after how season 3 left off. It also came with an offer—to return to Richmond to coach a new women’s team. Ted mulled it for a while but in the end seemed set on the return. This second episode, “Curiouser and Curiouser,” focuses on that return.
Ted’s New Gig
We pick up with Ted in his new flat, which is in the bar thanks to Mae (Annette Badland). She seems happy to have him back, while the rest of the town has settled into familiar patterns. Ted has, too, with a few twists. Instead of Biscuits with the Boss, he brings Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) some Kansas City barbecue, and he’s ready to take on his new team.
But the opening press conference makes clear that people want to know how Ted feels about the men’s team more than they want to talk about the women’s team. Higgins (Jeremy Swift) has a report that indicates what a challenge it can be to launch a women’s team. He gives the report to Rebecca, laying out the challenge, but she plans to forge ahead anyway.
Everyone seems in on the new challenge. That includes Keeley (Juno Temple), who works her magic to give the women’s team the kind of facilities they need to thrive. That means redoing the visitor’s locker room, which gives her some time to interact with Roy (Brett Goldstein). They’re no longer a couple, but that spark still seems to be there.
Meanwhile, Ted tries to get to know his players. There is potential but quite a few larger personalities. That includes the new Keeper, Boots (Jude Mack), who has a unique approach to the position and to pain. It’s going to be an adjustment for Ted.
Ted’s Assistant Coach
Meanwhile, to kickstart the episode, we meet Coach Chilton (Tanya Reynolds), who has been holding the team together. She knows her stuff and she’s devoted to the team. She even made a detailed scouting report for Ted. She’s upset she wasn’t chosen as the head coach and that Rebecca didn’t even consider a female candidate. So, she offers her resignation at the end of the week.
Ted likes Coach Chilton, and he’s not ready to accept her resignation without working his Ted magic and charm. As we’ve seen before, it’s a charm that’s hard to ignore. So, Ted is able to make some inroads. Still, at the end of the week it seems like Coach Chilton is committed to leaving. But Ted offers one last pitch, and she agrees to stay on. He’s found a new colleague—but what about his old colleague?
Coach Beard
It seems time hasn’t treated Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) incredibly well. His hair—both on his head and on his face—is wild. And he’s seemingly giving Ted the cold shoulder. Ted would love to coach with Beard again, but Beard is working with Roy and the men’s team. Still, Beard slips out to meet Ted in secret for a pint at the pub. But it’s an awkward exchange.
It isn’t lost on Roy that Coach Beard misses his friend. Roy even turns to Keeley for advice. She is on the same page with Roy that you can’t keep those two apart, that it’s right to set Coach Beard free. So, Roy comes up with a plan.
Roy approaches Beard in the locker room. He shares that Beard has violated one of the team rules, meaning he’ll have to leave the men’s team. But he offers that other teams might have more lax approaches to the rules. It’s a technicality, but it opens the door for Coach Beard to leave Roy honorably and follow his heart.
Near the end, just as Ted has finished his heart-to-heart with Coach Chilton and convinced her to stay, Coach Beard appears. He’s overcome with joy, sharing that he’s back on Ted’s team. As they jump around and dance, it seems Coach Chilton is wondering what she’s gotten herself into.
It’s nice to be back in Richmond and settling into a new team. I’m excited to have a few core characters back but to be diving into a new world. That same Ted Lasso charm remains, and I’m excited to pick up the thread with these characters moving forward.
Ted Lasso streams Wednesdays on Apple TV. Check back next week as we recap all of the action of season 4.
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