Ted Lasso should have ended with its third season. But, like many American TV shows, it seems to have forgotten when to leave the party. The new season, which promised a new premise, has offered nothing new so far. The first three seasons worked because of their novelty and their refreshing take on sports, female friendships and the emotional lives of its characters. But in Season 4, with AFC Richmond’s women’s team at the centre, the formula remains largely unchanged, but the writing is lazy, the character arcs have plateaued and the chemistry that once made the show so irresistible is all but absent.
Seven of ten episodes of Season 4 are out, and the writers are still focussing on the same five characters, whose storylines stagnated long back. To make it worse, Ted Lasso’s season four universe is a total goody-two-shoes. There is no build-up, no tension, no conflict, no chase; only lots of preachy anecdotes and moral science lessons. And, of course, a woman — the assistant coach Alice Chilton, played by Tanya Reynolds — is at the receiving end of this wisdom imparted by two men, Ted and Beard. Now let’s address this one by one.
After watching 70 per cent of the show, there is no new element to the character trajectories of Rebecca, Keeley, Roy Kent, Ted Lasso or Beard. Their interpersonal relationships haven’t grown either, but they do seem to have transformed into an age-old sob story. Rebecca seems to be tied between managing the Richmond Club, particularly the Lady Greyhounds, and her new relationship with Matthijs, a Dutch pilot played by Dutch actor Matteo van der Grijn. But before this little spot of bother transcends into a more complex conflict, as it happens in real life, Matthijs is at her doorstep, having taken out all disagreements like a fly from a cup of tea. Poof, and all is well again.
Rebecca and Keeley’s bond, because of and despite their professional commitments, usually ends with a happy hug or ice cream in bed. If only one could wish away professional disputes by watching a movie with their employer. Personal bonds weighing on professional relationships, especially when your boss is also your best friend, should offer a prism for exploring complexities between two people — it can either be a double-edged sword or the perfect balance you need to walk on its edge. And if it is the latter, then harmony is not just served onto the platter; it comes only after a fight or many.
Keeley’s relationship with Roy is also not palatable. It is a manufactured love triangle at best, and predictable melodrama at its worst. The writers have gone for retelling a story which has been retold too often and could only point to two things — either romance is truly dead, or the writers have limited imagination on how romance matures among working professionals.
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Boring philosophy lessons
Which brings us to Ted and his wife Michelle, who had separated in the first season. But when Ted is compelled to move to Richmond to coach the women’s football team, Michelle and their son Henry enthusiastically uproot their lives in Kansas City and move to England for him. And while Ted tries his hand at finding someone through dating apps, he ultimately is seen falling for Michelle. If the writers were even slightly bold, they would’ve allowed Ted to get on the app and let the story take its own interesting, disappointing, exciting, lonely or even erotic turn.
And while we learn nothing new about the old characters, arcs of the new characters have also failed to take off. A new football team, 11 new characters and their problems vanish before they even appear. Gemma Jay, played by Abbie Hern, is the team’s star striker but is also studying law. So when she performs badly on a test because of her match with Newcastle the previous night, what should the audience expect? Doesn’t matter, because her professor gives her the opportunity to intern with one of the biggest law firms in the UK. Only in an ideal world does a law student pursuing her passion for sport not have to go through any struggle whatsoever. The only clash they ever have is a bar fight scene, which borrows heavily from Chak De, India!.
Despite the world of sports brimming with stories of women athletes’ resilience, the makers wasted the opportunity to platform them on the big screen.
Tanya’s character arc grows, however slowly, but is steered either by Ted’s rather toxic positivity or Beard’s supportive wisdom. But why does a self-critical coach, who was doing well on her own, need two men to tell her how she should view her outlook on life, and in turn, her team? In an alternate universe, Tanya should have been the head coach, giving lessons to Ted and Beard on how to manage the women’s team, instead of playing second fiddle to them. The makers could have shaped this universe, but they didn’t.
Ted Lasso was a show that inspired, not because it led AFC Richmond to victory from zero, but also because it offered lessons in leadership, relationships, and hope. Season 4, however, has taken all of that and stripped it to its bare bones into a banal, boring lesson in righteousness and philosophy. It’s the perfect nightcap for soap-lovers. Just end this misery already.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)