Ted and Rebecca shippers, did Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 6 dash your hopes?
The shot of Ted on his phone after Rebecca messaged her mystery, Bantr man on Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 5 was a misdirect after all.
The real mystery man is Sam.
Were you surprised, or did you see it coming? The best narrative twists make you think back and realize there were clues all along.
Previous episodes did hint something romantic between Sam and Rebecca could form. Sam called her lovely on Ted Lasso Season 1 Episode 6, which implied he had a crush on her. Plus, he insisted she needed to be with the team when they attempted to break the treatment room curse.
Look, let me ask you one question. You’re a great man. Does Jane make you greater?
Higgins
Rebecca doesn’t think of Sam romantically. However, he charms her, and she likes him in general. The idea of the two of them becoming romantically entangled has legs.
Also, this is not a clue, but given all the nods to Cheers on Ted Lasso Season 2, it wouldn’t be surprising if the writers liked the idea of pairing up the two characters who share their names with Cheers characters — Cheers characters with a romantic history to boot.
Since Sam and Rebecca don’t know yet they’re each other’s match, it’s too soon to tell how far this will go or what will happen when they find out. However, in terms of narrative construction, a Sam and Rebecca romance currently makes more sense than a Ted and Rebecca romance.
There’s nothing inherently wrong about a Ted and Rebecca romance anymore since he’s officially divorced, and she came clean to him about why she hired him as Richmond’s manager. With those objections lifted, you would think the show would go all-in on teasing the ship.
Boy, I love meeting people’s moms. It’s like reading an instruction manual as to why they’re nuts.
Ted
Instead, there’s been less ship tease than there was on Ted Lasso Season 1.
On Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 3, Rebecca didn’t exhibit any signs of jealousy over Sassy sleeping with Ted and wasn’t attracted to the idea of sleeping with him. Similarly, he wasn’t jealous about Rebecca’s date but was excited about Rebecca treating him like one of the girls on Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 1.
Overall, their interactions feel more platonic than romantic, especially when compared to how other couples act around each other: Roy and Keeley, Higgins and Julie, or even Beard and Jane. When Rebecca went looking for Ted during this episode, she didn’t seem romantically motivated.
If Ted Lasso wanted Ted and Rebecca to be a couple, the acting, camerawork, and editing would emphasize it much more. It’s okay for Ted and Rebecca not to be romantic. Their relationship as is can keep the audience engaged.
Ted having another panic attack means he should focus on working through his feelings about his divorce and guilt over being away from his son.
Ted’s panic attacks were bound to come up again, and having him suffer one now makes for a nice transition to the second half of the season.
More interestingly, it resurfaces on an episode delivering some of the show’s bluntest criticism of Ted’s coaching. Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 6 does a good job interrogating Ted’s methods and performance without wholly condemning them.
Roy says Ted teaching Jamie how to be a team player ruined Jamie, but he also says Jamie can’t be a p***k all the time. The team winning the match without Ted can support the argument that the team is fine without Ted, but it equally supports the argument that the team wouldn’t have won if Ted hadn’t built up the coaching staff.
It doesn’t come across as wishy-washy or the show’s lack of courage to admit Ted is doing the team more harm than good. The side the show comes down to is the classic truth of “moderation in all things.”
Ted: Roy, you’re not gonna like this. But right now, Jamie here is being the mature one.
Jamie: It’s true. I’m being super mature, you big dumb, hairy, baby t**t.
It would be nice if Ted Lasso was clearer about each coach’s specific title and duties because sometimes it does seem like three, now four, people are doing the same job.
However, Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 6 does a good job of demonstrating what Nate and Roy respectively bring to the team. Nate knows strategy. Roy understands the players. His signal for Jamie was exactly what the latter needed.
Brett Goldstein, Jason Sudeikis, and Phil Dunster bounce off each other so well. Dunster is second only to Brendan Hunt in providing priceless reaction shots.
Jamie: I’m trying to build bridges here.
Roy: You couldn’t f**king build Jeff Bridges.
Speaking of Hunt, Beard’s romance with Jane has gone from running gag to subplot. It’s concerning the show went the psycho girlfriend route with her. She exhibited some drama queen tendencies on Ted Lasso Season 1, but now those tendencies have taken over the character.
On the other hand, the show is mining good comic material from the character, and her and Beard’s relationship allows Ted Lasso to show there’s more to Beard than his role as Ted’s right-hand man. The show is doing a good job of giving Beard more to do without giving up his mystique.
The only knock on Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 6 is the subplot where Rebecca’s mom visits. It’s fine, but Rebecca’s interactions with her mom don’t provide new insight into the character as her interactions with Sassy and Nora did.
The best thing about the subplot is it allows screentime for Mae and the pub regulars’ enthusiasm over a baking show. Their soggy cake bottom song is an instant earworm.
Over to you, TV Fanatics.
What did you think of the Bantr reveal?
Did the cliffhanger of Ted asking Sharon for an appointment overshadow the rest of the episode?
Hit the comments below.
Becca Newton is a staff writer for TV Fanatic.