NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
With no news on season 4 of Ted Lasso since it was officially announced, we can’t help but wonder what’s in store when the show returns. So far we’ve got limited information other than a few key cast members returning and that it will focus on the women’s team. However, that does not stop us from speculating and one story we still need answers to is the story of Ted and Rebecca.
By the time season 3 finished, fans were left with an overwhelming sense of disappointment. Not all of them, just the ones that shipped Ted ending up with Rebecca and not back home with his wife and family. In hindsight, if the show was never picked up and wrapped after season 3, then this was the right call. Now that there’s a season 4, there’s still time to fix what fans only hope is a happy ending.
When you really look back at the dynamic between the two, it almost seems that they’re destined to be together. Ted with his rocky relationship with his parents and Rebecca with hers. Rebecca with her failed marriage and moving forward after a divorce and Ted doing the same. Both Ted and Rebecca have their insecurities and project them in different ways on the people around them. They’re so similar it seems like there’d be no better pairing of love and understanding.
The problem is they both understand each other’s hurt. They also both understand their hurt and the burden it would be. As the old saying goes “Hurt people hurt people” and despite obvious chemistry, neither of the duo wants to hurt the other and burden the other with their insecurities. But that was before they healed.
At the end of season 3, both Ted and Rebecca seemed healed and ready to move on. Ted was able to address his demons, put down the alcohol, and realize he doesn’t just want his wife, he wants his family. He’s no longer in the people-pleasing role and is focused on his wants and needs. That is of course until you see the final scene of the show, zoom out on Ted’s facial expression and he has the look of something missing.
Then, there’s Rebecca. She’s finally over Rupert and she is ready to move on. After a fling with the man she meets on the boat, she seems to settle into a new relationship but we don’t see where it goes from there. We do however know she is no longer the same scared little girl she claimed to be. She was always depicted as a strong woman, but she seemed to have gotten out of her own way. In the scene where she tells the rest of the team owners off, she steps into her own.
She’s no longer just the ex-wife running her husband’s former club. At that moment, she claims her independence. She is now the one in charge. That moment she breaks away from Rupert and is once again her own woman.
Yet, season 3 ended with an awkward goodbye. The two at the airport knowing neither wants to say goodbye and it lingering doesn’t mean the story is over. With the common romcom tropes throughout the entire series, Ted Lasso season 4 has the opportunity to run with this story. That scene alone shows the unspoken love between the two and could easily be written for season 4 and beyond.
Both Ted and Rebecca ended season 3 having healed from their past trauma. That doesn’t mean they’re happy with where they’re at. Didn’t it seem like they both settled? Does Ted not look like he’s not happy with where he’s at. Shouldn’t Rebecca have Roy’s voice in her head repeatedly reminding her not to settle for “fine”. Hell, Roy could even be the one to remind her that she’s settling again and not pursuing the love we know she actually wants. If season 4 is really about the women’s team, there is groundwork being placed to lead these two characters right back to each other and it would be a travesty if they didn’t make it back.
