In the season two finale of Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, titled “Inverting the Pyramid of Success,” Richmond finally made its way back into the Premiere League, with the help of Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez), who scored the game-tying goal after killing the team’s mascot with his penalty goal in the opening episode of this season; meanwhile, Jamie (Phil Dunster, The Rise of the Krays) left all his usual selfishness aside by telling Roy (Brett Goldstein, SuperBob) about his confession to Keeley (Juno Temple, Killer Joe) and giving Dani the opportunity to redeem himself – showing promising character development from the start of the season. Sam (Toheeb Jimoh, Anthony) made the decision to remain at Richmond with his football family, while also choosing himself over a potential relationship with Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham, Game of Thrones). In yet another let-down for Rebecca, Keeley was offered an opportunity to start her own PR firm and ended the season quitting her best friend’s club.
Ironically, the most anti-climactic portion of the finale was Ted (Jason Sudeikis, We’re The Millers) dealing with the aftermath of Trent Crimm’s (James Lance, Me, Myself and Di) article on his panic attacks. He resorts to allowing Nate (Nick Mohammed, Intelligence) to apologize for leaking his personal information. However, instead, Nate throws a major tantrum during Richmond’s game against Brentford FC. He confronted Ted, stating “You made me feel like I was the most important person in the whole world, and then you abandoned me.” This statement doesn’t seem at all true, especially since Ted continuously listened to his youngest coach, despite his massive ego problem. While it’s understandable that Nate still feels insecure over his position on the team after spending so many years as the unacknowledged kit man, no one can deny the amount of attention and patience Ted has had with him. However, maybe this switch to the dark side isn’t necessarily a surprise; after all, Nate’s always been especially protective of the little authority he held. This is shown right off the bat in the pilot episode when he yells at Ted and Beard (Branden Hunt, We’re The Millers) to get off the grass before he realized they were his new bosses. Maybe this was inevitable. In a time jump at the end of the finale, Nate is shown coaching a new team led by him and Rupert (Rebecca’s cheating ex-husband).
Coming full circle to someone who seems to always have the purest intentions and smallest care for other’s opinions, Sam decides to stay with Richmond after their tied game that ended them up back in the Premiere League. In a time jump, he reconnects with his Nigerian roots by opening up a Nigerian restaurant in London, and it finally seems that he’s begun to do things for himself rather than for Rebecca’s attention. While Rebecca and Sam clearly share a spark and it was saddening to not see it go anywhere just yet, it was nice to see the latter finally thrive, as his career is just beginning and his potential is just being noticed. However, something says this isn’t the end for this duo.
Speaking of characters who never disappoint, Keeley and Roy went their separate ways in the finale – not that they broke up, just that they were mature enough to recognize their separate paths and follow them. While Keeley’s career was just beginning, Roy’s was coming to a close, and he deserves a break for all his years spent on the pitch. The finale left Keeley starting her new job at her PR firm, and Roy taking a six-week-long vacation. However, their love is still there, and will be there when Roy returns (barring any other proclamations of love from Jamie).
During the finale, Ted is criticized by newscasters and football fans for his inability to coach Richmond with his anxiety disorder. This leads to Ted breaking the stigma of anxiety within the sports industry, a very on-brand reaction for him. Squashing the tension he dealt with this season, Ted finally took charge of his life, publicly confronting the dormant feelings of his father which ultimately formed her he became.
Season two brought with it more negativity than in the first season. But isn’t that more realistic anyways? Ted was dragged through more than anyone would care to mention, Rebecca was forced to deal with the death of a loved one, Sam began and ended a relationship that perhaps meant just as much to him as football, and alienated a powerful billionaire, Beard began, ended, and began again a toxic relationship, and Roy had to admit to himself which career path was right for him. The complexities of the feelings experienced by all these characters made for a more intriguing season with interesting and real ideas.
Rating: 10/10