Ted Lasso decides to (thankfully) focus on the Lady Greyhounds

At least one advantage Ted Lasso‘s fourth season has is that, unlike season one, it can flesh out individual players and their interpersonal relationships from the start to get us invested in them. It’s not like the bond between the AFC Richmond dudes didn’t evolve with Ted’s involvement and the Lasso Way. But by the time we met Jamie and Roy, for example, their rivalry was already in full swing. Ted had to deal with their contention to fix the problem and to turn Jamie from a smug bully into a valuable team player. Now, I’m most intrigued to see how the Lady Greyhounds’ latest diamonds in the rough fit in with everybody else, and how Ted and Alice will presumably mold them all into a winning team. 

After all, a yardstick for any successful underdog sports story is to make us actually, um, believe that the personal and professional stakes are higher than ever. For the latter, Ted Lasso is trying to mirror real-life issues faced by women athletes and shines a light on the preconceived societal bias against them. Through that lens, we can already see why success matters so much to the Lady Greyhounds and those who’ve championed them so far, whether it’s their coaches, Rebecca, Keeley, Higgins, fans like Mae, or even sponsors who initially threaten to back out before Rebecca convinces them to provide the cash. Frankly, “you people bankroll wars” should’ve been the satisfactory end to her spiel, but she also reminds the Pinter & Sons CEO that, like sports, life is a series of chances. You simply have to make that big bet if you want to win, just like she did by encouraging Keeley and not backing out of the Lady Greyhounds. 

Crucially, Rebecca also clarifies that supporting this team won’t just let young girls see more professional women athletes on the field or on their screens—it’ll also make it so that little boys grow up in a world where they expect to see professional women athletes on the field or on their screens. Preachy as it may be, Ted Lasso at least hammers on the right points in “Richmond’s Got Talent,” as when Roy’s niece Phoebe’s pointedly reminds us “Both teams are Richmond.” After a disastrous start to the season and a surprisingly solid second outing, it’s a relief that episode three lands with its heart in the right place. It’s also nice to spend time with some of the actual talent soccer talent like Lizzie (Faye Marsay), Gemma (Abbie Hern), and Shannon (Shannon Hayes). We don’t just see the Lady Greyhounds display their skills or win the match against Hayes & Yeading. We get a nice glimpse at their personal journeys as well. So how can we not room for them after this hour? (Shannon, I just know you won’t let us down.) 

Take Gemma, who is pulling double duty as the new striker and as a law school student. Whatever history she has with assistant coach Alice is intriguing, but not as much as how she’ll manage to pull off both her career goals. If the way she played in that friendly game proves anything, though, it’s that she’s got what it takes. It also applies to Lizzie, who impresses everyone during the open tryouts and quickly gets hired as the Lady Greyhounds’ centre back. Still, all it takes is a couple of conversations with her young son, whom she brings with her because she couldn’t find a babysitter, to realize that Lizzie is adding more to her plate as a single mom because she’s passionate about the sport. She doesn’t want soccer to be a distant dream and, in her own way, she’s setting an example for her kid (like Beard’s mom did for him!).