Warning: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED EPISODE 4 OF TED LASSO SEASON 3.
Ready?
Ok.
Welcome to our Ted Lasso Power Rankings! Each week of the 12-episode season, For The Win will chat about the latest episode to see who is thriving and who is straight up not having a good time in the Ted Lasso universe. Let’s dig into it.
“It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe.”
Those were the Bob Dylan lyrics that fans heard during the end credits as the latest episode of Ted Lasso paid tribute to the late journalist Grant Wahl. It is a perfectly fitting way to memorialize Wahl, whose unexpected death in December shook the sports world.
Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm while covering the World Cup in Qatar.
Ted Lasso co-creator Brendan Hunt said he and the showrunners felt obligated to “carry on the train of salutes to his memory” during the new season.
❤️ thank you, @TedLasso. pic.twitter.com/7jlHZSVtJf
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) April 5, 2023
But it wasn’t actually just a tribute during the end credits. In fact, midway through the episode, there is actually an Easter egg that you may have missed if you weren’t watching closely.
Coach Beard was holding a copy of Wahl’s book. Here is how it looked:
Beyond his contributions to the game of soccer, Wahl was actually directly affiliated with this show. Hunt says that the writer’s room reached out to Wahl to ask about his book The Beckham Experiment.
They hoped to hear what it was like for Wahl to write a book while embedded within a team with a new superstar on the roster so that they could apply it to their characters Trent Crimm and Zava (via Rich Eisen Show):
“Grant Wahl came back with paragraphs of answers within two days. He was incredibly generous with his experiences and it was really, really great and pretty helpful. We have a little nod to him coming up in this next episode. This was when he was still with us. We did not know what was going to come to pass.”
Hunt and Jason Sudeikis also appeared on Wahl’s podcast; it was the second-most downloaded episode he ever had.
Wahl later visited the Ted Lasso set in England and wrote about the experience on his Substack.
“The show brought a lightness that I didn’t realize how much I needed. It was a little like the effect the show itself had on me when I started watching during the pandemic.”
The show continues to bring light to Wahl’s loved ones. Wahl’s wife, Dr. Céline Gounder, tweeted that the tributes in this episode “means so much” to her and her family.
REVIEW: Ted Lasso’s third season feels like the end — now we have to trust them to stick the landing
Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+Here is what else is happening:
9
Rupert Mannion
Despite a victory against his former club, it’s still easy to find Rupert Mannion despicable. His ex-wife, Rebbeca Welton, catches him kissing his assistant — even though he has a new partner and a young child.
8
Nathan Shelley
It really didn’t matter that West Ham actually won the match against AFC Richmond. This was still an embarrassing all-around episode from Nathan Shelley.
The coach is a fame-obsessed loser who looked pathetic when he was caught on film trying to sabotage his former club, and he looked even worse during his attempt to flirt/get recognized while at lunch.
nate attempting to grab the believe sign had me dying 😭 #tedlasso pic.twitter.com/7QsLcHNycr
— elena | ted lasso spoilers (@sudeiking) April 5, 2023
7
Zava
Zava’s whole shtick only works if the club is winning. Otherwise, he just looks like a jerk if he is going to unapologetically mispronounce the names of his teammates.
Quotes like “Dream big, you may never wake up” just start to sound dumb (and not profound) if you’re not on a winning streak.
sudsy literally putting his whole life in ted lasso and no one's talking about it pic.twitter.com/AyeUrMpqaB
— orsi (@rodrisaep) April 5, 2023
6
Keeley Jones
Keeley’s plan to work with her old friend, Shandy, backfires disastrously when the nepotism hire changes the tagline of the Bantr dating to something that nobody at the company would have ever approved.
5
Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt
It is absolutely wonderful watching the way their relationship has evolved from mortal enemies to one-on-one training sessions. I’m a bit weary of the fact that Keeley clearly still has feelings for Jamie even though Roy is her more recent ex-boyfriend, though.
4
Jack Danvers
We have a new character in the show and she is POWERFUL, folks. Jack (whose name is not short for anything!) is the venture capitalist who funds Keeley’s company. This does not feel like the last we will see of her.
3
Trent Crimm
Now that we know that Trent’s book is at least partially influenced by Wahl’s book about David Beckham’s season with the L.A. Galaxy, I think we can get even more excited about how this story will turn out when it is done.
2
Rebecca Welton
I know that Rebecca really wanted that win against West Ham. But what she actually got was even better: She got to tell her ex-husband, Rupert, that his new wife (Bex) and young daughter both deserve better than him. It was so incredibly powerful.
She also got even closer to Ted, which is starting to feel significant.
1
Ted Lasso
This was the strongest episode of the season for Ted Lasso (who has a perfect rating as a passenger on Uber) as an individual who is capable of change.
Rather than drinking away his problems, Ted opts to actually confront them by calling his ex-wife Michelle and articulating exactly why he is hurt by her new relationship. But he is also very understanding of her emotions, which should help them as they continue to raise a child together.
Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+A blink and you’ll miss it few seconds of tonight’s episode, but wow what a moment. So so so important for Ted’s growth. I’ve got alcoholism in my family and… yeah, this was a big one #tedlasso pic.twitter.com/kN59pAk1BH
— alyssa ⭐️ (spoilers, babes) (@theolasso) April 5, 2023
We occasionally recommend interesting products, services, and gaming opportunities. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. FTW operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
