Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 10, “Being Alive” Spoilers Ahead
At the beginning of the season, I told myself I wouldn’t try to guess if this was a definitive end or not. But in more ways than one, “Being Alive” feels like it’s closing a big chapter for Ted Lasso. If the Season 3 finale hinted at the idea of Trent Crimm changing the title of his book because it wasn’t solely about the titular character, then now would be a good time for the show to potentially pivot if there’s a fifth season. All of that is up in the air, but I’m curious to see where it goes.
“Being Alive” starts with a heartbreaking celebration of life, takes us through a sold-out Nelson Road stadium, and also delivers a string of events that alter the show’s trajectory. It’s a good episode in some ways, yet simultaneously a little confusing in others.
The Diamond Dogs (+Cat) Come Together in the Ted Lasso Season 4 Finale
From the moment we stepped back into the show, it was clear that Alice Chilton was the best thing to happen to us. Tanya Reynolds is outstanding in the role, and everything we see from her gives the character an abundance of layers to analyze and appreciate. She feels like the kind of person who’s always been here, and that’s not easy to always say about new characters when we’ve known the others for three years. There’s also the detail that her growth throughout the season has been incredible, cohesive, and rewarding.
As a result, bringing in the Diamond Dogs again—and thankfully also featuring Nick Mohammed’s return as Nate—makes the scene one of the best in the entire season. It’s especially lovely because Alice’s agency as a woman and her place in this club feels deeply respected. It’s a clear sign that she belongs here and has from the very beginning. Not to mention that catching up with these characters in a finale like this is everything most fans have been hoping for since the announced return.
Don’t Disappear When You Feel Inadequate
If there’s one character that I’ve always felt I understood the best, it’s always been Roy Kent. His quiet moments and loud ones. Every confession. Every facial expression. Every grunt, too. So it’s not shocking to me that my favorite moment in the Ted Lasso Season 4 finale is Alice’s advice to him about not disappearing when he feels inadequate because we know it’s something he’d do. He’d try to disappear. He’d be a shell himself. Roy Kent knows what it’s like to feel inadequate, and in this moment, his fears of whether he’d be a good father or not are completely understandable.
Pair the authentic emotions with an incredible performance from Brett Goldstein, and we get something really remarkable in a moment that’s completely fleshed out. It’s also an arc that makes me wonder how much of Roy we’ll see in the future. Chelsea and Richmond aren’t far from each other, but unless we’re getting domestic scenes of him and Keeley at home, when would the opportunity arise for us to see him again? I certainly hope I’m wrong, though, and we can get two separate arcs because everything about his journey has been one of the strongest arcs throughout the show’s history.
Keeley Jones Sells Out Nelson Road
I can’t even write these words without tears pricking my eyes from sheer joy and it’s entirely because of Juno Temple’s breathtaking performance in the locker room. The look on her face as she processes the magnitude of what she’s done feels so right, it’s deeply evocative. Pair it with Roy walking out with her once she gets too excited and screams, and we have something genuinely perfect on screens. It’s a scene that made me weep, if I’m being perfectly honest.
Speaking of which, I still wish we had more time with Keeley and Roy and everything with their baby: more screen time and just more development in general. Keeley’s PR journey with the women’s team and everything she’s done to get them to this moment has been nothing short of exceptional. It’s easily the best part of her character journey, and I’m slightly nervous we won’t be seeing her again when the show’s renewed for a fifth season. At the same time, her arc still feels like it’s only the beginning, so I hope the series will find a way to involve her as much as they possibly can.
What Comes Next for Everyone After Season 4, Episode 10?
Few things make me as sad as the fact that we had such a cartoonish villain like Zelda and everything with her character took away from other characters. She might’ve been compelling to a degree, but in truth, so much of her arc took away from us getting to know the new players. It forced Rebecca and Higgins into their own isolated plot, which hindered us from spending more time with them in a different way.
Speaking of getting to know new characters better. We still know so little about Matthijs, and for those of us who are big fans of Rebecca, it feels wrong that we can’t really gauge whether he’s worthy of being her husband. It’s not enough to tell us that things are lovely between them if we aren’t seeing it. It’s one thing for Jane and Beard’s relationship to have solely been in the background because we knew she was toxic for him, but the show doesn’t seem to be telling us that Matthijs isn’t fit for Rebecca. In fact, it wants us to believe the opposite, but it’s only ever told us arbitrary things about him as opposed to showing us all the ways in which he’s the best suited for her. And that hinders someone like me from being excited over a proposal. It leaves me more confused and uncertain than anything because I want to know exactly who my favorite character will be with forever.
Similarly, in the fictional world of Ted Lasso, I could see how Baz, Jeremy, and Paul might be responsible enough to take over the pub. But it’s hard to separate fiction from reality because I just don’t know in what world they’d be fit to run an entire pub. It makes sense with how much they love Mae and how she loved them back, but it’s a concluding moment that I also wish we got more of, especially because of how significant Mae was. (And speaking of Mae, I still haven’t fully processed that she’s actually passed.)
What feels organic, however, is Ted finally having an open conversation with Henry and sharing the truth about how his dad really died. With Henry being in London, we’ve gotten so little of him that it’s high time this scene takes place, even if it started with a moment that wasn’t the entire truth. This, in many ways, feels like quintessential Ted Lasso, because we all know how hard it is for him to talk about his dad.
This growth feels huge for Ted, and as a result, so does his decision to step down from the manager position. Because really, Alice deserves the position in every way. She’s proven it, time and again, just how much she cares about the team, and it’s not that Ted doesn’t, but Alice understands them best in a way Ted wouldn’t be able to.
All these moments, paired together like a tapestry, make the Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 10, “Being Alive,” feel like a final chapter to a specific book. Mae’s heartbreaking death last week in “Mae Rides the Bus” felt like that kind of a penultimate, too. So whether the show changes its time, or we get a spin-off of sorts (because I can’t see this as the end of it all), I’m eager to see how it pivots the attention to a larger Richmond-centered story. (All of this is also speculation, but still.)
Ted Talks and Further Thoughts
- I need to write a disclaimer that I wrote this review on the plane, so it’s shorter than my usual reviews, and it’s also an episode I didn’t have much time to sit with, so there might be some more thoughts later and maybe some scene breakdowns.
- Rebecca yelling at Roy was sending me!!
- Seeing the AFC Richmond boys back healed something in me.
- It’s so lovely to know that Nate and Jade made it. It’s the little things, it really is.
- Henry got me the most when talking about Mae.
- Also, the twins singing at the celebration made me weep.
- Brandi Carlisle singing the opening theme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perfection on all fronts.
- I really wish we had seen the women’s last game.
Now streaming on Apple TV: What are your thoughts on Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 10, “Being Alive?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Apple TV