In Ted Lasso season 3 episode 3, “4-5-1,” Rebecca finally gives in to her mother’s suggestions that she see her psychic, Tish. Rebecca is understandably skeptical, and she doesn’t hide it, responding to Tish’s every move with snark or deflection. Still, though, after Tish begins the session in earnest, she manages to give Rebecca three strange predictions—and a potential bombshell.
First, Tish predicts, Rebecca will find a green matchbook. Tish claims to see it in Rebecca’s hands, claiming that it’s “very special.” Next, Tish predicts that the phrase “shite in nining armor” will come up somehow. Then, Tish claims to see thunder and lightning, with Rebecca drenched and upside down. However, she assures Rebecca that she’ll be safe. Finally, as Rebecca gets fed up with Tish’s seeming nonsense and starts to leave, Tish drops a bombshell: Rebecca is going to have a family and become a mother. That prediction is too much for Rebecca, though, who calls Tish dangerous and cruel.
So, now that season 3 has ended, how did Tish’s predictions stack up?
Rebecca gets the green matchbook
In season 2, Rebecca breaks up with Richmond player Sam Obisanya because she’s afraid of being hurt. It’s one of the toughest developments in the season, because Sam is such a sweetheart. He’s thoroughly decent and good (not to mention fine as hell), so he seems like a perfect antidote to Rupert’s toxicity. However, Rebecca has emotional baggage to sort out before she feels ready to commit to someone—and besides, her being Sam’s boss raises some ethical issues.
That doesn’t mean she’s over him, though. During the soft launch of his new restaurant, Rebecca looks at him longingly as he chats with his head chef, whom he clearly sees fondly—and perhaps romantically. Anyone can tell that Rebecca doesn’t feel great about her decision to break up with him.
Then, Sam’s chef gives him a box of matchbooks, which he passes around to all the guests. Surprise, surprise: they’re green, and Rebecca is left holding a very special green matchbook.
A shite in nining armor
In episode 5, “Signs,” Rebecca gets another omen that things will work out for her: as she’s talking to a couple about how they met, one of them calls the other her “shite in nining armor” instead of “knight in shining armor.” It’s the second sign, come to pass!
What’s especially significant about “Signs” is that at the end of the episode, Rebecca seems to find out from her doctor that she can no longer have a baby biologically. That means that the series is setting her up to become a mother in some other way.
Upside down, drenched—and not with Sam
In episode 6, “Sunflowers,” Rebecca is standing on a bridge in Amsterdam. A man in a houseboat calls to her, trying to warn her that she’s in the middle of the bike path, but then she jumps out of the way of a bicycle, loses her balance, and topples into the water. Boom, there it is: she flips upside down as she falls, and ends up drenched.
Although the “thunder and lightning” portion of the prediction hasn’t happened yet, we do see one more clue in the guy’s houseboat: a child’s bedroom. The man (whose character doesn’t have a name yet) also accidentally kisses Rebecca’s ankle after he bandages it, which he no doubt does when his kid has a booboo. It’s obvious that if Rebecca gets with this guy, she’ll become a stepmom.
Now Ted has a green matchbook!?
In “We’ll Never Have Paris,” Ted pulls out a second green matchbook. What could it mean?
Well, remember that Sam gave one to literally every single member of AFC Richmond, so of course Ted has one. It’s interesting that the show calls our attention to it, though. Does “We’ll Never Have Paris” set Rebecca up with Ted!? That’d be pure chaos!
Who does Rebecca end up with in Ted Lasso?
In the series finale, Rebecca seems to end up alone at first. As she sees Ted off at the airport, she says she wishes people didn’t see her as the “matriarch” of AFC Richmond. Ted jokes that the title is better than “soccer mom.” Is she a purely metaphorical mother? What a disappointment.
However, after Rebecca leaves the airport, she runs into the guy she met in Amsterdam, along with his daughter. It turns out he’s a pilot, and Rebecca finally tells him her name.
So, there you have it: Rebecca seems to end up with the Dutch guy. The green matchbooks were a complete red (green?) herring. Thunder and lightning never came up at all, unless you see them as a metaphor for Rebecca’s connection with Houseboat Hottie. All the shippers matching Rebecca with Ted or Sam were wrong. It was Dutch guy.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
