Ted Lasso lets its characters breathe and grow, and throughout its time on Apple TV+, we’ve seen how each deals with hard situations they find themselves in. One of the characters that has really had to come to terms with his mental health has been Ted himself, and it has been, for the most part, beautifully explored through Ted’s conversations with his therapist, Dr. Sharon Fieldstone.
Jason Sudeikis plays Ted in such a way that the cracks in his cheery façade make it so when Ted is upset about something, he’s so obvious about it, which is why season 3 episode 3, titled “4-5-1,” left me with a feeling of upset for Ted and his so called friends who are not checking in on him—especially when he needs it the most. It’s odd for the show that usually has Ted’s team noticing when something is going on with him.
Throughout the entire series, Ted has struggled with his own positivity and the reality of his mental health. We started to see the cracks in the end of season 1, when he had a panic attack at the team’s karaoke night, and now he’s both in therapy for his needs and also still not talking to those around him about what is going on. And it is proving to be a problem for him.
But also, why are his friends not seeing that he’s not doing well?! Not Beard (Brendan Hunt) or Roy (Brett Goldstein) and especially not any of his players. So what exactly is going to happen with Ted and his spiral since everyone seems to be too focused on their own issues to help him?
He’s visibly not okay
At the start of the episode, Ted is in a happy mood, ready to call his son to wish him luck on his own soccer game in the United States. But because he forgot his cell phone, he calls the landline at his own house to try to get to Henry. Who answers, though, is his former couples therapist, who is clearly dating Ted’s ex-wife. It’s a brief moment where she fumbles the situation, and it breaks Ted for the foreseeable future.
As we’re going through games, with Zava winning them time and time again for AFC Richmond, Ted is barely registering the success the team is having because he’s too bogged down by the knowledge that his wife has moved on with someone who was meant to be helping them. And no one around him seems to care or recognize that Ted isn’t doing great, and he’s not exactly hiding it, either! He’s twitching and despondent, but everyone around him is just so into their own stuff that they’re ignoring what’s happening with Ted.
I hope that this is just a one-time event and we see Ted’s support system recognizing that he’s not okay in the next episode, but it really is shocking to see just how everyone seems to miss Ted crumbling.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
