‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 Worked In the End

Ted Lasso season 4 has come to an end and with it is the realization that it was really good. Or at least, surprisingly so after a bit of a slow middle. The surprise fourth season to the hit Apple TV series puts Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) back at Richmond. This time, coaching the AFC Richmond Lady Greyhounds to victory.

For many fans of Ted Lasso, the third season felt like a bit of a let down. There was a lot left up in the air, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) broke up, and Ted moved back to America leaving his best friend and team behind. It meant that the series ended with everyone moving on but fans were still there.

So the announcement that a season 4 was in production meant a lot of fans had a second chance with Ted and the gang. While most of the fourth season felt like it was just an okay journey, the ending of the season stuck the landing in such a beautifully poignant way that it really carried the parts of season 4 that were less than stellar. And it all had to do with Mae.

Mae (Annette Badland) was the heart of the Crown and Anchor pub. She loved Richmond and the team and so when she got to ride with the girls to their game and be a member of AFC Richmond, it was beautiful to see. It was the last thing Mae did with her life and as Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) says, Mae died doing what she loved. That tone carried through the finale and led to a great ending point for the season, one that made me want more of Ted Lasso, unlike the finale of season 3.

For Mae

When Ted Lasso remembers its heart, that is when the show is the best. That tends to be with the fans of Richmond or the heart-to-heart moments that Ted has with people around them. Allowing Mae to be the focal point of the last two episodes of the season gave Ted Lasso season 4 its heart.

She always was a sounding board for Ted, his son Henry (Grant Feely) worked for her and loved her, and she was a staple of Richmond. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy but it did fix the show’s problem of just reworking the same storylines. Instead, Mae and the mystery of who was buying up Richmond stocks gave the season an added push that all came to a head in the final episode.

Yes, it had its cheesy moments. Like when Nate the Great (Nick Mohammed) returned for a moment and everyone was okay with him again. But even that was sweet because Alice got to be a part of the Diamond Dogs (as a Cat People). All this makes the final moments of Ted Lasso so much more than all of season 3. And it just makes me want to see more of the Lady Greyhounds and what they have to offer us.