‘Ted Lasso’ Recap: ‘For the Children’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 104 of ‘Ted Lasso’.
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When one thinks of a sports series or sports-themed comedy, certain expectations come to mind. For starters, you expect heavy doses of whatever sport said series revolves around. After all, that’s the focal point and that’s what matters most, so it should be everywhere. Plus we expect the series to have a lot of heart, the kind that shows us what drives the players and the coaches to be at their absolute best on and off the field and if by chance they’re struggling in some particular arena in life, their teammates will likely lift them up so that the team can accomplish wonders when the time is right. Which are pretty standard elements to a supremely standard formula and well, it all works because audiences eat this up time and time again. 

Which is why the AppleTV+ series, Ted Lasso, continues to impress as its inaugural season rolls along. Because sports shows rarely dive into things that every day folks deal with, such as relationship related issues or jealousy or feelings in general. But those are elements that this series is unafraid to explore, and for proof of that… well then look no further than this week’s episode. Because ‘For the Children’ took us away from the stadium and the soccer being played on the field, in order to explore the ‘forbidden’ elements we just briefly discussed. Which made this tale supremely unique and supremely special as well, since it allowed for us to really get to know some of the side characters and what makes them tick, all while reminding us how wonderful and pure Ted Lasso is as a person, and it accomplished all of this; by bringing forth some interesting conflicts at a charity gala, hosted by Rebecca. 

One of those conflicts, involved two of the star players on the team. Because Jamie and Roy were once again at each other’s throats and it was dividing the team and Ted saw this lovely dinner as the perfect opportunity to get these men to finally hash out their differences. Something they both scoffed at when Ted presented this possibility to them. But since Ted seemingly has a sixth sense for these kinds of things, eventually they realized that he was right, and that they needed to settle their differences after all, and what made this part of the story so unique is the sheer fact that you just don’t see this on television all that often, especially sports shows. Because the thought of two tough-as-nails, machismo dudes talking out their feelings and being honest with one another instead of just going to blows is simply unheard of, and it was quite satisfying to see these gents finally bury the hatchet in a somewhat classy manner.

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But truly the biggest surprise in this tale, is that took the time to explore the downside that sometimes accompanies romantic relationships. Something that was mostly handled by way of Rebecca and Keeley in this tale. For they both had to deal with some serious problems in regard to love, such as the fact that Keeley finally decided that dating Jamie wasn’t worth the trouble and the heartbreak that it brought into her life and that maybe it was high time for her to seek out a mature man that would treat her right. And poor Rebecca, well her ex-husband decided to do whatever he could to make her life difficult at this charity event, since he showed up in order to make her feel small and uncomfortable and he even worked behind the scenes to cancel the musical guest, all to remind her that he was in charge. But while that was indeed distressing to watch, what made this segment of the story so compelling, is that Rebecca and Keeley handled their respective problems with grace and bravery. 
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Because at no point did Rebecca give Rupert the satisfaction of appearing weak in the slightest and with Ted’s help and guidance and kindness, the event was still a smashing success. And of course, it was equally as wonderful to see Keeley stand her ground and know her worth for a change and all of these elements made for one incredible episode. One that leaves the audience rooting for these characters like never before. Because now that you see what Rebecca is up against, you simply hope that she will get the chance to prove Rupert wrong by making AFC Richmond a stunning success and of course, you also hope that Keeley gets what she wants and needs, and that Roy can finally find some peace in the locker room and success on the field. If anything, the only person you’re not rooting for at this point is Jamie, because he’s an ass. 

But outside of that, this show just continues to accomplish the outright impossible. For this really is a unique and endearing sports comedy. One that is clearly weaving together a downright incredible story, one that is likely focused on slowly bringing everyone in the club together as a family. Because when that happens on a sports team, everyone is quickly united toward the cause and will do whatever it takes to win, and slowly but surely… this squad is coming together. And that will make the highs all the more wonderful, and the lows all the more painful. But most important of all, it will make every episode of this series meaningful and special and that really is quite the feat for certain. Since sports shows are usually designed to be popcorn entertainment, not heartfelt stories that invest us and leave us hungry for more. But this series is quickly becoming the latter and that is going to make the wait for next week’s episode, a difficult one for certain. Until next time.

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