‘Ted Lasso’ Recap – ‘Pilot’, ‘Biscuits’ & ‘Trent Crimm: The Independent’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Ted Lasso’.
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Each and every one of us out there, are huge fans of the underdog story and understandably so. Because there is something supremely satisfying about settling in to enjoy a tale about a struggling individual that uses their passion and desire to overcome the odds and do something incredible in this world, and we love these stories, simply because they outright inspire us. Because if someone facing those kinds of odds can make the impossible happen by way of an iron constitution and an endless will, then we can handle the various problems we encounter in our lives with little to no problems at all, if we take a page from their playbook.
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If anything, these particular stories serve as the perfect escape, since we are fully aware of the fact that the underdog story in real life is a rarity. For most employers’ demand years of experience, despite an applicant’s gift in regard to that field, and raw athletes that try and pull a ‘Rudy’ get surprised when they take the field. Leaving one to wonder how the underdog story would actually play out in real life if underdogs were given a genuine chance. Thankfully, we have fiction to examine these notions for us and it just so happens that Actor Jason Sudeikis and Writer Bill Lawrence, were pondering upon this same concept and decided to explore what a realistic underdog story might look like by way of their new series on AppleTV+ and well, what these gentlemen have assembled concept wise in Ted Lasso, makes it a special series.   

For starters this is a tale that outright creates the perfect underdog/fish out of water scenario. For when we meet Ted Lasso in the ‘Pilot’ episode, he’s being tasked with the impossible. For the soccer team, AFC Richmond, which has languished in mediocrity for years now, has a new owner. And in order to make a splash, Ms. Rebecca Welton has opted to hire Ted, who has never coached a game of soccer in this life, to lead this team and well… it doesn’t get more underdog than that. Because all Ted knows is the American way of life and American football and being a part of something this unique is a struggle for Ted. Because no one believes that Ted is anything beyond a gimmick, and that is a pretty solid setup for a story for certain, one that quite frankly, lacks any sense of realism at first glance.

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But it doesn’t take long for us to learn that Rebecca is planning to run the team into the ground in order to get back at her cheating ex-husband, and the happy go lucky, and somewhat naïve Ted seems like the perfect guy to make that happen. And that is quite realistic since people are apt to use others in their own respective revenge schemes. But the true wonder of this super-sized series premiere, is that as ‘Biscuits’ and ‘Ted Crimm: The Independent’ unfold before our eyes, we begin to see how this brilliant story is going to come together. Because Ted is more than meets the eye. For he can read people quite well, and he believes that they can be the best version of themselves more often than not, and his methods begin to warm people over minute by minute. Meaning that Rebecca’s plans might fail in the end, if Ted continues to win over the town and his team with his charm and outright honesty.  

Which means that it is the characters that sell this story and truly, Ted Lasso is quite the unique character. Because he is the anthesis of what we see on television these days. He’s not flawed or haunted and tortured by something horrible from his past. In fact, the only skeleton in his closet is that he took this gig in the hopes of giving his wife the space she is asking for. Because he’s just a good guy through and through, one who genuinely believes that paying it forward is the key to making the world a better place and that is just refreshing to say the least and Ted is joined by some equally as dynamic characters as well. For the players on this team are more than mere meatheads designed to push the plot along. They have hopes and dreams for the future of the team and it is just wonderful to see a comedy hit the airwaves that features this kind of depth and realism. 

But make no mistake about it, this is a comedy through and through and the jokes in this tale are quite the hilarious treat. Because they arrive in a dead pan and straight forward manner that honestly catches you off guard, allowing for a hearty and deep laugh to ensue and really in the end, this is just a delightful new series. Because this really this an uplifting underdog story, since you absolutely want to see this man find a way to succeed and reach this team. Because he’s a good man through and through and he engenders joy and hope in everyone he encounters and that’s the kind of story that we need right now. And it should be wonderful to watch Ted continue to spread good everywhere he goes as the season rolls along, because it just might turn this ailing franchise around. Until next time.  

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