Saw the new images of Ted Lasso season 4 and I have to say I'm curious as to where they are going with this.
See, I view Ted Lasso as a character study about the role fathers play in a child's life.
Ted himself is an incredibly detailed character whose neurosis stems from people pleasing and NEVER QUITTING because he carries deep trauma from his father's suicide. Hating him for quitting on the family and blaming himself for not making him feel loved and appreciated (which feeds into the Nate story-arch in seasons 2 and 3) - between the seeds being planted in the darts scene of season 1, the confession after losing to Man City at Wembley in season 2 and the funeral therapy in season 3; the show took careful time to let Ted become a rich and nuanced character informed by his relationship to a man who he perceives as having quit on him and his mother.
...we... appreciate... that being explored in as much depth as it was in the show.
The goal of Ted's character is to be a father to his own child and return to Kansas (season 3 filled with Wizard of Oz allegories to fuel this) so he can be the father he needs to be for his son; once again informed by his own trauma.
But every character is written in relationship to their fathers. From Sam's father being his moral compass to Jamie's asshole drunk dad (who checks himself into rehab at the end of the show) to the conversation about Ted being Roy's father figure, Nate's demanding father breeding self-loathing in him, Rebecca's father cheating on her mother and leaving her with bitter anger that bled into her relationship to the men in her life...
Ted Lasso was a show that had a thematic core that resonated deeply through the entire show and told a clear and well paced narrative about a man being a father to a group of dysfunctional people with a career in football... at the cost of being a father to his own son.
Season 4 is going to be about an all women team and I'm curious as to where they are going to go. The show was completely tied up and despite season 3's ending clearly making the point that the show's title should never have been Ted Lasso as AFC Richmond are the focus, the show is still called Ted Lasso.
I really want to see a feminine version of what we already had, but it can't be in the same framework. It would have needed to have been a spinoff.
I've got faith. The show has earned that of me. I'm just curious as to where it is going to go. It's weird that my biggest misgivings about a continuation of Ted Lasso is the presence of Ted Lasso.
