Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 7, “Yes & Baby,” puts Ted’s culture of believing in believe to the test with the women’s team. This episode, written by Jane Becker & Bill Wrubel and directed by Erica Dunton, finally makes noticeable progress with characters and narratives, which is a real relief with three episodes left in the season. Satisfyingly, some scenes in “Yes & Baby” match Season 1’s tone. That proves there are still sparks in this season that capture the show’s magic.
Even so, it mostly feels like Ted Lasso Season 4 tells more than it ever shows. In “Yes & Baby,” this is most noticeable in the sheer number of mentions of “second division women’s football.” The episode (the season, too) spends a fraction of a fraction of its runtime on what that really means for the club and what it looks like for the people in and around it. Slowing down and doing so may mean that Ted Lasso has to let go of the past to meet the new characters – the ones participating in second division women’s football – in the present.
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Zelda Gets Closer to the Club and Rebecca
“Yes & Baby” quickly runs into a problem with Derrick Tarp, the inciting incident of Rebecca’s storyline. His direct ties to the men’s team highlight Ted Lasso’s confusion about how best to navigate their existence. It’s complicated. In theory, the show should have introduced this character before now, given Dani and Roy’s presence in previous seasons. So, Derrick arriving now feels like Ted Lasso trying out ways to keep the men’s team in the show’s universe somehow. There is likely no perfect balance between acknowledging the men and keeping the focus on the women. Regardless, Derrick also makes Rebecca’s main problem in this episode one that directly pertains to the men’s team.
As the club’s owner, she will run into those. It’d be strange if she didn’t. It’s just that, after so little interaction with the women’s team this season, it would also be nice to see her deal with those players and problems. “Yes & Baby” continues to prove that Zelda has intentions for the women’s team. Therefore, Derrick works best in Zelda’s attempt to build good faith with Rebecca. However, Zelda is also incredibly straightforward in backhanded compliments and punches down towards Rebecca. Given Rebecca’s persistence in resisting Zelda until now, it is a bit odd that she doesn’t push back more with her now. Then again, Ted Lasso Season 4 is building something, and maybe the show needs Rebecca to ask fewer questions for Zelda to be productive–or destructive.
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Roy Learns a Truth He’s Always Known
Ted Lasso is in a tough place with Roy and Keeley. Erin knows that Roy is in love with Keeley; it is a bit surprising to see her with him in “Yes & Baby.” Erin saying, “I can fix your knee, but I can’t fix your heart. And I have this hunch that if I stick around here any longer, you’re gonna end up breaking mine,” is fantastic insight into her character. It would land better if Ted Lasso showed a second of their relationship. Even Roy calling Erin a captain falls flat – the show has barely gotten to know her. Ted Lasso Season 4 doesn’t make it believable that they “see” each other like they think they do. Erin is mainly there to tell Roy his feelings – the same ones that he has been aware of since the beginning.
In turn, “Yes & Baby” muddies the purpose of this relationship and the time that it takes up in the season. Roy ends up in the same spot emotionally. So, the sentiment of the break-up isn’t entirely earned, and it also just becomes frustrating for Roy. It signals how badly he needs people in his life, like the men’s team, his family, the Diamond Dogs – or a therapist, whom he seemingly saw once at the end of Season 3 and never again. This whole relationship could have been Roy communicating with the people in his life. Because, yes, his knee is fixed, but Roy still has scars on his heart – ones Brett Goldstein brings to the surface so well – that Ted Lasso Season 4 could have tended to before now.
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Ted Takes a Leap of Faith for Himself
Ted’s best work in “Yes & Baby” comes in the sequence where he and Keeley set up his bantr profile. It’s laugh-out-loud funny; every answer is perfectly in character. This scene has the energy of the show’s early days, and it’s delightful. It’s also just a joy to see Ted and Keeley interact – she was his first friend in London, after all. It’s also important to see because of how bizarrely separated Keeley (and Rebecca) have been from Ted so far this season.
Moreover, this sequence showcases how essential it is to show the impact that Ted has on the people in his life. It matters for Keeley to hear that someone knows her to be “hopeful, resilient, and kind.” In contrast to Roy, it’s nice to see Ted realize that he’s lovable. After just a few episodes of build-up, Ted Lasso Season 4 earns Ted asking out the stage manager. It’s also evident that this storyline is far from over – he still doesn’t know her name.
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Does the Women’s Team Believe?
The episode’s opening is exciting because it is such a relief after five episodes with the team. Unfortunately, that’s where the insight into the players’ inner lives stops – with vignettes. They mainly serve as a setup to the team’s (valid) objections to the BELIEVE sign. Their frustrations with the message’s simplicity would land even better if the season explored their individual lives and struggles more. The only character’s life that feels fairly established is Gemma’s with law school. Ted Lasso is still – and finally – scratching the surface with all of these characters who live in the reality of second-division women’s football. The show wants to explore that world but rarely allocates it all that much time.
Likewise, Alice seemingly has a(nother) change of heart with the players between episodes. Ted Lasso could’ve earned this turn from her through a debrief with Camille after the party in the previous episode or at the beginning of this one. In turn, that would also give Ted Lasso the chance to show more of Alice’s life and relationship. Even so, it is interesting to watch Alice’s new approach, especially with Shannon, whom the show needs to utilize more. The best payoff with Alice is her adding the post-it of “And win” to the sign. It’s a perfect culmination of her intentions to be more collaborative, and hopefully, it’s good momentum for Ted Lasso Season 4’s final three episodes.
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Other Winning Moments:
- Beard reading (Re)Born in the USA by Roger Bennett
- “You look like a husky” – Archie
- Archie’s reading Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- Roy on Black Beauty
- Caroline on Black Beauty
- Ted’s chair bit continuing
- Chelsea wanting to add Roy to their Wall of Legends
- Zelda describing bad men as “scorpions”
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