How 'Ted Lasso' Season 4 Gives Us The Arc We Always Wanted

There's something particularly special about Ted Lasso (2020) and how it came to us at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's exactly what we needed to make those uncertain days a little more bearable, and since then, it's been a fan favorite for a reason. But a certain plot point in Ted Lasso Season 3 left fans with an uneasy feeling instead of the hope they were typically used to, and it's a feeling that's often synonymous with goodbyes. No one wants to see their favorite characters go anywhere, even if we can understand why they do. 

Still, three years after the finale where we watched Jason Sudeikis' titular character get on a plane and fly back to Kansas, Ted Lasso Season 4 thankfully flips the script and gives us everything we've wanted instead: for Ted to stay, where he belongs, in London, despite his ridiculous one-sided beef with tea.

'Ted Lasso' Season 4, Episode 1 Answers One Big Question - What Comes Next?

It's been a couple of years; Ted's now working at a grocery store, still the same man we've always known, but right off the bat, it's clear that he isn't fulfilled. Something's clearly missing in his life because he's not even coaching American football like he formerly was before going to London. He lives on his own and shares custody of his and Michelle's son, Henry (now played by Grant Feely). 

Shortly after, in a sequence that deserves to be deemed iconic, a pair of Louboutin heels step out of the car, and longtime fans know exactly who they belong to. Hannah Waddingham's Rebecca Welton, Juno Temple's Keeley Jones, and Jeremy Swift's Leslie Higgins have now entered Kansas. It's a riveting turn to have them directly in the place that Ted now calls home, despite the fact that the tonal shift might be jarring to fans of the first three seasons.

Yet, interestingly, it's that exact tonal shift—with muted colors and unfamiliar places—that signals to us just how much is missing from Ted's life. He's still the optimistic coach overflowing with kindness that we know, but the sparkle that's so distinctly tethered to his life in London is missing here. So much so that his mother (the woman who tried to convince him to go back home in the first place) is now telling him he should leave.

Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 1, "Home," is aptly titled, as we understand by the end of the episode that not only does Rebecca's initial offer still stand, but now, after all this time, Ted knows he needs to take it. And so, goodbye Kansas, hello London. It's back home.

London Is A Key Setting In 'Ted Lasso' For A Reason

A show's setting isn't always tethered to its greatness, but in the case of Ted Lasso, it is. Sure, the series isn't titled AFC Richmond or even something like Widow's Bay (2026), so we can make an argument about how the character is the most important component here (which he is!). Still, the detail that we get the best version of Ted in London matters substantially.

It's where he belongs, and where he's always belonged, even if, say, he isn't in an active relationship there like Brendan Hunt's Beard is with Phoebe Walsh's Jane. In the same way that Ted brought belief and hope into the lives of the AFC Richmond players, they each gave him something in return. The ways he had to accommodate in London were never too challenging, but rather almost designed specifically to fulfill him. They got him through his divorce, even when he missed his son in the process. As saccharine as it might sound, the job as a whole, the specific team, and every place he stepped foot into were his north star. 

And that's why the ending of Ted Lasso Season 3 felt so bittersweet in a way that almost hurt. It's like fans knew that Ted would be much less happy back in Kansas. It wasn't just about the team, but the Crown & Anchor pub, his apartment, and every little thing he did there. In addition, because we'd believed that this would truly be the end of the show because of the three-act series that was proposed from the beginning, it made everything feel extra heartbreaking.

However, now, no matter where Ted Lasso Season 4 goes, or how the series ends for good, there's some reassurance in knowing that maybe Ted and his family will continue to stay in London. The fact that he'll be coaching the women's team also makes complete sense because coaching and Ted go hand-in-hand. He's got to be a coach, even if it's for a different team. It's his element.