The year has decidedly not been good for Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), who for the first time has been considered problematic even by two supporters, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) and Higgins (Jeremy Swift)! At least in this penultimate episode, everyone but Ted seems to be getting better. For context, Ted even gained some control over his panic attacks, but his head is never in the game. He thinks about his son, who has been causing problems, he has no one in his life, and work has not exactly fulfilled everything. But your faith? Follows – in speech – unshakable. More on that ahead.

AFC Richmond’s wave of defeats had the expected effect: in addition to falling, Zava (Maximilian Ozinski) disappears, out of nowhere, announcing his retirement via social media. Without its main star, the team has every face of being on the way to relegation. Obviously, it’s a technical problem and Higgins warns Rebecca that they will have to make a difficult decision regarding their friend, something that for now she doesn’t want to materialize even in hypothetical words. As we know that Ted is questioning his stay in England, the arc is drawn.

The lives of players and coaches circulate a lot about their incompetence to organize themselves tactically, and the jokes are already being repeated and even tiring a little. I can’t believe I’m saying this. They’re so desperate that even Trent Crimm (James Lance) is consulted for advice. Annoying, but I always gave Nate (Nick Mohammed) right about Ted’s disregard for the game.

Speaking of Nate, his life away from Ted, Richmond and even a little bit of Rupert (Anthony Head) is going from good to better. West Ham is in the top four, he has been dating models and ultimately finally breaks the ice for Jade. Since I still haven’t forgiven Nate – not for moving on, but for being mean to Ted – I didn’t like seeing him with everything he dreamed of happening. All that’s left is Ted, Rebecca calls Nate and he ‘saves’ AFC Richmond by giving the team their first Premier League title. It will be too soon to forget how he decided to leave and how he chose to be rude to his friends. Don’t use the ‘it was Rupert’s fault’ because again, it was Nate who chose the path. Obviously from what we saw, for him, it worked.

Rebecca is obsessed with what the psychic Tish said and is wanting to skip to the part where she “is going to be a mother”. The trolling of how she and Ted are effectively perfect for each other continues (ah, #Tedbeccas, we suffer!) and that’s it: both she and Ted think about their families, and their personal lives even when the professional world is falling apart. As the owner of the team, she should be changing the tactical team which is obviously not working, but she is busier with her dramas. As she told him in the last episode, they understand each other because they are so complicated. And in her case, she’s alone. Her best friend and confidant, Keeley (Juno Temple) is already in another.

Keeley has been a problem for me this season. She made the same decision as Nate to leave AFC Richmond but handled the transition transparently and professionally. Even so, in new territory, it went through adverse situations that left it vulnerable. Especially since Roy (Brett Goldstein) broke up their relationship out of the blue.

Our dear press agent managed to bend Barbara and put her in her place, even earning less suspicion, but her main victory was actually breaking up with Shandy (Ambreen Razi), the faker who was creating problems and wanting her place. But here’s another problem with Keeley’s arc: As expected, she and Jack (Jodi Balfour) understand that there’s a strong chemistry between them and embark on something more. As much as Keeley admits seconds before that she is still hurt by Roy, it bothers me that Keeley can never be a woman alone and independent without mixing her work with her heart.

From one episode to the next, the Impostor Syndrome that had been tormenting her for seasons, stayed in the past, but that’s good, it’s an evolution because Keeley is an excellent professional. But she ALWAYS mixes work with pleasure. Was she Jamie’s girlfriend, when she started taking care of AFC Richmond did she get involved with Roy, and now that she’s Bantr’s PR does she get involved with the App’s main investor? I know it happens and all, but I wanted Keeley to be happy and in a healthy relationship. She simply repeated all the mistakes – Jamie, Roy, and now Jack – of devaluing herself as a woman, always placing the personal side as one of the drivers of her career. She can have a homoaffective relationship, Keeley was never boring, but what I didn’t think was cool was putting her in unethical situations again, like having an affair with her boss.

And we know that the apparent stumble of the series was calculated when Ted gives us a beautiful motivational speech so that we don’t forget to keep faith in him and in the series. Honestly, it was beautiful and important, but none of the attitudes we’ve seen from the coach so far give the truth to what he preaches. Ted asks the players to ignore superstitions and posters and believe in themselves. After all, he had just gotten his panic attack under control, so he was inspired. But nothing he really feels signals that he believes what he says. Life can have little miracles, but what he needs is a lord’s sign that he’s right. As always, I believe in Ted (but no mucho más).