Why ‘Ted Lasso’s Season 2 Romance Twist Works (Really!)

Be a Goldfish, Sam

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[WARNING: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Ted Lasso Season 2, Episodes 1- 7.]

So… you thought Coach Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) and his boss Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) might be on their way to becoming an item on Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, did you? You wouldn’t be the first or last to think so, but the disappointment of some viewers over the realization that Rebecca has actually been chatting with Nigerian player Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) over the dating app Bantr seems a bit premature.

One of my favorite things from Season 1 was Ted’s uncharacteristic one-night stand with Rebecca’s bestie Sassy (Ellie Taylor). The tryst, although brief, seemed to take Ted off of the playing field for Rebecca’s heart, but kept them close enough to be the tight-knit friends they’ve grown to be between Seasons 1 and 2.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

Plus, Rebecca, who was constantly cheated on by her ex-husband Rupert (Anthony Head), deserves a clean slate with a good person, and starting something with Ted would muddy the waters with Sassy in the equation. As former player Roy (Brett Goldstein) told the AFC Richmond owner, “you deserve someone who makes you feel like you’ve been struck by f**kin’ lightning.”

Clearly, Rebecca feels that way with her Bantr match — that she’s still unaware is Sam — but the latest episode has shown that she’s nervous about facing her growing feelings. And ultimately, Rebecca and Sam would have never connected on the app had the conflict with Sam and Dubai Air over its environmental impact not happened earlier this season.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

When Sam raises the Dubai Air issue with Rebecca directly, she’s his biggest champion, standing up to an old acquaintance to protect her player. And then Bantr took over as AFC Richmond’s sponsor in Dubai Air’s absence…leaving both parties to become involved with the service, and setting them up for a match that could be fairly ideal.

Although some viewers might see this pairing as strange, looking back on Season 1, there are little bread crumbs hinting at a possibly sweet connection between Sam and Rebecca. There’s even a dating reference made in Episode 6 from the first season in which Sam enters Rebecca’s office to invite her to participate in the team’s efforts to put away with a supposed curse.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

At first, Rebecca thinks Sam’s propositioning her, asking her on a date, and as she begins to turn him down, he corrects her assumption and reveals that there’s nothing romantic about his invitation. The foreshadowing is almost too obvious.

Since then, the pair have had various encounters, albeit brief: Sam encouraging Rebecca during Season 1’s karaoke outing, and his sweetness shown towards her goddaughter, Nora (Kiki May). We’ve learned that they both love Disney films as it was revealed Sam’s favorite movie is Ratatouille in a conversation between Rebecca and Keeley (Juno Temple). And we know that Rebecca bonded with Nora over Frozen, hence her karaoke rendition of “Let it Go.”

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It would be nice to see Rebecca “let it go” and just cave in to her feelings for this “mystery” Bantr man because Sam is just as eager to meet his match. “I don’t think she knows what she wants,” Waddingham told TV Insider earlier this season, but when it comes to romance, “she’s just hopeful.”

And Sam and Rebecca’s hallway run-in during Season 2’s latest entry, “Headspace,” felt pretty spark-filled to me. Only time will tell if their online match will turn into a real-life relationship, but we can only imagine their reaction(s) to finding out the truth. Either way, it’s too early for viewers to turn their backs on this potential romance before it’s even got off the ground. There’s plenty of preexisting foundation to build something special, now if only these players would play the game.

Let us know what you think of the match between Rebecca and Sam in the poll and comments section, below, and stay tuned to see how things play out between the duo as Season 2 continues on Apple TV+.

Ted Lasso, Season 2, New Episodes, Fridays, Apple TV+