WARNING: Mild spoilers for the Ted Lasso season 2 premiere ahead.
Ted Lasso season 2, episode 1 introduced Sharon (Sarah Niles), a sports psychologist, and she can make Ted (Jason Sudeikis) a better coach–if he lets her. The first season of Ted Lasso came out of nowhere to completely win audiences over with its blend of quick-witted humor, relatable characters, and themes of kindness and accountability. Its charm offensive was recently rewarded with 20 Emmy 2021 nominations, showing that “prestige” series don’t always have to be heavy drama with villains and antiheroes doing reprehensible things.
Much of that was down to the titular character of Ted Lasso, whose enthusiasm and “aw, shucks” good-natured Midwestern attitude eventually won over the players and the fanbase at large. But season 2 finds Ted up against a challenge he’s not equipped for. It kicks off in media res, with AFC Richmond in the midst of their seventh match of the season. The team’s morale is already shaky, as they’ve played to seven draws (ties) in a row, and when the team’s joyful golden retriever, Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernández), accidentally kills the club’s greyhound mascot on a penalty kick, he spirals into despair, forcing Ted and the other coaches to enlist the help of a sports psychologist, Sharon, for Ted Lasso season 2.
Though things have gotten off to a rough start between the easygoing Ted Lasso and the no-nonsense Sharon, she can make him a better coach by the end of the season–and he needs it. Ted’s constant deflecting of any reality that threatens to puncture his happy bubble often borders on toxic positivity, and his inability to relate to his players on a real level when they’re going through a particularly tough time is a liability. It came to the forefront with Dani in Ted Lasso season 2, episode 1 when Ted Lasso’s failings as a coach left him unable to do more than offer a few hollow, motivational poster platitudes, which only made Dani feel worse. It got bad enough that Dani was waking up with nightmares, and Ted was completely ineffective in helping him through it. Ted’s players are whole human beings who experience the breadth of emotion, including pain, hurt, grief, and the complicated mix that comes with the pressures of being a pro athlete. Ted has also got to be able to acknowledge the full spectrum of emotion, or he’ll remain forever handcuffed as a coach in a significant way. Sharon can help with that if Ted would only acknowledge reality.
That acknowledgment will likely not come easy, however. In Ted Lasso season 1, almost every single major character experienced a huge growth arc, except for Ted. Major life milestones happened to him, but that’s not the same as character growth. Ted has to grow up, but it seems he’ll fight it every step of the way. As he related to Coach Beard, he’s mistrustful of therapists because he felt as though the marriage counselor he and his ex-wife saw just blamed him for all his failings. The likelier reality is that there was no blame, Ted simply went into the therapist with a defensive mindset and wasn’t open to truly hearing what was being said.
But he needs to. There have already been major instances when Ted’s constant, borderline toxic positivity has worn thin for those around him. It’s why his wife divorced him, and even the unflappable Coach Beard briefly lost it in Ted Lasso season 1 when Ted said that winning isn’t how they measure success. “Dammit, it is!” Coach Beard snapped. “I’m sick of it. I understood this mission when we were in Kansas, but those were kids, and these are professionals, and winning does matter to them. And it matters to me. And that’s okay!” It was a dose of harsh truth that Ted Lasso badly needed to hear. Coach Beard understands what Ted doesn’t quite seem to yet: They are in charge of a professional sports team, and it’s time to start acting like it. With Sharon now on board as the team psychologist, it gives Ted an opportunity to utilize her and become a better coach and man. Hopefully, he realizes that for himself by the end of Ted Lasso season 2.
