Ted Lasso – 4-5-1

By starrymag | April 3, 2023

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

The Zava effect has hit the team full force and everyone is feeling starstruck in Richmond. After landing the biggest player in the game, the Greyhounds are forced to navigate Zava’s star power now that he’s set to put them on a winning streak. This week’s episode is jam-packed with action to move the story along to a surprising place. We’re given a glimpse into Richmond’s almost entire season of football while diving a bit deeper into the relationships building and ending between the characters. “4-5-1” was a wild ride that left fans cheering for their favorite team but also with more questions than answers as to what lies ahead for Ted, Rebecca, Keeley, and the gang.

 

Everyone Loves Zava!

We begin with Colin (Billy Harris) waking up naked in bed after what we can assume was a lovely night with his boyfriend, Michael (Sam Liu). Colin’s sexuality has never really been discussed on the show. The most we know about him is that he likes fast cars and drives them terribly. Maybe all that macho posturing has been a cover-up for something he is afraid his fellow teammates and fans won’t understand? In the kitchen, Michael and Colin talk about football and it’s pretty clear only one of them has a deep knowledge of the sport. Michael’s more interested in a trip to Dubai than goals and celebrity strikers and Colin makes a joke about it. The two men kiss goodbye before Colin walks out the door telling himself he’s a strong and capable man who then drives his Lamborghini directly into the trash cans. Strong? Yes. Capable? Well, maybe not with luxury cars but definitely on the pitch. Unfortunately, his coaches aren’t as convinced. It’s not like he hasn’t earned his spot on the team but with the addition of big-talent Zava (Maximilian Osiniski), someone is going to have to sit out a few games to make room on the field. That’s why when we catch up with Coach Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), Beard (Brendan Hunt), and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), Colin, and Dani’s (Cristo Fernández) names are the first on the second string list. Everyone at Richmond’s Training Center is on pins and needles waiting for the arrival of the celebrity superstar and wants his talents to be utilized to their fullest. As the coaches work on a new strategy that would place Zava on the starting line, Colin is the player who will have to take the bench. That’s not all, to make this plan work someone is also going to have to be moved to the midfield position too and Danny is the obvious choice. Not that he minds the demotion, he’s such a Zava fanboy that he would probably wash out the man’s socks just to be closer to his star status. Jamie (Phil Dunster), on the other hand, used to be the team’s star player and he is having some problems with all this hero worship. Back when he returned to Richmond after his own ego almost destroyed his career, he worked very hard to drop the attitude and play better with others. Now he sees himself as a Greyhound and not just their star striker, so this worshiping of the ground Zava walks on feels a bit hypocritical to him. He also finds it silly and counterproductive to the actual definition of the word team. But everyone in Richmond is so dazzled by Zava’s skills and persona that even Ted is nervous to meet the man inside the studs. It has him and his fellow coaches nervously debating a Lasso classic: their favorite Julie Andrews character. The typically gruff Roy Kent is comfortable enough in his sexuality to admit he likes musicals so Maria Von Trapp is the woman for him. Coach Beard likes “…the rain in Spain ” with Eliza Doolittle, and unsurprisingly, Ted enjoys the “…chim-chimney chim-chim cheree,” of Mary Poppins. Trent Crimm (James Lance) who is still shadowing the team for his book, pipes in with an answer that has all the men gasping,” The Queen of Genovia,” from The Princess Diaries. The Brits do love their royals, but maybe for Trent, with his luxurious locks or his well-fitting suits, it’s more about the glitz and glam of a queen than anything else. The guy knows his fashion!

After the musical debate, we head into the locker room where the team is making space for Zava. Everyone is whispering about his greatest accomplishments which prompts Richard (Stephen Manas) to mention Zava’s panther-like moves. All the men are enamored with this newcomer and seem comfortable enough with their own masculinity to admit they have a crush on the man. Cue Colin, who joins in on the “gay for Zava” joke, offering up another example as to why he’s chosen to hide who he really is from the people who matter most to him. As everyone’s gossiping about the team’s new player, Jamie walks in and takes one look at Zava’s four team-issued lockers and can’t help but roll his eyes.

 

“We. Us. We’N’US”

Later, we head to the pitch for a press conference with the star himself. The fans, the team, and the management are all on the field waiting for over 2 hours for the primadonna– or as Roy Kent calls it “pre-Madonna” as if Tina Turner never ruled the airwaves until the Material Girl hit the scene. Of course, the man of the hour is a no-show and Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) is getting worried he might have changed his mind about playing for Richmond. She asks Higgins (Jeremy Swift) to make sure Zava signed the contract to make it legally binding and is outraged to discover the signature reads, “You’re welcome.” Is that legal, and if it isn’t, can he just blow off this event and the entire team? Keeley (Juno Temple) tells Rebecca that Zava’s agent tracked his phone to Mykonos, which is definitely not in the vicinity of Nelson Road. As time passes, Rebecca starts to get antsy because she has an appointment she doesn’t want to be late for. When Kelley asks her bestie about it, Rebecca promises to fill her in later but, first, she’s heading up to her office to go find out where her star player ran off to. Surprise! He’s sitting at her desk like the boss he thinks he is. He must be living the part because as Keeley explains, Zava is a genius – like the Daniel Day-Lewis of football, and he lives the part. Their job is to adapt to his quirks if they want him to help the Greyhounds win.

When Ted walks into her office Rebecca introduces him to Zava, and to her best friend and PR maven, Keeley, and to the Director of Football Operations, Leslie Higgins. Everyone seems to be impressed with him but also a little taken aback by his more eccentric behaviors. He pledges his allegiance to Ted, but when he finds out Higgins’ job title he puts their heads together in some sort of mind-melding meditating love-fest. All Higgins can do is suck up the attention of the man of the hour and also cringe when announces to the room that they are now a team of “We. Us. We ‘n’ Us.” That seems to be what everyone’s doing in this episode– just standing in cringy awe of the legend who is quickly becoming more of a myth than a man. When Zavo finally meets all of his teammates, he takes special notice of Roy Kent with a head nod but then focuses all of his energy on the most important person on the team–Will (Charlie Hiscock), the kit man. He says that he was a “ball-boy” when he was a kid, totally ignoring the fact that Will is in his 20s. Zava tells Will, and the rest of the team to join him in some breathing exercises, and in unison, everyone breathes in and breathes out with Zava dramatically exhaling for much longer than the rest. It’s the first glimpse at how easily he takes over every space and everyone just lets him. He is extra with a capital E and seems to love himself more than anyone else in the room ever could. After the breathing exercises, the team is now one–as long as they agree that Zava is the one and the rest of them should all fall in line behind him. That’s why it’s not shocking when he waltzes into the coach’s room to rearrange the strategy board and place himself alone on the field with the rest of the team all playing back up to him. Zava’s plans for the season are to take Richmond to the championship by scoring every goal regardless of which player has their foot on the winning goal. This will be remembered as the Zava season, and he will make sure he’s in a position to deliver.

Rebecca’s Future or a False Hope?

Now to that mysterious appointment that Rebecca was late for. We find out she took her mother up on her offer to get some maternal advice from her very well-paid psychic, Tish (Emma Davies). Right away we can see that this high-priced prophet is nothing but a laid-back woman who can spin a joke and pour a White Russian – thanks to her recent The Big Lebowski-themed birthday party. The offer for the drink loosens Rebecca up enough to begin the session. Right from the jump, Tish says she knows about the two men and Rebecca’s life– Rupert (Anthony Head) and Sam (Toheeb Jimoh), but it’s not because she’s a psychic, it’s because Rebecca’s mother has a big mouth. Tish recognizes a skeptic when she sees one, and after a brief lesson in Japanese Kintsugi–the art of mending broken objects with gold, she mentions the fact Rebecca’s mother was skeptical too. Placing her hands on a mended bowl Tish begins the ritual with a vague prediction about a very special green matchbook and something about a knight in shining armor. That vision is immediately replaced with one where she sees Rebecca upside down and drenched as if she’s drowning, but Tish makes sure to say in this premonition she is safe. At this point, Rebecca is really questioning her sanity for agreeing to this session, and things only get worse when she gets up to leave and Tish yells out that she’s going to have a family one day – she’s going to be a mom. That prediction cuts deep and stops Rebecca in her tracks. She spins around on Tish and lets her know she never trusted this paranormal stuff and now she knows she was right because Tish is just a cruel woman making money off of desperate people. As we’ve seen throughout the series, Rebecca not only has a soft spot for children but desperately wanted one with Rupert before he left her for a younger woman who he later impregnated. Now Rupert uses that against Rebecca every chance he gets; reminding her that she is past her prime and might not ever have the family she’s always wanted. For Tish to offer her hope in a situation Rebecca has long considered hopeless, does feel cruel, and besides, Rebecca isn’t seeing anyone anyway.

Back at the Richmond training center, we find Keeley talking to the team about the Zava press. She wants them to focus on all positive things about the team’s new player but then Shandy (Ambreen Razia), her shadow for the day, cuts her off and suggests the team should say something shocking to go viral instead. Shandy doesn’t have the best ideas but what she lacks in professionalism she makes up for in confidence. Proof in point, she winds up going toe-to-toe with Roy after he interrupts the team meeting to tell Keeley that Higgins thought he should do interviews for Zava. He hates doing these press engagements but admits he would do it for Keeley. If he cares about his ex’s success as a PR agent, then why did he dump her? That’s what Shandy rudely asks him and the two have a tense exchange back and forth. Surprisingly, Roy keeps his cool with the nosey woman and insists he’s only offering because he thought Keeley and the team could use the help.

 

Richmond’s Winning Streak

Over in the coach’s office, Jamie walks in to talk about Zava sucking up all the attention and how problematic he thinks it could be for the team. He is as excited about the newcomer as anyone else but he also has first-hand experience with the type of player Zava is. He is in this for himself and tells the coaches– including Roy Kent, that he thinks this new celebrity is going to mess up their team’s dynamics. Maybe he is right but Coach Beard can’t help but wonder if Jamie is being ironic considering all the things his ego put the team through the first two seasons. “I’m being hypocritical” Jamie recognizes but he is still concerned. Coach Lasso takes note of his issues with the Zava worship and lets him know his office is always open to talk but for now, they will give it a game or two before they make any final decisions.

On to Nelson Road for Richmond’s next match, and the players, not the meditating Zava, are very excited to see what this new addition means for the game. The coaches are all going over the strategies and the only one they keep coming back to is: give the ball to Zava no matter what. After the plays have been discussed the team is huddled together but not Zava, who holds up the bonding until he’s ready. Once he is, instead of adding his hand to the pile of teammates for a cheer, Zava breaks up the circle by pushing his way to the center of it so everyone can put their hands on him like he’s some sort of God. Once the worshiping has been sufficient, they all cheer and head out to the pitch. Ted lingers behind to make a quick phone call to Henry to wish him good luck on his first soccer game but there is just one problem: Ted left his cell phone at home and now he’s stunned by the realization that can’t remember Michelle’s (Andrea Anders) phone number. He eventually does and calls the house from the office phone but her new boyfriend Jake (Mike O’Gorman) picks up. Apparently, the man says he has a special skill in dealing with telemarketers by doing his best and most annoying Trump impression that both confuses and amuses Ted until he realizes who Jake is. Michelle’s new guy is the same Dr. Jacobs, the marriage counselor who turned Ted off to therapy when he felt like the doctor and his wife were ganging up on him. Once Dr. Jacobs realizes who’s on the other end of the phone he quickly and awkwardly hands the phone to Henry (Gus Turner) who then has a brief discussion with his father about the soccer match he’s heading out to. Ted wishes him good luck and then Michelle takes the phone from Henry and says that she will call him later to discuss what’s going on. We can see right away that Ted is shaken by this revelation thanks to those hand-wringing tell-tale signs of an in-coming panic attack.

Out on the pitch, Ted is gripping his hands and starting to spiral from another anxiety attack just as Zava scores the first goal right out of the gate! Ted’s episode fizzles as the crowd cheers and the celebrity star give Richmond their first big win. We quickly cycle through Zava’s match-winning goals one after another until Richmond rises up from the regulation ashes to become the team to beat. Whether or not Zava is kicking the goals himself or stealing the ball from his own teammates just to add to his stats, everyone is behind him. Well, everyone but Jamie–who is annoyed after the superstar steals a goal right off of his foot. Jamie’s reaction catches Roy’s attention but it doesnt change the fact the man is a force to be reckoned with and puts points up on the board. Clips from each winning game are cut with snippets of what’s happening off the field. Ted spends his nights drinking scotch and stalking Jake on Facebook, while over at West Ham, Nathan stalks Richmond’s winning streak. At home, Rebecca is obsessing about every matchbook she sees– green or not, while ex-lover Sam is getting friendly with the new chef Simi (Precious Mustapha) at his restaurant. We also check in with Doc who is still doing online sessions with Ted about his feelings of betrayal over this Dr, Jacob reveals. He might’ve been lied to in those sessions but he seems to really be getting something positive out of his talks with Dr. Fieldstone. The other person who should probably seek therapy is Rupert, who was hoping he could rip Rebecca’s heart out by stealing Nathan for his own team and now he’s watching Zava carry Richamond to a top-ranking club right under his own West Ham. Regardless of the fact sports pundits are saying that Zava is nothing but a few cheap wins for the American coach, he is the undeniable leading point maker of this team and the fans love him for it.

A Revelation in Green

With a win over the iconic Manchester United club, the Greyhounds celebrate their momentous season at the opening of Sam’s Restaurant. Everybody is having a good time, even Zava who decided to grace them with his presence. Collin also shows up and brings Michael along with him as his friend and wingman. The two really go above and beyond just to straighten themselves up for the benefit of everyone else on his team. Over at the bar Rebecca and Keeley chat about that session with Tish, but they never really dive deeply into the details because Sassy (Ellie Taylor) walks in, and everyone is always happy to see Classy Sassy. Rebecca’s oldest friend is always up for any party where she can crack inappropriate jokes and flirt with Ted Lasso, and if he is deep into his marital feelings, there is always Zava to keep her company. Speaking of licking wounds, Jamie is sulking in a corner booth when Roy sits down to make the striker an offer he would be crazy to refuse. Roy understands why Jamie feels pushed aside by Zava, the better player because he was pushed aside for Jamie. Shocking how the Great Roy Kent would admit that at the time of his retirement. Jamie was the best player on the team. Now that top spot has been taken by Zava and if Jamie would like to match or outplay the celebrity then he needs to train. Roy offers Jamie some one on one time to hone his skills and then knocks the food out of the player’s hand and says training starts now.

Too bad for Sassy’s Plan B-boo, because we see Shandy heading over to Zava’s table to rudely tell him he needs to update his social media with photos from the restaurant, but he needs to be nice about it and not so…well…Zava. Her confident attitude excites him and makes Keeley feel a lot better about hiring her friend. She might not like how Shandy goes about things, but she does get the job done. Rebecca watches the entire interaction go down and then turns her attention to Sam and his flirtatious chef, Simi. She is still struggling with their break-up and Keeley can’t help but notice how sad she looks. Likewise, Rebecca notices how sad Keeley is when she sees Roy talking to Jamie. These two besties are definitely not in their love era, at least when it comes to the men they want in their lives. Trying to drown their sorrows they clink their glasses to toast to better days ahead, having no idea what was about to happen next will change everything about this night and possibly one of their futures. That chef that Sam was so seemingly smitten with, hands the new restaurant owner a box of matches she had made with the establishment’s name engraved on the cover. It’s a gift to her boss and new friend, but when he hands the matches out and Rebecca sees the color green, the nice gesture is more than a gift, it’s everything she has wanted to be handed to her at the worst possible time. She loses her breath wondering if Tish was right. Could Sam be her knight in shining armor and possibly the father of this baby that’s been prophesied?

The episode ends with Trent Crimm leaving the restaurant and passing by Colin and Michael tucked away in an alley kissing. Crimm smirks but keeps walking and the two men never see him. Will this former journalist and budding author out the couple in his book, or will he keep their secrets safe? Only time will tell, but hopefully, Trent can squash his need for a headline or at the very least, offer Colin the same grace he gave Ted with a heads-up before the big news breaks.