After last week’s Beard-centric sidebar and the emotionally heavy episode prior, Ted Lasso is back today with “No Weddings and a Funeral.’ A hilarious and heartbreaking affair, episode 10 sees the team suited up (dress shoes and all) for the funeral of Rebecca’s father. Let’s take a look at some of the major takeaways here.
The funeral
Rebecca is met by another surprise visit from her mother, featuring another scarcely dressed man in her kitchen. She immediately assumes that her parents are having problems again, but instead, her mother informs her that her father has died.
In addition to family and friends, AFC Richmond’s bus shows up at the funeral, packed full of the Greyhounds. Dressed for the occasion and shockingly not wearing sneakers (much to Dani Rojas’ dismay), Rebecca is touched to see that they have all come to support her. She’s less enthused by the arrival of her ex-husband Rupert though, who has come with his new lady and baby in tow. Somebody is missing, though …
Ted’s panic attacks continue
Ted is initially in good spirits as we see him getting dressed for the funeral. In what will forever go down as a truly iconic scene in this series, he struts around his bedroom, dancing as he buttons up his shirt and grabs his tie. However, his elated mood soon falls into the grips of a panic attack that sends him spiraling.
Ted calls Dr. Sharon, and she makes her way over for a house call to help him calm down. When she comes in, we see that Ted absolutely has not been okay lately, given the state that his kitchen and living room are in. This time, it’s easier for Dr. Sharon to get Ted to open up to her, which illustrates how much progress they have already made with therapy. He tells her that he didn’t go to his dad’s funeral because he hated him for leaving him.
September 13, 1991
Ted and Rebecca are kindred spirits in many ways, and we learn in this episode that both of them went through a traumatic event during their childhood on the same exact day … one that made them both hate their fathers. For Ted, this is the day that he arrived at home just as his father took his own life, and he was the one to find him. For Rebecca, this is the day that she caught her father cheating on her mother (and he acted like nothing had happened afterward).
Dr. Sharon coaxes Ted out of his grief, helping him find a light to climb the surface by asking him to tell her about a happy memory that he has with his father. This seems to work, and they share a touching embrace afterward. Meanwhile, Rebecca’s mother admits that she knew about the cheating all along, which hurts Rebecca even more knowing her mother let him treat her like that. The two continue their heart-to-heart, touching on some important topics until the vicar tells them it’s time to come out.
Another wonderful example of their friendship is when Rebecca steps up in front of everyone for her father’s eulogy. Unable to find words to say with all of the complicated feelings that she has for her father, she awkwardly begins to sing “Never Gonna Give You Up” instead. Everyone watches on, slightly confused, until Ted confidently joins in, and then the whole room begins to sing.
Jamie shares the truth
Roy and Keeley hit a momentary roadblock in their relationship earlier this season, though it was something that was resolved fairly quickly (and in a very healthy way). And while Jamie’s return to AFC Richmond initially seemed to pose no threat to their relationship, given the much more mature dynamics of it, this episode certainly brought some things into question.
Earlier in the episode, Roy’s attitude toward the funeral puts Keeley off. Later, we then see Jamie confront Keeley as he admits that she was part of the reason that he returned to the Greyhounds. He tells her that he loves her, and it’s an odd, tense moment between them. As soon as he leaves, Roy shows up behind her and launches into an apology for his behavior, capping it off with an “I love you” for her as well. (Did anyone else think Roy f***ing Kent was about to propose to Keeley at a funeral? No? Just me?)
Pressing pause on Rebecca and Sam
After finally giving in to their desires, we see in this episode that Rebecca and Sam have been spending much of their free time (sleeping) together now, though they’ve kept their relationship a secret. This makes for an interesting situation for the two when Sam arrives at the funeral, because it’s clear he wants to comfort Rebecca, but he’s unable to do so without blowing their cover.
After much yelling and badgering (apologies to the vicar) between Rebecca, her mother, Keeley, Sassy, and Nora, Keeley is quick to surmise that the secret man is none other than Sam. By the end of the funeral, Rebecca has had a lot to think about throughout the day, and she makes the decision that she needs to break things off with him.
As she’s on her way to do so, Sam pulls her into a closet, but not for what she would expect. Rather than diving in for a secret kiss, Sam pulls her in for a wholesome and supportive hug instead. She eventually gets to her point though, explaining that Sam is wonderful, and it’s a bad thing because he could really hurt her. Rebecca needs time to figure out why that scares her so much.
What’s Rupert up to?
As Rupert goes to leave the funeral, he informs Rebecca that he’s convinced Bex to give up her shares in Richmond. They will be giving them to Rebecca instead. This all seems fine and dandy, but it’s what happens afterward that’s suspicious. As Rupert passes by Nate, he leans in to say something to him. Though we don’t hear what it is, we’ll likely find out soon enough, and it can’t be anything good.
Top Ted-isms of the week
Ted’s usual humor was shelved this week for something much more poignant. Because of this, we’ll highlight an emotional Ted quote that really hit home and explains why he cares so much about getting through to people now:
“And I knew right then and there that I was never going to let anybody get by me without understanding they might be hurting inside, you know.”
Catch the next episode of Ted Lasso exclusively on Apple TV+ next Friday, October 1. In the meantime, make sure to catch up on all of our Ted Lasso recaps!
