Spoilers for Season 3 of Ted Lasso are ahead! If you haven’t watched the comedy, you can stream all three seasons with an Apple TV+ subscription.
TedBecca shippers, I hate to break it to you, but you got pranked. Well, we all did honestly. Over the course of Ted Lasso’s three-season run, there was a large group of fans who desperately wanted Ted and Rebecca to become more than friends. And that almost happened at the beginning of the Season 3 finale when it was revealed that Jason Sudeikis’ character spent the night at Hannah Waddingham’s character’s house. However, it was quickly revealed that nothing happened, in fact, Beard and Jane were there too. Now, Declan Lowney, the director of this episode, has broken down why the scene played out the way it did.
Immediately, before I even finished asking the question, Lowney confirmed that they knew the fans would lose it over the idea that Ted and Rebecca might have slept together. He went on to explain in our interview for CinemaBlend why playing out that reveal was so amusing, saying:
There's four people there. So we know we reveal them one at a time. You know, you think she's on her own. That's the way Rebecca starts her day a lot watching that Friday morning football show that doesn't really exist. Who has a football show at 9 a.m. on Friday morning? And then that room was so elegant, that long counter, and I'm just holding that wide shot, I think, ‘Why are we on the wide shot?’ And then Ted fucking walks in. And he's dressed like he's just woken up and his hair is all messed up, and it makes you go ‘fuck.’ And then they don't say anything for a moment and they're looking at each other coyly. And he's going ‘So you want to talk about it?’ [and she goes] ‘No I do not want to talk about it.’ So, it’s fueling and helping us believe they've really done it.
Lowney then went on to recall how the scene in Ted Lasso’s Season 3 finale played viewers, humorously explaining the reactions they hoped fans would have as they realized Ted and Rebecca didn’t do anything romantic and then saw Beard in a thong. The Emmy-winning director said:
And then you hear Beard before you see him, and then he walks in, and then you see what he's wearing. And you think ‘Fuck me what has gone on here the night before?’ And then Jane comes in, and you go ‘OK, OK, the whole party is here.’ And then you've got that pretty limited backstory about the gas leak across town and they all go to her house. They could have gone to a hotel Travelodge or something, but they stay at Rebecca’s. And then Beard sits up on the counter, which I think is the most hilarious piece of that moment. And he puts his bum cheeks up on the counter.
I know I saw the scene as a lowkey jump scare the first time I watched it, and I couldn’t quite believe my eyes when I thought for a split second that Ted and Rebecca had sex. However, the realization that Beard, Jane and Ted were just spending the night because of a gas leak turned it into a hilarious tease. Lowney explained he really loved that scene, and how it played into the wonderful platonic friendship the AFC Richmond manager and owner developed over three seasons. He said:
I love that they have their did they/didn't they at the beginning of the episode, you know when Ted wonders in. It is wonderful to see a properly platonic relationship between the two of them as adults who have changed so much in front of each other and learned to love each other so much and be proper friends with each other. You go through that lovely development. It's just a beautiful piece of friendship writing and watching.
While the entire cast of Ted Lasso is amazing together, there’s no denying how magical Sudeikis and Waddingham are together as Ted and Rebecca. Not only are they a hilarious duo, but they also shared such a heartfelt and moving friendship throughout Ted Lasso’s three seasons. And in the end, I think this intentional tease at the beginning of the finale was the hilarious cherry on top of a brilliant story.
