Ted Lasso’s Most Divisive Character Is Weirder Than Ever In Season 4

After premiering in 2020, Ted Lasso quickly developed a reputation as one of the most wholesome shows on television. Throughout its steady three-season run, Jamie Tartt and Roy Kent learned to be better, healthier men, Sam Obisanya consistently demonstrated earnest integrity, and, of course, Ted was ever-present with positivity and life advice. Even the misguided Nate had a moving redemption arc.

Amidst all of this, though, one character notably lacked any real emotional growth over the course of the show. In fact, an argument could be made that Coach Beard has actually regressed throughout Ted Lasso‘s run. While the show developed every other character into real, though perhaps idealistic, people, peeling back the layers of Beard’s persona revealed more of a caricature than a believable person.

At first, Beard was an entertaining second-in-command to Ted, and his more straight-faced energy served to balance the show. However, his standalone episode in season 2, “Beard After Hours,” is among Ted Lasso’s most divisive episodes, with many fans observing that, beyond being completely separate from the main story, it also simply didn’t feel quite like Ted Lasso.

Since “Beard After Hours,” Beard has only grown more zany, primarily due to his tumultuous relationship with Jane, a London woman he met playing chess. Beard and Jane’s relationship soon became much too strange to take seriously, though even this was in conflict with Ted Lasso‘s typical themes of mindful self-awareness.

When Ted Lasso season 3 ended with Beard remaining in London and marrying Jane, his character seemed to be existing in a universe that operated under completely different rules and undertones than the rest of Ted Lasso. Now, with the arrival of the show’s unexpected fourth season, Beard is back and behaving very strangely, even for him.

Ted Lasso Season 4 Confirms The Strangeness Of Ted And Beard’s Friendship

Coach Beard made his first season 4 appearance in episode 2, “Curiouser and Curiouser!” The episode confirmed that in the three years since Ted’s departure in the season 3 finale, Beard had continued as the assistant coach of AFC Richmond’s men’s team, now under Roy. “Curiouser and Curiouser!” depicted Beard with overgrown hair and facial hair, exhibiting nervous, hermit-like behavior.

Roy quickly assessed that Beard was “f***ed in the head” over Ted coming back, along with the still-unrevealed details of whatever happened between him and Jane. Beard at first avoided engaging with Ted face to face, instead spying on him with binoculars.

Ted and Beard finally had a conversation at the pub when Beard discreetly bought him a glass of milk. When Ted approached him, Beard was reluctant to take his sunglasses off, saying, “I don’t want people to see us together, so I’m in disguise.” Other than Beard’s strange attitude towards Ted’s return, there’s no clear reason the two shouldn’t be seen together.

The two awkwardly agreed that Beard now works for Roy, but Ted insisted that “this doesn’t have to be weird” and they can “still hang out.” For characters who were first introduced as long-standing best friends, it seems odd that this even has to be said. Even weirder, the awkwardness of the whole interaction seemed to suggest that Ted and Beard hadn’t spoken at all in the three years they’d been apart.

Beard was once posited as the cool, calm presence that knew Ted better than anyone. The early seasons of the show then went on to develop a clear culture among the coaches of vulnerability and openness about their personal problems. Yet, in “Curiouser and Curiouser!” when Ted gently asked about what happened between Beard and Jane, Beard abruptly got up and left.

When viewed through the down-to-earth, honest, and perceptive lens that Ted Lasso has always encouraged in its characters, Beard comes across as emotionally repressed and unhealthily codependent on Ted. Yet the silliness with which the show continues to treat the character suggests that his behavior isn’t meant to be taken seriously, contradicting the standard to which every other character is held.

Beard’s Future Is Up In The Air After Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 2

Credit: Apple TV

As all of this unfolded, Roy observed it all and maturely realized that if Beard’s heart was really in working with Ted, the right thing to do would be to let him go. So, Roy manufactured a reason to “release” him, and both characters seemed to understand the true intention behind it.

Interestingly, though, “Curiouser and Curiouser!” also introduced and developed Coach Chilton, the deadpan assistant coach who tendered her resignation to Rebecca after being passed over for the head coach position. In the training sessions leading up to her last day, Chilton’s value as both an entertaining character and a coach was made abundantly clear to both viewers and Ted.

Near the episode’s end, Ted convinced Chilton to stay on as assistant coach, and their new duo felt like a refreshing change of pace for Ted Lasso. Moments later, though, Beard burst in with an “I’m back, baby!” after which Ted and Beard jumped up and down excitedly.

This sequence of events is confusing, as Ted had just given the assistant coaching position to someone else, yet seemed just as excited as Beard at his return. The episode even reaffirmed Coach Chilton’s hiring, as it ended with her giving the news to Rebecca.

By the end of season 3, Ted, Beard, and Roy had made up a coaching team of three, so Ted Lasso season 4 may recreate that dynamic with Ted, Beard, and Chilton. However, Roy is now without any coaching support. After the effort the episode made to introduce Chilton, it would be odd to reduce her role with the addition of Beard and then introduce another new character as Roy’s assistant coach.

All in all, Beard’s presence so far in Ted Lasso season 4 can be summed up in Roy’s blunt observation: “You’re being very strange.”

Release Date

August 14, 2020

Network

Apple TV

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