Summary
Rebecca’s mother comes to visit and Roy and Jamie try to work together.
This recap of Apple TV+s Ted Lasso season 2, episode 6, “The Signal,” contains significant spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
It’s easy to get trapped in cycles of behavior, but from the outside, it can be difficult to understand why we do such things, and knowing when we need to help someone break out of a cycle can be the hardest of all.
After a few flights of fancy, Ted Lasso settles back into probably the most football-centric episode since the season premiere. Of course, it’s also about those aforementioned cycles, but in the world of Ted Lasso, those are so deeply intertwined.
Ted Lasso season 2, episode 6 recap
First up we have Rebecca, who’s apparently been having more fun with dating apps than everyone else combined. A night and morning after with the Hunky Luca (named as such in the app) are interrupted by Rebecca’s mother, Debra, claiming to have left her husband for good this time. After introducing her to Ted and Keeley, Rebecca dismisses this as just another go of the break-up, get back together merry-go-round her parents have been doing for years. She’s not concerned, this isn’t permanent.
Similarly, Coach Beard (whose relationship status has been harder to track than a fly in the kitchen) is back with Jane — much to the disapproval of Higgins. But the other diamond dogs refuse to bring up the subject with Beard, believing it’s better not to mess with him. Rebecca, having seen her parents do the same thing, agrees with them. “I think if you care about someone you have to keep trying,” he says, embodying the heart of the episode, and Ted’s whole philosophy. He never gives up on anyone, least of all Jamie.
Jamie, however, is having his own difficulty with cycles of contempt. While Roy’s coaching has been a boon to the rest of the team, there’s one player he refuses to give advice to. Like with Beard, the diamond dogs believe that there’s nothing to be done, but Keeley has a strategy. “Just agree with everything he says, really takes the anger out of him.” He tests it, but Roy pushes back, and when Ted intervenes Roy blames Jamie’s recent lack of success on Ted. “He made you a team player,” he tells his bitter rival, “when deep down, you’re a prick.” Rather than a direct insult, Roy’s trying to push him back to his former playing style — under control this time.
When the FA Cup quarterfinal match begins, Richmond aren’t doing too hot. That is until they give Jamie the signal (all four coaches give him the middle finger) and he shoots a miraculous goal. Roy and Jamie have broken out of their cycle of antagonism, or at least have used that antagonism towards teamwork.
While the team is finally doing well, their coach is having other problems. Earlier he received a call about his son, the contents of which are still a mystery (it sounded like he became injured at school), and then Rebecca’s mother brought up the fact his wife left him — all of which contributes to a spike of anxiety and Ted leaving the game.
This in turn distracts the team, and Tottenham scores another goal. It’s Nate who takes the opportunity to finally step up and start coaching for real. And it works; Richmond win the game. But as the players storm the locker room in celebration, Rebecca has been unable to find Ted. She goes home to find her mother has returned to her father — the cycle has continued, and she decides to invite Luca over again.
However, Rebecca has still been texting the mysterious man, who is revealed to be none other than Sam Obysanya (which explains some of the texts). I would like to say I predicted this, but in truth, the show caught me off guard, and going into the second half of the season I’m excited to see where this leads.
The ending
In the end, Higgins works up the courage to do what he thinks is right. Enough time spent in the presence of Ted Lasso has taught him it’s always best to do so, even if the world is against you. Expecting a harsh rebuttal, Beard embraces him instead — then walks off with Jane. It seems that this cycle will be hard to break.
As for Lasso, however, he’s at the lowest we’ve ever seen him. Dr. Sharon finds him curled up on the couch in her office. “I want to make an appointment,” he says. Whatever is happening, it’s bad enough to make Ted confront his dislike of therapy.
Additional points
- Beard is allergic to horses and radishes, but not horseradish.
- We find out what the pub boys do when there isn’t a game on — heckle Bake-Off.
- Jane once followed Keeley home to ask if “Beard and Ted were shagging”.
