The second episode of Ted Lasso’s fourth season at long last brings viewers back to England, where they are reunited with beloved characters like Mae, the elderly neighborhood bartender; Roy Kent, AFC Richmond’s rough-around-the-edges men’s coach; and the inscrutable-but-lovable assistant Coach Beard, who remains Ted’s other half in more ways than one. But the most compelling subplot of the episode—and perhaps the most necessary, given the conceit of this latest installment—is that of men’s and women’s team boss Rebecca Welton, who questions everything she believes about herself when asked (and rightfully so) if she even considered hiring a female coach to lead the Lady Greyhounds.What follows, in addition to the episode’s other arcs and introductions, is a cursory examination of feminism both generally speaking and in the context of sport, as well as a conversation about what it means to actually support female players and franchises when given the chance (not for nothing, this is also a conversation we find ourselves having yet again here in the States).Rebecca is genuinely insulted by the insinuation that, in hiring Ted—a male coach—she may have inadvertently acted against women. She soon descends into a feminist literature-fueled spiral (at one point, we catch her on the phone requesting that a bookstore save her a copy of literally anything by Bell Hooks), worried that those around her think negatively of her work championing her gender, and, perhaps worse yet, believe she isn’t a feminist at all. She gets something of an answer on the matter during a particularly comedic lunch with her mother (“Why don’t you just fire this jealous hag?” her mom asks, referring to the individual who questioned Rebecca’s hiring), and then again in a quick sidebar with her assistant, Higgins, who assures her that “strong women stand up for themselves, and stronger women stand up for others.”It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that the purpose of this episode-long interrogation has more to do with getting the audience on board with Ted’s appointment than with the show bravely addressing the stark inequities of sport (though the episode does address some of that via different plotlines). Even so, it certainly would have been weirder if it wasn’t included at all.By the writers’ own admission, it is backwards and quite frankly frustrating to again see a covetable position awarded to an under-qualified man vs. an over-qualified woman (whose own detailed and dedicated work is what will now set said man up for success, by the way). And Ted Lasso, for all his charm and obvious allyship, is not immune to this. But we are, of course, watching this show for him, so ultimately, he must be the one to get the gig. Indeed, even in the series’s fantasyland, them’s the brakes.Will this explanation remain satisfactory enough as the season wears on? Time will tell. For now, though, acknowledging the mustache-shaped elephant in the room felt a necessary piece of completing the reboot puzzle, and was, for my money, the most compelling part of a chuckle-inducing second episode, no matter how you felt about it overall.‘Ted Lasso’ S4E2 Recap:Ladies and gentlemen, we are back in the U.K.Episode 2 of season four jumps from Ted’s big decision at the end of episode 1 and right back into the charming London town of Richmond, where Ted wakes up for his first day on the job as head coach of the Lady Greyhounds. We are not privy to the logistics of his move or the whereabouts of his ex-wife Michelle and son Henry—we just know that he made it overseas, and that he is renting a room above the pub owned by charming elderly bartender, Mae Green.As Ted travels to the stadium that morning, Lady Greyhounds owner Rebecca is greeted in her office by assistant Leslie Higgins, who announces his intent to review a massive report he commissioned on the viability of Richmond’s women’s team. While the pair go back and forth, in walks chilly assistant AFC Richmond women’s coach Alice Chilton, who bluntly informs Rebecca that she will be resigning from her post at the end of the week, in part because she was passed over for the head coach position. Chilton ends her appearance by asking Rebecca whether any woman at all was considered for the role, to which Rebecca replies, “No,” prompting a feminist crisis of faith.After a quick good morning chat with his boss, as well as Keeley Jones and Higgins, Ted makes his way down to the team locker rooms, where he reunites with the ever-brusque Roy Kent. The pair catch up for a bit, before Roy reveals that Coach Beard—Ted’s former assistant, who is still working for the men’s team—has been going through it emotionally since he heard that Ted would be returning. Roy asks Ted whether he’d like to have Beard back under his management; Ted says that is for Roy and Beard to work out.Next, Coach Lasso orients himself with his much-smaller new office, where he introduces himself to Coach Chilton, before entering the comically tiny women’s locker room (a.k.a. the youth academy changing room, with a piece of tape slapped over the nameplate) to meet the rest of the team. It’s at this point that the differences between the men’s set-up and the women’s become inescapably apparent to Ted.At least a day later, Keeley gets to work transforming the visitors’ locker room into a haven for the ladies. Roy, of his own accord, arrives to help her. The air between two former lovers is quite charged, and we get the sense that there is certainly some unfinished business there. When Roy asks Keeley what he should do about Beard, who so obviously wants to work for Ted again, Keeley replies: “I think keeping two people apart who belong together is bad not just for them, but for everybody.” Yeah, O.K.!Meanwhile, Ted and Alice are overseeing practice when a player goes down with a knee injury. Ted is impressed by the unshakable manner in which Alice reacts, as well as the ease with which she calms and soothes her panicking charge. He shares this with her later, and Chilton begins second-guessing her decision to resign.By week’s end, Keeley has successfully finished her locker room renovation (a bit of a concerningly fast flip, when you think about it, but whatever), and Ted unveils the renovations to the Lady Greyhounds, who are thrilled by the upgrade. Soon alone in their office, Ted then asks an emotional Alice to stay; surprisingly, she agrees. Moments later, an excited Coach Beard runs into the room—Roy, feigning some sort of violation of AFC Richmond bylaws, cut him loose, which means he and Ted can coach together once more.At episode’s end, Alice and Rebecca share a reconciliatory moment, in which Rebecca, believing Chilton to be on her way out, thanks Alice for rightfully questioning her decision on the head coaching front, but urges her to speak less bluntly and with a touch more empathy the next time she has feedback for someone in Welton’s position (remember, strong women stand up for themselves). Alice then informs Rebecca that she will be staying—and, because she just can’t help herself, the owner of the Lady Greyhounds responds to this declaration with a not-very-girl-power joke that falls totally flat on its face. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow