- You may be looking for the saying from which the episode derives its name.
"The Hope That Kills You" was the season one finale of the Apple TV+ series, Ted Lasso. It premiered on October 2, 2020.
Synopsis[]
AFC Richmond must face down Manchester City F.C. to avoid relegation.
Plot[]
Nate gets promoted to assistant coach. Roy tries to hand in his Captain’s band. Ted doesn’t want to accept it, but if Roy is deadset on letting go, he’ll have to at least choose his successor. He picks Isaac.
Before the big game against Manchester City, the team watches an interview of Jamie Tartt arrogantly saying he was the most important player on the field for Richmond. Isaac throws a chair at the television screen, shattering it, and impressing Roy in the process.
As the game draws nearer, Ted, Beard and Nate do their best to come up with a winning strategy. Rebecca gives him some advice. “Every disadvantage has an advantage.” She implies that Ted should use his lack of knowledge of English football to create chaos on the field, confusing Manchester. He and Beard start running through a bunch of trick plays with the team.
Ahead of the big match, Jamie watches a video of Ted praising him. He thinks his old coach is playing mind games with him. He even visits Keeley and comes face-to-face with her and Roy’s new relationship, just to ask her for advice. As she points out, not everyone is out to get him.
Once the game finally arrives, Keeley, Rebecca, Higgins and his entire brood arrive to watch the match. Rupert and Bex settle in at home. Keeley tells Rebecca that she never really cared about football before, but now with Roy on the field, she does.
The first half of the game ends in a 0-0 tie, but the second half is kickstarted by Roy coming off the bench. Motivated by his hatred for Jamie, he prevents him from making a few goals before wiping out with a knee injury. But his performance captivates the crowd and they start to cheer for him from the stands. As he hobbles to the locker rooms, the commentators wonder if that might have been the last time anyone would see Roy lace-up. Keeley comforts him afterward.
Toward the end of the game, Crystal Palace wins their match 6-0, meaning Richmond only needs a tie to keep from being relegated. The team decides to try the “Lasso Special,” which consists of them breaking out into an American football formation to confuse the other team. It works and they manage to score a goal, making it 1-1.
The crowd erupts into victory, thinking they’ve secured a tie and saved the team, but Jamie scores a goal by passing to his open teammate in the last seconds of the game. Manchester wins.
Ted tries to congratulate Jamie privately but happens to catch the tail end of Jamie’s father berating him for passing and not snatching the winning goal himself. Ted has Beard deliver a note to Jamie reading that says he’s proud of him for passing to his teammate and also contains a little plastic green army man.
Ted tries to hand in his resignation to Rebecca, but she doesn’t accept it. She wants them to come back stronger than ever next season and get the team promoted and finally win the whole thing.
Cast and characters[]
Starring[]
- Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso
- Hannah Waddingham as Rebecca Welton
- Jeremy Swift as Leslie Higgins
- Phil Dunster as Jamie Tartt
- Brett Goldstein as Roy Kent
- Brendan Hunt as Coach Beard
- Nick Mohammed as Nathan Shelley
- with
Guest starring[]
- Anthony Head as Rupert Mannion
- Toheeb Jimoh as Sam Obisanya
- Annette Badland as Mae
- James Lance as Trent Crimm
Co-starring[]
- Billy Harris as Colin
- Kola Bokinni as Isaac
- Cristo Fernandez as Dani Rojas
- Moe Jeudy-Lamour as Thierry Zoreaux
- Stephen Manas as Richard
- Adam Colborne as Baz
- Bronson Webb as Jeremy
- Kevin 'KG' Garry as Paul
- Keeley Hazell as Bex
- Bill Skinner as Tommy
- Arlo White as Himself
- Chris Powell as Himself
- Gus Turner as Henry
- Charlie Hiscock as Will
- Mary Roscoe as Julie
- Kieran O'Brien as James Tartt
- Kieth How as Kip
- Tom Parry as Ray
- Jay McDonald as Alex
- Vinta Morgan as Sammy
- Sonnyboy Skelton as Robbie
- Luke Hamann-Chanes as Michael
- Liam Hamann-Chanes as A.J.
- Tristan Hamann-Chanes as Rusty
Trivia[]
The episode title was drawn directly from the dialogue — a phrase common to many people around Richmond upon Thames, who had grown used to believing in positive outcomes, only to have their dreams dismissed. The episode showed Ted resisting this British gloom with an American phrase, "Do you believe in miracles?", borne of another David-versus-Goliath sports matchup.