After New Year’s Eve forced several people to confront what they had been avoiding, Ted Lasso Season 4 Episode 7 asks them to actually do something about it. For Ted, that means opening himself up to dating. For Roy, it means admitting that moving on from Keeley hasn’t worked quite as well as he thought.
“Yes & Baby” also gives Rebecca a new problem to solve at Richmond, while Alice and Beard make their own attempts at change. Some are more successful than others.
Ted Decides He Is Ready to Date Again
Ted’s conversation with Michelle has clearly stayed with him, and he decides it is finally time to start dating.
The first step is a dating app, although he doesn’t get very far before hitting an unexpectedly difficult question. He needs three words to describe himself, and Ted has no idea what they should be.
Keeley helps him put the rest of the profile together, but those three words take longer. Eventually, he finds an answer that feels much bigger than filling in a box on an app: “I am lovable.”
Ted also takes a chance away from his phone. He returns to the theater and finds the stage manager he met before, this time asking her out. She is already seeing someone and turns him down.
It doesn’t go anywhere romantically, but Ted still does the thing he has been working toward. He asks. He gets an answer. And he is okay.
Roy’s Relationship Ends Because He Still Loves Keeley
Roy is still dealing with the aftermath of his latest knee procedure and arrives at the office using a scooter. Keeley has an opportunity for him that involves a public celebration and speech, neither of which exactly excites him.
Then Dr. Beaumont arrives.
Seeing Roy and Keeley together tells her what she needs to know. Whatever happened between Roy and Keeley on New Year’s Eve isn’t brought up, but Dr. Beaumont can see that Roy’s feelings for his ex haven’t disappeared, so she ends their relationship.
Roy protests at first, but there isn’t much he can say when she tells him that he is still in love with Keeley, he knows she is right.
Their breakup doesn’t make their relationship meaningless. When Dr. Beaumont asks Roy how they ended up together in the first place, he tells her about the 10-date challenge. Those dates pushed Roy to open himself up and pay attention to the person in front of him. The relationship may not have become permanent, but Roy doesn’t leave it unchanged.
The two part on good terms, and Roy is single again. More importantly, he has finally had to acknowledge what has been sitting underneath his relationship with Dr. Beaumont all along: he never stopped loving Keeley.
Dani’s Agent Tries to Put Pressure on Richmond
Rebecca and Higgins have a problem of their own when Dani Rojas’ agent, Derek Tarp, starts demanding considerably more money for his client.
Derek claims Dani has an offer from another club, something that immediately puts Rebecca on alert. If an offer really has been made through Dani’s agent, it would be a serious problem.
There is another reason Rebecca cannot simply dismiss Derek. He also represents Roy, leaving open the possibility that whatever he is attempting with Dani could eventually become an issue with Roy as well.
Rebecca and Higgins need to know how much of Derek’s story is real before they decide how to handle him. That is where Zelda comes in (I am still dubious about the woman).
She digs into Derek’s supposed advantage and discovers that the other offer is a bluff. Once she knows he doesn’t have the leverage he claims, she turns the pressure back on him.
Derek’s attitude changes quickly. He returns ready to cooperate, and Rebecca comes away from the entire situation impressed by the person who managed to solve it. She offers Zelda a position at Richmond, and Zelda accepts.
Alice Learns There Is More to Saying Yes
Change is also happening among the coaching staff, although Alice’s attempt begins with taking some advice a little too far.
She decides that she needs to start saying yes. The idea is supposed to push her toward new experiences, but simply agreeing to everything isn’t quite the answer.
Ted and Beard offer a small adjustment borrowed from their improv days: “Yes, and.” Instead of stopping at yes, Alice can accept what is in front of her and then add something of herself. It gives her a way to embrace the spirit of the advice without losing her own personality in the process.
Beard’s problem is rather different. Being called old on New Year’s Eve has clearly bothered him, and he decides a new look might help him reclaim some of his youth. The makeover attempt doesn’t go particularly well, but it becomes his own way of dealing with getting older and trying to rediscover what makes him feel like himself.
Everyone seems to be searching for some version of the same thing in “Yes & Baby.” Alice is learning how to change without disappearing into that change. Beard wants to feel young again. Ted is trying to believe that he can be loved again. And Roy has finally stopped pretending that the person he loves isn’t Keeley.
Ted Lasso Season 4 Episode 7 Ending Explained: What Does Roy’s Breakup Mean for Keeley?
The biggest relationship development in Episode 7 isn’t a Roy and Keeley reunion. It is Roy losing the relationship that had allowed him to keep some distance from what he still feels for her.
Dr. Beaumont ends things because she recognizes that Roy remains in love with Keeley, and Roy cannot deny it. That leaves him single for the moment. Keeley’s feelings are not resolved here either.
Ted ends the episode in a different place romantically. His attempt to ask out the stage manager fails because she is already seeing someone, but he has still taken the step he was struggling to take. After getting his dating profile together and finding those three words, “I am lovable,” Ted is allowing himself to try again.
Rebecca also finishes the episode with someone new at Richmond. Zelda’s success against Derek convinces her to offer Zelda a job, which she accepts. What her arrival will mean for the club remains unresolved, because there is something about the woman that doesn’t convince me yet.
