Ted Lasso Season 4 Episode 10, “Being Alive,” confirms the sad news we suspected at the end of Episode 9: Mae has died. Her loss hangs over a finale that asks several characters to decide what comes next, while Rebecca finally discovers whether Zelda’s attempt to take control of Richmond has worked.
And after spending most of this season distrusting Zelda, I was very happy to learn that Rebecca had one last surprise waiting for her.
Mae Has Died
Episode 9 stopped short of confirming what had happened to Mae, but the finale gives us the answer immediately. A wake is held for her at the pub, where Ted, Rebecca and the Richmond family gather to say goodbye.
Mae’s death hits Henry particularly hard. His grief brings practical questions about what will happen to the pub and where he and Ted will live, but it also leads him somewhere much more personal. He starts thinking about death and asks Ted about his grandfather, Ted’s father.
Ted is caught off guard and initially avoids telling Henry the whole truth. He later realizes that his son deserves honesty and tells him what really happened.
The conversation also feeds into a decision Ted has been moving toward. Coaching the Lady Greyhounds has meant missing some of Henry’s own games, and Ted no longer wants his work to keep him away from those moments.
There is still one more Richmond match to play first.
Mae’s death also seems to push Rebecca to think differently about her own future. When Matthijs arrives, she decides she is done worrying about everything that could go wrong and asks him to marry her. Rebecca admits that marriage itself was never really the problem. She had simply been married to the wrong person. Matthijs accepts, leaving Rebecca engaged as the season ends.
The Lady Greyhounds End Their Season With a Sellout
The women close their season with Mae very much in their thoughts. Keeley’s work has also paid off, with the final match selling out.
It is another sign of how much has changed since the beginning of the season, when building Richmond’s women’s team was still a new project. Alice has grown considerably as a coach too, and Ted has noticed.
With his priorities shifting toward Henry, he decides he does not need to leave the team completely to make a change. Instead, Ted asks Rebecca to put Alice in charge. Ted will step down from the top coaching job and remain as her assistant, giving him more room to be present for his son.
Richmond’s women therefore finish their first season with a new structure already in place for what comes next.
The future of the club itself is far less certain.
Did Zelda Buy AFC Richmond?
Well, Zelda certainly came close. Episode 9 finally confirmed what I had suspected about her for a while. She could be useful to Rebecca and Keeley, but I never trusted her, and discovering that she had secretly been buying Richmond shares explained why something about her had felt wrong all season.
At the shareholders meeting, Zelda believes she has won.
Her purchases have given her 49 percent of Richmond, and she is ready to use that influence. She has no plans to interfere with the women’s team, but the men’s Premier League side is another matter.
Rebecca and Higgins initially appear to have been caught out by her move. Except Rebecca has been doing some work of her own.
She has managed to secure the Milk Sisters’ shares, putting her at 49 percent too. Neither woman has a majority, leaving ownership of Richmond deadlocked. And then Mae gets the final word.
Ted Lasso Season 4 Ending Explained: How Does Mae Save Richmond?
Mae owned two percent of AFC Richmond, and her will reveals that she has left those shares to Rebecca.
That two percent changes everything.
Rebecca’s 49 percent becomes 51 percent, giving her the majority and allowing her to retain control of Richmond. Zelda remains a major shareholder with her 49 percent, so she is not disappearing from the picture, but she does not get the takeover she wanted.
I have to admit, after not trusting Zelda from almost the moment she arrived, there is something particularly satisfying about Mae being the person who ultimately stops her from taking control. Even after her death, Mae protects the club she loved.
Rebecca and Zelda are now left with what could be a rather uncomfortable partnership, but there is no uncertainty about who holds the majority. Rebecca still controls AFC Richmond.
Does Roy Leave Richmond for Chelsea?
Keeley and Roy are already facing one enormous change after discovering that they are going to become parents. Then Chelsea calls Roy with another. He is offered the manager’s job.
The timing could hardly give him more to think about. Mae has just died, Roy and Keeley are preparing for a baby, and accepting the position would mean leaving Richmond for a major new opportunity.
Roy turns to the Diamond Dogs for advice. Nate is visiting, bringing the group back together, while Alice also joins them. Roy asks them about becoming a father as he tries to work out what he wants from the next part of his life.
Eventually, he makes his choice: Roy tells Rebecca that he is taking the Chelsea job.
She does not exactly welcome the news quietly, and there is some yelling before the two reach an understanding. Roy is leaving Richmond, but he is doing so for the chance to become Chelsea’s manager.
For Roy and Keeley, it leaves Season 4 looking very different from where it began. They are together again, they are expecting their first child, and Roy is heading into a new job.
Where Does Ted End Season 4?
Ted does not walk away from Richmond. Instead, putting Alice in charge of the Lady Greyhounds allows him to take a smaller role with the team while making a bigger commitment to Henry.
Mae’s death and Henry’s questions have forced Ted to think about what his son needs from him. After missing some of Henry’s games because of work, he promises to be there more often for the moments that matter to him.
So Season 4 does not end with Ted choosing between Richmond and Henry entirely. He finds a way to keep both in his life, just with Henry taking more of the space he deserves.
There are plenty of changes elsewhere. Roy is going to Chelsea. Alice is taking charge of the Lady Greyhounds. Rebecca still owns the majority of Richmond, although Zelda now owns almost as much of it.
And Mae, even in death, makes sure Richmond stays in Rebecca’s hands.
I have to admit, though, this ending leaves me a little unsatisfied. With no Season 5 announcement yet, the finale leaves plenty of room for another chapter, but it also makes me wonder who would actually be willing to come back. Ted, Rebecca, and Higgins feel like obvious candidates from the original cast, while Roy and Keeley’s stories seem to have reached a point where they could easily step away as regulars. Maybe that is intentional, but for a season/series finale, I wanted a little more certainty about where Ted Lasso is going next.
